Streaming

"Oh my God!  That's terrible." 

It is 6:15 in the morning.  I am on the couch, caressing a mug of coffee.  Not yet quite awake.  Not quite ready to be.   I smell the coffee.  I hold it with two hands.  The steam is seductive.  I stare at the television.  I have not yet spoken.  Don't they say backlit screens have a waking effect?  Listen.  Weather - check.  Traffic - check.  OK - good.

My iPad is on my lap.  My blackberry on the coffee table.  What time is it in Taiwan?  If I email back now, will it matter - will they be there to get it?  If they are not there, will they be impressed to get an email from me this early?  They will know it is early here, right?  But is it a sign of weakness to write back immediately?  Maybe I should wait. I need to read The Art of War.  I should just email them when I get to work.  Now I have to remember to do that. I'll email Joann to ask her to remind me. 

Have to admit, I love my iPad.  It's so totally unnecessary but utterly satisfying.   Why do I get so many emails to my Gmail account?  Have I really bought something from all of these stores?  Is that a good deal?   Do I need anything?  Who's birthday is coming up?  Should I buy them a present?  Did they buy me one?  I should email Dad.

Damn.  It is 6:25.  Those people who make it to the 6:30 AM spinning class.  I am impressed.  But I will get to the gym.  I will use that torturous treadmill of stairs.  I better have some good magazines to read while I am there.  Maybe the paper will come before I leave. It would be here by now if I got the late edition.  I need to call to change that.  Is it bad that I don't really like to read most of the paper? I prefer to read "US Weekly".  Except I am so sick of reading about The Bachelor.  Or the Teen Moms.  Give me real celebrities please.   Is my iPod charged? 

It's 6:30.

"It' terrible."

I press send on the email to Taiwan.  Should I have waited?  I look up. "What? What's terrible?"  First words of the day.

"Didn't you see?"

"Rain?"

"You missed the news stream on the bottom of the page?"

I am sorry.  I did.