Working at a Gas Station

Wireless internet access is virtually non-existant in Tiberius. This is a problem when I am up North for three days and we have a flight cancelled and participants to inform. I should be more clear. There is internet access available, but you have to pay for it, and that is not my custom.

So yesterday morning I went to Aroma - a cafe that has free wireless. It's about 10 minutes south of town, and while they have wireless access, they do not have outlets. Which means I have about 90 minutes to get work done, and then I run the risk of being shut down at an inconvenient moment.

But yesterday, I had more work to do. I went back up to town, checked in to my hotel, saw students on a Hillel Alternative Break in Israel, and then had to figure out how to get back on line. I had no charge on my computer, so I knew wherever I was going to go needed to have electrical outlets.

I figured I would try Hof Gai - a hotel that has free wireless in the lobby and a great view. And, they have outlets. I park, get all my stuff out of the car, pretend to be on the phone so security doesn't stop me at the front door and realize that the hotel is closed for renovations. That's a problem.

And because my battery hasn't been charged, I can't go back to Aroma. But then I remembered where I could find internet access and electrical outlets - the gas station. Yes, the gas station. They have a little convenience store, three tables along a wall, and wireless internet access. It's like working in a 7-11 cafe. I've never seen tables or anything resembling a cafe at a 7-11, but if you can imagine that combination, that's what it was. And they didn't have fountain soda, which is also a problem, but not as big of a problem as not having internet access....