I was in a coffee shop, pleasantly tucked into an end table, reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s book, La aventura de Miguel Littín clandestino en Chile, sipping a dark roast perfectly milked, and going back and forth between recording new vocabulary and wandering in my mind to my own time in that most interesting country. Ironically, in a sense, I was multitasking. There were others at all the surrounding tables, each person busy about what was in front of them.

Then, blaring into the bliss, a man’s voice. “Why are YOU here? What are you doing?”

I looked up from my book, notebook, pen, and mug of caffeinated glory. Yes, in fact, he was addressing me.

“Everyone else is using a computer!! And here you are. Don’t you feel out of place? I mean, look around!”

True enough, those at the tables surrounding me were all plugged in, tuned in, and tikkytakking away merrily.

I looked down. “I’m using my r-pad. The window rotates with a flick of the wrist; unlimited color display; you get to choose the stylus–completely interchangeable; it records thoughts, drawings, doodles, and dreams without having to change programs; you can have up to 160 windows open all at the same time; no power required; and, gives of itself willingly so that it can be shared with up to 80 friends at a time.”

Yeah, well, that’s what occurred to me later on. At the time, I simply said “Nope. I feel happy, actually.”

I love my r-pad.