It’s a rainy Thursday here in San Francisco and I’ve found myself with a day off. I packed up a laptop and headed out to meet a friend; we were going to sit at the cafe down the street from his house and write, taking advantage of the wireless Internet access. We ended up making some sort of eggs and potatoes dish, then he had a phone meeting with a client, so I headed out on my own.

I went for walk and decided it would be easier to stay over on this side of town then head back home, since I’d be ending up back this way tonight.

Once the rain became heavy enough to stop me from traveling on foot I caught a J-Church and headed out to City College. I haven’t been to the library there in awhile, but I figured they’d have Internet access and I’d be able to spend a few hours writing and reading the news.

But they don’t. When I asked at the information desk a very pleasant reference librarian told me even if I could sign up for access it takes a few days and I’d have to register my computer. Yikes. I found it odd that the public community college wouldn’t offer access, but what do I know?

I jumped on a K-Ingleside train from City College and hopped off at West Portal. The West Portal branch of the San Francisco Public Library is rigght across the street from the station and I figured it was worth a try. I came in and asked at the front desk if there was wireless Internet access. Another pleasant librarian looked up and smiled and said, “of course, just open up your computer and you should be able to connect.”

So here I am. Hooray for the San Francisco Public Library. It does make me wonder if we’re ever going to get the city-wide wi-fi that they tried to get going some years back.

Now if I could find a power outlet…