The bittersweet joy of the automatic WiFi connection

I lived the most unglamorous form of a bicoastal life for about two and a half years. That is, I spent most of my time in my walk-up Brooklyn apartment, but took regular trips back to my parents' house in Los Angeles, where I stayed in my childhood bedroom. 

Each time I returned to California, I felt like I was slipping, but not quite fitting, back into my old life. After moving back to LA, I got the same feeling on a recent visit to New York City. 

In both cases, one of the things that made me feel simultaneously at home and distant from my own past was my Wi-Fi connection. 

On my first trip back to LA after moving to New York in 2016, I visited the apartment of two good friends — a couple with whom my partner and I often cooked, drank wine, and played games. When my WiFi automatically connected, it was like the house knew I was supposed to be there, folding me back into the rhythms of my old life. Read more...