Skeezeball in the Coffee Shop

Kari Marie, here, writing from the road.

When I'm living out of my car, I have stretches of time when I don't have private internet access. It might be because I've been sleeping in my car, or it might be because the people with whom I'm staying have really touchy wireless that won't let strangers connect. Either way, there are times when all of my interneting happens in coffee shops, cafes, or libraries. And, when you're me, this poses and interesting problem.

Societal norms dictate that you don't look at nudies on your computer when you're in public. Some establishments offering free wifi specifically block sites where nudity abounds, though many do not. It's just not something reasonable, decent people do. And yet, that's often a big part of what I do on the internet. Whether checking out the work of a photographer who has contacted me, or the work of models and photographers I admire, or just poking around blogs like this one, there are a whole lotta nipples that flash across my screen.

To be fair, this is something I could avoid. I could refrain from viewing images sent to me from recent shoots, and delay actually viewing the work of a photographer requesting a shoot. I could avoid any and all sites aside from those which I know to be "work-safe." But doing that would, at times, throw a big wrench in what I do. Being a nude model but not looking at any nude work simply isn't practical for extended periods of time.

So what do I do? I find a comfy chair in the corner of the coffee shop, plug in my laptop, and hunker down. Sometimes I wonder if the sort of folks who would be offended by art nudes would find it more, or less objectionable when I'm looking at nude images of myself. I haven't decided, and I haven't asked. I try to avoid stepping on others' toes in this regard. I make efforts to keep my computer out of eyeshot of others, and adjust my positioning if necessary. But inevitably, carrying out these precautionary courtesies makes me think, "Ahhh, yes, and now I get to be the skeezeball in the corner, looking at nudies."

This was written, in case you were wondering, at a Starbucks in Colby, Kansas.