And this is the way you check your email




And this is the way you check your email: routinely, though you just did it five minutes ago. You sit in front of the screen
And put your hand on the mouse
You think for a second,
�Ok, What am I doing again? Oh yeah.
Checking my e-mail.�

You type in the user address
You know it by heart
Even though it�s long enough to strangle someone with
You press the keys to your user name
The name that isn�t REALLY your own
Like Jane becomes poppyseed85
Who knows where that came from.
The Sign-In screen pops up
Man, you�ve seen that page so many times, you�re hoping that the more you see it, maybe you�ll find something changed, or discover something you never noticed before. No luck at the moment. You press the letters of your password, and watch attentively as the asterisks magically appear in the blank space. Wow. You think. I wonder how they do that. You hit enter.

And this is the way you anticipate getting a new message, even though you just checked seven minutes ago. Maybe in that time span someone actually thought about you to send you a little �Hello.�  Your eyes widen in hope, your heartbeat accelerates in eagerness. Waiting. Waiting for the moment of truth, 3�2�1�

NO NEW MESSAGES

And you fall, Fast and Hard. As you read the depressing three words that you read ten minutes ago. Damn. No luck at the moment. I�ll try back later.
It�s a routine, a vicious cycle�
And this is the way you check your e-mail.
1