Will this be sucky?

[WishfulSpirit]

Hi everyone.

I have a second job as a freelance writer, and it's next to impossible to focus at home. My question is this: if I take my laptop down to BK to use their wifi, will it be sucky to be there and not buy anything? With my wages and a disabled husband, I simply can't afford to get even a dollar menu burger every day, and they don't have an outdoor seating area. We also don't have a car, so I can't just park outside and use my laptop there.

I'll only be there after 7pm when the restaurant isn't busy (there's a business center in our complex I can go to earlier in the day when I'm off...yea for 18 hour weeks at the real job).

Thoughts?

EDIT: We couldn't afford an unlimited bus pass this month, or I'd go to the local grocery store coffee shop. Nobody there cares, but I can't pay extra bus fare every day either. I have to save my passes to get to work. I could go down to the laundry room (or wifi reaches) but it floods every time it rains (as it has been doing the past few days) or maybe just bring a camp chair out to the stairwell.

[Mikkel]

I don't think it would be sucky to ask. The space is for paying customers, though, so they may or may not allow it.
Could you afford a cup of coffee or a small coke?

[AnaKhouri]

Most libraries have WiFi now. If you can get to one, it would probably be preferable (for you too- it'll be quieter there).

[unperson]

+1 to libraries

Like it says in the title, +1 to going to a library. Private businesses offer free wifi to their customers, and will probably have an issue with you, if you're taking up space that could otherwise hold people that give them money. If there's nobody else there, it'll probably be more of a judgement call.

That said, head down to your local library and see what they have to offer for you - I'd be greatly surprised if they didn't have free wifi for you. Even in that case, they should have public-use computers you can reserve for a little bit so you can get work done.

[WishfulSpirit]

Thanks everyone. Our local library is only a 20 minute walk away, but the wifi is so slow you may as well be on dial-up. Plus local parents seem to be confused as to the difference between "library" and "playground." Every time I've been there, there are kids running around screaming with nothing ever said about it. I will probably just go to the laundry room or hall, and use BK once in a while (and get a coke or something when I do).

[TheSHAD0W]

Is there any particular reason you even need the wifi? Access to reference materials?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

OP could be writing for publications or online journals and the wifi may be needed to submit the work to the recipient.

It certainly won't hurt to ask, but I imagine BK would want you to buy at least something in exchange for using their wifi.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

OP could be writing for publications or online journals and the wifi may be needed to submit the work to the recipient.

Well, if you need to submit it, one could always write it in a word document or other application that does not require an online connection to use. That way, when one gets home the work is already done, and all they have to do is connect to the internet to submit (which shouldn't take much time or required focus.)

[WishfulSpirit]

Is there any particular reason you even need the wifi? Access to reference materials?

Exactly. Most of my work is fact-based and I find my information online. Plus the way my clients work, I can't claim multiple articles at a time. I have to do one, submit it (online), do the next, then submit it, and so on. An always-on connection is important in that work flow.

[EricKei]

Do you have any neighbors who have Wi-Fi, who might be willing to let you piggyback on theirs (even for like 5-10 bucks a month if they insist)? Doing that is legal *if* you have the owners' permission to do it.

[TheSHAD0W]

You might also want to consider changes at home to help you focus. What exactly is it that bugs you there? Outside noises can be muffled with drapes over the windows and walls, or you can wear headphones and play some ambient music. Changing your furniture around to better isolate your work location may also help.

[WishfulSpirit]

You might also want to consider changes at home to help you focus. What exactly is it that bugs you there? Outside noises can be muffled with drapes over the windows and walls, or you can wear headphones and play some ambient music. Changing your furniture around to better isolate your work location may also help.

How do you isolate yourself from a husband who, no matter how many times you say "sweetie I'm working, please only bother me if the house is on fire" keeps wanting to show you stuff on Facebook? Or a dog that whines for attention? The doofuses are lucky they are cute.

[notalwaysright]

I understand not being able to concentrate, or just having to get out. I know that if my cat starts doing something bad like tearing up the carpet, I can't just ignore it. And he is absolutely doing it for attention. Once my only solution was to sit in my closet, as odd as that sounds.

Anyways, have you checked into getting a discounted bus pass? I know many cities offer them for low income and/or disabled households. You can also search online for places with free wifi. And I know it's probably pointless, but maybe see if there is a way to politely let the library know that those children are so disruptive that you won't come in. Some libraries have private rooms, but I don't know if yours has them. They're free, usually you just have to reserve them. ETA: Wow, I guess some libraries DO charge for rooms. The one in this town looks to only have big meeting rooms that are not free. However, the library in my old town had smaller rooms specifically for quiet study and they were free.

[TheSHAD0W]

How do you isolate yourself from a husband who, no matter how many times you say "sweetie I'm working, please only bother me if the house is on fire" keeps wanting to show you stuff on Facebook? Or a dog that whines for attention?

Making an office in a spare bedroom (or large closet), and locking the damn door. :-P

[mathnerd]

Using BK's wifi without buying something would be sucky. That said, you can always go talk to the management. Maybe you could work out something where you buy something once a week, or he just gives you permission to use it. Most people are decent if you just talk to them. There are exceptions, of course, but I've found that those exceptions are very, very rare.

On that note, there was a time in the not so distant past when I lived in a homeless shelter. The shelter did provide wifi, but it was slow, unreliable, and the filters on it prevented me from accessing certain sites I needed for medical research (for my kids' issues). I packed up the kids and headed to a local Barnes and Noble, spent money I didn't have to buy a cup of coffee and used their wifi. After a couple weeks, the manager approached me. He'd heard some of my phone conversations, and some of my conversations with the boys. Of course, he also couldn't help but see the various mobility equipment two of the three boys use with varying frequency. He talked to me a little bit about my situation, and from that point on, not only would he not let me buy anything, he actually insisted on providing my coffee. He was happy to help a single mother down on her luck, especially one with reasonably well-behaved kids.

So my vote is to go in and talk to the management. It would be sucky to just use the wifi otherwise, but my guess is you'll get a positive response if you talk to them first.