• by Laurie Petersen , August 31, 2007

What happened to summer?

I’m writing this on a muggy day in mid-August and the closest I feel to the season is the sundress and flip-flops I’m wearing to the office because the a/c is acting up.

My 10-year-old’s off at sleepaway camp — so in between writing about the latest mega-merger, helping select All Stars, judging online campaigns, and getting ready to see you all at OMMA East — I e-mail her daily dispatches through the camp’s account with bunk1.com. (They get printed out and distributed the next day. She tells me they’re boring. But she’s disappointed if I don’t send them.)

While waiting for an old colleague last night at a bar across the street from the gleaming new New York Times headquarters, this was the scene:

At the far end of the bar sat a gray-haired suit using what seemed the unlikeliest of lines: Do you have an avatar? He’s doing something with big brands in Second Life and threw around the name Ben & Jerry’s more than once.

To my left was a guy who has a laptop, which he uses to do some kind of work, but he’s yet to connect it to the Internet. The bartender told him that was too bad because he should really sign up for eHarmony.

On my right were a pair of financial analysts furiously crafting a research note about an online brokerage over a couple of mojitos and an order of fries. “Is this hot enough?” they debated. Seriously. They were talking about the note.

As much as I’d enjoy a “Calgon, take me away” moment, I’ve yet to master the art of virtual living or capitalize on the meaningful media mobility Steve Smith chronicles inside this month’s issue.

Can someone just send me a link to a site that identifies Wi-Fi-equipped beaches in the greater metropolitan region with good phone coverage?

I need to catch a wave.