Working away

Today is my last day at my desk before I go away for more-or-less the rest of the month. I'm off to Brighton tomorrow for a week for the annual IATEFL conference, then I've got just a day at home before I head down to Cornwall for an Easter break. I could have done both trips as long weekends, but I decided to add a bit of time to each to enjoy a change of scene. That's not to say that's going to be time 'off' because I'm going to be taking my new laptop and working while I'm away.

In both locations I'm renting an apartment with wi-fi, so this won't be squeezing in a bit of work sat on the bed in a hotel room. I'm quite excited about setting myself up a new working space for a few days, but also feeling a bit wary about working from a laptop. I'm always warning about the dangers of working at a laptop and I'm very aware that the set-up I'm taking with me breaks a lot of the rules when it comes to ergonomics. I'm going to be taking my graphics tablet with me (that I use instead of a mouse), but I don't have a laptop stand yet, to adjust the height I work at, or a separate keyboard. It's a tricky dilemma, because one of the other effects of the problems surrounding my RSI is pain and weakness in my shoulder, which makes carrying stuff difficult. So having specifically chosen a lightweight laptop, it then seems silly to add to my luggage with a whole load of extra bits and pieces.

I guess I'll just have to see how the experiment goes ... I'll post some pictures from Brighton.