Portable Office

Being a compulsive sort of person, when I packed for my “vacation,” the most critical items were computer related—laptop, multiple cords, flash drive, iPod, a USB hub. When I unpacked all of my electronics, my daughter asked, “Where is your ergonomic keyboard?” Nine hundred miles from home is not the time to discover that little oversight. Oh well, the MacBook keyboard if wider than most and really not difficult to use. “It’s all fine,” I said, trying to sound hip. I got by with it.

“Where should I set up my office,” I asked, thinking surely someone would say, “Oh use my desk. I’m not home all day.” No one did. “The kitchen is fine. How about the table?” So, Plan A was the kitchen table. Wrong height. Chair uncomfortable. Hmmm. “How about pillows?” my son in law suggested and plopped a couple behind me. Better. “Or this massaging seat cover?” my daughter offered, setting it up and plugging it in. Nice, but hard to concentrate with that thing hitting me up and down my back.

Plan B was the kitchen counter. It looked like a good height, and the chair was in the right place. So, I spread out all over the kitchen island. Someone who shall remain nameless commented on the mess. In truth, it was pretty bad. Next, I tried my daughter’s office. She had a cute little table that looked perfect. Two hours later, I was all hunched over and had crick in my neck. So much for Plan C.

Plan D was my son in law’s couch, which was good for one afternoon. I used a cutting board for a desk. It worked fine, but by now, my back was in knots. Plan E was my bed with four pillows supporting me. Didn’t work. Way too soft. On the “great room” couch (a Florida term, I think), with my cutting board on my lap and my feet on the bottom of the coffee table, things were looking up. The problem was I stayed in the same position for hours and could barely walk when I got up.

Next and I hope the last stop: back to the kitchen island. But this time, I have the laptop on a phone book, and I am standing. This could really be the solution … except that standing for long periods of time is problematic with a bad back. Maybe, if I put on walking shoes, or stand on a cushion, or take breaks every once in a while, it could work.

My daughter observes my new arrangement. “I don’t understand why you don’t just use my desk,” she says. “It would be SO much more comfortable than that set up.”

Right.

Taking a Time Out

We interrupt this writer’s life to accept the mother-of-the-year award for flying to Florida to dog sit, while my daughter and son in law celebrate their anniversary cruising around Europe. You must understand that this is not your ordinary dog who could spend a week in a pet hotel or have the neighbor’s kids drop by to feed him and walk him twice a day,. This is my daughter’s child and, thus, my grandchild.

So, here I am, rambling around a huge house (any house would be huge compared to my 900-square-foot closet of a condo), swimming laps in a gorgeous pool (with fountain), and lounging on the custom-built patio amid a paradise of tropical plants, butterfly gardens, and soothing chimes.

In between all that swimming and lounging, my duties consist of making sure Milo (the love of our lives) has food, water, treats, ample petting, and scheduled walks around the big circle (complete with plastic bags – a new experience for me).

Milo is a cross between a sheltie and a corgi – fluffy, low to the ground, and lovable. He has soulful eyes and a constantly wagging tale. Milo does not bark, but he does make his desires apparent through a series of facial expressions (no kidding), body postures, and unmistakable displays of excitement – all of which I struggle to interpret.

Since I have not yet mastered the art of just “hanging out” and must work, I brought enough electronics with me to set up my own Radio Shack. This took some creativity on my part, because I am a Mac person and most of the rest of the world is not. Configuring my external hard drive; a borrowed two-foot-long, ergonomic keyboard; and my son in law’s PC is a story in itself. If anyone ever tells you Windows is just like OS X (Mac talk for operating system), don’t believe it.

In any event, I am prepared for any eventuality. I can get into my website-based e-mail; I can charge my cell phone; I can retrieve messages from my office voice mail. What can’t I do? One little thing: retrieve my e-mail address book! This is a serious oversight, but I have a contingency plan. It depends only on the good will of my other daughter, who is still in St. Louis, though nowhere near my office nor Mac proficient. (She used to be, and I will never understand why she went over to the dark side!)

I’ve only been here four days, trying desperately to relax. So far, I have reorganized my daughter’s closet, done two loads of laundry, swum laps, finished a book and gotten half way through a second, and worked for umpteen hours on a client project. It would seem that taking a “vacation” is harder than I thought it would be. But I have another week to figure out how it’s done.