#167 - Big Screen and Donuts

Sleeping in is my new form of luxury.

Slept in until about ten-thirty and then watched some YouTube. Robyn came upstairs with some breakfast and a tea around elven thirty and we watched Bill Maher. He’s one of those guys you both like and dislike at the same time. He often says what you are thinking outloud and sometimes he’s a bit of an arrogant prick. But he has a long running TV show as a result, so who am I to argue. And even though sometimes I disagree with him or dislike he stance on things or how he presented it, I still enjoy tuning into the show.

I’ve ordered another lap desk for myself. If you don’t know what that is, it’s basically a board to put your laptop in your lap. But why you ask if that is what a laptop was designed for? Some of the lap desks have cushioned runners on the bottom to make it more comfortable. Some have trays for pens, or slots for phones and tablets. Others have wrist rests built-in, and some have room for a mouse or a slide out tray for it as well.

The perfectly flat surface also makes sure your laptop gets plenty of circulation for air cooling.

For my part, I like to use it while in bed. I chose to but a smaller laptop at thirteen inches for the portability. The smaller ones are lighter and more compact, perfect for thrown into a bag and yet still large enough to the job done. And since the job is primarily writing, the most important factor to ne was the screen and keyboard.

I have a thirteen-inch Lenovo X1 Carbon that weights less that 2.2 lbs. The screen isn’t so bright as to hurt my eyes and the Lenovo’s were week known for having good keyboards. I’m not sure if the new ones are as good, but my laptop was made in 2018-2019.

So, having a lap desk just makes it more comfortable. When I was looking through Amazon, I came across a lap desk that you could easily through in a bag. It didn’t have and cushioning, but the profile was smaller at fpurteen inches wide, and it had a pull-out mouse pad.

I decided to give it a try. I think it might be a good candidate for writing on the train to and from work. At thirteen inches I find the laptop wants to slide of my legs. And because I have shorter than average legs, when I sit in a train seat my thighs angle downwards causing the laptop to slide off. The further is slides the less contact with the sides of my legs.

This lap desk measures fourteen inches wide giving me an extra half inch preside. The mouse pad extends out a further six inches when pulled out. And the mouse pad can be deployed on the right or left-hand side of the desk.

I have tried to use the current lap desks I have when travelling in a car and found that they were to large and bulky. I have a leather recliner that is great for writing, but again the lap desk is too wide and sits to high, hitting the armrests of the chair. I wouldn’t even consider bringing the ones I have on an airplane, that is until now. I think this new one is just what I need.

I already have magnetic phone mounts on the back of my laptop screen that swing out to hold my phone or kindle and even sometimes a digital timer. So, this new lap desk will be just what the writer ordered.

I’ll do a full review when it arrives, and I have tested it out on the train and in the car.

We have friends coming over for tea in a few minutes so, I’ll have to stop for the moment and get myself gussied up for company. This just means I need to put pants on and maybe some socks.

I’ll need to get right to working on my mentor assignment as soon as they leave or maybe even must excuse myself sooner. I’ll be working right up until the deadline of three AM Eastern Standard time to get as much done as possible.

I really should have forced myself to get more done during the week, but it was hard to get going on it with busy workdays. Still, I shouldn’t broach any excuses. I made sure to write this blog everyday to make my word count goals and that could have easily been spent on writing the story.

It basically comes down to fear. Fear of starting and fear of failing.

Which is ridiculous because I know ehn I get started I actually enjoy creating the story and finding out more about the characters. It’s just getting to that desk and doing the work that stops you.

And on that note, I haven’t written anything in my writing cave for at least two weeks, I haven’t even been done there. The isolation helps with focus and intention. I need to get back to spending tine there everyday. I have been enjoying writing these blogs sitting net to my wife in bed as she reads or watches TV.

Being in the cave can feel isolating some nights when all I want to do is be in the same room as my wife.

But a few hours in the cave should be something I can commit too. Even an hour would suffice. I need to write more fiction in a week than blog posts. I’ve been using the blog as a crutch, a way to avoid writing stories. And there have been some upsides to writing these blogs which I have mentioned previously, but the time has come to write stories and get the blog post back down to under five hundred words. Who really wants to read all this mumbo jumbo anyways!

Okay off to put on some company clothes. Back after I have written some fiction.

Laura and Paul brought over some of their cherry-lime donuts. We shared them over tea and coffee and had a bit of a chat.

The donuts were a modification of her cherry-lime recipe we tried last week. This recipe used cherry chunks in the batter and lime juice in the icing. The previous version lacked the cherry piece and used a lemon-lime juice for the icing. Subtle changes but it made for an even tastier snack.

The sun was shinning through the windows and added a warmth to the visit. We are all a little sun deprived after a long winter.

I’ve set up my laptop with a larger external screen in the cave. My stepdaughter left behind her thirty-inch gaming monitor when she went back to Halifax. I wasn’t sure if my small older laptop could handle the size of this newer screen.

But sure enough, it auto recognized it and when I close the laptop’s lid the screen takes on the attributes of its native settings. With the screen open it uses the laptops settings. This is great, because the laptop is small and even using a web browser can feel a little cramped.

I can sit back in my chair with a lap desk and my Nuphy Air 75 keyboard and type. The big screen makes it easy to see the type at this distance, and it is a very comfortable position to be in. I’ve got my feet up on a footrest and my wireless mouse within reach.

I am all setup to start working on my story/assignment.

I’ll come back after that and see what else I have to say assuming I have the energy.