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sunnyskywalkerI am hoping for good things for the world this new year, despite the many reasons for pessimism. All we can do is keep trying and hoping.
Desk job-induced muscle strain has been giving me arm trouble for some months, which has made leaving work to log onto my own computer for more mousing and keyboarding unappealing and occasionally too painful to contemplate. However, I got an ergonomic keyboard at work like the one I already have at home to go with my ergonomic mouse, which is helping a bit, and I recently figured out that I might also be sleeping on my arm funny in addition to everything else. Not sure how to stop doing that but I will try!
The keyboard is the Kinesis Freestyle 2 with palm rests and tenting and the mouse is the Anker vertical mouse, in case anyone is interested. In addition to letting your wrists sit at a more natural/less twisted angle, the keyboard's split lets you keep your arms at a position where you don't have to turn your shoulders inward to reach the keys either. This particular vertical mouse is exactly like a regular mouse, only on its side so you don't have to torque your arm to use it. I thought there would be a learning curve with both and was presently surprised to discover that it was almost nothing--I could use pretty much all the same movements I've learned over the past decades, only with less strain. I'd recommend looking into these if anyone else has similar strain! The mouse in particular is a very cheap investment, too.
I was able to visit some much-loved family members for Christmas, which was wonderful. I made it home safely before coming down with Influenza A. The flu is less wonderful, but at least it has been a relatively mild case (hooray for flu shots). And I have been more or less able to manage for myself with the benefit of grocery delivery and relatives dropping off homemade muffins on the porch; when I had Covid, I could hardly get out of bed for a month, so this is vastly less terrible. Still, do try to avoid getting the flu! "Mild" still includes headache, vomiting, crushing fatigue, and a fever of nearly 102 degrees, among other symptoms. You do not want this. Also, there was a local Tamiflu shortage and I very nearly could not fill the prescription. I definitely wouldn't have been able to get it if I hadn't had a relative able to drive to a pharmacy an hour away on my behalf in the hopes they would still have some when she got there. I don't know if this was a local blip or if it's a more widespread problem, but if you too would be prescribed Tamiflu, keep it in mind.
Anyway, I have spent the last week on the couch rewatching favorite movies. There could be worse things. Query: in the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice, are we to understand from that one little flashback scene during the letter that Darcy and Wickham were college roommates? Because that sounds hilarious. Well, not for Darcy, who looks like he's about to say, "Wickham, we talked about this. Tie a cravat on the doorknob when you have company." Also hilarious: the way Darcy spends an increasing amount of time fiddling with his pinky ring as he is more and more tempted by matrimony. His feelings will not be repressed! I also appreciate the way his reaction to being caught wandering around wet and half-dressed like he's preparing for a Hanes His Regency Way photo shoot is panic, like a normal person. "Do I have pond weed in my hair? I bet I have pond weed in my hair oh my god she must think I look like a complete idiot. A weedy, muddy idiot. Okay, play it cool. Ask something normal and socially appropriate. Like...um... 'And are your parents in good health?'" I wonder how he managed to change that fast, cravat and all, to be able to return and greet them properly. You also have to wonder where that convenient servant came from to lead his horse away given that he didn't tell anyone he would be arriving that day. Is the staff accustomed to him showing up a day early and taking a swim or what? Questions for the ages.
Here's hoping for a good 2025.
Desk job-induced muscle strain has been giving me arm trouble for some months, which has made leaving work to log onto my own computer for more mousing and keyboarding unappealing and occasionally too painful to contemplate. However, I got an ergonomic keyboard at work like the one I already have at home to go with my ergonomic mouse, which is helping a bit, and I recently figured out that I might also be sleeping on my arm funny in addition to everything else. Not sure how to stop doing that but I will try!
The keyboard is the Kinesis Freestyle 2 with palm rests and tenting and the mouse is the Anker vertical mouse, in case anyone is interested. In addition to letting your wrists sit at a more natural/less twisted angle, the keyboard's split lets you keep your arms at a position where you don't have to turn your shoulders inward to reach the keys either. This particular vertical mouse is exactly like a regular mouse, only on its side so you don't have to torque your arm to use it. I thought there would be a learning curve with both and was presently surprised to discover that it was almost nothing--I could use pretty much all the same movements I've learned over the past decades, only with less strain. I'd recommend looking into these if anyone else has similar strain! The mouse in particular is a very cheap investment, too.
I was able to visit some much-loved family members for Christmas, which was wonderful. I made it home safely before coming down with Influenza A. The flu is less wonderful, but at least it has been a relatively mild case (hooray for flu shots). And I have been more or less able to manage for myself with the benefit of grocery delivery and relatives dropping off homemade muffins on the porch; when I had Covid, I could hardly get out of bed for a month, so this is vastly less terrible. Still, do try to avoid getting the flu! "Mild" still includes headache, vomiting, crushing fatigue, and a fever of nearly 102 degrees, among other symptoms. You do not want this. Also, there was a local Tamiflu shortage and I very nearly could not fill the prescription. I definitely wouldn't have been able to get it if I hadn't had a relative able to drive to a pharmacy an hour away on my behalf in the hopes they would still have some when she got there. I don't know if this was a local blip or if it's a more widespread problem, but if you too would be prescribed Tamiflu, keep it in mind.
Anyway, I have spent the last week on the couch rewatching favorite movies. There could be worse things. Query: in the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice, are we to understand from that one little flashback scene during the letter that Darcy and Wickham were college roommates? Because that sounds hilarious. Well, not for Darcy, who looks like he's about to say, "Wickham, we talked about this. Tie a cravat on the doorknob when you have company." Also hilarious: the way Darcy spends an increasing amount of time fiddling with his pinky ring as he is more and more tempted by matrimony. His feelings will not be repressed! I also appreciate the way his reaction to being caught wandering around wet and half-dressed like he's preparing for a Hanes His Regency Way photo shoot is panic, like a normal person. "Do I have pond weed in my hair? I bet I have pond weed in my hair oh my god she must think I look like a complete idiot. A weedy, muddy idiot. Okay, play it cool. Ask something normal and socially appropriate. Like...um... 'And are your parents in good health?'" I wonder how he managed to change that fast, cravat and all, to be able to return and greet them properly. You also have to wonder where that convenient servant came from to lead his horse away given that he didn't tell anyone he would be arriving that day. Is the staff accustomed to him showing up a day early and taking a swim or what? Questions for the ages.
Here's hoping for a good 2025.
