Thanks Ian

Actually I am trying to run AWAY from people. To be ALONE.
A cafe is OK IMO because everyone is minding their own business, looking at their smart phones or sipping coffee silently, or a couple talking to each other. After ordering coffee and muffin, no one comes and asks me anything. That's the beauty of it.

The other day, I was in the office trying to have a break and use it to call my son and talk about his low grades at school. A guy stood there waiting for me to finish and help him on something. That bothered me alot because he was just standing there and I couldn't talk freely to my son.

This is why I want to have some time ALONE, away from office and home.

A library is a great idea but will be "dry" without tea or coffee
Also, again, once i go to the toilet (I am 60 yo), I will have to secure the EDC bag and laptop.

I wish there was something between a cafe and motel room.

My job has no set hours or workplace. If I skive off for an afternoon to go to a coffee shop, the range, the beach, or for a hike, nobody I work with gives a hoot as long as everything that needs to get done gets done.

As for your coffee shop scenario, I don't leave my laptop unsupervised for a second. If I don't know someone well I won't leave my laptop with them and then it does have to come with me into the restroom. To avoid funny looks and to protect the rest of the gear in my laptop bag, I bring my laptop in my bag.

Local twitter accounts are humming with pictures and tweets about a little girl (Sara) who has cancer. No single hair on her head but the big smile on her face makes up for it.

She broke my heart

It was only a few days before a courageous lady (Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi) tweeted about the removal of her second breast due to cancer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samia_al-Amoudi

No matter what your problem in life is, there is always someone with bigger problem. And it is these people who teach us courage.

Thanks Chaosmagnet

My laptop is 15.6 inches. It will not fit in the EDC bag. A smaller laptop is a great solution but my 60 year old eyes will have trouble reading it.

Maybe it's time for another bag to contain the laptop plus misc. stuff. Then a cafe will be just great.

This is my laptop. There are many like it but this one is mine. Without me, my laptop is useless ('cause like, dude, I have serious encryption on it). Without my laptop, I am...well, I can get a lot of work done with my iPad, but for serious work I really need it.

Try a bookstore. Where i work, people sit there for hours and no one disturbes them at all. Find a quiet corner with an outlet, get a coffee, and enjoy. Problem solved...plus the wifi is free.

In my corner of the world, bookstores are just that ( shops selling books and stationary). There is only one such store that allows people to sit and read, but that's it. A few chairs here and there.

OTOH, some of our cafe's do have small libraries of fiction and non-fiction. And the best pert is that they are not crowded on workdays.

Seems that a cafe is my best bet once I find a bag of my taste that can hold the laptop as well as the rest. A backpack is great for such purpose, but it is mostly considered a "school bag" in my community. So far, I haven't seen a guy in my age carrying one.

Rearrange the straps so that you have a "briefcase" - a more age appropriate image. There are bags out there - Eagle Creek is one brand - that actually allow you to do that.

Also with smaller laptop/phone/tablet screens one could use a cheap reading glasses with great results.

Today's post has to do with "realistic" preparedness. To be prepared for REAL life inconveniences and things that do happen more frequently or more probable to happen than an earthquake or volcano ( in my area at least !)

A few weeks ago, I drove to my hometown to spend a couple of days with my mother and brothers. But things happened suddenly and I had to stay there for a few more days. I was not prepared.

Yes, I was living in a house, actually in my own room with a separate bath. Yes, food was available, and every life need is provided. But I was not prepared for NOT being back home, in my own house.

Several things needed me to be back. My daughter depended on me to take her to school daily, my stock portfolio was in a case of a roller-coaster and I needed to be there to act. I didn't have my laptop, and didn't have my password which is written in a small notebook inside my "portable-office bag".

Not only that , but if my stay gets any longer, I would not have enough "nice" clothes to meet and visit people in those circumstances (someone diagnosed with cancer, lots of visitors ..etc.).

I have stored some used "casusal" clothes in that room, but nothing for real occasions. Have stored some tools and even copies of contact numbers , but not banking and investment info.
The GHB and car trunk bag had firestarting stuff alright, but not what was necessary to attend to the portoflio mess while I was there.

Back to the drawing board. Learning from the experience and planning to become a bit more prepared next time.