The Set-up

2023-10-30

Starting Anew

Sometimes you get stuck. I felt this way about my workspace. Nothing wrong functionally. It became uninspiring.

The Desk

I decided to ditch the giant standing desk.

My monitor now sits on a metal console. It is flanked by a MacBook Pro 14" and Beolit speaker. More flexible than a built-in speaker for trips away. A fold-out desk means being able to put away work in theory.

Mechanical keyboard top down.

The Keyboard

I've traded up to a full custom mechanical keyboard. My friends converted me to the ~~cult~~ joy of tiny keyboards. The Prime_E has been my everyday board for a year+.

Mintlodica↗ is my mechanical keyboards brand. I'm the designer of Witch Girl↗ and stock Linear Switches↗ matching the exact specs I type on daily.

The Peripherals

I still use a Apple Magic Trackpad with my left hand.

Another Evoluent VM4R Veritcal Mouse bit the dust and now I use a Logitech Lift. Bonus that it matches.

Pink vertical mouse with mechanical keyboard out of focus in the background.

The Chair

Replaced my Herman Miller Mirra 2 for a HAG Capsico. It's an improvement for my smaller frame.

That said, I don't know if I can recommend the Capsico. I found setting-up it up a hassle. It cost extra to change the riser. The upholstery is also a challenge to clean.

Supporting Tech

Calling

SHOKZ saved my life. Consider a pair of bone conduction headphones if you suffer from severe allergies.

I did keep around the AirPods Pro, as Bluetooth never works 100% of the time.

Photos

Still using an iPhone 13 Mini. Don't feel compelled to upgrade until I have to. It's a pain get new accessories.

All the photos you see are from this phone. (Ironic, this section is not called calling.)

Running

I traded my Apple Watch for a Garmin Vivoactive 4S. I got tired of wanting to go out to run and finding a dead watch.

Smart watch with blush pink band and a dog on its watchface.

When I overdo it, my choice is Rester's Choice cold pack.

Printing

The wireless HP Tango X has been a lasting buy. Great for black + white printing. The color printing is meh.

Might you ship packages often, a label printer is useful.

Software

I don't use anything out of the ordinary.

Simplenote
VS Code
iTerm2
Brave / Chrome
Adobe Photoshop + Illustrator
Figma

Essential extentions

Blank New Tab: I want peace.
Stylebot: display: none; all the annoying banners.
IDC about cookies: Negate the internet's CA Prop 65.

Coffee + Tea

My current favorite coffee beans are from Joshua Tree Coffee Company. You might enjoy that their brand pink matches this Fellow Stagg electric kettle.

The Hario V60 coffee server is a better teapot than most teapots. Any loose leaf oolong from Taiwan is my favorite.

Previous set-ups archived via interviews with Uses This (2015↗) and ZSA: The People (2018↗)

Not in use

A changelog of sorts.

Mini ITX PC

The most expensive paperweight I've built to date.

My boyfriend installed Red Hat and played 'the math game' on it briefly. Otherwise, unsure why I still have this. (Let me know if you'd like to buy it. hi at this domain. :)

Cameras not on my phone

Phones are so crazy powerful now. Recent cameras I've rehomed: Ricoh GR III and Panasonic Lumix.

A Deskmat at all

I'm too gross to use a deskmat. Tea split, quite literally. Of course, I fully support you enjoying a deskmat.

In the end

A friend said that ecomm founders go 1 of 2 ways:

Their home becomes a shoppy shop.
They aspire to own 10 things one day.

What I can confidently say now: Having stuff did not + does not make me happy.

Shiba Inu dog sleeping on a giant bean bag.

In the end, I do aspire to live in a MUJI house, though no longer literally. Instead, I'd love to have a part in building it. A just-the-right-size place I call home. Bead cushion optional.

The marketers would tell me this post is way too long and doesn't have enough pictures. But MOPs↗ are not the audience. Hope you geeks out there found something useful in these ~650 words. ;)