(c)Kelli Jae Baeli, 2 Dollar Shots

than an hour is crippling to my back and neck. My particular needs seem to be somehow unique. I’ve tried all those “ergonomic” chairs that look like furniture on the Starship Enterprise, with their molded seat and back, little “high-tech mesh” screen in them, for “distribution of weight” and “breathability”… it’s like sitting on a rock. I have no interest in how well my weight is distributed, or how well my butt can breathe, if I can’t sit in the chair long enough to enjoy those dubious benefits.

Since I essentially run a small publishing company with only one employee (myself), Ergonomics has become an involuntary hobby with me. I have a certain way I have to set things up, in order to get everything done and to spend the hours I usually do at my computer. The same is true for my bed. There are only two things I can sleep comfortably on–an air bed, or high-density sofa cushion foam, that I have cut to fit the bed.

Since my surgery some 11 weeks ago, I have primarily written from that foamy bed, using the huge flatscreen TV as my monitor. I don’t want to continue writing from bed, but it keeps me from having back and neck pain. It’s just hella awkward to get my keyboard where it needs to be (I’ve used two different lap desks) without causing strain to shoulder joints. At some point, I have to be able to work in an upright position again.

Favorite chair of all time

After purchasing three different chairs over the last half year, I got the (formerly believed bright-) idea to focus on the seat cushion, rather than the chair. That way, no matter what chair I use, I have a cushion that makes it all better. Right? Well, not so much. I bought about 5 of those. Tried miracle bamboo, seat wedges, eggcrate, all manner of other solutions. Aside from the fact that they’re all sized to fit the butt of a 7-year-old, they just don’t work. Still, I can’t sit long enough to get my work done. I yearn for that chair I had in Colorado that I sold before going to New Zealand. It was perfect. I could sit in it for 15 hours a day with no pain. *sigh*. Can’t find that model anywhere. I’ve found several chairs at Staples that I think might be great, but then, once you buy a chair, you never know until a few weeks later if it will continue to be comfortable. Many of them stop feeling that way after a bit of time goes by, and then you’re stuck with the chair. (I currently have 4 desk chairs).

I ordered a specialized “Purple Cushion”  5 days ago, and the order is still being “processed”– no tracking, because it hasn’t been shipped or placed in any form to track it. No answer to my shipping date inquiries. I’ve written to them three times and *crickets*. They are “so overwhelmed” with orders, it might take longer to get my order to me, they said, after I had already paid. Yet, if they are doing so well, why can’t they afford to hire someone in shipping?