Can I Expense That?

Although I have been thinking recently that I should write a blog post sometime soon, I have to admit that the real motivation behind this post is to try out my new wireless keyboard. Ever since I had my internship last summer with a dual screen set-up, I haven't wanted to go back. Having two screens made my life a lot easier, if nothing else. Especially when working on design projects, the added screen space was a big benefit.
So, I've slowly been working my way towards a dual screen set up. I got a monitor for my birthday last year, as well as a laptop stand. The laptop stand brings the laptop screen up to a higher level. But with that, it also brings the rest of the laptop with it. This makes using the trackpad and keyboard a tad awkward. So now I needed a mouse and keyboard as well. Wireless was the preference. I stole recruited a mouse from home and then all I needed for my set up to be complete was a keyboard. I didn't get one for Christmas, so I've been keeping an eye out since then. However, during school it wasn't high priority because I didn't really have the room to have an elaborate dual screen set up, and thus didn't need the keyboard.
But ever since I've started my job and have been working from home, it's becoming increasingly important to me that I have a decent desk set up (I'm already wearing a wrist brace while I work to control the pain I get from being on the computer all day).
The real kicker about needing the keyboard for working at home meant that there was a pretty good chance I could get work to pay for it. I explained to my manager why I thought I needed a keyboard to work at home and he understood. I told him I wanted the $160 wireless full size Apple keyboard. He said try again. So I went with a Logitech keyboard with solar panel charging, designed for use with Macs, at half the price. (He doesn't know all that fancy stuff though, he just knows I got a keyboard under his $100 price limit). And so far, it's working great. The only downside is that it's not bluetooth; it needs to use a USB port. I might have to look into getting a USB port hub, since now all two of my USB ports are being used for my keyboard and mouse. I wonder if I could get work to pay for that too...
I also got work to pay for the wrist brace :)

As for other updates, I'm all settled into my new apartment. It's a really nice apartment. The floors are a pale laminate, which looks great but shows every piece of dirt. Sweeping has already become a regular occurrence. The kitchen isn't huge, but has a lot of cupboard space. I'm still waiting for my couch to arrive...the friend I asked to deliver it is apparently much busier than I anticipated. Hopefully I have it by the end of the month; I'm tired of sitting on folding chairs.
The building has some really nice amenities, which I will need to make an effort of using more often. (Using more often...I've only been here two weeks!) There's been some issues with the elevators the past couple days where only 1 out of 4 will respond to calls. In a building 42 stories tall, this can cause some serious delays. I overheard a man saying that he waited 25mins for the elevator! Being on the 4th floor, it's not too hard to take the stairs. But the stairs only end outside; there's no way to get to the stair well on the main floor inside the building. This means I usually take the stairs when I leave, but not when I arrive. (I haven't tried it yet, but I don't know if my key would even open the door to the stairs from the outside).
I started hand embroidering. It's been slow going, as it also tends to hurt my wrist, and I want to learn some proper stitches instead of just going at it head on. I started a flower last night, and you can tell which petal I started on and which one I did last because they get better as you go around. I'm still keeping up with practicing lettering, although no longer daily. And I bake. And fold origami. That's pretty much what occupies my evenings!