The Desire for Portable Things When I’m A Total Homebody

My wife could vouch for the statement about myself that I am a homebody. For anyone who may not know, the Cambridge definition of a homebody is a person who likes spending time at home rather than going out with friends or traveling to different places. Simply put, I would rather spend my time at home most of the time. But there are times when I want to leave the comfort of my home. I like to go out; I go on dates with my wife, see family and friends, or go on vacation far away from home. I leave my house occasionally but always want to return home to be at peace again.

So, sometimes, it is a problem that I like to have new gadgets in my life. That’s no secret for me. I love opening and trying out new things that could make my life easier or upgrade what I already have. However, the things I like to have for myself tend to be geared towards someone who would like to travel more or isn’t home much. All-in-all, portable items.

Holding a tablet, looking at images related to business. I don't know... this was a free-to-use image off of Pexels.com. — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The things I have or want, are for a portable life

When I look to buy computers, tablets, video game systems, or anything else, portability is always what I look for. I like the compact form factor; I can take it along to another room in the apartment or wherever we go. If I want to write, game, read, or watch something, having the option wherever I’m at is key.

This topic idea stems from something I saw on Amazon, and I thought, “I could see myself using this.” Like I need another keyboard to add as another way to write here, but it would be for my cell phone, so it’s something new and something to try. Will I get it? Probably not. I’m not too eager to get something like this yet. The portable keyboard felt more like a realization that I gravitate towards smaller, easy-to-carry devices. Even when I’m not the target audience, I like to think of myself as someone who is.

Eventually, we’d like to buy a camera

My wife and I would like to buy a digital camera for ourselves. If I’m not mistaken, with what my wife has in mind, we’d be looking for a DSLR camera. We plan on having kids sometime in the future, and we’d like to get a camera to capture that moment when we go somewhere or just around the house. Yes, cell phones have cameras, and we’re sure to use them, but we would want to go the more dedicated device route with photos—a personal preference if you ask me.

But with a device like that, you’d think, “Gee, you’d probably want to go out all the time so that you can use it and take some photos?” To that statement — you’re right; I would love to go outside and do that. It’s another thing to add to the never-ending list that all of these devices I want don’t seem fitting for someone who enjoys the comfort of his home. Would buying a camera give me the feeling of removing myself from my home more often? Maybe. We need to buy the camera first to find out.

The one tiny problem about traveling…

I do not like to fly — at all.

Nope.

Looking outside the window of a plane to see it's wing and the land below, mixed with clouds.

If I travel by car or train, I’ll have no problem. But flying? I would very much stay grounded if I could.

When I was younger, I had no problem flying. It’s more in recent years that I started to gain this anxiety with being up in the air, while the plane will shake whenever turbulence goes through, and I here think, “This is it.” While my wife passes out the moment the plane starts moving, I’m sitting next to her, death gripping the armrest, hoping to have landed already.

It limits my travels to the places around me or in my country. Anywhere else that goes across the body of water that isn’t a ship — well, it looks like I’m staying where I’m at.

This shouldn’t be a factor since I can visit so many other places that a plane is optional. But there are some places that I want to visit, and I want to bring my portable gadgets along because this is why I’m writing about this post—I’d like to utilize the portability more with what I have! And if I were to ever get over flying and travel to Japan or Australia, you know I’d be taking my stuff with me to document and share!

My idea of work

A laptop, sitting on the corner of an outdoor deck, with a mug on top of a journal. A blanket is draping over the railing of the deck on the left side of the laptop. — Photo by Tatiana Syrikova on Pexels.com

I work a 9-to-5 job that involves four days at home and one day in the office. That day in the office sometimes involves the most traveling I do in a week, but I don’t see myself doing that. If anything, I’d like to eventually want a career that involves more traveling and a more portable office lifestyle. My work is a wherever I go kind of deal.

Being able to work from home now is a blessing. What I do does not require an office environment, nor do I need to be present in one. Everything I can gather from my laptop, company network, and team chats is as effective as being in person. The pandemic has shown that we can work remotely for most jobs.

This is all my opinion on the matter; I know some who, given the choice, would prefer to be in the office. I would rather stay far away from it and be able to work anywhere. And there are some jobs you can’t do over a computer, but some can, so why not allow me to take my belongings and work wherever? I’ll get the job done.

Anyway…

I think you all get the point; my go-to devices are all portable, and I would like to use them more when I am working remotely, like going to a library or a cafe.

My wife and I will eventually buy ourselves a camera to photograph more of our lives. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll get over my fear of flying and travel some more.