…dammit, I wish that title weren’t so apt. Anyway.
I’m leaving for Loncon in ten days, and I am trying to decide whether or not to bring my laptop, and if I bring it whether to keep it in my (non-con-located) hotel room or take it with me to the con.
(Important note, for deciding: I can keep the con schedule on my phone.)
If I leave it at home:
- pro: it will not get lost.
- con: my laptop. Life without my laptop for eight days. In airports. (I will note that I have not had an international plane trip not take an extra half-day at least in years.)
If I take it to London and leave it in the hotel:
- pro: I will have all my writing, my Skype, my bookmarks, my GDrive connection, my everything
- pro: I can write while in transit. I find I actually really like doing this, and while it is technically possible to do on my phone, the smaller screen makes it much more of a PITA.
- pro: I will not have to carry it around a con (I have a Lenovo Thinkpad; sturdy as all hell, but kind of bulky)
- ???: I would need to get a laptop bag. My current laptop bag is actually a backpack. No-one who is at risk of standing behind me or in my blind spot wants me maneuvering in a crowded area with a moderately heavy backpack, even with padded corners.
- con: I would need to leave it in the hotel, which would probably be perfectly fine but which would, for at least the first two days, distract me.
If I take it to London and to Loncon:
- pro: will have all my writing, my Skype, my bookmarks, my GDrive connection, my everything.
- pro: I can write while in transit.
- pro: can sit in A Spot at the con and get stuff down. (At Anticipation–the Montreal 2009 WorldCon–I ended up posting eight times from the con itself. Admittedly at that point I was in the con hotel, which makes a slight difference… OTOH, judging by FarthingCon, I really do like having my laptop with me. The “back off, breathe, find a place to sit for late-night coffee or dessert, and type” is a nice way of processing events.)
- con: carrying around a heavy thing, which means that if I pick up anything else (get thee behind me, dealer’s room) or am carrying anything else (such as books to get signed), the total weight will be that much greater.
- con: will need to lug it along if/when I decide that I should go somewhere/do something else.
Ugh. I don’t know. But at least I have every pro and con I can think of down, so I may revisit this in a bit. Thoughts?