Diary of an (ex)London mum

I travel a little for my job; occasionally I visit collaborators or go away to conferences.  Before Baby that has not been a problem at all; now there has to be some coordination with Hubby to ensure that he is not also needed away at work or have to work stupid hours for a project at the same time.  There is always back up of parents and babysitters that could help but we prefer to be self-sufficient.  It is also better if Baby didn't have to cope with two absent parents at the same time.  So far we have managed to match time-tables.  Its obviously more work for the person staying with Baby with the other away, but it is not easy for the parent that is away either- there is another person to miss and there is the guilt of leaving more work for the other half. I am trying a slightly different strategy for this work trip.   I am away at a conference in Vienna at the moment and this time the whole family is here.  We are in a serviced apartment ...

I am writing this on my Kindle on the bus for the tube station where I will catch my train to work. This is my favourite computing device at the moment as it allows me to run my life in a way that no other device can. ...  And I am now writing on the tube; one of the freedoms offered by a mobile device such as a tablet computer- flexible work flow. As a scientist, my work is fairly intensive on the reading front- I need to keep up with the latest development in my field, and read historical manuscripts, to inform my thoughts and for theorizing. I am glad the days of lugging reams and reams of printed paper in my bag to read on the move are over. I can now also jot down my thoughts as they occur and not worry about losing bits of paper on which I have noted down an idea- very important if you are as scatterbrained me. The fact that I can write and connect to the internet while I am travelling makes public transport a mobile office. This is an efficient use of time for anyone ...