Lunch with an 86-year-old birthday girl, Rita, who can barely walk due to leg inflammation and support strapping makes one truly appreciate one's own mobility and relative youth. This sabbatical is more than anything a screen break; it's about getting physically healthier after years of being a human guinea-pig for the incoming computer generation.
My story is that I got RSI in my neck and right arm in the early 90s, following 12-hour days as part of the launch team on a new weekly TV mag in the deregulated TV listings market. I was off work for a year at the age of 23, and so were half the listings department. Another year part-time and then, after discovering Alexander Technique, I was able to return to full-time work again. The injury is something I've had to manage ever since. Overwork, bad posture, long hours, few breaks, clicky-work (data/content migrations) are all triggers. Last year after six months of a sore neck, the physio said there was nothing more they could do but to look at lifestyle change.
And so here I am. It's going to be interesting to see how much of the stiffness, aches and pains I can reverse. And maybe I won't have to wear glasses all day either. We'll see (what I did there).