FreeBSD, Workstation and … Home - Part 2 🏡 🌸
(continued from Part 1)
In March 2023, I started traveling again, but this time between my houses in Milan and London. It dawned on me that I no longer needed to drag my laptop from one place to the other. I could simply have two computers and use sync services to keep everything in sync (I eventually moved to Nextcloud). So, I took the leap. I began experimenting with Linux again, buying a used Dell Latitude and borrowing a Dell XPS from work for my London base, both running Linux Mint. And it felt great. No more hauling computers back and forth. No more suitcases or clothes juggling between locations. No more hotels, except for the rare occasion. Finally, I had real places where I could keep my stuff. It was mind-blowing.
By June 2024, I was ready for the next step. I wanted to experience the “workstation world” through Eva’s eyes. Yes, it took me a year, and I admit, I’m a bit slow at times. Even though I was envious of Eva’s setup and dreamed of a System76 with 128GB of RAM and massive storage, I decided to start with something more modest: a Minisforum UM780, equipped with 64GB of RAM and two NVMEs. I wanted a system where I could comfortably dual-boot Linux Mint and FreeBSD, a direction Eva had planted in my mind. Meanwhile, I’d already begun transitioning my servers to FreeBSD, and I was curious how it would feel to use it on a workstation.
The UM780 fit perfectly under my Dell monitor. Since I had already migrated to Linux Mint, moving to the MiniPC was seamless. Over time, I began decommissioning my MacBook, placing it on a bookshelf and reserving it for specific tasks. At first, I didn’t fully grasp it, but the more I used the UM780, the less I relied on my laptops. It’s hard to put the feeling into words, but I slowly started to understand what others had been experiencing. With a proper workstation, you can run more processes, have more virtualised systems and store much more data than a laptop’s limited hardware can support. And you don’t always have to live in fear of losing or damaging your only device, as I had during my nomadic lifestyle. I was beginning to realize that a different lifestyle, one I hadn’t considered, was not only possible but desirable.
Then, I tried FreeBSD on the other NVME drive. I decided to keep it minimal, using XFCE with a custom rose theme, and switched to TUI alternatives for the GUI apps I’d been using, like iamb for Matrix and profanity for XMPP. And that’s when it hit me: suddenly, it all felt cozy. I once described it online as “the FreeBSD workstation feeling as cozy as being curled up on the sofa, watching TV with your favorite warm blanket”. It’s hard to put into words, but it truly felt like home. It was like seeing the world from a perspective I hadn’t considered. I realized that a desktop workstation could be more than just a machine; it could represent a different lifestyle. And with that realization came another one: that a place I could truly call home was, in fact, possible.
You know I’m slow, so I’m still dual-booting between Linux Mint and FreeBSD: the former for work, the latter for personal activities. I still need to fine-tune my FreeBSD partition to fully match my needs. But this experience has completely shifted my perspective, and now, the desire for a better workstation, and to finally pinpoint where home is, has only grown stronger.
While I’m pretty sure what I want for my next workstation, and I’ll tell you now, it’ll take some time, I’m still uncertain about where home is. It’s strange, really. My house in Milan is where my grandparents lived, where I partially grew up, and where I stay when I’m in Milan. Yet, I still struggle to call it home. Even London, a city I work in and one that feels a bit more like home, doesn’t quite feel that way either. I don’t own a place there, and that makes it even harder to fully settle in and call it home.
In the meantime, home exists in my mind. When I close my eyes and let my thoughts wander, I dream of a two-story white house. It’s a Sunday morning, and I’m preparing breakfast, the warm scent of croissants and cinnamon buns filling the air, while I sip coffee. In the background, the hum of computer fans from the basement blends with the quiet calm. It’s a place filled with love, and in that space, even if it’s just a product of my imagination, I finally feel like I’ve found home. 🏡 💜
In the photo: Tara’s buddy Angie in front of the Minisforum UM780 (left of the monitor) while reading some FreeBSD documentation.
