It's much trickier than using the cartridge razor I had and takes, oh, five times longer. However, I cannot say I've ever looked forward to shaving prior to buying a straight razor. I hope the novelty never wears off!

Sometimes in the side burn area, my hand or wrist obscures my vision. I like the advice of turning my face a little more toward the mirror! I'll definitely give that a shot next time, that might help. When I was "shaving blind" I'd just double check i had clearance around my ear and just shave blind by the feel of the razor, didn't let it stop moving and it worked out.