I've had a WACOM for about seven months. My only suggestion would be to get as big as you are comfortable putting on your desk (or lap for that matter). I typically only pull it out when I'm drawing, and I typically re-arrange the desk slightly (by pushing the keyboard further away so that typing on it almost becomes irritating) in order to have the tablet right in front of me.

One comment: It takes some getting used to (hand-eye issues), but once that is resolved, you will never go back.