Say it ain't so

 My first memory of headaches was 10 years old. I slept in my Mom's room and at around 4:30 or 5:00 she would wake up and sit on the side of her bed. I was across the room. And I would hear it.  The first thing she did every morning.  Strike a match and light a cigarette. A few seconds later the smoke smell would hit me.  I hated it.  I had a headache almost every day.

When I was 12 my headaches changed.  Migraines.  My Dad had migraines, brother 1942, sister 1944 and sister 1949 all had them.  We called them sick headaches back then.  When I began to get headaches nobody seemed to realize they were migraines.  Even though we had a family history of them. Perhaps it was because I was so much younger, I don't know.

But almost ALL my headaches stopped after my total hysterectomy.  It was bizarre.  All the folks saying it was what I ate.  Well, I kept eating the same things I had always eaten and there were NO MORE headaches. Not only migraines but those regular stress headaches ceased also.

Le sigh.  That was late 2017.  I had a doozy today.  Is that the word and is it spelled correctly?  Yep. I looked it up.  For about five years 2018 - 2023 my life was much improved without those headaches.  I had a lot of issues at work in 2024 and I retired that year. I noticed a few more headaches than I'd been having. 

It may be allergies.  I have never had an issue with allergies but they can creep up on a person anytime.  My daughter  pointed it out to me a couple of years ago with a nagging cough that was just driving me crazy.  I began to take a pill but it must have been seasonal because it all stopped.

I noticed myself sniffling today.  For the past three days I have been sneezing a lot.  And then the headache.  It may have been the heat played a part, also.  Since the temperature has come down a bit, I thought I could get away with  not running the A/C.  Not because I want to save money or be "green" but because I freeze the kids out in the basement.  I was also spending more time in the basement with my daughter since she broke her ankle.  I came upstairs today late afternoon and it said 87 degrees.  I was sick to my stomach and my head was pounding.  I can't say it was heat related since I'd spent a few hours in the cool basement but maybe it was a delayed reaction from earlier in the day.  I turned the A/C on and then just now turned it back off (dropping into the high 60's overnight).

I am postponing going to bed because laying down makes the headache worse.  I will have to lay on my left side because that is the side with the pain.  I'll probably have one hand tucked under my head to create some sort of pressure on the throbbing.  I've taken my usual ibuprofen and I even took an allergy pill.  I did not take a migraine pill (Imitrex).  It is too late for that anyway.  They usually only work when you take the pill at the very first sign of the migraine attack.  And for an hour or two it is pure hell.  The pill makes everything hurt and sometimes it can squeeze the chest area.  It no longer does that for me but I do feel pretty bad.  After the initial two hours and if the medicine works - voila!  I am headache free!  I can't jump up and down on a pogo stick, but I can function.  I don't dance, run or bend over.  Just calmly carry on.  No sudden movements, especially the head.  

From 12 years old to 35 I had nothing but OTC headache pills.  My sister did have me try a Midrin (an older drug my older siblings took) but I didn't really like the way it made me feel.  It took the edge off but it was just weird. Then at 35 when my daughter was four years old I reached out to a doctor after seeing a commercial that spoke of new medicine for migraines.  I went through a few and the one that I seemed to do well with the most was Imitrex (sumatriptan).  Well, Maxalt (rizatriptan) was the best but I had a tiny little reaction one day to it and that stopped that.  My doctor prescribed me another one, but I still had prescriptions left of Maxalt and I am sorry to say that I continued to use that until the prescription ran out.  I never told my doctor.  

The reason I reached out when my daughter was young was because it made me angry.  When I had a migraine (which was often) I was no better than a drunk on the couch.  I couldn't move.  I couldn't stand lights, sound or smells.  I was throwing  up.  My head was pounding.  It was pretty much the same as a hangover but you did not have any fun the night before.  I hated that my daughter had to "play quietly" because Mommy was sick again.  Medicine had come a long way since 1972.

Vacation, party time!

Ha! I did not purchase this alcohol. I was asked what I wanted to drink. We were heading South about 200 miles to visit relatives smack dab in the middle of Wild Wonderful West Virginia. I said I would get it at the store when we arrived at the motel. My daughter's beau would not take no for an answer, so I suggested lime-a-rita.

As I predicted we ended up hauling all this liquor down to West Virginia and all the way back to Ohio. I didn't even open the case of lime-a-rita. The Jack, vodka and Bud were missing a few. And the jagermeister is down about 1/8th. Whoop! 

I had one margarita at the bar. Then ginger ale.

Sigh.

We had 14 show up. Usually it is 20 or more. The young ones who really like to drink were unable to show. That's what happens when you have kids! One niece was kind of excited though because she had not had a drink in....I don't know how long. She had just weaned her little girl and was going to celebrate. She drank two drinks that I saw and got silly. LOL!

We did get to visit with some wonderful people. Our relatives that we visit are just the best. There are others, but we just do not seem to meld with them as well. Not that they are not just as nice and funny. There is only so much time to visit.

Sunday I awoke with a crushing headache. Advil (or the generic form) did not touch it, another migraine tablet and I felt the nausea. I was miserable. My daughter and her beau stepped in and packed me up and into the car and drove me home. As I was resting in the back seat - my headache finally abating (after some weak coffee - caffeine!), I thought to myself "Hey, I could get used to this!"

Note: I am kind of Independent. I have to be the one driving, I have to pack all my own stuff and I have to do this myself and this....it was easy to let things go this time because I was so damn sick.

So, I missed out on the last visit or two. The others went and took pictures. We had a great time. I am going to talk to the doctor about changing my migraine medication. I have been on Imitrex (or the generic form) for about four years and the rebound headaches are killing me. Causing me to take a second tablet the next day to fix the rebound headache. I took another the third day and today I awoke with the same crushing headache.

But, I was home. I had my fan blowing cool air on me. I gulped down three generic Advil (no migraine pill today) and moved around and got my coffee in me.

In no time, the headache was gone and we will see what tomorrow brings when I return to work.

I always take an extra day off after vacation to recuperate. I know from experience that I am drained and can barely function, so I had today off also.

I think I will be ready to tackle getting up and going and having my head on straight by tomorrow  morning.  Whew! These darn headaches just slay me!

Color me miserable

I know I've used this photo before. I am in agony. Each cough brings SO.MUCH.PAIN. My sides ache so bad and my head hurts when I take a coughing fit. And it is one of those gut-wrenching, rib-clutching, horse coughs. I am surprised I have not ripped out my vocal chords.

When I feel a cough coming on I groan and I want to cry. Attempting to stifle the cough only makes it that much worse and twice as painful as the body reacts violently to the attempt.

My breathing whistles and rattles. My daughter wants me to go to the doctor, now. She went.  That is when the doctor sent her over thinking she may have pneumonia.  She went and they told her it was not pneumonia and that  they could do nothing for her. She had to ride it out.

I can still walk around and do things. Although I quickly run out of breath and have to sit down. I find myself not being able to catch my breath. I get restless sitting in my TV chair all day. It drives me nuts.

There will be no dinner today. I am far too sick to place myself in any body's house in this condition and I have not been grocery shopping in ages. We have been surviving on hot dogs, mac & cheese and take out pizza. The two "kids" I live with could care less about ham and potatoes and deviled eggs and any other Easter dinner treat you can think of.

Me? Oats and scrambled eggs. And Popsicles. And Gatorade. I don't like Gatorade. I went back to plain water.

I have sinus pain and pressure on top of the cough and my lower back hurts along with my back where the lungs reside. I don't want the "P" word and I don't mean pneumonia. A guy at work had pleurisy last week. I remember this ailment all too well. I have had it so many times I know the symptoms and I don't feel them yet.

Well, it is off to find the acetaminophen for what good it does. Do you purchase name-brand or generic over the counter medication? I seem to have a mental issue where I feel the generic does not work as well. It irks me because of the monetary issue involved with buying name brand products.

Cranky

I've got the coughing, head achy, sides sore from coughing blues. Restless. Headache not responding to acetaminophen which is what I take now. I have been ibuprofen-free for a couple of weeks. Acetaminophen has the same results as Pez candy.

My doctor thinks ibuprofen may be the reason for my heartburn. Not. I still have a lot of heartburn. I am on a daily medication of  PPI (proton pump inhibitor),  too. The pink stuff was my best friend last night.

Anyway - the cough. My sister had it and my daughter still has it. The doctor sent my daughter to the hospital for chest x-rays etc... she thought she might have pneumonia. She didn't (doesn't). No medication for viral infection.  Just acetaminophen or ibuprofen. They both ran a temperature. I didn't. I never do. I cannot recall ever having a temperature higher than 98 or 99. This could be what the acetaminophen is doing for me.

How convenient that this malady should strike exactly on the four days I have off from work for a long week-end. I don't have to take any sick days off. That is contingent on the fact that this illness is gone by Monday.

Let's see. What did I watch? A movie? I can't recall. My day was a blur yesterday. Oh - I watched a bunch of documentaries. So easy to sleep to. I wake up, glance at the TV - learn me something then drift back into a fitful sleep. It was "Return of the Plague - TB", "The Elegant Universe - String Theory",  and "Photographing Africa".  String Theory is especially a good show to put you to sleep. Trust me on this one.

A little warmth

Picking a photo with some heat in it today. Naturally, this photo is from this past summer. This is my grand nephew. (or, great nephew - depending on which you prefer to use).  As his daddy says "Keep him out of the sun, his skin is translucent."

I have the family Christmas dinner this evening. Only 26 are coming. About ten fewer than last year. I can't find my games. I think they are on my computer at work. I saw my work desk this week for five minutes maybe.

Wednesday and Thursday I spent with a tech from California. Ugh. Every minute together almost (for the work day). My head was ready to explode with a migraine by Thursday afternoon. It took me all of Friday (a vacation day) to recover. I call this having to stay "turned on" - as in my brain. Riding in the car together, having lunch together both days - with no other co-worker to help me keep up the conversation. I know a ton of stuff about his family and friends.

He is a tech trying to sell me on this new appliance for our network. I just don't like to spend that much time with a "stranger". Trying not to offend in my conversations, etc... It was a serious drain on my brain. Fortunately, I kissed the blarney stone at one point in my life (not literally, I have not been to Ireland). But all that chatter and thinking give me a fitful headache.

Edit:  YAY! I just remembered my "older" laptop is in the trunk of my car and I think my Christmas games are on it. :)

Deep frying the turkey

The "guys" busy at work frying the turkey. Every year the office I work out of has a Thanksgiving lunch where everybody brings a covered dish. We have a wonderful lady who brings a roaster full of turkey with delicious juices. We usually run out and it is too much for her so we decided to supplement with a second turkey. I think they were nervous that the meat be a true 165º that it was a bit dry, but hey - it was delicious! And we had plenty of gravy.

Of course wouldn't you know that the main guy doing the frying is a volunteer fireman. If you are related to -  or a friend of a fireman then you know they are the most dangerous! LOL! I finally talked him into having a fire extinguisher on hand. They are just so daring because 'They've seen it all!'

This year I brought the jiffy cornbread cream corn pudding. I had doubled the batch and it was so creamy when I mixed it I was worried about it being done in the middle. So I cooked it too long and it was dry. Some recipes called for sugar and some did not so I was nervous about the sugar so I added very little. Another mistake. Next time (and there WILL be a next time) I am adding more sugar and not baking it as long.

I battled my headache all day. We were all running around getting our covered dishes ready, many dishes were in and out of the oven all morning in our office kitchen. I had to run back home to get crackers since I had forgotten them. I also take hot pepper jelly with cream cheese for folks to nibble on during the morning as they try to wait until the food is ready and lunch time. With all the fantastic smells we are all just walking around drooling.

We did not have fun and games (I am usually the one who creates the trivia and a game or two) but I told them about my migraine and I just could not do any more. The big laugh though was the fact that I had put my top on inside-out. The office secretary came up to me in the food line and whispered that fact to me. I laughed and said "I wondered why it looked so light today. I just thought perhaps I had goofed and washed it with a load of whites and bleached it!"

It got a good laugh from everybody and I loved it! I finished getting my food, set my plate down and proceeded to the restroom to turn my top inside-right. I quipped "You are all lucky I even managed to put a top ON today, with the way I feel!"

After lunch, I had time to sit quietly and just work. My headache finally subsided enough. But, I had a hair appointment. The good thing about that is somebody is scrubbing my head (always makes my headache feel better) but I was getting the roots colored so the smell was going to be an issue. Waiting for the dye to finish setting I literally fell asleep twice in the chair.

I have no appointments or events this week-end so I can lay low and just chill out. Give my body time to rest and if I want to take a nap, I will.

Until I read sister 1944's e-mail. She is very depressed. Me (being me) told her to give me a day and time and I would be there to listen and to paint love all over her. Because that is what family does and that is what sisters are for. I truly believe that those raised with nothing and in poverty conditions have a much stronger and beautiful bond with their siblings. And I truly believe it is more precious than any amount of money and you better believe that I am humbly grateful that I was fortunate enough to be born into such a family. My cup runneth over this Thanksgiving.

Hey...what? Runneth is not a word, blogger?  Aw - shame on you!  Alright - dictionary.com says it is not a word, either. Too bad. I am using it and I am keeping it because I heard it a lot growing up!

Two dollars

Is this not the cutest thing? I have a co-worker who made this at the dinner we went to Wednesday evening. I had very new crisp dollar bills and she showed off her skill. She said her husband is very good at it and kids just surround him to watch him work if he is out in public and doing this.

I have been slammed the past few days. Day and night. Of course a migraine started to creep up on me yesterday. I overslept. Had no memory of turning off my alarm. I was scheduled to drive to a little tiny school 55 miles away in a cow pasture. Just to arrive and find out the tech did not know to try turning the equipment off and then back on. That was all that was needed. I blame myself for part of it because he is new and when I told him to check to see that the equipment had power, they usually turn it off and back on and I neglected to detail that fact.

I was literally falling asleep on the long drive back. I picked a spot halfway and parked the car. I literally crashed for an hour. In the car! Of course it was not a good sleep as I chose Roscoe Village and there were many slamming car doors and the sun had started to come out and I was using my coat as a pillow (must wash coat!) and it smelled.

So, that was my lunch hour. I fired the car back up and went on to the next scheduled stop. This is the juvenile center for wayward young adults. The building is brand spanking new and next to the county prison. The last visit I had there was not a pleasant one. I had many complications getting in and getting co-operation.

This time I must have done something right. I had called and arranged my visit before hand with the right person. I was not given any grief whatsoever - people were as nice as can be. I didn't fix the problem but it was a nice visit. Except for the fact that the wiring closet has no shelf,  no table, nothing to balance my laptop on. Did you know that a lap does not exist until one sits down? Hah!

I had to plop on the very cold cement floor in what I would guess to be a three feet by three foot room. It was freezing in there. I spent about an hour. I moved around a good bit and got up several times.I had to stand outside in the hall with the door propped open to get cell phone service to call the telco to help troubleshoot. If the door closed, I was not getting back in until I went to find an employee. Few and far between. If I stepped back inside the closet the network went dead and I would lose my very precious call to the telco. You can imagine what steps you have to go through to get back into the queue and actually get a human on the other end of the telephone.

Sometimes when you have to deal with conditions like this and then the people at the site are nasty and mean - you just want to chuck it all and go back to your warm office with the fake leather chair and relax. Sometimes it just sucks to spend so much time being this uncomfortable and you just throw in the towel for the day. The only problem with this action is that you know you have to come back out here at some point and try again.

And the stupid headache does not help. It is hard to think in this condition. The day finally ended and I moved on to the grocery store where I needed to get a few supplies to make a dish for the office luncheon we are having today.

I signed up to bring in the creamy corn pudding made with jiffy cornbread.  I don't know why I keep choosing recipes I have never tried before. Sigh.

The last nerve

After years of working, I know that I should know better. It happened again today. I let it all get to me. I got totally frazzled.

I am still trying to unwind. I tried wine. Nothing. Just gave me a flippin' headache.

The house I grew up in since I was six years old to about 26 years old is getting leveled tomorrow. Family is gathering at a neighbor's house. I plan to video tape it.

I am not in a good place.

My chunky dog

Chong (a.k.a. Chunky) gives me a grin as I snap his picture yesterday.

I think I am going to be in a sweltering "hot box" today as I am scheduled to travel to a tiny elementary school where the only A/C is in the Principal's office and that is not where my equipment is.

To top it off, I have to stand on a chair to reach my equipment. Some insightful person perched the equipment high up on the wall behind a large row of filing cabinets. We may be talking "hours" and I don't think I am going to fare very well. I am certain the sweat will be dripping down into my eyes and to stand on a chair for a couple of hours is not the best position to be in for a lengthy period of time.

And I have to use my personal cell phone. I am thinking I will tell my home office I cannot get "service" out there. As I take this elementary down (dis-connect it from the Internet) they lose their building telephone service that requires the Internet to work. That part may last only a half hour or so, but the other stuff - more intense configuration will need me to converse with my home office and I don't believe the school will let me have their cordless telephone for that length of time.

I will see what "mood" I am in when I get out there and how much my back can take while I teeter on a chair and try to work in this hot box.

It will be me and grumpy cat today. I can already feel the headache begin.

My office is anxious to have this resolved so I cannot postpone it until Friday when the forecast states the temps will be in the mid-60's. Rats.

Rain Pain

I used to love a good soaking rain. These days it is all about pain. Before the rain began last evening I was almost ready to throw up with the sick headache. It was not bad enough to take a migraine med, but I felt absolutely lousy. I was okay in the house with the A/C.  I needed quite a few things, so I did a "quick" run to the drug store. Heh,  heh. I needed a LOT of things.

I had actually been taking the migraine med about every other day (I know about rebound headaches and am not doubting this may be part of the problem).

I got into the store and I got sick. I made the mistake of picking up my daughter's prescription near the end of my trip and they had to prepare it. "This will take about twenty minutes." UGH!

Why didn't I stop at the pharmacy counter first? WHY?

I had everything in my cart except for the milk, so I sat down and waited. I really started to feel lousy. I could feel the sweat start all over my head. I had to wipe it away several times on my forehead. What is wrong with their A/C?  I can only imagine what the other customers thought. "God, she IS sick. I hope her medicine she is picking up works." 

When I went outside to put my purchases in the car, I realized that the drug store DID have their A/C running. You could have cut the air with a knife. It was so humid and thick. My head pounded.

The A/C in my car gets  a work-out.

I arrived at home and I unloaded the car. I tried to relax.

About an hour later (no medication involved) - poof! It was gone. I was typing away on the computer etc.. Before bed I took the dogs out and it was pouring. I stepped off the porch in an effort to get the timid boxer out and into the rain. He thinks he is a sugar cube. I let the rain just pelt me. I knew I shouldn't get this wet this close to bedtime but I didn't care. He did follow but he didn't dally around. He quickly peed and zoomed back onto the porch.

I just stood in the rain and wondered about headache pain and the weather.

Mmmmm....pineapple

I think this little one ate at least 15 pieces of pineapple and strawberries. He kept going back for more. Then one time I was over there and he held up a blueberry and told me to try one - "They are good!"

I went to a big family get together on Sunday. The migraine hit while I was holding a sweet little tiny baby girl and I refused to give her up (she was sleeping) to take any medicine. Lucky for me I have a sister who will wait on me hand and foot. She got me my medicine and some water.

It was too late. I was miserable and even had to take another pill the next day. It was Tuesday before I felt like myself again.

I no longer go to bed when I have a migraine. Laying flat slays me. I have to use my TV chair and nap. My head has to be in an upright position any more. I have no less than four U-shaped neck pillows and one is almost always within arms reach.

Ugh. I didn't want this to be yet another headache post.

So back to it. Kids are just the best!

A grab handle

I knew about the "grab" handle but did not know what it was called until I looked it up. I went through the drive through at the bank yesterday and shifted to reach for the canister. I bumped my head on my grab handle. I cursed under my breath and rubbed my head.Ouch!

While the bank was processing my request I looked at it. Why in hell is there one on my side of the car?

I have been in cars where I have "grabbed" the grab handle when I was the passenger. Not often, thank God. I usually don't ride with daredevils. I really didn't even need it while I taught two girls how to drive. My daughter and my niece.

I tried to imagine the driver ever needing a grab handle. It would make sense to me that if you were in a situation where you were driving fast or recklessly enough to grab the handle, you should certainly have both hands on the steering wheel. That would be what I would be grabbing.

Then this morning as I looked through images, it occurred to me. Oh, maybe it is for cars that are shipped to Australia or Ireland. Where the steering wheel is on the other side of the car. Maybe it is just easier to manufacture one on each side.

And the hairy arm up there? Not mine.

Architecture

I have decided for my next job - I want to work here. I have no idea where "here" is. I just like the building. LOL!  There is a school that I go to and when I leave, I have to shoot out this little back alley and this day I decided to snag a picture of the building.  Found it. Superb Industries.

On the home front  - ha! My washing machine died last night. Ain't that the way? One thing after another? I had just watched a National Geographic documentary about Hurricane Sandy and all the flooding and mud mess those people had to deal with, so when my washing machine died, I said to myself "It could be worse."

The tree has been cut down. Four branches have been cut off from the other tree. They almost took the wrong tree. I told them it was the tree with the roots as big as a barrel forcing the sidewalk to push up like the roof of a house. I am hoping they come back to grind the stump. I can't recall if the city said they would do that or not. Seems to me like I would have mentioned it since that is the key to stop the roots from growing.

Discovered the reason for my lack of energy and headaches this past week-end. And the super migraine on Friday. Thank-you Mother Nature!

The bar back then

Maybe 2006? When  my niece lived with us and my daughter had friends over and they all congregated in the basement.  OMG! I just realized that somebody hung that Happy Birthday sign upside-down. LOL!

I sort of had a meltdown last week. I was tired and overwhelmed. I felt like things were moving too fast and I did not or could not deal with any more. I wanted all those guys out of my house. The noise, the smells, the stress was too much for me. I was wiped out all week-end. I planned to move stuff into totes and out and into the garage. To prepare for the next stage which is to pull up all carpet on both sides. I had water damage on the other side a couple of years back and I never did get it taken care of.

Nothing happened over the week-end. I was wiped out. The migraine monkey hit me hard on Friday. I had to take two Imitrex to get it out. I met friends Friday evening and I felt wonderful but hit a blinding snowstorm coming home. The meeting with my friends fell flat. They chose a restaurant that was so crowded and so dark. The waiter said they could not do anything with the lights because they are on an energy saving plan and they have no control over it. Everybody was tilting their menus towards the window to read them.

Most of my friends are struggling and either out of work or had to take a job that is way below what they were doing for the past 25 years. The company we had all worked at and met at folded. To hear them struggle and try is so depressing. We are all over 50, now. I got out in the mid 90's. They stayed. They were on unemployment for a while. Some received free schooling. Some did not qualify. I have no idea how that works.

I awoke Saturday morning with a smashing headache. Not a migraine but a huge pain in the back of my head. I swallowed three Advil every four hours to keep it at bay. I can work with a sore back and sore arms and sore legs. You just rest for a bit and the soreness fades and you can go again. Not so with a headache. Bending, lifting, hauling - you cannot do it with a headache. Any movement starts the pounding. Sigh.

Screw it. I guess there is no hurry. I am not going anywhere.

Rice noodles and vegetables

Yum. Saturday night - near the beginning of the meal. The cook is tossing an egg in the air. The ladies at the far end? Sister 1954 and 1956. Sure, they are getting along here. Five hours later after continuous drinking - eh...not so much. I do not drink with them. I have maybe two drinks and stop. I am on too much medication. One sister did not take her high blood pressure medication that morning "so she could drink."  I know, I know - don't look at me! The other one - does not eat all day and gave her food from this meal to a nephew.

They were staying at my house. They went to a bar with another nephew and I was to pick them up at 11 p.m. Except (of course) they were not ready to leave. They went to a big dance place. There must have been hundreds of cars in this tiny parking area. Cars were backing up, moving and all over the place. How anybody went home that night with their vehicle still in tact was beyond me. Sober eyes (mine) watching outside a dance club for over half an hour while I waited on my nephew to round up my sisters was a real eye opener.

Another reason I do not drink any more. The hangovers. My God - the hangovers. I would throw up so much I thought my head was going to fly off. The pain was so great.

Speaking of hangovers...this trip I went on for work? This past Monday through Wednesday? Two fellows from my establishment drank Monday night on one of the vendor's bill. The group I was with stayed away. We went out to dinner on our own. We are not drinkers. One of those fellows made it to the convention Tuesday, but the other ?... stayed in the room throwing up all day. Your tax payers money - hard at work! The money that pays for this is not from a levy or your local taxes. It is earmarked from the state as "pr0fe$$ional devel0pment."  Nothing much pr0fessional going on here.

Blah, blah, blah

When did January turn into February? When I wasn't looking? I did enjoy the R&R Hall of Fame. I especially liked reading where the artist wrote the song(s). Usually on a yellow notepad. Bob Seger has the most mechanical handwriting. Like an engineer. And some of the words were much different when first written on paper. "And here's to you, Mrs. Roosevelt."   Not Mrs. Robinson. Heh, heh.

The headaches came back. They started and once they started did not stop. The doctor told me to start taking my Nerontin three times a day and then in a month back to twice daily. The increase in medication barely worked. I have episodes almost daily. It felt as if somebody had stuck a steak knife into the corner of my right eye yesterday. I had to leave work. I broke down and took my migraine medication. A few hours later I was pain free. Now, I am concerned about the rebound. Almost 48 hours after I take the medication the misery starts again. Stupid hormones. Stupid weather.

I have a big family get together Saturday. Sunday I have to go out of town for work until Wednesday. I hate that. I hate not sleeping in my own bed. I think this is the last one I will go to. I will let somebody else go. I am supposed to go every other year but I am dreading it so much. I've made myself miserable.

I watched "Hitchcock" a while back. As always I get S Johansson mixed up with J Biel. I think they look alike. I "googled" pictures of Hitchcock's wife after I watched the movie. She was a very homely woman. They tried hard to make Mirren homely. Sorry. Didn't work. She is a fine looking woman. I liked the movie. I am not certain I would have liked Alfred and Alma in real life. They guy playing A Perkins - nailed it!

And did he really buy up all the copies of the book so nobody would know the ending? Is that part true? Can that be done?  I don't think they could use that tactic today.

Shoot the Sterno!

Sigh. Huge migraine today. I attribute it to the time change.

My daughter was my hero. Not only did she bring me my migraine medicine but she came into my office, closed the door, turned out the overhead light and massaged my scalp.

She stayed with me for over two hours to make sure I was okay.

It was a day that I could not leave the office. I was "chained" to my desk. I had scheduled working with tech support on the phone and a conference call later in an effort to solve some on-going problems.

She talked with me, joked with me and had me laughing. The pain finally went away and I got to head to the dentist for my semi-annual cleaning. Yay!

I sent her a big thank-you on facebook.

Oh, I almost forgot. The Sterno. My building has many events and many times food is catered in. To keep the food warm, the caterer uses those nasty burners that smell something awful. For a migraine sufferer, this is torture! Today was one such event with the sternos running full blast. No ventilation in our building. Grrr!

The angle

I know it's the angle but they just look a little disproportionate to me.

I watched "Total Recall" last evening with C Farrell, K Beckinsale and J Biel. The kids liked it better than I did. My daughter is not familiar with Arnold's version, but her boyfriend was.

She made the remark about all futuristic movies having that dark, rainy and dreary look to them. Yeah, I guess that is how most of us see the future. LOL!

No complaints about any of the acting. As far as I could tell (with a headache and heartburn) I thought they all did a fine job. Of course there is that way in the movie (as in many others) where the "bad" guys shoot thousands of bullets (or rounds of ammo) and do not hit the "good" guy, whereas the "good" guy shoots one bullet and takes out 12 of them.

Yeah..no.

Yes, a bit of a headache. Nothing major. Nothing like before so no complaining here!

And, just for the record - not certain it is the Magnesium or not that the doctor told me to take, but the arthritis pain only flares once in a while. I am taking 500mg pill daily with a meal. My problem is remembering to take it. I am the worst. My regular meds get taken right before bedtime - that is easy. But when I have to take something with a meal or this time or that time - forget it. Yep, I usually do.

Along the road

Taking a snapshot of the treeline on the other side of the road from where I was taking pictures of the lake. Whew. That was a long sentence.

Arthritis runs in my family. My doctor told me to take magnesium daily. It ain't workin', doc! My left elbow kills. It is my "picking up my coffee cup" elbow. I have to use two hands now to sip my coffee if I don't want much pain.

But, not every day. Today there is a big weather front moving in. Hmmm. Well, I can't complain about headaches anymore - so  you get some arthritis. I'll take the arthritis any day!

Another world

I had my head stuck in subnetting at work yesterday. It took my mind off all the other problems I was having. When dealing with this it is like you stick your head into this big tree that is full of leaves and you can see nothing else around you until you pull your head out of that tree. That was how it was for me. Very intense.Four long hours with one bathroom break.

The tech on the other end of the phone was super fantastic. We started off slow because I did not know what to expect and neither did he. By the time we were done he and I had shared dog stories and we were laughing and calling each other awesome.

I actually only had him on the phone for maybe two and a half hours. The first hour was prep work on my part. The last half hour was pack up and get out of there.

Yes, my head hurt by the time I was done. It may have been from no lunch. This tech is on the west coast so we began at 11 a.m. my time and finished at 3. I did have a helper - he ran and bought me a bottle of water during the marathon.

I was not "properly" trained. I have never been to formal schooling or training for computers. I have been to a few week-long classes - mostly two to three day classes. I did learn the hexadecimal numbering system - on my own. I  did not need it for work - for some reason that one just clicked with me.

As for subnetting, I did write a paper on it back in 1997 or 1998. I understand it, I just cheat and use an online calculator. I do not know how to figure it out in my head. Yet. I may learn, still.

In high school I was the artist or the short story writer. I managed B's in math but I only took as much as I would need to get into college. First level algebra and geometry. Nothing higher. It made me sick to my stomach. So did the teachers. Then, I did not even go to college. To this day I have not come across a math teacher that I liked. I did pick up a college refresher course (when I thought I would go to college back in 1992). His name was Lovejoy Das. I sort of liked him. He was from India. He said as a boy they used to do math problems in the dirt with a stick. WTF? I would have drawn pictures in the dirt.

Anyway, the day (yesterday) ended with a huge success.  I (we) pulled off a minor miracle as far as I was concerned. I had no idea how to set this unit onto the network and we did it. It required the wonderful world of subnetting, but I did not give up. I figured out the necessary changes and they worked. By god - they worked. It certainly made me feel better than the last few days of holy horror I have been through with another district. I have another job today and I am going to try my hardest to be successful with that also. Then tomorrow - back to the horror mess. Who knows? Maybe I will hit them out of the park all week. LOL!

My headache. I did take some Advil. By the "bewitching" hour of 9 p.m. it was completely gone. I have mentioned before that strangely, a lot of my headaches seem to dissipate by 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. By the time I went to bed I felt wonderful. I had taken a sinus Advil maybe that was the ticket.