Last Saturday afternoon I developed a low-grade migraine, which meandered back & forth between a one and a two on the migraine pain scale, and stayed with me for nearly 72 hours. At that point, while I was at work on Tuesday, it bloomed up to about a five or six. I was already feeling a bit nauseated and didn’t want to take a shot at work (as it sometimes makes me feel intensely nauseated for about 30 minutes or so). So I waited until I got home, and unfortunately, the shot didn’t kick in for close to two hours.

Trying to fall asleep Wednesday night, it seemed to me that calling in sick the next day would probably be a good idea. I’d had little sleep all week, the nasty extended migraine, and a fair amount of stress from all sorts of directions. So I set my alarm for the usual time, left a message on my supervisor’s work voicemail that I had a migraine & wouldn’t be in to work, and went back to bed.

Must be psychic - I woke up several hours later with a migraine, already ratcheting up to about a six. So yet another shot - although luckily this time the shot went off without complications. The last 6 or 8 shots I’ve had to take have either hurt like hell (probably hit a nerve) or bled like hell (probably hit a blood vessel). I’ve had nasty quarter-sized bruises, in various stages of healing, on both hips for a few weeks now (when I run out of easily-reached spots on one hip, I start on the other, and the bruises usually take upwards of a week to heal).

Still, it’s the first month in the last 4 or 5 that I’ve had more than 2 migraine attacks in 30 days, so I can’t bitch all that much. And I’m incredibly grateful to the Family Medical Leave Act, since it allows me not to worry about losing my job over migraines.

Pretty much everyone’s heard the country classic Take This Job and Shove It by Johnny Paycheck (how amusing is that!). Now there’s a song with attitude…

What song with attitude do you particularly like, and who might you dedicate it to?

Most of my ex-boyfriends deserve one of these two songs, so I should definitely keep them in mind for my next ex-boyfriend (*evil grin*): That Ain’t Love by REO Speedwagon, and Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson.

8> “And what is so wrong with wanting a display cabinet for my souvenir med school cadavers?”

7> Varnish fumes really aren’t an aphrodisiac.

6> “Bambi and Thumper” is a perfectly valid baby’s room theme. Mounted specimens, not so much.

5> You suggest the walls should have a retro mustard and avocado paint job. He figures that after a few more football parties, he won’t have to paint to achieve that look.

4> The person who bought the ornamental garden-gnome-sized Trans Am on its own cute little cinder blocks is going to sleep six feet under it.

3> The dreaded “velvet Elvis” vs. “dogs playing poker” tapestry debate.

2> It all started to head south when you “accidentally” wallpapered her mouth shut.

1> It’s always hard to choose between installing nice carpets and keeping the children.

Ooh, got lots of nifty recommendations from the Three by three post! Now, on to answering the questions (and there were some really terrific ones!):

From Mari -

B1 - Do you prefer driving or being driven somewhere?

Unless I have a migraine or I’m really tired, I prefer driving. Especially since I figure the driver should get to choose the music. *grin*

B2 - If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?

Probably most of it would be spent with loved ones, since there never seems to be enough time to cherish the most important people in your life. And I imagine I’d do a bit more reading than I do!

B3 - What color underwear are you wearing today?

I was wearing a black mesh thong. Now I’m in my jammies, which are comfier with no undies!

And now Karel’s questions -

B-1: Where do you see Angst and Anxiety in, say, ten years?

Not living with me! (Please, Goddess. Oh please.)

B-2: What aspect of your spiritual life do you feel like you’ve been neglecting lately?

(That’s a surprising question from you.) I haven’t written new ritual in quite a while. But then again, that seems to happen when I need it to.

B-3: You’ve done the bungie jump. What next?

Geoffrey is working on getting me up in high places again - this time, for my birthday! He’s promised me a chance to fly a glider (I’ve heard some people call it a sailplane). I’ve always wanted to pilot some kind of aircraft, and I think a non-powered one is a good place to start.

The lovely Kylanath -

B1: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Assuming Geoffrey hasn’t traded me in for a younger model (in which case I’ll be the Crazy Cat Lady in the creepy house on the hill), I’ll probably be sassier, smarter, and sexier than ever.

B2: If you could go anywhere, where would it be?

I’d love to climb Salsbury Hill, explore the stone circle at Avesbury, and walk the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral.

B3: If you could go back and do one thing over again, what would it be?

My standard answer is that I wouldn’t change anything, because everything in my past has brought me to where I am now, which is a pretty good place to be. If I absolutely had to choose, I would have stood up for myself in any number of situations, instead of doing what I thought would make others happy at the expense of my own happiness.

And the terrific Jaz -

B1: What is your favorite immediate stress/anger control tactic (i.e., counting to ten, deep breaths, etc.)?

My favorite one is to remind myself that my emotion gives me a very narrow perspective, and try to look at the situation objectively. My anger or stress tends to lose momentum if I think about things objectively. It was a difficult habit to learn, and it’s still tough to do at times.

B2: What is your favorite Sabbat and why?

My favorite is Beltane, because it was the first Sabbat after my initiation as Priestess (wow, almost 8 years ago!), and it’s the traditional Sabbat for the “welcome to womanhood” ritual in my personal tradition. My elder daughter had her ritual a few years back, and my younger daughter will have hers this next Beltane.

B3: Scenario: you have been given a million dollars, but it all must go to charities. Which ones do you choose?

That’s a tough one. I would do my best to choose charities that require some effort made on the part of those they help, because the gods truly do help those who help themselves. I would want some of the money to go to charities like the Feral Cat Coalition and the no-kill C.A.T. Shelter (that’s where I got my 2 kitties!), but most of it to organizations that help people build healthier lives & relationships.

After the mini-vacation, we came home to find the computer giving us the finger. Despite having been shut down for the weekend, it somehow managed to break. With some luck, it will be working properly on Wednesday, which is when my Number One Internet Fanboy will be working his Geek-Fu magic.

Until (at least) then, I’m reduced to brief online appearances.

In the meanwhile, here’s a teaser: Possibly foolishly, I thought vacations were supposed to be relaxing.

Jumping on the bandwagon here, I saw this over at the lovely Kylanath’s a few days ago and thought, “Ooooh! That’s neat! I need to post that one soon.” So here it is:

A) Recommend to me:
1. a movie:
2. a book:
3. a musical artist, song, or album:

(B) Ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want (they don’t call me TMI Girl for no reason!) and I will post the answers in a new entry.

(C) Copy and paste this meme in your blog, allowing your friends to ask you anything.

Now I will go answer hers! Then I will drive most of the way to Canada, with no idea if there will be Internet access for me before I get home Sunday night.

I never thought that I would admire & respect someone I didn’t actually know to the point that they could influence my musical explorations. I mean, books? Sure, if someone I respect but don’t personally know recommends a book, I’ll check it out. Restaurants? Ditto. But music? Music is so individual; what one person adores, another may think is drek.

What piece of music have you listened to just because someone you respect or admire - but don’t actually know in person - recommended it?

Strictly on the basis that I think Spider Robinson (Hugo- and Nebula-award winning SF writer) is a godling, I got a copy of Running Jumping Standing Still by Spider John Koerner. It’s an interesting, jaunty little piece of music - not something I’m utterly in love with, but very easy to listen to!

No, I have no life. I spent almost 3 months working to get this:

Suddenly the tagline “Had a life. Got a modem.” is all ringing all too true.

Luckily Johnny Depp isn’t beating down my door looking for a date, or I might have to give up my oh-so exciting Neopets playtime. *smirk*

Apparently I am a total idiot. Yeah…I preen over what fabulous communication that Geoffrey & I have, I enthuse over the upcoming beach trip. Then I gloss over the written directions Geoffrey got from his parents & only notice the zoomed-in map section which shows the beachhouse we’re going to really is right on the beach - how spiffy! Then I assume that it’s “somewhere south of Puget Sound” - because, after all, there’s nothing north of Seattle except Bellingham and British Columbia, right? Right. And I don’t fucking Mapquest it.

Somebody kill me please.

The beachhouse is 290 miles from where I live. Somehow I missed this essential bit of information in the random, brief conversations that Geoffrey & I have had about this trip. Somehow I interpreted his mention of British Columbia as having nothing to do with this trip, but rather a possibility for a future trip at some point. Somehow I have entirely missed the couple of other times he says he’s mentioned it in recent weeks, too.

Assuming great travel time, that’s at least 5 hours in a car with a 12-year-old. I love my children. I love Geoffrey. But I don’t really want to spend 5+ hours in a car with anyone.

Not to mention that it seems my car battery has died, which means I have to get that taken care of within the next 60 hours. Not to mention that my fuq’ing period is due any day now, and I’m sure that will be all sorts of fun on a long road trip. (Both directions.) Not to mention that the idea of spending 3 days with Geoffrey’s parents isn’t exactly my idea of a dream vacation, but I had comforted myself with the thought that if it was atrocious, we could just meander on home in a couple hours or thereabouts. (Y’see, I’m used to the beach being a couple hours-ish away. That’s a pretty big “ish.”)

Assumptions, like stupidity, should hurt more. (Or have I just been redundant? Yeah, I thought so.)

I thought I would have a relaxing weekend. Ha ha ha ha ha!

Robert hung out with me Friday night, and now I remember why he is my favorite ex. Not that I forgot, but he is just a total darling. He put some new things on my compy (Limewire & something else) so I can get more .mp3s for free. He got me about 100 more songs I wanted for my iPod - yay! Then we watched SciFi channel together until Geoffrey got home, and during the TV watching Robert gave me a footrub. What an absolute sweetie!

Yesterday (after a shopping run to Target), Anxiety & I met Angst & her friends at a Pagan Faire being held at one of the halls at the World Forestry Center (very nice venue!). We got to see Heather Alexander performing (good stuff but the amplifier was too loud), and I only spent about $30. (That’s because I only brought $20 cash with me, and only one vendor took Visa.) Got a new bumpersticker I’m debating sticking on my car, “The Goddess loves you. Everyone else thinks you’re a jerk.” Maybe that one can stay in my vague collection of “bumperstickers I loved at the time, and still like a lot, but thought twice about putting on my actual bumper.”

Watched “Saw” with Geoffrey last night - it wasn’t half as scary as I’d expected, more of a psychological thriller with a few gross-out scenes thrown in, than an actual horror flick. Amusing to see Cary Elwes looking fat & old, however, and Danny Glover playing a cop (typecast, anyone?) obsessed with finding the killer. Whoever wrote the script doesn’t know squat about police procedure - there were consistently glaring, stupid mistakes in the portrayal of the cops’ decisions. (Apparently Law & Order and CSI have spoiled me for those little details.) I developed a migraine just as we started watching the pilot for “The 4400” (which Geoffrey bought on DVD because I’d raved about it so much, and he hadn’t seen it) so I took a shot (the bruises haven’t entirely faded from the last shot, when I hit a blood vessel, argh) and was able to mostly enjoy watching. “The 4400” is a kick-ass show; I can’t wait for season two to start this summer.

At various points over the weekend, I did some reading on my new Pagan books (between Powell’s & the Pagan Faire, I got 5 new ones in 24 hours). Of the 3 I’ve read (or at least scanned thoroughly), 2 have impressed the hell out of me, and 1 was totally not what I expected and not all that impressive. The other 2 will probably get read in the next few days. I’m planning on a Pagan Book Review page on my main website, since I keep winding up putting reviews in my blog and they are usually fairly long entries.

But that will have to wait until either later tonight or sometime in the next few days, because my house - which was spotless at the end of last weekend - is now a fucking disaster shithole, and I am fairly pissed off about that. (Apparently I am the only person in the house who can see dirt before we have enough to support commercial agriculture, and the only person who sees the dirty laundry hamper as something other than “the obstacle in the hallway.”) The magnet on my fridge that says, “The house was clean yesterday, sorry you missed it,” is not funny anymore.

I must go do manic cleaning now…especially since on Thursday, Geoffrey & Anxiety & I are leaving for the coast (some little town called Kickerville, WA) and will be gone until Sunday, hanging out with Geoffrey’s parents at a beachhouse they’re borrowing from friends. I don’t want to come home to a mess, or not have laundry already done for my workweek, and I sure as hell won’t be tackling the majority of what needs to be done on a weeknight.