Day 2

decaf is poopy
Oy! My head!

The Morning

I started my day with a big cup of… NOTHING.

That’s right. I had to be at physical therapy at 7 AM. I figured, since I’m not drinking coffee right now, there’s no point to getting up early. I got up at 6:18, showered, and drove to my appointment – almost getting killed on the way be some numbnuts who pulled out of the high school while I was passing someone on the right. No, it’s not my fault. I have no, well minimal, caffeine in my system.

BONK! Right in the Head!

At 10:30 AM, I noticed a little spot in my vision.

I was afraid this might happen if I inflicted this cruel and unusual punishment of no caffeine upon my body. A doctor once told me, “Migraines are finicky when it comes to caffeine. If your body is used to a certain level and you have too much more or too much less, it could trigger a migraine.” You have to keep your caffeine level steady, more or less. Rather, not more or less.

At the time of this writing, 2:51 PM, my condition is not too bad overall. My head hurts and I feel a bit wiped out. But I’m getting work done. (Actually, I’m not getting work done exactly right now because I’m writing this blog post.) I think I’ll live. AND the Mrs. Snyder and I are going out on a date tonight. So that makes me feel better too!

Defeating My Own Purpose

Here’s the kicker of this medical interruption today. I’m avoiding caffeine to see if it helps my body be less tense. My body reacts with a migraine. Then I take my pills so I can cope with the way my body feels. And guess what is in my pills… A TON OF CAFFEINE! I have defeated my own purpose today.

To be objective, there could be several different reasons why this migraine came today. Typically, when I get a migraine, the weather is nice and clear with a high pressure system. It’s like that today. Often I get migraines due to highly stressful circumstances. MY CURRENT LIFE = HIGHLY STRESSFUL CIRCUMSTANCES. Avoiding caffeine is one attempt at helping how I react to those circumstances.

I did have a cup of caffeinated green tea while writing this. What the heck now, right? But I’m not going to have coffee. That would not merely defeat my purpose. It would DESTROY it.

UPDATE @ 6:01 PM

Decaf?? WTF?

decaf is poopy
Or maybe Decaf?? WTP? What’s the point?

I’ve decided to give up coffee for a while. For stress reasons.

Actually, I’ve decided to give up all caffeine. So this is my third cup of decaf tea.

1:30 PM – UPDATE

caffeine
Better

By 1:30 PM, I had a pounding headache. I felt hungover.

It didn’t help that a manager was trampling all over a few of us in a meeting at 12:30. I never understand when a manager says, “I don’t understand this. What does this mean?” Then you give them the explanation. And they say, “No. You’re wrong.” I literally gave this man a definition of a certain topic straight from a book, an exam prep book pictured above, no less, and he responded, “No. No. No. That’s NOT what it is.” I could hear the sneer in his voice. Bad day for me to not have any caffeine in my system.

So at 1:30, I had a cup of caffeinated green tea. I still have a headache. But it has less of an edge to it. For now.

The Pretty People in the Woods Receive Me Cordially

The bee is not afraid of me,

I know the butterfly;

The pretty people in the woods

Receive me cordially.

The brooks laugh louder when I come,

The breezes madder play.

Wherefore, mine eyes, thy silver mists?

Wherefore, O summer’s day?

-Emily Dickenson

So why don’t I spend more time in the woods? Why do I allow depression to prevent me from getting out of bed some early mornings? I should be more eager to be in the woods where I am know, where there is happiness.

There’s a Hint of Fall in the Air

woods
A Hint of Fall in the Air and in the Trees

I went for a run at Mahlon Dickerson Reservation this morning. It had been a long time since I had last been there. I was impressed by the changing scenery in the woods. The scenery is ever going through its cycles. But when I don’t get out there for a lengthy period of time, the changes are stand in stark contrast to what I last remembered seeing. The temperature was in the high 60s. The humidity was low. It was a perfect morning for running.

Refreshing Kindness

Cold lemon lime seltzer is the bomb after a sweaty buggy run!

One year ago today, a kind man offered me a nice cold drink after I emerged from the woods covered in sweat and deer flies.

The world might be a happier place if we all thought to give refreshment to the sweaty people.