Jules Jones

Since it was three weeks since I'd last seen the inside of A&E and the "Oh **** I need to get off this med right now" side effect had tailed off a week after that, I decided at the weekend that it's safe to go to Eastercon. I've been on the current second med before in combination with the primary migraine med (although not at the current high dose of primary) so I know what it normally does by way of side-effects, and while they can be unpleasant after a while they have never made me feel like A&E would be A Really Good Idea. So I should be there after lunch tomorrow.

I haven't posted since mid-May. Apparently I haven't read Dreamwidth since shortly after that, since I missed the news about a friend's new job. (Congratulations to that friend. :-)

There are a number of factors in this, not least the ongoing migraine issues which chew up quite a lot of bandwidth and don't leave much for things other than day job. Also, at one point one of the side-effects of the meds and/or migraine was a bout of something close to hypergraphia, which is how I come to have a completed short story, a large chunk of a different short story draft, a bunch of random jottings on story ideas, and an outline and substantial chunk of something that is probably going to be at least novella length, all as a result of the #cockygate nonsense. This lot was mostly written by hand, with fountain pen and ink, and needed/will need to be transcribed onto electrons.

And that was before my Firefox install fell over multiple times, on one occasion taking Edge with it. Those things that require the big screen on the laptop plus a proper keyboard were not happening, and that includes Dreamwidth, both reading and writing. Actually fixing [expletive deleted] Firefox seems to involve removing every trace of it and then doing a fresh install, then waiting for the next time it falls over, so the only two reasons I use it at this point are Containers and NoScript. It makes Edge look stable by comparison.

And at some point I have to face the task of updating my website, so that will consume such spare clock cycles as I have. I shall endeavour to post slightly more frequently than I have of late, but am not making any promises.

Yes, that means I have a migraine aura and have taken some codeine. Aren't you lucky I'm still sufficiently in contact with reality to be able to make some effort at proof-reading this post? Anyway, this means tonight's word count will be whatever I can write in my little dead tree notebook before I fall over. That may or may not include a review of Writing Faster FTW by LA Witt of the many pseuds. It is good advice, and it is written entertainingly, and even though I already know all the advice in it, I read it all the way through today and found it well worth the £1.26 I paid for it last night.

Yes, the last time I posted was last week's picowrimo report. I'm sure I had something vaguely interesting to post last week, but I didn't post it and now I've forgotten what it was. Also, I woke up early yesterday with a bad headache, and while I do not feel wretched right now thanks to the miracle of codeine, you can tell I have migraine by the typos I will edit out of this before posting. Thank god for spoolchuckers.

Anyway... Progress of the total word count is as follows:

Monday, 9133, Tue 9746, Wed 10051, Thur 10402, Fri 11,000 *exactly*, Sat 11361, Sun 12198. I've added another couple of hundred so far this evening, and hope to achieve a few more before my typing ability shuts down completely for the night. I have also spent a lot of time over the last few days reading articles on how to shave *properly*, on account of the other protagonist likes watching his guy shave. Yes, they have his-n-his "getting properly ready to face the day" voyeurism kinks. :-> I'm sure my Google history for the last week must make *fascinating* reading.

I wasn't sure yesterday whether I was just knackered because I'd had a very disturbed night's sleep, or whether I had the start of migraine aura. This morning there was no doubt. I actually feel fairly okay, apart from the bit with having the attention span of a drunken goldfish, but I'm also very tired and it would probably be a good idea to go to bed early. I did get a hundred words or so done on Taxman on Sunday night, but nothing last night because I was too tired tonight, and I think I shall skip tonight because I can already see characteristic migraine typos in this post, and it will be a waste of time trying to compose fiction or even book log. Is irritating, because I have stuff I want to get down on electrons...

The downside of changing the meds for an entirely different medical issue is that the migraine is back, after a year without it. Started Tuesday, wasn't too bad until this afternoon, but I left work early (thank you, flexitime) and think that I should just step away from the backlit screen for the rest of the evening. Fortunately I have lots of audiobooks in the backlog.

The aphasia at the weekend *was* migraine after all, as I discovered when I woke up yesterday morning. The wonder that is non-prescription codeine means that I woke up pain-free this morning, but I'm not wearing the new glasses for a few days as they will only aggravate the migraine, so further reports will be delayed.

Just arrived Chez predatrix, where I have broadband access. Still slightly restricted access, as I'm camping on Mr Predatrix's computer desk and he will want it back when he comes home from work, but at least I can log on without having to take a twenty minute walk first. *And* I have a date for the landline and broadband to be installed at home. My world would be complete had I not started a migraine on the train, and thus been unable to spend a couple of hours of quality time with my laptop in spite of being at a table seat with a power point. At least I noticed what was happening in time to take the codeine.

Time for caffeine now...

I was actually managing to do something constructive with my morning for once, when I was assaulted about twenty minutes ago by something combining some of the more annoying features of both icepick and cluster headaches. Rapid stabbing pain, heavy congestion and tearing up in that eye. It is not actually all that painful, as such things go, but it is incredibly distracting. It's lunchtime anyway, so I've just dumped some pasta into the microwave to cook (when I'm in this state I don't trust myself with anything that doesn't turn itself off automatically), and chopped some tomatoes. And when I've had that to line my stomach with, I'm going to swig a couple of Codis. You may insert here the standard rant about the American attitude to mild opiate painkillers. Fortunately I can bring personal use quantities back with me when I've been visiting family in more enlightened countries.

Back from Baycon, and not certain if I'll be fit to go tomorrow - I couldn't have driven home tonight. Sinus infection, with sinus headache and watering eye on that side, and nausea by the time I left. The latter could be migraine triggered by the sinus infection, or food poisoning. Or maybe both. Id di feel about better after eating some dried crackers, but I still need to get enough food down me that I can take some aspirin/codeine. If I don't show tomorrow this is why. (And why I was feeling so odd when I dragged Terry off for some snack food this afternoon. Should have realised I was getting the early migraine aura.)

ETA: feeling much better after some pasta, codeine and a couple of hours of sleep... I may have become allergic to the hotel, because the sinus congestion has gone down dramatically without pharmaceutical assistance. Must remember to take some sudafed with me tomorrow.