achin'

Debilitating headaches. Always. Since last year. In this town. The headaches. Pounding right through two Aleves. And three Ibuprofens. Can't even think. Past tiny phrase sentences.

Good news:

1. Today I got my driver's license renewed as the letter that came in the mail instructed. Very short process involving my height, weight, corrective lenses requirement, signature and two photos--the second looking exactly like the first, not horrible, but I guess I just always have a tilted smile.

2. Bought vegetarian food. This concept (food not involving meat) eludes my father, who approached me a few days ago looking confused and said, "You're going to have to help with this whole vegetarian cooking thing." The first day home, his attempt to adapt to my diet resulted in fried fish, which, of course, doesn't exactly fit. But having given over my refusal to eat seafood on the Indian coasts (the breaking of the seafood rule being an interesting story for later), I bent one more time and ate the perch, because my family had tried, and it was already cooked. The next day I gently explained that fish was meat.

3. Bought a Teach Yourself German book. I've been vaguely wanting to start German for a while now (chalk it up to ancestor sentimentality), and now I've got a resource. Hallo!

4. Got a new keyboard installed. One with a functioning 'a' key.

5. Got work for tomorrow: 8am-3pm, back in the one place I like in this town, brewing coffee and baking muffins and making money and making time go away.