Feeling Better

Things that help my mood: Breezy, sunny spring weather (not too hot). Methylphenidate (for focus and energy). Good, nutritious food (for energy and pleasure). Good dark chocolate (Ghirardelli's "Midnight Reverie" was on sale, and has been a delicious blessing). Listening to Solas performing "Darkness, Darkness" until the mood is beaten into submission. Most importantly, the fact that this is not day ten of an intense migraine is making me much happier than I was earlier in the week (though there is still a bit of residual pain which might well be enough to make an ordinary person cry).

Things that do not help: Waking up before five in the morning and not getting back to sleep. Sure, the blue-and-pink striped sky at dawn was a lovely sight indeed, but, as a general rule, I prefer not to be awake early enough to see the sunrise this time of year.

Things that turn the brain in odd directions: The DVD with the films La Jetee and Sans Soleil did not help the mood I was in, precisely, but it made me feel as if the mood had a part to play in the general surreality of life. DVD review by an appellate judge(?) here, for the curious.

Other Good Things

Today's weather: Warmer than my ideal, but breezy and rather pleasant overall.

Today's farmers' market: Fresh strawberries and asparagus! Last week's berries were probably in better shape than this week's (or possibly I just didn't pick my berry box all that well this time and should have let someone else choose for me like last time), but they're still good and worthy of praise. If I'd ever written that entry I planned in January of things I learned or relearned about myself in 2009, "I love farmers markets!" would have been near the top of the list. Going out in the open air to buy a little fresh food (and the occasional small unnecessary-yet-wonderful item), chat with neighbors and vendors (many of whom are also neighbors), and perhaps listening to some live music is a good thing for me. I may be an introvert, but I'm not enough of an introvert to be comfortable staying at home all the time. Today's conversations included one that was somewhat awkward for me, since the person I was talking to was basically asking about my life history. I decided to tell her about being chronically ill and disabled rather than deflecting the conversation as I would have liked, and that turned out well enough. But I really much prefer to have other people tell me about their lives rather than discuss my lack of one. Fortunately this woman has a brand-new baby, so there's always someone interesting and adorable for her to talk about! There were also lots of families wandering around when I was there this afternoon and more than the usual number of dogs to keep everyone entertained. Overall, it was a good time.

Now the migraine is threatening to come back, so I should get ready to attempt sleep soon. Wish me luck!