This Graine is Migraine, This Graine ain't Your Graine

I really should be lying down with my eyes closed. Wish I could touch type. I am not prone to migraines, but today I have a major one. Actually, I should say I was not prone to them until a few months ago. One migraine pill and two high potency Tylenols later, it went away for an hour and is back again.

So, my day.

Plan A was to go to Pi Day events, then buy a new car.

The morning started with the toilet clogging so badly that even my snake couldn't clear it. :-( Decided to give it time, and some Draino.

Computer History Museum for Pi Day activities, only there were none except a couple of family workshops. On the agenda was to take some detail shots of the Babbage Engine, which I did. But I had the camera set wrong, so too many of them were blurry. Will have to try again. Meanwhile, here's a sample of a good one:


Janice was supposed to be there with a friend she met on a tour of Iceland last month, we were going to Do Lunch™, but they were a no-show.

Home, it was 85° outside, too hot inside. Sprayed weed killer on the weeds and the pavement cracks, but ran out with about 10% left to do. L8r.

Toilet refused to succumb to all of my plungers and snake so I went to Lowe's and bought a longer snake. It didn't help. Called Roto Rooter, they said they would be there between 2 and 4. At 3:30 they called and said that wasn't happening, they would call when a tech was available.

He arrived just before 5, whacked at it with his much bigger snake, and cleared the clog in 15 minutes. $150. I think I will invest in the larger snake.

Straight to Sunnyvale Toyota, test drove the Prius, was not as unhappy with the bizarre split rear view as I was 2 years ago, and it had the two improvements over the Corolla I was looking for: The driver's seat adjusts vertically, so I don't hit my head on the door frame, and the turning radius is much tighter.

I do not like the proximity keyless entry, or the hatchback not having a remote release.

Epically long story short, it took 3 hours from start to finish to buy the thing, even knowing exactly which model I wanted, and without haggling. They gave me 0% interest on the loan, so I didn't use the credit union's offer letter, but I had to fill out  loan application. By hand. Which sucks, because they could have done it all on the computer. After signing my name four times for each of 7 forms, the loan app needed 11 electronic pad signatures. Totally ludicrous. 

Everything from the Corolla is now in the Prius.

Stopped off at Lowe's on the way home and bought more weed killer. And a Mountain Dew because caffeine helps headaches.

Fired up the PC hoping to change my insurance, but the site was offline. :-(

10:30, realized I had not had pie and all the restaurants which serve it by the slice were closed. Got dressed, and into the car, and after pairing my phone and installing the iPod, headed for Safeway. But Lucky's was closer and they usually have fresh pies. BUt all they had was apple and pumpkin, so I went frozen and bought a chocolate silk and a pecan. Ate a slice of chocolate silk with 15 minutes to spare.

And now it is the Ides of March. And I still have a migraine.

Plans for tomorrow
Spray the rest of the weeds
Pull up the lemongrass, cut it up & freeze it
Plant Bees' Friend seeds in that spot
Veg out on the porch, may need to refill the hummingbird feeder
Take out the garbage


 

Early entry for a change, because I am beat

Had a massive low blood sugar crash last night despite eating two pieces of chocolate silk pie. Probably because it was all I ate since lunchtime, and I shot up my usual dose of insulin. Had a Klondike bar and some thin mints to come back up, and some ginger ale to settle my stomach. And still had a migraine.

Woke up with Spook asleep next to me, but when I touched her she growled at me. Typical.

Forgot to mention that part of my Pi Day was the backup of drive C completed to the NAS drive for the first time in maybe 2 months. The backup of Drive E is still running, since 7 am today, with 5 hours to go. It's something like 3TB.

Tried to update my auto insurance online, but they only do it by phone, M-F. Boo, hiss.

Finally got off the computer at about noon, mad dogs and Americans, went out in the mid-day sun, finished spraying weed killer on the weeds and on the places they might decide to grow. The weeds I sprayed yesterday are almost all dead and dried up. Neighbor has a dandelion tree farm which could spread seeds into my garden, but I'll leave it to the park to talk to her caregivers about it.

Pulled out the lemongrass, am not sure if I want to chop it up and freeze it or just throw it out. I don't use it regularly. Just did this as an experiment. Raked the area, which had been topsoiled before I planted the lemongrass, and planted Bee's Friend flower seeds, and watered them real well. Don't expect to see any growth for a month or two.

Sat in the Prius for a while and programmed the radio presets. Tried the X-thing satellite radio, which is free for 90 days with the car, but it sucks about the same way as HD broadcast radio. Started up eTunes, had to sign up online because the phone apt kept erroneously saying my password/confirm password did not match.

Finally bagged all the stuff for Goodwill which was piled up in the bedroom, and the old receiver and the old DVD player and drove them to Goodwill. And realized I forgot the surround sound PC speakers and the sofa cushions. Next time.

From there I punched in the address maurinestarkey gave me for the hospital she was in, and the nav system talked me there, except the hospital is on the other side of the street from the address. The other side is also Valley Medical, but it's a shoddy 3-story set of clinics which used to be one of those medical centers where every doctor/dentist/chiropractor hadone separate office.

Across the street, Valley Medical is building a whole new campus, but Mo is in the old building, which is seriously out of date. And huge. And while it was not a maze, it was a very long walk from the parking structure. For someone who has been in the hospital for almost 3 months, she looked good. Lots of bruises from the IV sites, and she's a little shaky and photosensitive, but we had a goo long visit, the first hour share with an artist jeweler friend of hers I knew vaguely from cons. I may do some photography for her.

Left at about 5:30, very hungry, stopped off in the cafeteria, but it did not look promising and was closing soon. So I punched in the nearest Denny's and the nav took me there okay. It missed the left turn lane for the Denny's driveway, wanted me to go up a block and make a u-turn. Had an all-American Grand slam, which turned out to not be what I wanted, I thought it included pancakes. Did not have dessert because there was more pie waiting for me at home.

Nav got me most of the way home okay, but lost it at the last turn. Somehow it thought I was in the mobile home park down the block.

Home, took a glass of milk and a piece of pie and enjoyed the dusk and the hummingbirds. We now have at least four, maybe six, separate birds coming to the feeder. The tree across the street, I think it's a dogwood, has lost most of its leaves, but there are clusters of flower blooming at the end of the branches. The hummers use the tree as staging area for the feeder.

After I finish this, I'll take out the garbage and recyclables, and come back inside to take drugs and hit the sack. Leaving the PC on to finish the backup. But with the audio muted so I don't get the hourly chimes from the clock app.

Plans for tomorrow:
Up and out early, because at 8:30 am they will be turning off the electricity until late afternoon
Work
Maybe BASFA