Today started off just fine. I got up early, I went to campus, I had physical therapy at 9 a.m., I went to the Cage, I got settled in, I took my breakfast down to the cafe to eat it along with a book that I need to work through more of, and wham: An advisor Attack.

Well, attack is a little bit of an exaggeration, since I saw him in there before I went in, so was forewarned. I decided that since I hadn't heard from him since I sent him the revised chapter, I would deliberately create an advisor Encounter. I was feeling pretty brave, and very proud of myself, as I went over and talked to him for a bit. It turns out he hadn't responded because he was teaching a 3-week course. He was not eaten by flying monkeys or abducted by aliens, imagine that. Our conversation was going great for a while. We chatted about my chapter, about the rest of the diss. and he was really supportive and encouraging. He told me about his summer course and asked if I would be interested in guest lecturing in it about my area of specialization next summer (!!!!) to which I said, duh, yes. Then, as we were chatting, I started to see less and less of him. At first I couldn't figure it out, things were going so well, why was half of his face disappearing? Then, I realized I was getting a migraine, complete with its perfectly designed early-warning system of blinding flashing lights. I ended the conversation, hopefully gracefully, and headed up to the Cage to pack up all of the stuff I had just unloaded. I knew I had about 30 minutes before the intense pain began. So, I called a good friend (who gets even worse migraines that I do and so knows the urgency of the 30 minute window) to come and fetch me. I took some of the migraine meds I had stashed in the Cage, and waited to be able to see again and for my friend to pick me up.

At home, I slept most of the day, and was groggy for the rest. I'm deeply frustrated at the loss of this day and am starting to feel the pressure. (Or maybe that is still my head -- it's hard to tell at this point.) When will I just get a normal, regular day to do my work? Maybe there is just no such thing and we have to take what we can get when we get it. But, me, I'd really like to have a full day of work tomorrow.