The Pig of Happiness

Low profile

I'm head down bogged with work at the moment trying to finish off contracts for my old job while my new job is starting. I spent all weekend working and I HATES it. If ever I needed convincing that I need never do this kind of work again on contract, I have been convinced. I would MUCH rather be sending my art inspired creations around the world like Kim. GO STICKYTIKI.
So I wont be posting much for a few weeks because I didnt want this to be a moan about my work sagas but rather an log of my new creative life.
1 manual out of 5 done. Just another month of slog to go me hopes.
[sigh]

Headache free

Today I woke up without a headache. I even went for a run and no headache - usually runs bring on headaches for me. Oh Bliss. Touch wood it lasts...

5 days and counting

It's been 5 days since I had a drink with caffeine in it and I am still headachy, though on saying that I am way way WAY better than the Hellish mire of pain and nausea that beset me on Thursday and Friday.
Still, I'd have hoped to be headache free by now. I keep getting horrible thoughts that I have a brain tumour or something. Silly I know but a close school friend of mine died recently from a brain tumour and she didn’t know a thing about it until she collapsed one day, by which time it was too late to do anything. She had been suffering migraines for years. I have been suffering headaches for years too but I was also a heavy caffeine drink consumer and most headaches were there on waking and would be eased with a coffee or tea so were obvious caffeine related.
I'll give it a few more days and if they don’t go away I'll see a doctor and demand a brain scan.
So there.

Sage tea

I'm drinking sage tea in a futile attempt to ease the throbbing, pounding pain in my head. Hello caffeine withdrawal. I went through this a couple of years ago when I went cold turkey to give up coffee. Now it’s tea, or chai tea I should say. The closest thing I found to replace coffee, only, like coffee I began to get headaches and migraines with it too if I didn’t get the timing right. I tried to wean off both coffee and tea but it didn’t work...just kept getting headaches and needing to drink more coffee/tea so once again I am going cold turkey. I feel so bad. Sick, tired, heavy and a pounding, pounding head. Ever hit your nail with a hammer and had that throbbing pain and know that pricking your nail with a needle so the blood can escape is the best way to ease the pain but you just can’t bring yourself to do it? That's how my head feels and apparently the pain is likewise due to the blood flow so probably if I could drill a hole in my head the pain would ease - but I won’t. I know this will pass in the next day or two, so I just have to ride it out and think of my headache free future that awaits me. May this post remind me to NEVER consume caffeine ever again! It’s NASTY.

Home studio

I don’t feel too lonely...yet. This feeling of being at home on my own, working away with emails for company (and our two puddy cats) has a strong feeling of déjà vu about it. It takes me back to the joys and reclusive isolation of when I worked from home for 6 years trying in vain to get my elearning business up and running. I have since learnt that one cannot do all the work and grow a business at the same time with no support to speak of. Fortunately this will be temporary. A personality like mine needs to be around people. I heard someone the other day mention that alcoholics are idealist melancholics. Ha ha. So true. I am a melancholic who has learnt how not to be idealist...finally. I accept that I need the energy and buzz of other people because I don’t have it inherently within me to generate enough to combat my default melancholic state. But around the right people I soar…
I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. SO MUCH TO DO. I have to write 7 training manuals with a training guide each and a power point presentation covering 11 unit standards and featuring something like 70 different scenario and question activities. I also have to develop assessment packs for 21 unit standards for another project and I want to get as much of this done as I can in the next two weeks – or should I say 8 days. Unlikely me thinks which means I’ll be starting my new job with nights and weekends trying to finish these @#$%^& projects. I tried to get out of the big one but Artisan has already committed and so I committed to finishing them. :-(

My last big project for Artisan

I am in Auckland now and had a very successful focus group meeting today for some new training materials I have to write. Ironically this is probably the best job I've done for Artisan, just when I am leaving them. Also Ironic is that I have a feeling it will be so successful that I may have the opportunity to do a LOT more contract work with them...just when I have made the decision to give up all my contract work and focus on my art...

Hmm. I am sure life will tell me what to do.

Tonight I booked Baz and I into the Orbit restaurant on top of the Sky City Tower. I just decided what the heck. Its something that would be fun to experience so hopefully it wont blow the budget too much. Its a surprise for Bazza. He's on his way to the Hotel we're staying at now. Exciting times :-)