Weekend Retreat

This weekend my arts collective held a retreat at the home of one of its members. The purpose of the retreat was to bring up some energy behind the group so we can start putting together some great events again. Some of the things we've done in the past include a response show to Miss Saigon and a national Spoken Word Summit, a three day weekend where asian american poets and writers from across the country came to boston for workshops and community.

There were 9 of us there, and we began by writing down our introductions into the group and our favorite moments. I first met the group during the Miss Saigon response show, and one of my favorite events was a concert with an independent rock band. We wrote these down on nametag stickers and shared them with the rest of the group. After lunch, we made a giant timeline, with a sticker for every event we'd done. When we finished, we placed our own nametags with our personal choices on there, and mapped out our course through the organization with string. It was an interesting way of looking at the organization.



We came up with some goals for the future and ended the day with a BBQ and poker. I got home shortly after midnight, feeling tired but happy with the day's events.

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My First Migraine

Yesterday I played basketball after work, at a local park near my apartment. The sunlight seemed extraordinarily bright, and I felt a strain in my eyes. I continued to play and didn't think much of it. Soon the pain in my eyes drove its way back and I felt a tightening in my head. It was uncomfortable, but not unbearable. I filled up my water bottle and drank more, thinking it was just dehydration. After another game, it started hurting worse, and I called it a day. On the way home I stopped by the supermarket to pick up some meat, and it continued to get worse. As I walked back home the weight from my groceries felt very heavy, and my head was in immense pain. I bought a nutritious shake from another grocery store near my place and swallowed it down, thinking my body might be starved of healthy nutrients. When I got home, I prepared some rice and jumped in the shower. I poured my self several glasses of water.

After my shower the pain began to subside, and I prepared dinner. I made chicken breast stir-fried w/mix vegetables, and poured it along w/some black beans on to a large mound of brown rice. I ate and thankfully began to feel much better. I finished my meal with some ice cream, and lay down on the couch relieved.

I read about migraine today online and it looks like it's what I had yesterday. I'm not sure if you get them, but apparently they are more common for women than they are for men. Light sensitivity can be one of the causes/symptoms. And they can last up to 72 hours! Thankfully that was not the case for me. I don't ever want that to happen again.