headache my ass

I've been getting tension headaches for a while now. Back of the neck, distracting, occasionally nauseating tension headaches. Everyone gets them at some point. Right now is my turn.


     So, today we're between jobs, moored at our mooring buoy. The last couple of jobs have been pretty rotten, and both of our generators were acting the fool at some point, too, so there hasn't been a lot of sleep for yours truly. Last night I was able to catch up some, and woke up to a bright, sunny morning to relieve the watch, who went to bed, leaving me in perfect peace. Right away the headache started. Seriously? Usually I get a few hours and then it sets in, you know, when things happen. But headache or not, it really was a pretty morning. I called Inappropriately Hot Foreign Wife to check in, talk about our plans for the day, etc, etc.

 After breakfast, I cracked a can of paint and painted the deck in our generator house. I got halfway through, which was a good piece of work. Somewhere along the way, my headache went away.

 I actually miss doing mindless work on a boat. Losing yourself in the repetitive motions and simple tasks can be very soothing. I used to find that I was able to think through a lot of problems when I was needle gunning or painting. All these years later, it still holds true. It was a really nice morning.

 Headache started up after, but it went away when I spliced one of the hawsers on deck. Hmmm. I sense a trend.

   I'm past the halfway point of this voyage already. The first two weeks were steady and busy with enough lay time that we could get our maintenance and shopping done- optimal balance, you know? This week no one wants bunker oil. It's disconcerting to have a full 24hr day off. I'm not complaining a bit. I was happy to get a bunch of things done here on board. But with fuel so cheap, I'm surprised that people don't want more of it.