Pillar

Up at 5:00 am for tea, shower, and a neck massage. Delightful as this sounds, it’s necessary therapy for an intense headache. If I can make it through to 8:00 am without vomiting, I might have a half reasonable day. I’ve been too busy to visit the masseur lately, and this is the price I pay for not being able to find an hour in my schedule.

Days like today are a sharp reminder of the difference between quality of life, and standard of living.

At decision time, my condition has improved sufficiently to head into work. I know what I need to do this morning, which is just as well. By early afternoon I’ve largely recovered, and I shift up a few gears and start cranking out useful code for another five hours. Everything is neatly concluded and delivered when I leave.

Back home I notice that the inverted plastic flower pot which protects my custom telescope mount and pillar has succumbed to a combination of snow and ultraviolet. A trip to the garden centre tomorrow, perhaps.