The meetings were good. Our students presented well, as they always do. I think we can be proud of the students who do research in our department; they are all top-notch. One of my colleagues and I (out of their hearing) had a discussion about "this person and that person really NEED to go on to grad school." We actually send a fair number of students to grad school considering we are a small school and are less selective than many universities. The good students we get are as good as any anywhere, and I think we do well by them by all the personal attention and research opportunities they get.

Unfortunately, I got another migraine. I think the van we drove up in had mildewed upholstery, and mildew is one of my worst triggers. And this is again why I think that "They bring it on themselves to get pity" theory of migraines is at least partly bunk: the whole time driving home (when it was getting at its worst), I kept telling myself, "relax your neck; relax your forehead; you don't want anyone to know how bad you actually feel." Because I didn't want anyone to worry or to offer to stop the van so I could run into a c-store and get some aspirin or something. (I just wanted to get HOME.)

When I got home, I took an Excedrin Migraine (note to self: always carry them in your purse, even when your "purse" isn't your usual purse) and an allergy tab and went to bed for an hour and a half and now I feel better. Better enough to eat (oatmeal is cooling on the stove) and to do at least a little of the piano practice I couldn't get to earlier.

I am, however, going to ditch the idea of going in and working with soil tomorrow: since the headache was probably at least partly caused by mold allergies, re-exposing myself to mold right away again seems unwise. (And I also really, REALLY need a day to just relax at home and let my brain unclench.)

I'm beginning to wonder if maybe seeing a sports-med person, or a physical therapist, and seeing if they can suggest any neck/shoulder muscle exercises to prevent/stop tightness when it starts could help; I almost feel like the muscles tightening up contribute to the headache (rather than being merely caused by it). I think I'm going to ask the nurse the next time I go in for an allergy shot; she is the coordinator for intramural sports on campus as well and I bet she would know the best person. I think all I would need would be to be taught the exercises and maybe be given one of those rubber band things, and then I could do them every night before bed or whatever if they prevent the problem. I also would bet my insurance would cover it, since it's a "quality of life" issue, and, if the migraines got worse, it could definitely adversely affect my teaching.

(I know some people see chiropractors but I think this is not a spinal alignment thing as much as it's a muscle tension thing, and it seems to me that a PT would know best what to do to help it.)