Last night I woke up around 3:00 p.m., as I usually do, and tossed and turned a bit. Then this headache, a headache like I’ve never had before, made itself known. It felt like someone was tightening a thick band around my head – it hurt so bad that it was hard to breathe. I forced myself to do my deep breathing exercises; then I got up, went downstairs, and took two Ibuprofen. Then I climbed back in bed, laid on my back, and prayed to a God who does not exist to take the pain away.

I considered waking Pete up but decided against it. If because of me, he’s over tired, he is grumpy. And I thought, if he was grumpy, this might make the headache worse.

As daylight drew near, the headache lessened. And as it lessened, I thought about what the cause might be. I had (and still have) a bad cold, so I figured it was my sinuses. And maybe the sinus problem is related to the earaches and to the tooth pain.

Pete, if I mention this to him, will say, “Why don’t you go and see the doctor?” I have not bothered to explain to him why it is that I haven’t done this, but the answer is that I have no idea what the problem(s) is/are. If, say, I knew it was my sinuses I’d go to an ear, nose, and throat specialist. If the problem is related to acid reflux, I’d go to a gastroenterologist.

If it was all in my head, I’d go to an astrologist.

The headache, thankfully, went away and I felt better, sort of. I sneezed and coughed and blew my nose all day. I acted chipper as I went about assisting others in shlepping books in the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel.

Natalie returned – she had just finished cycling from Singapore to Malaysia and had the photos to prove it. She said it was warm there, often above 90˚ F. She showed me one picture taken of the ocean; she bicycled that road. And she showed another of multiple musicians playing this very large, curving instrument.

Natalie said that her next trip is going to be to Morrocco, and specifically to Marrakesh. I’m sure that my face was green, the color of envy – but if I had a choice, of course I would bicycle in more northern climes, Wales, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, Iceland foremost.

I just need to find the right people to run the book project. I cannot let it go.

In math class today we began our forays into the land of Algebra. I’m glad to have moved on because I do not yet understand square numbers or cubed numbers. I never had this in school, which is pretty interesting because it’s been traditionally a subset of basic math curriculums.

Maybe I’ll get it when the squares and cubes are in context.

I’m really afraid to go to bed tonight. I fear I might wake up and the headache will have returned and decided not to leave.

Next: 49. 2/18/26: Algebra