Before I get into this, something somewhat unrelated: In guys’ bathrooms, the urinals are generally set up so one or more are at one height and one is much lower. It’s an accessibility thing - shorter folks can use the shorter urinal and have the same experience as taller folks at the taller urinals. In smaller bathrooms, there’s one tall one and one short one. I think my new favorite thing is having the five-foot-tall guy run into the bathroom two steps ahead of me and take the tall urinal so that I (at six-foot-two) can piss down around my ankles in the shorter one. Keep doing that, folks. No disrespect felt here at all. Next time you can’t reach something on a high shelf, you be sure to let me know. I’ll get right on that.

Back on topic now - the physical effects of stress.

I’ve been waking up in the last couple of weeks with these ridiculous tension headaches that last the majority of the day and sometimes into the afternoon. I have one today, in fact, that started about 2:00a and is almost gone (but not quite). I’m sure I’m destroying one or more fairly vital organs with my dosage of over-the-counter pain killers, but nothing seems to really kick its ass. I know this thing is a tension headache because if I push on the gigantic muscle knot in my right shoulder the pain instantly transfers from my head to my shoulder.

I’m stressed out, folks.

And the thing is, I’m not sure if it’s just the ol’ “I need a vacation” or if it’s more “I need something to change up at work.” I’m not too stoked with the stuff I’m “getting” to do right now (it’s not creative, it’s not cool, it’s not fun, it’s not challenging, and frankly I don’t see a whole heap of value in it even though I very well know it’s gotta get done) and I wake up in the middle of the night with my mind racing about this stupid thing. It’s stressing me out.

Not only that, but I’ve had this little patch on my foot (probably the size of a pencil eraser) that’s been itching for a few months now. I went to the dermatologist and it’s not eczema or psoriasis or any fungus or anything. You know what it is? It’s nerves. I was talking to the doctor and telling him how I don’t notice it itching or anything really during the day, but when I sit down at night and watch TV or basically decompress, that’s when I notice it. He said it’s connected to stress - my brain may not be thinking about the day, but the stress is manifesting itself as an itch in my foot. (Apparently it’s not uncommon and the doctor himself has the same issue.)

I’m not sure what can be done, but I’m positive something’s gotta give. My foot’s going to itch off or I’m going to end up calling in sick with the most insane migraine recorded in medical history.