I’ve been fighting a caffeine-related headache all day. Now, I don’t drink a lot of caffeinated beverages during the day–a cup of half regular-half decaf coffee in the morning, and a cup of tea at night, after my shower. On weekends, there may be a cup of tea in the afternoon, or maybe a little extra coffee in the morning, but generally, two cups a day, neither one exactly overflowing with caffeine. However, my body is used to having that much (yes, isn’t it wonderful to know you can become addicted to such a small amount?), and when it doesn’t get it, it gets cranky. Like, say, on days when your office coffee maker is broken. Sure, I could have made a Dunkin Donuts run, but, I didn’t, and by lunch time, the corpuscles in my brain were clenched tight and making their displeasure known. So–an unusual thing–I made myself a cup of tea while home for lunch.

Here’s the tricky thing. When my head starts clenching from any caffeine-related cause (too much or too little, doesn’t seem to matter), trying to solve the problem by adjusting the internal caffeine level is either going to be wildly successful, very quickly, or more or less catastrophic. As you may or may not know, a hot, sweet cup of tea or coffee can help almost any normal headache–the heat, the sugar, and the caffeine, dilating the nerve endings of the brain, (or something like that)–all contribute to helping ease the pain on its way–but when my headache is caused by caffeine, it’s like playing with fire. I have yet to figure out any kind of pattern like “When headache is caused by A and is at B extreme, adding C amount of caffiene is successful.” It’s a guessing game–one which I’m sure you can guess, my mental synapses SO enjoy!

Right now, 3:30 in the afternoon, there’s definitely a headache. It’s not a walloping one, but more or less a vascular, throbbing kind of pressure at my temples, behind my eyes . . . but more like those brushes drummers use than the full-on parade, big, bass drum. If I’m very, very careful (and very, very lucky) the drummer will keep it down and I can deal until bedtime. If he pulls out the drumsticks and picks up the tempo, though, there may be a problem (grin). Here’s hoping!

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And then, speaking of caffeine, here’s an online quiz I came across today that seemed more or less perfectly timed for this post. Besides, I haven’t done one of these in a while. I don’t actually think it describes me very well, but I took it twice with some of the answers changed, and this came up twice, so–here you go.

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe But don’t think plain - instead think, uncomplicated You’re a low maintenance kind of girl… who can hang with the guys Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that’s you: the friend everyone invites. And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear. What Kind Of Coffee Are You? Take This Quiz

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And if you’re wondering what all this has to do with knitting? Well, nothing! I can’t talk about knitting ALL the time, can I? But for the record, I don’t think the Union Square Market Pullover likes me . . . either that, or it’s the Rowan 4-ply Cashsoft . . .

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