Headache Thoughts, and Proofquest Pre-Thoughts

I found Rachel's post about her migraines, and specifically her use of chocolate in treatment*, very interesting, as you might imagine. (Won't-click-the-link summary: in addition to other facets of treatment, she eats a small amount of basic dark chocolate first thing in the morning every day.) However, I have some trouble with adopting the plan myself, both logistically and taste-wise.

*I was delighted when Jo Rowling made chocolate the antidote to dementor contact in the Harry Potter books. Yes! Chocolate is the remedy!

Taking the latter first, I'm not actually a huge dark chocolate fan. I like Hershey's Special Dark, which is really barely dark chocolate (more like semi-sweet), and I like dark chocolate in combination with mint (whether it's Marblehead Mints or Junior Mints), but on its own? Not really. It's better than medicine, certainly, but I'm never going to be buying the high-percentage special-provenance dark stuff when there's caramel and toffee* out there.

*Caramel and toffee "go with" milk chocolate like mint goes with dark. Do other people have rules like this?

Then there's the conflict between "eat the chocolate on an empty stomach, then don't eat for an hour" and my morning schedule, which has been tweaked over the years to be What Works For Me. These days, I get up at 6, eat breakfast while reading the paper, hit the computer for a quick check of e-mail and blogs, and by 7 I'm putting in my contacts and getting ready to shower. Dress, gather my lunch and grab all the crap I carry around, and out the door by 7:30 so I don't miss the (stupid) bus.

If I wait an hour to eat breakfast, when do I shower? I can't shower first, because if I hang around the house dressed for work, I'll end up covered in cat hair! Seriously, the cat hair always wins.

However, I think I'm going to try a tweak: Keep the routine at home the same, then when I get to work*, eat the chocolate, and nothing else for an hour. Perhaps it will help, who knows?

*I'm usually hungry by the time I get there anyway

I'm sure the neurologist would laugh at it, but I'll try it anyway. It's not like I'm planning to go cold-turkey on my prescription meds or anything.

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When this week ends, I will be exactly halfway through this job, which started mid-May and is scheduled to end October 1st. I'm not looking forward to job-hunting again, but I'm looking forward to a job situation that better suits me, both in external and internal characteristics. It's Proofquest 2010, Take 2: the wish list!

External:

• Not in Boston--no more public transit!
• Within reasonable driving distance of home.
• North-northwest of the city, preferably within 128. (It's a big area, maybe 50 square miles? someone in there must need a proofreader!)
• Starting mid-October (the 20th would be about perfect*, leaving me free to go to Apple Festival and Rhinebeck) (or later. Honestly, I'd be fine with Nov 1, if that worked out).
  

*It doesn't hurt to be specific when you put the request to the universe, is my feeling.

Internal:

• Good communication and feedback from boss and coworkers.
• A cohesive, friendly, stable* department/company.
• Minimal "we've always done it that way" attitude.
• Permanent (temp-to-perm maybe, but no temp/freelance/contract), with good salary** and benefits (health insurance! vacation!).
• Casual/business casual dress code (no suits).
• And hey, free coffee/cocoa would be nice.

*Please, no layoffs! I'd like to work happily in the same place for a few years. Just until I win the lottery.
**Doesn't have to be 6-figures, but it has to pay the mortgage etc.

Am I forgetting anything? I feel like I'm forgetting something Big and Obvious.