Rain is coming. I don't even have to look at the weather report to know this. I can feel it in my right wrist and my right knee.

Due to the carpal tunnel, I have chronic pain in my right wrist. Some days I can deal with it, some days I want to cry.

Due to my fall last year, I also have chronic pain in my right knee. There are days I can deal, and days when the pain shoots through the calf bones in my leg and I can barely walk. I'm supposed to always use a cane when I walk. I don't. It's equal parts stubborn, personal pride, and the fact that when you see an overweight person with a cane the first thing that comes to mind isn't "they must be injured" - it's "they must be too fat to walk on their own".

The vast majority of days, I can function perfectly well. But it's days like this when I want to curl up into a little ball and cry. Rain is coming and I can feel it as the ache in my wrist gets worse. I can feel it as the pain in my knee becomes intense and starts shooting down and through the bones in my lower leg. My body is like a barometer and it sucks.

It started getting worse this morning and has been slowly building all day. As I write this sentence the clouds are moving in and I can hear the first drops hit the skylights in the loft. Rain is beautiful, but it causes a great deal of pain for me.

The only pain medication I take for this is a Tylenol PM before bed to help quiet things down enough to fall asleep. It works about half of the time. I won't ask for or take any prescription pain meds. I'm stubborn and I hate drugs. I only take those which I need to stay alive (such as asthma medications) or those which are gravely important (such as birth control so I don't hemmorage during my periods).

A weird alien looking bug (I think it's a silverfish) is staring at me from over the fireplace. Creepy. We get that kind of bug a lot. I'm thinking we're going to need to start some massive spring cleaning because we see at least a few a day. I hate bugs and if they are silverfish, they can be harmful to clothing and books. I have some rare books that are not meant to become bug food.

So yeah - my wrist hurts, my knee hurts, it's starting to rain, and there's an ugly bug from outerspace that will need to be killed by Rob when he gets home from work tonight.

And yet, I wouldn't say this has been a bad day. But then again that could be because Gabriel is napping and I have some quiet time.

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Japan
10% Warlike, 55% Spartan Living, 56% Socialist

You would fit very well into the Japanese nation. Despite your love of technology, personal space and gain are simply not important to you. Instead, you focus on the good of your people, with whom you are very close-knit. Although this blind loyalty may often lead you towards conflict, this happens due to little or no personal want. You believe in free trade as necessary to increase wealth, but not to the extent that it is a detriement to the beliefs of your society. Loyalty is ultimately of paramount importance to you.

Where Should You Have Been Born?