She always was a sensitive girl

All my years I have been blessed/cursed with being sensitive. No, not the emo kind of you hurted my feelings type. Sensitive to light, sensitive to noise. Skin sensitivities. Mood sensitivities.

Speaking of noise sensitivity, I work in this building that they gut out completely and reconfigure with new offices and cube areas every time a company moves in and out. Naturally this means that the materials they use for the internal walls and doors are not really, what shall I say......substantial. Yes, they are not substantial.

I'll be sitting at my desk merrily working along and then it hits! the point were I can't not ignore the annoying noises anymore!! The wind blows through our vents so powerfully that the ceiling tiles and lights vibrate, which makes any cheap wall next to them vibrate.

I used to stand on my chair (my spinning office chair - oh the possiblities) and slam the light fixtures up and down hoping to get them to set better and not vibrate. Yeah, a patch for a much bigger problem. Because later, I'll be happily working when the wall right in front of me will start vibrating so loudly that I'm forced to leap out my seat and place both hands firmly on the wall, as if I was giving a faith healing in Southern Georgia someone. "Be-yuh Healyuhd!!" that stops the wall. But then one of the overhead ceiling tiles starts in.

It's usually at the point that I pull my ipod out. I know it's totally me, and it also depends on whether I'm about to have, am having, or am getting over a migraine. Small repetitive noises BOTHER ME SOOO MUCH when I have a migraine or one coming on. It's actually a sign for me now. I was sitting in a meeting once, there were 4 or5 other people there. And I realized that I could hear one gentleman's watch ticking. But it wasn't like just any ticking, is was loud enough that I couldn't concentrate. I'm looking around the room and no one else notices, so it's just me. And I start to get irritated, because how am I supposed to concentrate with this horrible ticticticticitic constantly going. I never say anything because I know it's me.

Some migraineurs get auras, I get sensitivity to sound. And actually it's sensitivity to small sounds when the area is generally quiet. Driving, listing to the radio, the tv, not a problem. But if I'm sitting somewhere quitely trying to work, I can hear the mice stomping in the attic. I know if there are electronics turned on in the room because I can hear their vibration.

oh well. it's not much of a super-power, and I have to have the migraines that go with it, so I'd probably give it up if I could! :-)