Comments on Comments in the Last Week

 

AC stated:

I think that you had an unusually hectic semester. Enjoy what rest you can and hopefully have a slightly reduced load next time around. 

I actually have one extra upper division course next semester.  But, all things considered, I am working/aiming to have a smoother semester.... with hopefully no phone issues at least, and I am striving for calmness and routine by trying to better plan ahead the majority of the semester.

Whether running or otherwise, you do keep up quite a pace.

I guess I have a somewhat heavy pace.... but I keep coming back to the idea that it sure did not feel like such a pace previously.  I am still not really sure why it feels so different.  Of course, electronica is part of it, and a major new wrinkle is that the U has adopted "Workday" which is a management system for paperwork and it is really horrendous.  It makes MORE paperwork for everything sadly, and because no one seems to really know how to use it, it typically requires multiple attempts even for the most seasoned folks in HR and Purchasing... let along how difficult it is for us faculty who get very mixed messages about how navigate this horrible system.

If our brains are developed and settled by 25-28, when does the decline begin for the average person? I realize there are many variables, but can a rough average date be established?

There has been a lot of recently discerned work on this and according to the most current literature, there are four (some say five) distinct stages of neural development:

Prenatal to ~9 years old - young brain - major active growth

~10 - many now say to ~30 - the adolescent brain

~30 - ~60 - the adult brain

~60 - ~80 - the aging brain

80+ the elderly brain

With the above, the development of new connections is in the young brain and to a lesser extent the adolescent brain.  The adult brain is considered a stable/status-quo state, and roughly 60 or so, there is the start of decline.  But, as with all science, it is based upon probabilities... so the ages of onset and transition should really be viewed as ranges.  And, the above is based upon what has been SEEN, not necessarily what CAN be.

DMP stated:

aren't they (filberts) a problem for kidney stones? oxalate content?

I had not thought about the oxalate issue with nuts in quite a while, as I fortunately, have not had issues with kidney stones and hopefully will not.  But, I did some exploring to refresh my understanding.  As you stated.... almonds ARE very high in terms of oxalates and ARE very risky for folks prone to kidney stones.  But, from what I found, it appears that filberts (hazelnuts) are more in a "medium" oxalate level category.  From what I found, filberts have only 1/8th ( ~12.5%) the amount of oxalates per ounce compared to almonds.  Filberts appear to be similar to several other "medium" nuts..... like cashews and pecans.  The "low" oxalate level nuts appear to be macadamia nuts, peanuts, and walnuts.... which roughly have only 1/20th (~5%) the amount of oxalates per ounce compared to almonds.  

Margaret stated:

The expectations of the holidays are something I've fought against, but I usually lose. I want the traditions to be less stressful and joyous, but they often turn into pressure and disappointment. I hope that your holiday isn't too chaotic or upsetting and that you can find some peace and happiness in the midst of the family doings.

What you state above reflects very well my own feelings but is said more eloquently and succinctly than I typically manage.  I am trying to find moments and times of tranquility during this season.  

I didn't realize that filberts were the same as hazelnuts. I like them a lot in things but don't generally eat them by themselves. Unstructured time with pressures on isn't relaxing at all. 

Yes, they are synonyms for each other that are frequently not well known.  Another food item that seems to have similar recognition of not commonly being known in both forms is the chickpea that is also known as a garbanzo bean.  I am not sure why.... but it seems that most folks learn and recognize ONE name for either of those two items.... and their alternative synonym is new to many folks.  I think I remembered the filbert/hazelnut synonyms especially... from my childhood as most of my aunts and uncles always called these nuts "acorns" which I sadly figured out when I opened and tried an actual acorn from an oak tree when I was small.  Acorns are very bitter, unlike hazelnuts/filberts that are (IMO) exceptionally delicious.  My many relatives referring to them as "acorns" also was one of several impetuses that had me relish pouring through the large, Merriam-Webster Dictionary I received as a young kid one year.  I always cherished that book:  

Paper does tend to accumulate TOO fast! I'm so happy you've found and bonded with the Cigar Group. I remember how apprehensive you were at first. Like many things, you don't know how it will go until you try!

Yes, paper is such a chore to keep track of.  It is interesting that with the fall of newspapers, I find it challenging that even though I have SO VERY MUCH 8.5 x 11 inch paper in damn near every spot of every U office and lab I have.... plus a whole helluva lot at home too..... besides MISSING reading the actual news in a real "old school" newspaper.... I miss the USEFULNESS and reliable AVAILABILITY of old newsprint for other uses (wrapping, packing, cleaning, etc).  I now HOARD any occasional newsprint I acquire.  The only newspaper available in my region in a real paper format now is the New York Times (other regional papers in my parts are too pitiful, sporadic, and only filled with regurgitated news).  But, with a paper NYT costing $4 weekdays and $6 on Sunday.... it is a guilty pleasure only indulged in perhaps once a month or so.  Reading newspapers on a Tablet/Kindle..... just NOT the same.... even though that IS what I and damn near everyone (who reads newspapers) has to do now.

Pam J stated:

*I was listening to Zadie Smith on the radio this morning, the author of "White Teeth", a book I've never read but have now put on hold at the library. She said, that she was paraphrasing Freud and that she wanted her children to have ordinarily sad lives, to have some work that was meaningful, and to have love. That caught my attention, so I looked up what Freud said, and he did not believe that a life could be lived without ordinary unhappiness. I would have to say I agree with Freud about this.

*Life is full of loss and sadness, intermingled with moments of joy. I suppose it's how we deal with the losses and enjoy the moments of joy that decides how we live our lives.*

Pam.... I agree with your assessment and with Freud and also Smith's interpretation.  But with my penchant for science fiction (not the mumbo-jumbo fantasy genre, which sometimes gets clumped in with science fiction but IMO is polar opposite), I have often imagined a novel with the ability to warp or shuffle time so that we could order and arrange our times of happiness and joy based upon the finite time we would be on Earth.  I had always imagined in that sci-fi mindset I would organize all the horrors and sadnesses first and then have my happy times arranged by degree of happiness within the latter aspect of my time.  

Pat M stated:

I'm sure you remember, Professor, how at the dawn of the computerized office the technology companies regaled us with promises of the "paperless office." Yet somehow we've ended up with as much paper as before... if not more... along with the computers!

Haha!  Yes!  And I would suggest the.... "if not more" that you state is the most accurate!  The number of 8.5 x 11 pieces of paper scattered about every surface is an (annoying) sight to behold in my offices and labs.  It used to be that we had BOOKS we cherished for years/decades, and writings were accomplished in notebooks.  But NOW, damn near everything is computer generated and is printed and distributed as loose paper.... and often times printed MULTIPLE times to correct several times the various typographical errors found.

(referencing my own words).... "ADD is an important word for me to emphasize.... my mind typically thinks of NEW tasks, NEW roles, NEW foci as being ADD-ONS and not replacements or substitutions."

Perhaps the above gives us some insight into one reason why the DELETION of your pipes hasn't given you the solace for which you might have hoped, as making that change didn't ADD to your routine?

Yes,  I can see and understand your idea.  My pipes were deleted.  For reasons..... I thought valid.  I do have to say that I have been ever more consciously considering going back to them as I mentioned a little bit ago.  

More broadly, though, I wonder whether you might be able to think of your activities through a wider-angle lens? If you can think of "professorial duties" as encompassing a wide range of activities, perhaps it's not a "replacement" or "substitution" to focus more on some of those duties (e.g. mentoring) and less on some others (e.g. committee work)?

You are correct that I should do this.  Part of me wishes I had more of a typical workday where after my eight hours, I could traipse out of the building and forget the place at "quitting time" until I have to report back 16 hours later.  But, educators nor scientists rarely if ever get that sort of clear-cut delineation of their work life and non-work life.  Or at least I have never known one who HAS those clear boundaries.  And, the thing is also true.... for me.... right now I am in a state of mind where I just am not wanting to "switch-it-up" to do things differently.... because.... because.... it seems too time consuming and cumbersome to FIGURE OUT the "new paths" to take.  I guess this resistance on my part stems in part from my woefully inadequate attempts to try to "8 hour" things to some degree.  

Somewhat related.... a few years ago there was a phrase coined to describe a work ethos called "quiet quitting".  It typified folks who strived to just "do" their job and no more.  In some ways that concept has appeal.  It seems as if it might be a way to regain time and freedom.  But, I do not really know if that can be done by an educator. 

Similarly, "parenting" looks different when you are parenting a two-year-old vs. parenting a twenty-two-year-old. Some specific activities and priorities are very different at those two different stages, but they are more like '"refocusings" than "replacements" or "substitutions."

I think you are right.  But, at this moment, my mind really is unable to focus much on how to even potentially "fix" those challenges I have been facing.  I have to reason through it more.  

If you can accept that perspective/approach, then maybe you can even look at something like "exercise" in a broad manner, recognizing that it's not so much that you are "replacing" or "substituting" some activities for others, but more that you are continuing your exercise in whatever manner is appropriate at whatever stage you are in. For example, if you are currently running 10 kilometers each morning, and doing so takes about an hour, you might focus on maintaining the "run for an hour" routine rather than the "run 10 kilometers" routine, and by doing so make an adjustment that is entirely appropriate as you age.

Again, true.  But, I hate the feeling of decline.  This last bout with plantar fasciitis has thrown me for a bit of a loop.  I am still down in mileage and still not fully back up to snuff with regard to it.  It disconcerts me.   

More Randomized Thoughts

 

More random thoughts today, as my mind is all over the map:

• While growing up, and when our kids were young, I always envisioned the Holidays as my wife and I became older.... as becoming more of a fun, relaxing time where family would gather and things would be peaceful and calm, and that we could host gatherings and have kids and grandkids visit and then at the end of the day, folks would go home and my wife and I would peacefully tidy up and enjoy each other's company doing so.  
• The above is unlikely to occur anytime soon if ever.  And, when I (unfortunately) allow myself to think about this, I become sad.
• Mostly what I anticipate for this holiday is my trying as best as I am able.... to manage my own stress.  Basically, what typically transpires is a chaotic mess of stressors from a number of sides.... our kids.... our relatives.... our friends.... where we have various "expectations" we are meant to navigate and do.  My wife has a strong tendency to want to meet all of these expectations.... and most of all.... this leads to continual altering and changing of plans, shifting of duties, shifting of responsibilities.  This constant adjusting and modifying plans keeps me on edge in addition to the other edgy things occurring.  
  
• When what I want to do is rest and to be peaceful and contented, and what actually transpires instead is simply getting things done to "get through it"..... it can be exhausting to my mind and spirit.
• Today (31 years ago) is the evening my niece swallowed a bottle of her parent's high blood pressure medication.  One of her siblings went into her bedroom and awoke her and she was rushed to the hospital and given charcoal and medications to induce vomiting.  She did vomit out much of the medication and was talking with people.  Unfortunately, enough of the hypertensive medication had worked through her system, that overnight her heart stopped and she could not be revived.  She passed away 31 years ago on what would be tomorrow.  If alive, she would now be 48 years old. 
• I still have the present I had bought and wrapped for her stored somewhere.  I had wrapped it the evening before and had packed it into my trusty Rabbit (along with many other presents) the evening before all this transpired.  I lived farther away than at a more distant city I taught at for one year.  I had been so looking forward to Christmas with family that year, as it was only six months earlier that my Dad had passed away in this same year, and I needed to feel the bonding with everyone.  Christmas was not, of course, anything like I had been imagining.  Her funeral, funeral Mass, and her burial were our reality.
• I am just trying to just push through to get to the other side.  It sounds awfully damn pitiful and stupidly maudlin... but I am mainly now looking forward to having the new semester start.... and allowing things to return to a relative sense of normalcy.... even with the work related challenges.  
• Only a small handful of folks were at the Retiree's Cigar Group.  It was enjoyable.  But, I could not really rally and get myself into a sense of "exuberance" or "joy".  I am glad to have gone, but it did not help foster the peace nor tranquility I had hoped.  
• Today I am working to try to get my critters settled away so I only have sporadic U visits to them during the next week or so.  
• I ran (only 5 miles (~8km)) and lifted some weights this morning.  I have started out with a light load that I think I will try to maintain until the start of the year.... to allow my arm and chest muscles used to the added work being expected of them.  At the start of the year, I will work to gradually increase the load bearing levels I am lifting. 
• I look at my pipes, in the various places I have them.  I have the requisite pipe-smoking Santa statue by the round pipe rack in my home office like usual.  I have the Santa hat atop of the glass lid of the pipe tobacco canister in the center of my round pipe rack like usual as well.   But right now, even they seem sad to me.  Only when I drift off to sleep remembering the wonderful times with the many folks I miss, remembering the wonderful times with some folks as they used to be, and remembering the wonderful times with my pipes, am I feeling a calmness.  

PipeTobacco

Out....

One of the things I have come to realize during the last day or two, even though I should damn well already know this.... is that.....

• In order for me to NOT feel "edgy" and "out-of-sorts" I need to have a game plan that I follow each day.
• Now, hold on.... yesterday I said I WANTED UNSTRUCTURED TIME, UNPLANNED TIME
• Yes, I did.... but I meant it more that what I want is to KNOW what I NEED to accomplish in a given day..... so I can get it DONE.... and THEN I can have the rest of the day be flexible and free and UNSTRUCTURED.
• This is why I gravitate towards doing my exercise first thing in the morning.... to get something important and hard OFF MY PLATE.
• This is why I have managed to have the vast majority of my classes be scheduled for as early as I can in the day, so that I can accomplish that needed work.... and then it is OFF MY PLATE.  

So, with the above ideas in mind, it is far more understandable to me how and why I felt ornery and out-of-sorts with myself the last few days.  I did not follow the above.... I DID NOT get required things off my plate as quickly as I could..... instead, I hemmed and hawed and delayed doing many of the required things..... and this left them LOOMING in my mind until I eventually got them done.  But, the LOOMING nature of it was exhausting to me!

So, even though I WANT MORE UNSTRUCTURED TIME..... I have to realize that to GET UNSTRUCTURED TIME in a way that feels wonderful.... I have to better think through and PLAN to get the essentials off my plate first.

Seems OBVIOUS.... but after grades were submitted, I just sort of meandered.... and yet still had things that needed to be done.... and that had me feeling edgy all the time because I delayed getting things done so I could RELAX.

So, I am now off to go to a candy shop for some things needed for Christmas..... including filberts in the shell.  None of the grocery stores around here have filberts in the shell this year, and I do not know why.  But, as soon as I buy two pounds of these hazelnuts.... and also some of their specialty candies (for my wife).... I will be heading over to the Retiree's Cigar Group!

PipeTobacco

Miscellanea

 

• I still feel rather cruddy physically.  My extensive stretching to alleviate my heel discomfort has diminished that probably 95% which is good, but the new stretching has ultimately resulted in my lower back (latissimus dorsi muscle) to be very sore and tender now.  I believe that long term this will all work out as the tightening of the back muscle was probably due to the heel pain, and working through one aspect is bound to make the other compensatory muscles ache as you work to correct things.  But, it is tiring.  The back pain was extreme yesterday, but I added some extra back stretches, and it is perhaps 70% less this morning.  I have been reducing my running during this time to only ~5 miles a day (~8 km).  
• I am trying to keep a "stiff upper lip" these days, but I am feeling very much drained.  Just some basics include:
• The not feeling up to snuff due to my heel/back.
• Later this week, it will be the 31st Anniversary of when my young niece committed suicide.  It is shocking to think that she would be 48 years old now if she had chosen to live.
• The exhaustion of a difficult semester still is weighing more heavily on my mood than is the relief that grades are submitted and in. 
• My wife waits until now to do a lot of last minute Christmas shopping.  And, this means sometime in the next few days there will be a wrapping "party".  I can wrap presents VERY beautifully.  But, I am just not WANTING to wrap anything.  But, if I do not, I will disappoint.  So, I am not looking forward to spending much of a day wrapping, and then cleaning up the mess.
  
• The tragic murders of Rob & Michelle Reiner by their kid also has darkened my mood and spirits.  Obviously I do not know any of the personally, but I did admire Rob's work, and the horror of what appears to have occured is difficult.
• I have not gotten as far as I had hoped in planning and editing things for the next semester of classes, so I have that to do as well.  
• What I guess I WANT.... is 2-3 days of NO tasks/work, NO scheduled events, NO duties, NO anything planned, required, needing my attention.  And, I know it will not happen.  
• The one PLANNED event that I do hope goes well is tomorrow's Retiree's Cigar Group.  I keep thinking of that 2-3 hour reprieve.  
• The title for this post (and the image) are intertwined.  I am posting just a few random bullet points, hence the "miscellanea", but also it is a very interesting album that came across my Pandora recently.  It is by a fellow named Luigi Zito.  A snippet of the song of  his harpsichord focused music can be heard here. 

PipeTobacco 

Attempting & Tempting

Brief thoughts for today:

• I am TRYING to tie up a lot of loose ends regarding grading, and submitting grades.
• I am TRYING to clean and tidy my U Offices.  They look like my rats have taken up residence here, and I need to bring back order.
• I am similarly TRYING to clean and tidy my research labs.  Replicate the rat analogy above here as well.
• I feel very stiff and sore.  I have not ran yet today, and am planning on TRYING to run at the U track when I close up in my offices and labs today.
• I think I need to do weight training to help build tone.  I keep telling myself this, but I keep avoiding it.  I need to change this.
• Even though it only Tuesday, I have been anticipating and imagining all day while working.... going to the Retiree's Cigar Group this Thursday.  I think the end of the semester grind has me looking even more forward to having that prescribed time to "let things go" for a bit.  This has become such a valuable form of friendship, peacefulness, and relaxation.  It is so unlike the rest of my day-to-day that it is a very refreshing reprieve.  
• I have too damn much paper all about me.  I WANT to simply chuck all of it and start fresh.  But, amongst the mountains of paper accumulated across this semester, I am sure there several things I NEED to save.  But, that makes it all the more slow-going and very much a grind.... having to look at each and every single damn piece of paper.  And, yes, I KNOW I should "put everything in its damn place" every time so I do not have this sort of struggle.  But, with the speed by which everything tends to need to be done at this place, I always accumulate piles (mountains) of paper. And, with the way the U electronica is going, that is NO FASTER nor any easier.  
• Ever since my Dad's 102nd.... and the glorious pipe I allowed myself to indulge in.... my memories as I fall to sleep have been more focused upon my very youthful pipe adventures.  Last night I was remembering the Summertime reading I did while lounging on the relic of a treehouse.... mostly just a platform by that time.  I remember taking a big jug of water with ice, my pipe and pipe tobacco, and my library checked-out copy of Huxley's "Brave New World".  Being up on the platform (perhaps ~15 - 20 feet up), I was densely in the canopy layer of those woods.  After I settled in to read and smoke my pipe, things would become rather quiet on my end, and I remember seeing a lot more directly the birds and squirrels interreacting with each other in the canopy.  I was remembering well, the softness of the flavors of the Prince Albert pipe tobacco I had surreptitiously "borrowed" from my Dad's big pound tub of the gentle leaf that was always in the kitchen cupboard, usually alongside a similar pound tub of Sir Walter Raleigh as well.  It was a beautiful Summer afternoon immersing myself in the gentle, but rich pipe tobacco and also the enlightening words of Huxley.  Such an amazing book. Beyond its rich story (a dystopian style of story, if you have not read this work), there was a rather detailed account of developmental biology as well.  I believe that work helped shape me to have the interest and passion I have for an embryological/early development focus for much of my research.  

Damn, I am not actually being brief, am I?  I will halt it here for today.  I admire the man, but I guess I could never say my writing style is "Hemingway-esque" could I?  

PipeTobacco  

Comments on Comments from 12/08 - 12/14

I am collecting some comments from last week and seeing if my new method IS actually successful like my Saturday sample.  And, yes, the image above would need an "n" in it to even be remotely humorous.. but it was what I could find.  Keeping my finger's crossed that this looks normal: 

AC stated:

“I was still using the overhead projector a lot in 2001 when I retired.”

I believe it was around 2006 when I actually started to make PowerPoint slides for use in lectures.  Part of it was that the U did not have reliable projector systems in many rooms I ended up being assigned to until around that time, and the “workaround” they gave folks for those rooms is that they could check-out (from the library) a tall (old-school movie projector style) cart with a computer and projector on it that you would have to wheel from the library to whatever the hell the building and room you had to teach in was located.  Then you had to set it all up, then take it down and wheel it back to the library afterwards.  That did not seem to “enhance” my workload, so I kept the acetates until my usual classrooms were up to snuff.  

“Snow and exams are a problem. My granddaughter has another exam tomorrow when it will snow, and she has a long drive into the city to get there.”

It is always a worry for those students who commute.  I worry about the percentage who do commute in the Winter, because they are young and still rather novice drivers by-and-large.  And, as I often mention in my neuroscience class, human “decision-making” myelination of the cortex of the brain does not fully form until around 25-28 years of age.... so their decision making processes may not always be the best.  Myelin is a covering that some neurons have that shapes how rapidly the neuron conducts messages.

“The part about talking less and less as the group grows more and more is most definitely me.”

Hahah!  You and me both.  I tend to find the greatest comfort in casual chatting/conversing when there are only one or two others I am talking with.  But, I still feel reasonably talkative and comfortable up to five or so others.  Larger than that..... I have a very strong tendency to say little (without forcing myself) and simply listen.

GaP stated:

“For what it's worth...I agree with Pat M. 100%. You are a pipe smoker. It's part of you. It makes you a better, more "complete" person. Why would you resist that? The world needs more Frumpy Pipe Smoking Professors, Professor. Tweed blazers carrying the aroma of pipe tobacco, offices and studies with some excellent room-note. That's part and parcel of being a pipe man Professor.”

I did indeed have that role for many, many years.  I have been considering returning quite a bit since the pipe I had on my Dad’s 102nd birthday.  BUT, I do not like NOT doing what I say I will do., and I said I would lay down my pipes.   Yet, I also do not like being rash in decisions, and hence I am weighing options as best as I can.  I also do worry more than a little bit that if I were to fully return, and then sometime wish again to refrain that I may not have enough resolve to do so.  It was difficult enough the first time.

Margaret stated:

“That grading process sounds clunky and time-consuming. We went from an easy system called EasyGradePro to an expensive but NOT user friendly one that I can't think of the name of. Except that I hated it. Glad the Cigar Group went so well--5 is an ideal number for chatting.”

It is indeed clunky.  In some ways I suspect that may PARTIALLY be purposeful.  I think some profs might just “willy-nilly” assign grades very rapidly (and likely have considerable errors) if they could enter grades rapidly and easily.  The clunky nature of the U’s current system is partially due to cheapness, and partially due I believe to forcing the profs to be cognizant and methodical at this time of the year where most profs (myself included) are ready for a break.

“Pat makes excellent points about boundaries, the pipes and accepting limitations. I think you judge yourself too harshly; striving to become a better person doesn't mean that you're not a wonderful person to start with. Or that you're selfish.”

Thank you for suggesting I judge myself too harshly.  I tend more toward the mindset that I do not judge myself harshly enough and should be more purposeful and more dedicated in my actions.  I think I readily see my many failings and they gnaw and gnaw at me.  But, sometimes I have a tendency to find ways to ignore them.

“I hope the snow isn't too disruptive. We're having a massive amount of rain which is causing havoc in some areas. Right now it's not raining and I should be out there walking instead of sitting inside with the cat!”

From the news reports I have seen, it sounds horrendous in your region!  I have checked your blog many times, just to look for a reassuring post that things are still going ok for you amidst all this chaotic weather.  

“Feast or famine! I have the opposite problem. We're in an atmospheric river right now so I could be growing mold from the moisture. How thoughtful to send the finals kits to your kids. My younger daughter's university had one that parents could buy and I did that a couple years. I'm sorry about your daughter losing her position. I think there will be more and more of that. My older daughter was on a year by year contract at her college which probably would have disappeared. Although she hates her job in state government, at least it's relatively secure. Maybe?”

Fortunately, my graduate school daughter has taken the situation well, after a day of reflection.  She feels reasonably confident that in the next semester her position will be safer as she will have enough “senority” in the role due to other graduate students expected to defend in the next semester she is unlikely to be at risk.  

Pam J stated:

But the most revealing and interesting reaction from FProf is this one: “I have to also admit that it stung to read and recognize the above AS true.” Stung? It almost sounds like FProf thinks he can, with hard work, defy aging. But he’s a scientist, he understands biology. Perplexing.”

Hah.... I can understand your sentiment.  But, by saying it “stung” I was more talking about how the lowered abilities I have make me feel less valuable, less helpful, etc.  I do understand the biology of aging, but at the same time I have a (common to many) hope I can stave it off not forever, BUT perhaps longer than average through hard work... and/or be one of the statistical “outliers” that has a much, much more gradual onset.  Statistics and probability definitely suggest that is a pipe dream... but at the same time, I still on occasion buy a Lotto ticket.... thinking just MAYBE... I could be the one! 

Pat stated:

“It's not that "accepting limitations" means trying less or working less, Professor. It's that the things you work hard on, or try hard at, will change as we age. For instance, you are likely at a point in your life where working hard to be a great mentor will yield more fruitful results than working hard to be a great innovator. With age, you may be less able to serve by living heavy boxes, but you may be more able to serve by organizing the content of those boxes. And after decades growing more deeply familiar with your field of study, you may be far better prepared to synthesize understandings across the breadth of your discipline than to dig deep for new data in one narrow sub-discipline. I didn't mean to suggest "Don't keep trying to work harder" -- I meant to suggest that you try to figure out where your hard work will yield the greatest payoff in combination with your current experiences and circumstances. Does that make sense, Professor?”

What you say makes strong sense.... as your comments always do.  An aspect of the above that is challenging to me, however, is my strong enjoyment of routine.  I like the way I have done things, and I would like to continue doing things in that way.  It may seem odd, that while I DO also like adapting to add new things and new approaches, and new paths...... ADD is an important word for me to emphasize.... my mind typically things of NEW tasks, NEW roles, NEW foci as being ADD-ONS and not replacements or substitutions.  But.... physically and mentally that is impossible, because we are all constrained by the same 24 hours each day.  But, it is also true that I do not relish “letting go” of what I have as a routine..... usually without an internal struggle (fight). 

 

Peppylady stated:

“Snow Cones reminds me of fairs.”

So true.  I can remember back to the first snow cone I had, at four, almost five years old.  The vivid color, the intense flavor, the rough coldness on an otherwise hot day..... it felt so..... much “MORE” than other things... I remember that first slushy, intense mouthful.  Fairs have a tendency to have many things like that.... sort of more vivid than day-to-day life.  

Testing A Cut-and-Paste Method (Hopefully Improved)

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.... unless it is from a cloud in central Madrid, then it falls mainly on the asphalt.

PipeTobacco