Laptop & Vet

I have my wife's laptop computer with me at the moment.  I am waiting with my dog at the veterinarian's office so my fruit-loopy mutt can get her vaccinations. Sometimes, I think she has some sort of brain defect.  First, she gets too damn excited for her own good at the prospect of going for a ride in my truck.  But, beyond that excitement, she nearly wiggles out of he skin with glee at getting to the vet's office.... Even though all that has ever happened there has been uncomfortable (shots, etc.).  

Because our vet is slower than molasses, I knew I needed to bring something to occupy my time, hence my wife's laptop.  

At least he has wifi.

PipeTobacco

Wanting to Be

I am sincerely wanting to be pipe free.  I am thinking that I will make a go of it sometime between now and January 3rd.  I am feeling hopeful in that I think this time it will stick.  I have the formulations of a plan that I believe will help me make it work.  

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3000

Today I completed my 3,000th day of exercising without missing a single day.  I have walked between 4-5 miles every day!  Today's workout was a five mile jog outside.  It was 32 degrees (0 Celcius) and I took my dog with me.  We had fun.  

To me, the exercise has of course great value for my health... I lost 115 pounds ( I used to weigh at one time ~290 pounds and now usually weigh ~ 175 pounds) , my BMI is normal, my resting pulse rate is now usually around 55.  My blood pressure is normal.  But, for me, the consistency of doing this EVERY day for 3,000 days without missing a day even when it was a holiday, or the weather was bad, or I was sick.... that is what I am most satisfied about in my efforts.  I relish bein a consistent person who does what he says, and at least in this way I feel good.

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Musical instruments

Music is of course an important part of most folks lives.  I like all sorts of music, some more than others.  I really like classical music and jazz a great deal.  I also like soft and harder rock music, but tend to mostly enjoy that form of music from the 1960s and early 1970s.  Although, I do also enjoy rock music referred to as "grunge" from the early 1990s.  Country music can be good, but for me there is only a limited range that I enjoy.  I like country music that is NOT "twangy" or "catterwally".  With this idea in mind, if I listen to country, it tends to be more in the vein of Willie Nelson or others with similar vocal styles.   There is only a small subset of country music that is of this nature.   I have pretty limited experience with rap, although there were occasional artists I enjoyed ( one that comes to mind is Ice-T ).  I also tend to enjoy many types of World Miusic.  But, when I can find it, my very favorite music is Wind Symphonic music.  Wind Symphonic music is interesting in that it can span across numerous genres of style of music, but it is always featuring wind based musical instruments ( clarinet, trumpet, trombone, etc.).   I think in part that is why one of my favorite rock group has always been Chicago.  They usually feature very strong and vibrant wind instrumentation.  

I have not played any of my wind instruments in a several months, and I am realizing how I miss them.  The clarinet, bass clarinet, alto clarinet, and tenor saxophone are the wind instruments I have a modicum of skill in.  I am going to dig out my clarinet and bass clarinet and pick them up again this weekend.  And, I have two "project" horns ( an alto clarinet and a tenor saxophone) that I bought about two years ago that need a complete tear down and rebuild.   I used to buy a lot of trashed, but decent quality instruments and rebuild them as a hobby during graduate school.   I think now is the time for me to tear those two horns down and make myself a nice alto clarinet and a tenor saxophone.  It would be a fun hobby to restart during this winter.  And, i would end up with two nice horns I currently do not have.

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