The Thoughts of a Frumpy Professor

............................................ ............................................ A blog devoted to the ramblings of a small town, middle aged college professor as he experiences life and all its strange variances.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Another One

Another very hectic day for me at the U.  So once again I hit the trail running at 4:30am.  I think I am having my mettle tested... it was a downpour style rain, 38 degrees.... and my least favorite thing.... high winds (~15mph, ~24 mph) so half of my run was into that horrid wind.  I really detest running against the wind.  BUT, I was damn dogged determined and did it.

Only 3 hours of lecturing today, then a few hours of grant writing (big yawn), interspersed with additional desperate student consultations (“Dr. Pipe, I just don’t know what’s happening, I got all  A’s in high school.  I can’t get a D!!!!!  What can I do?!?!?). Luckily, with still 1/2 the semester left, I can suggest that they refine their study habits in several ways and they USUALLY leave with a plan.  Whether they enact the plan is up to them.

On the way out this evening, I stopped to get a haircut.  I am feeling considerable yearnings to have a couple of beers and a pipe or two or three.  But instead, I suppose I will go home, trim my beard and mustache a bit, take a shower and then pass out candy to the ghosts and goblins that stop by.  Then my wife and I will eat something, and maybe watch some tv and then go to bed.

I AM leading an exciting life, do not you agree? (sarcasm). :)

PipeTobacco

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Another One

Another crazy long day!  Again, I got up and was on the trail at 4:30am.... in 37 degree (3 C) temperatures AND heavy rain in order to get my run in.  Then I immediately headed to the U for 4.5 hours of lecturing and the rest of the day working on writing exams, doing research, and counseling a large number of students (some with tears) who are not performing well and are “desperate” NOW to turn their D or F into something salvageable.  I am exhausted!  I am looking forward to some food and maybe one tv program and then to bed!

PipeTobacco

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Sub Sandwhich

Because of a really hectic schedule for our family today, I ended up hitting the trail to ge my run in at 4:30 am.  I did force myself to run 10K (6.2 miles) though so I would be sure to get at least one of that distance in this week.  It always feels good to have that goal done.

Because it is so hectic a day, my wife and I decided we were going to make it easy on ourselves and have sub sandwiches.  The subs though are from a little, local place here and are very tasty.

PipeTobacco

Monday, October 28, 2019

Indian Food Delights



My wife and I took the family out to eat at our favorite Indian restaurant yesterday.  We went there in the early afternoon because this restaurant has a "buffet" on Sunday during that time, so we can have a wider array of different samples of so many good dishes.  The pindi chole and the spinach paneer were my favorite of the many different items I sampled yesterday.  The meal was delicious. 

As I have mentioned, about 11 or so years ago, I went through a period of weight lost where I had a goal to bring my BMI down into the normal range.  In order to do this, I had to go through considerable thought and effort to change my thinking about food and what to eat.

For my effort, my major change was in proportions.  Truth be told, I LOVE to eat, and I ate BIG quantities of food....  but, today..... I still LOVE to eat and I still eat BIG quantities of food.  The change is in proportions:

Basically, if a food is calorie dense (lots of calories in a small package), I tend to eat those foods in small or very small volume.  This means that fried foods (which I never liked much anyway) tend to be either avoided or eaten in very small quantities.  High fat foods in general are eaten in very small volume.

If a food is calorie diffuse (few calories in a big volume of food), I then tend to eat A LOT of those foods.  This means salads, vegetables, fruits, etc.

If the food is calorie medium (an "in-between") caloric content relative to volume, I eat a MODERATE sized volume of those foods.  Beans, lentils, chickpeas, chicken, fish, breads fall into this realm.

So, that is what I did in a nutshell.  I just changed the proportions of the foods that I ate.  It allowed me to lose 120 pounds (~55kg or 8.5 stone).

However, there are a few foods that I find very difficult to NOT eat in HUGE quantities when available.  The two foods that I do struggle with to eat in the right volume are:

Pizza
Nuts (especially mixed nuts in a can)

I am not successful in proportional eating of those two foods, and so.... I simply try to avoid those two items as much as possible... because my willpower is not so successful with those two things.

PipeTobacco

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Smell


Last night, I and dug out a few tins and a few bags of some of my favorite pipe tobaccos and opened them, simply breathing in their beautiful odors.  I *did* have some strong thoughts about smoking a bowl of two, but I was able to stave off that action.  The smell of each in their container though.... beautiful.   The above image is like one of the many different tobacco pouches I would regularly carry around with me all day.  I have black leather ones and brown leather ones that would coordinate with whether I was wearing brown shoes and belt or black shoes and belt while teaching at the U. 

I promised my father many long decades ago that I would always wear "professional" attire while teaching.... and promised him to never go into class being a "damn hippie slob".  I have never NOT worn at minimum a dress shirt and tie (usually a jacket too, and yes I have several with elbow patches still) when I am in front of a classroom of students.  I do this, not because it is necessary.  Folks dress in all manner of ways these days in and out of the classroom.  I did this the first time I stepped in front of a class in graduate school, and I have done it ever time I have been teaching a class since....  and I have every intention to continue to do this until I retire.... to honor my father and to show my  respect, love and appreciation for him.

On weekends or during time off, I do not really care and do enjoy dressing more like a bum or a hobo.  :)  And, I never paid much attention on weekends to the color of the tobacco pouch I would have with me.... I usually just grabbed the one that felt the most full at the time. :)

PipeTobacco

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Varied Cornucopia of Thoughts



It MUST be the weather, or the change in light levels. That is all I can think of that would make logical sense of the feelings and emotions I am experiencing the last few days….


I am in one of those moods where I just want to sleep all day. I have very limited ability at the moment in terms of focus, have little to no motivation to teach or lecture in my classes, I have little desire to accomplish much at home.


But, because I try to be stubborn in my resolve, I did do my early morning run today. It was a warmer 44 degrees today (6 degrees C) and the winds from yesterday had died down so that was nice, but my entire run was in pouring rain today. I looked like a drowned rat by the time I was finished. When I returned home, I took the dog out so she could do her “business” but she was not in much of a mood to do so. She abhors rain and detests walking in wet grass. It is actually a bit humorous watching her sometimes. She scrunches up her face in a way that to me reads as grumpy disgruntlement as she tenderly puts one paw out the door onto the lawn and then another and finally all four. For some reason, she does not seem to realize that since she so dislikes the wet and the rain, that she should HURRY and do her needed “business”. She will tend to walk around with a rather “hang-dog” body posture…. and search and search and search for just the “right spot” to relive herself. It sometimes takes her 10 minutes to figure out WHERE to go when she finds it wet and unpleasant.


Sometimes I tend to avoid mentioning some things that are happening elsewhere in my life, but right now I am going to again talk a bit about my wife. As I mentioned a while ago, my wife has had a bad, chronic case of pneumonia that has been occurring for what I believe is now almost 10 weeks. At one level, things are getting a bit better. It seems her third round of antibiotics has squashed the pneumonia and her symptoms are lessening. Her voice is close to back to normal and her general demeanor is more upbeat. She still have a very harsh, very pronounced cough, but that is lessening a little as well. So, all of that is good. But, last night, she showed me an area near her abdomen that has grown deeply red/purple. She called it a “rash”… but I am not so sure. It worried me considerably. From my background in physiology and in teaching in the medical side of biology, I believe that in a best case scenario, my wife may have an active fungal infection of the dermis of her skin. That is a best case situation, for even though it will require perhaps 5-6 weeks worth of application of a prescription topical anti-fungal agent. But, I am more fearful that it is developing cellulitis or worse yet the start of a deeper tissue infection that could easily become systemic. And, unfortunately, she has “poo-pooed” my insistence that she visit the doctor, even though by the end of the evening she said she would call early today and hopefully get an appointment today or at the latest on Friday. My fingers are crossed. The other confounding variable is that my wife also has diabetes and is not particularly compliant with that condition which unfortunately makes her susceptible to other issues being more likely to take hold.

And, as I alluded to yesterday, the beauty, artistry, the comfort of pipes has been very strongly pulling at me the last few days, far more so than in quite a while.  I am not sure if it is simply because of the Fall weather (it was always a time of the year where I especially relished smoking my pipes outside), or perhaps it is associated with Fall's association with the upcoming hunting season and I have been remembering the many times I was at deer camp, just carousing, playing poker, having fun, and drinking and smoking my pipes with abandon, or  perhaps because Fall also brings to mind my own father because his birthday is in November (if he were alive, he would have become 96 this year). I often wonder if I could have a bowl or two for the special occasions and then put them away again, or if by having the bowl or two, I would be on a slippery slope leading back fully into the activity.  And, if that slippery slope would be the result.... would I care?

I am very frequently famished when I am tired.  I am not always sure how legitimate my famished feelings" are however.  Some large part of my feelings of "hunger" may simply be emotional and not truly physical. But, right now, I feel I could willingly eat the entire contents of a whole grocery store.  I can say one thing, though.... even though I still often have a challenge in differentiating between hunger that is physiolgically real and hunger that is more due to emotions..... I can say that I have again affirmed to myself that I DO feel significantly better and significantly more energized when I am eating healthier food choices.

These days, most of my food choices are pretty decent.  I eat a large amount of whole foods and relatively small amounts of highly processed foods these days.  I eat a huge amount of beans, a huge amount of vegetables, a beyond huge amount of salads and salad greens, a fair amount of fruit, and only a modest amount of meat.... probably 2 or 3 servings a week at most...... usually chicken or turkey.  I avoid added fats as much as possible.  This is how I changed my pattern of eating about a decade or so ago that allowed me to lose about 125 pounds (57kg or 8.9 stone) to obtain a normal BMI of 23 currently.

But, last week, due to a busy period of time and also due to a birthday celebration, I ate some very hearty, restaurant pizza, and also a fairly hefty slice of a rather rich birthday cake and a good scoop of some rather extravagant ice cream..... my findings:

1.  Obviously, all three of those foods tasted quite wonderful.

2.  Even though I tried to each the above three items very slowly (I know this helps me make the food last longer.)..... I still FELT like I had hardly eaten anything. There really was not much chewing effort needed, nor was there really much in the way of volume to the three delicious items I ate.

3.  In my current, normal , day-do-day eating, I really do eat a considerably large volume of food.... and the foods I typically do eat require a great deal of mastication (chewing).  Chewing a lot in a meal really helps me to feel more satiated.  And volume also helps me to recognize satiation.

4.  Truth-be-told.... even though the pizza, birthday cake, and ice cream likely had far, far more total calories in them compared to what I typically eat in my dinner meal and snack..... I still felt hungry and felt like I had hardly eaten a thing.

5.  And, an hour or so later.... I found that I had some indigestion.... which I have noted before when I eat a lot of richer foods.

It just reiterated to me how much I enjoy the current foods I eat.

Well, I have rambled all over the map today.

PipeTobacco

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Ornery Feeling... Out of Sorts



This morning I feel all sort of  "out of sorts" I guess is how I would label it:

1.  I feel tired.  I would like to sleep all day long, I think.

2.  I felt slow as molasses on my run this morning.  I dragged myself out of bed at 5 and hit the trail, but my heart was not in it really today.  But, I forced myself to do it.  All five miles.  But, there was a strong head wind (probably ~15 mph) blowing against me as I ran for over half of the distance, and that did not really help with my motivation either. 

3.  I slept last night, but I did not wake feeling rested.  I do not recall any dreams or any other things while sleeping last night that would have affected my mood, but it just doesn't seem like it was restful like it typically is. 

4.  I am not really liking the cold, rainy, damp weather we are experiencing at the moment.  The sky is usually a dark grey array of dense clouds.  It is about 40 degrees out, and the wind is challenging even when just walking.  I had to constantly correct my vehicle as it was buffeted by winds all the way to the U. 

5.  I have a surprisingly strong craving for a pipe..... stronger than it has been in quite a while.  A part of me would just relish saying "to hell with it" and cancelling classes today, going out to a park (with a shelter to buffet myself from the wind) and sit.... reading, and smoking pipes all day, and perhaps drinking a few beers as well, each wrapped in brown paper bags akin a hobo. 

Alas, that scenario is likely the only "pipe dream" I will have for today.

PipeTobacco

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Hungry

Late, hectic night at the U.  I did run my five miles at 5-
am though!  I am tired and hungry and heading home to eat and then off to bed with hopefully a lot of beautiful pipe dreams tonight.

PipeTobacco

Monday, October 21, 2019

Busy Weekend

It has been a busy weekend with a lot of family activities.  It was fun but also so jam packed that I feel I need a day off to recover from it all!  Hah, not likely though.

I did run my 10K (6.2 miles) this morning and it felt good.  I am pretty well on track with all the things I need to do/have done at work.  I had a plethora of pleasant pipe reminisces while falling asleep this weekend and even had an actual pipe focused dream as well, so that was enjoyable.  In the dream, strangely, I was on a mission to visit Russia to teach for six weeks, and when I arrived at my apartment, the Dean of the school there, knowing I was a pipe smoker, had provided me a gift basket containing some nice Russian vodkas, a few pipes, and several pipe tobaccos.  While teaching, many of the profs would smoke while teaching.  It brought back memories of how it once was here as well.

With my wife feeling a little bit better, we may go see a movie this afternoon.  I hope she soon feels well enough to swim.  I miss swimming with her.

PipeTobacco

Friday, October 18, 2019

Peachy





Hah!  No matter your political leanings... you *have* to admit the image above is funny.  It should be made into a t-shirt.  I happened to find this image when I was looking for some interesting recipe to use as a starting point for some canned peaches we have too many cans of at the moment. 


Now.... as far as politics goes..... a few things I would like to say:

1.  I *used* to be very interested in politics.  I would analyze candidates for local, state, and national office with a dogged level of determination so I would make decisions that I thought would be best for our local, regional, and global world. 

2. The election of Trump in the 2016 election.... and the subsequent crazy hyperbole since that time...... has not changed my opinions about how to strive to help others and how to try to be a good, kind person. 

3.  But, I just cannot seem to muster up much energy to stay abreast of politics anymore.  I will be voting for whomever is the Democratic nominee, and I hope that some semblance of normalcy returns to the state of politics.  It has never been a kind venture, but it has been a lot better than it is currently.

PipeTobacco

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Another Beautiful Pipe

Another very beautiful pipe I was looking at is shown in the above.  I have always enjoyed this particular shape (1/4 bent) and find them very comfortable to grip between my teeth.  The grain on the bowl is quite attractive as well. 

On Monday of this week it marked my having gone 20 complete months without indulging in a pipe.  I do very sincerely miss their beauty and charm.  But, I guess I have to say that it is *easier* in 2019 to *not* be a pipe smoker. 

It was not always this way of course.  For many decades it was easy to be a pipe smoker.  I had many friends and relatives who were of the same mindset, and even non-smokers tended to look favorably upon pipe smokers. 

Now, for all intents and purposes, I am a lone wolf in regards to pipe smoking.  I did not initially mind the "lone wolf" status, but over the years, it grew more challenging over time because the more anti-tobacco folks became more vehement, and the tolerant folks became fewer in number.  I really started to feel this "lone wolf" status arise especially around 2000.

Now, when my elderly father-in-law passed away, I lost my last, close-by pipe smoking buddy. I did become truly alone in the hobby.

So, I do still miss my pipes.  And most evenings when I go to bed, I fall asleep reminiscing about the various "good-old days" of pipe smoking.  Lately I have been especially enamored with remembering pipe smoking adventures especially from the 1970s.  Perhaps this decade has been an especially strong focus lately due to some of the music I have been listening to in my office lately.  When I have not been focusing on 1960s jazz.... I have been reinvesting time in listening to Jethro Tull, The Who, Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, Stevie Wonder, George Harrison, and America, Remembering life and pipes in the 1970s is currently a wonderful way to fall asleep.

PipeTobacco

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Swimming



Even though my wife is not yet over her pneumonia, it *does* seem like she is finally responding to the antibiotics (her third round) and does seem to be better than she had been in several weeks.  As long as it is maintained, I will be very relieved.  It has been quite worrisome as this has been going on for between 8 & 9 weeks now.  But, at least things look like they are heading in a positive direction. 

With the cold weather occurring in my neck of the woods (we have had several mornings with significant frost already), running outside is a "bulkier" experience.  I am currently running my daily five miles at 5am with my regular running clothes, sweat pants, a sweat shirt, a stocking hat, and over that an ear warming hat (pictured above)... plus gloves.  It is sometimes quite cold when I start out, but after a mile or two it seems fine.  Even with the cold, I do appreciate being able to be outside and to run outside.   I know that all too soon, there will be ice on the trail and sidewalks and because I am too damn clumsy for my own good, I will have to transition to running indoors on a local track again.  It is so much nicer being outside. 

But, even with my running to relive stress, I find that at the end of the workday, I do need to find a way to relax as well.  And, currently, my favorite activity is to head to the U pool to swim.  Sometimes it is only for 15 minutes, sometimes as long as an hour.  But, the full body immersion into the water seems to bring a sense of tranquility to my thoughts, my body relaxes and I feel better and can look forward to the evening.  Because of my wife's illness, she has not been able to go swimming with me.... she did several time during the Summer.  I hope that once she returns back to health (hopefully soon), she will once again want to swim along with me. 

PipeTobacco

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Beautiful Pipe

I normally am not a huge fan of rusticated pipes (rusticated is used as a term to indicate when the bowl of the pipe is left natural or even "roughened" up to give a "natural" texture to the bowl).  When I look back at my collection of well more than 100 pipes, I have only 3-4 that are rusticated.  I have always liked the smoother, machined finishes and traditional shapes. 

But, I have to say, the pipe I have shown in the image above...... I find it awfully damn attractive and would think that I would find it to be an excellent smoking device.  The rustication is not TOO intensive and it has a wonderfully elegant shape otherwise.  The small brass ornamental ring between shank and stem adds flair and not a common feature on a rusticated bowl either. 

I have been scouring all sorts of pipe shops on line, looking at all the beautiful pipes I can find.  But, the one above.... just really struck a chord with me.  I can easily imagine in my mind's eye.... filling the bowl with beautifully dark, sticky crumbles of burley leaf and slowly drawing a flame deep into the bowl.  The above pipe just SEEMS like it would be an EXCELLENT smoking pipe.

PipeTobacco

Monday, October 14, 2019

I Timed Myself....

Yes, I am still running.  And, yes, I am still getting in 32-35 miles a week.  And, yes.... my one goal that I added for 2019 is something I am still consistent on:

I vowed to myself that at least one run every week in 2019 would be a minimum of 10K (6.2 miles).  I started this goal to try to show myself that I could be comfortable in actually entering an actual road race as a 10K runner..... and get myself a "trophy" t-shirt showing that I did it!

So, here it is in October and I have ran 10K at least once each week.  In fact, it has become a distance I really like.  So, I took the next step and officially timed myself to get an accurate indication of my speed.  I ran this 10K in 56 minutes and 12 seconds.  I was quite pleased!   I do now think I can be comfortable enough to register for a 10K race and not be OVERLY concerned about being embarrassed and making a fool out of myself.  I *should* be able to do this in an actual race event and can get my t-shirt.  I think I will try to find one to enter soon.

And.... it may only be a "pipe dream" at the moment.... but I am *thinking about* maybe..... just maybe..... seeing if I can force myself to run a distance of a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles or 21K) to see if I can survive it.  If I can force myself to do it and feel ok after.... *maybe* I will try to set a goal for myself of trying to run a 1/2 marathon road race in 2020?!?!?!?!?!   I do not know.... it may perhaps stay a "pipe dream".... I do not know if I could do it or not.

PipeTobacco

Friday, October 11, 2019

Pneumonia



I try to not say anything to worry her, but I have to admit here that I am concerned about my wife.  She has had pneumonia for eight weeks now.  She has no energy and has already had three different courses of antibiotics.  With her other health challenges... it has me quite nervous at times. 

PipeTobacco

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Rags....... to Shreds





I AGAIN apologize for not posting regularly.  I am just feeling a bit ragged myself.  It has been an acutely busy couple of weeks at the U (both teaching and b*llsh*t administrative nonsense) and unfortunately my wife is still quite under the weather with pneumonia (we are in week 8). 

But, the above really are not appropriate excuses.  If I do not post, and if I do not visit my friend's sites..... I MISS OUT on something that does give my life some reliable joy and fun.  So.... I am back... and I want to be here and want to be at your sites too!  I am going to also work to add more comments to my friend's posts too..... I enjoy reading so many of your writings.... but I should show my appreciation more by commenting more. 

PipeTobacco