Friday

I am REALLY glad it is Friday.  It has been a very tough week for me, with a lot of emotions and challenges for me to try to get through. 

Things I can be thankful for:

1.  My teaching did go very well this week.

2.  My research went well and was pretty productive this week.

3.  I did all my running each and every day.

4.  I went swimming twice this week.

I hope the weekend rejuvinates my spirit.

PipeTobacco

Frustrated at Myself

I am aggravated and frustrated at myself.  The reason for this is that I fell back into ruminating and thinking about the two people I am very hurt by and angry at.   I have been working to try to keep those emotions at bay and have had a good number of days/weeks where I have been able to feel emotionally whole and to dismiss from my mind those two folks as being unimportant and insignificant to my life and my happiness. 

Yesterday, I did not succeed in keeping the negative emotions out of my mind.  And, I am still feeling resentful and angry this morning.  I wish I had better skills in figuring out how to stop this cycle.   I cannot do anything about those two.  And, I know I can only change myself.  But, I am not really understanding how to be consistently effective in not letting it get to me.  When I am able to get outside of the hurt and anger, it IS definitely better for me.  But I have yet been able to discern how to do so when it is needed. 

It is annoying. 

PipeTobacco

“Let the Voters Decide”?!!?!

I simply cannot fathom how anyone can honestly believe the b*llsh*t statement that so many Republicans are saying is the reason to not vote For removal of Trump from office...... “Let the voters decide!!!!” Is the mantra..... and it is ludicrous!!!!

So by that logic.... every governor, representative, senator, president, council member, or even dog catcher gets a free pass to commit any damn crimes they want during their last year in office..... because it is “the voters who should decide”?!?!?

Such utter nonsense.

PipeTobacco

Litter Box

Today is trash day, and that means I also have “poop patrol” where it is not only one of my days to clean the cat litter, but also my day to collect our dog’s “presents” from the yard over the course of the week.  We have our dog’s potty “business” isolated to a relatively small circle area in a corner of the back yard, so it is relatively cohesive and manageable.  And in the Winter they are frozen so that helps..... as long as I remember to collect early prior to any snow during the week.

I ran my five, though.... so at least that is done too.  Heading off to the U soon.  I was thinking about pipes and pipe tobaccos during my run.  Not sure why today, but that is where my mind wandered after completing the Rosary.

PipeTobacco

Running a Bit Late

Time is a bit shorter for me this morning.  I unfortunately overslept and did not get to the track until 6:30am.  I still wanted to get in my weekly 10K so it is off my mind for the week.  I actually ran a bit further (6.3 miles).  But, now I am needing to push it so I can get to the U.

Feeling rushed.

PipeTobacco

From Mass

In today's readings at Mass, the following excerpt was one part that especially caught my attention:

"The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone."

For me, this spoke to me of how, even when things are sad and hard, I need to try to keep a strong focus on trying to do good, to be helpful and to be a servant to others.  I believe very sincerely, that by trying to turn my focus from my own selfish ideas, and working hard to do good things, and try to help others as best as I can and lead a life of service.... this is the real way to attain the mental/emotional state of happiness in life. To be otherwise, I believe, allows us to feel isolated and alone.

PipeTobacco 

Tinkering and Cutting

 

It is early, and I have finished my run.... but with it being Saturday, I have been thinking about what I and my wife and I hopefully will get to work on today (other than general house tidying that we always end up needing to do on Saturday).   Here are my basic plans:

1.  I am hoping to pick which instrument I have waiting to begin a refurbishing on.  I have a couple of old horns that I have found and plan to tear apart, clean, rejuvenate and rebuild.

2.  I am hoping my wife and I will begin the process she has wanted to do where we take a large array of my father-in-law's clothing that has been saved, and begin cutting it into squares for what my wife wants her and her sister and Mom to sew a few quilts using his clothing as momentos.   My wife has had this goal for quite a while, but because she keeps procrastinating about it, she has asked my help and hopefully the two of us together can keep up the motivation so this project can become a reality for her.

PipeTobacco

Still Sloughing Through....

Still not feeling the most motivated nor enthused.  I think, like some have suggested, it is really a time of year thing.   For those of us in the North, the light levels this time of year are quite scant.  Add to that the abundance of densely cloudy, snowy days.... and life seems to be colored in only two hues this time of year.... mostly black for the abundant night, or dark gray for the lion's share of the "daylight" we get. 

But, I know there is no valid excuse, so I got up and pushed myself a bit hard this morning and ran 6.5 miles (10.4 km) at about a 7.5mph pace (12kph pace).  If I can coax myself to do that, I know I get quite tired and sweaty and it kind of "resets" my mindset a bit. 

As is my usual, I prayed through the 5 decades of the rosary while I ran.  But, afterwards, like yesterday, while I was stretching afterwards, I gave myself leeway to imagine what actually sounded fun and enjoyable for me to do today.  And, it was a bit similar still with yesterday, but further elaborated on a bit:

If I had my druthers, instead of going to the U and doing the work I will of course do, I would really enjoy being curled up in bed, covered with an array of quilts, with a giant, dark and bitter coffee (over ice), one of my favorite pipes and pipe tobaccos at hand (in my mind's eye, I was imagining one of my bourbon tinctured burley leafs), the dog laying on the bed with me near my feet, a pair of good novels to read, a new copy of the New York Times, and half a dozen doughnuts.... two blueberry filled, one nutty, one chocolate with chocolate icing, one sour cream doughnut, and a cherry fritter.  I would have alternatively NPR in the background, or some of my favorite early 1960's jazz playing in the background.   I would read a bit, take naps sporadically and indulge in all the various delights across the span of the day.

But.... of course... it is a true "pipe dream".... so it is off to work.

PipeTobacco

Low and Down

Not feeling in a great mood emotionally this morning.  Not really sure why.  I did run my five miles.  But, I had no enthusiasm or joy in it.  I am going to work to lecture on some “big” thoughts as well, but I do not really care.  In one class I need to talk and work through the properties of how proteins shape cell membrane function in terms of physiology.  In my other course, I need to talk about the origins of language referencing the the array of work looking at the neuroscience and neuroanatomy that controls the development of bird song.  Yawn.

Truth-be-told, I would rather be curled up in bed, listening to NPR, drinking a big ‘ole coffee, smoking my pipe, and reading a detective novel.

But, such is life.  During my run I kept hearing in my mind Tevye, From “Fiddler on the Roof” singing “If I Were a Rich Man”.

PipeTobacco

4150

I was thinking about my exercise a bit and realized I hit another "interesting" number.   Today marks the four thousand, one-hundred and fiftieth day in a row that I exercised by AT LEAST walking 5 miles each day!

And, on many of those days (especially during the last four years) the lion's share of my effort has been RUNNING (well, jogging).

This means that over the last 4,150 days, I have covered 20,750 miles (33,394 kilometers)!!!!!

My blood pressure when I checked it last week was 110/70, and my resting pulse rate when I woke up this morning was 58.  On the scale I weighed in at 173 lb (78.5 kg or 12.3 stone).

Being able to run is something I am so very happy that I can do!  In my wildest dreams back when I was at my heaviest, did I ever imagine being able to run.

PipeTobacco  

Gizmo Watch

One of my sons and also one of my daughters has a "gizmo sports watch" that they both wear.  These watches can tell you a whole big bunch of stats about health and fitness.... things like heart rate, oxygen levels, and other things like that. It also can map and measure exercise.

I wear (and always have worn) a traditional watch.  Of the several I have, the vast majority are traditional, analog face watches, with one being a digital number's watch.  As I am a penny pincher, none of my watches were ever expensive (I take that back, my parents gave me one extremely beautiful watch when I earned my Ph.D., all those decades ago, that was and is an expensive watch, but I cannot consider that one.).

"Gizmo Sports Watches" are pretty damn expensive.  But, I have to admit, it would be really nice to have a watch map and measure my running.

I am going to think about it a bit.   I probably WILL NOT ever get one..... too damn expensive.... but they do intrigue me a bit.   I guess I can think for a while, anyhow, as I am running indoors on a track at least until sometime in March.

PipeTobacco

Contrabass Clarinet

If I were a wealthy man, I would buy myself a Contrabass Clarinet. 

The Contrabass Clarinet is the largest members of the clarinet family that is in "common" usage. Modern contrabass clarinets are pitched in B♭, sounding two complete octaves lower than the common B♭ soprano clarinet and one complete octave lower than my beloved B♭ Bass Clarinet

As you can see from the top picture, this beautiful beast of a horn is taller than the typical adult and is over six feet tall in the version shown.   The second image shows the whole horn itself so you can better appreciate its beauty. The third image is a variant called the "Paperclip" Contrabass Clarinet (for obvious reasons) which has all of the tubulature of the typical beast coiled upon itself.  All three are masterpieces of complexity and key design. 

I was privileged to get to play one of these beasts during my last year in high school, so many, many decades ago.  Our band director selected me as the one clarinetist/bass clarinetist to get the honor of playing it during that school year.   I do not know the whole story of the beast, but for some reason, it was on loan to our school for that single year.  It came with a special tall stool with a seat almost five feet from the ground that had to be carted around with it to performances so the player could sit and play comfortably. 

I am very happy that the band director selected me for that great experience.   I think he may have selected me because I had a "lot of wind"...... (yeah, he probably thought I was big blowhard, I guess)... but it was so very much fun and so beautiful to play.  And, it received a lot of attention.   It is not usual to see a Contrabass Clarinet in a high school band. 

These beasts are pricey, however.   Even a budget "student" model starts at around $6,000.   A general quality model can start easily at $33,000. 

I keep watching auction sites to find a wrecked, wracked, and ruined one that I could tear apart and put back together all repaired, but I have not had the good luck to win on the one bid I have submitted in the last year or so. 

My own Bass Clarinet is a bit of a "Frankenhorn" itself.   A dear friend (unfortunately now deceased) somehow stumbled across a school band instructor who was getting rid of several ancient old wrecks of instruments that were student horns used by the school for at least four or five decades because the school was able to replace these horns.  There happened to be two bass clarinets that she (my friend) was able to acquire.... neither of which were functional.   She gave them to me, as she knew I liked to mess around with musical instruments, and I was able to tear down the two horns and through careful effort build back together one very nice playing horn from the parts.  I had never owned my own bass clarinet before that.  It was and still is my pride and joy when I play in my community band today.

PipeTobacco

Mass Thoughts

I went to Saturday Evening Mass this week instead of Sunday because of a play my wife is having us attend today.  In the Roman Catholic Church, masses that occur after 4pm on Saturday through 8pm on Sunday are all scheduled as the same type of normal Sunday Mass. 

In one of the readings this week, I felt most affected by this part of the reading:

The LORD said to me: You are my servant,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.

As it seems for the last few weeks, what strikes me most deeply is the idea that I really am being reminded that my role here in life is to be a servant to others.  It is only by being a servant that I can do good for others and for the world.  

It is hard to keep that focus, but with these reminders for the last several weeks of mass.... perhaps it will finally stick in my addled brain and I will find the energy to work harder for good.

PipeTobacco

In the Gloom of Winter

I am a klutzy old fellow..... very klutzy.  This makes the risk of a fall on ice a very real possibility if I were to try to run outside when it is icy.

With our being in the full force of winter (another 4 inches of snow last night) I am glad and thankful that I have a place nearby where I can normally run.  In fact, I actually have two.... one indoor track is less than a mile away from my home, and the U also has an indoor track that I can run on.  So, when the weather is problematic, I have an easy place to go to run Monday through Saturday.  Sunday is more challenging..... as neither indoor track opens until NOON on Sunday, and I try to keep my time available for family.  So, my options on Wintery Sundays are not as pleasant, but I will either get up VERY early (around 5am) and either:

a) go to my office and run up and down the halls and stairs of the building until I have ran about 10 minutes longer than my average 5-mile run.   I force myself to go for 10 minutes over my average pace to assure myself that I will have literally done at least a full five miles. 

or

b) coax my wife into getting up very early too and going to the gym she has a membership at.  I then run on one of the treadmills.  But, I do not like treadmills, so that is a last ditch option.

PipeTobacco

Weekend.....

It has been a very taxing week for me, so I am extremely glad for the start of the weekend soon!  I hope today goes well.   This weekend I am hoping to have family fun, become rested and hopefully convince my wife to snuggle quite a bit.

* * * * *

A Beautiful Jazz Song I Ask You to Listen To on YouTube

Here is a wonderful selection I am currently listening to from my Jazz collection.  It is the Donald Byrd Group's Album.... Byrd in Hand.   The song is entitled "Hear Am I"
Not only is Byrd's trumpet beautiful... but listen to Pepper Adams on the baritone sax!

PipeTobacco

Emotions About Work

At the moment, I have been able to keep my emotions in check and all is "ok".  But, I can feel/sense I am on "the edge" at the moment and move into that meloncholy that is associated with the two folks I have been having challenges with lately. 

I believe that my being on the verge of getting into a bad mood is because whether or not I wish to do so... I am going to have to interact with these two people briefly this afternoon.  Life is much easier and less troublesome when I can just avoid them.  But that is not my lot today.

Again, although I believe all of you have heard this before, is my working description:

Person A.... Person "A" is an individual who is what I classify as a "USER".  She is very good at "putting on a face" of pseudocaring, pseudorespectful behavior when she wants to.... but it is really a mask that she wears to deceive a whole helluva lot of folks around here.  In reality, she manipulates others to change things around in the Department to suit HER desires, and doesn't give a thought or care to how any of her sh*tty behavior hurts others.

Person B.... Person "B" is an individual who has been one of my oldest and closest friends here at the U.  But this person has one trait that is challenging.... she is a "FOLLOWER".  She has always done this the whole time I have known her.  But, it was not much of an issue previously because she "followed" folks who were kind-hearted, caring individuals.  I did not always agree with Person "B"s ideas about things because sometimes I would disagree with the ideas put forth by the person she was "following".... but it wasn't a huge deal.

Unfortunately, now Person "B" has started to "follow" Person A.... lock, stock, and barrel.... and because I disagree with Person A's ethics and behavior.... Person B now considers me "persona non grata" ..... because I do not like her current Svengali.... Person A.

Just STATING how I feel about those two, like I did in the above helps me feel a little bit calmer.

PipeTobacco

Movie Review

I do not often do reviews of films here, but the dichotomy makes me have to mention this film:

Uncut Gems

The basic synopsis given for this movie is:  A charismatic jeweler makes a high-stakes bet that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. In a precarious high-wire act, he must balance business, family and adversaries on all sides in pursuit of the ultimate win.

It is supposedly a monumental work for Adam Sandler in a dramatic role.  

Rotten Tomatoes (a website that aggregates critics reviews and scores) gave a 92+ positive review (very, very strong showing for any film)

*  *  *  *  *

My wife and I went to this film hoping for a surprise "gem" of a film.  For us, it was one of the worst films we have ever watched.  We both admit that Adam Sandler was impressive in an actual dramatic role.  But, the film was 100% non-stop violence, agitation, truly non-stop cursing, violence (did I say violence), and horror.

We did stay through the whole film (we now regret that) because every so often, there was a miniscule glimmer that things perhaps would turn around..... only we were deceived each time and the film became even more violent, more aggitating, included even more rapid fire cursing, and even more viloence (did I say violence), and horror.

It was truly not the film for us.  It left us both feeling exhausted, left us both feeling "unclean" and left us both wanting to take a nap.

*  *  *  *  *

We usually can pick pretty well in regards to films we enjoy through a bit of exploration about what the film entails.  But... in this case.... all of the background we were able to find lead us astray.   It was (for us.... others must truly love it) the worst film I believe we have ever seen.  I regret wasting my time and energy viewing this film. 

PipeTobacco

23 Months Without

Today marks my completion of 23 total months without indulging in my beautiful, friendly pipes and pipe tobaccos.  Perhaps I should be jumping up and down having become free of the "evil habit".   But, I am utterly ambivalent about this milestone.  I should figure out a way to internalize and feel the same sense of rancor, anger, and judgement that modern society feels about the indulgence in pipe tobacco.... but it seems I am not yet able to find a way to feel these feelings myself. 

Baking Soda Toothpaste

I tend to be very fastidious about my teeth.  I brush my teeth usually at least four times a day (often up to six times a day) and I will usually floss at least twice a day. 

I am NOT fastidious about my teeth because I am so concerned with having some sort of "Hollywood" smile..... that was never a possibility.... and hell, with my mustache and beard, it is not all that often that my teeth show... even when I smile only a small amount of teeth show. 

I am fastidious about my teeth because..... a) I hate going to the dentist and hate having folks paw around in my mouth, b) I have always worried about tooth loss and had/have anxiety about losing teeth and/or getting dentures, c) because I have TMJ (temporomandibular jaw syndrome) where I grind my teeth and clench my teeth and put excessive stress on the teeth in this fashion, and d) because when I was smoking a pipe.... I wanted to avoid having the dentist commenting on my pipe smoking hobby and being negative.

So, for my age and my long term TMJ, I have reasonably healthy teeth and gums.   I do have two lower molar teeth with crowns, unfortunately.  Each crown I received had me feel a profound sense of failure.... my thought being that I was not careful enough or fastidious enough to adequately protect the teeth I was given.  I even expressed this to my dentist once a few months ago... and he actually laughed and told me that I was doing a damn good job and my teeth were great for my age and TMJ status.  I am still not sure if I believe that.   But it does make me feel a bit better. 

But.... in the image above.... I show my favorite toothpaste.   I do not always get it as my wife buys whatever is on sale.... but Arm & Hammer Baking Soda toothpaste is my absolute favorite.  I like/enjoy the gritty texture of the baking soda.... I like the flavor of the baking soda.... and for me, my mouth always feels best after brushing with that toothpaste. 

Thoughts from Mass

The following was a part of the readings in this week's Mass:

I have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

For me, this speaks to me again of the profound task that we are each called to work towards... the task, the need to be striving to be people who help.  People who work diligently to care for others, to help others, to devote ourselves to work for the betterment of the world.    We are meant to not be selfish, but instead to be kind.  We are meant to be thoughtful and not self centered.   We are meant to give our ourselves and to not expect anything in return.  We are meant to have a purpose.  

It is hard.   A part of me sometimes resists trying to understand because when I am focused on understanding what I SHOULD do, then I more fully realize how much I fail and how little I do that has real meaning for the greater good.  It is a harsh light that reveals my many flaws. I hate seeing how much I lack in being the person I should be.  But, without seeing this clearly and starkly.... it is very challenging to know how to proceed in the effort to BECOME better.

PipeTobacco

Swimming Pleasure

When I came down with my severe nasal/pharyngeal infection at Christmas, it put the kibosh on my plans to swim a great deal during the break.   That was sad, but there was no way I was feeling up to the task to swim.

I do wish to report, however, that yesterday, I and my wife both returned to the pool for the first time in the new decade.  It was wonderful and relaxing.

PipeTobacco

War?

It is not often that I comment on politics, but I have to state how again I am so utterly amazed and disappointed at the current state of affairs by our U.S. President.  I cannot say whether Soleimani was as bad as some say (he may very well have been).   But, I can say that the actions Donald Trump took against Iran.... without informing or involving Congress.... seem so very, very wrong on so many levels.  Our governmental checks and balances are being so utterly ignored that, while I am not surprised.... it is still shocking and utterly dismaying. I believe Donald Trump is destroying so much of what was good about the design of the three branches of national government in the United States.

I am also fearful we are at the start of a new world war. 

PipeTobacco

Miles

No, not the running kind..... the "Davis" kind.   Even though I am a woodwind player myself (bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, alto clarinet, soprano clarinet) myself..... I do appreciate the full wind ensemble.   Lately, I have been finding myself especially drawn to listen to the earlier works by Miles Davis... who plays the trumpet..... especially his work in the early and mid 1960s.   So beautiful!  Here are a two links to some of my favorites:

It Never Entered My Mind

In Your Own Sweet Way

PipeTobacco

Pleasant Resolution

On of my wife's New Year's Resolutions is that she wants to adopt a whole foods, plant-based, low fat diet to help her with her diabetes.  This is no easy feat for her, as she is quite meat focused from her upbringing.

For me, this is very exciting news.  In my own upbringing, meat was always present and available, but it was not the primary focus of what I grew up eating.  My family heritage emphasized a lot of pasta, a lot of cheeses, etc.    When I began to focus on loosing weight more than a dozen years ago, I found it easiest for me to focus on primarily eliminating fats and oils as much as possible from what I ate.   This naturally steered me to lower meat consumption (not that I ever ate a lot of it, because I do not like the smell of the cooking of meat).  Probably for the last year or two or perhaps even longer, I likely on average have one meal a week with meat.  It is one item that I do relish and do find healthy.... I have one turkey sandwich on toasted rye bread each week. 

But, during all these years of my working to eat healthier with little-to-no fat or oil, and yet my wife eating what she likes, it has sometimes been challenging for me and tested my mettle in terms of my resolve to choose amongst the available foods, the things that were low fat.  Now, with my wife pursuing a whole foods, plant based, low fat diet herself.... it will be much easier for me too!

PipeTobacco

Seems Helpful

The image is of the book I received that I am hoping will help me get a better "feel" for chord progressions and how they can be used in different patterns to help in the reading of "fake books".... books of music of songs that display only the melody part along with chords.  It also seems to be reasonably helpful in giving guidance in basic composition... which I also greatly appreciate.

Thus far, the books very promising.   I am going to work through it in a linear fashion from beginning to end.   I am going to squeeze some time in at the piano this afternoon when I get home from the U.

PipeTobacco

The Real Epiphany

The above is a Dublin shaped pipe.  In the very pleasant dreams I had overnight, I was indulging in a pipe very much like the above.  The setting was such that I was of my current (old) age... but the time period was much earlier.... it felt somewhere like the late 1960s or perhaps the early 1970s.  I was teaching, and having a generally wonderful time throughout the whole dream.  The pipe tobacco I indulged in was a simple burley leaf with a hint of bourbon flavor.

It was an exceptional dream.

Today is the real official date of Epiphany.  As a young kid, I always imagined frankincense as smelling like a beautiful aromatic pipe tobacco.

PipeTobacco 

From Mass Today

From Mass today, the following was part of the Gospel reading from Matthew:

"They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way."

 For me, the above speaks to me about how I want and need to keep my focus more on how I should and can work to do good for others.  I need to focus my energy as much as I can muster onto working to do what is kind and helpful, and useful for others.  I need to actively move out of my feelings of hurt about the couple of people I work with who hurt me.  To go beyond those feeling is hard and yet, if I can find a way to more reliably do that, it will benefit me, and also allow me to better be the person I can and should be.... one who works hard to try to be helpful, one who tries to be useful, one who is kind.  It is important for me to shed these resentments.  

PipeTobacco

Chords

Even though I know and read music, as a wind player, my musical education has to this point been really in terms of learning single line progressions.

I have always known about chords, and know a little bit about several that I can pick out on the piano and on the guitar.  But, understanding the theory, the relationship and the versatility of chords in terms of composition and in terms of improvisation have always alluded me.

I am hoping to change my understanding and mindset with reading of two different texts on chord basics and theory and practice my very rusty techniques on the piano and guitar.   My major music goal is to be able to practice and learn so that I can create basic accompanying music to "fake books" which are basically the simplest version of sheet music available. It is a collection of songs written with only the melody, lyrics and chord changes over the appropriate beats.

PipeTobacco

Crock Pot

My wife and I bought ourselves a new, slightly larger crock-pot for Christmas.  We have been so heavily using our current one which is close to 20 years old that it is showing some wear.  Not that we are going to get rid of it by any means!  We now can use the new one as our primary one, BUT, we can actually make either a) larger quantities of some of the wonderful food and freeze more portions for easy use or b) make two different items at once and still have some to freeze of both items!   We made a wonderful potato & cauliflower curry yesterday to break it in.  

PipeTobacco

Early Removal of Lights

It is normal in my family for us to have Christmas decorations (outdoor and indoor) up through Epiphany (January 6th).... as this date is what is traditionally the 12th day of Christmas.

But, this year, with our atypical weather (for a few days, in the last week of December we had 50 F temperature (10 C) and  heavy rain), which has now been followed by a sharp downturn back to normal temperatures ( around 20 F (-6 C)), I made a decision, especially due to my infection, to take down the outdoor lights while it was warmer (and especially before they froze tight into place with the return to winter temperatures).  It feels odd to have no Christmas lights outside now.  But, at least we have our decorations up still inside and will take them down on January 6th like usual. 

PipeTobacco

2020

With a new year, and with a new decade.... one that actually "speaks" of clarity of vision (pun).... I thought I would focus today on how I plan and want to be, and where I have been:

1.  On December 21st, I came down with a very strong nasal/pharyngeal infection.  It took me a bit by surprise as I do not know whom I may have come into contact with in regards to this infection.   I am usually quite careful especially in the winter to practice good "cold avoidance" practices and did not know of any family member, student, or co-worker who was ill with similar symptoms.  But, regardless, for the first time in probably around three years, I came down with a significant infection.   I had a high fever (over 101 F (38+C)) for a full week, and NSAIDs (aspirin, in my case) did little to alleviate the fever.  After the first 8 days, I eventually went to a clinician and was prescribed an antibiotic for this.  The antibiotic helped enormously and I am feeling much better now, although I am still shedding a lot of mucous. 

2.  I did keep up my running and even though during the week and a half of sickness I had slower times, I still hit my goals of running between 30-35 miles (50-56 km) in a week.  I also did complete the year having had at LEAST one run each week that was a minimum of 6.2 miles (10 Km).  Looking back on my log, I actually had a total of 72 runs that were at least 6.2 miles (10 Km).  So, I am going to be able to make myself the t-shirt as my trophy!!!!!!  I also had hit my goal of 30-35 miles of running every week in 2019. 

3.  Today marks 4,129 days that I have walked or ran at least 5 miles each and every day... regardless of weather, illness, holiday, etc. 

* * * * *

In regards to the new year, I have goals and plans I plan to adopt:

1.  I plan to keep up my 30-35 mile running goal.

2.  I plan to keep up running at least one 6.2 mile run each week.

3.  I plan to add having at least one half marathon run (13.1 miles (21 Km)) run each month in preparation for running a real half marathon event (so I can get a t-shirt and a sticker) sometime in the Summer. 

4.  I plan to blog here in 2020.... every day.  Granted, some days the post will perhaps be short... but I feel there is value for me in posting regularly because a) it helps me get my personal thoughts OUT of my head so they do not continually ruminate there, b) I really value the friendship I have with you other blog readers and writers, and c) I really value the insights you provide for me, especially with feelings I have that are difficult. 

5.  I also plan to be a better blogging friend by not only reading.... but COMMENTING more often on your blogs and responding to your comments on my blog. 

6.  I am making a more concerted effort to practice music every day.  I have a few approaches I am taking and will inevitably be writing about them as they develop more. 

7.  As the Tiny Buddha image above suggests, I am going to work on my emotions by working to let go of a lot of the hurt feelings I have in regards to work and to move on from them into a better frame of mind. 

As my wife and I talked nearing the midnight hour last evening, we both have a sense of hope and joy for this new year.  We both know there is individual work for each of us to do, but we both are so fortunate to have each other on this journey and we both are striving to be more who we want to become and our support and love will be a big factor in helping each of us to make 2020 as joyful as possible.

PipeTobacco