Ephemeral

 

I think I did my due diligence today:

1.  First morning in a helluva long time where I could run my entire run outside!  The trail was clear, there was hardly any wind, it was beautiful seeing sunrise.  9.2 miles (~15km).

2.  We had such a warm spell yesterday that a good 90% of the snow melted.  This revealed the needed, yearly, arduous task that I always have this time of the year on garbage collection day.... "Poopville".  In the dead of the winter, when my dog does her "business" the "output" typically freezes to the snow very rapidly and then is also often covered in snow... so it is not able to be collected for disposal.  So, in the area of her string (an area about 30 feet across (~9 m)) each time when we have the big snow melt, there is revealed a truly shocking number of examples of her "output".  As is my typical pattern on this day, I work feverishly with disposable gloves on my hands and a few large grocery bags, and in the earliest part of the morning, I go out and collect these "outputs" for disposal.  I do this very early in the morning, because the morning is still a bit below freezing and the "output" is solid and a bit easier to pick up for disposal.  I had two nearly filled grocery sacs when I finished the task and moved them to the garbage can.  Fortunately, during the rest of the year (non-winter), I can simply collect the smaller number of "outputs" every few days from the area of her string.  

3.  Because of the lack of classes today at the U, it was deemed a "perfect" opportunity by someone to have a socialization event in the Department at a park near the U at the lunch period... the park being a site where adult libations could be consumed without the need to have someone go through the very extensive paperwork and rigamarole to have approved alcohol on campus.  I am not extremely fond of bigger gatherings of this sort which mostly are just idle chit-chat.  I much prefer socialization to be perhaps with one, two or three others at a time... small groups of just a few people are much more in my comfort zone than is a larger group of 1-2 dozen people like this "gala" affair.  But, of course, it felt like it was my duty to attend.  I went, and worked hard to try to make progress on my Lenten vow of being forgiving to the two who have been so very unkind.  I did idly talk with each person a bit, and engaged them to each talk a bit about their family.  I nursed one beer through the early afternoon and ate only vegetation (carrots, celery, and the various other trayed vegetation someone brought) so as to not spoil my appetite for eating dinner in the evening.  The afternoon was (as usual for me in these larger gatherings of chit-chat) quite exhausting, but I did it, and used it as an opportunity to try to make progress on my Lenten vow.  Truth-be-told, however, the 2.5 hours of this socialization event made me feel more tired than if I had worked diligently for a full eight-hours on regular work activities of teaching, research, or service.  Again, I can ENJOY and have fun in small groups of folks and can feel relaxed and sometimes even invigorated in a smaller group setting.  But, these 1-2 dozen people events are just not a natural part of my wheel house.  They always exhaust me.  I *can* and *do* do these sorts of events (and do so "successfully" in that I can "fit in" fine) as a part of my job.... but they are not enriching for my soul, for my psyche.... nor a good fit for my personality.     

4.  My wife has been thinking about her future vehicle.  She is not yet fully clarified in terms of what she would like, but it did prove a very helpful venture yesterday as she is now much closer to figuring it out.  Pat happened to mention in the comments about buying used.  And, in reality, that is exactly what my plans are.  Over the course of my life, I have had to get a variety of vehicles.  In graduate school, my vehicles were often what folks would consider "clunkers" being very inexpensive vehicles with a helluva lot of miles on them, typically 10-12 years old when I bought them... at least.  But, I did pretty well... ended up with some nice vehicles (with a bit of work) that even tended to look clean, nice, and tidy.  When I earned my Ph.D. and had had my first full-time job, I purchased my one-and-only new vehicle in my life.  I spent many days arguing and fussing with the dealer about what I was willing to pay, and eventually I did win out.  I thought that perhaps a new vehicle would seem "amazing" in some fashion.  But, I quickly realized that new cars (for me anyhow) are a foolish venture.  After the first month, it just was another vehicle.  And in fact, many times, I found the fresh-feeling of the purchased vehicle lasted LONGER in most of the used cars I bought because I would spend time cleaning and fussing with the vehicle to get it to shine and be its very best that it could be both inside and out for the first few weeks of ownership.  After that single new car, I reverted back to only buying used vehicles... although they no longer are "clunkers" but are only a few years old. 

5.  Today was one of the more challenging pipe days for me in the last two weeks.  I wanted to smoke my pipes right upon awakening when I got out of bed a 5:00am.  And, I felt pretty deeply its non-presence throughout the entirety of the day.  If I were to create a relative scale of "Pipe Challenge" where it was a 10 point scale with "1" being a day where I would think about smoking my pipes, but it was relatively easy to just think about them occasionally throughout the day without significant yearnings, and "10" being a day where I feel I am at my wits end, and feel very, very significant yearnings that just do not dissipate in any fashion.... today would be a "7".  And, I especially acutely felt this during the time I was nursing my single beer while in the park.  

PipeTobacco