Cyborging Away

Today was reasonably pleasant as far as a workday goes:

• Ran my 10 miles (~16 km) this morning... on the treadmill.... as it was raining very heavily with high winds (~15mph (~24kph)) and was only about 38 degrees F (~3 C).  I watched TWO different Capuchin Daily Masses while I ran (I had one extra that I had not been able to watch/listen to earlier in the week.  The Capuchin brothers and priests are such remarkable people.  I learn so much from them and find inspiration in their good work and kindness.  The Chapel where they videotape their Masses from, which is next to their Monastery is also beautiful both in terms of its simplicity and in terms of the beauty of it as well.  

 

• Depending on the day and musician availability, the Daily Masses at the Chapel may have a pianist with a violinist, soprano saxophonist and two vocalists....  or there may be a simple guitarist.... or sometimes a husband and wife guitarist and flutist.... or sometimes a young college student who plays a quiet and pleasant alto saxophone.... or sometimes when no musician is available, the priest will sing "a capella".   Today, the husband and wife duo (guitarist and flutist) played for both Masses I watched.  All the music is good from all the efforts.... but this husband and wife duo... I tend to especially appreciate because they are not professional players by any stretch.... but their sincere earnestness is so imbued and refreshing in their playing and singing. Even though this is not them, the link HERE is of the especially beautiful Mass hymn they played that captivated me.  I am thinking about trying to find the sheet music to play on my own.  
  

 

• I had absolutely no need to go to the U and could work from my office at home!  I had grown to really appreciate the quiet and the flexibility of working from my home office during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it was a very relaxing day of cyborging on a lot of tasks that I needed to do for my classes and for writing work.  

 

• I also was able to contact the book rep of a new book publisher who has taken over the publication and sale of a text I use for one of my classes next semester.  She was able get me situated in terms of getting THEIR version of the textbook, and more importantly.... she was able to get me set up for electronic access to the instructor ancillaries.  This is critically important and valuable for me to help in the organization and alignment of my lectures, assignments, and other minutia related to my revising my "stuff" to fit the new edition of the textbook.  

So, overall, it was a pleasantly productive workday.  I have also had fairly strong desire for smoking my pipe today.... BUT... not a YEARNING, or a feeling of NEED.   Just a beautifully pleasant desire.... that felt actually nurturing and even "wholesome" if that makes any sense.  If I were/am to rejoin the beautiful pipe smoking avocation, I would like the mood/feeling to be exactly like how it felt today..... just a beautiful thing to do.  No baggage.  

 

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