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.

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

List


 

 A bulleted list for today:

  • On Memorial Day, I felt a need to "get out some stress" and "to feel accomplished about at least one thing" and so I ran 18 miles (~29 km) which is a new "longest distance" I have ever ran in a single run.  
  • Besides my typical praying of the rosary and listening to a Capuchin Mass as I run, I also spent time thinking about and remembering all the deceased relatives, friends, mentors. and guides who had a strong impact on my life.  This included my parents, my father-in-law, four uncles, three aunts, a cousin, a niece, six close friends, my grandparents, four priests, and my two educational mentors.
  • I also took time to think about the three especially important deceased relatives of mine who served in the military.... my Dad (WWII), my cousin Earl (WWII) and my Father-in-Law (Korea).  
  • My wife and son both are now testing negative, and I have remained negative for the damnable Covid-19.  They both seem to have recovered physically.  My wife, though, now has a rather severe skin infection that has me worried due to her diabetes, and my fears about her being at risk for sepsis.  I am quite concerned about this. There is nothing I have read that makes me think this is Covid related.  But, is very likely a result of  her less than successful regulation of glucose. 
  • With the negative tests, we were able to eat (outside) with my mother-in-law and my wife's siblings for Memorial Day.  While I am not typically all that fond of grilled meat, I ended up eating not just ONE, but TWO chicken drumsticks (BBQ sauced).  They were rather tasty.  I may have been extra hungry after my 18 miles. :)  
  • Because of very early work at the U today, I could only get in 8 miles (~13 km) before I had to stop so I had enough time to get the U ahead of my 8am class.  
  • I have a bunch of applicants from students for a paid student research position I have that will begin this Summer.  I am going to work on setting up interviews for these students.  I may do them on Zoom, to make it easier, but I am not sure.  
  • Over the weekend, I actually had three different dreams that I remembered!  
    • One was a nightmare I have had for decades.... it is a dream where it is the modern day (2022 for instance) and I suddenly "realize" that I a) somehow did not complete my Ph.D. and now I will get fired from the U and b) I never stopped the lease on the apartment I had been renting when I was a graduate student many, many decades ago. The loss of my job, and the multiple decades of rent payments I owe....have had me in previous experiences of this dream....  typically wake up fully soaked in sweat and anxiety, and this time was no exception.  
    • The second was a dream where I was in my teen-aged years and was at a Coney Island restaurant with my Dad.  We had a bit of a ritual during a few years when I was a teen where we would go there, just the two of us and eat two Coney Dogs each and share an order of fries, drinking mugs of root beer.  We did this pretty much every other week for four years or so until I had to go to college.  We then would continue the tradition when possible when I was able to be home thereafter.  The dream was wonderful and felt so vivid and real.  
    • The third dream was brief, but was recalling a time when I was a new, still "wet-behind-the ears" professor, many decades ago, and I was at a research meeting in Boston, and during some down time, I visited the famous Leavitt & Pierce Tobacco shop, and spent much of an afternoon there.  This dream too, was again as vivid as if it were happening right now.
PipeTobacco

4 Comments:

Blogger Margaret said...

So glad for the negative tests! I'm impressed by your 18 miles; I can't even imagine it.

Tuesday, 31 May, 2022  
Blogger Pat M. said...

If your first dream recurs, can you somehow tell your dream self that all you need to do is open a tobacconist's shop to pay your debts and give yourself a nice income? Turn your nightmare into a happy little fantasy?

Tuesday, 31 May, 2022  
Blogger Pam J. said...

Good to hear about the negative test. I'm intrigued by the Coney Island visits in your teen years. I've been trying to figure out what part of the country you're in and still don't know of course. But at least I now have a vague hint that your teen years were spent in NY, NJ, CT? Maybe PA. Someplace close enough to Coney Island to go there every other week. Interesting!

Tuesday, 31 May, 2022  
Blogger Anvilcloud said...

I wonder how one’s brain tells one’s brain what to think about at envy given time. My head just kind of spins around willy-nilly. I conscious part of me seems to have little control over what I am going to think about next.

Wednesday, 01 June, 2022  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home