Miscellaneous Neuronal Firings

 

As is my new "norm" of late, just a bunch of thoughts (bulleted for your convenience 😜 ):

• I ran 14.3 miles ( ~ 23 km) this morning.  I had been hoping to perhaps hit 19 miles (~30.5 km), but I was also feeling a sense of concern about getting a helluva lot of things done in the morning for work, so I curtailed my run at 14.3 miles (~23 km).  This number still gives me a little bit of a cushion for getting to my weekly mileage goal even if I have a short run tomorrow due to early class start times and sleeping in until 5:30 am instead of when I should get up at 4:00 am.
• The overnight trip with my wife was absolutely wonderful!  After her work, we went out to eat at a beautiful place where we feasted on some really wonderful food:
• She ordered a pork shoulder and rice and vegetable "bowl" and a salad infused with various fruits in addition to the normal salad accoutrements. 
• I ordered a Mediterranean chickpea and lentil "bowl" that also came with its own hearty array of vegetables and also ordered a cauliflower and mushroom soft-shell taco.  The soft shell was made from blue corn.  
• We ended up tasting and sharing each other's dishes because both were very good.  
• We also had an appetizer of flatbread topped with cauliflower that was infused with a buffalo blue cheese sauce.  Just wonderful!
• I also had two glasses of hard cider (one mulberry & apple, the other blueberry & apple).  My wife had diet cola (she does not like to imbibe).   
• It was also such a beautiful evening that we ate outside, and it was relaxing and quiet.  
• Afterwards we walked down the street back towards our hotel and stopped at an ice cream / gelato  establishment.  She had her usual mint chocolate chip ice cream.  I like to try new, odd foods, so I tried their curry gelato.  It was wonderful.      
• My son did an excellent job with taking care of the dog, and since he knew that I was worried, he was actually especially thoughtful and careful.  I was even able to use my wife's phone to "Face-Time" with the dog for a minute or two that evening.  Of course, everyone thought it was silly (even me), but it was fun.  My anxiety that I wrote about dissipated when I saw how he was intending to be careful and understood my worry. 
  
• Today (and tomorrow), I have been interviewing student applicants for the paid student research position I received some grant funding for.  This is always a difficult process, as I tend to find several very promising candidates, and I feel sad having to narrow it down to the one position I have.... when I would really like to award the position to several of the applicants.
• I have a pouch of  Cornell & Diehl: Autumn Evening pipe tobacco that I have had for quite a while that I have opened this morning while I work in my back office.  I have been taking several deep smells of the beautiful pouch-full of leaf throughout the morning.  I had remembered it had a slight hint of a maple scent, and was not disappointed.  From when I last smoked a bowlful of this leaf, I remember that it had a wonderful "woodsy" flavor to it that was just ever so slightly sweet to the palate.  Until I smelled deeply from the pouch, I had really forgotten about this leaf, but just the pouch smell alone quickly reminded me of how good it was to actually smoke.  I have felt a fair amount of temptation to reach for one of my pipes since then this morning.  
• My wife and I are going to attempt to make home-made Fresh Spring Rolls today for dinner (not the fried kind.... blech).  We found dried spring roll casings at the store (basically sheets of agar) and thought it would be fun to recreate fresh spring rolls.  I am going to try to concoct a peanut/sesame sauce to dip them in.  
• I checked out of the U library a copy of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle".  It has been a long time since I first read this classic work.  It felt like it was time that I should re-read it and see how my perspective has evolved.  I already feel it is exceptional, but I bet I will find even more nuggets of amazement that I may have missed.  
• I have to admit that I am feeling a bit enamored with the new Ford Bronco.  It looks like it would be a helluva fun beast to drive.  It is a modern recreation of the classic Ford Bronco of the 1960s AND is available in a manual transmission (a joy to me).  I have looked at them on-line quite a bit.  But, I do also recognize it is only a pipe dream.  First, they are too new to have used versions available (I only buy used vehicles when I do, to avoid some of the horrendous depreciation).  Second, they are too damn expensive new (base price with no additional items is $32,000).  Perhaps in three or four years.... when there are some three or four year old ones on the market, and presuming a return to NORMAL used car prices, it may be something I would consider.