Teaching
A busy day of teaching today, so only a brief post during a break:
- I could only get in 8 miles (~13 km) this morning because (as usual) I did not get up as early as I had planned to in order to get more miles in before my very early start time on Tuesdays for work. I am rather frustrated at myself for NOT awakening as early as I should. I hit the pavement for my run at 5:30 am. I should have gotten out there by at least 4:45 am.
- It is going to be very, very close to 100 degrees (F) today (~38 C). The U has raised the temperature on its A/C system to use less energy, which is a good thing.... but my building is warm and humid already at the moment.
- I am bound and determined to go swimming after I am done at the U today.
- I have not been writing about it much, because I fear it is boring to folks, but I have been working through some very strong cravings for my pipes and pipe tobaccos again yesterday and today. Sometimes the thought of being away from them is so exceedingly difficult.
4 Comments:
I have been working through some very strong cravings for my pipes and pipe tobaccos again yesterday and today. Sometimes the thought of being away from them is so exceedingly difficult.
As it should be, Professor! I don't think it would be right for me to describe to you a wonderful new tobacco -- Peter's Pleasure or any other -- because I know it would just deepen your internal conflict. You know how deeply you would like to return to the solace of your pipes. And you know that some of your readers, like me, are looking forward to the day when you announce your return. I have told you how much I regret the years I wasted when I thought I could be happier and healthier without my pipes, and how much relief I felt when I returned to their embrace.
But your journey is your own. I could tell you that "working through some very strong cravings" is just another way of saying "torturing yourself unnecessarily" -- but you can only come to that realization, and act on it, when you are ready. All I can do is give you the encouragement that, when you are ready to come back to your old friends, they will welcome you and you'll quickly wonder why you stayed away for so long.
As for the heat, do I dare suggest that you think about trimming your beard a bit for the summer? Or has the bushier length now become so comfortable that it's worth keeping even in the hottest summer heat?
Near 100--ugh! That would be hard for me to bear. My blood is thick!
As for your pipes, Professor, I'll say this much. It's one thing to say that a 21-year-old never-smoker today should probably not take up pipe smoking. But it's quite another to make that same determination for someone who has smoked pipes for decades, who never learned to inhale like a cigarette smoker, and whose pipe habit is inextricably tied to family legacy. Since you'll never be "away from them" in the deepest parts of your heart and soul, it seems like needless suffering to keep yourself away from them.
Swimming in the heat sounds wonderful; I hope you kept your determination to do so. And I urge you to pause for a moment and reflect on your use of "only" together with "8 miles." That's accomplishment and dedication, Professor!
We have been fortunate to escape the extreme heat of your region. It is getting warm enough for the past few days but nothing like that.
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