Dry Toast

 

It is near the end of the day.  I am fairly bushed at the moment:

• Up at 5:15am
• At the track and began my "hoofing behavior" at 6:01am
• Finished my 10 miles (~16 km)
• Took out the dog for a brief "constitutional".  She successfully did her duty.
  
• Reached the U parking lot and got into my office by 8:47am.
• Briefly reviewed what I needed to talk about in my upper division course.
• Went through and responded to ~10 e-mails from students.
  
• Hoofed across campus to a huge lecture hall to teach my first A&P class that started at 10am and focused on discussing the nuances of homeostatic mechanisms of the body designed to allow us to survive environmental changes.
• After that class I hoofed across to the other side of campus and taught my upper division class where I focused on interpretation of some phylogenetic maps of species lineages and used the example of infanticidal behavior (seen in a variety of species.... insects, many mammals..... rodents, lions, and various primates to name just a few).  I attempted to guide students into comparing and contrasting different competing cladograms of these phylogenetic maps and having them predict which appeared most accurate by currently known data.  
• Hoofed BACK across campus again to the big lecture hall to teach my second semester A&P class where I focused on a rapid-fire review of nervous system physiology and endocrine system physiology.
• Hoofed again back across campus to where my office(s) and laboratory are located and was met by a cluster of five of my research students who wanted to talk and discuss some research related ideas.
• After speaking with them, one of my classroom students showed up seeking what amounted to career advice.  I asked him some pertinent questions and explained to him one option that came to me initially from his answers to my questions... but then told him I needed to get to a committee meeting and asked him to think about my initial idea and for him to jot down in his mind what he liked and disliked about my suggestion so we could use that as a starting point for me to help him further the next time he stopped by.
• Went to my committee meeting.  It was unfortunately one of the "dull as dry toast" type meetings, but as I had anticipated it would be a "dry toast" style meeting, I brought my laptop there and under the guise of taking notes of the "dry toast", I instead worked on some of my classroom materials while I listened to the "dry toast"... interjecting every once in a while an occasional, "Yes, I agree!" or sometimes "Hmmm.... I am not really sure if that is a good idea." when the need arose.  
• Within about 5 minutes of the committee meeting ending, I was on here trying to write and post this update.
  

* * * * * * 

PCS = 8.... I used my time walking to-and-fro today, and also used those brief moments when I allowed my mind to drift out of focus during the "dry toast"... to reminisce about a few different, especially beautiful bowlfuls of pipe tobacco I had consumed that I remember and relish from the past.  

I am hoping/thinking Friday may be more relaxing as far as my schedule.  I am hoping to have a more fully actualized post rather than a rapid-fire release of bullets.  

PipeTobacco