Scattered

 

The image I show above is of a hobby that I have participated in a few times with friends when I was younger that is called "shooting clays" or more accurately shooting clay "pigeons".    I actually always thought shooting clays was rather fun, but for a young graduate student, it was a bit pricey as well.  Perhaps it would be something fun to attempt to pursue again as I approach retirement?  Who knows?  But, the reason for the image is related to my title atop of this blog entry.... scattered.  Some folks who were into sporting clays, I recall, used "buckshot" to make it more likely they would break the orange clay pigeon because it actually had a hundred or so small pellets in the casing that was fired.  To me, it seemed silly to shoot clay pigeons with buckshot as a big part of the sport is to improve your shooting precision.  

But....SCATTERED is how my mind is today in many ways, no matter how I try to wrangle it in.  I volunteered this semester to administer the makeup laboratory practical examination for those students in A&P who had some sort of "reason" to miss taking their exam at the scheduled time last week.  Of the ~400 total A&P students from the various sections, it ended up being that eight of them had a legitimate reason to miss.  Five were diagnosed with Covid, one had an automobile accident on the way to the U that day, and two had a (unexpected to them) tournament showing for the U team they play sports in.  Their scholarship from the U depends upon their participation in all games that arise for the U team.

Well my mind is SCATTERED as I also just finished administering the first of my four final exams for one of my courses... then I high tailed it back to the A&P Teaching Lab to administer these laboratory practical exams.  Laboratory Practical Exams are timed and stationed exams and so, these students are milling about from station to station, often having questions that I have to go and help them with.... on a lab exam that I did not construct (I do not have an A&P lab section this particular semester, only two A & P lecture sections and also.... my other courses).  The person who DID set up this exam was NOT as careful and precise as I typically am in wording the questions nor in pinning the tissues, organs, and various other body structures and histology slides to avoid student confusion...... so there are a helluva lot of questions by the students.  

See.... my mind is scattered all over the map.  I spent ALL of the above messing around discussing "scattered" in various ways, and did not get into the actual "stuff" I had planned to talk about.  (sigh)

* * * * * 

Ever since the gloom of Winter darkness has set in, it has been a chore to run.  I have simply not wanted to get out of bed at the designated time I demand of myself so as to get to the indoor track to run the needed miles.  My slack-jawed, slug & sloth-like ineptitude has forced me to need to put in miles every Saturday for the last few weeks in order to reach the 50+ mile (80+ km) weekly goal.  I need to get back to my normal pattern that I can accomplish in five days instead of six.

Today, however, for the first day of THIS week, I DID get up on time, and I DID force myself to run every one of the seemingly three zillion damnable loops to get a full 10 miles in for today!  So, I am happy about that!  I just have to keep it up tomorrow through Friday too. 

* * * * * 

At this time of the semester, my "professorial big-voice" lecturing is done until the next semester.  But, now the massive number crunching begins to attempt to distill out the appropriate grades for each and every one of my students.  If I had to spend all-day, everyday on the computer for my actual career, I think I would go insane from the drudgery of it.  Fortunately, I only feel like an IT Person or a Data Entry person one week a semester.  

* * * * * 

I have not gotten around to talking much about the actual, unbelievably wonderful, tasty, all-manner pleasing pipe I was able to indulge in on my Dad's birthday.  But, it was.. in every fashion, perfection in terms of all that I love about pipe smoking.  

When I first allowed myself the notion of allowing myself a pipe while at the cemetery, things were already rather hectic and busy getting ready for the last minute U things prior to Thanksgiving AND the myriad tasks of the family's Thanksgiving.  So, I did not really have, nor could I afford any appreciable time to contemplate which pipe nor which tobacco(s) I thought would be the most fitting for the occasion and also the most enjoyable.  

I had to keep it "simple".  So, I still had my "pipe kit" with me that I took to Chicago (and took to the ill-fated, damnable disaster that was Des Moines).  I always had a "pipe kit" that I would take when traveling.  Traveling as we know, can be chaotic.... and when traveling either by plane or rail, sometimes your ability to keep items may be restricted (think of airport security for instance).  So, my travel "pipe kit" has in it a pair of very PLEASANT pipes.... one a 1/4 bent Dublin and the other a full bent "basket pipe" (an unbranded pipe that some brand maker created, but it may have some minor flaw in grain or finish, so the maker sells it well-below wholesale to tobacco shops so they can sell them as inexpensive "basket pipes").  But, the key think in my travel "pipe kit" is that even though both pipes are WONDERFUL and WHOLLY ENJOYABLE devices..... neither is overly sentimental nor expensive.... and if I found myself in the travel situation where I had to grudgingly relinquish a pipe or if I were to lose it during travel..... it would be unpleasant, and I would  not be happy.... but it would be a loss that overall was "the best" of a bad situation.  In the kit also are two lighters one a Zippo (one with no sentimental value) and one ubiquitous disposable Bic.  

I also had the pouch of the stellar and illustrious "Three Star Blue" from Iwan Ries, and an unopened pouch of a unadorned, cube-cut burley also from Iwan Ries.  So.... with the hectic nature of the time, I decided that for my visit to the cemetery, I would simply go with my "pipe kit" as it stood.  

Ugh.... I glanced up through all I had written.... and I TRULY am a bit scattered today.  I haven't even gotten to where I had wanted to go in this post, but I need to call it a "day" for today.  The makeup kids are now all done with their exam and I have to forge onto the next mandatory tasks for this very busy day.  

Hopefully tomorrow I will be a bit more focused and can get more to what I had planned to discuss today.

PipeTobacco