Miscellanea

 

• I still feel rather cruddy physically.  My extensive stretching to alleviate my heel discomfort has diminished that probably 95% which is good, but the new stretching has ultimately resulted in my lower back (latissimus dorsi muscle) to be very sore and tender now.  I believe that long term this will all work out as the tightening of the back muscle was probably due to the heel pain, and working through one aspect is bound to make the other compensatory muscles ache as you work to correct things.  But, it is tiring.  The back pain was extreme yesterday, but I added some extra back stretches, and it is perhaps 70% less this morning.  I have been reducing my running during this time to only ~5 miles a day (~8 km).  
• I am trying to keep a "stiff upper lip" these days, but I am feeling very much drained.  Just some basics include:
• The not feeling up to snuff due to my heel/back.
• Later this week, it will be the 31st Anniversary of when my young niece committed suicide.  It is shocking to think that she would be 48 years old now if she had chosen to live.
• The exhaustion of a difficult semester still is weighing more heavily on my mood than is the relief that grades are submitted and in. 
• My wife waits until now to do a lot of last minute Christmas shopping.  And, this means sometime in the next few days there will be a wrapping "party".  I can wrap presents VERY beautifully.  But, I am just not WANTING to wrap anything.  But, if I do not, I will disappoint.  So, I am not looking forward to spending much of a day wrapping, and then cleaning up the mess.
  
• The tragic murders of Rob & Michelle Reiner by their kid also has darkened my mood and spirits.  Obviously I do not know any of the personally, but I did admire Rob's work, and the horror of what appears to have occured is difficult.
• I have not gotten as far as I had hoped in planning and editing things for the next semester of classes, so I have that to do as well.  
• What I guess I WANT.... is 2-3 days of NO tasks/work, NO scheduled events, NO duties, NO anything planned, required, needing my attention.  And, I know it will not happen.  
• The one PLANNED event that I do hope goes well is tomorrow's Retiree's Cigar Group.  I keep thinking of that 2-3 hour reprieve.  
• The title for this post (and the image) are intertwined.  I am posting just a few random bullet points, hence the "miscellanea", but also it is a very interesting album that came across my Pandora recently.  It is by a fellow named Luigi Zito.  A snippet of the song of  his harpsichord focused music can be heard here. 

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