This and this...

Just thoughts:

• Yesterday began with a bit of chaos due to my ineptitude and foolishness.  I did all of my morning tasks.... running, putting away dishes from the dishwasher, preparing my coffee to take with me, etc.  I then cleaned up myself, dressed, and headed to the U as per normal.  I was a bit preoccupied in thinking about my teaching lab yesterday morning.... in embryology.  There was a situation where my chicken eggs had arrived, but had been improperly stored by the student worker who received packages earlier in the week.  The viability of the eggs was therefore in question, but I had decided to see what, if anything could be salvaged and put the eggs in the incubator at the appropriate time earlier this week.  But, I was predicting the lab to ultimately fail due to the improper storage.  So.... I was running through my mind, various ways to try to best educationally cope with the upcoming presumptive failure in lab yesterday morning as I drove to campus.  
• I stopped at a relatively near-to-campus 7-11 to get a pop (soda for those not familiar with "pop" as a colloquialism..... diet Dr. Pepper).  After arriving on campus, I went into the teaching lab, looked at the eggs, organized several things, then I proceeded to the restroom, then I proceeded to my research lab.... and started up my computer, and.... of course with the current state of affairs.... up popped on my screen the array of "mulifactor authentication" requirements that I had to work through before I could gain any access to ANY electronic gizmoey crap on campus.  SO.... I NEEDED MY PHONE, which is the system used by the U to go through the huge array of steps to be able to accomplish this tiresome, lengthy "authentication".  But, I could not find my phone.  
• Thus began the chaos.
• Did I have my phone?  
• Did I leave my phone somewhere?  If so.... where the hell did I leave it? 
• The lack of knowing where the damn phone was.... sent a shiver of panic down my spine.
• Thus began my starting to act like an overly caffeinated squirrel.... as I began to agitatedly search my research lab, then the restroom, then the teaching lab, then my coat, and lunchbox, and then back out to the parking lot to my vehicle, and then back through ALL OF those places again.  
• I even tried to call my wife on my OFFICE PHONE.... to see if she could look for my damn, gizmoey phone on her "Find My Phone" app.  But, unfortunately, she had her phone off due to a meeting she was in so was not reachable.  
• Could I have left my damnable phone at home?  
• I did not have a lot of spare time, and I HAD PLANNED to get a lot of work done prior to class.  But, I COULD NOT DO A DAMN THING WITHOUT "authenticating".  I was between a rock and a hard place.  So, I zipped out of my building, into my vehicle, and drove as rapidly as I could all the way back home..... but on the way back.... I also stopped at the 7-11 as well...... to see if I left it there.  Unfortunately, they had no errant phone.  Hah, even on this hurried drive home, though, I admit, I did daydream a bit about my pipes and pipe tobaccos, so the PCS score is still high!
• But.... once a at home.... I scrambled and searched EVERYWHERE I typically am at at home in the morning, and still could not find the damn thing. 
• I was starting to get frantic.
• Then, I remembered the i-Pad.  My wife had one (but she was not available, see above), but I ALSO had gotten one (free) with the plan my wife selected the last time we had to get our new gizmoey phones.  I remember we also had "Find My Phone" on those things!
• It takes me a bit, but I finally find it...... try to turn it on..... it has no charge (&&^%!!).
• I race to the "charging area" in our kitchen, and plug the i-Pad in.  Time is ticking.  The battery was SO low, that it would not turn on immediately but would show a battery with a red line in it.
• I wait.
• I wait.... what seems like an eternity..... but was probably a little over five minutes.
• It is able to finally be turned on!
• I scroll around in the damn thing to try to find (and remember) what the "Find My Phone" icon looks like.
• I finally figure out which icon is the right one, open it, and search around...... my phone IS in the house!!!!  Finally some progress!!!!!!
• I go racing around EVERYWHERE I can think of.... the bedroom, the bathroom, the living room.... the kitchen..... my office.... out on the back porch......
• I cannot locate it.
• I go back to the i-Pad to try to "close-up" the image to see if I can figure out more precisely where the phone is.... but the "Find My Phone" does not allow enough granularity to see THAT PRECISELY.
• Ugh!   Where is the damn thing?!?!?
• Messing around more with the "Find My Phone" app on the i-Pad, I must have hit something on the screen, and.... part of the screen now displays a "Play Sound" box..... I never saw that before.
• I tap the button and wait.
• I can hear a weird "twittery" sound seemingly to come from the living room.... which must be coming from my phone!!!!!
• I race into the living room, trying to pinpoint where the noise is coming from..... and eventually.... THERE IS MY PHONE...... I had laid it on the mantle of our fireplace!!!!!
• (I would never TYPICALLY put my phone there, nor anywhere near the fireplace, truth-be-told.  But, for whatever reason.... I now remembered I sat down by the fireplace.... to retie my shoes in the morning right before leaving... and I must have very stupidly laid down my phone on the mantle when I did so.)
• I raced out the door.... raced back to the U..... and raced into the building..... and had ~3 minutes before my embryology lab actually started.... but at least now.... I could log into the damnable classroom's computer and project images from the projector to help show items of my slides to students in the lab.

I was exhausted.

• After teaching my classes.... and after working with my rodents for a while, I did go to the "Retiree's Cigar Group" across to the neighboring town.  Only about 1/2 of my friends were there... as a cadre of them had said last week that they could not get there this week due to various appointments.  
• At the shop, it was strange, but a younger fellow (probably mid-to-late 30s) was roaming around the shop, watching me as I peered into the various humidors.  I was about to reach into one of the cabinets for a "usual" cigar of a type that is predicable and pleasant, and I have had a few times before, when this younger guy came up to me and started talking.
• It turns out he was a vendor of a new brand of cigars that the shopkeep was going to add to his offerings at the shop.  This fellow was rather earnest and a bit persistent.... and kept working on his spiel to try to convince me to get one of "his brand" of these new cigars to the shop.  
• I was not really feeling in the mood for a sales pitch, but equally I was not in a mood to try to explain that "No, my choice was going to be.... 'X' " instead.  So, ultimately I acquiesced and picked up one of this fellow's new types of cigar.  I then paid, and headed back to the lounge area to talk with my friends.  
• The talk and discussion was wonderful as always.  It was fun, enjoyable and relaxing.... at least to an extent (more later).
• However.... the cigar.... was not to my liking.  I cannot pinpoint any particular "negatives" about it.... but to me, it was wholly "dull", had no interesting flavors or textures, and seemed basically like a bunch of "nothingness", which was rather disappointing.  I actually cannot remember the name of the brand (I believe I kept the ring and put it in the pocket of my shirt yesterday, so I can likely figure it out.) but.... I do not plan to purchase any future offerings of that brand.  It can truly be ranked at the bottom of my rather modest cigar list.
• The reason why the "Retiree's Cigar Group" was fun, enjoyable and relaxing..... TO AN EXTENT... was that I was still "on-the-clock" in terms of my wife having accepted an invitation to our region's "Soup Kitchen Fundraiser" dinner, which happened to be yesterday, early evening.  So.... I had to cut my time at the "Retiree's Cigar Group" short, so I could get home and gussey myself up enough for this "fancy" event.  I had to shower.... to wash away any persisting running, rodent, embryo, and cigar odors from my visage in order to be "fancy" enough to fit in at this fundraiser. 
• The meal was actually really nice.  And, even though I am not fond of "schmoozey-fundraiser events"... nor the length of time they take.... it WAS for a good cause... and being there did help the Soup Kitchen out financially.  I have worked (volunteered) at the Soup Kitchen numerous times.... and it is extremely helpful for folks in our community who are experiencing economic challenges.  

PipeTobacco

Brief Addendum:  Today marks my 144th day in a row of completing Wordle successfully!  I am hoping to reach day 150 and get a 150 Day Badge!    I am happy about this consistency.  I have only been playing Wordle for 151 days total.