2019 - Day 241/124 - Thursday...Assiduous...

It doesn't take a lot to make me feel superior; Passing up the free food at Costco is always a really easy one. Letting other drivers merge in front of me on MoPac. NOT letting others merge in front of me on MoPac. And this is one of my favorites, going faster on MoPac than the folks in the toll lane are going, or better yet, going PERIOD when the folks in the toll lane are at a dead stop! I had the pleasure of experiencing both of those today on my drive home. I did not leave the office until after 4, and I had one stop to make, so I did not hit MoPac until about 4:45. Traffic was typical, but I had opportunities to feel superior to those in the toll lanes on two occasions, so that made it all worthwhile. Overall, I had a really good day today. I got in to the office at a reasonable time, did a few power real estate things, took off to guide my Service Animal (Puppy Love) class for a great bunch of colleagues, made a stop at SteinMart, went back to the office, more power real estate, phone calls, this-and-that, and then it was home. One more day and then it is a three-day-weekend. I told Jody he needs to go out with me to the chicken coop over the weekend, and listen to me and the chickens see who can screech the loudest. I am pretty sure we can be heard all the way to Bell County.

Assiduous -- Adjective. marked by careful unremitting attention or persistent application. Larry was fortunate to have an assiduous tutor who believed in him and strove to help him overcome his learning disability.

Did You Know? Judges presiding over assizes (former periodic sessions of the superior courts in English counties) had to be assiduous in assessing how to best address their cases. Not only were their efforts invaluable, but the also served as a fine demonstration of the etymologies of assiduous, assess, and assize. All three words derive from the Latin verb assidere, which is variously translated as "to sit beside," "to take care of," or "to assist in the office of a judge."Assidere, in turn, is a composite of the prefix ad- (in this case, meaning "near" or "adjacent to") and sedere, meaning "to sit." I like words and definitions with a lot of "ass!"