(Beginning note 1: this is the post that I began Monday night–yes, three full nights ago–that I had no reason not to think to myself, yeah; I’ll bang the rest of this out tomorrow in between meetings, no problem.  Little did I know that it wouldn’t be nearly that simple; my brain would be kidnapped by Nicotine Withdrawal Elves overnight, which, “they” don’t tell you, essentially makes the brain feel like it perpetually just woke up.  Therefore, this post is the product of sheer perseverance, if nothing else.  It’s probably not my best writing.  But please be gentle with me; it’s a miracle I got it done.  Seriously, I can’t explain how hard I’ve worked on this over the past three days just to write something coherent enough to hit “publish”; you probably wouldn’t believe me, and I probably wouldn’t blame you.)

(Beginning note 2: this post is about my…