On Independence

While there's plenty of things to look forward to in the summer, one of them is the "Fourth of July" festivities. I usually attend a few parties, see some fireworks, and most notably, have a day off from the office. It just so happens that the holiday falls on a Monday this year, three day weekend, lovely. This year, I'll be attending the Stars & Stripes Festival, which is really just a reason for a bunch of people to get together, drink, and listen to mostly crappy bands and see some fireworks. Since my best pal lives in the heart of where the festival takes place, a few of us usually go to his house. If one doesn't feel like walking "downtown" to see the fireworks, they're watchable right from his yard.

Then there's my sister-in-law's party which I was going on believing was going to take place on Sunday, but recently found out will be on Monday. That sort of takes things down a notch. She lives close to me, a mere four blocks away. It's usually a pretty good crowd, some members of the family are quite into we'll say... the not so legal fireworks which usually turns out to be a good time. Of course, since this party is on a "school" night, I don't know how long I'll be staying around for said fireworks.

This particular month of July is quite a busy one for me, as far as weekends go. There's parties, a wedding, a vacation, my birthday, and I recently got invited to attend a roller derby training session each Thursday in July. I pretty much love roller derby.

Of course, it's nearly July and I haven't swam once this season, despite having some overly hot days, the water just wasn't primed. I am however looking forward to possibly visiting Virginia Beach at the end of next month and swimming in the Atlantic. We'll see how that pans out.

On Thunderclouds and Summer

Well, it's officially Summer here in the Mitten, and what better way to celebrate that then with some good old fashioned thunderstorms? I mean, it's not like we didn't have enough rain in the Spring, it was practically monsoon season. However, thunderstorms are awesome, I enjoy them. My cat on the other hand hates them, my dog is indifferent as is my bird. The rain is nature's watering can, so if the rain saves me money from watering my grass and flowers, then let it rain.

However, I'm supposed to be taking my CY endorsement road test this evening. It's sort of an on the fly type of thing. I was aiming for Friday, and I got roped into taking it today. It's funny how I've had my bike for five years and I'm just now getting around to getting my endorsement. I've been flying by on a permit all this time. I'm slightly nervous about the test, I mean, I know I'll do well on most of it, I'm just nervous about weaving through cones. We'll see how that pans out. Maybe I won't be testing at all today because there's a 50% chance of rain during the time I'm supposed to be testing.

I've got some things to look forward to, which is always nice. First, I've got this Friday off, and even though I probably won't do anything spectacular this weekend, at least I won't be at work. Then there's the weekend of the 4th. Family party plus Monday off, nice. The following weekend is my nephew's graduation party. The weekend after that is sort of a wedding party for some friends getting hitched which will be the week after that, it's an out of town sort of thing, so maybe we'll make a weekend out of that. The last week of July holds my birthday and a possible vacation. August holds more parties and a weekend at a pal's cabin. I've got a pretty nice little summer planned out.

On Summer Solstice

Another Solstice is upon us, my favorite of the two, the Summer Solstice, aka: the longest day of the year! Here in the Mitten, summer means a lot especially since the weather sucks the majority of the time. I'll be at work of course, since the Solstice is on a Tuesday, but afterward, I'm thinking I need to be outside as much as possible, maybe even indulge in a Solstice bonfire.

With all this being said, my mind is in full on summer mode. I haven't been working on my writing at all because all I want to do is be outside and relax and be lazy, like you're supposed to be in the summer. I'm thinking about going to Tawas, I'm thinking about margaritas, I'm thinking about the upcoming parties, I'm thinking about a possible vacation at the end of next month. I'm sure if I didn't have a day job, I'd get up early and write, and then go out and enjoy the weather, but that's just not the case. I've got to make money some how, and selling just a few books will not support me.

It's also Monday of course. I find it so hard to get into work mode. I'm still hungover on the relaxation and slow moving mode of the weekend. Of course, these days, I'm usually finding it hard to get into work mode. Well, back to paper pushing.

On Spare Parts

I've noticed with the last few summers that I tend to slack off with my writing. I just can't justify sitting in my "office" writing when the weather is so beautiful out. I figure I ought to take advantage since the weather usually sucks for a minimum of six months out of the year. Now, I have a laptop which by technology's standards is ancient, but it does its job. It's got the wireless internet connection thing going for it, the screen is perfect, it's small and easily portable, and its had a memory upgrade. I hadn't been using it because the battery was shot, it wasn't holding any sort of charge, so I had to plug the thing in wherever I went. Meaning, I couldn't say... take it to the park to write, or the coffee shop, or even my backyard. So it sat, quiet, alone, in the dark in my closet. Yesterday, I finally decided to buy a new battery for it, expecting to pay an arm and a leg for it. Well, the prices I found were nearly astronomical between $80 and $150. I went to Amazon and found one for $29, perfect! I also went ahead and bought a new keyboard since I'm missing a few keys and some of the other ones aren't as spot on as they used to be, couldn't beat it for $15.

These parts should be arriving by the end of the week, which means I could be out on the road with my laptop in hand writing like a fiend by the weekend.

In other news, I've decided that I'm keeping my big ol' scooter that I was planning to sell for the past few years. I took it to the shop over a month ago and finally got it back this last weekend. After dropping $400 on it, I've decided I'm sort of partial to it, and it's just a sweet ride. I've been putting off getting my CY endorsement since I bought the thing in 2006 just skating by on having the permit, I've decided it's time to stop dicking around and get this done so I can fully enjoy the bike. I'm even considering giving the old boy a paint job and am in the market for a new mirror and brake handle since they've taken a spill. It's looking to be a good summer.

On Mitten Heat

I've vowed to not complain about the baking heat that we've been experiencing simply because it seemed like we were in a monsoon season with cold rain for 2 months, and lets not forget the mid April snow showers. Yes, it is HOT! Today it will be nearly 100 degrees with a heat index over 100 degrees but... this is the last day of the extreme heat. We'll be back into the mid to upper 70's by tomorrow, with the threat of thunderstorms of course, but at least we won't be baking alive.

Especially those of us who have no central air in our homes. Sure, a window unit in the bedroom cuts it for a comfortable sleeping environment, but what is one to do during their waking hours? The basement is an option if you have one, except mine always needs constant mopping due to a little issue my kitty has. Who wants to do that when it's 100 out? Not me.

I wish that I lived closer to a swim able lake, I wouldn't mind the excessive heat so much, but that's just not the case. Even if my parents still had a pool, I'd go over their house and take a dip. Oh well, I've got my inflatable pool still sitting in its box because I'm stubborn about setting it up for one or two hot days.

Bring on summer!