The Good With the Bad

As I have noted many times, this is my favourite time of year. More daylight, warmer weather, more time

outside…more cute guys wearing less.

The past couple of weeks, I have spent my nights/evenings hanging outside with my neighbours and various other people. Simple good times drinking some drinks, listening to some music, sometimes bringing out the corn-hole set, having a good time while the good weather lasts. Sometimes we hit the pool too. However…

From the knees down, I’m pretty much a giant itch. I’ve been getting eaten up by bugs. Also, every time I go running, I get drenched in sweat. I don’t really mind that, but it does take me a good 30 minutes to cool down again despite drinking ice water and sitting under a fan. Far worse than that though is that for about an hour after going running, my allergies act up. Primarily sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes. It's very aggravating.

I know, some of those are classic first world problems.

You gotta take the bitter with the sweet. That’s just how life works I suppose.

Photologue: Summer Fails (Part 3)

These photos were taken right before the leaves really started changing in September along the 1.5 mile running path near my townhouse.

Part 1

Part 2

Photologue: Summer Fails (Part 2)

These photos were taken right before the leaves really started changing in September along the 1.5 mile running path near my townhouse.

Part 1

Part 3

Photologue: Summer Fails (Part 1)

These photos were taken right before the leaves really started changing in September along the 1.5 mile running path near my townhouse.

Part 2

Part 3

MyTunes Monday: Summer Song

Last week saw the official end of Summer so I thought this song choice was appropriate. There isn't anything to the video, but it's a beautiful piece of music.

Summer Fails

Today was the day I have dreaded for a few weeks now.  Today brought the first chill of Autumn and even though Autumn's beginning is not officially for another week, the high days of Summer are gone. It has been cool all day and clouds have been heavy with the threat of rain. I knew it was coming inevitably. I have also noticed the shortening of days (the change in day length is something I tend to have an acute awareness of). This is not the half of the year where I fair well. Cold is not my strong suit. Winter is always something of a struggle both physically and emotionally. Finding ways to keep my spirits up is definitely a must. It's a good thing I have a great book to read right now.

Tomorrow will not see 60 degrees here, and it will only get worse.

To quote the book I'm reading, "Winter is coming!" Time to brace for the storm.

Batten Down the Hatches

There was a week when my family (my mother, grandmother, sister, and myself) was on holiday during the Summer and we went down to Chesapeake where my uncle lived with my aunt and their kids. At the time, he was still in the Navy and they were living on-base. On this particular trip, my sister and I even got to bring our bikes with us. It was going to be a fun week. Unfortunately, nature had something else in store. We had news that there was a tropical system, called Emily, headed towards that part of the East coast. It took some time before it was clear where exactly it was headed and how strong it would be (tropical systems are unpredictable like that), but eventually we knew where it was headed. Also, it was strong enough to the point that non-essential personnel had to evacuate the base. It just so happened that we had rented a van to make the 4-hour trip across Virginia. Good thing too because not only did my mother, grandmother, sister, and myself have to leave, we needed to take my aunt and two cousins with us with enough luggage to last them a few days at least. The bikes had to be dismantled to fit everything. My uncle was staying behind but to this day I don't recall exactly why (I guess he was that important). So eventually we headed back to Lynchburg. Emily ended up reaching all the even to my hometown (maybe 300 miles or so inland) but had significantly weakened by then. It was still windy and raining very heavily, but no significant flooding at home. We survived. After it was over, my uncle drove all the to Lynchburg to pick up the wife and kids. What was supposed to be a relaxing week where I would get to see family that I saw a few times a year at best turned into a mini-adventure.

Of course what brought this to mind is the fact that right now, the East coast is bracing for a potentially strong hurricane. When I say strong, I mean it may be a category 4 (of 5) and a 3+ is considered major. I also recall hearing that she may make landfall at high tide which will make beach erosion and flooding even worse, particularly in low-lying areas. If you're on the East coast, be prepared. It could get ugly.

Good luck all!!!

The Bane of Summer

When you're in school, you look forward to Summer more than pretty much anything else. No more learning, no more books, and all that. Of course, I was no different in that respect. Sleeping in, doing nothing, no responsibilities (except for marching band during high school, but that was completely voluntary...and awesome). However, there were several Summers where there was one thing I was forced into completely against my will: VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL!!! Sure it was only a week during a three-month holiday, but still, I couldn't stand it. No matter how much I begged those years, I had to do it. There were even a few Summers where I had to do it twice: once for the church that we went to (which was in another part of town) and a second at a different church (which was a couple of blocks away that the neighbours attended). It felt like torture. That one (or two) week(s) every Summer was the bane of the season. I never really felt like I got anything out of it, even to this day. It was probably something my mother and grandmother had me do just to get me out of the house, which I think could have been done in a more productive and less boring way. The activities were mostly pretty cheesy. We had to sing songs that I, never being a particular Gospel fan, had no love for. There was no joy for me in that setting. What little solace I had was when we had to attend VBS at that second church, at least I had some friends there to save me from the dullness (to the extent that they could). Whenever the week was over, there was a huge sense of relief, possibly more than at the end of the school year. At least there, I felt like I achieved something. I have no plans on making any children I have in the future attend VBS or any other such thing against their will (unless I feel like they will have a sense of accomplishment after the fact).

I will say this though. All these years later, I know how to make a God's Eye. Time well spent...or whatever.

Summer Time...

For me, Winter sucks. It's cold and miserable. After the second snowstorm of the season, I'm over it (there were at least 5 here this year, so that was annoying).

Summer is pretty much where it's at. The world comes alive. People are out and about; running, playing, smiling. Let's all face it. The best part of Summer is the fact that people are wearing less. Yeah, I'm shallow from time to time, but who isn't. Whether you're at the beach, in the city, or wherever, you can spot some hottie (whoever you deem that to be) scantily clad in the sun. Summer is pretty much the reason I am thinking I ultimately want to live in a place with longer Summers.