Tag: Summer

  • Pools are Open!

    My kid loves to swim, and wants to swim all the time as soon as it starts getting hot out. That can be a rather tough request to fulfill, as we do live in New York City. There are beaches, and a Jersey Coast. There also happens to be lakes upstate, and New England does have many swimming holes. But those are all exercises for vacations. Speaking of vacations, we are at the age where if hotel doesn’t have pool, we have killed our child’s will to live.

    Now, we have one great advantage in our neighborhood, which is that we are only a few blocks from the community pool. (There are two City services that make New York an amazing place to live; the first is the libraries, and the second is the City Park Service. They both don’t receive enough credit, nor enough funds.) We have an awesome pool that is run well, and is filled with kids. The window that these pools are open is short, normally 4th of July to Labor Day, and even by Labor Day, it can start getting cool out.

    This year the pools opened a week early, and we would have been there if the kid didn’t get a nasty Summer cold last week. BUT, today we were all healthy and headed out, to jump and splash around. And being that this is our fifth year of doing this, I’ve started looking forward to going. It’s part of our Summer, either early mornings, or late afternoons at the pool; The kid does make swimming friends, who we will only see at the pool, and never anywhere else in the neighborhood. I get some quality reading done while lounging in the plastic Adirondack chairs, while keeping on eye on the kids screaming and splashing.

    Pools are open. Have fun and stay cool.

  • ODDS and ENDS: HEATWAVE!, England, and Pools

    (Tried to give you consolation…)

    It’s hot in New York. That evil Heat Dome, which normally sits over Texas and the Southwest this time of year, has parked itself on the Northeast. High heat and humidity, and everything in the City feels like it’s melting. In all honesty, this weather is about two weeks early, but what is missing is the rain that should follow every five to seven days. The dome is stopping any Canadian cold fronts from coming in, which makes the heat feel unending. I have been trying to run away from Texas summers for the past twenty years, but they keep finding me. I thought we’d have to make to New England to escape this, but now, we may have to head farther north. Like the Pole…

    So, England is playing inconsistently at the Euro Cup and the British press and fans are losing their minds! Are the expectations too high? Oh, you bet’cha! Is England still in a strong position to break out of the Group Stage? Of course they are. It’s not that bad. But I will say, the England team doesn’t look very unified out there, in the sense that they don’t look like they are executing a game plan. There is still time to correct this, so don’t give up the ship yet… But this might be Southgate’s last tournament if England doesn’t do something spectacular.

    I’d like to swim in a pool right now. That’s it.

  • ODDS and ENDS: I Want to Go to the Gym, The Greatest Upset in Cricket World Cup History, and Mowing the Lawn

    (If there is a remedy, I will run from it)

    Today, honestly, was the first day in my life wherein when I woke up, and I had a desire to go to the gym. Not sure what is happening to me. I hate going to the gym, or at least I did. Yet, running on the treadmill for 30 minutes sounds enjoyable. Crap! I think I might be changing for the better.

    Did you know that the Men’s Cricket World Cup is underway? Did you know that the US is the host country? did you know that the USA has a team? Would you believe that the USA is not ranked very high in the world, and is not considered a serious competitive team? Would you believe that low ranked Team USA beat the 6th ranked powerhouse team from Pakistan yesterday? Yeah, neither did I! This is actually a very big deal in the Cricketing world, and I feel that out of National Pride we should be celebrating this! As such, here is your 2024 USA Men’s National Cricket Team:

    I never really minded the chore of mowing the yard. My Dad would make me do it, and I think at first it was like a punishment. But I had a walkman and lots of tapes, so it became a time for me to zone out and fall into my music. If I remember correctly, I could mow the front and back yard in thirty minutes, but it was Texas, so in the summer I either had to mow in the morning, or at the very edge of dusk. I don’t know if I will ever own a house, but if I do, I am looking forward to taking care of a yard.

  • ODDS and ENDS: It’s Summer, Career Day, and Old Ladies

    (Remain in the light, please.)

    We are running the air conditioner in the apartment now, which means it’s officially Summer for us. Sure it would be nice to jump into a pool, do some grilling, and drink a beer and watch the Cubs play. I took my shorts out of storage, and also took my ghost white legs out as well. Looking forward to awkward farmer-esk tan lines, and getting a sunburn on the top if my head. It’s not all bad. Summer does mean travel, and fun, and camp, and mini golf, and disc golf, and road trips, and seeing family and friends. I am not a fan of the heat, but I am looking froward to this Summer

    It’s Career Day at my kids school, which means that the students can come to class dressed up as their future careers. My daughter decided that her future career will be as an artist. I asked, what does an artist wear? Her answer; Whatever I want.

    They’re destroying New York City. Yes, little old ladies. They have no respect for anyone, are rude, obnoxious, and give their opinions when no one is asking for it. They’ll hit you with their canes and granny carts, and dare you to do something. But we all know that no one will do anything to a little old lady. Those old ladies are untouchable in this town, and they all know it, and use it against the rest of us. We are being held hostage in our own home. I’m not kidding. In every borough, the old ladies are the worst.

  • Is It Summer? (Unedited)

    I know that we are just getting to the end of April, and there is still one more month of Spring to go… But in my home, Summer is well under way.

    Actually, Summer ’24 has been planned for when Summer ’23 was coming to an end. When we picked the kid up from camp, she was ready to go back to camp. Not surprised, she had a great time, but on the drive back to New York, she was pushing us to confirm that she was going back next year.

    And at the same time, we were told that a family wedding was coming, and it would be a Summer wedding.

    Then today, I ordered a new air conditioner for the apartment. Our old one was that, old, and though it was still pumping out cold air, it was always meant as a stop-gap a/c. A unit we got stuck with during the Pandemic, and never got around to replacing. Except, I replaced it today.

    So, I guess what I am getting at is that I had this feeling come over me today that the year is over. I know that feels like a bit of a leap, but hear me out.

    The end of the school year is in sight, and the kid’s school wants to start talking about the Fall, and how we can get ready for that. I have started the process of planning all of our travel and arrangements for the wedding. And I have been getting all the paperwork and health forms in line for the kid to attend camp.

    Which leaves me feeling like the Summer of ’24 is already over.

    Not sure how I feel about that.

    I’m not a huge fan of Summer, having grown up in Texas and I have dealt with my fair share of heat… and I’m over it. I like the idea of Summer; vacations, shorts, swimming, hanging out, BBQ’s, you get the idea. But outside of that, it’s just a hot time of year, and sadly, will only get hotter for the rest of my life.

    Actually, I’m not sure where I’m going with this… It has turned into a bit of a ramble…

    Sorry…

    So, umm… I think we’re going back to Maine for vacation.