Well guys, today was the first official day of summer. The longest day of the year. And it was balls hot in New York City. And I don’t have air conditioning. I’m like A Time to Kill-level sweaty right now. Summer is my least favorite season. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a nerd, a stickler for the rules. I really liked school when I was little. I got bored during summer. I mean, I was involved in a lot, so I wasn’t just lazing about, but I missed the structure. Plus, there was no good TV on (which is still true). It was all reruns, miniseries, and sucky shows that weren’t good enough for the traditional TV season. Oh, yeah. Did I mention it was HOT?
There are, of course, things I do like about the summer. Baseball and summer go hand in hand for me. Sure, Spring training starts in February and the World Series is in October, but summer means baseball. And baseball means a good time, usually with my sisters and my dad, friends, beer, and peanuts. Summer also means swimming. Oh, man, do I love swimming. When I was little, that’s what I loved most about the summer. Sure, I’d rather be in school, but the pool was the next best thing. There aren’t so many pools in NYC, which makes me sad. But apparently, there’s a nice one in Red Hook that I’ll be going to with my nephew! I can’t wait. NYC also has some pretty nice beaches nearby, which I plan on going to some more this summer. Though I’m not a huge fan of salt water, I do love to swim in a natural body of water. Have I mentioned I love swimming?
I’m also a fan of the Summer Blockbuster, as those in the industry (and everyone else) call a big summer movie. I even saw one already, though I’m not sure if that name fits. I mean, it’s not ID4 epic, but it did make $109 million in its first weekend. Now, if you’ve been reading my blog, you should know what movie it was: Toy Story 3! It was fantastic! Everything I wanted it to be, and so much I didn’t know I even needed. I’m also looking forward to Eclipse because it will be terrible and probably an amazing movie-going experience. I know New Moon was. Those two are maybe the only summer movies I’m really looking forward to. Well, those and the Grease Sing-a-Long. Obvi.
One thing that’s been missing from my life for awhile now is the Summer Jam. I found I do less jamming in New York, since most of my jamming, especially during the summer, was done while driving. It’s just not the same quietly jamming to yourself on the subway with your headphones on. Now that I have my own apartment, however, I plan on enjoying my current Summer Jam pick, Lady GaGa’s “Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say).” I know it came out as a single in the winter, but tell me it doesn’t have a nice summer feel to it. It’s perfect! Perhaps something will come along to replace it, but until then, I’ll open my windows, blast my jam, and sing a long at the top of my lungs as if I were driving to the pool to teach swimming lessons.
And now please enjoy this scene from The Sandlot, which combines the things I love about summer: baseball, swimming, and movies. And it has a pretty sweet jam in it as well:
