Moving into Summer
July happened so quickly that it didn’t even register. I did not consider, when I wrote yesterday’s nerdy post about the iPhone, that I had actually already completed my promise to post every day for the month of June. I’m technically done. I don’t have any promise to myself to keep posting.
But here I am. So what the hell.
Time moves by so fast now that it’s difficult to take the time to reflect. And that’s been difficult for me, because I’ve always been introspective to a fault. I spent most of my time in university not going to classes and parties, but rather just sort of hanging around, thinking, cataloging experiences — generally just acting kind of weird. It’s only through sheer dumb luck that it worked out for me.
Now that my real life has begun (or whatever) things move so fast that they’re often gone before you’ve even experienced them. When I actually sit and think of the things I’ve done over the past six months I kind of get the impression that it should all mean more. I stood up in front of five hundred people and spoke, kind of eloquently; I hired someone specifically to clean my apartment; I taught myself to swing dance merely by watching others swing dance; I met with a high-level government person, who kind of tried to get me to come work for him; I got a free T-shirt for being great; I started a retirement savings plan; I launched a provincial website initiative that I designed from the ground-up; and (best of all) I was and am with someone, each day and every day, and it’s comfortable, exciting, hilarious and altogether right.
Maybe it’s not that impressive, all things considered. I have my regrets, particularly when it comes to my (lack of) writing and my endless ability to really feel like I’m wholly in control of all that’s happening, but I guess the true measure of any length of time is this: did it make you a better person in the end?
And, yeah, it undeniably did.
Goals of Summer
- Lose 10 pounds. But do so without cutting back on beer or (only occasionally) pub food.
- Drive less.
- Take more time off work, even if it’s just to hang around the city and sit on a patio.
- Read five books all the way through.
- Buy an iPhone. (Probably. Unfortunately.)
- Visit the Toronto Islands.
- Visit the Toronto Zoo.
- Spend some time at the cottage.
- Finish the short fiction projects I have on the go. And start some new ones.
- Keep all these goals reasonable and attainable.
- Contribute something to this web site every day for the rest of the summer.
Set your own goals, too. It’s all about accomplishing things!