It took me about three days after returning from Michigan to fully recover from my flight nightmare and return to simply stressing out about nothing/everything.
This is my last full week sans classes, so I should be moderately chill. But no. I’m not. I’m standing here, in the first week of June, staring down the rest of the summer like I want to beat it up before it has a chance to start in on me.
My life doesn’t currently afford me a lot of uninterrupted free time for scheming and dreaming or pursuing any schemes and dreams. Or travel. So while I’m still working 1 or 2 jobs (I’m still not sure which) and waiting for July to kick my ass with two classes, I feel like I should take advantages of what free time I can muster while the getting is good, while the weather is nice, while my boy is out of work, while I’m still in battle mode.
However, I can’s seem to decide if I need that time to Do Serious Things or Do Fun Things. Since I have time for neither during the school year. So here’s what I hope my summer will look like in terms of goals, projects, and trips!
this awkward picture brought to you by Summer 2010
- Sit down and do some long-term planning
I spend a lot of time during the semester in survival mode. When I get a little time off, it hits me like a ton of bricks that TIME IS PASSING and I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING and I NEED A FOUR YEAR PLAN. I’d like to deal with that in a productive manner and actually get things in writing in terms of money, moving, and other life goal-type things.
- Make the most of all the local summer produce
I’m having a tough time with produce lately. My body says “eat me!” and my brain says “that bag of banana came from Calcutta, you idiot.” Farmshare and farmer’s market season is upon us, however, and I plan on turning all the fresh fruits and veggies into things that are super delicious. Spend more money at the market, less money at Whole Foods, and figure out how to preserve what I can. I am having fun finding delicious looking things on Pinterest. (btdub, I should really scratch all of these goals and write “Try not to spend your whole summer clicking on things on Pinterest.” Holy addictive, Batman!)
- Read 30 books
That will keep me on pace for breaking 100 books in 2011. I’ll start with these and see where the summer takes me. Right now, I am reading All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin, Carrots ‘n Cake by Tina Haupert, and Birds of America by Lorrie Moore.
- Be able to run 3 miles by the end of the summer
I was doing so well in October/November, but after a long, snowy winter, I’ve backtracked. Sigh. I am still not quite a runner. However, I would like to be able to run a 5k. And I think that people with missing limbs and club feet can run 5ks, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to run 3 miles by the end of the summer. Because I am not a runner, running three miles may include walking, but not any more walking than I would do running just one or two miles.
- Be social
This one is easy, but important. Go out and do fun things, Jessica! Be a “yes woman!” Get out of your apartment! Or get people into your apartment! Whatever! Just do it!
- Floss your damn teeth
I just realized that I no longer have dental insurance. I am also prone to cavities. I guess it’s time for me to actually start flossing.
- Do well in your summer classes
Enough said. Do your work. Don’t procrastinate. Stand by a little acronym I like to call “DFIU.”
- Master Grocery Shopping
Oh, groceries. I spend too much on you. I am working on a series of elaborate spreadsheets to tabulate my grocery bills and decide what to make based on available money rather than whim. I feel like if I master grocery shopping, I will be able to A) stock up on things when they go on sale without starving that week B) use coupons more often C) spend more money at the farmer’s market without going over budget D) only have to go to one grocery store every week (Whole Foods) and stock up on Trader Joe’s things once a month or so E) knowing what is cheaper to buy or cheaper to make from scratch. It’s confusing, involves a lot of math, and makes Lance mad, but I think its important.
- Master The Laundry
I don’t know why my boy and I are so bad at laundry. We can’t figure out the best permutation of doing and folding and putting away to actually keep our clothes off the floor. We are smart people! College educated! We should be able to handle this! Let’s do it!
- Finish a writing project of some sort
I do not know what this project will be yet. Maybe a short story. Maybe an epic blog thing. Maybe part of a book. Maybe a whole book. Maybe an article for a magazine or journal. Who knows! I think August will be the time to pick this up, but I am missing serious writing a little.
- Declutter apartment
Time for some purging. Let’s throw stuff away! Fun!
- Strength train
It has come to my attention that maybe I suck at running because I am a weakling. It has also come to my attention that I am becoming too pudgy for my clothing again. Strength training, I reason, will help me run for longer periods of time (burning more calories) and will make my body a more efficient machine (burning more calories). And I will be able to throw large rocks at people and lift cars off of babies. Or just take the Kitchenaid off the top of the fridge without assistance. I’ll take that. The main problem will be getting myself to the gym regularly, since it is somewhat out of the way from my everyday jaunting. I went this morning, though! Success!
- July 4 – travel/have visitors
Yay, Fourth of July! This is one of my only long weekends of the summer, so it would be fun to either make a quick visit to some friends or my grandparents, or to have some visitors stay and do fun fireworksy things. Raise your hand if you want to come to Boston!
- June or July or August – Get out of town for the weekend
So I live in New England. And I have a car. So I should probably get in my car and see New England, eh? I’m thinking weekend trip, one night in a campy hotel or a cheesy B&B, or maybe NYC. Somewhere. Anywhere!
- August – Make a week out of it
I should have time to take a longer trip in August, but probably keep it somewhat low-cost. That leaves a few options, though. Option A: Random road trip. Option B: Michigan. Option C: Grandparents in North Carolina Option D: a few nights in some resorty place with cheapo airfare and hotels. All of which are on the table, assuming our summer schedules align.