"The day was 24 hours long, but it seemed longer. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go and nothing to buy -- and no money to buy it with."

--Scout Finch, "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Summer is in full swing. This one seems to be lazier than some in the past, and I'm not really in a rush to go anywhere or do anything. There are a few things, though, that are going on over the next three months.

Here they are:

Trips

My family will be going to London in 10 days! I haven't been since my senior year of high school and I'm anxious to return. This will be the latest in the spring I've ever been there, so it will be warmer usual. That will be nice. I spent a considerable amount of time a while back researching things to see besides typical touristy spots. I discovered open air markets/city farms/galleries/etc. that sound really great, so hopefully we can make it to a few of those. For a bunch of them, though, I just have Tube stops written down. Believe it or not, you don't typically exit the Tube and see what you're looking for. Unless you're looking for Big Ben, because it's sort of hard to miss.

The other trip is one I recently signed up for. In July, I'll be backpacking in North Cascades/Olympic National Park in Washington State. For a long while, I've been obsessed with Washington and Alaska, even though I've never been to either state. I've also never been backpacking before. This is just going to be great. Tabitha [edit: and Julia!!! are] going, too.

Work

It just wouldn't be summer without a few jobs. I'm working in the Housing office on campus -- where I've worked since January -- in the mornings Monday through Friday. I just got a job at a a coffee shop on Hillsborough Street where I'll work Saturdays, Sundays and Monday evenings. I start training this week. I'm looking forward to it. Come visit me and I should be able to make delicious coffee for you.

Other things

I started a book club, which many of you five people that read my blog are members of, so you already know. Anyway, I'm about to start the first book, once I finish "The Fountainhead," which is taking me entirely too long to read. I mean, I like it, it's just dragging a bit. The club is going to be great, though! We'll be reading seven fabulous books.

In other news,

• I'm taking a history class on DVD second session.
• I'll be spending long hours at the pool on weekday afternoons.
• I have to get in shape before the backpacking trip. It's really not an option.
• I'll be reading ridiculous amounts of dinosaur comics, which are totally worth my time.
• I want to try sushi. That was one of my goals last summer but it never happened. It's going to happen.
• I'll be watching hours and hours of CSI re-runs.
• And I'm really excited that the new Narnia movie comes out this weekend.

I suppose that's my summer. On paper it looks like I'll have a lot of free time -- I don't deal too well with that. I'm up for any sort of outing/adventure. Really.

Happy summer everyone!