Summer Plans

[Clodfobble]

This is traditionally a slow time for the Cellar, and by coincidence I find myself in greater need of distraction than normal due to various real-life bullshit. So talk to me. Tell me your summer plans. Or your lack of plans due to all the work you have. Whatever. DANCE, MONKEYS!

My kids are going to gymnastics camp, and then theater camp, and then spending a week with my in-laws. Not looking forward to pre-cooking for that. Later they will go to astronomy camp at the local science museum, and then school starts a week into August.

Meanwhile my stepdaughter shows up at our house on Saturday, and thus begins the painful gear-grinding of helping her with her plan to get a job, a driver's license, and potentially an apartment if the first two are successful. Three weeks into this process, she will have to make the critical decision on whether to go back to her mother's house, or stand her ground and tell her mother that she's 18 now and can do what the fuck she wants with her life. We absolutely support her if she decides to make this stand, but if she does, it will undoubtedly result in a domestic disturbance on our porch when her mother arrives to get her, quite possibly with police intervention. So, yeah. Whee.

We are going nowhere, which is awesome. I don't know how people take a vacation every year, it's way too stressful.

[Gravdigr]

I plan on being quite drunk. For most of the summer.

Make that quite drunk, quite high, and quite otherwise.

Quite well-laid would be nice, also. Maybe I can find me one of them Texas wimmins with a stronger-than-normal cooter...

[Gravdigr]

...er, I mean, one of them Texas wimmins with low self-esteem, and even lower standards.

[Undertoad]

If you have a Summer plan you will need an Autumn plan and then a Winter plan and it goes on forever until you die so my Summer plan is to complete the notes for my Autumn plan.

[glatt]

I'm already tired thinking about my summer.

Tonight, I'm driving 40 minutes to Carmax to sell my cousin's car. I tried to do it last night but forgot the original of the power of attorney papers and they wouldn't take a copy even though a copy is legal.

This weekend I'm spending a day with a buyer from PA who is coming down to purchase my cousins houseful of stamps.

Next weekend is free!

Then I'm leading a Scout camping trip the last weekend of June, probably about 30 boys and a couple parents. Not sure yet.

Daughter leaves for adventure camp in the mountains that same weekend.

The weekend of the 4th, my boy and I are going up to see family at "the Lake" in the Scranton area and to do some power of attorney shit at a bank there. Maybe talk to someone about a cemetery plot for my cousin. Mystery of "what's in the safety deposit box?" will be revealed on that trip. Driving my sister and another cousin back home with me.

Meanwhile my wife is picking our girl up from a camp, and my daughter, my
sister and the other cousin are getting on a plane for Peru the day after I get back.

Second phase of construction is complete at work and I need to coordinate the move of a bunch of our department's staff while my boss, the department director, is on vacation.

Daughter comes back from Peru around the time I'm heading off to camp at the end of July to help herd a bunch of Boy Scouts for half a week. The camp is a week, but I'm only there for half of that.

Then we were going to take a family vacation in the moutains, but my wife doesn't want to plan anything and feels like there is too much going on already. So I may stay home and finish the band saw then in early August.

Second week of August, both kids start high school marching band camp, which lasts all day and goes through the end of summer, when real marching band begins after school and on weekends.

In the middle of all this, both kids have summer school projects, and my daughter has college application stuff to do. Oh, and at some point she needs to try to get her driver's license, but she has no desire.

[Clodfobble]

I'm glad I'm not the only one with too much shit. Does that make me a bad person?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Other than get my truck painted, just sitting by the phone in case Gravdigr needs bail.

Oh, I dropped off a set of wheels at the Amish powdercoaters today, and they said they would call me when they are ready. So I asked what there hours are in case they don't catch me and leave a message. I didn't want to drive up there and them not be open.
He said, Monday through Friday, 6 to 5.

What, 6 AM... oh yeah Amish. Probably do the chores, tend the animals and have a hearty breakfast before riding their bike to work, too.

Texas school starts the first week in August? That there is unmurkin.

[Clodfobble]

Not all of Texas, just our charter school. We got out May 22nd, we start August 10th. During the school year, every Wednesday is a half-day, and we get a week-long break in the fall as well as the traditional spring break. I actually really like the schedule compared to the traditional school schedule, but in all honesty I'd prefer year-round school with a few more week-long breaks thrown in.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Probably a lot of parents would find solace in year round school.

But thinking back to my experience, (that's all I've got to go by) I'd be poorer for not having those summers off. No camps, no organized activities except maybe a week(2 hrs a day) of swimming classes a couple times, I was on my own to amuse myself. Of course I started working summers when I was eleven or twelve, so that took care of big chunks.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Don't be bored this summer, take a vacation.

Dan Futrell and Isaac Stoner, two average guys from Boston, recently set out on an expedition to find the black box of Eastern Flight 980, which crashed into the Andes Mountains killing everyone on board, 31 years ago. Believe it or not, they actually did it!

link

[monster]

PoloGirl is becoming ArcheologistGirl for a month in Northern Greece. Swim/Dive season happens from school out until the end of July then, um..... NFI. Banana Lady comes next week

[Griff]

We're doing 4 days in the Adirondacks later this month, one more concert with the fam, and then sending the kid to New Zealand for her semester abroad. I'll probably do two fencing tournaments this summer and root for daughter #1 as the job search continues. A week in New Hampshire may be coming as well. Pete and I will scatter some kayaking in there as well. Bee maintenance, bike rebuild, firewood, barn work... the usual

[classicman]

Couple Dead & Company shows, a Dark Star Orchestra concert and a couple Yes shows where they are playing a couple complete albums. There is also something happening in October. I bit the bullitt this year and bought a ticket to get some package of "special stuff" and maybe I'll get to meet the band - again.
There will be a few beach trips - one with my brother and another with my kids (27, 26, 24) EEK! They are overlapping so there will be some fun in the sun, fishing and drinking. That reminds me - I gotta get started on another batch of limoncello soon.
Aside from that I'll be working 7am-5pm. My old ass doesn't like the long hours, but I have next to no stress anymore, so there is that. Oh, and I'm toying with a trip where I get on a plane and go somewhere else. Gotta coordinate that with the GF though.

[nowhereman]

Gardening, beekeeping, mowing ... That, and trying to get more work at the studio.