The Sea's in My Veins; My Tradition Remains

"Son of a Son of a Sailor," Jimmy Buffett

1982...

2008...

We'd Laugh Awhile and We'd Smile a Bit

"Butch Cassidy," My Morning Jacket

"In summer, the song sings itself"
-William Carlos Williams

In three days I go back to school. Students don't come in until next Wednesday, but I'm back to CHS this coming Thursday. I'm actually really excited and ready to be back in the classroom, which is a feeling I'm reveling since I know many teachers don't always feel like this at the end of summer; this level of excitement probably won't last for the rest of my teaching career. Over the last few days, I have:

1) Gone boating on Lake Mojave, which is just underneath the Hoover Dam and sits on the Nevada/Arizona border. Tim and I met his mom and step-dad up there, as well as Tim's brother, Nick, and his wife, Sara. We had a great time, ate lots of good food, explored a good portion of the lake, and laid in the sun all day. The water temperature must have been 80 degrees, and the visibility was awesome, so we spent a good deal of time snorkeling. I also caught a fish, (during the .5 seconds Tim asked me to hold his pole) which I forced Tim to let free immediately. The poor thing swam off dazed and completely confused. But hopefully, (as Mitch Hedberg would say) all I ended up doing was just "make it late for something."

2) Spent 3 days hanging in Carlsbad with my mom. We shopped, ate, and... shopped and ate. It was perfect.

3) Became mildly obsessed with watching the Olympics, which meant excessive DVRing (new verb), rewinding, gasping, cheering. The US swimmers were phenomenal. I know the athletes in other sports were as well, but I wear my heart on my sleeve for the swimmers.

4) Spent entirely too much money on anti-itch cream, shampoo, etc. for poor Bailey's summer skin infection. Subsequently, this also meant spending too much money on crap dog toys and treats, as buying the anti-itch collection meant entering PetSmart, the largest money-sucking conglomerate known to mankind. Every time I go in, I find myself struggling to justify why Bailey needs a new teeth-cleaning, bacon-wrapped, beef-flavored pack of rawhide treats that are shaped like chicken drumsticks and have...grill marks?

5) Gone golfing with Tim's mom. I can tell I am improving because I no longer find myself completely relieved/shocked/impressed when my club makes contact with the ball. We played 9 holes, and I think we're ready to advance to the full 18. So, Tiger Woods should watch his back. I'm just saying.

6) Surfed (pathetically, I should probably add) at Tamarack today. Tim and I are headed back tomorrow if for no other reason than so I can redeem myself. Suffice it to say it looked like I grew up in middle America and had never seen a surfboard.

7) Gone to the Padres/Phillies game last night. San Diego is in last place (go team!), but they surprisingly came away with a win yesterday. Chris was in town, so Tim, Chris, and I went with a group of Callaway people. The game was fun and the ballpark food was even better.

In three days, I go back to work, and the lazy-morning-double-coffee-cups, the Today Show, and the long mid-day walks with Bailey will be things of the past. I'm sure, in the not-too-distant future, I will be aching for just one more lazy summer day at the beach. But for now, I'm ready to meet my new students. I'm excited to jump back into The Crucible and seating charts; the Preposition Song and high-school humor. In the song "Timberwolves at New Jersey," Taking Back Sunday sings of "...fragment ideas and too many pronouns." Sounds like they're talking about a high school English essay. Bring it on...

It All Started Late on a Saturday Night...

"Officer," Slightly Stoopid

So, I've spent the last 12 days on a road trip around California. Two Saturdays ago, I drove up to Modesto for Jody and John's engagement shower, which was awesome and resulted in hours of hungover agony the following morning:


Sunday morning, I left Modesto and drove to San Francisco. Of course, I failed to remember to have cash on me for the toll to go over the Bay Bridge...thank God for GPS, because otherwise I would still be trying to locate Jen's apartment. I spent the next 3 days hanging out in the city and visiting Jen. Her new apartment is in Pacific Heights, and it's awesome. I went on a run and all the houses look just like the opening credits of Full House. I love it.


On Wednesday, I met up with my mom, Jon, and siblings and drove north to Rocklin. We spent the first night at our hotel, playing at the pool and eating too many complimentary cheese squares.


The next day, we went into downtown Sacramento to see my cousin Lindsey's wedding dress. It's absolutely stunning and she will be a beautiful bride...I'd post pictures, but I don't want Matt (her fiance and my future cousin-in-law) to accidentally stumble upon them. While the girls viewed Lindsey's dress, the boys golfed at Whitney Oaks.


Later that night, my Aunt Robin hosted an engagement party for Lindsey and Matt:


The "toasting table," complete with Jon's famous (and alcohol-laden) punch and a huge martini glass filled with Lindsey's favorite; Gummi Bears:


My beautiful mom and her beautiful sisters:


After the party, we went to a small Rocklin karaoke bar. Paul sang "Sharp-Dressed Man" and "American Girl"...not surprisingly, he was much better than anyone else that attempted to sing:


We spent the next two days wakeboarding, tubing, and relaxing on two different lakes north of Sacramento. It was beautiful and lots of fun...I wish Tim could have been there!


On Monday, I left Sacramento and drove to Moraga to visit Kristen and Scott for a couple days, then eventually made my way back to San Diego by Wednesday night. Tim had cleaned/rearranged the entire apartment and it looks amazing...

We are leaving later today to go camping and boating in Arizona with some of Tim's family. I have to admit, I could get used to this whole "summer's off" thing.