"Had Me a Blast . . . Happened So Fast"

After 24 Labor Days in the States, I still have no idea what they're here for. Not sure what the holiday symbolizes other than the end of summer. Granted, here in Southern California, I'm not sure it will even mean that--I'll still wear white; I'll still go to the beach, where there will still be hundreds of people that force me to question what they do for a living that allows them to go to the beach at 3 p.m. But alas, I do know that Labor Day technically means the close of summer fun here in America, just like Memorial Day signals the opening.

Summer 2005 began for me on a short trip to Arizona's Lake Havascrew--oh, sorry, Havasu (I've now posted the pictures here in honor of the end of summer). Roommates #1 and #2 and I were quite naive when making plans and had no idea what to expect. What it turned out to be was a weekend that reminded me that there are friendly folk out there. There are people who will talk to you. (It's just that most don't live in LA) But Memorial Day weekend was only the beginning to my summer funnin'.

Now, as summer will be over in about 14 hours, I thought I would use my TFArific skills and be self-reflective. This is my time to think about what has and has not happened in my life since Memorial Day (in no particular order):
-I've started this blog
-I've left two jobs without actually "quitting"
-I've realized that my job skills and knowledge aren't quite as invaluable as I once believed
-I have not changed the oil in my truck
-I've touched ground in four states and two countries
-I've crossed off at least two things on my 50 life goals list
-I finally watched the last two seasons of Sex and the City
-I bought a new perfume for the first time in three years
-I got a new cell phone that I LOVE
-I began reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X and still haven't finished it
-I've bought enough magazines to fill a small warehouse
-I've sworn off swearing off dating
-I've been on more of those eat-dinner-with-a-guy-you-hardly-know-in-order-to-get-to-know-him-and-he-pays thingies than I probably did in all of 2004
-I've gone shopping fewer times in this three-month period than I have in any other three-month period since college
-I've seen gas go up about a dollar a gallon
-I've written three articles and one essay that will be published this fall; another essay was on spec and will probably never see the pounding of a printing press
-I saw my first poem published
-I hung out with An for the fifth time in 2005--a record for any other friendships I know that span 1500 miles
-I spent the third out of the last four 4th of Julys with Emily
-I rearranged my closet
-I've come to like digital cameras a bit more
-I was reminded just how badly I need voice lessons (please, no comments, very sensitive about this . . . )
-I've had supervisory roles over two student teachers and two college interns
-I finished my two-year Teach For America commitment
-I unknowingly lost five pounds in NY--unlike the last time I was there and gained 13
-I've gone to more live music events than I have in any three-month period of the rest of my life
-I began eating peanut butter and jellies and drinking lots of milk again
-I realized how important writing is to me and how connected I feel to those who read my writing
-I was reminded how great pets are to have around

For now, that's the big and little of my summer '05. Here's to hoping fall '05 makes me just as happy . . .

As a cashback bonus award for those of you who've gotten this far, I've also posted pictures from my four-week cross-country road trip (Phoenix, El Paso, Denver, Minneapolis, Detroit, Niagara Falls, Binghamton, Dayton, St. Louis/Ironton, L.A.).