At my old high school, every June 1 was National Jig Day. This probably requires a little explanation. For whatever reason, kids at my school called skipping school "jigging" and the point of National Jig Day was that no one showed up to school that day. And they didn't. There would be, like, four kids present in a class of 25. Even the good kids and nerds would jig. Eventually the staff got wise and made a rule that if you didn't show up on National Jig Day, you couldn't go to the Much Video Dance and THAT WOULD BE REALLY BAD.
All that to say, National Jig Day used to represent a change in the mindset of students and teachers alike. It meant the end of the school year was so close, putting in any effort was no longer important. At that point, if you were failing, it was too late to pass, and vice versa. It marked the unofficial beginning of summer. Jeans and hoodies were out, shorts and tank tops were in. Everything got a little more lax, and everyone was making their summer plans.
Tomorrow is National Jig Day and while I will definitely not be blowing off work, it still feels like time to get the ol' summer to-do list in order.
Move into our new house and everything associated with it. This is a ridiculously large to-do and can be broken down into many little baby goals (goalings? goalets?)
-choose paint colours for kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom vanities, garage floor
-paint
-clean everything
-move in without killing myself/Peter
-transfer all our mail, cable/internet/phone to new address
-buy kitchen table set
-buy bbq
-buy patio furniture
-buy new bathroom mirrors
-buy lawnmower and weed trimmer
-buy washer and dryer
-get power hooked up
That should probably end my summer goal list seeing as it's going to cost about a gazillion thousand dollars and take twenty years to actually complete. But no. Let's be ambitious.
Perform bridesmaidly duties in decent form. Little sister's wedding is July 31 and that means I'll need to help pull together some sort of bachelorette shenanigans for her and deliver a good speech at her reception, hopefully without crying or vomiting.
See a MLB game. Peeper has never seen a major league ball game and I haven't been to one anywhere except for Toronto, so we're looking at driving to Boston Labour Day weekend to see the Green Monster. After all the house/moving frolic is over we'll both need a weekend out of town and this is a nice little getaway...not too far away and not too pricey.
Spend as much time outside as possible, especially at the beach. I love the beach, and in my next life I hope to come back as a hermit crab. Other outdoorsy runners-up: tennis, fishing, camping, frisbee, and running.
Not suck the big one at softball. Yes, I am playing softball this summer. On a team. In public. In view of others. I need to get a little better at it. I have this thing where the ball is coming at me, and I kind of cringe out of the way...that probably needs to stop.
Not get the summer fatties. Summer is bad for the fatties because of ice cream and cold beer and fried things. I don't want to be embarrassed to get in a bathing suit at the drop of the hat this year, so I'll attempt to keep the fatties at bay. This means not inhaling Cold Stone Creamery and Bud Light Limes every time I have a good, bad, or meh day.
Be on a boat. Doesn't matter when or where we're going, I just want to be able to sing "I'm on a boat!" this summer while I'm not standing on dry land.
Volunteer for something. I just signed up to work on the 2010 Ice Awards, so that one's in the can!
Other things I'm excited for: reading on rainy days, the next season of Big Brother, learning to barbecu, and eating strawberry shortcakes.
What's on your summer to-do list?
All that to say, National Jig Day used to represent a change in the mindset of students and teachers alike. It meant the end of the school year was so close, putting in any effort was no longer important. At that point, if you were failing, it was too late to pass, and vice versa. It marked the unofficial beginning of summer. Jeans and hoodies were out, shorts and tank tops were in. Everything got a little more lax, and everyone was making their summer plans.
Tomorrow is National Jig Day and while I will definitely not be blowing off work, it still feels like time to get the ol' summer to-do list in order.
Move into our new house and everything associated with it. This is a ridiculously large to-do and can be broken down into many little baby goals (goalings? goalets?)
-choose paint colours for kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom vanities, garage floor
-paint
-clean everything
-move in without killing myself/Peter
-transfer all our mail, cable/internet/phone to new address
-buy kitchen table set
-buy bbq
-buy patio furniture
-buy new bathroom mirrors
-buy lawnmower and weed trimmer
-buy washer and dryer
-get power hooked up
That should probably end my summer goal list seeing as it's going to cost about a gazillion thousand dollars and take twenty years to actually complete. But no. Let's be ambitious.
Perform bridesmaidly duties in decent form. Little sister's wedding is July 31 and that means I'll need to help pull together some sort of bachelorette shenanigans for her and deliver a good speech at her reception, hopefully without crying or vomiting.
See a MLB game. Peeper has never seen a major league ball game and I haven't been to one anywhere except for Toronto, so we're looking at driving to Boston Labour Day weekend to see the Green Monster. After all the house/moving frolic is over we'll both need a weekend out of town and this is a nice little getaway...not too far away and not too pricey.
Spend as much time outside as possible, especially at the beach. I love the beach, and in my next life I hope to come back as a hermit crab. Other outdoorsy runners-up: tennis, fishing, camping, frisbee, and running.
Not suck the big one at softball. Yes, I am playing softball this summer. On a team. In public. In view of others. I need to get a little better at it. I have this thing where the ball is coming at me, and I kind of cringe out of the way...that probably needs to stop.
Not get the summer fatties. Summer is bad for the fatties because of ice cream and cold beer and fried things. I don't want to be embarrassed to get in a bathing suit at the drop of the hat this year, so I'll attempt to keep the fatties at bay. This means not inhaling Cold Stone Creamery and Bud Light Limes every time I have a good, bad, or meh day.
Be on a boat. Doesn't matter when or where we're going, I just want to be able to sing "I'm on a boat!" this summer while I'm not standing on dry land.
Volunteer for something. I just signed up to work on the 2010 Ice Awards, so that one's in the can!
Other things I'm excited for: reading on rainy days, the next season of Big Brother, learning to barbecu, and eating strawberry shortcakes.
What's on your summer to-do list?
