I’ve had enough of the world and all its nastiness. Today it’s all puppy dogs and rainbows and nothing else. La la la.
Figuratively speaking.
Right Now:
We aren’t entirely sure what summer will look like for youth group. Typically we break at some point but this summer we might not break in the traditional sense. Today, we will meet in Zoom and see who shows up. It’s good to catch-up anyways.
After group, I may try to hit the used bookstore. I don’t need any books. Do any of us? We all have stacks and stacks on top of the couple hundred I have on my Kindle, but the idea of browsing sounds nice to me and might break my week up a little.
This Week:
My son got a job in San Luis Obispo so he won’t be spending the summer with us after all. He will be headed back soon, renting a room in someone’s house, and hopefully saving some money. It’s at a luxury hotel and if it goes well, he will keep the job through the school year which will be nice. I think he will still work in the Theatre department too.
My daughter started the process to prepare for pre-screen auditions for college. We are working with MTCA for coaching and just trying to figure out when to schedule what. There are voice lessons, monologue sessions, dance consultations, etc. We also decided to do the summer intensive with Rider after all. It will be virtual and they had to change the program a little but we decided to go with it for July and August.
Have any of you had a kid go through the college audition process for theatre or musical theatre? It’s pretty intense.
Reading:
This is where I stumble. I had good intentions to start Hello, Summer and then I got distracted. I plan to read it this week for sure because it has been patiently waiting for me to pick it up. I also want to read something really juicy to go along with it. Any suggestions? My goal this week is to flood my brain with the written word and not social media.
Watching:
Still trying to decide what to watch after Broadchurch. I did watch a few movies though. I finally saw Rocketman. I know some critics were put off by the fact that it was really a musical, but in this house, it got bonus points for that format. I really enjoyed it. It was so pretty to look at.
In a funk one evening, after a particularly bad news day, I was flipping channels and came across Gidget. Yes! The original 1959 beach flick with Sandra Dee. It was sweet, and charming and just what I needed. Then, on Turner Classic Movies, another beach movie came on, Surf Party so I watched that too.
Grateful for:
- Good friends who check up on me when I get too caught up in politics or other nasty happenings on social media.
- Really good coffee. To me, it’s a treat.
- The three pound weight loss “nugget” I was tossed to encourage me in my quarantine weight loss efforts.
What is the one book you simply MUST read this summer?
Book Chatter 
To answer your question, I cannot say I have a must-read selection for this summer. I would like to get to some non-review copy books and maybe hit one or two books I should have reviewed years ago and still want to read.
I am doing okay. No job yet and at this point in time, I’m thinking of halting the search. It is frustrating and seems rather impotent at the moment given the unemployment rate. Keep in mind, our unemployment rate in my county was already higher than the rest of the country before COVID hit and decimated the economy. So, yeah.
Holly is gearing up to start back to the studio soon. Right now, it looks like she might have a competition as soon as the middle of July, but that could change at the last minute.
Jim’s company decided to work from home indefinitely. He is happy because he no longer has to make his daily three-hour commute. Holly is not happy because it means she will never have the house to herself. I am in limbo.
Surviving, keeping the house clean, and researching the idea of downsizing seems to be what is keeping me busy these days.
Try My Dark, Vanessa…you will be hooked. Congrats on the 3lbs. Down! Hope this week is more pleasant.
Okay. I’ll try to find a copy.
Congratulations to your son!! That’s wonderful that he landed a job and sounds like it will be right up his alley.
I’ve been reading a lot but then I’m not distracted at the moment. You do have your hands full. Are there any graphic novels/memoirs you may enjoy? Maybe the recent ones from Raina Telgemeier or Lucy Knisley? Or something more serious like March, The Best We Could Do, or They Called Us Enemy?
Good idea but graphic novels and I do not mix. I can’t get into them although I liked them plenty when I was younger.
I am just a ball of stress. The reopenings, the state of our country, college stuff, my son’s move back, it’s like I went from zero to 60. I need time for re-entry.
Congrats on the job for your son! Marvelous. I’m trying to figure out your question about which book I feel like must read this summer. Lately I want to read The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett … and right now I’m listening to American Dirt … and becoming drawn into it.
I also liked the musical aspect of Rocketman …. it felt creative and fun and I liked the songs … and the biographical aspect of the film too. A winner all around.
Oh yes! The Vanishing Half is getting all kinds of attention. It’s on so many summer reading lists. I thought the actor in Rocketman was so, so good. He really had John’s mannerisms down and he actually sang.
I thought the regular college application process was stressful, I cannot imagine adding in auditions, tapes, etc. Good luck to your daughter (and you) through all of this. That’s great that your son found a job in SLO even if it means he won’t be home for the summer. Of course, they aren’t supposed to be home, are they! I still need to see Rocketman.
I think you’d love THE LAST FLIGHT by Julie Clark. Thriller. Loved it. It’s out end of month.
I just added The Last Flight to my Goodreads list so I don’t forget about it. It does sound pretty good. I need riveting right now.
Did you end up going to the bookstore? Our indie has been closed for months, but recently reopened. I went in last week and purchased a couple of books even though I prefer reading on my kindle these days… just wanted to help her out a little. Sea Wife is getting some really great reviews. Maybe you’d like it, too. Take care!
Nope. I never got to the bookstore. I went by twice, to the indie one and then to B&N and there was a line to get in since they have occupancy limits. It’s not relaxing to me to browse, knowing people probably have stuff to get so I skipped it.
Congrats on your son’s new job. I hope it goes well for him and your daughter with all those auditions. I just finished The Deep, which took me far too long to read. I know it wasn’t the book. It’s me — I cannot concentrate.
I was doing pretty well reading that King book. Zipped through it but the book I am reading now, although enjoyable is not the kind I run to.
Congratulations to your son on his job! I imagine it’s kind of bittersweet seeing him go again. Good luck to your daughter with the pre-screen audtions and everything that involves. I hope the summer intensive goes well for her.
I didn’t know Rocketman was a musical. Now I definitely have to see it. We’ve been watching Elementary and now I’ve started Raising Dion. I thought my daughter might enjoy it, but instead I got hooked. She’s much more interested in anime right now.
Gidget! My mom got me hooked on Gidget when I was growing up. I even watched the television show with Sally Field. I may have the DVD’s.
Gosh. I haven’t even thought of summer reading. I don’t know what I must read. Let me think on that for awhile.
I hope you have a great week, Ti.
You must watch Rocketman. It’s just so beautifully done. It’s a sad story. He had a rough upbringing.