I'm a terrible Blogger

It's true, I'm not very good at this. Well, not exactly the writing it part. I would like to think I have some talent when it comes to the written word. What I'm bad at is the whole keeping up to date on it. I do hope to rectify this situation. Don't worry, there won't be a sudden upswing in me talking about lunch or dinner, I will spare you all that, but I hope to get a few more of my brain droppings out there. Really, if for no other reason than to get them out of my head.

Anyway: Previously on Cedar City, 84720...
Summer was just getting underway for the gang and people were starting their groovy 16 books in 16 weeks project. Charles and Amy were getting ready to tie the knot, but Joe still didn't know who he was taking to the wedding. Meanwhile, the Einfeldt kids were getting cutter and smarter, but Mary wouldn't stop bragging about it. Joe was getting ready to make his move to Landon's house, but who else was living there?

By the way, that kind of sucks because I've never actually watched an episode of 90210, I was too busy watching Sliders and Loise & Clark at that phase of my life.

So, my 16 in 16 project. Thing I've learned about myself, I can not keep to a list of books to save my life. Now, I've always known that structured systems and me don't really get along (How was I a Mormon missionary again?) but this really put a light on it. I started off so well, Hit and finished Manhood for Amateurs, then kept moving right into Do Anything, and then, I just started to go all over the place. I'm much more of an organic reader, I pick up what looks interesting at the time, or what will help me with a very particular problem. So, there I was, two books down, and I had this urge for Roland Barth's Mythologies, so I read that. Then I felt like I was getting a bit stagnant with my play writing, so I started to read plays, a lot of plays. August Osage County, God of Carnage, Ruined, The Shape of Things, The Distance From Here. So that got me off my list. Then my preorders started to come in. Knowing that I would be making very little money in the summer, I made sure to preorder books that I knew I would want to get during these long summer days. So, in comes Y: The Last Man Deluxe Vol. 3, The Walking Dead Vol. 5, and of course Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour. The problem is, when a new book shows up in your mail box, you really want to read it. So, I did. Then the new Ellis book shows up, a theory book on female comic book characters. Then I have the urge to reread stuff...okay, I think you get the picture. So, here I am with two weeks left of my summer, and my book count is at 14. So, actually, I'm right on track, just not the list I had from the start. Congratulations me.

Now, I would like to write and talk about all these wonderful books I have read, but I should really save that for another time. Right now, I'm more in that melancholy mood you get when you can feel your summer coming to an end. It's an odd feeling, really. I have really enjoyed this summer, incredibly, but at the same time, I'm ready to get back to my classes and my students.

Because of the books and movies I grew up on, I feel like summers should be these months of discovery, where we really grow up and learn. I mean, that's what they did in that movie The Sandlot, and didn't the Goonies take place during their summer break? They found a damn pirate ship! The closest I've ever come to that during a summer was watching them find that ship like 20 times.

I still love that movie.

But, when summer does start to wind down, I have this compulsion to look back, try to take stock of what I've learn, or what I've discovered. And this summer, this summer has really been about me. Or, at least, learning to just be Joe alone, and really enjoying that. Understanding the things that make me truly happy, taking care of myself. And I think I've got a grasp of that. This is a very good thing. I've spent a lot of time sacrificing myself when I didn't really need to, putting everything else before me. I've also been able to get the the core of what I want out of this life. The only bad part of all this self discovery: it feels like I have miles to go to get where I need to be, and there is so little time left to do that. One step at a time, as the cliche goes.

So, yeah, really good summer. Though, I would have liked to have found One-eyed Willies treasure. Eh, maybe next summer.