Summer Recap: 2012

Hello to all! I hope everyone is well, and that life is getting back to normal now that autumn is settling in. I guess it's been a while since I've posted a blog on here, so I'll get to it. Last year I did a recap of my summer and I think I'll do the same right meow to try and shake off the "Bloggers Rust".

My summer was a hodgepodge of adventures. (I really hope hodgepodge is a real word) As detailed in previous blogs from earlier in the summer, I went out to my Father's farm whenever I had some spare time to help my dad seed/cut grass/shingle/etc. I also took off to Montreal and Toronto for a few weeks in May/June to ride bikes, eat tasty food, meet new friends (and catch up with old ones), go to museums/art galleries, take in a Blue Jays game, and check out some shows at NXNE. That was pretty darn rad.

God bless you, Montreal

After Montreal, it was back to Saskatchewan and out to Camp Monahan on the beautiful Lake Katepwa. I spent two weeks training campers how to be Counselors, and the last four weeks running an Overnight program, where campers would leave main camp and hike a mile along lakefront cattle grazing land to get to a more rugged and natural campsite. I was responsible for preparing the necessary food (ie. pre-cooking pasta sauce, taco meat, getting enough marshmallows for smores, filling up water jugs, etc), transporting the campers' gear to the site via pontoon boat, making fires to the cook food on/chopping firewood, and ensuring the campsite was in order. Minus the copious amounts of campfire smoke inhaled, my clothes smelling like perma-campfire and waking up at 6:00 AM to start a fire everyday, it was pretty darn fun.

My office during the summer.

I played music at a couple of weddings and cabin parties around the Qu'Appelle Valley and decided that I would make an effort to explore some cool sites within driving distance of Regina. The excellent Sukanen Ship Museum near Moose Jaw (with their website in all of it's grade nine level HTML glory), Castle Butte in the rugged Big Muddy Badlands, Motherwell Homestead National Historic Site near Abernethy, and the very enjoyable Fort Qu'Appelle Museum were all explored and visited by yours truly over the last few weeks of summer. Mix in a wedding in Calgary over Labour Day, and performances on the big stage opening for Rah Rah and Arkells for the University of Regina Welcome Week/ at the SaskMusic showcase for the CCMA's in Saskatoon, and you're looking at a pretty good summer!

Anyways, I won't bore you with any more details of my summer. As always, I tend to learn a lot about myself during my summer adventures. Here are a few things that I noticed this year:


Read good books

This does not include Fifty Shades of Grey or Twilight, just in case I needed to clarify. I truly believe that summer was genetically created to encourage people to read more. You actually need to put forth a serious effort to avoid the urge to read under a tree in the sunshine on a hot August afternoon. Here is the list of books that I crushed this summer:

- Factorum by Charles Bukowski
- This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
- Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Alborn
- Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck.

You might notice that my list is empty of any "Efficiency" or "Business" literature (ex: 5 ways to increase your personal brand, TED talk-esque stuff, etc). I enjoy those interesting reads as much as the next person, but I would encourage you to stay away from these types of books during the summer. You have three other seasons to read material that will maximize your life/work efficiency.

Take a step back, open up a fiction novel and let the stories transport you to a new world. Not only will a good book detach yourself from the hustle and bustle of the corporate world, but reading a well crafted story will awaken a certain part of the brain that textbooks, newspapers and "Efficiency" literature does not. Save the Marketing blogs and Canadian Business magazines for after summer!

Go to outdoor places that you like

Canada is pretty damn awesome. Saskatchewan is also awesome. The best time to explore and to see the countryside is in the summer. It can be difficult to pull yourself away from work and other commitments in the city, but if you can it is most certainly worth it. Drive out to your family farm, go fishing, climb a mountain, take a golf trip, camp out, or just go for a drive down the highway.

You'll gain a new appreciation for our wonderful Province/Country, and you'll likely feel a lot more relaxed and focused when you get back to work, school or home. Get out there and explore before winter settles in!

You stay golden, Saskatchewan.

 
Do something that scares you 

I find that summer has a weird effect on a lot of people, including myself. Maybe it is the byproduct of sunshine and hot muggy evenings? Perhaps it is due to the high number of beers that have been consumed on patios? It's tough to say, but people get restless and act in ways that they don't usually act in the summertime. I believe that the best way to deal with what I like to call "Summer Fever" is to do something that truly scares you.

I did a couple of things that terrified me this summer. Most notably, I got a tattoo. I really hate needles and I've never really been sold on the permanent nature of a tattoo, yet here I am. Do something that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Go skydiving, tell someone you fancy how you really feel about them, try a new food, go on a last minute trip,  apply for a job that you wouldn't normally! Channel the haze and restlessness of Summer Fever into a cool experience and do something that you wouldn't normally do!


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Those are the big things that I noticed from this summer. I'm going to try getting back into the swing of things now that school is back on. I'll be getting into some political nonsens next blog. I'll finally get around to publishing my long overdue thoughts on the cancellation of the Saskastchewan Film Tax Credit and the proposed stadium in Regina.

Stay fit and have fun!