May 25, 2009

Long Live Summer


Hello, it is summer.
I decided it is important for me to enjoy summer before I return to the daunting tasks of college life and work. So I decided to make a (loose) list of activities/events/hobby-ish things I would like to experience this summer.
1. Read. Jesika Barvitski has let be borrow about eight books, or so. I'm starting with A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. I'm pretty excited to dive into it, I'll probably post about it. (any suggestions here?)
2. garden. i have some seeds. my mom wants to plant some herbs, so just need to find an ideal spot (if anyone has any good tips, links, or books let me know!)
3. write songs. I had a streak going on at the end of the year. I hope to continue it in summer. I still have a few ideas in mind and want to play aroud with them.
4. write. i also have some blog post ideas starting to flow out of my brain from last semester. hopefully they are good.
5. Visit Troy Current.
6. Go to Brooklyn
7. Cook. Every once in a while I'll look at a cookbook (especially with pictures) and really want to create the dishes. (again, any ideas are helpful).
8. Build meaningful friendships.
9. Research grad school/intership/ job ideas. Just see what cool opportunites are out there.
10. Rest/Sleep/Reflect. I just need to spend a few days resting and sleeping. Also catching up with the family.

I like (loose) plans. Let's see how it goes.
What else can I do this summer?

5 comments:

kelley said...

these are good (loose) plans. maybe we can hang out? that might be fun too

Brian Miller said...

Yes, very good plans. Let us know how they go?

Jesika said...

Woah cool. Thanks for the blog link.
1. I think you should read What is the What, too. I know I told you that, but I am reminding you in writing because that makes it seem more real. It was crazy when I saw Ishmael and heard him talk. He was really interesting. Maybe you could find a recording of this type of event somewhere and watch it. Anyways, I think one important thing about the book that you should take note of is like the games and stories and memories he writes about because part of the book is about his childhood and he said it took him a really long time to find a publisher who would allow for so much of that to be in the book. A lot of publishers wanted to cut those things out and only leave the parts about the war. But the war wasn't his entire life, and he wanted people, especially people like you and me to know that. Because this is life, and people everywhere, like in Europe or Asia or Africa, all have good memories, but publishers wanted to like box up his life into one thing, which was fighting and running and hiding and stuff. But there is so much more, you know? And he really wanted to preserve that.
2. My mom knows a lot about this and has some books, but I mean, I don't know if that helps. Anyways, this sounds cool. You should try to plant some basil, but maybe buy a plant instead of starting with a seed. Basil is SO GOOD.
4. YES.
6. YES.
7. If you want to borrow those Indian cookbooks let me know. Cooking is wonderful. It is fun to make different kinds of pizza in the summer. Also, watching youtube videos about different ways to make different things is fun (like all the ways to make hummus). You should go to a farmers market or there are some cool specialty shops (like Italian, Middle Eastern, etc.) in Youngstown (I could probably ask my mom the names if you want). Anyways, go and buy a bunch of food (mainly produce) pre-having a recipe and then go home and find ways to cook those things using what you have. I enjoy that & it is a good learning experience.
Okay, sorry for the million year long comment. Have a nice day!

Sammy said...

ryan these are great plans. i am still trying to figure out how to sucscribe to you blog. and how did you make your labels so sweet? like the way they appear

Troy Current said...

Dude #5 sounds soooo LEGIT!!!