journal / week 6

I always listen to my discover weekly playlist when I write these posts, which is why they must be so eccentric. This week threw me off (just like that discover weekly right now) since Independence Day was on Tuesday. I still worked on Monday, but then I took Tuesday and Wednesday off. Truly a wild situation.

Anyway last Sunday,  I headed to the beach. It was rather late in the day, so I didn't expect too much traffic. Of course, there was an absurd amount of traffic. I also failed to complete my homework earlier in the week, so I had no choice but to labor over it in the car (no, I wasn't driving). On the topic of distracted driving, I spotted a lady driving while watching Netflix--or should I say watching Netflix while driving, as she was doing a lot more watching rather than driving. Will this be a new, prominent threat on the road?

What felt like hours later, we arrived at a beach, overflowing with bright red backs, sandy towels, and colorful umbrellas. I really hate the word "sunbrella". It's still just an umbrella, whether you use it in the rain or not. And what if it rains on your "sunbrella". Is it still a "sunbrella" then? Hint: that's some foreshadowing right there. For the record, I checked my favorite app, The Weather Channel, before we left and it wasn't supposed to storm until later that night #ad #justkidding. Lazily, I sat on a blanket and admired the water and chose to ignore the dark clouds looming above the lake. Then came the first clap of thunder. No, that's not thunder. Then another, and the same response. And another, and the same response. Then, I felt a few drops of rain and decided it was time to pack everything up. Right as I scrambled to pick up three times my weight, the sky began to pour buckets of water on all of us. As if we were all going to melt, nearly everyone on the beach screamed and ran through the sand and to the parking lot and to the shelter of their cars. I actually quite enjoyed the run. There's nothing like a good summer rain. And guess what! No one melted.

Monday, I slept in too late. That run must have really took its toll. After all, I haven't exercised in the past three or four years (besides walking and taking photos, of course).

Side-note: If this is getting weird, it's because I'm listening to a song in which the word avocado is used multiple times, including in the title. Is this the peak of music in this decade? Perhaps. I must admit it's pretty good, too.

I did a lot of boring work and replied to e-mails. I planned some more of my project. And hey, I wrote my weekly journal. And threw together my monthly playlist for July.

Tuesday was the first day of two that I celebrated Independence Day. I started off by throwing on my girl power t-shirt and heading to Trader Joe's to buy some things to burn on the grill, and more importantly to buy that legendary vanilla ice cream. And don't forget the annual trip to Krazy Kaplan's to get some illegal fireworks #ad #justkidding. Hopefully shooting off illegal fireworks wasn't part of your 4th of July itinerary, as it wasn't part of mine. Safety first. 4th of July is probably one of the only days on which the people of the suburbs enter the great outdoors--more commonly known as the well-manicured patches of grass attached to their homes. And the fireworks happened to be on the 3rd, so make that the 3rd of July. Anyway, I hung out with my family and some family friends. We ate a great dinner and that great ice cream. I played with their dog and considered kidnapping him (he's just so darn cute). And we watched fireworks from the comfort of my deck. It was really wonderful to catch up with everyone. My mom and I couldn't find the sparklers, so no generic sparkler photos this year and no starting accidental fires. Sorry for the disappointment.

Wednesday, I headed to the beach to spend the day relaxing and the evening watching another set of fireworks. On the way there, I was surprised at the lack of traffic. I spent the day pretending to read (while napping), napping, running into the icy water, and avoiding sunburn. This set of fireworks was lovely too.

The next day, I could hardly wake up. I worked on a new piece for most of the day and took my dog on a really long walk. He was pretty excited that the loud noises had faded from the neighborhood and that he could do his business in peace.

Friday, I devoted the day to doing homework since I'm so responsible. There really wasn't any other option since everything was due on Sunday. In the late afternoon, I decided to take a break and do some shopping. I finally bought myself a beautiful, new scanner. I then decided I'd need some extra space and storage so I set out to buy a side-table. I headed to Target and spotted a wall mirror and a perfect side-table. I swiped my card and they were mine. At that point, I was near broke, but I went online shopping and purchased a blanket. I also decided to leave some of my homework for Saturday morning.

Saturday morning came and I had to wake up early. I ran some errands and didn't do my homework. Upon my arrival home, I noticed my scanner had been delivered. I immediately plucked the box from the front step and ran to my room. I unpackaged it and decided to scan a few pieces in. It works beautifully. Later that night, I realized I'd have to finish my homework. I turned in my essay two minutes before it was due. Last time it was four. Practice makes perfect.

Well, that's all for this week. It's been quite an eventful one. Hope you enjoyed my words and these photos. This was probably one of the most spontaneous shoots I've done. I spotted the location a bit ago, but I didn't have plans to come shoot or really much direction for that matter. I love photography for that reason. It's just about the only activity I'm spontaneous in. Anyway, come back for a fresh playlist soon. xx