Hot days, popsicles and sprinklers. Summer is here! It used to be a happy time, a time of vacationing and relaxation. Sitting out by the pool and enjoying freedom with my friends were consistent activities that filled an empty schedule. I lose that sense of joy that summer brings now that my seasons are no longer defined by school vacationing schedules, but the intensity of heat that I feel whenever I step out of the office for my lunch break. I just curse the hot weather that turns my car into a temporary incinerator. It’s a sad realization that I’m sucked into a cycle of waking, working, and sleeping until the next weekend comes along. So I’ve concocted a common cure to the summer vacation withdrawal for those of us who are now in the working world with a couple of summertime items that may help with the summertime blues in the workplace. I’m embracing the clear acrylic poolside cup. Nothing screams summer like an acrylic cup filled to the top with ice and a straw and some juice. I’m also thinking about draping my desk chair with a beach towel, surrounding my area with sand, and using SPF lotion scented with coconut oil instead of regular body lotion. I’ve opted to leave the beach umbrella at home considering people around my area may be a little superstitious with an open umbrella indoors, very thoughtful on my part. I’m also compiling a “mixtape” of summer jams that I would rock out to as a youngster with Fresh Prince’s and Jazzy Jeff’s “Summertime” being number one. Which brings me to the question of the day…why do we still call them mixtapes and sextapes? Should we not think of something new considering my 14 year-old brother doesn’t even know what a “tape” is? Maybe mixes? Or files? Or zips as in a zipfile? My “mixzip” or her “sexzip” sounds appealing…no?
