Summer list, 2013 edition.

Draft clean-up day, part 3: I started writing this June 26th. 

Last year, I read an article on Lifehacker about creating a summer manifesto. It seemed like a good idea, a way to perhaps not forget those few dozen cool things I want to do before they become like so many of my good intentions, filed under Hey, I forgot about that! 

And it worked. the only thing I didn’t do is go to a drive-in movie, so it’s back on this year’s version. Other things are back on it, just because they were awesome the first time around.

A List of Shit I Want To Do This Summer So I Don’t Forget, 2013 edition.

Make Shit

• Knit the Nennir cowl. Small enough to be transportable, complex enough that I won’t get bored.
• Knit some socks. Ankle socks for some instant gratification and knee socks because after summer comes fall. After fall, comes winter. And winter means cold feet and legs.
• Get out the Flora soft circuit microcontrollers and maybe make this colour changing scarf
• Dust off the sewing machine. Why pay $20 for knitting project bags when I can make my own?

Learn Shit

• Learn how to do a proper crossover and jump on roller skates, finally. Learn and remember the rule changes, the ones that were put in place in January.
• Update HTML, CSS and javascript skills. I’ve learned that knowing enough to teach 14-year-olds is not necessarily the same as knowing enough to actually program something.
• Learn Ruby on Rails if time permits.
• Learn about beer. While I am not sure just how practical it is in the long run, making beer part of my future career plans, I do want to learn more about it, to appreciate the flavours more and to make my own.

Read Shit

• Read more books for fun this summer. I still have some to get through from this list, plus I’m finding I keep reaching for more books in the Culture series from the late Iain Banks. I’m currently 3 books behind in my 2013 reading challenge on Goodreads (4 books/month), but I hope to more than make that up when I’m away at the cottage for a week.
• Try reading more non-fiction. Usually non-fiction makes me zone out, but I am hopeful that Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher will be an exception.
• Read outside. In the park. On a dock at a northern lake. In a hammock. On a blanket in the park. In bed. Just read.

Do Shit

• Be more active. Walk, swim or hit the gym around four times a week.
• Picnic.
• Stay in better contact with friends. Call them. Meet local ones on a patio somewhere.
• Go skating! Practice stopping and turning. And not falling. (See first point under Learn Shit)
• Write. Write new things. Edit some older things.
• Cook hot dogs over a campfire.
• Experiment with beer and food.
• Do the Pantone Project on Instagram. I got the postcards a few weeks ago, and have yet to take even one.
• Eat more fresh and local. Go to farmer’s markets and roadside fruit stands.
• Go swimming. And even more importantly, don’t care about how I look.
• Journal more. Wriitng by hand only hurts because I don’t do enough of it.

Go Places

• Go to a drive-in. The one near where I grew up is still open.
• Go to Manitoulin Island, Tyson Lake, Port Dover. Watch the sunlight sparkle on the water and ignore everything else.
• Spend a day on Toronto Island by myself.
• Go on directionless road trips with Keith whenever possible.
• Visit Moreland House finally, rather than just driving past it.

Chill the Fuck Out and/or  Do Sweet Fuck All

• Go offline for a week minimum.
• Drink a cold libation on a patio and people watch.
• Blow some soap bubbles. Wave sparklers around after dark.
• Turn off everything and watch a thunderstorm should the opportunity arise.
• Watch a sunset.
• Spend time with Keith.