The first two weeks home from school have been a busy time. My last two nights in Philly were somewhat sad ones, as I had just spent finals week doing a lot of bonding with my RA staff. I will and do miss them, and I look forward to going back in August to see them all again when we begin training for the coming school year. I will also miss my friends at The Well, but I will at least have the opportunity to go down and visit some of them throughout the summer.
But as sad as the ending to the school year was, the instant greatness of the summer made up for it as soon as I got to Reading. I arrived Sunday, Mother’s Day, and spent some good time with both families and with Steph. The next day I began work at 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, which was a good sign that I’ll be getting decent hours this summer. While none of my friends from last year have returned, it seems that I will enjoy the company of my new co-workers too.
Then that night I was sitting at home playing cards with my dad and brother when I got a call from my high school friends inviting me to join them at our local hookah lounge, The Pillar. It was perfect, and I could not refuse. It feels really good to have people call you and ask you to hang out when you’ve only been home for one day. The following day I joined these friends again at a bonfire/ camp-out at Jared’s house, which was equally awesome. Summer will be good as long as I’m spending time with these folks.
Summer will also be good as long as I’m spending time with my friends from Calvary Baptist. Even if I’m looking for somewhere else to go on a Sunday morning, I’m also starting to lead the Wednesday night book study in our college group, which looks like it will be going well and I’m excited about that, and I’m enjoying hanging out with Reuben, Dan and the rest.
Of course I got the change to hang out with both groups last summer too, even blending the two groups a bit, making it a really good summer. But I expect this one to be better for a few reasons, especially the fact that Steph will be in Reading! Last summer was fun, but her staying in Philly was kind of rough, and I’m definitely looking forward to not have to deal with that again. She just left on a trip to the Ukraine for two weeks, but I’m excited to be able to do normal day to day things with her in Reading this summer and to include her on all my trips to the Hardbean, the Pillar, Gravity, and elsewhere.
So far, I only have two complaints about this summer. One is that I have some things I want to work on, such as writing for IVM and this blog, but when I get home from throwing junk all day I’m usually too tired, so hopefully I find good time to keep up with writing, especially since I need to practice if I’m going to do this for a living. The other is that my voice is shot right now, which I really can’t complain about at all because it’s from going to a spectacular mewithoutYou show on Saturday night. It was an intense night, and the spiritual element of the music was a meaningful experience for me. It was a good reminder of the value of worshipping God through music, since I’ve been getting less into that part of church life lately.
So summer is looking good. I’m enjoying work, enjoying friends, enjoying life. Hopefully it continues to be this good, with as many cook-outs and bon-fires as possible.
Final thoughts:
1. I just got Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band’s latest album, Outer South, which is even better than the last one. If you like alternative country/ indie folk, go buy this record right now. “Roosevelt Room” is an anthemic highlight.
2. Sometimes it’s a really good idea to talk to people rather than hold things against them, because it may turn out you just misunderstood each other.
3. “God is good/ all the time/ and all the time/ God is good.”
Tags: church, Conor Oberst, friends, mewithoutYou, summer, work
