Thursday, June 9, 2011

My Favorite Things (about summer)

With Oprah off the air now I feel like I need to make a list of my favorite things to fill her void. But that list would be far too long, so I’ve narrowed it to be my favorite things about summer.
1. The Colorado weather. Everyone told me when I left for Boston that I was leaving the best weather in the world. And they were right. Absolutely nothing beats a Colorado summer.
Our heat can be blistering, true, but we never reach the temps the deserts do. And the best part is no humidity. My friends from the East Coast who have never ventured West do not understand the concept of dry heat, but let me tell you, if you grow up in dry heat, you can’t even bare the idea of the humid air that occupies pretty much every other state in the country. I love how the close sun can warm my skin in an instant of stepping outside. I love the breezes that fall from the mountains through my car windows. I love the daily 30-minute thunderstorms. I love Colorado summers.
2. Summer Movies. When school lets out and boredom sets in, we all run to the movies for our escape from the weather and our otherwise uneventful summer activities. I love the movies, no matter what time of year it is, but I really love the movies in the summer. It is Hollywood’s time to impress all the people buying overpriced tickets, so they pull out all the stops to make it worth spending $10.50 to be entertained for two hours. My two favorite movies so far this summer are “Bridesmaids” and “Pirates of the Caribbean 4.”
“Bridesmaids” is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Aside from the fact that Kristen Wiig, the star and co-writer, is my hero, the movie proves that women really can do anything, even make a man laugh. “Bridesmaids” is rolling in raunchy comedy, is packed to the brim with brilliant performances, has a real “girl power” message, and deep down illuminates how truly ridiculous friendships between women can be.
Now I was not a fan of the last two “Pirates” movies, and unlike the next girl, I’m not daydreaming about Johnny Depp. I think he is just plain strange. But this fourth installment in the action-fantasy movies actually caught my attention. The story line was interesting. Johnny Depp’s infamous Jack Sparrow had some pretty funny lines, and I was intrigued. I liked following the frolicking tale through the sea and rainforest.
The two movies I’m looking forward to the most are “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 2” and “The Help.” Both are based on books I have read and respect, so I’m hoping their movie counterparts will not disappoint.
3. Terrible TV. With the season of season finales, I tend to get a little depressed. My favorite shows take a vacation, but I don’t. Therefore, I am forced to watch terrible reality TV and a few awards shows here and there.
            My summer favorites include, “Next Food Network Star” and the up-and-coming “Glee Project.” Both are competition reality shows that will choose new people to be on TV, one for their own cooking show and one to have a reoccurring guest role on the TV sensation, “Glee.”
4. Summer Reading. Now summer reading is something I used to dread, especially when I’m forced to re-read a book I read in sixth grade. But finally I have the summer to read whatever I choose. So I have chosen quite the selection. I am reading all of Chelsea Handler’s irreverent comedy books, which I have to say, I really have enjoyed. I am reading Jodi Picoult’s newest installment. I want to read Tina Fey’s brilliance in print, “Bossypants.” And I am most looking forward to reuniting with my favorite four best friends from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in a new book that catches up with them ten years after the last book ended. I can read for hours on end in the summer without feeling like I’ve wasted any of my time.

I guess you could say, looking back at my list, that all I’m really trying to do is fill my days with things to do. In a way that is true, but more importantly I’m trying to enjoy my summer. Just because the things I’m looking forward to the most come in print or on the screen doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to staying up late, eating ice cream, wearing my flip-flops and swimming in my pool. Summer was invented so the human race, or probably just Americans, can enjoy themselves, the glorious weather and summer foods, so if that means I have to find time for a few movies, some terrible TV shows and books that will never be considered classics, then so be it.