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Post by kds on Aug 1, 2022 13:20:40 GMT
We're now officially in August.
While there's still plenty of summer left, August is definitely full of signs of the season winding down.
Preseason football begins this month. By month's end, the sun will be going down before 8pm.
And, most notably, school will be back in session at the end of the month. Several years ago, Maryland's Governor Larry Hogan passed a statewide mandate to begin school after Labor Day, in an effort to get an extra week of tourism on the Eastern Shore. But, for some stupid reason, most jurisdictions went against the mandate, and went back to starting school in late August.
When I was single, it was somewhat easier to not really think about the beginning of the school year as the "end of summer." But, married to a teacher, with a boy who is now in pre Kindergarten, it's hard to feel like the end is near when my wife returns to work, and my son goes to school. Especially since, those days mean waking up about 30-45 minutes earlier.
But, I'm not thinking about that now. Still plenty of warm weather ahead, and two more trips to the beach, one being this coming weekend.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 1, 2022 13:30:40 GMT
It's a funny thing, with a full month of summer to go (which should feel like a lot); yet thinking how time flies, it's hard not to get that feeling that it's coming to an end.
Late last week I finally booked my "summer" vacation ... but I booked it for the last few days of September into the first few of October. I'll be going to the same little country cottage I've visited the past couple years in late July, so it'll be fun to see in the fall. And I think it'll be even more enjoyable to sit out by the fire in the evenings as the temperatures are (hopefully) lower.
That's a ways away, though. Tomorrow we're supposed to be around 100 degrees, so it's far from fall for the time being.
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Post by kds on Aug 1, 2022 13:42:46 GMT
Yeah, it's hard to not get at least a feeling that the end is at the least on the horizon.
It certainly doesn't help when you go to stores and see the fall stuff in the seasonal sections already.
I mentioned it before, but that's one thing I miss about when I used to vacation in mid September. Having that big event to look forward to in mid September actually made summer not fly by so freaking quickly.
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Post by kds on Aug 10, 2022 14:06:55 GMT
Yesterday, I returned from my second summer trip to Ocean City, MD, this one with my entire immediately family. Despite some cramped quarters, we had a good time, and the weather was pretty great.
For the most part, my summers are fairly predictable, and have followed the same pattern since 2016 when my wife and I began doing our vacation in mid July. Some might say it's boring, but it's something I find a little comforting.
But, the end of our August beach trip has a feeling of summer winding down. I know there are still about five or six weeks remaining, but it definitely has that "entering the fourth quarter" feel to it. Especially with back to school stuff beginning next week for both my wife and son. Not to mention the fact that this upcoming weekend is the final weekend where the sun will still be setting after 8pm local time.
So, now is the time to try to savior every summer moment as the end tends to come real quick.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 10, 2022 14:54:30 GMT
I've got a friend who is a teacher, and he and his girlfriend are on a trip "up north" (as we Minnesotans say for almost any destination north of the Twin Cities metro area ... though I believe they went way up north, near--but not quite into--the Boundary Waters). He said before they left that this was their last week of real summer: upon their return, they've got teacher-stuff to do, meetings and such.
Here their summer is over and I haven't even taken my summer vacation yet! (Granted, that's because I was short-staffed and scheduled it for very early fall instead.)
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Post by kds on Aug 10, 2022 15:16:02 GMT
I've got a friend who is a teacher, and he and his girlfriend are on a trip "up north" (as we Minnesotans say for almost any destination north of the Twin Cities metro area ... though I believe they went way up north, near--but not quite into--the Boundary Waters). He said before they left that this was their last week of real summer: upon their return, they've got teacher-stuff to do, meetings and such.
Here their summer is over and I haven't even taken my summer vacation yet! (Granted, that's because I was short-staffed and scheduled it for very early fall instead.)
It is amazing how one's mindset about the timeline of summer is very different when school is a factor. I know mid September definitely had a different feeling when I was single. I think my wife can start setting up her class room as early as next week. Before she and I met, I used to be jealous of teachers who got "three months off" each year. It's really more like just under two months when you factor in wrapping up at the end of the school year, and getting started at the beginning of the following school year.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 10, 2022 15:36:48 GMT
There is another aspect of being a teacher that I don't envy at all: having to deal with both kids (which I'd hate) and their parents (which I'd hate more) and the administration (which I assume I'd hate). Yet what's funny is, I used to teach guitar lessons and for work I've very often led training sessions in classroom type settings ... and I like it. I think if I could just teach people who were interested in what I was teaching, it would be great.
But little kids? No. Bratty tweens and teens? No. Disinterested older teens and college kids? No. Parental interference or administrative busywork? Ugh. So yeah, probably not for me, and I'd want SIX months off if I had to do it.
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Post by kds on Aug 10, 2022 15:41:54 GMT
There is another aspect of being a teacher that I don't envy at all: having to deal with both kids (which I'd hate) and their parents (which I'd hate more) and the administration (which I assume I'd hate). Yet what's funny is, I used to teach guitar lessons and for work I've very often led training sessions in classroom type settings ... and I like it. I think if I could just teach people who were interested in what I was teaching, it would be great.
But little kids? No. Bratty tweens and teens? No. Disinterested older teens and college kids? No. Parental interference or administrative busywork? Ugh. So yeah, probably not for me, and I'd want SIX months off if I had to do it.
For all the reasons you mentioned, I know there's no way I could do it. I don't have the patience for any of that. Plus, granted it's kind of a moot point now because I married a teacher, and have a school aged son, but I prefer to be able to take time off whenever I want. The other thing that I was pretty ignorant about before I met my wife was how much money teachers pay out of their own pockets for school stuff. I used to assume that the school or the school district paid for supplies. But, that's far from true.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 10, 2022 15:57:54 GMT
The other thing that I was pretty ignorant about before I met my wife was how much money teachers pay out of their own pockets for school stuff. I used to assume that the school or the school district paid for supplies. But, that's far from true. Isn't it astounding!? Honestly, considering we are still the wealthiest country in the world, I think it's a bit of a national embarrassment. (That and our inability to figure out a better way to provide healthcare so that people don't go into bankruptcy, or have to do without care, just because of health issues.)
I've also learned through our recent teachers' strikes just how badly paid various other staff are, not just teachers. The various assistant positions they need to help kids with special needs, etc., I found out in the city of Minneapolis as low as the low $20k range. That is literally less than McDonald's pays.
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Post by kds on Aug 10, 2022 16:06:46 GMT
The other thing that I was pretty ignorant about before I met my wife was how much money teachers pay out of their own pockets for school stuff. I used to assume that the school or the school district paid for supplies. But, that's far from true. Isn't it astounding!? Honestly, considering we are still the wealthiest country in the world, I think it's a bit of a national embarrassment. (That and our inability to figure out a better way to provide healthcare so that people don't go into bankruptcy, or have to do without care, just because of health issues.)
I've also learned through our recent teachers' strikes just how badly paid various other staff are, not just teachers. The various assistant positions they need to help kids with special needs, etc., I found out in the city of Minneapolis as low as the low $20k range. That is literally less than McDonald's pays.
One of the big mysteries in Baltimore is where all of the revenue from the casinos is going. The schools in the district actually receive a lot of funding, but many schools are without things like heat, copy paper, and hand soap. In fact, the lack of hand soap prior to COVID was a big reason the Teachers Union was very hesitant to return to in person learning. Of course, that wasn't mentioned when teachers were vilified by our Governor and the media.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 11, 2022 11:14:55 GMT
OK, I hate to say it, but this is one sign of summer nearing its end: I'm waking up in the dark again. Sunrise was officially two minutes ago as I type this, 6:10 a.m. That's more than a half-hour later than it was in late June. As somebody who likes to rise early, I really do like the early sunrises. As we get into the latter parts of the year, the temptation to lie in bed is tough to overcome.
Oh well, only about 4-5 months until the days start getting longer again... (But [literally] dark times ahead first.)
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Post by kds on Aug 11, 2022 12:15:52 GMT
The morning darkness won't really affect me until my wife and son return to school, and I have to start waking up earlier.
As I noted in another thread, I decided to grab some Land Shark for the weekend as I haven't really had much of it this summer. Sure enough, the small liquor store I went to had Oktoberfest and pumpkin beers on full display in the front. The good thing about Land Shark is that, despite the association with summer, it's a year round beer.
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Post by kds on Aug 14, 2022 0:14:51 GMT
Sitting on the deck at 8:12pm, local time. Tonight will be the last Saturday with a post 8p sunset until late next Spring. Its currently a comfortable 73 degrees as the daylight slowly fades. It definitely feels like late summer.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 14, 2022 0:21:00 GMT
Tonight will be the last Saturday with a post 8p sunset until late next Spring. Almost two full weeks yet for us with post-8 sunsets. I'd brag about our extra light, but then I'd have to think about the opposite, in winter, when we have more darkness...
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Post by carllove on Aug 14, 2022 13:36:39 GMT
Tonight will be the last Saturday with a post 8p sunset until late next Spring. Almost two full weeks yet for us with post-8 sunsets. I'd brag about our extra light, but then I'd have to think about the opposite, in winter, when we have more darkness... August 26 will be our last day of post 8:00 PM sunsets. What I really hate is when the sun goes down at 5 PM in the Winter. At least now it’s dark when I go to bed during the week. Since I get up at 4:30 AM, I rarely stay up much past 9 PM. It’s hard going to bed when it’s still light outside.
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