I can’t believe Summer will come to a close soon. Although Fall officially begins on September 22, I’m recapping what I learned over the past three months. This reminiscing and pondering is such a great thing for an Enneagram 4, which is me. BTW, I have to say it: every time I call myself a 4, I think of Four (Tobia Eaton) from Divergent!
And in no particular order, here’s what I learned in the Summer of 2017.
1. Summer is the best time to binge watch TV series.
The awesome thing about binge watching completed TV series is not waiting for new episodes, and I’ve been watching older shows. Most of them are shows I’ve already seen, but I stumbled onto a new one that I just loved: “Haven.” I’ll tell you why I loved it in #2, but first, here are some superlatives.
Best: “Haven” (2010)
Cheesiest: “Sweet Valley High” (1994)
Awesome but was cancelled and will leave you with questions: “Terra Nova” (2011)
Must Watch for Austenites: “Pride and Prejudice” (1995) with Colin Firth.
2. The best story arcs don’t always belong to heroes or have happy endings.
The best character story arc I’ve seen in a long time was Duke Crocker’s in “Haven.” Played by Eric Balfour, Duke was the clear bad boy. A selfish pirate with less than legal business dealings. He’s pulled into helping out the cops and so helping out people, but very reluctantly. Throughout the series, his character grew steadily as his backstory and motivations were revealed. Still, he never became an outright good guy who walked the straight and narrow consistently. He made choices out of hurt that sided him with the enemy, and then came up with solutions to save everyone, but those solutions still sided him with the enemy. In the end, he was a hero is the saddest way possible. *spoiler alert* He chose to die by the exact way he sought to prevent, knowing that his death wasn’t salvation, but gave his friends a fighting chance for salvation.
I’m still annoyed this his character died and didn’t get a happy ending, but I massively respect how his character’s journey was written. It taught me to write beyond the surface. That bad choices can be fueled by good motivations. That characters – and people – are much more complicated and need to be given multiple chances. That characters who stay true to who they are while making better choices are definitely much more interesting.
3. There are awesome places where you live.
I learned about Carnegie Libraries from Modern Mrs. Darcy, and with a quick search, I found a Carnegie Library near me that still functions as a public library. A drive away and I was at a historical site. I love traveling and I want to see the world, but sometimes, the world is closer to home. It may just take a little curiosity and history lesson to figure it out
4. The world is finally catching onto the magnificence of UBE.
Ube (ooh-beh) is a Filipino purple yam we use in a lot of desserts. Yam for dessert, I know, sounds weird. But we’re a sweet tooth type of people. Ube is popular as ice cream and cake (or cupcake). It can be used to flavor pancakes, waffles, donuts, or bread, or used as filling in hopia or buns, and top off halo halo. Seriously, try it.
Next up, pandan. YUM.
5. Machines are good for my introverted soul.
My family went to a Korean BBQ and Hot Pot restaurant where we order via a computer screen, and it was awesome. For an introvert, I would rather use my energy to interact with the people I’m with instead of using it to flag down busy wait staff, make sure I communicate my order right, and even make small talk. I hate small talk, especially when I’m hangry.
6. Book sleeves are awesome.
Playing with crochet hooks, I started cranking out book sleeves. One fit my journaling Bible perfectly. Love. I’ll be using them to protect my books while traveling.
7. Library book sales make me geek out.
So much so that I made a YouTube Book Haul video. And speaking of YouTube, I’m not sure what to do with my channel in terms of what content to post. Any suggestions?
8. Argan oil is my hair’s bff.
I received the Marrakesh Argan and Hemp Oil hair elixir from a subscription box. It’s not a product I would pick up myself because I already have oily hair, but it’s amazing. It made my hair smooth, less oily, and no split ends (a problem I get when I grow out my hair).
9. Cadia Veggie Chips
They’re still potato chips, so it’s not good for you, but better than other potato chips. It’s my current guilty pleasure.
10. Dance song of Summer 2017: Despacito
The radios have moved on, but I haven’t! As long as it’s THIS ONE, and not the Bieber version. Notice I wrote dance, and not sing! My high school Spanish have mostly flow away.
Linking up with Emily P. Freeman.
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