The Pros and Cons of School
One of the funny things I’m still getting used to now that I have a kid in school is that summer is a thing again. And so is the end of summer. The school year starts tomorrow. Kindergarten for my oldest, and five days a week of preschool for the twins.
Soon enough, summer will be a total quandary for us, as it is for a lot of parents. This year he was young enough so we could send him back to his old preschool with his siblings and that took care of three days a week, grandma for the other two. The next few summers probably won’t be that simple, but we’ll cross that bridge eventually.
I actually like being able to lean more into the spirit of summer. The other week, we brought the kids out for a movie-in-the-park, which is quickly becoming a favorite summertime ritual. The feature happened to be The Sandlot, and my kids absolutely loved it. Tequila scene especially.
We happened to catch the movie at a park on a hill. If you know where to look, there’s a little opening behind the playground with a view of the whole bay. After The Sandlot, my three year old told me she had never seen fireworks before, and wouldn’t you know it, there happened to be a few going off right at the moment. I led the kids to the secret viewpoint and… you just can’t script that kind of thing!
It’s been a good summer, but it’ll also be nice to have school going again. I’ve come to the conclusion that both have their pros-and-cons, so it’s a good thing that they switch on and off, alternating inconveniences.
Summer lets us sleep in more. Not having to worry about a 7:00 drop-off gives me more flexibility around my running schedule.
School, however, saves us money. Next year will be bliss, where we can stop paying our daycare center at least a third of our paychecks. For now, we’ll settle for the relief of having one fewer tuition.
Also, this will be the first time where we’ll have five days a week of school for all three. I’ve had to be real creative with my work schedule the past couple years so this slack already feels like a luxury.
The Naked Gun
One thing I will miss from our summer lives, however, will be the opportunity to do random afternoon dates. Daycare goes until 5:00 and not 2:00, and Deanna often finishes work at 2:00 or 3:00. That means if I start my work a couple hours early, we can slip in a random date on a weekday afternoon.
A few days ago, we decided to take advantage of that window to go see The Naked Gun. The dumb, dad-jokey humor of the original and other Leslie Nielsen classics hold a special place in my memory. Seeing the trailer for the new installment, along with the Liam Neeson casting, made me trust this one.
I’ll say, I liked it. It perhaps wasn’t quite as densely packed with jokes as I anticipated, but it was true to the spirit of the original and self-aware. What’s significant is that a feature length comedy was just released in theatres, and I really want it to do well. Well enough that theatrical comedies become a thing again.
We’re halfway through the decade and I can think of only three other comedic films to reach theatres. Joyride, The Weird Al movie, and the Please Don’t Destroy movie. And those didn’t exactly get big releases. I remember walking around Blockbuster back in the day. The comedy section was like a third of the store. Who would’ve thought that we’d grow up and that entire genre would be gone?
Of course… the entire store is gone. But you know what I mean. They still make all the other genres. But how’d we lose comedy??
I can’t help but note the way the disappearance of comedic movies syncs up with the rise of hostile politics and social erosion and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I could spend a long time unpacking that, but the short synopsis is that we forgot how to laugh at ourselves and take ourselves too seriously.
Clapping back in the comments section with the 🤣 emoji as punctuation is a wack replacement for humor.
My Auckland Jacket
Speaking of comedy, I’ve got a couple of improv shows coming up this weekend and I’m ready to shake off some rust. My last couple of shows weren’t exactly my best and I could feel myself overthinking. But that’s the catchy part of improv. If your show goes well, you wanna chase that high again. If it doesn’t, you wanna chase it down soon enough with a better performance. Either way, you make your way back on stage, and I’m thankful to have these opportunities every week.
I played this past Friday at my home theatre with Pacific Quiche, then Saturday with Optimus Rhyme at a venue I’ve never played at before.
I heard a lot of good things about the Brooks Theatre in Oceanside, namely the crowd that turns out for shows. It’s a bit different than the sea of familiar faces I’d gotten used to at the theatres closer to San Diego, and they lived up to the hype.
I also got to debut the obnoxiously loud Asics jacket I picked up in Auckland.
One thing I learned about Auckland earlier in the summer is that the city has a really good vintage scene and thrifting culture. It reminds me of what thrift shops felt like before the song Thrift Shop. At most thrift shops these days, I feel like somebody just dropped off dozens of the same used running shirt, then the thrift shop manager priced them like a rare artifact.
Not so in Auckland! A bit of a treasure hunt for nostalgic hits. Starter jackets. Jerseys of long retired ballers. Tour shirts for obscure and forgotten indie bands.
Some of my favorite finds have come in this sort of setting. I remember in college getting an old 1984 Team USA windbreaker that felt like paper, and a Japanese baseball jersey. They felt like absurd purchases at the time, but I ended up getting so much use out of them for themed parties and what not.
I’m hoping the turquoise, purple, and zebra-striped Starter jacket I picked up in Auckland plays a similar role. Being on a hip-hop improv team should help.
Jhoan Duran’s Entrance
On my list of simple things that make me glad to be alive is walkout music. You know? Your at-bat song if you’re a baseball player. Your entrance jam if you’re a wrestler. The song intro that blasts across the room if you’re a teacher, a postal worker, or a floor nurse.
I guess those latter three professions don’t typically use entry music, but I’m fully supportive of that becoming a thing.
Anyways, I’m glad that taking the improv stage gives me a chance to try out different walk-out anthems. I don’t know if Gasolina can be topped, as its an instant signal that a 15 year old from the Dominican Republic is about to knock one out of the park. That said, Deanna and I entered our wedding reception venue to Sleigh Bells’ Tell ‘Em, and that’s a lesser known way to make your presence known.
I suppose I’m on a walk-out music kick lately because baseball’s trade deadline just passed, and the Phillies’ big trade was for Jhoan Duran, a closer who throws 102 MPH. Just as importantly, he has one of the more sophisticated entries I’ve seen for an athlete, with the stadium going dim for a light show synced among fans, animated spiders and flames taking over the LED ribbon screens across the stadium, and Farruko’s El Incomprendido stirring up Citizen’s Bank Park.
It’s been a long time since the Phillies have had a true closer, and it’s real nice to have a reliable pitcher in the role. I suppose if the theatrics were setting up somebody who routinely blew the game, they’d get old fast.
But, I think there’s a lesson for all of us from this: If you could use an assist at being more present for the task in front of you, cue up some at-bat music.
Anyways, time to go be present for the dwindling days of summer.