10 Things I Hate About Summer

It got HOT fast. A week ago, it was pretty much as though the good Lord switched around April and May just for funsies. It was chilly, cloudy, windy, and rainy. Kinda gross. And this weekend: POOF! 90 degrees!!! Not even kidding. Is it too much to ask for to go from chilly to mid-70s and sunny? Just for a week? A weekend? A day, even?? So I'm hot. My dog's hot. I think I might hate this weather more than last week's. 

Let's be honest here, I REALLY like winter. I realize that may sound odd, but I really do. I think I might like it better than summer, despite the scads of undergrads who crowd my bus and my favorite lunch destinations. But to put things in perspective for myself, I've created a list of pros and cons about summer:

Pros

• Grass feels nice under bare feet.
• Grilling. Tjett's been on a roll, and I am really liking the frequent grilled chicken and veggie burgers.
• Zucchini!!!
• Berries are in season! I like putting them on my cereal or in smoothies.
• Ice cream every day
• Summery drinks, like Absolut Ruby Red and cranberry juice, mojitos, daiquiris...
• The farmer's market. There you can buy the zucchini, and berries, tomatoes, eggs, bread, honey...and Tia has a good time there, too. Everyone likes petting the big white dog!
• Cute tops and dresses. I don't generally do 'cute,' but summer calls for it. Today I am wearing a rather inappropriate-for-work-but-who's-going-to-see-it off-white, flowy tank top. I like it. I don't have many excuses to wear things like it, and it's fun...
• The undergrads are gone! Buses are on time, there are available seats, and lines at restaurants aren't huge, even at noon...
• My birthday
• Our anniversary
• Lots of daylight
• Trees really do look better with leaves
• That humid smell when you walk on trails surrounded by grasses and flowers...

Cons

• Sure, the grass is great until all the bugs come out...
• What good is wearing cute tank tops when everywhere you go is FREEZING because some numb-nuts decided to turn the AC on too high?! Seriously!! Save some money, set your thermostat higher, and let me wear my adorable and slightly slutty clothes without wishing I had a jacket.
• Also along the lines of clothing, I sweat a lot. So my cute shirts often end up looking really, really bad with some serious sweat stains during and after I wear them. It's gross, it's embarrassing, and it makes me less likely to wear cute things because I get so paranoid that I'm sweating right through it...
• I have to put on a copious amount of suncreen so as to not get fried to a crisp. The sun's bad for your skin, period. I found this out (more than I already knew) last year when my face blew up because I forgot to put on sunblock while I was volunteering at the marathon.
• You stick to everything. 
• Cooling takes, I believe, more energy than heating. And you can under-heat in the winter...just throw on a few blankets, have a mug of hot cocoa and you're good to go. But if you under-cool in the summer, you still stick to everything, the dog's still miserable, and sweat still runs down your legs. Ick. And the only real solution is to cool more which means more money, honey...
• The dog's miserable. Poor thing...and I think she's afraid of the fans. I think she doesn't like stuff blowing at her, even though it would make her so much more comfortable...
• Exercising blows. I ran 2.5 miles today, at 7:30 am...and I was sweltering. I sweat right through my shirt, my face was way redder than usual, and I got dehydrated faster. It was awful.
• I get paid less in the summer.
• The A/C in my car broke AGAIN, which means I either have to pay $75 or whatever to get it recharged AGAIN, or else be miserable while driving, and have a miserable puppy in the back seat.
• Jerks who leave their dogs in the car while they shop...When it's cold outside, usually the car will be somewhat warm enough so that in the hour that the owner is in the store, the dog won't freeze, unless it's a chihuahua or something. But some idiots leave their dogs in the car in the summer...I don't care if your window is rolled down 'a crack' or all the way, it's not enough. I was at Meijer yesterday and someone's poor dog was barking and whining through a cracked window of a pickup truck. It's sad, and it's cruel. I hope that dog was ok.
• Yard work.

So ok, there are plenty of things I like about summer. They're just hard to remember on days like today...