When's Summer?

It's late May. The days are long like summer, and a summer-like weather pattern of sunny days has set in. But it's only summer-like as temperatures remain cool. Today, for example, the forecast high is only 66° here. WTF?!

Each time I've walked past the swimming pool the past week I've thought how nice it would be to go in for a swim, get out and sit on a lounge chair in the shade, and just spend an afternoon there.... That would be a great way to spend this holiday weekend. Except I can't, unless I want to be cold. I'm ready for it to actually feel like summer.

Update: This same crap happened last year. See my May 25, 2023 journal, "In My Mind It's Summer".

Update 2: When I got back from lunch and a quick grocery trip the heat was running. I turned off the system and just closed the windows instead. It's been 7 weeks since we ran our heater, maybe longer.

Signs You're Rich, According to Idiots with a Grudge

I have a habit of clicking on Buzzfeed listicles in my newsfeed. They're generally light, vaguely amusing reading, perfect for browsing when I'm sitting down at lunch. Occasionally they're even very insightful, such as the listicle that inspired me to write The Unwritten Rules of Being Poor. But most of the time they're just vaguely insipid. Today, though, I clicked on one that was actively stupid.

"Non-Rich People Are Sharing Subtly Obvious Signs Of Wealth, And Honestly, It's Pretty Eye-Opening" the title blared. "Eye-Opening" isn't the term I'd use to describe it. In fact the whole headline buries the lede. It should be something more like, "Online Randos Mock a Question We Post on Reddit, And We're So Lame We Can't Tell We're Being Mocked."

Here are just a few of the things Buzzfeed included in its list of things of subtle signs you're rich:

• You own a refrigerator with a water dispenser
• You buy new furniture rather than used
• You visit the doctor or dentist for non-emergency health care
• Your mom eats dinner with you instead of pretending she's not hungry because she can't afford enough food for everyone
• Your Crayola Crayons come in one of those boxes with a built-in crayon sharpener
• You have a basketball hoop in the driveway
• You live in a house with stairs
• You can afford a new mattress
• You take a vacation that's not visiting family

I grew up in a working-class family (lower-middle class) and had two-thirds of these. Including a mom who could afford to eat. Because, yeah, that's a sign of wealth. 🙄

Friday Night Halfway to... Nowhere

Woohoo! It's Friday night, the start of a three-day holiday weekend, and tonight we're driving to... nowhere.

...No, we're not driving to a place that feels like the middle of nowhere. We're not even driving to a spot halfway between hither and yon. We are driving literally nowhere. We're staying home.

It's kind of a bummer to stay home on a three day holiday weekend. It's kind of a point of pride for me to take advantage of the meager time off from work we get in the US by going somewhere on holiday weekends, even if it's only a driving trip of a few hours each way. But two things conspired against us getting away from home this weekend.

First, we're tired. We were out three weekends in April and another two already in May. And we've got two trips planned in June already, with at least one not long after that in July. Suddenly, "Let's just stay home" sounds like a not-unreasonable way to spend a long weekend.

Second, hotels are expensive. I mean, "Let's just stay home" wasn't actually our top choice. We looked at going to a few places we could drive to. But the costs of staying anywhere halfway nice this weekend are through the roof. Since we didn't feel strongly about the need to get out this weekend we didn't care to pay $300+ per night to do so.

So, what will we do instead? Well, one of my ideas was "Lounge around by the pool" at least one day, but unseasonably cool weather right now makes that a no-go unless I want to lounge in long pants and a light jacket rather than swim trunks and a tropical shirt. We're talking about taking a long drive out to a hike in remote Wine Country tomorrow. It's a worthy idea; we'll see if we get up early enough in the morning to make it a reality.