In July, I…
- Had some very complicated feelings about the Fourth of July. I’ll be honest: it was really hard to feel patriotic this year. I was sick during the holiday, so I spent the majority of the day in bed watching Friends and stayed off social media as much as I could. It’s just hard to feel proud to be an American right now. The leader of our country is someone who doesn’t abide by morals or ethics. The party in power is filled with money-hungry, spineless idiots. Asylum seekers are having their children ripped away from them. The president is shaking hands with dictators and putting our global partners on blast. It’s just really hard to be a proud American right now. I’m proud of the resistance. I’m proud of the people who get up and fight against this administration every day. But I’m not proud of our leaders and I just want this nightmare to be over already.
- Celebrated my mom’s birthday. My mom’s birthday was early in July, and we had a low-key celebration for her. My brother and I went to her apartment to have a game night where we ordered pizza and I made a cake for her. Then, on Sunday, I brought her mini-doughnuts and took her out to lunch. I always love celebrating my mom!
- Spent a weekend at Anna Maria Island with my friends. I talked all about this weekend previously, but suffice it to say, it was such a lovely weekend and it’s one I’m going to remember so fondly. I love this tribe of girlfriends I have in my life, and I can’t wait for even more adventures with them.
- Had all of the doctor’s appointments. For some reason, July was the month of all of the doctor’s appointments. The majority of them were just regular annual checkups, like a dentist appointment, gyn exam, and seeing the eye doctor. I also saw my regular doctor to discuss adjusting my anxiety meds and getting my thyroid levels checked.
- Attended a Friends trivia night at a pub. Oh, this was so much fun! A few friends got together when we heard a local pub was hosting a Friends trivia night. I thought I might be able to help since I’m currently rewatching the series, but it’s amazing how many questions I couldn’t answer. Ha. Still, we had a ton of fun and the restaurant was packed. It’s amazing to see how this show has impacted so many of us, decades after the show ended.
In August, I will…
- See Crazy Rich Asians with some work friends. I’m really looking forward to this movie! I didn’t love the book as much as most people did (it was a 3-star read for me), but the movie looks fantastic.
- Celebrate five years at my job. It’s blowing my mind that August marks five years! It’s been a really fun five years. This past year has been a tough one with most of my close work friends moving on to new companies and opportunities, but I’m still really enjoying what I do and I don’t take that for granted at all.
- Take my mom on a dolphin tour. For Christmas, my brother and I purchased tickets to go on a dolphin tour with my mom, and we’re finally going to go in August. It should be a super fun afternoon and I hope we see some dolphins!
Tell me something good that happened in your life in July!
Oh, I hated the book Crazy Rich Asians, but I wonder if some of the things that I couldn’t stand wouldn’t bother me so much in movie format.
I didn’t hate Crazy Rich Asians, but didn’t love it nowhere near enough to want me to finish the series – especially because the books are so long! The movie, however, looks excellent.
I heard such mixed things about Crazy Rich Asians so I decided not to read it. And knowing you didn’t really like it confirms that I should avoid it.
I hit 3 years with my company this month which feels really good. I had some tumultuous years of my career between the move to Charlotte and then not liking the job I moved back to Minneapolis for. It feels really good to be in a job I like and to not be searching job posting every. single. day. like I had done for the years leading up to landing this role!
Something good that happened in July was seeing extended family at my parents’ lake place. I hear you on not being all ‘rah rah, I’m an American’ these days. I’m pretty ashamed of the state of our nation and I just really hope that things change after mid-term elections. But I don’t want to have too much hope and then get even more disappointed in the state of our nation…
I totally understand about not having to check job postings daily anymore! I did that for two straight years leading up to getting this job and it’s just not very fun at all.
I’m very worried about these midterm elections, but I’m hoping that Trump being SUCH an unlikable president and putting in motion so many dangerous policies will give us the push we need.
I can’t believe it’s already August!
I had to remove myself from social media over the 4th of July. I’m a Soldier and I’ve served my country for 15 years and I just couldn’t handle the things people were saying about this nation. I get it and I agree that things aren’t great, that there are problems, that our president is…problematic, but that doesn’t mean we should give up on this country or mock patriots. It was rough, for sure. I heard people I love say they hate America, and that’s terrible and unfair. You can still love this nation and disagree with it’s politics. That’s an incredible privilege we have, being American, and I wish people could see that.
And I really, really want to go do trivia, but can’t seem to get a group together to go do it! Friends trivia sounds awesome!
I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiment, and I think that’s where my complicated feelings come into play. While I love my country, I don’t love what happens here. I don’t love that black people are racially profiled every single day and cannot move about freely in our country. I don’t love the conservative, right-wing movement and how it disempowers people. I don’t love that we elected a lunatic into the most powerful office and are feeling its repercussions daily. I don’t love that the people in power don’t believe in immigration, climate change, or women’s rights. I love the people fighting for my country, the people fighting in the resistance, the politicians who are working hard on behalf of its people every day… but it’s hard to love what this country has become. That’s a privileged stance to take, but it’s an honest one.
I really disliked the book Crazy Rich Asians… but… Constance Wu. So I have to go see the movie.
It is really hard to believe it’s already August!
The movie looks so good. Might be one of those rare instances when the movie is better than the book, ha!