Summer is ...

Summer is ...

Dr Abe V Rotor

Summer is fishing and dreaming. I am seeing myself in this
photo many years back. Award winning photo. My personal
congratulations to the winner and sponsor of the photo contest.

Summer is ...

1. Putting on cool clothes, comfortable field shoes, accessories against sun.
2. Always wear sunscreen or you might get melanoma or worse.

3. Having a camera and taking photos and arranging them in an album, or in an

     electronic device.
4. Not wasting the season watching TV and playing with the computer every day.
5. Getting into some classes in handicraft, art, sports, dance, driving, and the like .
6. Going for vacation in the province; paying respects to old folks.
7. Reunion with family and relatives.
8. Homecoming with former classmates, townmates, co-workers.
9. Working on your body at a local gym; playing badminton, volleyball, pingpong
10. A walk in the park, on the beach, a walk with nature on a nature trail.
11. Learning to market, to cook and prepare the table – for girls specially.
12. Renting a beach house for the whole family overnight, campfire, informal program.
13. Having an inflatable swimming pool in the garden, for kids, and adults too.
14. Planting tree seedlings at the onset of rain, and preparing the home garden as well.
15. Putting up a lemonade stand (economic for kids) and go into business. Halo-halo,

      gulaman, too
16. There's nothing better than relaxing on the beach watching the ocean – meditate,

      reflect to recharge energy
17. Creative writing – poetry, short story, essay, feature.
18. Writing in your journal – The Story of my Life
19. Recuperating from ailment and infirmity.
20. Seeing your doctor, scheduling a thorough checkup – and get a clean bill of health.
21. Making a family video of an occasion, better still a documentary.
22. Organizing family photos, report cards, birthday cards, artwork, concert 

      programs and other keepsakes from the past year into a scrapbook
23. Summer Pet Bonding - make your pet happy and you healthy. Teach your dog 

      new tricks
24. Learning a new language - the best way is to go to a place where the language 

      you wish to learn is the only language.
25. Improving your English (or first language)
26. Learning to play a musical instrument -Music enhances the mind in many ways.

      Studies have shown that children who study music at an early age do better in

      school than those who don’t. Aside from that, it is also just plain fun.
27. Learning to sew. Sewing is a very useful skill to have regardless of your gender.

      You can learn to mend clothes, make your own clothes and other things for your

      house, which can save you a lot of money. Older and more skilled children can 

      even make their own clothes for the coming school year.
28. Taking a special computer class - but make it fun. Learn to type properly, 

      use a spreadsheet or database, design websites, make presentations, etc. 

      Most jobs these days involve computer use, so knowing as much as you can

      about computers might help you get a higher salary.
29. Sorting through your stuff. Go through your clothes and things and prune out 

      those you no longer want or need. You could donate the things you no longer 

      need or hold a garage or yard sale and make some money to put into your college

      or retirement savings

30. Enrolling in back subjects – “survival classes”
31. Re-arrange your room or home. Re-arranging your room or home can have a

      positive impact on your life. A change can be uplifting and produce an overall

      feeling of well-being and accomplishment, renew your energy and increase

      productivity.
32. Cleaning your computer. Ideally you should do this several times a year, but if you

      use the internet and download a lot of things, it’s a good idea to clean out your

      computer on a regular basis. If there are programs you don’t use, uninstall them.

      If there are files that you no longer need, delete them. Clean your registry if you’ve

      had the computer for a while. Keeping your hard drive from getting too full will

      extend its life.
33. Mall Walking - Walking in an indoor, air-conditioned mall is a great way to get

      exercise away from the heat and smog, and you can also save on sunscreen.

      You can even window-shop during your walks, but if you think you might get

      too tempted, leave your money and credit card at home.
34. Learning to swim. Swimming is another low-impact exercise (safer than running)

      which increases endurance, muscle and cardiovascular strength. Try to swim in 

      an indoor pool whenever possible or wait until early evening to avoid sunburn.
35. Joining prayer rallies, healthy religious activities, bible studies.
36. Making sweet, jams, jellies, for hobby and money. Summer is fruit season.
37. Participating in Clean and Green, other environmental projects. Prevent bushfire.
38. Reviving traditional games like kite flying, spinning top, yoyo – make, don’t buy.
39. Repair, repair, repair. Name it and it needs repair (toys, house, figurine, kitchen

      wares, china, etc.)
40. “Earn to learn.” For working students, especially.
41. Joining ecology groups and campaign. Beach cleaning, neighborhood and

      community cleaning.
42. Indexing your books and CDs, DVDs, notes, documents.
43. Retreat time – Holy Week
44. Fiestas, celebrations, festivities.
45. Blogging. Why don't you open a blog, if you haven't?

Summer is not
1. Do not get obsessed with losing weight.
2. Do not over-tan or you'll look disastrous.
3. Don't over party.
4. Do not spend too much money on new items. For all you know that nice outfit 

    you saw earlier is marked down half-price somewhere else.
5. Don't be idle. Reading (even fun fiction) can help improve your mind, vocabulary,

    grammar and writing skills.

This time I would like to ask my followers and visitors of this blog to list down what Summer is not...

Living with Nature 3, AVR