List

Ok, so the summer is pretty much over, although because I'm not in school anymore, the changing of the seasons seems considerably less significant than it once did. Even so, I'm going to take this opportunity to enumerate my favorites things I did, saw, experienced this summer. I'm going to pick ten things, but as I write this sentence I really have no idea how many things I'm going to come up with, that number is subject to change. Also, these things may or may not be in some sort of qualitative order, because, as I said, I'm just coming up with this things as I go. So, without further ado, a list by me.

10. Race for the Galaxy

Matthew bought this game on a whim, and it quickly became our favorite game of the summer. Well it was my favorite game of the summer. It's super complicated when you're first learning to play, but tons of fun and with loads of replayability, it's a great little game.


9. The 48 Hour Film Festival
Although I haven't spoken about it much on here, I participated in the 48 Hour Film Project with some of my classmates from the film department. The movie we made sucked a lot, but it was a lot of fun to make, and it lead to me reconnecting with Brian Mayer, who graduated last year and was my greatest ally in the filmmaking process. I also worked with him briefly on his project Chester's Tales.

8. Reading. Lots.
I read more this summer than I probably did in the totality of my college career. Sadly, that is not much of an exaggeration. I read the last 3 Harry Potter Books (which I may have mentioned once or twice on this blog), 2 Chuck Klosterman Books, 2 Lev Grossman Books (more on this guy later), American Gods and a whole bunch of Trade Paperbacks (This isn't a pretentious way of saying comic book, by the way. A comic book would be a single issue, a trade paper is a collection of a run of issues in a single volume). Reading. It's not for breakfast any more.

7. Night Riding.
This is one of the few other things I've mentioned on this site before, but in case you missed it, usually Matt Buchheit and I take a leisurely bike ride around Cape Girardeau in the dead of night (which in case you didn't know, is between 8-10pm). There's just something about riding during the night that is more fun than riding during the daylight. Also riding with a friend is much more fun than riding solo. I recommend it.

6. Writing with Bobby Dianora.
Rob D and I wrote a spec script of the Office for a writing competition. It was fun writing with someone who is almost as competent a writer as I am (just kidding... not really though. But seriously, Rob's a good writer. But seriously, I'm better). It was also nice to know that I actually can write an entire episode of a TV show (with help), since that's kind of what I want to do for a living.

5. Buying an Electric Guitar.
I have an electric guitar. His name is Claude Teschreddes. Pete and Kaylen are his godparents. He is currently a very a quiet lad, because I have yet to buy an amp for him. One day he will find his voice and on that day, the world will be rocked.

4. Return of Food Night.
Toward the end of the summer, Food Night came back with a vengeance. We've been batting 1000 since we started cooking again, and by only having a food night every couple of weeks or so, we're not getting tired of them. Hopefully this trend continues.

3. The Magicians.
I read this book called the Magicians. It was amazing. It was like Harry Potter if Harry Potter wasn't for kids. Actually, I don't think that's really a fair assessment. Lev Grossman, the author of the Magicians, wrote a book about what would happen if magic existed in the real world. The world we live in. JK Rowling wrote books about what would happen if magic existed in a world where fantasy novels didn't exist. JK Rowling didn't have a lot of rules for her world, and those that she had, she usually ignored when convenient. Lev Grossman had rules in his world. He had real people in his world. People that had to face the burden and ethical implications of near omnipotence. It's an amazing book. Anyone who's a fan of fantasy or good books in general should read this book.

2. Movies.
I saw a lot of good movies this summer. To name a few; The Brother's Bloom, 500 Days of Summer, Away We Go, GI Joe (Yes, it was good. Deal with it) and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Every time I see a movie like this, it makes me realize how much I love making movies, and how much I miss that process.

1. St. Louis.
I spent a lot of time in St. Louis this summer. I am, by my own choosing, underemployed. For the majority of the summer I was working twice a week and since I had so much free time, I spent significant amounts of time hanging out with my friends and family in St. Louis. Specifically, hanging out with Pete, Kaylen, Steve, Mary and their friends was hella fun. St. Louis is a fun city to visit and has many restaurants that I would eat at all the time if I lived there. The City Museum is an incredible place to visit, as is the Zoo and the Brewery. Yup. St. Louis roolz.

So yeah. That's my list. If I forgot anything that was awesome that I did this summer, let me know.