The world seems dead today. My office is quiet. My phone is quiet. Even MetaFilter has slim pickings today. I guess that’s what happens on the last official workday of summer.
The end of summer. Is it here already? How did this happen? Where did it go? Summer gets shorter every year. It used to be considerably longer; back in college and law school it ran from the end of finals in mid-May to the return to campus in late August.
When does summer begin? The middle of May? Memorial Day weekend? The summer solstice? Late June, when all the kids are out of school? The Fourth of July? And when does summer end? The end of August, when college students go back to campus? Labor Day weekend? September 11? The autumnal equinox?
I don’t even know what summer means anymore. It’s just a time of year when things are hot. And not always.
Once, when I was a little kid, I asked my dad when the last day of work was. It was a reasonable question. There was a last day of school; why wouldn’t there be a last day of work, too?
I’ve felt a shift in my life lately. The click of a pivot point. I’ve hit something and I’m careening in a new direction. Fall is coming. Change is coming. New things are in the air — to a degree I haven’t felt in a few years:
– I auditioned for a chorus last night. (If I don’t get in, I’m auditioning for another one next week.)
– I mailed off my screenplay to a screenplay competition yesterday.
– In a few days, I have to tell my landlord that I won’t be renewing my lease for another year. I’m terrified, because it will mean I’m officially committing myself to look for an apartment in Manhattan.
– I’ve been having new insights into sex and dating lately. I’m re-evaluating the role of sex in my life, and I might take a short break from dating. These are things I need.
So my life is headed for some changes in the next few months. I hope they’re changes for the better.