I swim, I read, I kea

You might be wondering how I am spending my summer.
Well.
For one thing Mike is helping me to become a better swimmer. When he was in high school he was on the swim team, and so he has great advice for me like: “Swim faster!” “Kick better!” and “That’s not a real stroke!” He also squeezes my foot just right when the dumb flippers make it cramp up and obligingly swims around my when my backstroke gets all crooked. Joking aside, he is a good teacher. It turns out lap swimming is fun! More fun than the elliptical machine, although I can’t get my illicit US Weekly fix in the pool. Also it makes my entire body sore in a good way. Sore body = good workout.
And.
I have been reading a lot. Of course. I plow through my New Yorkers in about 3 days and read books while waiting for the next issue to arrive. So far this summer I have read ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, ‘The Yiddish Policeman’s Union,’ ‘Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman’ (the Haruki Murakami short stories mentioned in a previous entry), and I’m working on “What is the What’ by Dave Eggers. Also Mindy Kaling (Kelly from the Office)’s amazing shopping blog. Also US Weekly, but only at the gym, so shh!!
And.
Today I finally went to Ikea for the first time. I loved it. I found so many things for my apartment and my classroom, and the crowds were dense but not that annoying. It was just a scouting mission though. I need to take some measurements around here before I make any major purchases. However I did pick up a few small items and carry them around the store for two hours before abandoning them in the face of massive check out lines. They were just not that crucial, and anyway the smell of hot, fresh cinnamon roll was tugging me toward the snack bar. I ate a giant, delicious, gooey $1 mess as I trekked back to the overflow lot. Mmm. Swedes sure do cinnamon rolls right.
I have done other things this summer too: camped, taught a summer course, went on a road trip with my mom, got some cavities filled, put $600 into my car, enjoyed a wet What The Heck Fest, and tutored a nice 5th grader on the intimate details of fractions and long division. Summer Vacation!
In two weeks I go back to school. Until then- more naps, more books, more swims. And hopefully some tubing down some river. Yup. You heard me.