Suckage.  Last year was the Summer of Death.  I’m trying to decide if this is a step up or down.  The weather in New York continues to be strange, we seem to have turned into a depressing morph that combines the frequent rains of the Pacific Northwest with the intensity of storms in the Southeast.  July 3, and there has yet to be a day where I can get to the beach where the weather has cooperated.

We did go to visit with the kids’ godparents the other day.  Man Child met us there with his girlfriend, which was lovely.  Even better, he brought me a super special bonus surprise, my favorite treat.  Don’t judge, they’re delicious and not available in the city.  Not so good, I was in a significant amount of pain by the time we arrived.  Our minivan is no longer reliable for trips over 30 minutes.  We borrowed my in-laws’ car.  Great to have the option, but there’s something about the shape of the seats in that car that doesn’t work with the curve of my spine.  Ouch.

This led us to new-used car shopping in NJ yesterday.  Eventually, my heart will start beating again, and we’ll continue looking. WTF?  Where did the used cars go?  Cars from 2010, 2011, 2012 are still way too pricey.  I am not kidding when I say I saw a truck with 72,000 miles on it for $24,000.  And no, it wasn’t a Cadillac, Lexus, or anything like that.

For bonus pleasure, the weather continued swinging wildly.  We wandered half the lots in pouring rain, the other half blinded by sun reflecting off of wet asphalt and car windshields, a little steam thrown on for good measure.  On our way home, we stopped in one of the Manhattan car places on 11th Avenue, where it took longer to get a salesman to escort us up to where they keep the used cars than it did for us to scout the floor and realize there was nothing in our budget.

Gave up and were greeted by the traditional wildlife of NY summers underground. Oh, this urban jungle.

 

When I’m walking the beasts on these hot, wet summer nights, I can actually hear their legs skittering on the sidewalk ahead of us, just to illustrate how substantial they are.

I should be writing, I want to be writing, but I can’t get my head into this new character yet.  So I’ve been working on a twitter pitch (I’m calling it a twitch, it only makes sense) for the completed manuscript for an online event next week.  Decided I would make a treat.  Who doesn’t think it’s a good idea to put the oven on when its 99% humidity?  Guava cheese pastries.  Didn’t work out so well.

It’s only been a week, this summer will improve, right? Please?