i write you visions of my summer

Since this week marks the start of summer on the UCD campus, I was reflecting yesterday about what the season of summer for me used to be like 10-15 years ago. This would be my typical routine:

My brother and I would wake up about the same time (around 9:30) and would roll out of bed to go have a nutritious breakfast of Captain Crunch or some other cereal with a million grams of sugar.

Then we would rush to turn the TV on to catch "Price is Right", where we would watch Bob Barker in all his fake-tanned glory. During these summers, I became quite knowledgeable of what the cost of random household items were due to such games like:

The Grocery Game

Pass the Buck

After Price is Right, my brother and I would play hours of the latest video game on our high-tech gaming system (either Super NES of Nintendo 64). My favorites included:

Then we'd maybe swim in our backyard pool or play a game of rollerblade hockey with other neighborhood kids until dinner.

It's comical to think back about what my summers used to be compared to working 8 hour days during my summers now. However, I wouldn't necessarily say that one is better than the other. Sounds crazy, right? Well I think of it this way: working during the summer allows us to afford to be able to take a cool vacation somewhere versus spending all day watching TV and playing video games. So anyway, cheers to the summer of old and here's to the summers of new!

A change is gonna come

This weekend, Obama became the Democratic nominee (well, technically that won't happen until the convention in August, but let's not be too nit pickey here ok?). This is amazing. He beat the Clinton machine and all of it's ruthless, polarizing tactics. When he first announced his candidacy back in February 2007, I was hopeful, but I felt that I was also being naive to think he could honestly beat a Clinton. It seemed like all their power in the political arena would just CRUSH him and he wouldn't stand a chance. But people got excited at the prospect of someone who wasn't already jaded or corrupted by the political arena. And people showed this excitement by actually participating in the political process of VOTING. Imagine that!
Now I know Obama has his flaws, I've said this before. He's not a messiah, he won't solve all of our problems. But I do believe that Obama can evoke change---a change in the pessimistic attitude towards our country that has permeated the thoughts of many US citizens for the last few years. I think that despite what he does policy-wise, this may be one of the most important changes---from pessimism to hope. Have we all heard that word, "hope", a million times throughout all of his speeches over the last 16 months? Yes. Will it ever get old? To me, I think not.