A List That Might Never be Complete

Things I Need to Do:

1. Clean room. It is an unholy mess.
2. Walk to CVS and buy a magazine. Preferably Glamour or Cosmo.
3. Do yoga. Must do at least 3 times a week and have only done it twice.
4. Flatiron hair. Edges are looking a little crispy.
5. Watch season finale of Grey's Anatomy and season opener of Kimora:LiFL. Missed former due to basketball game (Piston victory, so well worth the sacrifice).
6. Call BFF. Have not spoken to said BFF since coming home.
7. Schedule lunch with various hometown friends. Keep forgetting due to tiredness, being busy, and/or general life obligations, and am starting to feel slightly guilty as a result.
8. Drop off numerous job applications. Still in need of money.

One thing that's been crossed off is "find internship." Because now I have one! Yours truly is now an unpaid intern at an independent/underground record label. One of their groups has sold multi-platinum albums, and other artists are placing high on both the Heatseekers and Billboard charts. So that's cool. And I've got free swag already. Like I may have already mentioned, the genre of music is totally not my scene, but it's experience nonetheless. Before I wanted to be a sportswriter, I toyed with the idea of being a music manager. Maybe this internship will make me give it more serious thought. The Head PR Guy (nickname pending) was really chill, too, and everyone was wearing sweatshirts and jeans. I definitely was overdressed in my nice jeans, heels, blazer, and, Lord help me, silky leopard-print top. But better to be overdressed than under-dressed, right?

Check me out, I actually have an internship. Huh. Go me.

This evening we embarked on one of my favorite summer family traditions. After I got back from the internship and Middle Sister came back from practicing driving (help us, oh Lord), we piled in the car and went to the drive-thru A&W, where they bring the food to you to be eaten in your car. It's always the same, the three of us, jammed in the backseat, laughing and bickering, my parents up front, chatting and listening to the radio. While we eat, we come up with some dorky "conversation starter" games. This time, it was random trivia: "What Shakespeare play is 'The Lion King' based on?" or "What college did Oprah go to?" or "Who was the first black person to serve on the Supreme Court?" (my dad's question. Y'all know how old-school black people are!) We had a good time. My mother surprised me; when I asked, "What is Snoop Dogg's real name?" she answered, without hesitation, "Calvin Broadus," and popped a fry in her mouth like it was nothin'!

The best summers, to me, are those filled with drive-in movies, trips to Dairy Queen, family barbecues, good music, bathing suits, and cloudless sunny days that fade into lazy, purple-skied evenings. The best summers make you honestly and truly glad to be alive.

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your momma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky

But till that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With daddy and momma standing by

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your momma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

"Summertime" by George Gershwin, from the musical Porgy and Bess