Colleen Taylor

San Francisco I love you, but you're bringing me down.



I know most of the country has been absolutely sweltering this summer, so the "Eternal Spring of San Francisco" seems silly to complain about-- I usually do love it. But this summer has been particularly chilly and gray-- and week after week of fog during the longest days of the year can really get to you.

Thank God for road trips!

I'm here with a second annual helping of summertime nostalgia: Watching The O.C. with friends was prety much a staple of my otherwise TV-less college experience. Yes, the plotlines were silly and the actors were beautiful, but somehow The O.C. had just enough wit and emotional depth to feel a bit more substantial than other guilty pleasure TV shows.

Most importantly, with all its gorgeous shots of Coastal California, it played right into the excitement I felt during senior year about my then-upcoming move to the West Coast. And after more than 3 years, I still get a nervous, happy feeling when I hear the first notes to Phantom Planet's "California." Hey, media (and memory) can be a very powerful thing.

Anyway, I just came across this yesterday night and it made me irrationally, dumbfoundedly exuberant. For some reason, the fact that there's a blog called "FuckYeahTheOC" has made me love Tumblr.com, and, relatedly, our brilliant, crazy, funemployed media-saturated generation even more than I already did.

Yes, it's time to break out the sweaters and fire up the tea kettle for another typical San Francisco summer.

Mark Twain is often quoted as saying something like "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco," but it turns out that's basically a myth. He did, however, once write of the "eternal Spring of San Francisco," which I think sounds much nicer, anyway.

Summertime makes me particularly prone to nostalgia.  I'm pretty sure that I'm not alone in this-- those Country Time Lemonade commercials are basically nothing but nostalgia overload, right?

The nostalgia coupled with the basic laziness of the season makes summer the perfect time for revisiting old favorites-- books, music, perfumes, foods, perspectives. So, here's a poem from one of my most favorite books growing up: Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little. 

Today

Today I will not live up to my potential.
Today I will not relate well to my peer group.
Today I will not contribute in class.
       I will not volunteer one thing.
Today I will not strive to do better.
Today I will not achieve or adjust or grow enriched or get involved.
I will not put up my hand even if the teacher is wrong and I can prove it.

Today I might eat the eraser off my pencil.
l'll look at clouds.
l'll be late.
I don't think I'll wash.

I need a rest.