Three More Weeks of Summer!

School's back in, some of the mornings lately have felt distinctly autumn-like, and yes, Halloween stuff has been in the stores for weeks now (argh)... but summer ain't over yet. Labor Day notwithstanding, fall and the equinox don't arrive until the night of the 22nd, astronomically speaking. And I love speaking astronomically. I don't know about you, but I need to get in at least one more trip down the shore.

I went to my first general admission, better-bring-earplugs show in too long last month to see the rock band Plush. The all-female trio rocked the hell out of Teaneck's Debonair Music Hall, as did their supporting acts Hunter Road and Major Moment. I partook of the VIP meet-and-greet with Plush before the show and got autographs and a photo with the band. I don't think I'll be returning to my old live-music schedule, but it was great to feel the energy of a performance like that again, and I'm sure I'll be doing it again before too long.

Ashley, Faith, Moriah, and me

Gina and I got away for a weekend down in Cape May and Wildwood this August, squeezing in visits to our beloved Harry's of Cape May and Willow Creek Winery, another incredible dinner at Tisha's Fine Dining, and a hearty lunch at Mermaids Restaurant. We walked the Washington Street Mall and the Wildwood boardwalk, did some antiquing, and got in some beach time, too.

In other news, I attended a state career fair last month, the first time I've gone to any kind of job fair. It was a little overwhelming, but a good experience, and I reached out to several departments within the state in hopes of employment. We shall see...

And of course we lost Hayden Panettiere, Frank Beard, Dolly Parton, and Tim Curry (among other notable and non-notable people) in August. Believe it or not, I'd never seen "Heroes" (beyond catching a few minutes while idly channel-surfing a long time ago) before deciding to check it out on Netflix this July. I finished the series finale the week before Hayden's passing, which made it that much more immediate and gut-wrenching. I never saw ZZ Top live, but love their music, and beardless Frank's drumming is as essential to their sound as Billy Gibbons' guitar. My dad listened to a lot of country music when I was growing up, which probably contributed to my early distaste of it, but I learned to appreciate a lot of it later in life (particularly the 'old-school' country of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, etc.). While I probably couldn't have named more than half a dozen Dolly songs, while streaming some of her music last weekend, I was surprised to realize just how many tunes I recognized and remembered. She was a terrific human being in addition to an amazing songwriter and musician, so you don't have to be a fan of the music to feel the loss of the person. And of course Tim Curry was a fun and zany actor, first seen by many of us (myself included) as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", who went on to so many great roles in so many great (and some not so great) films. He, truly, did the rock.

I've got an anniversary and a birthday this month. Brazil will be celebrating 204 years of independence from Portugal on the 7th (Sete de Setembro). Apple's "Surprise and shine" event is on 9-9, and nein, I don't think I can skip upgrading my iPhone this year. My 12 Pro is going to be six years old next month, as will my Series 6 Apple Watch, and while they're both still working fine (though the phone does have two screen cracks, and the watch's battery doesn't always last me the whole day on one charge), I believe I'm finally ready to replace them. Happy birthday (month) to me... ♩