The June wrap-up, or how I spent 30 days doing virtually nothing

July 1, 2023 /

If you’ve been hanging out in my demented corner of the interwebs for very long, you know I participate in a monthly blog hop called What’s Been on Your Calendar (hosted by Sue, Debbie, Donna, and Jo), in which we post highlights from the month just past. So, what did I do in June?

Nothing.

OK, there’s this week’s post taken care of. See you next week.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

I really didn’t do much in June. After the craziness that was May, I wanted to curl up in a sunny window with a stack of books for the rest of the summer. I wasn’t quite that lazy, but this may be the most uneventful monthly write-up I’ve ever done.

But first: this post is also part of the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer, who has a way more interesting life than I do.

The Day Job

Part of the May craziness involved preparing for and going through a campus interview for a position that would have been a big promotion. Well, bummer, I didn’t get it. But I learned a lot from the process, I’m excited to work with the person they selected (who will be my new boss in a couple of months), and I’m re-energized to focus on some big projects in my current position. So all’s well that ends well.

I forgot to mention in my May update that the book I co-edited with a colleague came out in May. I haven’t heard anything from the publishers re: sales figures, but I got a few really nice emails from people who read it.

Writing

I’ve whined on here before that I’ve been in a bit of a writing slump for awhile. I’m trying to pull myself out of it and managed to draft a new short story in June. It needs a good bit of editing, but I’m happy with the initial draft.

Exploring Tucson

A visit to Tucson Botanical Gardens

Before the blast furnace summer heat hit, Long-Suffering Husband and I visited one of our favorite neighborhood places, Tucson Botanical Gardens. Every year, they plant this adorable VW Beetle:

Yes, that’s your Goofball-in-Chief in the photo on the right. No, I have no idea how to pose for photos. Good thing I’m a librarian and not a wannabe Instagram model. I think that career is out for me.

A few closeups of flowers in and near the Beetle:

Blooming artichoke
Zinnia
Hollyhock

And perhaps the coolest thing we saw on our visit – a hummingbird nest! Complete with 2 baby hummingbirds!

Can sculptures at Park Place Mall

Once the heat kicked in, the only place we explored outside of our air-conditioned house was an air-conditioned mall. And the mall had a cool display of 3 sculptures made from canned food. Called Canstruction, the exhibit allowed visitors to vote for their favorite sculptures by donating a can of food to benefit a local food bank. Super cool!

May the Schwartz Be With You

First, from Tucson Electric Power, is May the Schwartz Be With You, featuring Eagle 5 from Spaceballs:

And now I really wanna watch Spaceballs again.

R2 – Feed You

R2 – Feed You was built by Lloyd Construction Company.

One Small Step to End Hunger

This sculpture of a Lego Astronaut Minifigure was built by Swaim Associates and JE Dunn Construction.

Do you have a favorite? I can’t seem to choose – they’re all awesome.

And there you have it – I managed to get a whole post out of trips to the botanical gardens and a mall.

The Memery

Me this month:

Something to keep in mind while planning your summer camping trip:

Whoever’s running the National Park Service Twitter account should get a raise.

As long as we’re talking about camping:

A public service announcement:

I sincerely hope no one tried that during the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020.

On an entirely different topic, one of my pet peeves is people my age complaining about “these kids today.” If I went to high school with you, there’s a nonzero chance I know about at least some of the stupid crap you did, so get off your high horse. Also this:

Pretty sure Long-Suffering Husband could have posted that. Only with him it was kerosene. And instead of drinking it, he spit it into an open flame.

No, I’m not kidding.

And finally:

On that very mature, sophisticated note… I’m outta here. What did you do this month?

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26 Comments

  • Barbara A Mealer

    July 1, 2023 at 8:25 am

    What did I do this month? I hobbled around, even after my epidural for a herniated disc in my lumbar spine. I worked with my easy kid while the other one is left without anyone because I can’t chase him down now. (or go up and down stairs easily or stand, or sit, or walk–you get the idea) I am still working on editing my one book that seems to be taking forever since I started working on it a year ago.
    I did get in a trip to the Grand Canyon on the train, but I couldn’t hardly walk so I took a few pictures then sat on a swing at the El Tovar and chilled until time for the train to go back.
    Other than that, I did minimal since moving around and standing and walking can only be done in short spurts.

  • Gary A Wilson

    July 1, 2023 at 12:17 pm

    I’m so glad I wasn’t drinking anything when I read this.
    My keyboard, and following it – my laptop, would not have survived the duct tape TP meme.
    And the jury is still out on my left sinus. . .
    So, I’m going to use the trauma of that meme to explain why I had to think hard to understand that last one.
    Gracious – you are dangerous when you’re not writing . . .
    What can we do to get you back on track. . .? 😎

  • Lydia C. Lee

    July 1, 2023 at 4:28 pm

    Snap on doing nothing. Ho hum. But congratulations on the book.That’s fantastic. And I have never seen an artichoke flower!! Amazing! #WOYBS

    • Janet Alcorn

      July 3, 2023 at 8:00 pm

      Thanks! When I was a kid in Northern California, my neighbor grew artichokes just for the flowers. Drove my mother crazy, because she *loved* artichokes, and there was my neighbor, growing them but not eating them.

  • trent

    July 1, 2023 at 4:41 pm

    Sorry you didn’t get the job. Oh well, maybe the next time one comes up.
    When I was a kid, not everything we did outside was unhealthy, dangerous, illegal or totally stupid. I mean, we.. uhm, I’ll get back to you later…

    • Janet Alcorn

      July 3, 2023 at 8:01 pm

      Right?! My friends and I were experts at unhealthy and stupid with occasional forays into dangerous and, rarely, illegal. I’m amazed any of us survived adolescence.

  • Natalie

    July 1, 2023 at 7:15 pm

    I love that VW Beetle, the artichoke flower and the hummingbirds. The can sculptures to donate to local food banks are excellent ideas. Thank you for your weekend coffee share and the memes.

    • Janet Alcorn

      July 3, 2023 at 8:02 pm

      Thanks! I love the can sculpture idea so much. I hope they do it every year and get more participation. I would think the UArizona engineering students would be all over it.

  • Jo

    July 2, 2023 at 2:35 pm

    Every so often you need a month like that. Good news though that you finished the first draft on a new short story – you know what they say about not being able to edit a blank page. Bad luck about the job, but as you say you’ve learnt heaps in the process and it’s great you’re looking forward to working with the new person. Here’s to a great July.

    • Janet Alcorn

      July 3, 2023 at 8:04 pm

      Thanks! And so true about not being able to edit a blank page. My first drafts are a hot mess, but each time it gets a little easier to whip them into shape.

  • Retirement Reflections

    July 2, 2023 at 8:07 pm

    Hi, Janet – Thank you for being a regular contributor to #What’s Been On Your Calendar. Your posts always make me laugh out loud — and with my humour bypass that’s not always an easy thing to do. This one was no exception. I especially loved the ‘having plans’ meme. So true! 😀

    • Janet Alcorn

      July 3, 2023 at 8:05 pm

      Yay! Always happy when I can make people laugh. I was too shy and awkward to be a class clown when I was a kid, so I’m making up for it now.

  • Julie

    July 2, 2023 at 10:26 pm

    Your poses are better than mine lol. I would have just stood there and whoever is taking my photo would be confused. They’d asked me, “that’s the only pose you got?” Standing there is not even a pose. Ugh…I hate posing in front of the cameras. I wonder if my friends keep a list of poses in their head. When they’re in front of the camera, seamless.

    • Janet Alcorn

      July 3, 2023 at 8:06 pm

      I *hate* posing for pictures! I only managed that pose because–I kid you not–I somehow stumbled onto a blog post a couple of weeks ago with suggestions for how to pose for pictures. The only tip I remembered was raising/bending one leg, so I went with that.

  • Debbie

    July 3, 2023 at 1:51 pm

    Thanks for your honest ‘not a lot happened this month’ post Janet, it can be good not having too much on sometimes! Those can sculptures are so cool, I love the R2-Feed You but they’re all great! Love the memes as always, thanks for joining us for WBOYC 🙂

    • Janet Alcorn

      July 6, 2023 at 9:05 pm

      Thanks! Arizona needs to build a state historic park to honor the inventor of air conditioning. Most of the state would be uninhabitable without it.