The Student News Site of Weber State University

The Signpost

The Signpost

The Signpost

The Signpost

Latest YouTube Video

Simonson Says: My summer bucket list

For Weber State students who aren’t taking summer classes, it’s been summer break for more than a month now, yet it hasn’t really felt like it until the last couple days. It never really feels like summer until June, so I feel like our summer break is just now kicking off.

I’ve already crossed off a few things I wanted to do this summer. I got to see the Mummies of the World exhibit at The Leonardo on its last day, a fascinating and haunting experience that was worth the slightly daunting price tag. My husband and I finally got to take the FrontRunner all the way to Provo, where we spent the night for our anniversary and tried Tokyo Sweets (seriously, go to the Provo Towne Mall and try their tempura cheesecake). I saw the “Little Women” musical production at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse, which did a fantastic job as usual and has convinced my husband to let me show him the 1994 movie with Winona Ryder. Best of all, I’ve started a summer editing internship at the Deseret Book corporate office, which I’ve had my sights on for a long time and is teaching me a lot about publishing.

But there’s still so much I want to do to feel like I got my money’s worth out of this summer. And, because this is summer break and I’m feeling it too much to write about anything taxing right now, I’m going to share some of them with you. Also, since I’ve written them down, I’m pretty sure they’re copyrighted now and you can’t claim them as your own ideas, which I’m pretty sure means you can’t do them unless you come in my party. Sorry for choosing the exact same things you’d planned to do this summer. Just to be nice, I’m not going to list my goal to finally buy my own copy of the Associated Press Stylebook and read it from cover to cover, because to take that from you too would just be too mean.

1. Visit every major water park in Utah. I still haven’t been to Cowabunga Bay, Raging Waters (yes, I know it’s another Seven Peaks now, but we already have a Seven Peaks, so I will continue to call the Salt Lake one Raging Waters) or our own Classic Waterslides in Riverdale. And if I’m not bankrupt after those, I want to revisit Cherry Hill and the Provo Seven Peaks. I actually have a selfless reason for doing this: I want to rank and review them all in this column. Water parks are expensive, and you, dear reader, deserve to know which ones are worth your money. I do it because I care.

2. Take the Le Bus to Wendover. I haven’t been to Wendover in 10 years, and I really want to go back to the Rainbow Casino’s buffet and stay in the State Line Hotel again. I might even try my hand at some light gambling for the novelty of it (with a strict cap of $20). Of course, Vegas would be even better, so if someone wants to drive me, I’ll pay for gas.

3. Visit the gym regularly. Of course, “regularly” could mean every two days, or once a month. When I thought I wouldn’t have a full-time summer job, the plan was several times a week. Now I leave for work at 7 a.m. and don’t get back to Ogden until 7 p.m., my only day off being Saturday, and I can’t be expected to spend every Saturday at the gym; I have water parks to go to. The problem is that even water parks won’t be fun if I can’t fit into my swimsuit, so I know I have to start making this a priority. Maybe . . . two Saturdays a month? If I take a walk every night?

4. Take the FrontRunner to Pleasant View. This might sound pretty unambitious, but think about it: Have you ever seen the FrontRunner go to Pleasant View? Until I had to take the FrontRunner home from Salt Lake every day and occasionally started hearing that the train I was on was continuing on to Pleasant View, I was starting to seriously think there was no train to Pleasant View. With it being the most elusive FrontRunner destination, only four trains going there a day (two of which leave in the wee hours of the morning), I’m determined to prove or disprove its actual existence.

5. Clean my house. I think I listed this both on my New Year’s resolutions and in my to-do list for spring break. The closest it’s yet come to being clean is when my mom got fed up and came in while my husband and I were at work. She achieved in three hours what would take me three days to do if I worked steadily, and she still had time to take a nap and watch “The Illusionist” before she had to be to work at 1 p.m. My problem is that, in a weird way, I’m actually a perfectionist, and won’t let anyone do any of the organizational work, because I can’t wait to do that. But that means I have to wait till I have all the time and energy required to do it to my utmost satisfaction, which means never.

But last weekend, the real estate company that owns and is trying to sell our house sprung on us that someone was coming to view the house the next day, and that they could give them a key and let them in even if we were both at work. This felt like a huge violation of our privacy, whether we technically own the place or not, but it wouldn’t have caused quite as much stress in us if we’d been proud of the way the house looked. We definitely didn’t want to be blamed for losing them a sale. So now we’re in the even worse mess of having to find all our possessions that we stuffed in garbage bags at the last minute.

Given that this summer break could be my last one, I’m determined to make the best of it. I hear they don’t give you summers off in the real world, so we actually have it pretty good while we’re in school and actually get a three-month break if we so choose. So, you know, if someone wants to take me to Vegas for my last hurrah, you’ll have earned your wings.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

Comments written below are solely the opinions of the author and does not reflect The Signpost staff or its affiliates.
All The Signpost Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *