Wow! It’s such a beautiful day outside! 26°C with moderately low humidity was the temperature today. It just makes me feel glad that’s it’s summer… so much so that I’ve compiled a list of things I love about this season (in no particular order):

1. Barbeques. This has got to be my highlight of every summer. Juicy burgers and sausages cooking over a hot grill… let’s not forget the macaroni salad!
2. Summer blockbuster movies. Gotta love the hype!
3. Summer sales. Shopping in the summer is a sport in itself! Thank goodness malls are air conditioned. Garage sales are pretty good too. I can clean out the junk in my house if I organize one, and I can find some nice bargains if I visit some!
4. Summer sports. Roller-blading (although mine have been in the store-bought box since May), swimming (I wish I could swim), tennis, playing outdoor basketball.
5. Long, sunny days. Thank you extended daylight savings time!
6. Summer festivals. Like Toronto’s Caribana. Okay, so the festival has received some negative attention over the past few years, but overall it’s an event that brings the city together and celebrates Caribbean heritage with music, food and fun!
7. Ice Cream and Slurpees. This is a great way to cool down.
8. Nature. I just love the smell of freshly cut grass and seeing beautiful flowers in gardens. Taking a nice evening walk in the park is pretty cool too.
9. It’s easy to get dressed. You don’ have to worry about layering and trying to conserve body heat… you can just put on a tank top, a pair of shorts and slip on those flip flops.
10. Hot, fit guys in wife-beaters… ;)

As nice as how the summer season may seem, it has it’s share of cons. This is my list of things I hate about summer:

1. The Humidity & Smog. The main reason why I can’t wear my afro in the summertime… it shrivels up because of the heat and moisture! It’s on days like these that I stay at home in front of my AC.
2. The Smog. Torontonians need to increase their use of public transit and stop driving their cars so much. Not only will it help the environment, but with increased ridership, perhaps TTC would stop raising fares.
3. People with crusty feet wearing sandals. Okay, come on now. I understand that it’s hot in the summertime, and that feet sweat, but if you’re going to wear sandals PLEASE for the rest of us don’t walk around looking like you just stepped in flour and caught your toes in a meat grinder! Sometimes regular body lotion doesn’t last the whole day… so buy some Vaseline and use that sucker! Pedicure’s are reasonably priced. Shell out the $20 a couple times this summer and treat your feet like a queen (or king… many spas offer pedicures for men). Or simply pick up a a set of toenail clippers and cut them straight across. Oh, and just because you’re wearing sandals, doesn’t mean that the bottom of your soles have o look you’ve been walking barefoot all day.
4. Too many bugs. Bees, ants, mosquitoes, centipedes, flies (esp. when enjoying a picnic or BBQ) suck. But I guess we have to feed the birds somehow…
5. Nothing good’s on television. All the ‘good’ shows are on summer hiatus between May and August. The programs they show during the summer months to fill the gap are either crappy, old repeats, or decent, but end up being canceled (Traveler :( ). The wait is almost unbearable if you’re talking about hit shows such as Heroes! Ah well… at least there’s still soap operas. :)
6. Sweaty, smelly people. Please, don’t just buy some deodorant… use it!
7. School’s Out. I say this because I’m not in school and hate waking up in the morning to screaming kids outside, or trying to dodge them while they’re running through the shopping malls during the day. This would probably be on my ‘love’ list if I were back at school.
8. People who don’t dress for their body type. I know it’s summer, and it’s hot, but come on now! Whether you have the physique of a clothes rack or the Marshmallow Man, you should be dressing in a way that shows off your assets and hides what may be unflattering. Muffin tops (you know… that mound of circular fat that spills over super-tight jeans), and skeletal structures shouldn’t be poking out… which reminds me… I need to find a swim suit to hide my flab.
9. Hot cars. No literally: hot cars. Entering a car that’s been sitting in the sun all day is like choosing to enter a sauna. And if you have leather seats, it’s like sitting on hot grills.
10. Allergies and Sensitivity: Luckily for me I don’t have problems with summer allergies or having to worry about slapping on handfuls of sunscreen so my skin doesn’t burn.