summertime! by Kanokwan T. '25

hello there

happy mid-summer

so, lately, I’ve been in a bit of writing rut

but, as I was reading through an email I sent out to my friends, I thought: oh! this would be a cute blog

so that’s what I’m copying and pasting below

rah rah rah

enjoy

From: Kano

Date: Jul 6, 2024, 1:14 AM

Subject: Summertime and the livin’s easy […]⁠01 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summertime_(George_Gershwin_song)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this</a> is SUCH a brilliant jazz standard. i like the Lana Del Rey and Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald versions a lot.

To: frens <3

Oh, take this veil from off my eyes
My burning sun will, some day, rise
So what am I gonna be doin’ for a while?
—Lana Del Rey, Doin’ Time

I’ve been having summertime thoughts
accompanied by summertime music

Between my summers, I’ve lived such different lives: sad girl sulk in Boston, wanderlusty adventures in Europe, and domestic comfort in Austin

anyways

Things I’ve been meaning to share:

Domestication

• Life has been weirdly easy. I work 9-5, hit the gym, eat dinner, and have the rest of the evening to myself. Suspiciously chill these days, for the most part.
• Dancing in the morning is really fun.
• I’ve been so healthy, and have recognized how much harder it is to maintain healthy habits during the school year. I’ll miss the ease of wellness when the fall term comes around, but I know I’d prefer relishing in the academic chaos over taking things slow, at least for a little bit. Watch me eat my words in a few months time.
• I love being on my own two feet. Having my own place and car. My schedule is fully my own.
• I’m excited to host people this summer. Thank you to everyone who’s already swung by and everyone else to come. If you also want to visit me, let me know.

Food

• I don’t love the activity of cooking. Like, I can enjoy it, but I do it more for the end than the means. Given the choice of someone cooking for me or I cook, I’d almost always prefer someone else. I kinda wish I actually liked it. Life would be a little easier.
  • If I’m cooking with someone, that’s different. Then, I really like it, which is something I’ve only recently realized.
• Fresh fruit feels like such a gift from the world.

Style

• I love big, flowy clothing for the summer. Maybe this liking is partly derived from Thai culture, where thin, breezy linen rules supreme.
• My style has evolved so much. I was a burst of bright, vibrant colors freshman year. I’ve transitioned into elevated neutrals accompanied by a touch of fun (i.e. a statement piece).

Family

• I’m really proud of how far my family life has come. I’ve worked hard to rebuild bridges and heal old wounds. We’re happy to see each other, and that’s all I could really ask for.

Self-perception

• I feel old. I always have, but I thought my perception of age and actual age would’ve matched up by now.
• I feel behind. I have a lot of tasks backlogged. They’re tucked away between a Notion page and TickTick list. Oomf. I need to get on that. I know I’m on top of the things that I need to be on top of, but I still worry about accidentally forgetting to do things. I almost have everything squared away, so the prospect of being recalibrated (projected to be by mid-July) excites me.

School

• Throughout June, random MIT extracurricular shit kept coming up:
  • The East Campus Fort was launched into legal, insurance, and EHS issues—all of which we, unfortunately, got the shorter end of the stick on.
    • We’ll still build a really cool fort, but it’s sad to see much of our work be brushed aside.
    • I also found out that, due to my arrival date, I’ll never actually help physically build nor see the fully-built fort, which sucks. But, I’ll live vicariously through the party-attendees and I’ve luckily gone to and helped build for every party preceding this one, so there’s not too much lost.
  • My mech-e research abstract was a lot of work.
  • The Simmons Gov team had to deal with [redacted]⁠02 removed this for discretion
  • Engineers Without Borders is working over the summer and I had to whip up a CAD. It took more time than I had anticipated.
  • And other, smaller things, but still things. July is looking less occupied by tasks of these sorts, so that’s good.
• I haven’t blogged in awhile and feel bad about it. There’s much I want to share, but words are hard. I’ve tried drafting but nothing has landed yet. Some things I’ve been meaning to blog:
  • Travel: Peru, South Africa/Botswana, United Kingdom
  • Personal: being FLI, eulogy to my water bottle, taking a gap/leave
  • Activities: being a participant in random studies, 3D printing my brain, my current UROP, fire spinning

Media

• I’m very worried about this presidential cycle.
• Playing the New York Times games every morning with the chaos table⁠03 my friend group has been fun.
• At the start of this summer, I rejoined Instagram to connect with other fire spinners, but I’ve lingered since then, and I don’t really like it. Perhaps it’s time to oust myself again.

Annual Events

• Last year, I celebrated the Fourth of July by tossing tea into the nearest body of water. This was extra funny because I was in the UK and was made fun of all day as the ~American Intern~. This year, it was very hard to find a body of water in Las Vegas,⁠04 my hometown so I tossed the cold half of my previously-hot tea into my kitchen sink. I guess it’s the thought that counts.
• I’m proud of the gifts I got my mom for her 50th birthday (a few days ago): I flew to visit her, got her the 50th anniversary edition of UNO (her favorite card game), a trinity of her favorite cake flavors, and a few other things. Khomchan⁠05 my little brother also did a great job with his gifts. She seemed very pleased.

okay

I’m searching for songs about the liminality of summer. If you have any, I’d appreciate recommendations.

yours,
Kano