Fact: the first day back to work after a vacation is the worst

Waking up early.  Ironing.  Commuting.  Tackling that inbox.  It can best be described like this:

We just got back from a great long weekend in Philadelphia visiting friends for the 4th of July.  Such a fun weekend, and while it's nice to sleep in my own bed... I was sad returning to work.

Facts: Making a summer list

When we were little, we always had to write a list of fun summer things to do on our summer vacations, and more often than not, we'd successfully do most if not all of them.

The lists were realistic -- no one wrote "Disney World and Space Camp!", for example -- and filled our three months with day trips of ice cream, Maine, mini golf, and fun.  Then we got older and summer jobs got in the way of lists.

This summer, my husband Ricky and I decided to make a summer list.  We made a Christmas season list as well, but the summer list seemed more fun.  Our lists are small, since we both have full time jobs, but still filled with fun weekends and excursions.  They are:

Ricky's List:
1.  Go to Newport, RI
2.  Go to the bird sanctuary
3.  Host a housewarming
4.  Introduce people to the Salem Willows

My list:
1.  Make ice cream
2.  Ride bikes to Marblehead
3.  Go the Kimball's and play mini golf
4.  See Shakespeare in the Common

They may grow but for now these are good starts.  I've already made a lot of ice cream, but my goal is to make a fun summer flavor.  Kimball's is a childhood memory and treat, since my family grew up in Westford, but I want to go back again and enjoy it.

When we check anything off of our list, I'll report back.

Facts: What's in a name?

Part of my job is to compile facts about the students who graduate  each year from the school where I work.  It's always interesting to see through the five years what trends in names come and go.  For example, when I first started, so many girls named Emily and Jessica were graduating, but this year it's dropped way off.  I get the impression that some names get too popular, and parents try everything in their power to not name their children that.  But I also know that the person who pulls these stats in 20 years will be up to their elbows in Madisons and Evas.

One thing that's always interesting is that while boy names are usually the same five names, girl names seems more all over the map.  While there are very popular girl names, the pools of each name are far smaller.  The top names don't have 10+ girls, just 3-4.  Boy's names are always the same, it seems.  Michaels, Matthews, Johns.  Very rarely am I changing the list of the top boy names, but girl names shift every year.  I sometimes wonder if parents feel more adventurous with their young daughters, but want a classic name for their young sons.

(typing this, I know there are plenty of Jaydens, Bryces, Chances, and Bacons out there entering kindergarten who will someday be part of my graduation data reports.)

I think one of the reasons why I've always been interested in the names of who graduates from my school because of my name.  I had the #4 most popular girl's name in my year.  When I graduated from high school, of the 68 people in my class... 4 of them had my name.  I knew several girls with my name in college.  Of my office of 15 people, there are two people with my name.  And this year, it's head and shoulders the #1 girl's name of graduates.

I joked with my same named coworker that my mother thought she was being creative because she didn't know anyone with the name of Sarah... and my coworker agreed.  I looked at a chart and it seems to be on the decline from when I was born, but I don't see a year with very few Sarahs graduating any time soon.  It is odd to see the trend names of my generation fade out, though.  There's hardly a Jessica, Emily, Katie, and maybe a single Meghan graduating this year.

Facts: apartments by the numbers

This weekend I am preparing to move.  I wanted to break down living in Salem into the numbers:

4:  apartments I’ve lived in in Salem (including my new one).

3:  roommates I’ve had in Salem (including my husband).

3^rd floor:  furthest up I’ve lived.

0:  times I’ve lived above the first floor since the hell of moving in and out of a 3^rd floor apartment.

2:  pets in apartments.

2:  housewarming parties hosted.

3:  Christmas parties hosted.

1:  times the police have come to my apartment (when a woman on drugs rang on our doorbell at 3am).

1:  times the fire department have come to my apartment (when my husband thought the dying battery warning on the carbon monoxide detector meant we had a carbon monoxide leak at 2am.  It didn’t.  We survived).

2:  Presidential elections I’ve voted in since living in Salem.

7:  Halloweens I’ve either been a part of or tried to avoid in Salem.

3:  Trick-or-Treaters who have visited me at any of these apartments.

2:  rodent situations in my apartments.  The first was a mouse that I walked in on in the middle of dying in the kitchen.  The second was a rat that was wreaking havoc on my apartment.

5:  couches I’ve had (or roommates have had) in apartments.

1:  couches that didn’t fit up my 3^rd floor walk up.

Endless:  memories in all of these apartments.