So long sweet summer

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Originally uploaded by alexis.browsh.

I got out of the shower around 8:30 tonight and saw it was dark out, prompting that awful annual realization that the days are getting shorter and summer will be over soon. (This was compounded by my turning on the tv and seeing Monday Night Football.) I have vivid memories of having this same experience every year and it always happens the same way. I know factually the days start getting shorter as of the summer solistice, but I never seem to notice it until one day in August when suddenly it's night either when I get out of the shower, or when I wake up from a nap and am sad to find I can't go outside and play, or when I'm coming back from a bike ride that I used to return from during daylight hours. There's the whole rest of August, and I personally think September has some of the best weather of the year, but it still makes me sad.

But speaking of summer, we have another successful shore weekend under our belts. The group was a little smaller and a little more interested in taking naps than last year, but the official "Shore Weekend 2005" tshirts made up for that. Of course I need another weekend to recover from my weekend, but as long as a good time was had by all it was worth it.

One discussion we had over the weekend (I think on Friday when only the coolest people were down) was "what's your favorite corporation?" After mistakenly slipping and saying Comcast (thinking about their ability to provide delicious tv and their involvement with the Sixers before remembering they're an evil monopoly), I've decided my favorite corporation is Wawa. For those of you not from Philly or affiliated with Philly people, Wawa is the perfect convenience store. Unlike 7-11, which I would really only frequent for candy and sodas, and possibly a sausage biscuit after 3am, Wawa has endless rows of regular food and snacks, as well as a coffee bar, a Tastykake display, drinks, fruit, vegetables, and plentiful premade sandwiches and other eating options. The best part of Wawa, however, is the deli. Wawa has a full-service deli providing sliced meats and salads and custom-made sandwiches and sides. Not like Subway sandwiches where you have finite choices and everything basically tastes the same and you sort of feel nauseous as soon as you go inside. There are different kinds of turkey, roast beef, ham, chicken, you can get it on bread, rolls (4 different sizes! I usually go with the shorti), with condiments, different toppings, hot or cold, all at no extra charge. The ultimate best part though is that all this deliciousness is ordered through a little touch pad machine! You just key in exactly what you want (little bit of mayo? extra meat?) then watch the people behind the counter make your order. Almost no human interaction necessary. On my drive back to DC Sunday night, I stopped at 3 Wawas (there are 13 on the way) looking for the sometimes-elusive macaroni and cheese. When I found it, I also got the new lemonade tea (good but a tad sweet, like all wawa teas), which the check out guy told me was Wawa's best and newest product. So we got to talking and I said I'm far from Wawa now and he honestly couldn't believe I voluntarily moved more than 45 min from the nearest Wawa. Sometimes I can't believe it either. (Wawa may or may not have been first on my "cons" list for moving, just above "far from family.") He spent a few minutes offering suggestions for how I could justify making a trip to the closest Wawa at least once a week, but we decided it would just have to remain a special treat every time I come home.

And that is why Wawa is my favorite corporation.

UPDATE: My brother just commented to me that Google is obviously the best corporation. He's so right. It's the perfect search engine and now it's expanding into shopping, maps, directions, and so on. It's even transcended into a verb. Wawa is my favorite merchant, Google is my favorite corporation,