This will be my last day actively blogging.  Some of my readers have noted that I have written far fewer posts lately.  I’ve been busy the past few weeks looking at new opportunities, and I chose to pursue one of them.  I’ll be moving away from the DC area soon.

Thank you to everyone for supporting this blog.  My experience running War Room Alerts has taught me more than I ever would have expected.

I’ll be leaving the blog online and continuing to make occasional posts; however, morning news clips will no longer be offered.  In the future, I may re-launch the site, so stay tuned. 

I’m putting together an email list.  If you would like to stay updated on the status of War Room Alerts and the next steps in my career, send your email address to shawn@warrroomalerts.com.  Anyone is welcome to sign up.

I’m excited for the path I decided to take.  I will certainly miss Washington and all my friends that live here, but I’ll be back to visit frequently. 

As some of my readers know, I think the 90’s were the best decade of music.  Right now I find “Closing Time” to be fitting.  This is one of my favorite songs, and it’s appropriate whenever one makes a transition in life.  As Semisonic explains, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”  It’s sad to leave behind parts of our lives, but we never know what may lie ahead.

I’ve been busy the past few days, so I’m just now getting around to the song of the week.  I think I’ve picked out a very appropriate song heading into the weekend: Cruel Summer.  I LOVE THE 90’S, so I’m using the Ace of Base version instead of Bananarama.

For my fellow Washingtonians, it may be a good weekend to flee the city.  It’s a beautiful day today—I’m going to go lay by the pool and take a bike ride.  But tomorrow, we’ll hit 89 degrees.  Sunday and Monday, we’ll be up to 95 and 96, respectively.  After a relatively mild June and July, August is shaping up to deliver a Cruel Summer.

At times, this blog can become a bit monotonous.  The content is almost exclusively on campaigns and Congress.  These issues are an obsession for me, but it’s important to realize there is more to life than politics.  I forget this occasionally, but luckily my friends and family are always there to get my priorities back on track.

In the interest of making this blog a little more lighthearted, two readers suggested I kickoff Mondays with a “Song of the Week.”  Today, I begin this series with one of my favorites: LFO’s “Summer Girls.”

To many, the song may seem like a jumble of meaningless lyrics, and to an extent, it is.  The band has claimed the song was intended only for a demo tape and never expected it to be a hit.  The lyrics are filled with inside jokes.

Even so, the song is a reminder of what summers past have meant in our lives.  Almost everyone has fond memories of summer: camping with family, sitting around a bonfire with friends, boating on a local lake, or swimming at a pool party.  And, of course, summer girls.

LFO’s lyrics are all over the map, referencing Larry Bird, Alex P. Keaton, Cherry Coke, and New Kids on the Block.  But our memories of summer are just as random.  It’s the little things that help us reminisce about the best of times.  For some, reflections spring from Fun Dip, Chinese food, and Abercrombie & Fitch.  For me, I’m reminded of barrel racing at the county fair, embarrassing rounds of golf, and aimless walks around DC. 

Looking back, the fun we’ve had may be “gone since that summer, since that summer,” but we’re left with our favorite recollections.  Regardless of whether the fun lasts, the remainder of this summer is a chance to make new memories.