The Weekend

I work in a fairly large office with a lot of employees. One thing that I have noticed about my office environment is that every day of the week (legit, every damn day) people talk about the weekend. I recently described my work place as living in a Dilbert cartoon crossed with a Cathy comic. I think it is the most accurate thing that I have ever said.

The workplace weekend conversation goes like this:

Monday: What did you do over the weekend?

Tuesday: Tell me again, what did you do over the weekend?

Wednesday: It's almost the weekend! Can't wait until Friday.

Thursday: Do you have any plans for the weekend?

Friday: It's finally Friday! What are you doing this weekend?

In the event that you can relate to this, I have a few suggestions for your weekend itinerary. You know, to give you something to talk about at the water cooler all week long.

Harper's Topiary Garden in Mission Hills. Photo by Ranger Holly.

Visit the Mission Hills Topiary Garden

If your IG story has gotten a little stale, stop by this amazing topiary wonderland. Fair warning, it's not much more than a stop and snap a couple pictures situation, but it's going to make your out-of-town friends think you're cool as hell.

Blueberry doughnut and Clark Griswold at Heartwork Coffee Bar in Mission Hills. Photo by Ranger Holly.

Heartwork Coffee Bar

After your grueling photo session (or before, I'm not telling you how to live your life), go to Heartwork Coffee Bar in Mission Hills for coffee and a pastry. I tried Heartwork for the first time recently and I thought it was great. They have creative drink options and several non-dairy milk choices which I always appreciate, and one of their options was OAT MILK! I thought that was awesome because I had never heard of it before and it sounds pretty sustainable for the planet. I got a Clark Griswold (Nutella, coffee and almond milk) and a blueberry doughnut.

Dragon sand sculpture on Mission Beach. Photo by Ranger Holly.

Go to the beach!

Extremely obvious, right? However, I never go to the beach as often as I should. It's right there! But I really have force myself to go. I don't know why but I know some of my fellow San Diegans are the same way. I've made it a goal to go to the beach more often this summer and it's been really helpful for disconnecting from the workweek. Bonus: Sand dollars are plentiful lately, I think because of the recent tropical storm.

Monday Mantra

My mantra this week is plucked from the movie Creed starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone. Oh what, like you didn't feel deeply moved and inspired by this installment of the Rocky series? I can drag a deep philosophical lesson out of just about anything (just watch).

As Rocky is coaching the young and determined-to-make-a-name-for-himself Adonis Johnson Creed in the ring he tells him:

"One step at a time. One punch at a time. One round at a time."

Sometimes I can be paralyzed by the enormity of life. Like, eff how am I supposed to get from A to Z with all this shit in between? So when Rocky said this to Adonis it called out to me in a big way. I need to remember to take it one step at time and that those little steps add up to the big goals.

Use this mantra to guide you through the week, I might get it tattooed on my arm to get me through life (jk, Mom). Watch the movie if you haven't seen it! Michael B. Jordan is my celeb crush! 

SDCC 2017

Comic-CoN!

Comic-Con is my favorite annual event in San Diego. I never go in to the convention, but I love cruising around downtown to see the way the area outside of the Convention Center is transformed into Comic-Con village. Businesses around downtown join the fun and offer special food, drinks, sales, specials and production companies are handing out lots of freebies (aka the things people throw all over the streets because they don't want to carry it around). I picked up a sweet Yoda doughnut at Donut Bar to end the day.

The best part is that most things outside the convention center are FREE to anyone with the fortitude to brave the crowds. If you're not that intrepid, find a place to post up for some excellent people watching because Comic-Con-goers love to dress up. My favorite downtown watering hole is The Field Irish Pub on 5th Avenue.

My No. 1 favorite Comic-Con was in 2012 when I got to see all the Batmobiles, including Adam West's from the original television show AND I found $10 in a crosswalk! Super score!

If you go ...

• Take the trolley or a ride-sharing service to get downtown. Parking will be expensive and next to impossible.
• Bring water! It is HOT HOT HOT every year.
• Go early! Think of it as Disneyland: Lines only get longer, and places get more crowded as the day goes on.
• Plan out your day using the info on www.outsidecomiccon.com. The website gives a full round-up of the events going on outside the convention each year.

Now I just need to figure out how to remove all these comic book temporary tattoos I plastered on my arms before work tomorrow. Until then, here are a few of my favorite moments from this year's SDCC!

Caught in the act at Viceland Lounge with James Vanderbeek by Amanda Selvidio Photography.

Let's start

Photo by Ranger Holly

Getting started is where I struggle the most sometimes. Should I? Or no? Yes, or like maybe it’s not a good idea right now, let me just do the dishes and then I will start. Oh, I got a text message, definitely need to check that out before I work on this project. Feed cat, watch reruns, go for walk. And on and on and on, forever.

I decided to start and my hope is that I help people. I hope that someone who needs encouragement or strength or a laugh or an idea somehow finds this random website full of my thoughts and it helps.

The biggest focus for me on this blog is well-being. I have been working on my mental fitness pretty much since the day I was born, but most intensively and with purpose over the past five years or so. I’ve lost track, and I think that’s a good thing. It’s just part of what I do now.

I want to share this with you, beautiful stranger on a bus (cue Joan Osborne), because I think we all have a hard time talking about when we are having a hard time, or figuring out where we are going wrong or why we are going wrong. I love figuring my brain out and I really like to dig into my mental and emotional wounds (hey, we all have 'em) and scrape them out so they can heal properly.

That’s the idea. Please enjoy and thanks for stopping by.