5 june favorites: the best things i ate, saw, and did

Hale Holistic. June was a tough month for me. I went back to working at home, for myself, and by myself after 3 wonderful months filling in at San Diego Magazine, and that meant relearning the freelancer hustle. Frankly, it’s exhausting. I also dealt with Teddy’s mystery GI issues—a new antibiotic has him back to normal for now—as well as his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad behavior. It was like he forgot all commands and was a wild heathen at the park. There was also that general feeling of blah. I spent a few weeks wallowing and then snapped out of it because I realized being so negative and putting so much pressure on myself would get me nowhere.

I also realized I still didn’t have an outlet for R&R, something that was just for me. So I went back to yoga because I’ve always thought it’s one of the few workouts I could be good at and one of the few that has always made me feel happy and whole. I bought a Groupon for 30 classes at Hale Holistic, and I’m in love. I think you just know when you’ve picked the right studio. There’s a feeling, and Hale, with all its industrial, reclaimed wood design, numerous plants by the TK windows, and free green smoothie shots after class, feels right to me. With the all-over-the-place nature of my freelancer life, I need some structure, so my goal is 4-5 classes a week. So far, the routine has had such a great impact on my mood and outlook, and magically, Teddy is behaving better, too.

Ocean Beach. On that note, I’m also trying to go to the beach more than once every 2-3 weeks because it’s so therapeutic. One day I worked at Windansea, a personal favorite, and another day, I ventured to Ocean Beach for my girlfriend’s birthday. As I’ve mentioned before, people had given us the impression that OB is a wasteland, but I love it. It feels so classic Southern California with its laid-back, shoes-optional, carefree ways. And on a sunny day, that water is a beautiful blue.

Hair cut. I’m still loving my hair cut, but still haven’t figured out how to style it as well as my hair stylist did.

Makers Quarter. Makers Quarter is a community space in San Diego’s East Village that hosts food events, art shows, and most recently, a modern take on Shakespeare’s classic Henry IV part 1, called El Henry. The updated version is set in the year 2045 in Aztlan City, Aztlan (formerly San Diego), where Hispanics, Mexicans, and Chicanos rule as the majority after Anglo America has flown the coop. When I moved to San Diego from New York, I complained about the lack of culture, but now I realized I just didn’t know where to look. Makers Quarter is doing great things for the city, and I love their mission to innovate and educate. El Henry has finished its run—it was excellent—but check out the Makers Quarters site for upcoming events.

Hanna’s Gourmet. I checked out the new expanded space at Normal Heights’ Hanna’s Gourmet and ended up having one of the best meals in San Diego, if not my whole life. Everything about this restaurant is incredible, from the multicultural menu to the decor to Hanna herself, who is warm, sweet, and seriously talented. I’ll be sharing more about the restaurant next Monday.

I’m headed to San Francisco today for a friend’s wedding and we’re driving up Highway 1 to get there, so July is already off to a great start. I’ll be taking Friday off, so see you back here on Monday!