Ranger Holly

Alright, so it's been a while. A long while. Five and half months, to be precise.

I have to say it went by so fast. It was warp speed. I had a lot on my plate for the past five months between work and traveling and attempting to figure out my place in the world (cue existential crisis - jk sort of). Granted, I served all of these things to myself, but it was still there and I needed to see it through.

How about a brief recap? Do you care? I didn't think so, but I'm going to do it anyway.

January
HAMILTON! - I had the joy of seeing Hamilton the musical. You may have heard of it. I have a lucky friend who was able to snatch up some tickets in the lottery last fall. The production was wonderful and it was pretty awesome to be part of the phenomenon. I have been calling it the Cats of our generation and I have a friend who hates that. So, that's why I am saying it again.

February
Certified! - I finished up my yoga teacher training at The House of Yogi! I was eating, sleeping and breathing yoga from September 2017 through February. It was a serious grind on top of my other three jobs. It was a big accomplishment for my personal and physical growth.

New Car Smell! - After what was a bit of a royal pain in the ass, I got a new Subaru Impreza. I'm extremely happy with my new ride and I learned a lot from the experience.

March
Campin'! - Finally got the chance to go out into the wilderness for a camping trip after an extremely long hiatus. I didn't even remember how to set up my tent. Thankfully, my super nice friends helped me set up and I only looked like a putz for about 20 minutes of fumbling with tent poles.

FRANCE! - I sent myself to France for spring break 2018. I have a couple of delightful friends who are spending a year abroad and invited me to come stay with them at their French bed and breakfast in Provence. We also spent a couple of days in Paris. It was a long journey to get there and back but it was so worth it. I was a master of the Paris metro by the end of the week. I plan to do a full post on this adventure.

April
Would you believe me if I said nothing happened in April? Obviously not. April was filled with a lot of little moments. I chopped my hair short, I went to a natural beauty panel discussion, I saw a French band play at an Irish bar and I worked busted my proverbial buns to help my students get through the semester. I also went back to one of my favorite cities.

CHICAGO! - I went to Chicago to attend the ACES Editing Conference for work. It was epic. I had the best time and made two new friends. I saw a lot, I ate a lot and it was glorious. More to come on my Chicago adventures. It involves Wayne's World, so obviously stay tuned.

May
Quite honestly, I am never ready for May when the old gal arrives. It's the end of the semester and the beckoning of summer in San Diego. I spent the first weekend of May grading papers and reading sweet notes from my students that reminded me that not all hope is lost in the future.

Wild Child! - This band from Austin completely rocked the Casbah on Cinco de Mayo. Live music is one of my favorite things and the Casbah is one of San Diego's best venues. I love seeing relatively unknown bands in small dark venues because you wind up part of the show instead of 1,000 rows back.

FIN! That's it. Those are the premium cuts from my past five months. No need to discuss the ugly bits. It is my goal to be less busy and be writing more but I suppose I haven't instilled a lot of trust to this point, eh?

I am still not ready to say August is over. I even put off writing this post so that I could squeeze in a bit more of that August glow. I’m not saying it was a nonstop laugh-a-thon, but it had some very bright moments that I didn’t want to leave behind.

Alas, time marches on and I am now knee deep in the busy season of fall. And seriously, the past few weeks have been full of highs and lows for me and my friends and family. I'm looking at you, Irma. However, I’m going to be grateful for the good things and be at peace with the things that did not go well.

Here’s a quick recap of what I’ve been up to since the last time we spoke:

Saw my favorite band with one of my favorite friends. The Avett Brothers played the San Diego Civic Theatre. They were hot, the crowd was tepid. My favorite part was flashing back to being my 21-year-old self at the Social in Orlando with Nina and seeing the Bros for the first time.
Attended the Landmark Forum. If you have trouble letting of the past (honestly, that’s all of us, so don’t try to front), you need to get yourself enrolled in the Forum ASAP. I spent three 13-hour days in a conference room with 109 strangers creating a new me. It was amazing. The Landmark Forum is a personal development seminar that helps you to get to the bottom of the persistent issues in your life and resolve them! I’m always in pursuit of improving myself and this set me free in a big way. It is something I will never forget and I want everyone I know to do it, too.
Spent Labor Day weekend attempting to escape the oppressive end-of-summer heat and lounging on the couch with my cat.
Started yoga teacher training. This is something that I have wanted to do for a few years, but I struggled to find a program that suited my schedule. I also needed to get over the fact that I thought I wouldn’t be good at it. I took the leap and I am so happy that I am in the program and learning and growing. I love being a student.
Tonight, I’m going to see the Avett Brothers documentary May It Last and I’m deeply excited about it.

Although I have a touch of melancholy that August is officially over, I am excited about where I am and I’m rooting for 2017 to turn things around for the nation and the world. It’s almost the fourth quarter, let’s end this on a high note, eh guys?