Tag: Saturday

A GREAT WAY TO SPEND A SATURDAY: BREAKING ROUTINE

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In the normal 9-5 world, the weekend is the holy grail. Sundays turn into Mondays, and after Monday we are already wondering where the weekend is. Saturday and Sunday’s offer most an open slate for whatever they wish to do. Whether that be have some fun, better yourself, socialize, or have some me time, there is an infinite amount of choices you can make to spend your weekend. At least for me, they are pretty predictable in a sense: there will most likely be surfing each morning, potentially a workout and a run, and the nights of recent have been hanging out with my roommates and other acquaintances. Soon enough, the nights will be occupied with debauchery and suds. I can’t tell you how long this has been my routine. Sure, throughout my career work has been on the weekends in my retail days. But this really didn’t alter my schedule. It was everything I said above, all for the most part in my local neighborhood, and any open space was consumed with some of my activities I liked- reading, writing, making beats, watching videos, sunbathing etc. 

Sometimes we need to switch it up though. It might seem hard to believe, but sometimes I don’t want to surf. I do it every morning so you could see how some days I just want to do something different (obviously this is when the waves are small or look less desirable, because my fomo for waves is still strong as ever). Take some time off and start the day a different way. You see, I think everyone needs to practice this. We often get stuck in such a rut of monotony that we don’t even notice. And a lot of times it’s not really a bad thing to be stuck in a routine. Sometimes it feels good to have that familiarity. But oftentimes I believe you gotta switch it up sooner or later. Somethings gotta go different, even if you are seriously invested in whatever you are doing. Everyone needs a break.

First thing you can do is change the activity list. It’s always nice to try something new or do something you don’t do as often as before. Whether this activity is taxing or not is up to you. Don’t read a ton? Take a morning to eat some words before breakfast. Haven’t worked out in a while? Get the body moving and see if you get hooked again. Always eat out? Try and cook every meal for fun. Just try and shock your body and mind with something you don’t do often. This is really easy and doesn’t require much effort. You can also change the setting of where you are. Spend some time with yourself and keep it low for a weekend. It’s a pretty good way to reset and feel fresh if you have been taxed. I feel like I have spoken to this subject before, but just breaking routine is a great way to spend a day off. It might be not as comfortable or regular as your normal routine, but that’s the best part. The shock. Kind of like the first dip of an ice bath. 

Whatever, wherever, or however you plan to spend that weekend: don’t’ fret. There are plenty more in the year, and it’s not like they really go away. If you spend the weekend how you usually do that’s just fine. But at least acknowledge the idea of something new.

A (NOT SO) GREAT WAY TO SPEND A SATURDAY: HUNGOVER

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Another reincarnation of an older series I wrote a couple of posts for: A Great Way to Spend a Saturday. Typically, these posts outlined the joys of having the day off and planning something extravagant, or just enjoying time outside of the house. If you are tied down with work during the week, the weekend is when you can move around and do whatever.

This time it’s the antithesis: a (not so) great way to spend a saturday. 

So this is how not to spend a Saturday. As a man approaching his quarter life crisis, I have had many Saturdays in which I would have loved to spend them a different way. DMV days, long rides in the car, consequences from the night before, or just other random happenings that can throw a wrench in your Saturday are what we are going to chop it up about. Here’s just one.

Being hungover can be very painful, or also could be not so bad. The mellow ones are not the problem. These ones are cured by coffee and a simple surf. I swear I’ve said that exact phrase in so many pieces. As a resilient young man, I should be able to shake these off quite easily. As I am growing older, it is starting to take a little more. When I was younger, the majority of my experiences with hangover were limited. Yes, I got them, but they didn’t stop me from doing much. These aren’t terrible, as they go away by noon (or they used to). Eat something good and you feel alive again (one breakfast burrito, please). And potentially be inspired to run it back the next night (now a days this is a herculean effort). 

The type of hangover I am talking about is the one that throws off your whole day. You sleep in, crawl out of bed, and do little in the first part of your day. These can turn even the most morning-centric person out there shudder at the fact of doing things (and by things, I mean even the simplest tasks). With these, it is best to try to do something. I always believed the less you did when you are experiencing a severe hangover, the longer it lingers and clouds your mind. These are the hangovers coffee and surfing do not fix. But we can always try these methods to make them slightly more minute for the time being. The quick fix. There is nothing worse than having an obligation that you have to attend with one of these hangovers. For some time it would be class on certain days in college days, but thankfully this has been limited to purely weekend days of recent. Going to class was never that hard because mine were always later so I could surf beforehand, or in some cases have ample time to shake off the night before. 

As I grow older, they only get worse. I sound like a broken record, but shudder at the memories of going out so much at school. Nights in which I wouldn’t even flinch the next morning have become a little more groggy in the AM, and the times I anticipate a hangover the next day it is twice as bad as I would have imagined. It’s like every time I need to ingest a greasy meal to feel 100% again. It’s a rough life getting closer to 25 (I am exaggerating a little). And I can imagine it’s only going to get worse. So that is one way not to spend a Saturday. I’d have to assume 95% of the eyeballs skimming through this post have been in this position.

Spending a Saturday hungover is a spend. But it depends how you look at it. If the night before was worth it, you might bask in the hangover and relive the debauchery with your friends. Plenty of times the amount of fun had justified the punishment. On the occasion it maybe didn’t live up to your expectations, I feel like this just amplifies the hangover. But it’s Saturday, and you can turn a shitty morning around if you try hard enough. Either way you splice it, we most likely get more done and have more productive Saturdays when we are not hungover. 

However, it is the weekend so it does beckon a little freedom to do nothing. And that’s just fine.

This is sometimes the icing on the cake below: thinking you will not be hungover and setting an alarm just to be woken up early and be even more hungover due to an early wakeup. That is an awful sentence.

A GREAT WAY TO SPEND A SATURDAY: DEL MAR RACETRACK

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Another series to start: I give some awesome ways to spend a Saturday, whether it’s the middle of the summer or the dead of winter. This is installation one of many.

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It was a gloomy Saturday morning. I would wake up a little dazed from the night’s debauchery that ensued. I knew I had to hustle: It was already 8:30AM and a bust day was ahead of me. I would rally my roommate and descend upon free coffee and a fun peaky chest-to-head-high session at the local watering hole. After some good wholesome fun, it was time to hop out and get into the meat and potatoes of this send Saturday (thanks Nyjah).

The game plan was chug on down to north county SD and hit the Del Mar racetrack. The game plan was to take the 1:30PM train to get down there for ~3PM. We would bet on some ponies and stick around for sunset and a set from Iration (this being my 3rd time seeing them). Sounds like a pretty fun day, eh? It is for sure a marathon, but we had a crew of relay runners ready to get the job done.

My house and I were pretty put together: we kept the pregame to a minimum and hopped in the Uber to the train station at 1 o clock. This was ideal as the station was around twenty minutes away. Also to help paint a picture, we all were clad in white pants and collared shirts. I was sans collared shirt, but was rocking white jeans and a white jean jacket. A snow white Canadian Tuxedo.

We pulled up to the station with perfect timing. We had around 5 minutes until the train would arrive. Everything was going according to plan, except for the fact all our friends were missing. Luckily for them, the train would be delayed 30 minutes, and they would arrive in time for the newly timed train. We made a friend while we waited, and him along with one of my pals walked to a nearby gas station for more booze. It was time to hop on the train. All of us would soon realize this train was far from empty.

There wasn’t a single set of seats next to each other. Some awkwardly sat next to people far less energetic than us. We would eventually all stand in a circle near the caboose of the train, in our own little zone trying to be as orderly as possible. All of us with drinks in hand, decided to kill the time being with some conversation. 1 hour did not go by fast nor slow, probably the perfect pace.

Upon exiting the train, it was time to hop on another vessel of transportation: the shuttle. It would take us from train station to track. Super easy and we got right on without waiting a single minute. Fast forward 10 minutes and we were at the gates of paradise. We would have ample amounts of time to place bets and sip drinks, which we did plenty of both. Everyone lost money, whether form one or the other. In most people’s cases: both.

We would post up in the grand stands with our heavy wrecking crew, enjoying smiles and shouts. At one point a pal and myself found ourselves in the owners box. We cheered for the horse as if it was ours, because if we didn’t the jig might have been up. It was a short-lived stint, and we scurried back to our zone as if nothing had happened. Because nothing had happened! It was hard to think guys dressed this good couldn’t be in the mix. The day would go on, and the last horse race would ring in Iration.

We made our way to one more drink and mobbed the stage for a glorious sunset. It only felt right that a concert of this vibe would have a rifling sunset behind it. The sun would set, and the darkness would ensue around the crowd. Even though the sun still was in the sky, it was a cloudy sunset. I mean, it’s a reggae concert so you knew there would be some big smoke from the rastafari’s. It comes with the territory at these types of tings.

As summer nights finished up and a few songs were left, it was time to take on the trip back. An uber of epic price proportions would be in our future, but when split between four people was almost as affordable as the train. The only downside, you might ask? No music was played and it was a long hour. I decided to pull the power move of taking a snooze, waking up right when we pulled up thanks to a nice alarm clock named Wyatt and Lucas. Inside our crib we would go, and was in my bed in less than 5 minutes. A day well spent.

The Perfect Summer Day

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The Perfect summer day

With the summer solstice recently passing and the beautiful days ahead of us in the months of July and August, I thought I’d share my secret recipe for a all killer no filler summer day. You probably could already guess some of the parts, but we are going to break it down from sunrise to sunset, and then some. Buckle up, let’s roll.

7AM

The timing on this one is tentative; if the waves are cooking it could be a little earlier. But factoring in all possible times I could wake up, I would say 7 o clock is the apex. Earlier and you might burn out during the day, and later you are just wasting away the day. While I don’t want to say my ideal summer day requires a hangover (because that sounds like signs of someone with a problem), it is always a little more fun reminiscing on the night before. Let’s say you went out and had a great time, and expected to unexplainably hungover, but came out unscathed and felt great the next morning. (If you are really hungover, check these tips.) Ideally, the next thing before immediately taking a dip would be acquiring some Joe. Most of the time, I make it at home, but if we were talking about the perfect day, I’d pick up an almond milk cappuccino from Vacancy Coffee. Great coffee a stone throw away from where I like to surf. Following after sucking down the nectar, it’s time to take a dip. The perfect situation is pumping toobies in some boardies. On a perfect day, this surf should cure any hangover left.

10AM

Post dip, its time to retreat back home and figure out the rest of the day. I’ll most likely just whip something up from my groceries for a brunch, but on occasion treat myself with something nice (probably a c’est si bon sandwich). After this we could be running it back for a second session if the waves are cooking or planning some sort of other outdoor activity. Most of the time it involves the beach, since it is so beautiful out this time of year. As the food settles, I get my scroll on and if it is Sunday I try and write something decent. On a perfect day, I write something good.

1PM

Now it’s time to hit the beach. While I am open to doing other things, it’s hard to argue against it. Maybe a skate or something we don’t do that often could substitute, but if I had to pick, we are hitting the beach. Ideally I’d be doing something that lets me tan but also not just be lying still, so maybe some bodysurfing or stand up boogie. I can’t think of the last time I went to the beach and didn’t try to catch a session, so boards are always at the camp. Now we just sit back and let the skin sizzle. On a perfect day, I don’t get burned.

4PM

Unless I am just locked at the beach, I either will return home and relax or try to go get a workout in. While it seems like this is a lot for one day, I’d rather always have something to do rather than thinking of things to do. It would definitely be a light workout, but it feels good to get a nice sweat especially if we hit it hard the night before. End it in the sauna and head on home. If no gym time is happening, I might lie in the hammock or rip some Skate 3 to pass the time. On a perfect day, I crush a workout AND have time to play some skate.

7PM

My favorite way to end the day is in the ocean. Nothing like surfing at sunset as the sun descends into the darkness. However, we have had ample beach time already this day, so I’d swap sunset surf with a sunset BBQ. After all this action throughout the day, I am going to need to refuel. While I sometimes just run it solo or with my roommates, I enjoy it most when we have a couple extras and just cook up a storm. Beers are optional, and I usually opt out depending on the amount of alcohol consumed over the weekend. On a perfect day, the chicken doesn’t get too crispy.

10PM

At this point I am either laying in bed on my laptop or fresh out the shower getting ready to start sipping. On a perfect day, I’ll take either option.