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African Penguin (Taken 6.28.2020)

So sometimes it really is all about positive mental attitude (and a little 5-HTP doesn't hurt). I made myself sleep at a somewhat normal hour even though there had been a lot of Friday napping already, but it meant I woke up bright and shiny at 6am ready for a new day. I read a lot, did some organizing and cleaning, and made myself a killer brunch. By that time, everyone else was up and we tackled the yard (butting heads at times) but I love the way it looks after a few hours of work, and it also made me want to go buy a bunch of plants to add, though I also came to the realization that without raised planter boxes, a food-producing garden probably isn't in the cards for this yard, and if we added raised planter boxes, we'd lose the bulk of the yard for our sporty activities. 

Anyway, all of this to say that I'm in a much better mood today and we're gonna check out the San Diego Zoo and see what the crowd is like. (Update: I messed something up, so this didn't publish earlier, but the Zoo was way too crowded for us based on the line still going in, so we drove through Balboa Park, Little Italy, the harbor, downtown, then returned to North Park to get my laptop which is still not fixed, so I may be offline for a day or two until I get it sorted.)

• Watchlist:
• Fear City: New York vs The Mafia - Netflix
• Too much Giuliani for my taste, but interesting slice of history and how the FBI took down the mafia. Would love deeper look into how all the "real estate moguls" of today benefitted from the crimes back then and how the state of the mob continues today.
• The Assistant - Hulu 
• A long slow burn. If you've been an assistant, you'll recognize a lot of the bullshit this woman goes through, all in one day of work, but really there's no resolution or grand message except her boss repeatedly treats her like shit and then she finds out he talks positively about her to his driver. I'd skip this one if you want any action whatsoever. 
• Skin Decision - Netflix
• I'm not really into plastic surgery shows like Botched (thought I've certainly seen an episode or two), but this one features two people per episode who have generally had traumatic experiences. The first episode is INTENSE, but then it backs off to more common things like car accidents, cystic acne, age lines from a debauched life of sunning, smoking, and drinking. It's got its entertainment factor for sure. 
• Weekend Read:
• 'I am someone's daughter too.' Read Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's full speech responding to Rep. Ted Yoho - USA Today (7.24.2020)
• The Poison of Male Incivility: When a woman dares respond to it, she’s seen as “disruptive.” The Cut (7.24.2020)
• COVID-19 Reads:
• Socially-Distanced Classrooms Would Erase (Most Of) The Benefits Of In-Person Instruction - Scary Mommy (7.21.2020)
• In Defense of Our Teachers: When it comes to the daunting question of reopening schools, America’s educators deserve a plan, not a trap. The Atlantic (7.21.2020)
• Canada Got Better. The United States Got Trump. Two North American nations seemed to be on the same path—and then they diverged.- The Atlantic (7.24.2020)
• Four Supreme Court justices are fine with transmitting coronavirius in the name of Jesus: The high court once again ruled in a 5-4 split that a church cannot flout covid-19 restrictions - The Signorile Report (7.25.2020)