from raleighwood to hollywood

today,

i went to a coffee shop.

this seemed like a good idea to begin with. i would get out of my stuffy apartment. i would wear clothes other than pajamas. i would sit in air conditioning. i would drink an iced chai latte.

but most importantly...

i would write.

with so much time having passed since my last blog entry, you can only imagine how many pictures (mostly of food) i have to share with you. since all of those pictures happen to be on my phone--that means i have to send them each individually as picture messages to myself. as it turns out, the coffee shop i chose (after driving around for an hour looking for one--don't ask, it's a long story) doesn't have good enough service to let me send my pictures. 

(see above picture for my reaction to this)

so, as frustrated as i happen to be at this very moment--there's an update that i finally need to go ahead and get off of my chest. for those of you who are wondering why i'm even able to go to a coffee shop in the middle of the day.

well...

okay, so i wasn't exactly fired--but i did get laid off from my job last week. as we all know, my position at the sofa company was extremely important thanks to my endless supply of knowledge about the furniture industry. that was hard to type without laughing. let's be honest--the only thing i know about sofas is that they're good for letting your friends crash on after they've had too much to drink. the armrests also make a good place to put your ketchup when you're eating fries. 

although i was expecting to have more day-to-day tasks, my boss hiring me and then moving to another location made it difficult for him to utilize me as much as he would have liked. he said that due to his lack of organization, he simply didn't have enough responsibilities to give me each day. as much of a bummer as it is to lose your job--i certainly was glad that it wasn't for some ridiculous reason, like spilling my lunch on one of their love seats. all though that would have made for a much more interesting blog post.

as severely abrupt as this change was--no really: as soon as my boss stood up after our conversation i was free to go and never come back--i immediately was overcome with a feeling of acception.

my computer is telling me that acception is not a word, so incase you're also wondering what the hell i'm talking about--here is what i mean: instead of feeling anger, or even resentment for the fact that i could be brushed off so easily, i reminded myself that this was just opening up other opportunities for me.

the truth is that i've been feeling the itch to do something else recently. what that is--i have no idea. but i do know that i was feeling a little stuck in place, and this job ending was my free pass to walk right out of the door. which is exactly what i did. i walked right out of the front door, down the steps, into the parking lot, looked down, and saw this:

most people see a penny and only pick it up if it's on heads because THAT is what makes it good luck. to me, a penny on the ground is not only already good luck--it's a sign. it's a sign that somebody somewhere is watching out for me and knows i need something to lift my spirits. although i walked outside that tuesday afternoon feeling like i had just gotten the futon pulled out from under me--seeing that penny reminded me that everything was going to be okay. the funny part is that i had just gone out for lunch a few hours earlier and there were no pennies to be found in the parking lot. it was as if the second my boss walked in to give me the news, someone (i have this funny feeling it was my grandfather) tossed the penny from heaven so that i would see it at my feet when i walked out of the door.

or...

it fell out of my boss's pocket on his way in.

but i'd like to think it was the first one.

so now, not only is my world opened up to endless possibilities--i have a wonderful two week vacation coming up with my family where i do NOT have to spend part of it answering questions via email about fabric and seat cushion foam. 

 although, after going from a set schedule every single day and then suddenly waking up with nothing to 

do...

i can't help but feel like i fell asleep and woke up in january.

the day after losing my job, my dad reminded me of a painting my best friend made for me when i moved out here. i may be back to sitting in my apartment job searching and making frittas every day--but at least i have this reminder to keep me going: