Laundry and Convo

After wearing my bathing suit as underwear, I realized it was time to do laundry. I think I've been waiting to get a car to do laundry ha. I'm going to make a bold statement here... I bought my car in order to do laundry. Hauling laundry around town without a car or a little wheelie basket thing is the most unappealing thing in THE WORLD.

So, I packed up my focus and headed to the laundromat. I've been doing my own laundry for years now. In high school my mom would always shrink my clothes so I took over my own laundry duties then. Anyways, I popped the clothes and the coins into their allotted positions and I sat down to read/text my lovelies back home.

Then Betty walks in with her grandson. Betty is a teacher and an outgoing and lovely woman. She was teaching her ten year old grandson how to do laundry so that he'd be prepared for college and the future. We struck up a conversation about life, love, marriage and goals. Betty is in the middle of a divorce and my parents are divorced, so the conversation got real. I told her about my LA dreams and she was totally onboard with it. She said to focus on those goals and that everything else would fall in place. She also said to make my future partner go through an extensive interview process haha. I love that idea.

I will say that I've met a lot of kind and open people during my time here in Oakland. Many interesting conversations and opinions, but always welcoming and supportive. This place isn't as tough and radical as everyone claims it is. Or maybe it is and I just haven't seen it yet.

I love when I get a chance to believe in humanity again.

Who's A Winner At The Crying Game? ... Cynthia is!

I've been on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Everything was a tearjerker for me this weekend. I've never been the type to not have my feelings in check, but I literally had no idea when and if I was going to cry. That is a strange feeling.

I did a lot of crying in public. In bathrooms. In my room. In my friend's room and I think that's about it. But I had no tears today guys, so I'm obviously back to normal. I think the magnitude of my situation all hit me at once. In front of everyone at work. That was embarrassing.

I've moved across the country. My only friend has her own life going on. I have no friends ha and I can only talk to my family at random intervals during the daylight hours because of the time difference. I've just been lonely and overwhelmed. Being at a job that I'm not happy with doesn't help.

I don't want to sound like an entitled bitch, but I'm about to. I'm a college graduate. I'm working with high schoolers. Getting paid the same as high schoolers. That does a lot to your ego slash self worth. So finding a new job is a major to do for me BUT I know what kind of job I want and that job is in LA, so I'll have to settle for something boring. Ugh. If you know a super cool company in the Bay Area that's hiring, holla at your girl.

Besides crying all weekend, I walked around town a lot, found a couple of cool bars that I hope to become a regular at and I decided that I'm going to politely stalk the local independent filmmakers in this town.

Also I got this in a fortune cookie, so I must be headed in the right direction.

Week Two Recap

The past few days have melted into one huge swirl of not having to be at work slash not having new friends slash internet networking slash reading Game of Thrones slash watching Netflix slash strolling around town slash avoiding writing. Why avoiding? Because that's what I do best!

I either need real structure in my life or I need to know that I'm on an endless vacation that is fully covered financially. I don't know how to act otherwise!

Pics of when I was around town. I'll spare you the pics of my extreme boredom :)

Taco trucks are a blessing from God. Thank you, God. 

I saw Fruitvale Station, a film based on a true Oakland story at the local theater. Awesome theater, awesome story, so many people crying in the audience. Myself included. It was crazy leaving the theater and walking by some of the places spotlighted in the film. 

Selfie, strolling around town. Awesome sunglasses were a gift from Brittany, been wearing them everyday to protect my delicate eyes from this strong California sun.

I also broke my crying seal this week, as predicted. It was much needed and came and went very quickly. Moving on y'all! 

Thoughtful Bike Rides

I've had a very thoughtful day. Finished packing, stepped my resume and cover letter game up, then I met up with a friend from Savannah. He let me borrow a bike so we biked around town, the weather was perfecto, the streets were clear and my legs pumped very slowly. I'm giving myself a month to have the leg power to ride up the steep hill to my new place. I had to walk half of it today. It was a sad sight.

Anyways, we rode around downtown Oakland and into the Temescal area of Oakland, which is very hip. I hate using the term "hip" but sometimes there's no other way to describe a vibe or place.

During my lovely bike tour, the discussion turned to future goals and the necessary steps needed to reach those goals. My next step is definitely to find a new job, whether that job is here in the Bay Area or in LA is to be determined.

My current job isn't terrible. It gave me the opportunity to transition to Oakland with some security but it definitely isn't where I want to be for the long run. I'm going to make seeking other jobs a priority in the next few weeks. I want to spend my day in an environment where I can use my brain again, solve problems, read and write. Can I get paid for that? Will you pay me for that? Do dreams come true?

View From My Street

This hill kills me everyday. My thighs will love it later right?