LJ Idol Week 0: Introduction
It’s laundry day. I’m wearing an old pair of blue scrub pants and a black tank top with a hole down one side. Underneath I’m wearing an overly fancy lacy purple bra that squishes my double D sized boobs together; my left one rather irritatingly overflows over the top more than it should. It’s uncomfortable and I have to keep adjusting it. This is why I never wear it.
I let my tea steep while I brought the wash down to the basement. I realize I will need to buy more honey soon as I squeeze an estimated teaspoon directly into the cup. I pour in the last of the milk before fishing out the tea bag and stirring the whole thing. It’s bitter and just this side of warm enough to still be drinkable without being disgusting.
I contemplate going downstairs to the dining room for breakfast. That is where I normally work but Sunday is my one day off. I don’t want to go dressed like this but my laundry won’t be finished before it closes. I could go in through the back door to the kitchen. My coworkers might tease me but I won’t shock the guests/residents/weekend tourists.
I live and work in a boarding house, residence, hotel type place. There are people who have lived here for more than seven years and there are people who will only stay for a week. There are a few students who go to the art school up the block. There are a lot of young international visitors to San Francisco who will stay for only two or three months before moving on to other adventures or going home to Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands….
I once wore my painted latex elf ears during an entire dinner service. No one said anything but one of the older longtime residents started calling me Willow the next day which was cute but Willow didn't have pointy ears.
I finish my tea in a last too sweet sip from all the honey that had settled on the bottom and start another episode of Farscape. I've been sort of watching it with my father who lives on the other side of the country. I in fact have recently gotten to know him. We have a lot in common (like being sci-fi geeks) and it’s bittersweet; just the way I like my tea. I never got to know him as a child but now I get to be friends with him as an adult.
I’ve become estranged from my mother’s side of my family. They had a lot of expectations of me and I couldn't live up to any of it. I was my mother’s first child. The first granddaughter. The first to get a college degree. The first to walk away. I needed to live my life on my own terms. When I was 23 I packed one suitcase and bought a one way ticket to from New York to San Francisco. I am now one month into my 30th year. I have lost everything more than once and still I have made it here. I am self-reliant and adaptable. I have learned to trust my instincts. Like when they tell me to sign up for crazy sounding writing competitions.
The timer goes off to remind me to move my laundry from the washer to the dryer. I set the electric kettle for another cup of tea and search for my slippers. The crazy part is I have written every day since I signed up for LJ Idol. I am already glad I did.
(*Edited for typos)
I let my tea steep while I brought the wash down to the basement. I realize I will need to buy more honey soon as I squeeze an estimated teaspoon directly into the cup. I pour in the last of the milk before fishing out the tea bag and stirring the whole thing. It’s bitter and just this side of warm enough to still be drinkable without being disgusting.
I contemplate going downstairs to the dining room for breakfast. That is where I normally work but Sunday is my one day off. I don’t want to go dressed like this but my laundry won’t be finished before it closes. I could go in through the back door to the kitchen. My coworkers might tease me but I won’t shock the guests/residents/weekend tourists.
I live and work in a boarding house, residence, hotel type place. There are people who have lived here for more than seven years and there are people who will only stay for a week. There are a few students who go to the art school up the block. There are a lot of young international visitors to San Francisco who will stay for only two or three months before moving on to other adventures or going home to Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands….
I once wore my painted latex elf ears during an entire dinner service. No one said anything but one of the older longtime residents started calling me Willow the next day which was cute but Willow didn't have pointy ears.
I finish my tea in a last too sweet sip from all the honey that had settled on the bottom and start another episode of Farscape. I've been sort of watching it with my father who lives on the other side of the country. I in fact have recently gotten to know him. We have a lot in common (like being sci-fi geeks) and it’s bittersweet; just the way I like my tea. I never got to know him as a child but now I get to be friends with him as an adult.
I’ve become estranged from my mother’s side of my family. They had a lot of expectations of me and I couldn't live up to any of it. I was my mother’s first child. The first granddaughter. The first to get a college degree. The first to walk away. I needed to live my life on my own terms. When I was 23 I packed one suitcase and bought a one way ticket to from New York to San Francisco. I am now one month into my 30th year. I have lost everything more than once and still I have made it here. I am self-reliant and adaptable. I have learned to trust my instincts. Like when they tell me to sign up for crazy sounding writing competitions.
The timer goes off to remind me to move my laundry from the washer to the dryer. I set the electric kettle for another cup of tea and search for my slippers. The crazy part is I have written every day since I signed up for LJ Idol. I am already glad I did.
(*Edited for typos)