Eccentric Tea Woman

  When Olivia woke up on a rainy Saturday, she realized that everything had changed. She looked at the rain storm outside her old windows in her bedroom then smiled as she slid out of bed. She walked down the narrow hall to her kitchen to prepare a cup of tea then stopped as she reached her living room. There were beer bottles all over the floor, along with issues of The New Yorker , several poetry books, and an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts, some lipstick stained, and others just stained. She glanced at the sight, then plodded towards her kitchen. She really wanted a cup of tea. A rainy Saturday means that I can stay in and watch movies , she thought as she prepared her kettle. Olivia lowered her bag of Earl Grey tea into the mug and said aloud, “I don’t care anymore. All of it. None of it.” Although her words barely came out in a whisper, she felt as though the world heard her finalizations. Once everything was ready and the kettle slowly boiled the water, Olivia ret...

  For the longest time, I worked in Corporate America by way of investment firms and banks. I completed my tasks, got paid, made some friends/associates, and felt a little empty inside but it was what I had to do. I had bills to pay, an apartment to upkeep, and my life to enjoy. One day in 2019, I decided to leave my current job because I learned that my manager not only threw me under the bus with regard to a work assignment but also when I confronted her with the truth that yes, I had completed what she claimed I didn't, she never replied or acknowledged that she was wrong. I couldn't work under those conditions, and so I turned in my notice and began the shaky path of being self-employed. For those of you who don't know, I own an online tea business plus I am a published author. I guess I am a creative professional or something along those lines. I spent some time working solely on my loose leaf tea blends and my novels that would be published either through my publisher...