doughnut freedom

several months ago i quit my corporate job. i was miserable. the corporate kiss ass world is so not me. i am NOT a kiss ass. i am the opposite of a kiss ass. i don't give a flying *f what people think of me. i really don't. lots of people say that, i mean it. i don't care. i might not have it all figured out, but i do know that i don't need to be working anywhere that i have to wear slacks. my "i don't give and *f" attitude doesn't go well with working for "the man". i tend to want to do things my way and "the man" likes things done his way.

i wanted to be at home with my kids. i wanted to be a part of their lives again, to know what was going on with them. they are all teenagers, so i was feeling the urgency to reconnect before they left us. tim had finally gotten a REALLY stupendous job and we are good at treading the waters of one income.

so, here i am. at home. actually, i am at home from 11 am on. i missed working a bit and really wanted some extra income to eventually squirrel away. so, i am working from 3:45 to 11. that is am, folks. what am i doing from 3:45 to 11 am you ask? i am making doughnuts. i wanted something that i could do and still be at home. doughnuts are not life or death. doughnuts are not so stress laden that you have to come home and be in a vegetative state for the entire evening to recover from your day. doughnuts don't mind if you are having a crappy day. doughnuts aren't petty. they don't stab you in the back, play games, gossip, stir up shit, put you on an action plan or send you home for wearing capri pants. doughnut's don't care what you wear to work (as long as you are wearing the appropriate t-shirt) and they don't talk, they can't yell.

for me, doughnuts equal a certian amount of freedom. the freedom to have income, but on my terms. i can be perfectly comfortable in my jeans and doughtnut shirt. i am not ashamedly trying to cover my beloved tattoos like they are in someway bad. the ring in my nose is completely acceptable. my dreads are embraced since my hair needs to be covered with a headwrap of my choosing anyway.

i know many people wont get it. they will feel sorry for poor melissa who is 36 and still doesn't have her life together, she has to work in a doughnut shop. to those people i say "i don't care what you think. you are narrow minded and materialistic. i know that i don't have to work a minimum wage job. i am perfectly capable of going back to medical billing, coding and insurance. there are PLENTY of jobs out there in thoes areas. i am aware that i could be making more than twice what i am making now. thanks for your unwanted sympathy".

for those of you who do get it, i am excited about my doughnut liberation.

* the use of the letter "f" instead of the word fuc out of respect for my mother who raised me better. i do use the f word quite frequently.

hair and omelettes

i have had my dreads close to four weeks now. and it is a love/hate thing. i love not having to "fix" my hair. prior to dreads, i didn't exactly have a taxing hair routine. i washed my hair. i blew it dry. i put some stuff in it (not expensive stuff, more like mid-low priced). then i would straighten it with my mid-low priced straightener. i never got my hair cut every six weeks. counting the frequency of my hair cuts in months would probably be more accurate. needless to say, i have never been a hair girl.

now that i am no longer working and have (baby) dreads, i spend even less time on my hair. having 4 other girls in our home, they were more than happy to take my brand new blow dryer, the mid-low priced straightener, my brushes, and even the cheap product off my hands. i replaced those items with 1) my bottle of almond liquid dr. bronner's, 2) a bar of knotty boy dread shampoo, 3) a various array of bandanas and head wraps and a slew of heavy duty ponytail holders. i wash with either or both soaps every 3-4 days or until i just can't stand my scalp itching anymore. good bye conditioning, brushing, straightening, drying, and good riddance to caring.

all that seems so positive (to me at least) what could possibly be the negatives? uhhh, i live in texas. it's hot. it's may and we are already hitting the mid 90's. my head is hot. there is also the aforementioned itching. dread's have zombie tendencies and like to eat their neighbors, so i have to make sure everyone is separated and playing nicely. you don't even want to see me with out the head wrap and the rubber band. as my brother put it "melissa, your hair is really fluffy". it's beyond fluffy, it's enormous (that's what she said).

i am cool with the negatives. the positives far out way them. to not have to deal with my hair is groovy. it is time i can spend doing something else that is far more worthwhile, like julia childs showing me (via youtube) how to make the perfect omelette. julia, i followed your instructions and my omelette turned out perfect, thanks dreads and thanks julia.