A new life, starting anew is a continuous theme in my mind. Where I am quite fond of the dragon, I am constantly drawn towards the idea behind the phoenix, reborn in a burst of flames…forever given the chance to start anew. So it is no surprise that I find some sort of joy in drawing and even painting such a majestic creature.
Now you might wonder why I’m looking forward to the new year, and thinking about the possibilities of a new life. Two of my friends showed up out of the blue…the Nobles. I thought I had lost them, as a few months ago I had tried in vain to get a hold of them. And now, here they were at the shop I work at, healthy and as happy to see me as I was to see them. I worked with the Lady Noble at the last shop I worked at before being hired at the art and train shop.
The thing about the Nobles that makes them different from anyone else I’ve worked with or for was how…open and friendly they were. I went to the gift shop in hopes to find a job after getting laid off from the hotel at the far end of the street. I knew the owner there from when I worked at a candle shop before, and he was always offering me part time work…but being stubborn about wanting weekends off, I always declined. Lady Noble was managing there now, and needed a full timer to help her out while the boss was opening a new shop down in Florida. I don’t know what it was that earned me a place in her good graces, but I was hired, shown the ropes, and somehow we managed to get along swimmingly. Her husband came in on occasion, and admired the work in my sketchbooks…bought two copies of my comic and asked me to design an image for a reward certificate he was giving away in his writers club.
For the first time for as long as I can remember, I actually got along with the authority figurehead of my job. My boyfriend and I went out to dinner with them, and with their family helped man the shop during some holiday where we expected it to be really busy. It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed the work because of all the interesting stories and descriptions behind the items we sold. Being able to talk about something makes it easier for me to be comfortable around strangers, and if I do it well enough, it gets that item sold and helps towards my paycheck. Honestly, I’ve missed the good times.
It all ended rather badly; the shop in Florida had failed and with all the break-ins we had experienced in one month, the loss of the money with the few sales we had took its toll. I was understandably laid off before the Lady Noble…either quit or was fired. I witnessed the whole argument between her and our boss, but I can’t remember the specific details. Just a lot of tension, miscommunication, and tempers flying. Our boss offered me my job back, but with the uncertainty of how he was going to pay me and the warnings from the Nobles, I opted to look for work elsewhere. I didn’t want to be in between the conflict I thought would ensue between my manager and my boss later down the road.
The thing about the Nobles that makes me admire and respect them so much is their courage, strength, and chemistry. The Lady raised her first son without his father, found an indescribable love with Lord Noble…followed by a daughter and another son. Indescribable, I must add, in the sense of how they poke and make snide remarks to each other is…at least to me…a cover for the deeper compassion they have for each other. How do you think I came to this conclusion? He staid by her side as she dealt with a rare form of cancer in the eye…and unexpectedly survived. They are truly worthy of their married name, and though I’m sure they’ll pick on me about it later…I am honestly honored to know and to have worked with them.
So it was much to my delight when they came to find me at work and tell me that the Lady Noble will be opening her own shop much like the one we used to work at. When she initially left the original shop, she promised me if she was in the position to again, she would hire me first thing. I declined her offer at the dollar store she used to manage, primarily because it was a 30 minute commute, and I don’t have a car of my own to use as freely. However, she plans on opening this new shop back down on the same street we worked on before…that or start it out at the flee market or the mall.
I’ve agreed to hold off on my plans to move back north once my lease is up to help her out with the shop. I look forward to the change, as familiar as it will be, and am positive that something wonderful will come from this. What it might be, besides the opportunity of working with my favorite manager again, I have no clue. It’s not the change of scenery I’ve been hoping for, but I am already feeling better than I have in a very long time.
Oh…and it would seem that our beloved little kitten believes she’s a shoe-in for the pages of Playboy. ^_^ I know the picture is fuzzy, but my phone was the closest, least distracting thing I had that I wouldn’t have caused her to move before getting the shot. And I also apologize for how large the other pictures above are, as I explained before I don’t have my usual program to crop and size them down. My boyfriend’s niece is checking to see if a friend has a copy of it…but we have yet to hear back about that. My sister is, however, giving me an extra flat screen monitor she has, so I’ll have something lighter. ^_^ Yay!
Oh yeah! Check out my second blog. ^_^
http://throughmonoclecancer.blogspot.com/
