Today is Wednesday, the third day of my new life as a freelance writer. Things are going WONDERFULLY. I am currently sitting at Tynan Coffee & Tea, on the corner of 14th St. NW and Irving St. NW. And I feel overwhelmed with nostalgia. I wrote nearly my entire Master's thesis in this coffee shop, exactly four years ago. And even though I was struggling with depression and anxiety at the time, I now look back on that era of my life as such a exciting and magical time. I miss those days!
Which is why I am extremely grateful that my dear (and talented) friend and former housemate Ted Jones captured that time in my life perfectly through the documentary web series, Sherman House Webisodes, or SHWebisodes, for short. From January through September of 2010, me and my housemates (Ted, Linsay, and Gabriel) filmed random moments of our lives together in our group house on Sherman Avenue. Then I moved to London. And Ted spent the next two years editing all of that footage into a 10-part web series. And I give Ted all the credit in the world for putting together a beautiful story, about a magical time, that still makes me cry every time I see it! I will warn you now that every blog entry here is going to end with a link to the SHWebisodes website www.shwebisodes.com.
Confession time. I binge-watched all ten episodes of SHWebisodes this morning (you can watch all ten episodes from free at the website above). Which is probably the reason why I ended up at this coffee shop that reminds me so much of 2010.
So here I am, on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon in 2014, feeling nostalgic for 2010. Isn't that silly? My life is PERFECT right now. Why on earth would I be longing for any other time and place?! But I have problems with nostalgia. No matter where I am, or how great the present moment is, I often long for another time or place. I need to learn to tame my nostalgia. When I was living in London, I often longed for my old DC life. Then I moved back to DC and longed for my old life in London. How can I possibly long for any time in the past when my present has never been better? I suppose that just acknowledging that silly tendency of mine is the first step in finding a cure.
So back the present moment. I am a freelance writer. I live in my favorite neighborhood in the world. All of my closest friends in DC live within a few blocks of me. My wonderful boyfriend lives with me in our huge apartment with our adorable housemate. It's springtime. Cherry blossoms are still lingering on the occasional, stubborn tree. It's neither hot nor cold. The present is perfect.
What's next? Well, I need to sort out and finalize my Obamacare health insurance. I need to figure out what to do with my 401K from my previous job. I need to read the Washingtonian Magazine website every day to get a sense of what they are, what they're missing, and how I can pitch my article ideas to them. I need to sign-up for Yoga classes at Yoga District. I need to get better at waking up in the morning and actually getting out of bed at 7:00 or 8:00 AM, rather than waking up at 7:00 AM and watching a couple of hours of How I Met Your Mother or Scrubs on Netflex before finally getting my butt out of bed. I really do want to wake up early, go for a jog, and have some avocado on toast, all before 9:00 AM. I'll get there. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But one day. And for the rest of my life.
I will end this nostalgic post with a picture from my SHWebisodes days. This was our "last supper" before I moved to London in 2010.
Wow. It took 20 minutes to download that photo. Tynan Coffee & Tea, you were great to me four years ago, and I'm thrilled that you're still in business, but I don't think I'll be blogging in here again. Your iced coffee is delicious and caffeinating, but your WiFi is way too slow for my needs. Tynan, I will keep you in my happy memories, but I don't think I need you in my present anymore. And not to be a sell-out, but Panera's WiFi (across the street) is way faster. Plus, I still need to redeem my "one free birthday pastry" from Panera before tomorrow. So I may go do that now.
Thank you friends, for your support and encouragement during this new chapter of my life. I've never been happier.
Love and prosperity to all of you!
-Leila
P.S. Binge-watch all ten episodes (or just watch one at a time, if you prefer) of the Sherman House Webisodes for free at www.shwebisodes.com.
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