Quitting my day job for some tea in a coffee shop

It’s official — I quit my cool, well-paying, stable tech PR job and am staying busy lining up freelance writing work, planning my future and planning my personal site called “Tea in a Coffee Shop.” But before we go any further, I figured I should start with the most obvious question: Why the heck is it called that?

It’s a fitting question — perhaps the only question — to start with because I’m that little kid, asking why again and again and again. The answer is kind of simple, but also kind of not — which also seems fitting.

The first part has to do with being a freelancer, which is often accompanied by the stereotype of someone hiding in a home office in PJs. And don’t get me wrong — there will definitely be days I work from my bed … because I can. But for me, the appeal of freelancing comes from the exact opposite possibility; I just want to go outside. Freelancing means freedom from the nine-to-five, freedom to craft my own schedule, and freedom to explore to new places … which is why I’m planning to work from a new coffee shop at least once a week.

But — plot twist — I don’t drink coffee (as a general rule). I went through the standard adult phase of mindlessly pounding two or three or four or more cups of coffee a day during my eight- or nine- or ten-hour workdays. During that same phase, I also went through yet another string of not-serious-but-still-annoying health concerns, which led to my doctor naturally advising me against the habit (among other advice).

So, I’ve turned to tea.

The result: I’ll go to new coffee shops, order my tea and do my work. It’s a pretty simple origin story and a pretty simple plan. Tea in a coffee shop — walk, write, think, edit, sip, enjoy.

Of course, the more I thought about it, the more I realized there was more to it, and the more tea in a coffee shop just felt right.

See, I have an apparent inability to stay in one place for very long. I hopped from Washington & Jefferson College to Gettysburg College then graduated early then moved back home then to Silver Spring then home again then to San Francisco (commitment issues to the core; if the world’s at large, why should I remain?).

Because of that, I have a lot of scattered, different, all awesome friends. They live in Maryland, Texas, California, New Jersey, North Carolina, Austria, the list goes on and on. They like sports and superheroes and stories and rap and country and stars and sushi and books and booze.

I love all of them.

While I always make the sweeping and only partially kidding generalization that I don’t like people, I also tend to have a soft spot for their specifics. I can get along with and appreciate just about anyone … which brings me back to tea in a coffee shop.

Because the flip side of that (or perhaps the reason for it) is that I arguably don’t truly fit in with anyone. This is an observation; not a complaint. Just as ordering tea in a coffee shop isn’t that head-turning — it’s not sushi or tacos or tiramisu in a coffee shop — at the beginning or end of the day it’s still not a latte or Americano or shot of espresso.

Even in basketball I could never really define my position. I didn’t have a specialty besides, fittingly, my mid-range game or, also fittingly, thriving on mis-matches. I would start in the post one game and attempt to play point the next.

Beyond that, I was never cool enough to be one of the cool kids, but never different enough for it to define me. I’m a bit nerdy for the jocks, a bit artsy for the nerds. I’m called a hipster on the east coast, uptight on the west. I couldn’t identify as a PR person, but I’m not quite a Journalist with a capital J. I’m as wise as I’m immature, an old soul that often acts like small child, a cynic, a pessimist, but still a dreamer.

I am a chameleon, a swing player, a modern-day drifter. I need a little bit of everything. I’m not too out there, but not necessarily for everyone.

So that’s the long-winded part-two answer to the ever-outstanding question of why: Because I am tea in a coffee shop.

And I’m excited for you to follow along as I float on. It’s the only thing, after all, that I can commit to.

[My first coffee shop? Earth’s Coffee, straight outta my foggy, lovely neighborhood: the Richmond district. Earth’s was a natural first choice because: 1) It’s next door to the current home of Madeline’s Blue Bird Tattoo, where I recently got my first west coast ink and 2) It’s a block or so from Telegraph Crossfit, which I joined the first day I moved to the city.]

link love:

earth’s coffee: website / yelp / facebook / google + / foursquare

blue bird tattoo: tumblr / yelp / facebook / instagram

telegraph crossfit: website / yelp / facebook / instagram

Note: This post originally appeared on teainacoffeeshop.com. You can find the original here.