The Domino Effect

You know how sometimes one action leads to a whole chain of unrelated events? Well, I’m beginning to see the light again, and it all started by taking the one action I tried most to avoid – taking a part-time day job at a small neighborhood café, which I hated.

The first step, which was handing out service-industry resumes was the hardest. Excuse me, in fact, starting to work for minimum wage in a place I didn’t feel one bit of affinity towards, that was the hardest. For more than a month I was clinically depressed. Then, the dominoes began to fall.

After a few weeks in the café I could fake a smile again. I put a complete halt on sending out professional resumes for writing-industry jobs. During the past year I wasn’t making enough for my basic survival needs, and I needed a change of tactics.

A friend connected me to a guy who makes passion-fruit liqueur in a farm up north. It turned out to be a delicious, award-winning drink! I started setting up a booth in farmers’ markets and country fairs one or two days a week, and to sell his liqueur. Without any boss to answer to, yapping with people who are on their day out, it turned out to be a lot of fun and highly profitable!

As much as I hated working in the café, I kept both jobs for a few more weeks. I had responsibilities – bills, expenses, student loans, you name it. Then one morning, the café manager lost his temper. It didn’t aggravate me, but I saw an opportunity and took it. I walked through that door and never looked back.

Working two days a week in that passion-fruit liqueur booth, left me plenty of time to work on my short stories and screenplays, to do yoga, to run errands etc. Just as I lost all hope for making a living out of writing, at least till I can sell a book or some Hollywood hit, just as I began acknowledging the liberating sensation only money can bring to those who truly need it, something wonderful happened.

My booth had a spot in a prestigious wine exhibition, abundant with media and culinary writers. I printed out business cards – a step I kept postponing for a whole year! – and did some networking. A writer I met forwarded my info to a director. After another week or two, business came in! I was hired to write a high-end orientation video!

In the wine exhibition I also felt open enough to ask for girls’ phone numbers again, after 2 months of literally keeping women “safe” from my depressing presence. You know those times you feel too down to talk to anyone? Well, this small step of asking a few girls for their phone number was a life changing event.

One thing leads to another. The domino effect. Taking the first step for the sake of survival, the second for the sake of living, and getting much further than you could originally see. Going through a wall of self-doubts, breaking through on the other side, a new, stronger person.

Meanwhile, I got another gig! Writing the content for a new website – the passion-fruit liqueur website!

I’m beginning to see the light again. In a couple of months my life will finally get on the track I’ve been longing for so dearly for so long. I already brought the subject up with a friend - moving into a TLV apartment. The friend is a 2D animator who will make a wonderful roommate and probably be in collaborating on some work too.

As one thing leads to another, I find myself going with the current again. And finally, in the direction I wish to go.