Opportunities Happen When You Least Expect Them

It’s called serendipity by many people. It can be called coincidence by some. I chose to call it an “opportunity” that happened when I least expected it!

As my good friend Bonnie, a life coach, knows, I have been lamenting about my weight – yet not really doing anything to lose these unwanted pounds. (No, this isn’t a diet story…. But it could become one eventually!)

On the day before my “opportunity” came to pass, my good friend Richard and I were at a Rodeo event as our alter ego Rodeo Clown personalities. He is a very active person, with his running/walking, working out and kayaking, and he found a kayaking group online in our area. Of course, I was whining (as usual) about not having anyone to walk with or “support” me during my weak attempts at losing weight. He suggested I go online and find a meet-up group.

Following the event, as soon as I got home, still in rodeo clown attire and make up, I sat down at my computer and went online. Now that’s nothing new in itself as I seem to “live” online – but again I digress and that is another whole story!

I found a meet-up group for walking in my area of town. In fact, they had a walk scheduled in the mall the very next morning at a reasonable hour… 11 am, so, I could sleep late, grab a bite to eat, drink my morning coffee and make the walk. The best part was I could walk in the cool wide spaces of the mall… and everyone knows that Houston is HOT!

The meet-up organizer had said she would be wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt and pink Capri’s, which would make her easy to find. She was – on both counts. We met in front of JC Penny’s and as we began our walk, we of course are asking each other where we live, what we do – all the small talk one does when first meeting a new friend, and here is where the serendipity comes in – and the opportunity!

Although I didn’t recognize her, I did in fact know her and had met her many times! We went to the same wine bar, participated in the same theatre group and both knew my best friend who is opening a new wine bistro and piano bar as she lost her two previous businesses during Hurricane Ike. It was like we were long lost cousins! We began remembering the good times we had prior to the big storm, talking about what could have happened and what was going to happen in the next few months.

Then, we began talking about what we were doing to “earn our way” through this life. This is where I kind of get chill bumps. For years, I have been a story teller to children. I then take those stories and write them, hoping that one day I will publish them and maybe earn a tad bit of money to help pay the utilities, etc. But, I had a road block…I simply am not an artist! I can’t draw worth a flip! I am not a graphics person or even know how to use a graphics program. And what I need to make my books really tell their stories is an illustrator. I had no idea how to find someone that could draw a few funny pictures of a turkey.

Last week, I had a brainstorm! I contacted the Art Institute of Houston in hopes that an aspiring student might want to take on this assignment for credit; as you see, I currently am without full time employment, and unable to pay an illustrator what they should rightfully earn. And, I had no success. No phone calls, no e-mails…. Just an empty mailbox.

My walking partner, in her tie-dyed shirt, so reminiscent of the ‘60s, just popped up and said, “I have a friend who is a graphics artist. She currently is not working as she just had a baby. Maybe she could help.”

I just love technology, don’t you? Right then and there, she dialed her friend on her cell phone while walking. Keep in mind, we are moving at a pretty fast pace and doing all this talking, while opportunity builds!

This lovely young lady, then hands the phone to me and I begin speaking with….. Drum roll here…… my new illustrator for my children’s book! She readily agreed to help out and even sounded very excited about the project! Later that day, she sent me a link to her online portfolio and, oh my gosh, or in text speak O M G!!! Her illustrations are fabulous! They are exactly what I have been seeking!

They were colorful, bright and humorous! They were perfect!

And, now my stories can begin!

Call it coincidence that all these “events” came together, call it serendipity or providence… whatever you call it, it was/is indeed an opportunity waiting to be discovered!

Care to eat? Got Dinner?

Ever been broke? Sure you have. We all have at one time or another been down to the nitty gritty hoping for that miracle to come into our lives. Except sometimes the miracles aren’t exactly what we had in mind.

I’m broke – down to my last 50 or so dollars. Paid the rent this month, might have enough for one more tank of gas, but like old Mother Hubbard, my cupboard is bare – bare as a bone, empty as balloon with no air – even with air it’s empty. A void in my refrigerator – cold, dreary and my single can of Slim Fast is very lonely. But wait, down in the bottom there’s beer left over from a party long, long ago.

I hate beer; I wouldn’t drink it on my best day let alone on my worst. But there you have it. Lots of cans of beer, one can of Slim Fast and an old piece of dried fish in my freezer. Well, on the bright side, the refrigerator won’t need cleaning for a while.

Yes, looking for a job has been a lot harder than I anticipated. But now that I’m broke, I might finally be able to lose that 20 pounds I’ve gained over the last six months or so – no food in the house, no money to go out and buy food, no more fast food, no more slow food.

But wait, I’m not hungry. In fact I’m full, very, very full. I just returned from a wonderful luncheon I was invited to by some co-volunteers of an organization I (still) belong to. There were two large, long tables set up with cold salads, sweet rolls and pasta on one table and wonderful, tantalizing warm buffet servers stuffed with meats, vegetables and breads on the other table. What a feast. Oh and the desserts, wonderful, simply wonderful.

That was such a nice lunch. Even more bountiful than the one I had yesterday with my former boss from my former company. He called and said, “You’ve been on my mind. How about we do lunch – I’ll buy.” Well, that certainly is an offer I can’t refuse – food has always been my weakest link. So there we are at this fabulous Chinese buffet lunch – the best in town I might add. I went back for seconds, thirds and then of course, the desserts.

Hmmmmm, so far, my idea of losing weight is going the wrong way. I’m broke; I’m supposed to be going hungry. Last week, I had a two-fer day. That is, I had a luncheon in the afternoon and dinner was served at my volunteer meeting that evening. That means I ate twice that day – for free – again, all the food I could eat – OK, stuff in my mouth. And I did. I had chicken that afternoon, and beef and veggies, salad, bread and dessert. That night I had fried catfish, hush puppies, cole slaw and of course – dessert. I still haven’t learned how to say “no” to any and all desserts – especially if they involve chocolate!

This is not working the way it’s supposed to! I’m supposed to be losing weight because my cupboard is empty and my refrigerator is bare. Oh yeah, I almost forgot – Saturday night I had one of those very rare occasions when I have a date. (I had to re-look the word up in the dictionary it has been so long since the last one.) We went to a beautiful, classy steak house. The service was impeccable, the food was beyond description – I had the fish – something about fish, dried or wet – it was melt-in-your-mouth good! Another fabulous meal and of course, dessert!

Before I became unemployed, I ate out regularly. I had lunch, dinner and sometimes I’d even have breakfast. I know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day as some experts have determined. But what do they know? Food has always been in my refrigerator. I had boxes, cans, packages and bowls of ready to fix goodies in my pantry. Ice cream, cookies (ok, cookie dough) and candy abounded in my refrigerator. I was almost glad when the time finally arrived when I could no longer eat all that gooey, chewy, flavorful, tempting food. Finally, I can lose weight, albeit not the way I imagined I would.

But here I am getting ready to go out to eat again. Another invitation by a good friend – dinner at her house, barbecue and all the fixin’s, plus she has chocolate caramel ice cream with vanilla butter cake for dessert.

This being broke thing isn’t so bad. Now all I have to do is find someone to give me all their “too big” clothes.

Eventually I will have to go back to work at a company somewhere in this huge city. And soon my refrigerator will again be full, my pantry will hold untold delights and I will forget I ever dreamt of losing weight.