Christmas In Oakland

The story begins just 10 days before Christmas. This was Queen’s first Christmas away from home, first time in Oakland, and one holiday she would NEVER forget. Tickets to her first winter jazz concert were booked weeks in advance. She checked her email daily as if the virtual tickets would disappear into thin air or “the cloud”. Her outfit was washed, ironed, and ready to wear as her alarm rang to begin her day.

Monday

9:00 am – The first day in a while she had slept past her 5:00am wake up call for work. Her intentions were set on pure positivity and peace. Her journals were next to her bed ready to embrace her pen filled thoughts and emotions. The little black book of peace held all of her minds racy and sometimes off the wall thoughts, poems, stories and dreams. Her purple notebook contained all of her detailed plans for her businesses; this was her PURPLE PRINT to success. The green notebook was filled with daily notes from work and all things she found interesting while traveling the country as a CNA. A rainbow of colored pens and pencils accompanied her books of brain matter that she kept close to her. Each day at the first sight of daylight she would release her mental goo before indulging in life’s roller coaster.

10:00am – After packing her notebooks and pens away into her leopard print bag which she carried everywhere, Queen finally rustled up the appetite for her favorite breakfast. Scrambled eggs with cheese, vegan Applewood sausage, and raisin toast! Reaching into the fridge for a fresh cup of orange juice to add to the delicious breakfast she had prepared , she noticed there was only a half of a sip left. Frustration twinkled in her facial expression at the thought of her thirsty housemate possibly killing her favorite juice. No matter the inconvenience, Queen swiftly switched gears and pressed for lemon water instead. As she prepared the table for her morning feast , she wouldn’t allow the day to begin without a good groove of soft music to set the mood for the day ahead.

11:00am – Shower karaoke mixed with candles burning,, sunshine filling each room, and the hot shower raging awaiting the presence of Queen’s beautiful cocoa body. After a good full body scrub down, quick shave, and hair wash she felt like a million bucks. Still singing and dancing to her melodic playlist her phone continuously lit up with morning emails and reminders.

12:00pm – The first phone call of the day always began with mom of course. The daily check in and update of mother and daughter time, taking the time to make sure everyone else in the family is doing well. Spilling white lies about her own mental health and spiritual wellbeing as if not to worry her loving mother, Queen carried on as if to say she was living the Dream. Next on the call list would be her friend CJ, he had been her tour guide and exploration buddy since her first day in town. The two had been talking about the jazz concert for weeks and were both on edge with excitement for the event. A brief conversation about when and where to meet, what to wear (as if she needed to change her mind any more), and whether or not to eat before , during, or after the event. After completing her compulsive questionnaire, the two hung up and proceeded with their next tasks of the day.

2:00pm – Though the show would not begin for another few hours, Queen’s anxiety ran so deep she couldn’t stay in the house any longer. A self-motivated journey to San Francisco before traffic began to pick up was enticing but not plausible. Instead she chose to make troop up to Grizzly Peak, taking this time to stare off into the skyline and embrace the freedom of the breeze that blew so lusciously. Another free moment to journal and clear her thoughts into her bountiful notebooks of rhyme and reason while sitting atop a mountain peak above the Bay.

5:00pm - As she headed back to her home away from home to prepare for the evening, Queen stopped by the nearest gas station to load up on snacks for her late night shenanigans. Chips, juice, and some fresh fruit all partially vegan friendly as her friend CJ was strict about his diet. She raced home to shower once again and finally don her evening attire. Makeup was her least favorite additive but it was a must have for this event with the possibility of cameras being present in every direction. She refused to be caught on camera without her lavish brows or purple lipstick. Her hair was already done as braids were a deal breaker for any assignment longer than 4 weeks, so a quick up do and she was ready to go.

6:30pm - With her leopard bag of life packed and ready to go, Queen headed to the industrial side of town to pick up CJ. As they approach the building, they see many have come to embrace the culture of good music and what they hope to be good food. Though no parking spaces were close to the actual entrance, they “luck up” on one just across the road by the train station. Now a quick travel lesson 101 when parking at night in strange lands; 1) never park too far from public gatherings with possible security footage. 2) never leave anything valuable in view. 3) always double lock your doors! Well Queen thought she had mastered this lesson and found a good spot right under a street light, not too far from the venue, next to plenty of “regular” and “fancy” cars, and with the blank thought that no one would think of her little Kia Soul having anything to offer. She stuffed her leopard bag under the passenger seat and under her black jacket as always. CJ placed his black bag filled with his music equipment under the driver seat, they both double checked for wallets and IDs, double locked the door and headed to the show.

10:30pm - Wine filled and joyfully humming the tunes from the evening, Queen and CJ headed back to their vehicle ready to discuss their views on the concert and what would be their next destination. As they approached the car they noticed the back window had been broken into, glass was everywhere on the backseat and middle console. Both bags were GONE! Queen instantly bursts into tears, “my life was in that bag!”, she said. “All of my music equipment was in my bag! That was my work, my life” , said CJ. The two sat in a moment of silence before Queen called the cops to report the break in. After a lengthy conversation with 911, they were told to go to the police department to make a full statement and hope to find their missing belongings. Though it was a far reach for retrieval, to the lost dreamers it didn’t hurt to keep hope alive.

Tuesday

5:00am – After a lengthy visit with Oakland PD to write both statements, Queen and CJ were both mentally and physically exhausted. The only thing either of them wanted to do was go home and sleep away the drama that brewed so swiftly in the night. Sadly another stop by the car rental agency was in need to trade in vehicles. After 2 long hours of awaiting a car transfer, the two headed towards the exit hoping this would be smooth sailing back home. WRONG! Who would have guessed the gatekeeper would forget to let the tire rails down upon exit and leave them with four blown tires and another half an hour wait for another vehicle. Though it took what seemed like forever and tensions were at an all-time high, they were finally able to restart their clock to getting home. After dropping CJ off to his loft on the industrial side of town, Queen headed back to her house thirty minutes away with fury in her veins, frustration in her heart, and sadness in her soul. With no more notebooks to cast her emotions off, she cried into her pillow until she was finally able to fall asleep.

2:00pm - Thoughts of awaking to a dull nightstand and overcrowded brain matter shook and rustled her all morning until finally she found the strength to get out of bed. Thinking she would be able to shake her sappy mood Queen purchased a new set of notebooks and a fresh pack of pens. Setting her intentions, she sat at the table with each book open to its first fresh page.

9:30pm – All day Queen had been sitting staring at her new notebooks thinking of what to write next. Nothing had come to mind, nothing but the frustration of her life’s work being stolen. Wondering if she could write about her belongings being stolen or maybe just expressing how she felt about the new set of notebooks staring back at her. At the end of the night her writer’s block was so heavy she couldn’t shake the massive headache that had swallowed her brain whole. She closed her notebooks, put her pens back into the pack color coordinated as always and packed them away in her suitcase.

Christmas Eve

5:00pm - After a week of complete silence and ignoring phone calls from family and friends, Queen found herself still with her mind racing and heart heavy. To add to it all , her housemates and friends had gone home for the holidays leaving her all alone on Christmas Eve. Bundled up in full wool pajamas, Queen sat on the couch watching old Christmas movies and drinking her second bottle of wine, pondering on her days in Oakland. Her frazzled mind left her wondering if she would stay for the remainder of her assignment or leave as the first available flight would open. Did she make the right decision of coming all the way to the east coast during the holidays? Was it her fault her bag was stolen? Was there anything she could have done differently or was this fate? Home sick, lonely, writer's block, and broken she felt hopeless. After ignoring any and everyone who tried to contact her, she finally took her phone off of do not disturb. To her surprise not many missed calls or unanswered text messages but there was a random notification in her PayPal account. A new deposit! She swiftly checked her account thinking her mom had sent her a Christmas gift to purchase more wine or maybe just a random drop off from an old friend. What she came to discover was a $20,000 deposit from an unknown source with a note saying; “Thank you for the best movie script and business ideas. I hope 15% of my earnings is enough for your loss. You are an amazing human and deserve to win. Merry Xmas Queen!” She burst into tears, the thought of a stranger reading her detailed life story was worse than the fact that they used them as their own get rich quick scheme. After wiping her tears away and clearing the snot from her face, Queen arose and packed her bags. She found her first flight home and took off with her mini fortune in hand. Taking note of the distress she felt, she mustard the strength and courage to finally begin rewriting her story. Thankfully her memory was impeccable and not much was missed in the 3 years’ worth of notebooks she had lost in the late night hours of Oakland’s thievery. As she embarked on her sideways journey home, she silently thanked the twisted individual who had not only stolen her dreams but also replenished her ambition and drive to dig deeper into her brain matter and embrace the thoughts and visuals of success in the naked eye.