You heard me right, folks.

You see, there are times in life where sometimes the going gets tough and you just gotta keep pushing through with the knowledge that better days lie ahead. Then, there are other times when you just gotta say “fuck it” and quit while you’re ahead. My brief time back in barista life was a time of the latter, rather than the former.

From last weeks post you, dear reader, knew that I felt bogged down and afflicted with dread and dismay about my recent employment at a local small business cafe in Los Angeles. At the time, I felt I was desperate for money and that returning to the blend of hospitality/food service work behind an espresso machine was the only solution. But after conferring with trusted advisors, family, friends, and my inner therapist I decided it didn’t have to be this way.

I don’t have to subject myself to the humdrum of catering to hundreds of customers for hours while also trying to craft specialty coffee, paired with artisanal baked goods. I don’t have to prove that I can survive in this “fast-paced” and “exciting” environment of cafe life because guess what, I’ve done it before and I can do it again BUT I don’t have to.

So, I threw the towel in, so to speak, and put in my resignation after only a week of getting hired. Yes, I had to combat feelings of shame and inadequacy. Only a week, I thought to myself, surely I can last longer than that. I think I read somewhere that you should try to last around 3 months at a job, if not a year, otherwise future employers might see your job-hoping as a sign of lack of commitment and stamina. But I also have a feeling that advice is directed towards people pursuing career-advancing opportunities and not work in the luxury commodity fields of specialty coffee; a job that is already known for high-turnover and burnout in its employees.

Am I bitter? I’m trying not to be but also so what if I am. I don’t want to do this anymore and that’s ok.

I will admit, however, that since putting in my resignation, the job hasn’t been quite as dreadful. Is that a sign that I should have listened to my inner critic and stuck it out a little longer? Perhaps. But I also have a suspicion that work has become more bearable because there is an end in sight.

So long to ‘spro slinging. Our time was brief and maybe this if goodbye forever? Who’s to say? Only two more shifts to go before I run back into the embrace of unemployment and relentless job searching and all I have to say is: bring it on.

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Lesson: There is no right or wrong, only a difference in perspective.