Alternatives and Pathways

It's interesting how a random conversation can develop into something completely relevant and important. Today, I was sitting in the library between classes, eating lunch and reading my script when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I retreated to the stairwell, so I wouldn't disturb anyone, and answered it - it was Steph, wanting to know if I would lend her my car so she could hang posters downtown advertising for the latest concerts being held by the music department. I agreed, because it was cold and rainy and it really was going to be quite a hike for her, and she came to the library to pick up my keys.

Well, when she arrived she sat down to warm up and chat for a few minutes before embarking upon her poster-hanging quest, and we were talking of future plans. I related that I had recently been reevaluating my future career on the stage and thinking of alternatives. On a whim, I mentioned that I really liked the idea of opening a sort of coffee shop/health food store. Well, Steph is a marketing major and she is trained to take an idea and run with it. She mentioned that she liked the idea of it, and thought that perhaps offering a soup and sandwich selection would not go amiss. I thought that maybe offering a collection of used books would be a neat idea, along with comfortable chairs and ambient lighting.

...and it all just sort of snowballed from there. We were there for an hour just planning. I skipped my math class because we were so involved in plotting our future coffeeshop/pastry shop/used bookstore/soup and sandwich spot. I ended up walking downtown with her to hang posters so that we could discuss the idea further. We even went so far as to write down an outline for the future business venture. It's in my notebook, simmering in impatience for the day I recieve my degree and can be set loose on the world to implement it.

I don't know if this will actually go anywhere. But I think that if we can get a third partner, someone more experienced with accounting and numbers than either of us is, then we can really set this plan into action. I still don't know whether or not I will be going to grad school. I still don't know if I'm going to make a career out of my acting talent. But this is the first time I've had a direction to work towards in a while. I kind of like it.

Besides which, thanks to Sierra and Justin, I now know how to acquisition and also identify rare and antique books. There's quite a market for volumes of that sort in academic communities. If we can find a good college town with a university including a more literary grad program, then we'll be in business. Because what good (I stress 'good') college student doesn't love a good book?