This episode of it's going to be okay is presented by the Hartford.
The Hartford is a leading group benefits provider that's using familiar language to get
straight to the point when it comes to the employee benefits they offer.
Easy to understand employee benefits?
Imagine that.
Learn more at theheartford.com slash benefits.
I'm Jordan Turgeon and it's going to be okay.
I worked from home long before COVID-19 made a commonplace so by the time 2020 rolled
around I had a lot of practice under my belt.
I'd become used to living and working in near total solitude.
I was accustomed to going full days without seeing another human being and frankly I thrived
that way.
The few days I went into an office for meetings my productivity plummeted but in the solace of
my small home office I was unstoppable but that was then.
Today I find myself needing to get the heck out of my house.
I need to be around people especially during the dead of Minnesota winter which seems to
last longer and longer every year.
Thankfully I have a small group of industry friends who also work from home and feel the
same way.
We gather our laptops and get together weekly just for a change of scenery.
On days when I need to be especially productive but also find myself jumping out of my skin
or when I feel what Nora calls the dreads creeping up on me.
I put on my best ATHLEASURE.
It's from Costco.
It's always from Costco and head to my neighborhood coffee and donut shop.
If I'm lucky I get there early enough that they still have a gluten free dairy free banana
chocolate chip scone left over and that alone is my okay thing for the day.
But even on unlucky days this shop brings me back to life.
It's aesthetic can best be described as if neon colors and rainbow sprinkles exploded
everywhere.
They have a donut called the Lisa Frank which really tells you all you need to know.
Their coffee is always smooth, never burnt and comes into go cups that say things like
tastes like happy on the side.
The staffers are friendly and kind.
The entire perimeter of the place is lined with electrical outlets and if you've ever
worked from a coffee shop you know how crucial this is.
And it's always just the right amount of busy for a small shop.
The kind of busy that makes you happy to know that this independent business is thriving
but still feel like you're part of a neighborhood secret.
That not everyone knows about this place.
Only the right kind of people.
But what I love most about this shop isn't the outlets or the neon sprinkle signage or
the welcoming staff.
It's the music selection.
Now if you're a neurodiverse the mere concept of trying to get worked on while Taylor Swift
and Miley Cyrus and the killers and Imagine Dragons in pretty much any top 40 song from
the early Aughts flows through the speakers might send you into a spiral.
It puts me into production overdrive.
I turn into the equivalent of that gif of Kermit the Frog typing on a typewriter.
In recent morning during that time of year when it's not really winter anymore but there's
still somehow three feet of snow on the ground.
The playlist was exceptionally good.
No skips.
None.
Bob after Bob.
I would have purchased that playlist on vinyl if I could.
And at one point I glanced over at a nearby table and discovered I wasn't the only patron
enjoying the music.
The late 30s maybe early 40s something man was typing away on a laptop covered with
witty political and activism stickers.
He wore large black gauges in his ears and tattoos crawled up the side of his neck and
disappeared somewhere beneath his shag of a haircut.
He aggressively rocked his head forward and backward as if enjoying the set live at a
darkened concert venue.
And what song was he rocking out to you ask?
Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway.
This song brings up a lot of memories for me.
It came out the year I graduated from high school and became the ballad of choice as my friends
and I all departed for college.
I'm pretty sure I still have several mixed CDs somewhere in my basement that featured
this song as the opening track.
So it makes sense that I was sitting in my feelings and lip syncing along as I sipped
my cafe ole with oat milk and vanilla syrup.
But this guy?
Now I know appearances can be deceiving, I know we can't judge books by their covers.
That said, this was a man who had studiously stretched holes in his earlobes large enough
to store Susan B. Anthony dollar coins.
This man knows all the words to break away.
This man has his eyes squeezed clothes and a sweet grin on his face as he sways his head
to the dulcet tones of Kelly Brienne Clarkson.
At one point he glanced up from his computer screen and our eyes met from across the coffee
shop.
I gave him a knowing bob of my head as I completely botched the words to the song.
Take a change, no, make a chance, take a wish, no, take a change, listen, this song is
hard.
The lyrics are very difficult.
The man smirked and gave me a nod right back without missing a beat or fumbling,
was this the beginning of a coffee shop romance?
Was this our meet cute?
Would we go on to get married and have our first dance to a string quartet cover of this
2004 pop classic?
No, no.
But thanks to the original American idol Kelly Clarkson herself.
For that one moment, the stranger and I connected.
Just two remote workers plucking away at our laptops at our favorite neighborhood coffee
shop, spreading our wings.
And learning how to fly.
And in case you're wondering, yes, I wrote the draft that eventually became this episode
while sitting at a table at that very coffee and donut shop.
Sadly, my duet partner was not there that day.
I'm Nora McNerney, and it's going to be okay.
We want to hear from you too.
You can email us a voice memo or write out an email the email is in our show description.
We can call us at 612-568-4441.
We are an independent podcast production from Feelings & Co, an independent podcast company,
our team is Marcel Malikibu, Jordan Turgen, Claire McNerney, and Megan Palmer.
The theme music is my secret audio.
This episode of it's going to be okay was brought to you by The Hartford.
Employee benefits have always been hard to understand.
They're even tough for employers to explain, which just makes it worse for people like you
and me.
The Hartford knows there's a better way.
You're a leading group benefits provider that's using familiar language to get straight
to the point when it comes to the benefits they offer.
Because if your benefits sound confusing, who's going to know how to actually use them?
Learn more at TheHeartford.com slash benefits.