Bodega Lady

I didn’t inquire about the help wanted ad at my neighborhood corner store until the third time I’d seen it. The ad was hanging suspiciously close to a “Have you seen this man?” sign with a grainy surveillance photo, and these factors seemed to be connected.

But desperate times called for desperate measures. The year was 2018, and my once-thriving freelance writing career had just hit the skids yet again, and I was tired of trying. I’d reached the Point of No Return and just wanted a neighborhood job that would tide me over while I thought of what to do next.

I talked my way into the job, but I still had a few hurdles to get over first. I was afraid of being trapped in the cooler, of setting off the alarm, and breaking the register while I manned a convenience store by myself—to name just a few hesitations—but soon enough I felt comfortable enough behind the counter to enjoy myself.

I’m grateful that I have had these career detours, and little did I realize how much they would change my life. Working as a dog walker, behind the counter at the bodega and most recently as a grocery store checker and dairy worker—has taught me more about life and about myself, and it certainly has enhanced my writing. Now I’m back to writing professionally full-time and am starting to bring these tales to life—whether in written form, podcasts, vlogs, or on stage. It feels like I’m home again.

Bodega Lady is a memoir-like story of reinvention and my many misadventures and detours along the way. It’s also about my search for community in Portland, Oregon’s ever-changing landscape, and finding it in sometimes unexpected places: a neighborhood tavern, my Honduran next-door neighbors who showed me what community truly means, or strangers who have shown me kindness along the way.