Cardigan Diaries | ✓

Chapter 2: Inspiration Strikes

The next morning at work, I was on autopilot. Not to wallow in self-pity, which surprised me, but to ponder on having my own blog. Now that the idea was planted in my brain, it wouldn't leave me alone. Kind of like the junk mail I kept receiving about enlarging a certain, nonexistent, part of my body.

Being a space cadet came to an end when I dropped a heavy encyclopedia on my foot.
"For the love of Dewey's Decimal!" I cursed. I wiggled my toes and diagnosed them to be working properly, my comfy sneakers had offered some protection. I shelved the encyclopedia making sure I had a good grip on it this time. For the sake of my safety, I allowed myself a break to do a little research. Making sure none of my co-workers were in a line of sight, I whipped out my phone to check out blogs on my reading list.

My favorite on was 'Weekly Daisies' because the author, Daisy, was sweet and down to earth. Her blog had a cute background with daisies on it and in her profile picture, she had long curly hair and a warm smile. Daisy's blog fell into the 'lifestyle' category as she wrote about her daily life.

My favorite guilty pleasure was 'Alexa Moon'. Her name was written in the banner with a luxurious font. In her profile picture, she wore a chic black dress, bright red lips and her platinum blond hair set in perfect diva curls. She had it all; confidence, good looks, exciting life and money to spend.

The girls had two things in common; they lived in the same city as me and they both used the same platform for their blogs. A quick search revealed the platform was free to use. I was a sucker for free things and if the platform was good enough for Alexa, it should be more than enough for me.

Without a second thought, I clicked 'create a blog'. After creating login information, the site asked to name my blog. Oh right. Of course, I needed a name.

Jane's blog? Jane's Journals? Jane's Journey?
Ugh, very unimaginative.

I fiddled with the hem of my navy blue cardigan and had a light bulb moment; 'Cardigan Diaries'.

I typed it in and saved my progress. The next part was to -

"Jane, are you here? I need your help."

The voice of my boss came from the other side of the bookshelf and I quickly shoved my phone back into my pocket. It was best to continue this blog business at home.

****

The smell of pizza lingered in the air when I arrived home. Mel was in the kitchen shoving pizza into her mouth like she hadn't seen food for days.

"Is there any pizza for me or are you going to wolf down everything?" I asked.

"Sharing is caring." Mel handed me a slice and I munched it with a good appetite.

"You're looking happier today," Mel said. "Has something worth mentioning happened?"

"I chose a name for my blog!"
"Ooh, what is it?"

"My first option was: 'How to avoid having any fun while waiting for Mr. Darcy'. But I thought it might be too long, so I named it 'Cardigan Diaries' instead."
Mel chuckled. "Come on, you're not that hopeless. But I like the name."
"Now I need to choose a nice template and write a post."
"Sounds like the fun part. And speaking of fun, a new nightclub opened and they're arranging an opening party this Friday."

All my defense mechanisms were on full alert as I guessed where this was going.

"The club is called 'Delicia', which is Latin and means 'fun.' I'm spinnin records there and I was hoping you'd want to come with me."

Mel flashed her best puppy eyes towards me. She knew parties and clubs weren't my scenes at all.

"Sure, why not," I said surprising us both. "It could be fun."
Mel pulled her head back and her mouth was hanging open. "I was sure you'd say no."
"That was my first instinct." I sighed. "It's about time for me to try new things instead of reading about them in books. Who knows, I might even have fun along the way."

"I support that! I can't wait for Friday, it's going to be a blast!"
"We shall see," I said already regretting my decision.

Baby steps, I reminded myself. I'd go to the party and decide after that if I wanted to continue with my new adventurous attitude.

I went to my room and curled into my bed with my laptop. I wanted to choose a template for my blog. It was easier said than done as the variety of templates was ridiculously wide. Finally, after browsing for what felt like an eternity, I chose a nice turquoise color theme. It looked comfy and fitting for the name. 'Cardigan Diaries' was all set now. My next move would be writing my first entry and after that updating my blog regularly with interesting content that would get me readers. How hard could that be?

I stared at my new, empty blog and my mind went blank.

This is enough for one day, I'll continue this later, I thought and slowly closed my laptop.

***

Fear of the blank (web) page kept my blog empty and before I knew it, Friday evening came.

I sat on the living room couch surfing through tv-channels and tried to find a tv-show that wasn't about cooking, reality housewives or renovating. Let me tell you, it was mission impossible.

Mel walked into the living room. "What are you going to wear tonight?"

"I don't know," I answered. My feet were ice-cold for the party.

"I'm not the only DJ at the club so my set should take about two hours. You can handle two hours out of your comfort zone." Mel did her puppy eyes again. "You can wear whatever you like and I won't say a word!"
I sighed and switched off the TV. "Let me get changed."

It didn't take much time to pick out an outfit.

"Get ready to be amazed by my excellent taste in fashion!" I said before stepping into the living room wearing a long brown hippie skirt and a multicolored paisley sweater.
I twirled so Mel could see my whole outfit. "I'm ready to go!"
Mel bit her lip and it seemed she had more than enough to say about my attire. I gave her mental points for keeping her promise and let her off the hook.
"No way I'm wearing this, silly," I said and laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face!"
"Thank God," Mel said holding her hand on her chest in relief. "Let's get dressed for real."

My paisley sweater wasn't suitable for clubbing but I had a nice blue paisley dress. I combined it with a cute brown belt and finished the look with matching heels. Despite making me feel naked, I exchanged my glasses for contact lenses. While applying the lenses, I repeated calming mantras to myself; I will have fun. Everything will be fine. You can do this. Live a little.

"Is this better?" I asked Mel when I came back to the living room. She was wearing a pink hologram dress and military inspired, yet chic looking boots.
"Wow! You look so different without a cardigan!"

"Thanks, I guess."

Mel said it was indeed a compliment and that it was time to get moving. She went out into the hallway but I needed a moment to collect myself. My idea of a fun Friday night was curling up with a good book. Or binge-watching movies and tv-series.
Oh man, was it too late to cancel the whole thing?

"Stop overthinking and come on already!" Mel appeared in the living room, grabbed my hand and practically pushed me into the hallway.

Here goes nothing...

Originally published 22nd of October 2017, edited 24th of July 2018.