Back in April 2007, my friend Jimmy invited me to come to Greenville for the weekend. He knew I was unhappy in my job, and he proposed that I move there. When I arrived there, it was on Saturday. I was blown away by how vibrant the downtown was. I had remembered Greenville as being dark and dreary, but I found it to be bustling with excitement. It was clean with a lot of green parks. It was the exact opposite of Columbia, and I knew that this was the place I wanted to live in. I had always loved the mountains from the time I was 3, and we lived briefly in Knoxville. I had spent summers at Ridgecrest in North Carolina. I felt at home in Greenville.
When I came back home, I made plans to move. By December, I had put in my notice at work that I wanted to be transferred to the Macy's store in Greenville. We did the paperwork, and I moved to Greenville. Jimmy said I could stay in his condo for free. That was another exciting thing, since I was having a hard time paying my rent in Columbia. The condo was on Pelham Road near East Church Street. It was in a great location.
The second day in Greenville, I went to Hayward Mall to the Macy's store to find out what my schedule would be. I walked into the store and the manager walked up to me. He knew me from my years in Columbia. He knew of my success in Luggage. He asked me what I was doing there. I told him I was showing up for work, and his response was "What are you talking about?" I told him that I was transferring to their store. He told me that he didn't know anything about it. We went to his office, and he called the Columbia store. He said that they never sent the paperwork for transfer. I was devastated. Macy's Columbia had screwed me over. I knew the HR person didn't like me, but I never thought she would stoop that low. Greenville didn't have any openings, so I was out of a job. I decided to cash in my 401k to live.
Living in Greenville was exciting. There was always something to do. Arts fairs were almost every weekend. Museums were free. There were concerts all the time. The stress of work went away. It was almost like Heaven. And the people were very friendly. People would pass you on the sidewalk and say hello. If you did that in Columbia, they would look at you funny. It was common practice in Greenville. I went to one McDonald's on Augusta Road for breakfast, and the woman there would charge me less than other places, just because she liked me. I knew this is where I needed to be. I rediscovered happiness.
