"The more things change, the more they stay the same."
I'm really digging this quote this week. It really applies to my non-existent work life and somewhat to the home life as well. For with everything that's changed these past few months (employment status, the State of the Courtyard apartments and it's inhabitants, the coming and going of new and old friends), I realize how concrete certain people and things are becoming in my seemingly "unattached" lifestyle. It's hard to put into photos in a simple yet convoluted manner the minute flux of life over time without revealing to much about myself, since I haven't been taking as many photos lately, just thinking about them...
Things that haven't changed much:
I'm still cooking a lot. This was a veggie and Mahi coconut curry. It was delicious.
The garden's been kind of on and off sucky lately since I haven't had time to build the planter boxes for organic veggies like I wanted to. In the mean time, I have these tiny burgundy beans and some vines that will hopefully someday produce cantaloupe. I'm fascinated by the way the send out little "grabber" shoots to help propel themselves upward!
Some serious changes:
My
17-year-old cat with the recent kidney disease? SO MUCH BETTER! It's insane - with no treatment other than some new food, this sweet little buddy is back to her old antics. Excited about her new office assistant job, here she is expressing her boredom with my line of work and then attempting to engage me in a game of "knock over the wacom pen" - an afternoon favorite.
Remember the
gutter cat that showed up shortly after my 30th birthday? It managed to adopt the only family in the courtyard with a little kid. The dad managed somehow to tame the ferile thing just enough to feed it and name it Jonsey. That neighbor is English and I think they have a certain obligation to naming things Jonsey, male or (even in this case) female. Even the little
neighbor-dog has made peace with gutter cat, knowing to keep his distance from the little thing that's gone up against racoons and won. Everyone in the complex, however (human and animal), are doing their best to adjust to the new neighbor. Well, maybe not the animals. Neighbor-dog barks like a crazy chihuaua every time he sees the guy and gutter cat just runs and hides. Too bad it doesn't work that easy for people!
I think the biggest change, though, is the thing I can't express in images, really. Or just really wouldn't here, I suppose. It started a while ago as the unemployment rate rose and friends within the industry started moving away for better work opportunities. It's weird when you realize that you've spent all this time trying to keep from getting comfortable with your job or your surroundings, only to have to admit that it's the people and the interactions that have become so familiar. With or without the corporate or social structure, the relationships we've built are still very much in tact. Months after working with my former boss, I'm still stopping by his house to exchange camera gear the night before he sets off for location; and months after tossing back a last beer on some balcony at work, I'm still at a bar on a weeknight saying good bye to more and more colleagues that will always be more than just people I once worked with.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same."
