Really, it seemed that people had changed very little. Looking at everyone's faces, maybe there were a few more lines in the faces, a few gray hairs, and different haircuts (usually shorter hair for the men--many of whom, like me, had long hair at the time). Yet, some of the walkers brought their children and a few of those children were teenagers--children actually not that much younger than the walkers themselves were back in 1990. Indeed, I felt like I was transported back to 1990. This was especially true in the evening when we had a big campfire in a beautiful valley.
Category: co-op life
co-op member, humble thyself
So, as I sat at the dinner table by myself eating my dinner, I really found myself comparing the moment I was in with the efforts my friend's Eritrean community was making on behalf of a bereaved family. In my more cynical moments, I found myself thinking that maybe the best efforts that white Americans could muster in such a situation would be to form a committee.
have i been living in a co-op for too long or am i just weird that way?
I don't know why--every time I think about dropping a couple hundred bucks on a window AC unit, something in me keeps on saying, "Nah, I'll just tough it out."
synchronicity and the kitchen sink
It's as if the various elements of this kitchen were simply waiting to be put together like puzzle pieces. My life has been feeling like that lately.
eve of (kitchen) destruction
Tomorrow morning, the kitchen undergoes demolition as a first step in the renovation of the kitchen. We spent the weekend clearing out the kitchen and setting up a makeshift kitchen in our foyer.
we look fab
It was a big dusty mess. You can see in the picture the measures we had to take to keep the stuff from getting in our eyes and lungs. It was particularly crazy for those blowing the insulation in the attic--sometimes it would snow insulation inside and our hair and clothing would sometimes get covered with the stuff. Despite that--or actually perhaps because of that, we really enjoyed ourselves.
welcome to my world, kind visitor
A wide variety of friends came to our potluck. Some have been here a number of times, but others have never seen a co-op before, and it's always interesting when someone sees a house like ours for the first time. I like to make it an educational experience, with a purpose--i.e. ”The Sofia Museum of Cooperative Living.”
eve of something, hopefully good
I have always found New Year's Eve to be a slightly surreal experience. Not necessarily in a bad way. Time sort of stands still and goes through a transition and at the same time it doesn't. The divide that establishes the new year, established in the Gregorian calendar (that's the one we all use, in case you didn't know) is, after all, an artificial marker. The year is very real--it's the time that it takes to go around the sun, but deciding where to mark a complete year is a human decision. So, in essence, we draw a line, we cross it, and then we celebrate crossing it.
the last commuter before Christmas
Christmas Eve is one of those in-between days that people haven't quite figured out what to do with. Is it a holiday or not, or is it maybe a "half-day?" For me, it was a regular workday. Which didn't really bother me.
[co-op name] update, part 2
If someone tells me they are having a negative experiences with something, I'm inclined not to question it in most cases. I can never claim to be able to put myself fully in someone else's shoes, and as such I am inclined to validate their feelings and experiences unless I have really good reason not to.