a dedication

In the last blog I wrote that I hadn't been inspired by New York in a long time. It's true, I hadn't. That's not to say I haven't been inspired, it's just that I haven't been inspired by the city. Instead I've been inspired by the strength, patience, dedication, and wisdom of one person.

I often say that "Patience is a virtue", I believe it and I believe it with all my soul. Patience is what helps us think, plan, and act with perfect reason. Patience though is a bitch to uphold sometimes. Patience is a hindsight understanding. You can't understand the true patience, or indeed admire it, unless you've been through those days in which you were being patient. It's simply a dedication that you only feel the true worth of after the culmination of that period.

Now before I descend into a gushing appraisal let me put in context why the person that's inspired me has. When I moved to New York I had just started seeing a beautiful girl whose name I will omit for the sake of privacy. She was a wonderful admission to my life and made me smile in a way I hadn't for a while. She literally made a choice of moving to New York, a bloody difficult thing, after only a month of us falling for one another. When I left London, and my new love, I was clearly torn apart. I couldn't just forget. Then, after weeks of being in New York without her we decided she should come over and we should give it a try. My thought was that you don't get to meet people like this more than once in a life time so you better take the opportunity otherwise you'll regret it forever. That person, I am happy to say is now my girlfriend. So to say that I made the right choice is a huge understatement.

When my girlfriend moved here she was coming here for me. Ok yes, she had some option of work as a photographer for a well known magazine in New York but if it wasn't for me she'd be happily living in the creative center of the world, London. Her dedication to us has been inspiring. She's stayed here with me, with limited work, for 7 months. Now let me tell you this, she is by no means work shy. She loves to work. She is one of the most social but hard working individuals I have ever met. It's one of the many things I love about her. So to go without work for even a month is despairing for her, so you can only imagine what 7 months would do. It's torturous.

So months were passing by and there was no job in site. Photography work was going on but it's freelance, and freelance in New York means pretty much the former part of the syllable. The lack of work meant the lack of structure and not having structure is hard. Simply put, not having a job is shit. I know it is because I've been there. However, by no means have I had it as hard as my lady, because not having a job whilst in a foreign country with no friends or family around is probably the hardest thing I can imagine. It's not like you have a wad of cash you can use to float around being a tourist, or ideally just jump on a plane home either. It's a real, "stick with it" mentality to ... well stick with it.

Thankfully I'm writing this blog in hindsight and after months of irregular work and serious patience, my girlfriend has a brilliant job. She is working lots and lots, and although I don't get to see her when I want that's cool because she deserves the great things a job gives. She has purpose, meaning, and a social element to her day that wasn't there a few weeks ago. More so, she has new friends. Great new beginnings are already blossoming and she's become close with more than one of her colleagues. I guess it's hard not to do that when you work at a place like babycakes.

Babycakes is her work place. It's an allergy and dietary conscious bakery in the lower east side of New York. It's super cool. All the girls are fun and dress in 50's style aprons. The place is very popular and each day they offer a great choice at the counter. No I'm not talking food, I'm taling tip jar. You can pay your tips with a choice, do you choose biggie or tupac? Johnny Depp or Johnny Cash? The choice is yours and you must decide with your dollar. I love the place, but most importantly it's my other half that loves it more, and that makes me happy beyond belief.

I guess I'm gushing now but the patience, dedication, and sheer strength of my lady has left me in awe. I am not only grateful but inspired. She's been through a lot, I hope I repay her. This blog, and new found inspiration, is dedicated to her; my sunflower in the bakery.