Cheese Boards & Change

Change is a constant in life. I looked up who said this quote and it’s apparently Heraclitus, an ancient Greek philosopher. You know it’s actually true when someone thousands of years ago observed the same phenomenon you’re experiencing today.

We moved from the Bay Area to NYC a year ago (only 2 posts ago!)…and now we’re moving again. This year I also switched careers and am almost a week away from completing a full stack software engineering bootcamp.

I’ll be starting fresh in Austin Texas, looking for a new job in a new lane, in our new house — the first house we’ve ever owned.

I’m pairing this post with a non-recipe encouragement to make a cheeseboard. Because cheeseboards are never the same, but they are always amazing. To be *…ahem….cheesy* — a cheeseboard is like life. You can arrange it nicely, but it’s almost never the same.

But that’s also the beauty of it! You want to try new things! You can keep a few things you love from cheeseboard to cheeseboard, or from life situation to life situation, but it’s highly encouraged and in fact, a great idea, to swap out the old with the new.

Ok done with the metaphor.

A little more about our life: We bought a duplex in Austin, Texas with a backyard, so our dog Rocket is going to be the happiest ever. It needs work and we’ll be updating it quite a bit — hopefully this year and next with some boring things: new siding, fix some electrical, the roof, cutting tree branches, pull out the plants that are too close to the walls, but also some exciting things: redo kitchen, bathrooms, fireplace, extend the backyard and new fences.

Over the last 17 weeks I’ve learned how to build websites and mobile apps from the backend to the frontend. I’ve learned JavaScript, data structures, algorithms, and so many new technologies. If you had asked me about these things on January 1 2020, I would have given you a very blank stare. However, coding is a really energizing change of pace. It’s a similar feeling to writing: typing something into existence. Except the thing you make is functional. Buttons you click send requests to the backend to change things on the frontend. It’s pretty cool.

A little more about this cheese plate. I made it for a quarantine lunch at the beginning of summer. I made it veggie and fruit-heavy because it felt good to stock up on fresh things instead of mountains of pasta and bread for a change. It has: cantaloupe, cucumbers, watermelon, tomatoes & basil, burrata, prosciutto, and toasted bread.

Hope anyone who reads this is staying safe, but also following their dreams. It’s been a crazy year for everyone, yes, but it’s a great opportunity to sit back, to pray, and to think hard about what your life looks like & what you really care about.