Home Sweet Home

So I have been in my new home about 4 months now. No, I have not found a full time job yet. Everything I read says they hire who they know. One of the articles I stumbled upon states that 90% of people hired, know someone at the company. So I decided not to fight it, stop complaining about it and get a move on. I started my own business and I am off and running. Last week I had a job in Chicago, a full week of work. It felt so good to be working long hours and I didn't much mind the 27 flights of stairs I had to  descend each evening. You wouldn't think that for someone who walks 4-6 miles each day and plays tennis would have a problem with this, but by the third day...I thought I might have to jump out the window instead of using the stairs...my legs hurt that much. But the thrill of working an entire week was bigger than the pain in my legs, I was so happy!


Friday morning, when I woke up and started packing my luggage, I could not wait to get home. I missed home, my new home. When I landed at 11:50 pm Friday evening, I knew I had made the right decision. I was elated to see JFK airport, it was comforting to see the city on my ride home. I dropped off my luggage, and went back out to take a walk with my dog, smiles all around that my neighborhood was such a comfort. For all that is said about NYC, how crowded, loud, all the hustle and bustle...I found that it wraps itself around you and it feels cozy. All the things that some seem to complain about here, have become my solace. It finally hit me, I live here and this is home. I had missed my new friends and our get togethers at the corner pub. I missed their smiles and all the stories that they tell. I couldn't wait to see them again.


I have been documenting my move and experiences with my IPhone camera, nice pictures but I wanted more. This week, I finally bought the camera of my dreams...I had been wanting one for a long, long time, but more so since I've moved here. This city inspires, creativity at every corner as this shot proves. 

The first day I had it, I walked all day, documenting the city and all the things that make it home, getting to know my new camera and meeting new people and places along the way. 


What I was most drawn to capturing were the dogs that live here. Just as friendly as the city, and as different as each neighborhood I explored. Each one I met had a personality all their own, but all of them tolerant and easygoing (sure lady, take my picture if you will pet me for just a bit), letting me indulge my passion for capturing their adorable faces. I could see in each one, why they were so loved by their owners. 

This guy I met in the West Village...never looked away from the camera, stared right into the lens, and kept on staring when I walked away. Soft, sweet and mellow.

This one a resident of SOHO, right in the middle of all the media at a crime scene of a famous missing persons case. All the frenzy and the milieu caused by the police, FBI evidence response team, NYC crime scene investigators and detectives. All the TV stations and the public, trying to get a shot of the mayhem when the best shot was sitting right at their feet. I could not get enough of this one. Seemed as though he just wanted to take his shoes for a walk, now stuck sitting here waiting to go on his way, nothing here of interest to him.

And "Ginger Snap" lives in the East Village and was sitting outside Starbucks, patiently waiting to hit Thompksins Park. I can see my silhouette in her eyes, and hope that we get to have our picture taken together again sometime soon.

Jo Ann