Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Value of Work

[Howard Landman (howard]

> Other forms of work are seen as having both use and exchange value ...
> Why don't we expect this of cooking?
> 
> Segal would say "Because we are still seeing it as work with no grace."

Wow, I don't see it that way at all.  I don't get to cook very often
but I love it.  It gives me a chance to be artistic and creative while
still presenting challenges of budget (like any other art form).
Sometimes I find a way to be creative within the budget.  Sometimes
the art demands that I go over it - I don't mind paying the excess
out of my own pocket if necessary because the vision is more important
to me than a few dollars.  I see it as a bit of potlatch culture,
where I'm valued not by what I have but by what I give away.  (Open
source software is perhaps the best large scale modern example of a
potlatch culture.)  I would like people to look forward to a meal
I cook and be wondering "What's Howard going to do *this* time?"

There are other difficulties of course, such as cooking for a mixed
group of vegans and carnivores and everything in between with a few
food allergies to boot.  I finally, this year, 30 years after trying
and failing in college, learned how to make a decent miso soup.  And
no sooner had I mastered the art of simmering shaved bonito flakes
than I had to forget it and figure out a way to do a vegan miso soup
for our veggie meal club.  There ain't no justice.  :-)

Working long hours and having a long commute means that I often miss
community meals.  Sometimes I get to eat leftovers, but it's not the
same.  Eating with everyone is a pleasure, and getting to cook for
them all is a pleasure too.  Yeah, it's work, but there are ways to
simplify if you really need to.  Sometimes I feel like I'm more
disconnected from the community than the people who are there all
day.  When I cook, I feel re-connected, right in the beating heart
of it all.  That, to me, is worth something.

        Howard Landman
        River Rock Commons, Fort Collins, CO

P.S. Nag nag, I've only gotten 2 responses to my "for-profit entity"
     survey, could use a few more ...
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