i need a job

today i've been wondering about tea. (amongst other things)

it was late this afternoon after a morning out with the girls from the pantry (getting into trouble for lack of risk in clothing choices) and i was chilling out with a cup of tea at the kitchen table.

big mug. mid strength. no milk. no sugar.

daydreaming into the cup, watching it cool, it reflected the light from the ceiling fan. like a water reflection? not quite. was it water anymore? or was the water to the tea what oxygen is to water?

once the molecules attach themselves to the point where they can't be detached without changing the status of the water, by evaporation or some other process, does that change the thing? or is it just the thing + tea?

im not sure how long i pondered all the arguments for either side to myself, but by the time i'd done staring at it, tilting it, examining the steam, my tea was a little cold.

but this got me thinking. do external factors in life, whose influence or affect cannot be extracted without changing your status of existence, by death or some other process, does that change who we are? does it make us us + said external factor or affect?

some things can change the way you interact with the world, like a change in cultural perspective. but what about the littler things? an interaction with a shop assistant? an incidental email from a friend? an accidental half hour extra in bed? do these things brew in us as much as the things dunked in a bag? or do they attach themselves as separate entities that we have a certain control over; the option to discard?

i think tea might be a very underrated thing. it's essentially three basic elements combined (a mug. a tea bag. some water.) but its apparent simplicity is hiding an underlying cornucopia of complicated relationships that you could spend a lifetime contemplating.

a lifetime purpose as valid as that spent inspecting the wonder of belly buttons.