What Does 2022 Hold?

Hello Fam! Welcome to 2022 in Asempe Land. I called my blog and my writing persona Ewuraba Sempe for twenty years. Lady Curiosity. I changed it this past fall to be more official and professional on recommendation by a writing coach. I figured if I pick up the “Asempe Land” theme then it will still be in the background and remind me of why I chose the name to begin with.

How goes 2022 for you? Here in Curious Land, I sit amidst piles of clothing, some on hangers, some in the hamper, and yet still, some in laundry baskets signaling that they may be clean. Who knew I owned so many clothes. I know I need to downsize. I especially need to give up the ghost on clothes that no longer fit this body I am currently living in. It feels as though removing them from my closet means I am giving up on losing some of this weight so I can fit back into them. Across the room stand two Panera catering bags full of shoes. How did one come to accumulate this many shoes, several of which I no longer even wear. Downstairs I have three boxes which although they have labels are still nondescript enough to still leave me wondering. I figure I will leave them unopened until the day when I desperately need something from them and I will tear through the house in their direction and rip off the tape. In the meantime, they remain where they have been since I moved them in two weeks ago. These boxes are a teeny weensy portion of what we have in storage. We both have a storage unit that I am desperately attempting to downsize to one because I am sure none of the items are worth almost $10k each which will be what we would have paid for the storage unit by the end of the year if we keep things in them that long.

So…Bae and I blended households for Christmas. This meant that I got a gift that will hopefully keep on giving for a long long time, whether in this current space or somewhere else. This also meant that I didn’t get to pick out my tree or do any of the decorating things I usually do. I sang as many carols as I could but I couldn’t really get into the Christmas spirit in the way I have the past few Christmases. I moved my things rapidly from Boxing Day to New Year’s Eve because I didn’t want to pay any amount of more rent to the management, and also we had a dance party planned with a handful of friends. I managed to make this happen thanks to some amazing friends that jumped in, packed and hauled stuff. So far Bae and I have not had a whole lot of time to settle into a rhythm quite yet. We’ve been moving then traveling and Bae has been enrolled in a winter class which by the looks of it makes my thesis look like a cakewalk. I look forward to the start of the semester for her and a more regular gig for me.

We did vision boards on the 1st with a couple friend of ours; I have all food items on my board because that is what I am attempting to manifest this year. That, and a new stove! More on that later. The vision board has much less on it than it did two years ago when we did it, and when I was doing it this time, I felt less enthusiastic. I felt like I just wanted to sleep and or color my way through 2022 but I knew deep down that wasn’t possible. I was a sole-preneur with no gigs lined up yet and I had to get up, throw off the sleep-inducing covers and get to work. Gigs sometimes land in your lap but for the 5 years I’ve been cooking most of the gigs I’ve had have not simply landed. I’ve had to chase them, schmooze, taste-test, and give away food to get paid gigs. Not to mention the actual hard cash that goes into building a business. So I sat up, threw off the covers, colored in my favorite plums and burgandys and then set about setting up my desk so I can begin research and outreach.

I don’t know what 2022 holds for me but I know that as scared as I am about the variant, I must also learn to live with the virus. I also know that I must get up and search for gigs. I must rise and keep house because I now share living space with the love of my life and I want to live in harmony and not squabble over silly things. I know I will seek to cultivate more love, widen my love circle, move my body and eat healthy. The last two I know will be the most challenging but I hope I can hold fast to the idea of self-care and let that lead the journey.

Afihyia Pa! Afe nko mboto hen!