Saturday January 1, 2022

Hello there, first day of the new year. 

I was in bed by 11pm on the last day of 2021. (Old people is no drinking and no stay up late one.) The neighbors' ruckus (I give you a pass since it's New Year, but I'm not hot about you scaring my dog) and the dog woke me up twice. I'm soooo sleepy today. Haizzzzz. This is going to be another year of interrupted sleep. That's the trade-off of high-density living and having the dog fully understand that waking me in the night is preferable to waking the man. 

I give thanks to what I know and what I have. As much as I have hope and joy, I need to muster up optimism. Having a truckload of courage and fortitude don't add up to possessing optimism. I walk into 2022 with a lot of pessimism and weariness. I'm wary of the financial tsunami that might wash over us. Inflation is trending; the economic downturn is happening and nothing can buoy it. I wonder if this year will see the arrival of the recession that we never wish for. 

I shouldn't be weary, because, first world privileges and all that. Check, check and check. What I experience and feel, in terms of magnitude, is frankly not comparable to someone else's pain and suffering. Our life is about our choices. That doesn't diminish the intensity of the joy or pain arising from our choices that should not be judged by faceless strangers, unless we're politicians or our choices affect and shape history.  

We're not even halfway through the Greek alphabet in this pandemic. May there not be any more hasty national lockdowns. Travel can be stunted, but may the borders not close so swiftly. I rolled eyes at all the jokes about Twenty-Twenty-Too. Nothing about today feels like the governments are acknowledging that COVID-19 is endemic. We have to trust that the vaccines work. Although I wonder how many shots the government will force us to take this year. May health be with us.

Suit up. I hope we're all ready for what 2022 is gonna throw at us.

A coffeeshop that is open on New Year's Day!