STEEPED BY SAMIA #35 | Fall 2024 Recap
There are other C words I can add to this title, but this is good enough.
Much like last year, I ended up taking a haitus from writing and posting Steeped in the fall. Only this time, I started a new freelance anchor project with a delightful skincare brand called Ghlee and have been dedicating a good chunk of my weeks to that. It was a busy and kind of stressful past few months; but looking back, it was also glorious.
Also, I realized I announced my In The Liminal interview series in the summer and didn’t get around to it yet. Typical Samia behavior, lol. But this is something I’m still feeling a lot of energy toward, so please expect some fun interviews in 2025!
To catch you up to speed, I bring you some vignettes from my fall season.
I. Cat(s)
Another tuxedo cat has joined the Abbasi household, starting this fall. It is an unexpected follow-up to Chasing a cat through town: Ferheen trapped and adopted Toddler Cat’s granddaughter, who was living in our neighborhood with her mom and sibling this summer. Peter thought of the name Dali, after Salvador Dalí, because she has a white mustache. It’s cute because it almost looks like there’s a milk spill that starts under her nose, dribbles down her chin, and blends into her fur.
Despite the stress and difficulty of the whole stray kittens saga (which I won’t go into detail on), Ferheen did an amazing job helping Dali become socialized and feel safe in our home. S&N Cat Trappers United!!
We often get asked how Zayn and Naru were able to get along. It’s because we got them as a bonded pair — you can read this blog post on how our cats changed our world. So, introducing Dali to Zayn and Naru was a big step. Long story short, this is the rundown: Dali idolized Zayn, Zayn is pretty neutral (read: unexcited) and accepting toward her. On the other hand, Naru was pretty hostile toward her at first — he’s the territorial one! — and so Dali would get scared of him, resulting in some aggressive fighting, hissing, and growling. We’ve been giving them time and letting them “figure out their sh*t”, as Ferheen and I say. Just this morning, I’m pleased to let you know that Dali and Naru were lounging on my desk chair together and occasionally licking each other. 🥹🥹🥹
Dali is such a cutie, and we are all fawning over her. This combination of girl cat energy and kitten energy was much needed with how hectic these past few months have been.
II. Construction
The Abbasi family is at the tail end of a major moment: the first phase of construction on our house is almost done. Mainly, the roof, garage, and sunroom and some other important things, like re-doing the plumbing line and getting rid of the fireplace. I’ve described it to people as organized chaos. That’s the thing about construction: it gets very messy before it comes together.
With the noise of construction, I expected to work at the library or coffee shops more, but somehow continued to work in my bedroom (aka Studio Samia) the majority of the time, taking advantage of earbuds and quiet moments. I don’t recommend it, lol, but it came in handy to be around when we needed to trap the cats in a room while internal construction was happening.
It’s exciting to see my Abu’s vision come to life. He’s been dreaming of this for years; it got derailed by the lengthy wait time of city permit approvals and his cancer treatment in 2022. It’s heartwarming to see him work with his various construction friends/colleagues on his own house! We’re excited about the fresh energy (and not having roof shingles fly off the house with every rain/wind storm, lol). Kitchen next, please?!
III. Clarity
There are three post-its on my wall from September that are starting to lose their stickiness and fall off. They say:
- “Stop waiting for the universe to send excitement your way. It’s up to you to find or create it for yourself. You have the golden opportunity to change your mindset…to start something new.” — The Cut Horoscope for the week of Sept 1-7, 2024 for Virgo (my moon sign!)
- “Take things at your own pace, Samia. Overwhelm kills creativity. And that’s the last thing we want to do. Take care of yourself.” — Jayani S., founder of Gedera & Co. and my Sri Lankan-Aussie aunty
- I think it’s dangerous to concern oneself too damn much with being an artist. It’s more important to get the work done…The pondering pose…people spend more time posing than getting the work done. The work is all there is.” — Maya Angelou in Black Women Writers at Work
These quotes bring different reminders: seek magic, take breaks, and do the work. I hope you can glean some inspiration from them, too!
Some other fun & fabulous happenings from the fall (in no particular order):
Cutting my hair shorter (okay, bob!), going to Big Basin for the first time after it reopened from the fire, hanging out with my Fennel Seed Co besties and hosting our first workshop, SALA Festival with Manasvi and Surmeyi, Ghlee launching an amazing ghee-based Muscle Balm, Kola Goodies having a fantastic holiday sale szn, wholesome chats with Jayani and Gedera & Co., going to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival with Ferheen & Peter, meeting my amazing writer friend Aleenah Ansari in person for the first time, and watching Bhopal, an incredible play written by my good friend Aliya’s dad, Rahul Varma.
More Steeped to come x — S.A.
🔗 Steep On This:
- A book: The Myth of Making It by Samhita Mukhopadhyay
- A song: Skating by Vince Guaraldi Trio
- A TV show: A Discovery of Witches (Netflix)
- A podcast: Proxy by Yowei Shaw
- A newsletter: As Seen On by Ochuko Okpovbovbo
- A tea: Victorian London Fog by Harney & Sons
💫 Catch Up:
09.22.24 | Logged on far too long: You’ve really changed, haven’t you?
STEEPED BY SAMIA #34: On Facebook Memories and being a teen on social media in the 2010s.
💌 About This Blog:
Steeped by Samia is a space where I can simmer on thoughts & curiosities about life, liminal spaces, digital culture, & more. Far too often, my writing ideas fizzle out in energy; I never get to see them to their full potential. While building my rhythm with writing, I want to share these stories with you.
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