Trying to actively journal these past days has been extremely difficult for me, well, for tangible reasons actually. First, I have been faced with work appraisal in the second week of the new year while trying to reassess my role and set new targets for myself. Secondly, I’ve had to move between apartments and this had proven time and material consuming, and in this regard, I haven’t made the best decisions, and I have spent more money and effort than I had planned to.

First it was having problems with the cleaning and renovation. The first painter that had been recommended to me was a student, and on meeting him proved to lack a proper understanding of his job, and he couldn’t afford to repay my downpayment after I told him not carry on.

The second painter seem to understand the rope but not after pushing the budget into a deficit as he had to buy more paints in-between the job, and for the cleaning, I was not satisfy until I have hired a second cleaner to clear the mess the first had made of the kitchenette and bathroom, worse than the flat state she had met it. All this had culminated at the start of the school exam, while trying to keep my job & stay afloat an industry that is constantly innovating and navigating life during a national cash shortage.

I moved into the the new apartment about two weeks ago but not after battling mosquitoes assault on my first night. My mum and a neighbour suggested I fumigate the room with insecticides, and this solved the problem, but not before leaving trails of malaria in my body. I met a young boy who comes around the house and help with petty errands. He has a melancholic look, but he is energetic and has a good sense of humour and I find his help and company really useful.

Exam ends this coming Thursday, and I can’t wait. I can’t wait to go back to getting a life, to go back journaling, solving problems and writing codes. I will take some rest, look after my health, try to settle in fully, and I might even see a movie. And what have I missed? the food hunting and trying new cuisines, the sometimes elegiac rhythm of a slow and unmoving day, then freedom, work, idleness and plenty time to waste, and the joy of other days; joy buoyed by urgency and epiphany and discoveries and the pastoral walks in the twilight after a very busy day.