With Love, Anaya V

17th August, 2021

Tuesday

10 pm

Dear Diary, 

s God will have it, I am writing as close to real-time as possible, but it is not for a good cause. For the past two hours, I have been in shock, and at times like this I am glad Kam doesn’t live on the mainland, because she will hit me with  “I told you so” and she wouldn’t be wrong. Everyone warned me, but did I listen? No

They say problems come in succession, but for me, my “village people ” are pursuing me because I found within an hour that I am no longer welcome in the home where I live, and my employment situation has become very interesting. 

Let’s start from the top, shall we? I haven’t been able to keep up with housework in the last week due to my commute to work and the demands of the most recent project at work. We have been handling data analysis for one of Scale’s largest clients, so I have late nights keeping up with tasks that spill over from the work day, I don’t always wake up early enough to care for the house, and I am often late for work. I’m not irresponsible, so I explained the situation to my hosts, and as predicted, the response was insincere sympathy and an expectation that I would continue to contribute to the house at the same level as before. I was unable to keep up with the housework. 

Apparently, my hosts are unhappy with this arrangement because they asked me to leave their home tomorrow. Very dramatically, if I may add. As soon as I arrived from work at 8 pm, the husband and wife, not even offering me a seat told me they only accommodated me because of their connection to my parents, but due to my “behaviour” these days, they could no longer accommodate me and that I should vacate their home by the end of the day tomorrow. They also gave me the option to either inform my parents of the new development or they do. I chose to inform my parents.

To add insult to injury, when I finally got into my almost-former room around 8:30 pm., I saw an email from Scale’s Human Resources department on my phone’s notification panel that looked important, so I opened it. I read the email with the heading “Suspension” and saw my name “Anaya Maikudi,” scanning and seeing words like “due to late resumption,” “unpaid suspension,” “two weeks,” and “effective immediately.” I began to laugh. I understand, I was late a few times, so you suspended me, which is fine, but it’s the timeline for me. This email was sent today when I submitted the detailed analysis report, and it also corresponds with the fact that the business owner will be away for exactly two weeks, as announced in the office. Remember how I mentioned that no work of consequence gets done when the owners are not involved? My employer’s think I’m a fool. So they value me enough to want the results of my work, but not enough to consider how the office workload affects my work-life balance?

I’ve been sitting on the floor for the last hour and 30 minutes, confused, tired, and everything in between. I could call Kam to stay in the spare room of her apartment, but that would mean a daily quota of well-intentioned “I told you so’s” and “how far your job search” with the natural see finish that comes with living with people, or I could go back with my tails between my legs and call my parents to find anyone willing to temporarily accommodate me. 

I want to curl up in my blanket and cry for the next few days, but that is only for people who have accommodation and a place of employment, abi? Right now, I do not have that luxury. I need to find a solution. Fast. 

I call Kam first. I still need to speak with my parents, but at least I need to find a place to sleep. Thank God Kam doesn’t “I told you so” me too much, and is open to sharing her space with me. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be moving to Kam’s apartment. I reached out to my parents, and they were very supportive. Of course, they told me off for not trying hard enough to meet my daily quota of housework (I didn’t have the energy to argue), but they consoled me and advised me to be careful and respect boundaries while staying at Kam’s apartment. Besides, I have a plan. I only have about 30,000 nairas left to meet my rent contribution target, so I’ll work a few side jobs to cover the balance and contribute to the bills while staying out of Kam’s way so she doesn’t get irritated by my presence. 

WITH LOVE, 

Anaya