I’m just an alien through and through, trying to make believe I’m you

A little over a year ago at University, I had handed in my coursework for the semester (I got all distinctions, for the record), and was walking back slightly triumphantly to my accommodation. I had almost reached my front door, when someone came running around the corner, asking if he could speak to me. I was confused, expecting a talk on ‘our savior the Lord Jesus Christ’ or something but agreed. Next thing I knew, he was standing just inches from my face, and admitted he had seen me in the library occasionally since the previous year, and thought I looked interesting, and he said he desperately wanted to get to know me. I gave him my contact details, and he left.

Shortly afterwards, he contacted me. At this point, I blew it. It’s true, I was still a bit bewildered by the situation, but I was overly aggressive, unwilling to believe someone would want to talk to me or think I’m anything more than just a face in the crowd. After a couple more attempts at getting to hold a conversation with me, this particular admirer gave up.

I remember that incident with pain. I have sincerely regretted my actions ever since.

Daniyo, if you’re reading this (unlikely, but still), I’m deeply sorry.

But now, being unemployed and having little else to do with my time now except look after my grandfather or tagging along with my partner, I realised I am in need of making my own friends, for I am terribly lonely.

Potentially, therefore, last weekend could have been a turning point for me. Alas, it was not.

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My mind has wandered from the flock, you see; and the flock has wandered away from me

Ever since I got fired from my job, my parents have not stopped nagging me to get another job. This is despite the fact that I’ve been very vocal on this point: I don’t want to go back to work just to be bullied again.

Don’t get me wrong: when it comes to work, I’m not lazy. I always take the work seriously, and I work unnecessarily hard for my money, as I delight in making customers happy. But my employment history hasn’t been great for me.

Let me explain how things went wrong:

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Change

Anyone who knows me would know I’m very close to my grandfather; he raised me as a child, and I acted as his carer during the last 9 years.

Around five years ago, I spotted a strange grey mass on my grandfather’s neck. This was the start of a long journey centering around melanoma, involving many trips back and forth to hospitals to get various masses cut off his neck.

Today, we were told the journey will soon be ending ‘in a few months’, as the cancer has now spread through his lymph nodes to his lungs.

Even though we knew this could happen, I’m not quite sure how to cope with all this.

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