Thankful for: Payday on the 25th, I had come close to scrapping the bottom of the barrel, if I say so myself! A good return to Instagram, my post got liked a fair bit which is perhaps a tad shallow of me but whatever :) My Freetrade investment turned into positive territory for the first time ever it seems. Progress. Have a work-related query which seemed like it would be a hassle to resolve which has now been resolved. Grateful for supportive work mates!
\\\** Thankful for: Friendly faces: Out and about during my lunch hour, it was a breath of fresh air to run into T around U Square. A friendly face in the midst of the day’s battle is always a welcome sight, dare I say Came through a difficult presentation to Senior Management at work, it feels like I am settling in more and more to this new role at work. I still want/ wish my next move is wrapped up ASAP though. The future beckons.
More job opportunities - both abroad and in the UK - which I’m being considered for. Clear the air talks with S Friends, who at short notice modified their programs to assist me with signing off on paper work.
Came through what could have been a tricky presentation at work. The reward of good work is more work as they say, so more work is on the horizon. Great news from an interview I attended in early August, an offer has been extended I now need to make a decision!
\\\* A lot has happened over the last week: travelling for work in West Africa, juggling tight deadlines at work and interviewing for a new role I’d really like to get. All told, it’s a week I have survived, specific things I’m grateful for include: Returning safely to firm land following my four or so days offshore in the Ivory Coast. Resolution of a minor snafu at entry in which I failed to turn in my passport for a new visa stamp but managed to do so on my way out without any issues For pepper, and how it makes everything taste great again, especially fried plantains which are a staple out here. For friendly faces: people I’ve worked with in a different office who it was great to meet and get help settling in from. For good early opportunities: I spent a day sat next to a guy who had spent time working in Nigeria as an expat for the company I started off with. Being able to swap stories of that was great! The opportunity to interview at a much bigger company than mine across town.Apparently mine was one of four CVs selected from 60+ applicants. Good to know my CV was of interest in what was a competitive field. I hope I get the job, but if not some constructive feedback would be great!
\\\* This week I am thankful for: The opportunity to travel for work, the starting point of which was a 3.00am wake up, final bag checks and then dragging myself into a taxi by 4.00am. For what it’s worth, taxi’s out here can be a bit hit or miss, thankfully this one was a big hit; a Sri Lankan national who had lived and worked in most of West Africa in the early 2,000s and had an opinion on the Jollof rice wars. All of that made for a very pleasurable, if slightly woozy 20 minute ride to the airport. Bliss. The flight itself - business class via work - reminded me of all the delights of not travelling cattle class. All told - from leaving my house and arriving at my hotel at the other side - it was the better part of 16 hours, including a lengthy wait in Bamako for the President of Mali to fly off. The relative ease in which I travelled was something to be grateful for, as was what appeared to be a deportation, a reminder that just over 10 years ago, I arrived in my current country as an intrepid student but now have the luxury of belonging to another country. Friendly faces on one of the assets I stopped over at which made my easing into that work day the easiest it could be, given the circumstances Although my room on the first FPSO was iffy, I am thankful for the comparatively plush lodgings I ended up in, on day 3.
\\\* Second week since I’ve restarted these, and the first in which I have been trying to keep a log in my notebook through the week. Here goes: Several times over the last seven days I’ve managed to bust out several good runs ranging from 5 to 10km. Given a mere three years ago, I could hardly complete 2.5km in a go, going the distances I now can is something to be grateful for. Meetups with people I have known through work dominated my social life this past week. First off was a catch up with R who I shared an office with when I first joined my current company back in 2011 and who I have stayed friends with. I have him to thank for making the effort to draw me out from the shy, reserved, headphones-in-my-ears-all-the-time guy I was when I joined. The other meetup was with M, at a Nigerian eatery in town. He managed the pepper OK, and we have notionally agreed to do this every quarter, if we can. The other big catchup was with S, whom I hadn’t spoken to in quite some time. It is always amazing to catch up with someone I haven’t in a while and then the conversation just seems to continue from where it stops. Grateful for friends! My relationship with my local church (and the big C church to be honest) isn’t the greatest at all. Having managed to drag myself there last Sunday, quite a few things said seem to hit right home and capture the moment where I am at the moment.
It has been a while I did one of these, life happened I guess, but recently I have come back to a place where mental health has come front and centre in the circles I roll in again. I suspect if you asked S, she would say I have been a terrible old git for most of the past year, which is where actively cultivating an attitude of gratitude comes in. The idea would be to document one thing per day that I am grateful for, and share on here on a Thursday. So here goes: ...
Thankful for: More progress on Mum’s health - not quite the all clear yet, but she’s strong enough to speak clearly and has been discharged. Chemo continues though. #SmallMercies More progress on the two main job fronts I am exploring - met the second HR person from the CNRL hiring team, got an email from the Recruiter for the Maersk role giving updates. Big next week coming up for these two roles as it were. Finding God, or Him finding me, which sounds more like it because I haven’t done anything significantly different. Thankful for the new phase of quiet confidence I am in at the moment. #GodRocks Song of the week: History - Matthew West.
Thankful for: Progress with Mum’s health. Got sucked into an emergency surgery but by all accounts she’s getting close to the all clear. Progress on two main job chasing fronts - CNRL & Maersk. Fingers crossed! Finally reaching a place where I am slowly weaning myself off my intense fixation on L. Three day work weeks, and options aplenty to pick and choose form. Bring on the harvest dear God!