Bachelorette Pad

Get between people who

Scream rock 'n' roll

Heavy, drunk, raucous and wild

Amped

Cranking it loud

One anthem of love

My contribution to the fridge poetry before leaving today. Up there along with: 

I smell like jam

And the rather poignant:

My song is only music

Eat power

Drink slowly

Well, today was moving day. After a whirlwind viewing last week, I decide to splash out on an apartment in Gikondo, two minutes down the road from my friends Jo & Pierre of pizza fame. Momma Zuba and Miss Flip came to collect me this afternoon, and we had melange with Pierre before they dropped me off. She's collecting me again in an hour to go stock up on groceries.

I realised on the drive over how very much I owe this lovely lady. Life here would have been a lot harder had it not been for her support. I'm very glad to be back in Gikondo, in a neighbourhood I remember well, with such lovely friends close by. 

The apartment is such a bachelor pad (which, for some inexplicable reason, makes me feel like I should rush out and buy a top-hat, cravat and cane... maybe that's just my fantasy). It's attached to a hotel, and definitely feels like a hotel. For instance, I don't have any mosquito nets. You only have this in hotels, because they spray. I'm a little bit nervous about sleeping without a net. Partly because I'm used to them, partly because I find them comforting (a little bubble to sleep in), and partly because I wonder whether breathing in air that can kill mosquitoes is technically a good thing.

Still, who cares? It is mine. All mine.

Take the tour.

Compact, but perfectly formed. 

The windows are tinted, so they look
like a mirror from the outside.

Yes, that is someone carrying a sack of coal on their head.

It's a two-bedroom apartment, both with en suite shower rooms. There's electricity, water and the first month's gas included, as well as wifi and TV. Which is a shame, because the only thing I'd watch on TV is Wimbledon, which finished yesterday... and let's not talk about that. I'm still a little broken-hearted, but Djokovic dedicating his win to his unborn child sort of made up for that. Would have been nice to see Federer make it eight though.

Moving on.

Laundry is also supposed to be included, according to my agent, but there's a disagreement about this. I've left them to sort it out. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy my oven and my huge, shiny refrigerator, safe in the knowledge that any food I put in there will still be there in the morning.

I really am grateful to my former housemates. It was the perfect place to start from, but shared living is though at the best of times, perhaps tougher the further over thirty you get? It means a lot to have your own little sanctuary. Especially with so much work to get through over the next few months.

Plus, like, all the major hardships of moving to a new country...

Hey, let me tell you about my first world problems.

What am I supposed to do with this, huh?

It's, like, growing. Really long.
Seriously.

Forgive me father, it has been four months since my last haircut. It's growing out of control. Must be the heat or something. Yet I have no idea where I can get it cut.

*

Just been shopping with Jo. Yeah, she has no idea either.

Anyway, I've stocked up good and proper. I have spent a small fortune in the past week, now I intend to stay home and nest for at least a fortnight. A new home, a fresh beginning. I had a coffee and cigarette morning reminiscent of Laos, and now I'm done. Stocked the fridge with fruit and veg, have rice, pasta, even some foofoo powder (tastes of nothing, but packed with calories, easy to make, goes with beans).

Rule number one: Eat, and eat well. More home cooking, less going out.

Rule number two: Do some exercise! Swim once a week, start on some reps in my room. Jo is even talking about yoga. 

Rule three: Sleep! Get plenty of it. Stop going to bed at stupid o'clock. Turn in early with a good book (Four: Read more).

A Good Start

But Still - Beer.
Some Things Are Necessary.

Home now. Met my Tunisian neighbour. Seems okay, but I'm hoping to turn this place into a hermitage for a few weeks at least. Found the mood lighting switch. Opened a Primus. It is a very comfortable couch. Six-month countdown begins tomorrow.