Breathing

Ho hum. 

So, some news.

Went to see my beauty therapist the other day. Tea, home-made snacks and henna.

 

I mentioned before that she makes her own henna which she grows in her garden. She's just moved house so it's been transplanted, but starting to grow again. I'd never actually seen a real life henna plant before.

Takes a lot of preparation and several hours to apply. Her son is also an amazing tattoo artist.

The date with glitter guy didn't materialise and I'm good with that as something else happened. 

There was a text. Then there was a phone conversation.

You can guess who with.

I swore to be calm, collected, to listen rather than speak...

So, I shouted at him for about half an hour. 

We both offloaded, then we laughed, and by the end of it we were talking.

What can I say?

He's got a course to go on, but then he says he's getting on a plane back here. I'm ridiculously happy, but cautious. I was worried I wouldn't be able to let go of the anger, but I have. I understand what happened, though it's still a bit sore. I've been watching a lot of Esther Perel and paying attention. My friends and family have also been utterly amazing. I am eternally lucky to be surrounded by such good people. The missing outweighs the hurt by a hundred to one at the moment. Just need to make it a few more weeks and we can start again. I'm in a really good place right now and work is still full on, so plenty of distractions.

Plus some good things came out of having some time to myself. I've made a couple of new friends. Going for drinks on Friday with crazy lady and went for a fancy lunch today with a guy who is really nice. We're doing it again next week.

Seafood Ink Ravioli

Also still doing research for my novel. Listening to a lot of books on ancient Sumer whilst eating pizza and watching the pretty lights at Kigali Convention Centre.

 

Talking of pretty lights, my dad posted these incredible pictures of Gloucester Cathedral who put on a light display in support of asylum seekers.

 

 

Wish I could have seen it, but did end up at a nice craft market in the pedestrian area of Kigali the other day.

So, everything is much better than it was. 

I was also sent to a specialist to figure out what the infection was all about - and everything came back clear. Apparently it's normal for local clinics to return false positives due to external contamination, whereas Rwanda Biomedical Centre then tests them and finds nothing. Seems the antibiotics worked the first time round and I probably didn't need to take the rest, but I've been nuked for just about everything. It was really nice to finally get the all clear and I am feeling normal again.

Also just taken out a three-month pool pass at the local sports centre. I went swimming with S before Christmas and forgot how much I love it, so it's a step towards a healthier lifestyle. Just hoping the second-hand swimming costume I picked up at the market holds together. I live in fear.

Meeting a guy tomorrow who might be volunteering on the piano project, which would be amazing. I've had no time at all due to work, so it would be unbelievable to get some help with that. We'll see if he runs away screaming when he sees what's involved.