Jobseeker’s Diary

This week hasn’t been my best. Lots of stress both at work and at home and I’m really glad it has ended. For starters, the road near my home is under construction. That should be a good thing, right? And it is, although it looked like there was nothing wrong with the road. There were no potholes, or broken pavements. Well the construction guys must have seen something wrong to warrant digging up the road. The result has been a lot of dust, which I’m allergic to and I swear I’m not making this up. I now have a bad cold and my eyes are suffering too. But that’s not the only bad side to the ongoing construction. The soil, stones and tarmac from what used to be the “old” road were all dumped on the feeder road that connects to the main, and this happens to be the one that leads to my home. It has been there for days now and from the look of it, the workers don’t seem to know what to do with it. When it rains, it’s a mess. I’ve slipped about three times already and I hope I don’t break any bones. But even when it doesn’t rain, the dust is just too much and you get to work looking like you walked miles when in fact you didn’t. I hope the construction is completed soon. Something else that struck me was the large expanse of land that was cleared nearby. About three months ago, the area had been planted with maize and beans. The beans were harvested but the maize wasn’t as the garden was cleared before it had matured. I thought what a waste? And guess what was planted instead? Grass and flowers! So how did I get to know so much about this area? Well, in the middle of this garden is, or should I say was a shortcut that I and many others in the neighbourhood liked to use. The same people working on the road decided to seal off the place with barbed wire. And there’re even women who guard the area so no one trespasses. A trip that used to take about five minutes now takes much longer and it doesn’t help that it’s hilly. Something else I’ve wanted to talk about is the women where I live. I’ve never seen so many housewives in one place. Many of them are generally nice but I think they should find better ways to spend their time and I say that with a lot of respect. In these tough economic times, you can’t afford to stay home full time. Yes, someone needs to take care of the children, especially when they’re still small and that’s a good thing but later on, like when they start school, please look for work. Unless your husband has the proverbial deep pockets, you have no business staying home trading recipes and gossiping about other women’s hairstyles and clothes for the rest of your life. So jobs are hard to come by. You can start something small, bake cakes and supply them to supermarkets in the neighbourhood or put up a fruit and vegetable stall. I’m sure your neighbours will support their own. You can also offer to babysit other people’s children at a small cost. There are so many creative things you can do. I feel bad every time women complain that they are not empowered and yet they do nothing to liberate themselves. God, I sound like a disgruntled woman, don’t I? Guess I just had to get a few things off my chest. To be continued... Ends