Notes on The Sauvage and other things… Unemployment Never Looked so good

It's been a while. I am alive, and I am in Lagos. Whenever I haven't been out and about for a while people come up to me and ask if I've just come back from holiday. I don't quite understand this. No, anyway you look at it, it doesn't make any sense. Is my life expected to stop because I am no longer a constant feature of yours? Because you left me somewhere, did you always think that I would be there? It's crazy! Anyway, this one is about all the new things that are going on in my life.

First off, I quit my job. Err Maa Gerrrd! Why Afam! Why! The answer is begin with the end in mind. There's this myth that you've got to spend a couple of years doing things that you aren't particularly good at, or things that you don't like, so that one day in the near or far future, you'll get to do the things that you love. That is 1 million shades of bullshit. I say think very very hard about where you want to end up, and then live everyday until you get there in preparation for that day. So intern here, spend three years there, or go back to school, but in all your movements just make sure that you're aligning yourself with the end.

I learned a lot from my old job. I learned enough to see that it wasn't the best thing for right now. It may be a brilliant thing for 2016, but 2014, and 2015, are booked solid. Also, I got a new writing gig at thesauvage.com. I like the website. I like how they sound, and I like what they're fighting for. It's gutsy, and it's brave and I think it'll go far. I also like that the editor's a nasty little shit. He's rude, and sometimes rude is exactly what you need. Also it's easier to take editorial notes from someone that can use tenses properly, and doesn't bog the content down with useless useless needlessly large words.

For those of you that are worrying because unemployment in Lagos is no joke. It is really really hard to get any sort of job here without being a nepotist, I have another one lined up. It's content research at a television station and it looks promising. I haven't accepted it yet, but I will soon. There's no need to dawdle when you know exactly what you're after.

Unemployment has been great so far. I saw Grand Papa Afam on Saturday which is always nice. I've started swimming again, and I'm eating a lot better than I used to.

Onward and Upward!!

Happy Days,
Afam