Evening 38 It was grey and drizzly today But the disappearing middle class refused to give up a second of their holiday and so the beach was packed with determined happy families People were fishing in the empty water I walked around the village (because I too am determined) and saw that even the little ones were out in droves on their bicycles, with their dogs and remote controlled cars It was odd to see Even in the gated suburban idylls of Cairo, you don't often see children running around unsupervised It reminded me of the 90s Go out and play and come back when it gets dark I couldn't help smiling at them Kids these days are smart enough to be wary of smiling strangers so I hurried out of the stranger danger zone I did help a little girl gain purchase after she dropped something from her bicycle and she squeaked an adorable "Merci" Colloquial/Egyptian Arabic has French peppered in -- piscine, ascenseur, maillot, merci I didn't get to swim (yes, there were people swimming in the rain) I didn't get to swim because my content farm, freelance writing overlords somehow sensed I didn't have a keyboard handy and sent me a heavier workload than usual I was hunched over my cousin's laptop most of the morning And in between horribly timed last second changes in the work briefs, "oh a note Sarah, could you just redo these ten pages" --I was responding to some infuriating messages from Ozzy I didn't curse and I didn't capitulate I had a confidence boost the day before from friends Kosha, Maru, Saf and Mou Mou was a riot-- Yesterday, upon hearing that I broke up with Ozzy, Mou-- one of my oldest friends, informed me that he had actually planned an intervention for me after Eid Like Ozzy was both crack and my pusher 💀 He had compiled all the Ozzy chats we'd had and all the emails I sent over the years The man was going to make a presentation It helped me stand up for myself And tutoring and writing during my holiday, amid emotional turmoil also gave me a sense of self worth My time is precious too Ozzy said I was a quitter for not waiting for him And he felt he had wasted his time The depth of the breath I had to take to quell my rage... I probably sucked the oxygen out of a 15 km radius Ozzy, I said Can you believe it? My time is precious too He then suggested we be friends ... Because I was suggesting we twerk on the moon?! More breathing. I said I'd like to be friends after some space to grieve Ozzy hears space is needed which of course means time to send unsolicited advice It's easier to pull out his teeth than to get more than two messages out of him consecutively but now all of a sudden he's "dear Abby" Oh is work important? The man with the same job as me earning 50 times my pay wants to let me know that work is important Noted. WORK. IMPORTANT. It's not day 100 but I deserve a treat for not burning down the house. Friends. Pfft. Just watch, I called it The end of May-- let's get a coffee, Sarah. Romantic overture. I respond with strategic gush. Ozzy gets the ick. Observe good sir thy whiplash Forsooth thou art a misogynist hatey lady man Could it beeeee? Get thee to therapy For the love of all that's good, get thee to god damn therapy You have the synopsis, diary folk |