Waking up one morning and being asked to pack out of my residence and spending the rest of the day figuring out where I would lay head that night to rest had to be the most embarrassing and stressful day I had had in a very long time. I had heard stories of people being sent out of their residence for one reason or another, but one thing that was common among them that didn't apply to my case was a timely notice.
I think how it works is that if your rent is due, you'd be informed. If you stay too long without doing something about your rent, then you'd be given a notice to leave within a stipulated time. The most I heard in my case was that the owner of our residence said the night before that he wanted to leave the next morning. We all didn't think he meant it until we realised it the next day.
I was on a phone call with a loved one when a friend came knocking on my door to inform me that we really had been asked to pack all of our things and leave the block. Apparently, it was only my block, out of four, that they were interested in.
Quickly growing perplexed, I dropped the call to face reality and began to pack my things, just as I had seen others do.
You see, one of the reasons I do not like to travel is because I would have to pack. Packing, for me, is not the most fascinating thing to do. And so I spent way longer putting my things together. Eventually, I finished, and the next step was to take out all of my things and find somewhere else to keep them.
Since it was just my apartment block, I found other rooms in other apartment blocks to keep my things. I couldn't help but imagine the level of disregard for Corpers that I had just witnessed.
We were staying in a place where its owner chose not to take money from us, being cops that come to serve. All of a sudden, however, that card was reversed and we were sent out, which was the biggest shock I received.
I spent most of my day packing and then moving my bags to different rooms to keep them. Eventually, I found a place to stay that night. It turned out that the lodge president had reorganised room arrangements to contain all of the rest of us in the other rooms with fellow Corpers. That's how I found myself a new room to stay in.
In this new room now, to say the least, it turned out to be way better than where I was before. Considering that I have to share the space with five other people, it's rather interesting to spend some time chatting with them. What's more important and astonishing to me, however, is how much cool air I enjoy in comparison to where I was before.
I used to complain about heat a lot in my former room, so much so that it caused me unfavourable conditions. Over there, where I used to be, I only had one window, and opening the door never did much to beat the heat. What I have now are three big windows.
Enjoying the cool air at night and the gentle breeze during the day, I considered the embarrassing eviction to be some form of blessing to me. I am no longer worried about heat, and I am sleeping a lot longer, as though I am taking inducing tables.
As much as I didn't like how we were treated, I kind of like where I am now. I hope it remains that way over time. Let's see what happens in a few days...
All images belong to me