I had probably dozed off not more than five minutes when a call came in on my phone. It was a colleague calling to remind me that it was already time for the Google Meet Meeting slated for 8pm and I was yet to join them. I thanked him for calling to remind me and then proceeded to join. There was no need for video output, as only audio was needed, so I clicked the link to join the meeting and the voice of the host came on.
It wasn't anything I hadn't heard before and as the host droned on, I quickly lost interest as the life both in and outside the bus I was in soon caught my attention. Lagos had quite a busy life, and only the day of the week determined how busier it would get. It was a Saturday and one would expect the weekends to at least be traffic free, but just as there were many like me coming back from a stress filled day, you could equally see others who were smiling and discussing about how much fun they'd had at the various parties they'd attended.
Tired as I was, I smiled thinking about how I was just like them a few months back. Free to go wherever, whenever, and do whatever I wanted. Working a six day week job, the life was literally the job. I was still lost in my thought, when our bus suddenly jerked forward. Another vehicle must've just hit our bus and from the renditions of ahhhh that filled the air from passerby, it was obvious the damage must've been really bad. My heart sank as I knew what would follow next, even if I didn't know what form it would take.
It would be another thirty minutes before we were finally able to resolve the altercation that followed between our driver and that of the bus that hit us. The damage wasn't actually as bad as we'd initially thought, but both drivers it seemed had crossed out the word peace from their dictionaries before leaving their various homes. It took the involvement of officers of the LASTMA (Lagos State Transport Management Authority) to finally resolve the issue and the estimated cost of damage paid by the offending driver.
Our bus continued on, and I realized I was still in an online meeting that had ended about ten minutes before. I was the last person still in the meeting, luckily the meetings required everyone but the host to leave their audio on mute except when making an input. I left the meeting and soon our bus arrived at my busstop. It was with relief I finally stepped off the bus and walked the three minutes distance to my house.
I was eating dinner, thinking about the stress of the day when my Uncle came in. I'd been living with him for awhile. Like me he'd been stuck in traffic as well, but unlike me he didn't look it. His job didn't require him going far distances everyday because although it wasn't very close, it wasn't as far as mine.
"Welcome back" I greeted
"Thanks. Had a stressful day ba? (Had a stressful day right?)" he asked. Already noticing how tired I looked
'It's just one of those days"
He gave me a knowing smile as he walked towards his room. He'd been trying to get me to find something a little bit closer, to avoid the stress of Lagos traffic. I loved my job, well actually I loved the pay, but the stress not so much.
At least tomorrow a Sunday would be a work free day. I had laundry to do, so although a work free day, definitely not a stress free day. I picked up my phone, clicked on broadcast messages and selected the contacts of a few of my close friends.
Broski, I might be looking for a new job close to home soon. Lagos traffic is about to end me. It was time to listen to my Uncle's advice of looking at other job offers closer to home.
The following month I got two job offers with lesser pay, one required me to work from home mostly, so I dropped my resignation letter and said a heartfelt goodbye to my colleagues. It was on towards another phase of life.