Adapt. React. Readapt. Act.

I never thought I'd take advice from Michael Scott, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I cannot continue to complain about my frustrations with work and my stifled existence outside of the office without taking action. I sit in the office with little work to do and the work I do have is mostly mindless. After work I sit in my flat, alone, because I cannot afford safe transportation into to the city and back to the suburbs after dark. I am missing out on the awesomeness of Cape Town for no reason. I go days without leaving the house/guest house compound. I go from the guest house across the driveway to the office in the house and then back to the guest house. Often, my only escape beyond the gate during the work week is the restaurant or gas station up the street. I feel trapped and isolated. I am wasting time in an office when I could be enjoying the Mother City. I am starting to resent the organization and boss because I see them as impeding my happiness. But the reality is that I decided to come here. I decided to stay in the guest house for the entirety of my internship. I decided to work with this organization. I decided to volunteer full time.

I decided it's time for a change.

I am cutting my hours in the office. I will now only work until 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. This will give me plenty of time to go into town and come back to the suburbs before dark. I want to explore all the neighborhoods I've heard about but never visited. I want to pursue freelance articles more aggressively and now I'll be able to schedule interviews during work hours. I want to hike Cape Town's three mountains, but have so far been thwarted by the weather on the weekend. I want to sit at seaside cafes and read a book. I want to meet new CSers for an afternoon coffee. I want to have a life outside of work.

Hopefully this change will re-energize my efforts in the office and reignite my love affair with this city. I think this will do the trick to get me through the last 4.5 weeks of my internship without constantly questioning my decision to be here.

Yesterday - as a test run before discussing the time change with the boss - I left the office around 2:30 p.m. with the purpose of buying World Cup items for people at home and finding the best bakery in town. Both objectives were achieved with great success. The WC gear isn't worth a picture, but the baked goods are.

This new arrangement is working out already.