My Mirrored Life - MY MIRRORED LIFE

My Canadian Dream

Five months ago I moved to Canada from Nigeria hoping to live my Canadian dream. My friend moved here about 3 years ago and constantly told me about how amazing it is to be here. So I decided to come over. It wasn’t until I got here that I realized that he was still struggling to make enough to support his wife and kids. He has been working as a Laboratory Technician even though he has a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Regardless, I decided to stay here hoping that things would come together for me quickly as I am a single man and thus have more free time to hustle.

5 months down and I’m still struggling. Anyway, I went to a career session last week and they gave some interview tips and emphasized dressing for success. I took their advice. So later that day I went to Hudson’s Bay to pick up some new clothes and shoes. I got a few ties as well. I was paying at the register when the store associate asked me what I was shopping for. I told him that I wanted new work attire. He then suggested that I get a new and trendy laptop bag called Yetu. I initially hesitated but he persisted and convinced me to buy it by saying that it would make me look more professional at interviews. So I bought it even though it cost $500. I mean I have to put in my best to get a good job right? Oh well, I got home and put my laptop in my new laptop bag and it fit right. I was glad I didn’t have to go all the way back to return it.

The following day I woke up, went for a run, had breakfast, and settled into my usual routine of applying for numerous jobs. I’ve been applying for jobs all around Canada and not just in Toronto, where I live. Excitement filled my veins, later that afternoon, when I saw an email regarding an interview in Vancouver. First I responded to the email with a yes and my availability for an interview. Then I proceeded to look up common interview questions to start preparing with.

The following week, I packed my bags and headed out. I couldn’t stop reciting my rehearsed response to the “Tell me about yourself” interview question that I saw everywhere on the internet on my bus to the airport. I kept making mistakes so I decided to stop and give my brain a rest. Just as I stopped my recitals, the bus stopped at my terminal and I got off with my laptop bag and carry-on luggage. This was the first time I traveled light by the way. It was a 3-day trip though. So I forced myself to leave all the things I know I wouldn’t use at home.

I went straight to the security section as I had checked-in at home. I noticed someone in front of me with the same laptop bag and I got excited. For once I had a trendy item. I thought about how I would tell this to my friends who always teased me about lagging. Then it was my turn to get all my items in the bins. I placed in all my items including my jacket and shoes. Getting through was pretty quick except that I was pulled aside for further screening, which I am already used as it happens quite often. But at least I didn’t feel molested this time. With only a few more minutes to the boarding time, I picked up my bags and headed to my gate. I got to the gate only about 5 minutes later and noticed that they were boarding early. Feeling nervous and anxious, I brought out my passport and opened up my apple wallet to show my boarding pass to the attendant. As I handed them over I got a whiff of the nastiest fart ever. “Omg, I hope that didn’t slip out of me”, I thought. And then I remembered that we’re all human and decided to not worry about that.

I slept all through the flight as it was quite smooth. I needed it. Once I arrived at the Vancouver airport, it only took about 45 minutes to get to my hotel.

The next day I woke up and decided to review my interview prep notes before getting ready. I pulled out my laptop bag from the closet, placed it on the bed then opened it up. I screamed so loudly after opening it as I realized it wasn’t mine. Shocked, frustrated, and confused, I screamed again and then I found myself sweating on my sofa in Toronto.

What a dream!

Oh Canada, please give an ‘MBA’ a job!

Best Friend? (Part 2)

One day, I asked my best friend out to lunch with the goal of having an honest conversation with her. I asked her about my husband’s visit 2 nights before that day. She said she wasn’t home that night. She explained that she had gone out for a team-building event with her co-workers. I asked her what time she got back home and she said she couldn’t remember. “How convenient”, I thought to myself. I stopped trusting her on this day. It was a tough experience. Years of friendship down the drain. I was sad.

A few days later, I came back home at about 2 pm. I was able to leave work early today and wasn’t expecting my husband to be home at the time, but I saw his car in the garage so I knew he was back. I called out for him, but I got no response. I took off my heels then I searched around the house and there was no sign of him. At that point, I knew he could only be at my best friend’s place. I figured this would be a perfect day to figure out what exactly has been going on. I put my phone on silent, wore some comfortable but noiseless shoes, and went over to her house.

As I approached the house I noticed that the garage door was open and there were some tools on the floor but I ignored those and went towards the windows. I looked through the windows and didn’t notice anyone on the main level of the house. So I went back to the garage and went into the house this way. I walked as quietly as possible to ensure that I caught my cheating husband and my best friend in the act. I had my phone ready to record them. I had been through the house a few times so I knew the layout of the home. I started with the basement and no one was there. So I went upstairs and just before I opened up the first bedroom from the stairs, I heard some noises. I followed the noises slowly and I was led to the master bedroom. I double-checked my phone to confirm that it was recording them I barged in.

I was shocked.

I had known my husband was cheating but, I wasn’t expecting this. My best friend was absent. He wasn’t with my best friend.

He was with my best friend’s husband.

Best Friend? (Part 1)

My name is Anna and this is my story…

About a year ago today, I was extremely excited because my best friend from high school told me that she was moving into my neighbourhood in a few months. We’d been so close since high school and I had always trusted her with my life. We used to do everything together in high school and college but since a few years after college, it’d been tough seeing each other often because she lived about 2 hours away from me at the time. So you can imagine how happy I was to hear that her husband got a job at a company close to my home and they figured this was a good time to live close to us.

5 months later my husband and I drove down to their old home to help them move into our neighbourhood. If I had known that my helping them would start the beginning of a dark phase in my life, I would not have helped at all. The move was pretty smooth. We helped them unpack. But I left earlier than my husband as I had to go make dinner for all of us. When dinner was ready, I went over to my best friend’s new home to invite my husband, her and her husband over to my house for dinner. Dinner was so beautiful. We chatted and laughed all night. Also, everyone had seconds so I was really pleased. After dinner, my husband offered to take all the dishes away and wash them. My best friend decided to join him in the kitchen. I was pleased to get some help with that. When they were done, we said our goodbyes and called it a night.

A few days later, while I was at work, my husband called me and mentioned that he was going over to assist my best friend with some furniture setup and wanted to keep me in the loop. I told him that I appreciated him letting me know and then we ended the call. I got back home about 3 hours later and my husband wasn’t home. So I went over to my best friend’s house and saw her and my husband laughing and drinking through the window. I rang the bell and she came to get the door. She was happy to see me and asked me to join them. It was a Friday anyway so I put on my “TGIF” hat and tried not to think about what I just saw.