Damn the mosquitoes

Mosquitoes. That’s what I forgot living in Stockholm. The mosquitoes, buzzing like Focke-Wolfes over Europe, dragging their blood-filled bodies to the safety of the bedroom ceiling after yet another successful attack.

Blood on the ceiling
This morning I went on a killing spree, grabbing the only weapon at hand, a rolled-up bathroom towel. For two nights in a row I had been disturbed by a blood-sucking din as I strove for sleep. This morning I cracked. Bodies flopped from the sky as I wielded the towel axe-like, killing and maiming as I spotted a new target. At one point I nearly pulled a muscle such was the fury of my attack. Blood splattered the walls and cupboards as I flailed at my enemy. I hate to say it but innocents died in the crossfire. I clearly need to get out more.

I have been caught unawares. Growing up in Durban, a sub-tropical harbour on the Indian Ocean you expect mozzies. That’s what we call them in Durbs. You get the badass malaria mozzies down there. Here in Jozie mozzies didn’t cross my mind. Crime, violence, road rage, general chaos. For sure. Mozzies not so much. One way or the other I’ll adjust. And I’ll get some repellent to ease the way. A rub-on stick for the skin, electronic destroyer pad for the bedroom at night, and coils to burn when sitting outside on the veranda. I'll be like some kind of medieval priest, all lotions and insense.

Mid-life crisis
All this mozzie paranoia is part of the adjustment process. Either that or some really zany mid-life crisis. Adjusting to a new city in a new country entering a new era mixed with an air of trepidation and uncertainty. Plus my wife Kajsa is away for the week. I spoke to a mate yesterday and he reckons adjustment is not easy for people our age. He did apologise for raising the age issue but maybe he has a point. I don’t know. I turned forty-six a month ago and have never considered age as an influencer on my behaviour or attitudes. We moved here with very little pre-planning, just rocked up with a vague idea of how to put our skills to work. I think it was more the excitement of change that drove us forward. We are fortunate to have this opportunity to experience something new.

Pretty much everyone we know in Stockholm and Jozie mentions the weather as a reason for moving here. It wasn’t. Although I reckon anything must be healthier than a seven month winter. Ja, there’s the skiing, skating and all that outdoor winter stuff to do. But its usually cheek scalding cold, and pitch black. That I will never miss. But in twelve years you do build something, a life you would say. Friends, family, work, travel, art, culture, booze, bands, love. All that stuff that makes up the thing we call life. Now we want to build something new.

What the heck….must dash, I hear a buzzing in my ear. Time to towel up and let fly.