Going the Distance seems quite Far

An interesting new development has cropped up in Chantelle and my relatively short (two months yesterday) relationship.

For those who don’t know, Chantelle currently works and stays in a guesthouse that is literally across the road from me. Location wise, it is very convenient, leading to me just about staying at the guesthouse, much to my own flats general upkeep detriment. Time wise it has been great too, simply because I have been able to spend so much excess time in her company.

But the guesthouse couldnt be more of a worse place for her unfortunately. Shes (very) underpaid, completely undermined by her employers in her capacity of general manger and totally over-worked she gets a mere 2 days off a month and is expected to be on duty 24/7. She has no assistant which means she is basically chained to the guesthouse, something that is obviously not healthy. This has obviously affected our relationship as well, simply because we seldom if ever get the chance to go out and do the normal things that couples do.

After the robbery last week and the resultant way in which her employers handled it as well as all her other concerns, we came to the decision that it is time for her to look for another job. A few quick searches, two applications and one interview later, Chantelle finds herself in the driving seat of a brand spanking new job.

A beautiful four star guesthouse where she acts as Assistant Supervisor at a far better salary than what she was currently receiving, proper shift work and 6-8 days off a month depending on how busy the place is. Even her new accommodation is sorted out. It seems like an awesome work environment and a really great opportunity for her, so I am more than thrilled for her about it.

There is however a slight catch it is in Gordons Bay.

40 km from Bellville, 60 km from Cape Town, and no matter what you say, thats a bit of a distance, just enough to make things a little uncomfortable. Yes shell come through to Bellville a lot because her family and friends are out that way, but my visitations will be restricted pretty much to weekends because quite simply, there is no way I will ride through to Gordons Bay after work, spend the night and then return to Cape Town early morning.

All in all it means that the convenience of seeing her whenever I want is now gone, and I’m afraid that is something I’m going to miss, especially after becoming so used to it so fast – I guess I’m just in that stage of life where I crave an almost full time companionship with my partner. I’ve never been a fan of long distance relationships, and this in my view kind of qualifies as one. Look, I’m not saying that this is a bad thing, just an unexpected development, and being a Taurus I am quite naturally adverse to change.

The thing is, this is going to be a really positive change for her and I’m very happy for her to be getting out of this bad situation she currently finds herself in. So a lot of changes in the way we interact are in store for us I guess, but I’m sure that we will both work very hard to make this work and I’m looking forward to trying. Should be interesting :)

So next month, watch out Gordons Bay, here I come!

(That is of course unless I get a bit lost. Better dust off the old map book just in case!)