The Sedentary Lifestyle – A Short Story About Miss Zee
Miss Zee has just made it to the middle management radar at her workplace. She is very ambitious, self-driven and has a five year plan to rise up to the peak of her career including securing herself a senior management position. She looks forward to enjoying that high-rising cornered office with a breathtaking view, the fat pay among the other benefits that come with the promotion. She works hard, in fact she is one of the office early birds; she sometimes leaves the office last and even has a copy of the office keys. You could say her career is thriving.
She drives one of those comfy cars you have to ‘climb’ holding unto the ‘Jesus handle’ to have your way in. She stays in an affluent neighborhood in one of the Kampala suburbs. After driving to work each morning, in a not-so-good posture, she leans in, sitting in her ergonomic chair, to get started on her detailed day’s to-do-list. Once in a while, she makes hasty movements in her sharp-pointed six inch stilettos to the boardroom for some departmental meetings and then makes it back to her office. She sometimes skips her breakfast or has it haphazardly after 10am, or in between meetings. She barely gets time to leave her desk for lunch. Severally, her late lunch is delivered and had at her desk. On most afternoons, she asks her assistant to circumvent any walk-ins so she can concentrate on finishing her departmental periodic reports and presentations before deadlines. She often leaves office at about 8pm after the jam has subsided, ‘climbs’ her posh car and gets home a few minutes to 9pm. This is her typical day and often times when she is so tired to cook, Miss Zee orders in dinner, rewards the day’s hard work with a KFC streetwise 2 combo of 2 dip fried multi-layered spicy chicken pieces, two handfuls of dripping oily fries, and a half liter coke – you know that one that’s repeatedly running on promotion? She then sits and raises her legs in her big comfy 2 metre couch for the next one hour watching tele, takes another 30 minutes catching up with friends and family on phone or scrolling through social media. Meanwhile, she has her ‘convenience’ dinner at about 10.30pm. She then takes a warm bath and enters bed at 11.20pm. She wakes up at 5am the next day. Her weekends are habitually characterized by working from home or once in a while catching up with friends and family over brunches. The cycle continues for the next couple of days, weeks, months and years! This is Miss Zee’s lifestyle for the next 5 years. Lady luck eventually knocks on Miss Zee’s door – she is promoted and earns a seat at the senior management team table. Congratulations to Miss Zee! A promotion well deserved!
In the interim, Miss Zee notices how cumbersome it has become for her to ascend the stair case, she has added about 25kgs to her previous weight of 65kgs in the past 3 years. She wears this enigmatic chronic fatigue and burnout. Her new position is more demanding and so is her new manager. She has more responsibilities than before. She sometimes has sleepless nights from the constant stress and pressure. Her physical activity and social life are indolent. Miss Zee’s productivity is not as proficient as it used to be in the recent years. One morning, on her way to work, she experiences a sudden shortness of breath and notices drops of nose bleeds. She is petrified; she panics; her hands suddenly feel frozen on steering wheel. She somehow makes it to the nearest hospital. After running a few tests, the doctor breaks the news to Miss Zee that she has hypertension and diabetes 2. She cries buckets for days. Miss Zee’s life is forever changed by this unfortunate news.
Do you find Miss Zee’s story relatable?