I am exhausted. I have come to the washing bay, sat down while the boys was my car, and don’t know if it will be possible to get up again. One thing I love about Ghana is that for less than a plate of chicken and chips you can sit back and get someone to wash your car for you. For less than a bottle of coke, you can get someone to polish your car. Normally at the hotel where I park my car, I let the odd job man wash it for a couple of cedis, but the inside of my car has become so dusty that I have started sneezing so I have let the boys do me a proper wash and polish.

I should get to work, traffic permitting before 10am. I told the people at my office not to expect me to be in any earlier than that. This whole week I have got in latest 6am, and out by latest 8pm and that 8 has been before the corporate dinners and fake smileys at the dinner table, that takes me into the 10-11pm close for the day. Plus we have a “team building” day this afternoon and tomorrow, so I think a couple of extra hours of rest this morning is a great necessity.

This morning’s rest wasn’t very restful. I didn’t mean to be such a cow but she was following me around the house as I was trying to get ready just talking. Something about the land she bought some years back, people are using the space as an outside toilet, I don’t know why she doesn’t just sell the land and use the money to build her house in Spintex but I have learnt a long time ago never to question her but just say hmm once in a while to acknowledge that I am listening. She also complained that she is the one who always calls people and why don’t they call her. We don’t have T-mobile here and one conversation with her would mean buying more units, even me with the free calls has to manage my time when I call her so I understand why the calls are not as frequent as they would be in the UK.

Anyway, to yesterday, La Chaumiere. You think corporate dinners would be relaxing, but when the top boss is around it’s still work to a point. This is the chance to make an impression outside of the office and the way you behave outside of the office environment can help or hinder your progression the next day when you are in. You can either be remembered for the right reasons or the wrong, but you could fall off the radar completely. It’s basically up to you. Before I go on about the night, I must start on the food. The food was very nice. The place was packed yesterday, mainly with expats and a few corporate dinners.

I picked the smoked salmon starter and shrimps for main then a chocolate mouse for desert. All good choices except although I picked the seasonal vegetables the waiter put it on the other side of the table so I ended up sharing a colleagues fries as another colleague wolfed down the veg before I even had a chance to get to it.

If you pick the beef fillet and you like it well done but you are with a person who likes there’s rare, I suggest you cut into the meat first and then swap if you get the wrong one. The waiters don’t know how to differentiate between the two. You would expect that the rare would come out first as it takes a shorter time to cook but in this instance the well done actually came out first. I didn’t get it, but this is what happened, there was a lot of swapping around, glad I picked the seafood.

There was one irritating guy with a guitar singing very loudly, I guess you have to pay him to go away else speak very loudly to your neighbour and don’t even attempt to speak to the person across the table because you will not be heard. I guess it is supposed to have that bistro vibe but the guy was just too loud for my ears.

The big boss was sitting quite close to where I was sitting, we managed to have a good chat. He asked how the week was and the supply chain meeting. We then discussed my presentation (which went down very well I have to add if I didn’t say it before), and then I made a joke that I would become redundant now the two categories were forming. He asked how long I had been doing the job and I said three years (well 6 months away from it) and he nodded and said that now was the time to start planning my next move. Then I chipped in that I had done a good job (well if you don’t blow your own trumpet who will), he agreed said he doesn’t work with me directly but from what he’s seen I seem to know my stuff. Well if that’s not validation what is.

So after the luscious chocolate mouse, a glass of wine and a lot of small talk, it was time to head home. Got in finally at 11 and passed out more or less straight away. The two extra hours in bed this morning felt like 5 minutes, but never mind, at least it’s Friday.

I’ll be at the Polo club from lunchtime today, we are celebrating the success of 2011 with food, games and karaoke. Sounds fun but after an exhausting week I’d rather just have more sleep, especially when I have to be at the office tomorrow before 8. Even the thought of it is making me want to go back to bed, but I’m tough. Taking this one for the team.