We no longer post diary entries online. That’s how blogging started. The good old days! In protest, I’m going to do exactly that, employing my favourite writing technique:  stream-of-consciousness.  

So, first things first. The image. I asked an AI agent to create a hyper-realistic image of me writing a diary entry in my office. That’s what it came up with. It’s not too far off the mark, to be honest.

The only caveat is that although I’m from Zimbabwe, I’m currently practising and staying in Botswana. And I’m now spotting a clean-shaven scalp. The beard persists, though. However, since a month ago, I’ve reverted to wearing my lab coat. I missed it.

About the lab coat. It makes a doctor feel like a real doctor. To me, it’s more ceremonial than functional. I mean, I can still function as a doctor without it. But then, if I don’t have it on, I sometimes feel like a hack, a charlatan.

Or is it because I miss medical school? Maybe. You see, back in the days, we were forced to wear lab coats, rather than scrubs. I realised things have changed. Now, medical students only wear scrubs. It’s more functional than ceremonial, I guess.

Oh! I’ve also been wearing scrubs for a month. So, every day, I’m wearing scrubs inside and a lab coat on top. It’s both functional and ceremonial.

Enough about the image.

I’ve slowed down on my writing. I’ve been busy. After almost a year away, I’m reclaiming my footing. I broke my left ankle and leg last year, remember? I still walk with a slight limp. I’m almost there.

What has limping got to do with writing? Well, there’s some sort of connection. I write with my entire being. Tendons, soul, teeth, sinews and sundry. Every part of me writes.

A second. I have a patient coming in.

Ok, where was I? Oh, yes, writing.

I missed blogging. I mean blogging in the old sense. The type where you just write about your life as if no one will ever read it. That kind of blogging. Social media and AI have smothered this old-school blogging.

Lately, though, I’ve been reading a lot of blogs. I’ve been digging deep in the blogverse. On WordPress Reader, mainly. I was inspired by the old-school bloggers, still churning out diary-entry-type blogs. I want in.

So, what is currently on my mind? Well, writing. Yes, writing. I’ve been thinking a lot about the craft. The different techniques. The motivation. The reward. The lifestyle. I’ve been thinking about all the manuscripts that I destroyed over the years. I regret doing that. Maybe, just maybe, some of them were written before their time.

I’m going back to writing. And blogging.

And reading? I’m currently re-reading George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. It’s funny how it’s now coming to life in 2026. The surveillance society. Big brother is watching us.

I had also piped down my book reading. I had gradually drifted away from physical pages. I was now more into articles. I’m reviving my voracious appetite for books. I’m still not sure what my next book will be. I’m going back to my one-book-a-week routine.

And Medicine? The practice?

Well, I’ve only been back for a month. I moved to a new place, a brand new, spanking hospital. It’s still quiet, though. Most of my patients don’t know I’m back in the country and where to find me. I get lots of time to read. And think. And write.

Just like in the image.