The Diary Game | No Rush, No Stress & A Rubik's Cube That Humbled The Entire Room - 30/04/2026

praizclassic01 (61)in Steem Cameroon • 20 days ago

Hello hello my wonderful Steemit family! It's your friend @praizclassic01 back again with another diary entry. Today was one of those days where the schedule was light and the energy matched it perfectly. One class, one mission, plenty of gist and a Rubik's cube that humbled an entire room. Let's get into it!

I woke up late this morning and I am not even slightly apologetic about it.

I had just one lecture today and the class slated for 1PM. That meant no alarm, no rushing, no stress. I laid in bed for as long as I wanted, fully aware that time was on my side.

And it turned out my timing was actually perfect. Today happened to be a general hostel cleaning day and as a result, several bathrooms were unavailable in the morning. The ones that were open had long queues — people waiting in line, running late, some probably missing early classes because of it.

Me? Locked up comfortably in my room. Unbothered.

The only time I stepped out in the early hours was to brush my teeth and to go buy eggs for breakfast.

Simple and effective. Cooked noodles and eggs — properly this time, fried egg on the side, everything seasoned right. Sometimes the simple meals are the most satisfying.

Breakfast sorted — noodles and egg, the student classic

Ate, relaxed and scrolled through my phone. The bathroom queue situation outside was still very much ongoing and honestly... the banter in the room about it was hilarious. Watching those who had early morning classes trying to figure out the bathroom situation while I sat comfortably on my bed? I wasn't proud of it. But I was definitely entertained.

This was me this morning — completely at peace

Then somewhere between the laughing and the scrolling, it hit me.

I had things to do before the 1PM class. Things I had been putting off and today was the day to handle them. And here I was, relaxed and laughing at people in the bathroom queue.

The irony wasn't lost on me — I couldn't give anyone the satisfaction of watching me rush after all the enjoyment I had been getting from their situation.

So I calculated it properly. By around 11AM, the queues would be cleared and everything would be calm. I waited, and I was right. Went downstairs, fetched water, had my bath, got dressed and headed out into the school looking fresh and unbothered.

One of the things I needed to sort out today was paying and registering for my department's ID card. I headed straight to the department executives' office.

On entering, it was... lively. Multiple people speaking at once, voices raised, energy high — I genuinely couldn't tell if it was an argument or a meeting. Maybe both.

This is what I walked into — chaos or meeting? Your guess is as good as mine

Since it's a general office, no knocking required. I just walked in, picked a corner and stood there scanning the room for someone to approach. Found a familiar face, walked up, explained what I needed. He gave me the account number, I made the payment and he sent me the registration link.

Halfway through filling the form I hit a snag — there was a space for a passport photograph and I had none on me.

But this is where the student improvisation kicks in.

It's an online form — so I called my coursemate over, had him take a photo of me right there, cropped it, edited it to passport size and uploaded it. Done.

The improvised passport photo — necessity is the mother of invention

Form submitted. ID card registration — ticked off the to-do list. That felt good.

A few minutes later it was time for class. This was finally my own elective course and I had been looking forward to it. We know the lecturer from last semester so there was already a comfort level going in.

Being the first class of the semester, it was mostly an overview — course outline, expectations, general rundown of what the semester holds. Standard first class energy.

During the class — intimate setting today

But here's what made me laugh.

The class was held in a smaller classroom — not the main lecture halls — which already told you the registered numbers weren't massive. And when the attendance sheet came around and eventually got to my desk at the back, I looked at it and genuinely had to hold back laughter.

The class, if you counted every head in the room, was barely up to 30 people. But that attendance list? 50+ names.

Where are the other 20+ people? The list doesn't know. The classroom doesn't know. Only God knows.

The class wrapped up well before the two hours allocated for it — didn't even last an hour. Those who commute from off campus were not happy. The transport money, the journey, all for a class that ended before it properly began. I understood their frustration but it's not a problem I can personally relate to — if I come and class is cancelled or short, I simply walk back to the hostel. The hostel life advantage.

After class, a few of us gathered and the gist started flowing naturally. We talked about the class, about life and then inevitably — football.

Specifically, the Champions League semi final played last night between Atletico Madrid and Arsenal — and how it compared to the PSG vs Bayern Munich thriller we watched the night before.

The verdict from everyone in the group was unanimous: Atletico vs Arsenal was boring. And the stats back that up completely.

Let me break it down:

PSG 5-4 Bayern Munich — The Benchmark

This match set the standard for what a Champions League semi final should look like. Nine goals, constant momentum shifts, no moment where you could look away.

Bayern struck first at the 17th minute. PSG equalized at 24'. PSG took the lead at 33'. Bayern levelled again at 41'. PSG scored right on the stroke of halftime at 45' to lead 3-2 going into the break.

Second half? PSG scored at 56' and again at 58' — suddenly it was 5-2 and Bayern looked done. Then Bayern pulled off one of the most dramatic comebacks you'll see, scoring at 65' and 68' to make it 5-4. The final 20 minutes were pure tension.

Final: PSG 5-4 Bayern Munich.

Nine goals. Two incredible comebacks. No dull moment from first whistle to last. PSG had 6 shots on target and were ice cold in front of goal. Bayern had 7 shots on target and more possession at 54% but couldn't hold the lead when it mattered.

Atletico Madrid 1-1 Arsenal — The Reality Check

Now compare that to Wednesday night's semi final.

Arsenal went ahead just before halftime at 44 minutes. Atletico equalized at 56 minutes. And that was essentially it. A 1-1 draw that never really threatened to become anything more.

Arsenal managed just 2 shots on target the entire game — from 8 total attempts. Atletico had 5 shots on target but lacked the cutting edge to push for a winner. Both teams had roughly equal possession — Atletico 51%, Arsenal 49%.

The most eventful part of the match was Arsenal making 5 substitutions in the second half trying to find something — which tells you everything about how flat the game felt. Atletico's Julian Alvarez and Griezmann were bright moments but couldn't find the finishing touch. Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres had a quiet night by his standards.

Final: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Arsenal.

No offence to Atletico or Arsenal fans — but after PSG vs Bayern, almost any match would have felt flat. The bar was simply set too high.

The second legs of both ties are still to come. Atletico travel to the Emirates with a draw, Bayern head to Munich needing to overturn a one goal deficit. Both second legs could change everything.

Got back to the hostel, changed up and walked into a whole competition already underway.

Someone had brought out a 4x4 multicolour Rubik's cube and it was being passed around on a timer — the challenge being who could solve it the fastest within a set time.

The 4x4 Rubik's cube that had the whole room stumped

Nobody solved it.

Not one person in that room, within the time given, managed to crack it. It went from hand to hand, everybody approaching it with confidence and leaving with humility. The Rubik's cube sat there unbothered, unsolved and completely in charge of the situation.

Hours of this. Hours. The cube won. We accepted it.

When the Rubik's cube had taken enough from us, we switched to eFootball and the evening took a different kind of competitive turn.

I won some. I lost some. That's football — virtual or otherwise.

One of the wins at HT — taking this one

What caught my eye during the sessions was a particular formation one of the guys was using. The setup was intriguing — the way he had positioned his players created angles and overloads that were genuinely difficult to defend against. I screenshotted it immediately.

This formation — I'm studying it and trying it out in my own team soon

I'm going to experiment with it in my own setup another time. In eFootball as in real football, formation and tactics matter just as much as individual quality.

Today I made a conscious decision — no serious cooking.

I've come to realize that cooking every single day in the hostel is no small thing. It's not just the actual cooking — it's the mental load of deciding what to cook, figuring out what to combine it with, making sure you have all the ingredients, dealing with the hotplate queue, hoping light doesn't go midway. It adds up.

So today I gave myself a break.

Aside from the noodles and egg in the morning, the rest of the day was light — garri, a couple of donuts and zobo. Not the most balanced meal plan but the body was fed and the mind got a rest from cooking duties.

Tomorrow I'll cook a proper meal and restore order. But today? Today the garri handled things.

A genuinely enjoyable Wednesday. No rush in the morning, a successful errand, a short but decent class, good gist with the guys, a Rubik's cube that showed us all who's boss, eFootball battles and a peaceful evening.

Sometimes a light day is exactly what you need — not every day has to be intense. Rest, laugh, handle your business and enjoy the moments in between.

I hope your Wednesday was just as easy and enjoyable. If it wasn't — tomorrow is a new day and a fresh chance. Rest well, eat well and I'll see you in the next entry. Goodnight!

— @praizclassic01

_{Posted using SteemX}

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