How do you get used to something that was non – existent in your formative years? Then surfaced and took eternal residence in your life at precisely the threshold of adulthood? The older I got, the younger I looked (was that humanly possible?). Oscar Wilde needn’t have written The Portrait of Dorian Gray; I’m a breathing specimen.
Read MoreSo I have this weekly post (mostly fiction, sometimes memoirs) I do every Sunday on Whatsapp to a couple of my contacts. Tomorrow makes a year of its inception. Below is a little note of appreciation I sent out this morning: Indulge me for a minute. Close your eyes. Imagine me behind a podium on a stately – looking stage, slaying with my chic evening dress and war paint on fleek. I am holding a portable- sized, silver – plated typewriter and a small, square piece of paper in my hands. The air is suffused with applause and background music as a voice – over announces my name and category. It’s obvious to all that I’m hyperventilating, and the looks of disbelief and happiness take turns flittering across my visage. Once I catch my breath (I’m on a clock now), I look down at the paper and open my mouth to speak… First, I’d like to thank God for the gift of penmanship. For my fascination with letters and words. The ability to string them together into coherent, readable blocks of text. For a seemingly endless spring of inspiration and a fertile imagination. The choice to indulge in what I love. Thank you, Lord, for the work of my hands. To my editors. Amid your own personal and professional commitments, Theo & Igho, you are both still able to fit in a sister’s work. Meeting your own time limits as well as mine. Your edits are one thing; your insights, suggestions, and questions are another. Thank you for your time and the pieces of you selflessly sprinkled all over my writings. And you, my reader, my very own oniovo! The reason behind Sunday’s special rays. Tg, Adula, Eve, Refe, Franca, Ogaga, C.Eguaibor, P. Osazuwa… Uyi, Trish, Toby, Odo, Obehi, Ebuwa, Osas, Funmi, Jeje, Muimui, Rose, Ify… In a time- deprived society such as ours, you didn’t have to spend moments of your day of rest reading my work. I recognize that you had a choice but included us (my writings & I) anyway. Then went ahead to give feedback. In”more
Read MoreThe most anticipated book of the year. At least for me. Try as hard as I could,there was no stretching the almost 200 – paged tome beyond the weekend it took to hungrily devour it.
Read More“Abdul? Nurudeen’s friend? God rest his soul. That one, his love for you was unexplainably stupid. I couldn’t understannd it but you were happy and that was all that mattered. So, have you seen Tayo again?” With one line, Rachael made it clear the man she was interested in.
Read MoreThis time, she gave him a proper appraisal, noticing the near – perfect dentition; his easy smile and dimpled cheeks; shiny, ebony complexion; shiny, shaved head. His looks in sync with the impeccable, blue tie knotted at his throat, resting on a light pink shirt. His shoes shone just as his hairless crown.
Read More“Not yet.” Naji informed her and leaned over her left shoulder. “Excuse me…” And taking hold of the mouse, she began to click. “Those are your files.” She uttered a few seconds later. “And other CC departmental documents you might need to access. Got it?” She straightened and, for a moment, met the intense, direct stare of the first man before she looked away. “Anything else?”
Read More1. Be thankful. For everything, and in everything. Always. For another year, another opportunity. 2. Wake up determined. Go to bed satisfied. – George Horace Lorimer 3. Be prayerful. For direction. For steering in your affairs – personal and professional. 4. Choose faith over fear. Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. – George Addair 5. Be mindful. Of that which you allow into your space – thoughts, people, sounds, visuals. etc. Derailment can come from unexpected quarters. 6. How others see you is not important. How you see yourself means everything. – Unknown 7. Be self – centred…sometimes. Make yourself a priority once in a while. It’s not selfish. It’s necessary. – Karen A. Baquiran 8. Take risks. If you win, you’ll be happy. If you lose, you’ll be wiser. – Jason Statham 9. Be cheerful. Laugh often, long and loud. 10. When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind. – Dr. Wayne Dyer 11. Be rich. In knowledge. In adventure. In laughter. In family. In health. In love. – Unknown 12. On your mark, get set…read! For entertainment. For enlightenment. For 15, 30 or 45minutes daily. No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance. – Confucius 13. Be laser-focused. On your passions. On the work of your hands. On that which brings smiles of satisfaction even when disguised as work. 14. Avoid being poor, a situation where you have too much month at the end of your money. – Unknown 15. …Talk without cellphones. Love without conditions…. Smile without selfies. – Unknown 16. Don’t quit. Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall – Confucius 17. Play the moments. Pause the memories. Stop the pain. Rewind the happiness. – Unknown 18. Don’t make excuses. 19. Be deliberate. Don’t just wish for a prosperous 2019. Make it so. Write down your plans and see them through (or use this as a compass). The new year can’t change you; your mindset can.”more
Read MoreAny elaborate plans, culinary/entertainment or otherwise, I had for the season which occurs at the end of the year, every year, went out the window. We moved houses. That singular event disrupted my well – oiled wheels of existence. Was it the fits of asthma I had due to the dust it generated? Or living out of suitcases, eating from food packs? The seemingly endless trips between the new and old locations? The checklist that I checked and rechecked time and again? Or the overall disconcertment that moving houses can bring? I struggled with the entire process because it was my first ever being in the thick of things of a home relocation. Twice before, all I did was pack and seal my stuff in cartons and suitcases which were delivered safely to the new place with no other involvement on my part. Not this time. Welcome to the real world, girl! And with two boisterous children in tow – excited and awed by the activities and move. And not as helpful as they thought either. As expected, nothing was more important than settling in. Not even the Christmas season. There’s next year’s. Right now, we needed to detangle the disorganization around us; stop eating take-out food and hang up our clothes. Even as I write this, we’re still in the process. Happy New Year?
Read MoreEvery knowledge and wisdom, direction and inspiration I garnered from all those books were distilled into my writings accordingly. And since you consumed all those words, every blessed Sunday, put together by someone who consumed some other well-put together words, then…well, you get my drift. Surely our connection, interaction should count for something, shouldn’t it?
Read MoreSo I did, and found it slightly long- winded. If it had been a Nollywood movie, it would have stretched into part two. However, it was intriguing enough to keep me turning the pages until the very last.
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