Don’t Tell Me How To Do My Job.

So I went to church today, my first Sunday service for the year physically. By the time I went to bed in the early hours of this morning, I’d already decided I would join service virtually today because I didn’t think I’d wake up early enough to make it to church. Guess who woke up at a few minutes to 8am without the usual morning lethargy. Yes, God has a sense of humour.

Under Pressure.

I do not know now where I got the impression from, that Lawanson market was the market with highest priced goods in the whole of Surulere and Idi-Araba market which is barely 500meters away was the cheapest. I think the women who own stalls in the market are more serious than those in other markets with a wider variety of goods and that is why this morning, I took my body to Lawanson to buy the plantains and vegetables I needed to make the meal my spirit had been craving for nearly a month.

Beneath the Iroko

I’m watching cars snarl and drivers curse at Lawanson bus stop while I’m getting series loaded into my Iroko TV app. I’m the last customer of the day, well not a customer- I have an active subscription and it means Success the agent, will get no commission from me.

I am not Wife Material… And It’s ok.

This post has been sitting pretty in my drafts since June 30th, I wrote it at a time I found myself writing about marriage a whole lot. I decided to shelve it until another time and I guess that time is now…

 

Recently, I was having a conversation with a much older man about marriage and a woman’s place in the home. If you know me well- or at least read my blog regularly, you’d know that I do not believe in having specific gender roles in a marriage.

Kini Big Deal

Happiness is listening to Naeto C’s Kini Big Deal on an endless loop while on a train that is cruising through Northern England, just after having the best fried rice in the world – mine! and downing a mix of Tesco juices – Yes! Happiness. An important ingredient in this happiness is listening to the song on Edifier headphones – they make premium headphones at pocket friendly prices; their earbuds are not so fantastic though.

I don’t like smiling in pictures. it makes me appear too friendly

My real face

A Whole New World

I promise this has nothing to do with cartoons or singing.

Ordinary Love.

I haven’t written in a while, I guess it’s time to exercise the writing muscles as I have a lot of writing in my near future.

ORDINARY LOVE

I’m writing this with that song playing on a loop in the background, and I am finding memories I’d forgotten. You said your memory isn’t great and I whose memory is fabulous; it is I who had forgotten the biggest thing. I forgot all about love.

Iwe Nwanne Anaghi Eru na Okpukpu

In his hotel suite the man sits with his palm cupping his jaw, reminiscent of the old Ghanian highlife hit about a yellow sisi in the corner with her hand on her jaw. In the song, the crooner in his silken tones tells us the reason she is despondent.

Break it…

#breakthebias2022

The official infant (0 – 1 year) mortality in Nigeria is 58.2 per 1,000 live births-let me put it simply: Nearly 6% of children born in Nigeria will die before the age of one. This is the official statistic in a country where record keeping is problematic.

From malnutrition, to infectious killer diseases like malaria, lack of access to adequate healthcare facilities, and myriad other reasons that stem from the pathetic to the bizarre and of course – the unexplainable. Infants die literally everyday.

Let’s Go!

Can you remember the first time you left your country? It’s impossible for me to remember because I’ve been travelling since I was five years old, going to new countries sometimes five times a week or even more often.

Stoty-time 2

Two stories and a film.

Young man walks in, can’t be a day above 23 even though his eyes tell of stories decades older than him.

It’s a little after 8am and he’s the second person to walk in. The first is an earnest, handsome man in his 30s who doesn’t read the signs on the doors and makes two mistakes.

He’s good natured about them and has a truly beautiful smile. He keeps smiling and laughing and trying to make conversation as he gets his item. I do not smile back, I have a feeling he’s trying to avoid going to work early and I will not be used as an excuse. I’m already at work 🙄

Story-time 1

On my way to work, there’s a school with an interesting caption on its wall which I’ll paraphrase here.

150 naira Gospel…

I arranged my bags on my lap and opened my handbag to bring out the exact fare for the trip. As a veteran of public transport in Lagos, it is rare for me to be without naira notes of all denominations, I even have 16 naira in coins somewhere – thanks to Shoprite. One of the most shocking experiences of my entire life was watching a woman hand the Keke driver a 1000 naira note for a 70 naira journey at Asaba.