a weekend of thoughts and rest - the end of the line for the month of febuary

We are one day shy of the end of febuary.
In hind sight it was not one of the best months for business (mine at least) but i am thankful for the experience it has granted me...

Remember::

if it doesn't kill you - it makes you
stronger!

My girlfriend sent me a lengthy missal, admonishing me to keep the faith (literally) and to hold on - the part of her sermon that really got me was when she said and I quote: that I am beside you...

In case you're wondering - I fancy myself as some sort of word smith (I have to over indulge my mind otherwise it picks up on something else like worry) - so when she says that she's beside me and not behind - I'm somewhat comforted (she sounded like a guardian angel and maybe she is - mine at least!) as the phrase implies partnership and committment.

The weekend was fantastic simply because - i was allowed to rest and spend some quality time with my siblings (which for now include: two sisters, one brother and a cousin) - I helped my sister out with some work brought over from the office for the weekend and made up with another whose birthday fell on the 23rd of febuary...

Life is as it always has been - today a couple of smart asses came in and left without paying for service. I'm wondering if I look like some kind of charity organisation (maybe I do and I have to do something very drastic about the perception!)
Checklist: No more friendly smiles - frowns all the way!

Today still has me watching with some level of distrust the service we are receiving from our ISP but it's still better than having none...

The month of march is observed on the horizon with a great degree of longing and hope - I prefer to be proactive and therefore - I WILL be doing alot to better my situation as opposed to simply hoping that it improves (that's like the unspoken motto for the month of March:: Keep marching on!)

That said - I would like to thank my Girlfriend (Iphie) - the lifeline that i do not really deserve but I'm immensely grateful for (Bloody happy and estatic actually!).
She remains my lighthouse in the fog of opposition - percieved and imagined!)
Love her too much even if my lips don't get the words out as frequently as I would like (coming from a love shy ninny)

Thanks for the gift of "you"

Later denziens...

strain... using all the muscles but the one that matters.

Do you work harder or smarter? A really simple question but a question that nonetheless requires some explanation.

In the old days - you worked your way up the corporate ladder, being a jolly "good" fellow - doing what you were bidded to do until the moment became right for your next "promotion".

There was naked ambition which was normally displayed (depending on the desperation or cunning of the party involved) in any manner of ways: native devices (black african magic or voodoo), sabotage, eye or lip service etc...

But in today's fast paced society - the rules have gone to hell. it's now every man or woamn for "their" selves... Unholy hours in the work place, sacrifices that go above and beyond the call of duty, etc...

Are we alive to work ourselves to death for the sole benefit of the "Corporation" or to develop ourselves or is there some reasoning or logic that I'm missing?

If you happen to have an answer - any answer pls feel free to share it - I would be so very glad to learn something apart from my own point of view...

regards

what's to like in this crazy world of ours...

Hold the thought...

Have you ever felt that life was approaching an "out of control" status - like you are in the driver's seat of an express train heading for the cliff with no way to stop...

Welcome to life's class room - where the view is definitely better...
Some may say that it is a matter of perspective and I'm forced to agree - the glass is afterall either half full or half empty! in my case - I'm more inclined to half empty...
I have often asked myself if I am programmed to always worry about stuff like: jobs, girlfriend, future, siblings, money, influence etc...

Answer comes back as a resounding yes!

I've been offline for a week and i feel as if my life was put on pause...
I'm just starting to get my shit together and my gad - what a smell?

Our ISP is still giving me more heartaches than a stroke victim and I'm definitely resenting them - what's a struggling young man to do? When you don't succeed try and try again...

Anyway - I'm living the life I bargained for - I hope to strike a better bargain soon - till that happens, i'm in the pits doing the shits - hating the pain but doing it for gain...

outta 'ere
chinedu - something about a timeless mist...

Life's a refresher - a ride with no destination

staurday
Stinking all the way to high heaven - my smell must have been driving the flies into orgies or estasies od violent buzzing- I cannot for the life of me make up my mind...
I woke up this morning and proceeded to work and have been at it since...

It is currently 10:44pm on a saturday nite and i am infront of this computer pounding away (not to be mistaken for anything apart from straight, normal typing)

A friend of mine from school came by today (his name's sammy) and believe it or not when two or more persons who are in the same spot meet - they usually end up talking about the very thing that binds them together. In our case - it was the lack of well-PAYING jobs...

If someone out there makes the mistake to say in God's time (i promise to bomb them out of this world into the next - which would be one of my kinder actions, all things considered!)

Apart from trying to map a way forward (which can be very enterprising, especially when you realize that the future is not looking very bright indeed as of yet...)

We talked about the changes inherent in us as we start to chase careers, pay rises, promotions, changes in state...

On to other matters:
I have been admiring phones on the net with my "buddy" emeka - the fellow that has the attention span of a wandering nun...
Anyway we ahhhed and ohhhed our way through various selections - needless to say that i left him there, still ahhhing and ohhhing...

I'm contending with the mosquitoes and other types of insects that are having a field day at eating me up alive... (I should make that "we" as there are three other persons in the cafe apart from me)

Anyway - i just wanted to drop some words to dilute my wells of silence before the new week comes upon us...

Almost forgot - valantine... all that kiss and tell, love u too much to breathe, can't live with(out) you, you are the air that I breathe, etc
inspite of my personal prejudice (i do have someone to share it with) - Happy valantine in advance...

Regards people,
chinedu

Welcome back to the sess pits... (smells, sounds and everything else...)

Back to Lagos - the city where u sleep with one eye open always.

I came in queitly on a bus from the east - my vacation ended and I was ready to resume the day to day hustling and challenges that are a part of all (okay - almost all) Lagos denziens...

The lack of electricity, commonly referred to by the name of the utiltity company (in our case: NEPA or the new PHCN) was a welcoming gift to remind me that I was back to the hustle and bustle of lagos life and that I was to expect no quaters...

As i said before, this city is the home to intrigue, mysteries and adventures that will send your adrenaline levels spiking for heights that would be considered dangerous elsewhere - but Lagos is not elsewhere - It is simply Lagos!

I'm also back to work - I was welcomed with relief and complaints of how bad business has been for some time now...

(we've had to change our internet service provider, which is a tale in itself best left for another time.)

Do i sound disconsolate when describing lagos?
U just have to bear with me - It is the kind of place you must visit as it defies every logical explanation you think you have... It must be experienced and felt rather than described.

Anyway - i just wanted to fill u in, the vacation was heavenly.
I gained weight to my utter delight, rested and toned my muscles - all to my hearts content.

If I sound happy, I wish you could have seen me three weeks ago - thinking and working will waste you to the bones (scarecrow...)

Anyway - just wanted to check in...

regards

REST... the utter bliss of a well earned rest...

break... that was exactly what i needed.
Infact, i craved it so much my mind went numb with shock just thinking about it...
I spent two gorgeous weeks (which were the best two weeks of my life) - in quiet solitude, eating, sleeping (in a certain fashion) and generally lazing about plus the jumping around...

The result should be plain to see - my cheek bones, which had hollowed out have filled in - I don't look like a scarecrow anymore (even though, i'm not exactly an adonis) Plus there's some kind of pectoral definition - my muscles look toned somewhat...

It was well needed and well earned.
Also a plus - my uncle delivered on his promise and I can at last inject some much needed capital into this business that I'm involved in...
I'm expecting others to fall in line (By God's grace)

The idea of waiting for nigeria's job market to single me out is not exactly to my liking... i plan to be a man of destiny (mine that is...)

That said - I (Also by God's grace) expect to be in lagos by thursday - to continue the "Struggle" to be a made man ( I was about to use the term "self made" when some logic that I had been missing, injected itself into my thoughts - please replace the term "self" with "God"...)

Sorry for my absence - it was due to a holiday that ordinarily should have been only a week but is now in excess (it is infact approaching three weeks)

later folks...
chinedu