Saturday Routine
This morning, I had the plan to sleep and wake up really late. Unfortunately, that plan was cancelled when I received an early phone call from my dad. To be sincere, I was a bit annoyed because it was so early and today is the only day of the week I get to have a good sleep after a stressful and sleep deprived week.
Well, after I woke up, I did a quick workout then I decided to go online but it turned out that I didn't have any Internet connection. I called my service provider but I didn't get much help so I just assumed I had ran out of data. I later recharged and was able to come online but then, I didn't have the time to. Around here, Saturdays are usually reserved for thoroughly cleaning up the whole house and being the only one who's available to do that, I couldn't waste much time on my phone.
I usually do not like the idea of waiting for one day to thoroughly clean up the house (notice I keep saying thoroughly, it's different from everyday cleaning. It feels like washing the house from roof to foundation lol). I usually clean different sessions of the house on Friday so that on Saturday, I won't be overwhelmed with work and luckily I did that this week so I didn't have too much to do today but I still needed to do what had to be done.
I started with clearing out some things in the sitting room, then I swept every nook and cranny. Lifting the chairs wearing so easy to do because they weighed way more than me. I luckily didn't break the TV while cleaning that area. I later went it with a rag to dust, then I swept again, mopped with soap, disinfectant and water and did a final dusting. Before mopping, I always announced that I was about to start and I urged everyone to remain where they were till the area was dry. I usually leave a dry path while mopping for those who may still need to pass through and then I clean that area last, after which no one can pass through anymore till it's dry.
While I was at it, I had to get my younger brother to do some tasks too. He took care of the dishes. Almost everything had to be washed but just a few were dirty and he spent over an hour on it lol. I spent so much time cleaning that I didn't even remember to write for read.cash. I planned to write last night but as usual, I slept off from fatigue lol.
After everything was done, I proceeded to prepare breakfast which took me about 30 minutes. It made me remember the breakfast we usually ate at home when I was younger. Every Saturday, my would have either moi moi or akara with either pap or custard. When we are akara, we mostly go out to buy it but when we had moi moi, it was usually made at home. I liked the food but I didn't like it on Saturdays because it took too long to prepare. After working so hard and feeling hungry, we'd have to go through about 2 hrs of food preparation. The actual preparation for cooking took about 1hr while the cooking itself took another hour. I remember feeling like I was probably going to die of hunger each Saturday haha. I didn't look forward to Saturday mornings at all but the afternoons were good. We usually had nothing to do so we did whatever we wanted. As a child, I would go downstairs and play with other kids who lived in the other flats in the apartment. Now, we live alone and I don't see so many kids in this area coming together from their houses to play.
I do miss how things were before because despite how long it took to prepare the meals, everyone would join hands to help while my mum tells us stories about her parents and siblings and even about my dad. We had a lot of bonding moments during those times but it didn't change the fact that I was hungry! Haha. Now, I sometimes make the decisions about what to cook and I never choose moi moi because unlike when we were younger, I'd have to do it alone. I can't have my mum in the kitchen anymore because I'm old enough to take over while she rests and my elder ones don't live with us anymore. So, whenever I have to cook in Saturday, I usually choose something my parents like but that won't be a lot of trouble to prepare.
How are Saturdays in your home? Is it similar or entirely different?
Tips to Overcome Creative Block
Good day everyone! How is it going? I hope you're all having a great day. My network provider and my back are out to get me today but I'm not going to let them bring me down because its a beautiful day.
This morning started with work. I had some ideas for the project we are currently working on, and I quickly had to put them down before our presentation this morning. I was supposed to come up with the ideas yesterday evening, but you can't really put a timing on creativity. At first, I thought hard about what to do but nothing was coming to me, so I turned off my devices and decided to do other things. I had a long phone call that cleared my head and prepared me mentally for this morning. The moment I woke up, the ideas came to me, and I immediately put them down in a document. I knew my brain wouldn't fail me, I just needed to relax and so any other thing except work.
Who else have ever been in a creative rut? Maybe, writers block, the inability to conceive new or good ideas, lack of inspirationetc? Today, I'll be giving us tips that will help us overcome our creative rut.
**TAKE A BREAK**
One thing that definitely helps is to take a break from whatever you're trying to do and come back later to the project with a fresh mindset. I've noticed how in the heat of the moment, I easily make mistakes but when I abandon a project for a few hours, I'm usually able to spot mistakes and develop new ideas. The timing for a break is dependent on you, it could be minutes, hours or even days. And there are several things to do while on a break such as taking a nap. A nap let's you get the rest your body needs and keeps you more calm and relaxed. Exercise also helps you in similar ways and it helps your thinking process.
**TRY SOMETHING NEW**
While taking a break, this is the opportunity to try something new. Trying something we haven't done before gives us new experiences and enable us to have a different perspective on situations. The new experience can also provide the idea you need. The taste of a new meal, a new sport or activity, watching a new movie, trying out a new product, these things can broaden your mind as you undergo these new experiences.
**CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT**
A change of environment have helped make significant changes in mindset on different occasions. When I write, I often find that in some locations, I'm usually overwhelmed with an inflow of ideas. Imagine being in a place where children are running about, traders are selling their wares, cars are passing or a place where there is silence except the sound of the wind and the twinkling of the night stars. It's quite surprising how you'll be able to take ideas from your environment or how you'll feel calm enough to expand your creative thinking.
**ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS**
Sometimes, we're unable to come up with good ideas because we let ourselves be distracted while working. For me, it is my phone that distracts me. I'll want to check social media or do something else rather than work. If you start to lose focus on your work, you may forget your train of thought or creative process. There are times when I start with an idea but I don't follow through because I let myself be distracted. By the time I'm ready to continue, I may not remember why I was doing something a particular way. So, to clear distractions, keep your phone away, turn off the TV, stay alone or someplace where you won't be disturbed by the people around, just do away with whatever you think may distract you and it should help you gain more focus.
And most importantly, don't think about it. The most likely thing we do when we're in a creative rut is that we think too much but it is not a problem that is usually solved by thinking (at least, not in that moment). So, stop fixating on the problem and the solution or ideas to get the solution will come to you.
Thank you for reading! You're amazing!
@Talecharm Thank you!! Thank you so much for your subscription, I'm so grateful! I wish you every good thing you deserve and more!
Life Hacks You Should Know ((2))
Good day! How is everyone doing? I'm so excited today for no reason at all. I didn't even get enough sleep last night, I woke up feeling very sleepy and grouchy and just longing for the day to end so I can go back to sleep, but I had a video call with someone I haven't seen in a long time and it's just made me so excited. Yeah and I hope this excitement last for the rest of the day because I want it to. So without any further ado, I will like to continue my previous list about life hacks I think you should know.
**FROZEN DRINKS** - Ever wanted to add ice to your drinks and after a while the ice starts to water down the drink making it taste less sweeter than it was when you started drinking? Well, here's a hack for you. Take a little bit of that drink, pour it into your ice cube tray so that when next you need to take that particular drink you will use the ice from that drink. Let's say for example, you have some orange juice, you can pour some of them into your ice tray so that when next you need to take orange juice and you need some ice, you can make use of the cube of frozen orange juice rather than ice cubes made from water. That way, your orange juice will never be diluted even when the ice melts because the ice is made from the orange juice.
**IRONING INSIDE OUT** - As I have mentioned before, I did go to a boarding school so, I learnt several hacks from there and one of them is ironing from the inside out. Our school uniform was a white button down shirt and ironing clothes with buttons can be quite difficult especially when trying to get to the part of the clothes beneath the buttons. For that reason, we learnt to turn the clothes over and iron from inside out this allowed us to smoothly run the iron over the clothes. Then, as our uniforms were white in colour, this also helped us not to get light stains in the front of the uniform in case the iron collects dust or for some reason is not totally clean. This may sound strange as to why an iron will not be clean but for us in secondary school, an iron was not just an iron, it was also a cooker (we crudely toasted bread with it), some people also used it to iron wet clothes because they didn't have an extra uniform (don't try any of these at home). So, it made the irons more prone to burning clothes, and that meant that the under plate of the iron was usually a bit black or brown-ish from previous burns. So ironing inside out let's any residue of stains on the iron not to get to the front of the clothes.
**TOOTHPASTE FOR IRONS** - Since we're on the topic of electric irons, why don't I explain how you can use toothpaste for irons. Like I mentioned in the point above, we use irons for other things apart from just straightening our clothes. That meant that our irons burnt a lot of things a lot of times. You might have once found yourself in a situation where you burnt your clothes with an iron leaving a blackened stain underneath. In secondary school, we made use of toothpaste to remove those stains. It is quite surprising how well it works. All you have to do is heat up the iron a little bit, not a lot, just enough to melt the toothpaste or enough for your hand to still be able to run over it. Apply the toothpaste on the heated or warmed up iron and with a tissue or a cloth, I prefer to use a wet cloth, smear the toothpaste all over the stain and then wipe it off. The stain will come off with the toothpaste and with another clean wet cloth, properly clean off whatever toothpaste is left on the electric iron. Do make sure that the iron is not plugged while doing this.
Thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments if you've tried any of these hacks!
I Made Me Proud
Hey Readers! How is it going today? I hope all is going well. I have a lot of work to do today. Infact, I've been so busy lately and it's making it hard for me to be on read.cash as much as I would like to.
Despite this, I opened a noise.cash account yesterday lol. I don't really know how it works but I'm trying to figure it out. I'll be grateful if I get some guidance in the comments.
While opening my noise.cash account, I found out that my name was already taken and I was a little sad lol. I wanted to have the same name on both read and noise. I had to open the noise account with Daria1
Today is another day and I'll be going on another rant but this time around, it will be ending with a kinda positive note lol. I notice that sometimes it's hard to find the positive part of what you do. Sometimes, our work takes so much from us but we do it anyway because we're trying to make ends meet. I don't know what the future holds for me but I believe I'll be happier doing the things I love while not feeling like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. I find that finding the positive things in what we do can give us the motivation to move on when we're lacking it and maybe, just maybe, it may make the word even seem less tedious. So, with this, I'll tell you about what happened yesterday.
Yesterday, I made myself proud. When I got my job, I started as an intern with only little experience, but I was hired based on a skill test. After my internship, I moved into becoming a full staff. The problem here is that I got to work directly under the boss who can be quite demanding. He had me doing some things I never studied or learnt; things that require an experienced person or a professional to handle. I like to believe that I'm learning on the job and after a while this experience will give me the opportunity to expand my knowledge and skill set.
Despite knowing that I have no experience of the tasks he gives me, he gives me crazy deadlines. A task that should take a day or two for more experienced people, I usually get a few hours to complete it and do a good job. What have surprised me is how I've been able to deliver a good job promptly but when the timing is too short, I do not force myself to finish the work because it ruins my creative process and the quality of the work. Instead, I give an update on how far I've gone and let him know the rest will be done the following day.
Last year, my colleague and I were tasked to create a masterbrand campaign for a big company. This task cost me my time, sleep, even my weekends. It was a big deal and quite challenging. I expected that after we put the deck together, my boss, as an expert, would make his modifications. To my surprise, he didn't. He went through it, pointed out things to add but never actually changed what we had done. It was then I realised that we had done a good job and yesterday, we made our pitch to the company. It was a proud moment for me seeing my words on the screen being observed by experts and professionals in the field. After the pitch, they specially requested for a part of what I had contributed and I was overwhelmed.
My job is stressful and demands a lot from me but what I'm grateful for is my colleague whom I directly work with, the learning process and the first hand experience I'm gaining. I can actually go out and say I did this. As of today, I and my colleague have put together several campaigns for several companies and I think that's something to be grateful for.
Have you had any reason to be grateful for something during a difficult situation? Have you ever had these moments where you're just proud of yourself and even if your superior doesn't say it, you just know you did your best and it paid off? That was how I felt yesterday and I hope I get more of those feelings because I'll need them.
Thank you so much for reading, you're awesome!
All work and no play
Hello everyone on read! I want to appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my articles and leave a comment, know that you make someone (me) happy every day by doing that. You guys are awesome. And to my sponsors, I love you!
Yesterday, I had so much trouble writing my article that I thought I wouldn't be able to do it. I wished someone could go in my head, figure out what I wanted to write and then write it for me. I was so busy with work that I could barely make out time to eat. I don't like that I don't have much time for myself but that's the situation I find myself in with my job.
Due to how hard it was to write during the day yesterday, I've decided to write tonight. My eyes are closing, my body is tired and I just feel the need to rest and sleep off but I don't want to give in till I'm done or at least halfway done.
Maybe I should talk about how my day went today (yesterday, by now). I woke up and immediately started to work on a letter I was too tired to write last night. I was still sleepy but it needed to be done. I was later told that I made some mistakes in the letter; good thing it got edited before being sent to the final recipient.
After that, I prepared for our work virtual meeting. We work from home most of the time, so we have to be prepared and punctual for the meeting calls. Most officers working remotely requires their staff to be as dependable and accountable as possible. That means you have to remain ready for a call at all times, be able and willing to start a new task, give feedback on between and complete the tasks on time even though you have no direct or physical supervision. For my work, it also means that one is allowed to be one minute late to a scheduled meeting. I actually like the idea because no one has to keep waiting for others while having awkward conversations.
After the meeting, we were assigned our tasks for the day. Mine involved expanding what I had worked on the previous day. My previous work was approved, so I had to work with it to create a larger body of work. It required a lot of research, writing, design and it took most of my time. I wasn't really happy that I had a lot of work to do but I was grateful for the learning process.
I remember, during the meeting, my brother kept banging the door so loudly, every other person present in the meeting could here the loud bangs and I couldn't mute my mic because I was giving a presentation. I tried to signal by waving my hands but he just wouldn't look towards where I was sitting. When waving didn't work, I started snapping my fingers towards him to catch his attention but it was not working and I was beginning to run out of breath. I must have looked extremely crazy with my gestures haha.
While all these were happening, I was home alone with my younger brother. After a while he came to me that he was hungry and wanted to eat noodles. I reminded him that he had already eaten an hour earlier and I can't leave my work to do the cooking but he kept pestering me and later sat down with a sad face that made me feel bad. So, I took a break from work to quickly cook for him. Coincidentally, my boss called when I was in the kitchen, I had to lower the cooker and run back to my work. I managed to convince him that I was still on my work and after the call, I finished cooking.
I'm proud of myself because I completed a huge part of the work, about 97%. At about 6.30pm, I had my lunch/dinner after which I read and commented on some posts on here, and then went to bed because of how exhausted I felt. I also slept off while writing this lol and continued this morning.
Anyway, that was how my day went and based on the message I've just received, today might involve a lot of work too but I'll find out after the meeting.
Remember to COMMENT and SUBSCRIBE!
Life Hacks you should know (1)
Hey everyone, how is your day going? Mine is a bit stressful. It is Monday again and I have a stockpile of work to get to. Its a miracle that I'm even able to write this article with my boss monitoring, checking up every few minutes and asking for updates on my work. I can't wait for the day to be over so I can rest, focus on readcash and do other things I have interest in doing. I hope you alss day is going way better then mine.
Today, we'll be learning life hacks! If you don't know what life hacks are, they sre things we can do to make aour lives easier. If you're like me and you have your lazy moments, or you're broke or you just want things done faster or easier, then life hacks are for you!
Here are the list of different hacks I have learnt over time, either from watch people do it, from being told about it or from reading it on the Internet.
**1. Towel Drying**
I attended a boarding school where getting the chance and time to wash and dry our uniforms was limited. We did our washings mostly at night, after 10pm. There might be a chance that there will be rain or the clothes would fall and you'd have to rewash. When those happen, by the time you need to wear the clothes, they may still be wet. Your quickest option here will be to towel dry it. How it works is, you take a thick towel and lay it flat, lay a cloth on the towel, roll them up till its tight. Keep rolling till its twisted and the excess water from the cloth is coming out of the towel. It works well when one person is holding one end and twisting the towel to one side while another person on the other end twists the towel to the opposite side.
Once you've done this for a minute or two, losen the towel and take out the cloth. It will be dry or almost dry but it will also be rumpled, so you have to iron it and you're good to go. This is not a tip for everyday use but if you ever find yourself in a situation where you have limited clothes and they're not dry, you can try this
**2. Phone in a Cup**
While I was in the university, I attended dance rehearsals and there were times when the speakers were not available, so, we had to use our phones. The problem with that was the fact that the phones were not loud enough for everyone to hear the beat. So, we had to resort to putting the phone in a cup. When someone suggested this idea, I had my doubts but I was willing to try it out and interestingly, it didn't fail. The sound became louder that it was before and everyone could hear it. This is an interesting hack you can also make use of if you're trying to make your alarm louder, for those who sleep through their alarms.
**3. Cooking oil for pepper**
After felt that hot peppery sensation after cutting peppers? That feeling that makes you just want to chop of your fingers. The worst thing that you can do when your fingers are peppery is mistakenly touching your face. The eyes, above the lips and under the nose are usually the most affected. So, after cutting pepper and feeling the heat on your fingers, don't wash with water. The part of a pepper that is peppery is called capsaicin oil which repels water like most oils and water might only spread the oil rather than wash it off. Best thing to do is fight oil with oil lol. Rub any cooking oil on the affected area and the burning sensation will die down in no time.
**4. Ginger for Nausea**
As someone who feels nauseous every time and I'm making a long distance travel, I know that this works wonders. Whenever I have to travel, I make sure to stock my pocket or carryon with what I call my anti-nausea materials (maybe I'll talk about them in another article). In my pocket or carryon, you'll most likely find a finger of ginger. The minty flavour from the garlic helps keep the nausea at bay and provides instant relief. If you don't have the actual ginger root, you can use ginger sweets or drinks. I'll recommend the sweets over the drinks though.
What are other life hacks you know? Please share with me in the comments, I'll really like to know and don't forget to subscribe if you haven't.
Impostor Syndrome
Goodday everyone? How are you doing today? It's sunday so I'll be cooking a lot after which I'll probably try to sleep or watch some movies later in the day. The sat part about Sunday is knowing that Monday is just around the corner. Tomorrow, I'll have to continue keeping up with the corporate world and keep counting the time till the day is over. Anyway, how are you doing? And how was your night?
Last night I had a fight with someone very dear to me. At the end, I felt like I could be easily dispensable. I lost my appetite and I couldn't write, but I'm glad and that things are better between us now. A part of me is still scared though scared in ways I've never been before scared of the unknown and the possibility of what could happen in the future. I don't know why I'm ranting about this here lol
On another note, I received a notification from WordPress yesterday celebrating my 7 years anniversary. I didn't realise it had been seven years since I opened a WordPress account, and guess how much I had done on it? Nothing! absolutely nothing! I started using it to comment on other people's articles probably last year or the year before that, but apart from that, I've not actually posted anything there.
I always wanted to write articles or flash fictions there, but I usually struggled with my identity as a writer. I felt like I never really found my niche, even when it seemed like I was tilting towards a particular side, I worried that I was not being very original. I worried that if I got ideas from a prompt or inspiration from anywhere like a movie, a conversation, a song, observing people or my surroundings, then I was a fraud. I felt that I somehow had to come up with something that has never existed and is not a part of any other person’s reality until I bring it to light.
I now know that I was not being fair to myself. My words, world building, inspired ideas were all mine. I wasn't plagiarising or paraphrasing someone else's work; I conceived the ideas and wrote about them. I've gotten to understand that no idea is truly new; someone somewhere have also thought of it. I remember participating in a sort of writing competition on wattpad some years back that required us to write using word prompts. After submitting, I realised someone had also submitted the same time as me with the same story idea! We literally wrote the same thing with different words and guess what I did? I took mine down. That's something I don't think I will ever do now.
Two years ago, I was in a similar situation again. A writing competition with given word prompts and someone wrote a similar story as me. This time around, I didn't take it down, I was proud of my work and how I had put my story together. I didn't care much if it might reduce my chances, I just thought "may the best story win". At the end of the day, my own story was advanced to the next round. It was really the confidence boost I didn't know I needed.
While some doubts may still creep up from time to time, I'm glad to say that I'm not how I used to be. I have experienced growth without realising it. And little by little, I'm putting myself out there and welcoming all constructive criticism. I love my work being properly critiqued so much.
In one of my writers group, I made friends with the most honest critic there and liked getting his honest opinions on my writings while most people didn't like him. Some went on to say that they only wanted to hear nice things about their work. The problem with criticism is that when it is done right, it feels like a learning moment. Some people tend to be rude or insulting while claiming to be critics. I believe criticism should be constructive and candorous.
Now, I know that all those times, I struggled with imposter syndrome; the feeling that I was not as good as people said I was, the feeling that I was just faking my competency and soon people would find out that I was unoriginal. Apparently, this is a very common feeling amongst authors and it's good to know that I wasn't the only one feeling that way.
If you've ever had impostor syndrome, please leave a **COMMENT** and don't forget to **SUBSCRIBE**
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For Chicken Sake
Why don't I tell you guys about my battle with chicken pox, but first, why is it called chicken pox though? What have chickens got to do with this? I do not tolerate any slander on chickens so, I need answers lol. Chicken pox was something several kids had when we were much younger but I didn't. I assumed I was immune maybe due to the vaccination we received as kids or something. Little did I know that the virus was just gearing up to attack me in the worst way possible.
In boarding school, 15 out of the 21 girls in my hall contracted chicken pox. I remember feeling envious because they got to go home. I was very exposed to the virus, my bunk mate had it, everyone on my row had it, I laid on the bed of someone who had it, I helped my friend wash her cloth when she had it and the blister directly touched my skin but I never got it. The good thing was that the rest of us left behind were under special watch and the hall was almost empty so we did as we liked during that period.
Several years later, while I was in my 3rd year in the university, I was enjoying feeling of having fewer courses, getting a project supervisor and just other things that made me feel cool until tragedy struck. I travelled home for the semester holiday and close to the resumption date, I started feeling really sick. It started with extreme fatigue, so bad that I could barely stand myself up. I also lost appetite and I didn't eat any solid food for three days. I remember drinking coke, and tea. My parents didn't believe I was sick for some reasons so they still had me do house work; I partly burnt almost every food I cooked because I couldn't get up to turn off the cooker on time lol.
The first blister appeared on my stomach and it scared me. I didn't remember what chicken pox looked like, so I didn't recognise it. My sister saw it and touched it (she got infected later). I was to travel to my hometown with my dad and younger for an event and my siblings would join later, and from there, I was to travel back to school. Whenever I'm travelling to my hometown, I don't bother with aesthetics, I just wear comfortable clothes and maybe transparent lip gloss. So, I didn't really have to look at a mirror but when my dad saw me that morning, he jumped a little. I remember asking him what's wrong and why he was looking at my face that way but he said it was nothing. When I tried to go look at a mirror, he told me we didn't have much time and needed to leave as early as possible and I ignorantly agreed.
On the way, I could barely keep my head up; I was tired and wanted to lie down. My younger brother placed his head on my legs to sleep and I rested my head on his back (he got infected too) I don't remember much of that journey because I didn't feel like I was part of it. I felt so sick that the journey seemed unending yet, short.
We reached our hometown on time. My dad sat outside with his brothers who welcomed us while my brother and I went inside the house. After a while, they heard a loud scream and ran inside one of the rooms to find me with a mirror. I was in shock at what my face looked like. I couldn't believe I had carried that face proudly while walking past people. I must admit it did feel a little rough but I thought I was breaking out for some reasons. My dad then explained to me that the pox had shown up on my face and that was why he didn't let me use a mirror in the morning because he knew I would be worried. When my dad's brothers found out what happened, they laughed so much, it actually made me feel calm and I laughed along with them.
A few hours later, I got my drugs and calamine lotion. I was told that I didn't start the treatment on time and I had one of the worst cases (the blisters were gigantic). After a week my little brother and elder sister started noticing the symptoms and began treatment immediately (even before the symptoms, I think). Well, theirs wasn't as bad and they had no scars while I've been left with permanent scars on my body and face. It made me really insecure for a long time especially with how obvious the scars are because of my light skin but I'm almost over it now. A lot of people don't seem to notice it as much anymore, I think they heal better over the years. I wouldn't want anyone to go through the same ordeal though.
Back to my question, what did chickens do to deserve this unfortunate tag? Is it because they crossed the road? Why?
Have you ever had chicken pox? let me know in the COMMENTS and SUBSCRIBE!!
How to Become Rich and Famous
Hey, how is it going? I woke up some hours ago without knowing what to write but I decided to start writing anyways. I have no idea what to do but I'm going to tell you how my morning is going so far. I took some meat out of the freezer and defrosted it now I'm cooking it on fire. There is a certain part of the meat that takes a long time before it is well cooked. So, I have to put it on fire and cook it for a long time. This will require a lot of monitoring, I have to make sure that the water in the meat does not get dried up and keep topping it up frequently. While I'm doing that I, also have to work as I work from home. My work takes a lot of time from me and makes it hard for me to do any other thing, but I have to find a way take care of my personal business while I'm home.
Moving on...
**Beware**! What you are about to read is sense that makes no sense. It is the sense in nonsense but you may learn a thing or nothing from it lol
So yesterday, I had this very weird and crazy thought in my head and I decided to share with you guys. Non of what I'm about to share is feasible (I think) and it is not an advice (obviously). So, don't take it seriously. Have fun reading. Meanwhile, check out my awesome sponsors @BCH_LOVER @Lhes @Jay997 @McJulez
Now, I'm going to give you the step by step guide on how to become wealthy and influencial. Think of a company you know that makes a lot of money . Walk into that company, go straight to the boss's office and sit on the bosses chair. Now, that chair belongs to you and that office belongs to you. Congratulations you are now a boss. You may notice people asking you weird questions like who are you and what are you doing here? You can either ignore them or fire them. You don't want anybody around you who is not in support of your progress.
If any strange person comes to you telling you to leave their office, call the police and report that harassment. The police may ask you to prove that you're the boss or an employee. Fret not. They may arrest you, but when you get to the station, take the police officers job and arrest him instead. If the divisional police officer (DPO) comes after you, seize his uniform and rusty gun. Remember to give the uniform to your tailor for amendments before putting it on.
The local government chairman might actually come to see you or send for you. Congratulations, you're becoming a local celebrity. As the DPO, you have the backing of all the police officers. So, can use some force to take over as the local government chairman. You can decide to commission a new house for yourself or even a borehole in your living room if you feel like it; you're the boss.
You might be a boss but why stop there? Go straight into the governors office and take your position on his/her throne. Make deals, sign budgets, allocate funds, your excellency. Just have fun but when things start to get boring, walk into the national assembly and take a seat, give your opinions on topics, you're now a senator. This is all good and interesting but what settle for less. Trav straight to the presidential villa, lock him or her outside and throw down their clothes through the window (except the really expensive ones). Call for a presidential conference and address all your subordinates after which you address the country. Host your own Olympics where you'll win gold at all sports, organise your own book of World records where you'll also win all the good records. There's nothing stopping you now, the world is your oyster... until you wake up from this stupid dream
With these few points of mine, I hope I have been able to convince you and not confuse you about the best and easiest method to make money and be the president.
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How to Reduce Procrastination
This morning, I woke up listing everything I had to do and the thought of it just made me really tired. So, I decided to get up and start doing them because the more I delayed, the least likely I was to do them. In that vein, I'll like to share some tips on how to reduce procrastination.
Firstly, understand that procrastination is not the same as laziness. Someone who procrastinates may still be able to do other things but leave out the important ones or the ones that overwhelms, bore, or stresses them more. They may decide to do every other thing but put off some others until a later date with no decent reason. Many of us are familiar with the act of procrastination, and it is indeed a very human trait, but it doesn't mean we should let it take over our lives. So, to curb procrastination, here are some simple things you can do.
**ADMIT IT** - You have to first admit that you're procrastinating. Sometimes, it's easier to make excuses for yourself so that you won't feel bad about not doing what you're supposed to be doing, but no matter what you tell yourself, the truth is that you're procrastinating.
**FIGURE OUT WHY** - If you're procrastinating, there has to be a reason for it. As mentioned earlier, it could be because you find the work overwhelming, or you're not in the mood, or it is not interesting in any way, or it stresses you out. There are several reasons why you may want to postpone something you're meant to be doing, and if you're able to figure out why, you will be able to recognise the problem and work towards solving it. Remember, if you're putting of a task for a genuine reason, then you're not necessarily procrastinating.
**FIND THE POSITIVE** - It's hard to find the zeal to work if there is no possible positive outcome but the truth is that in almost all task, there is usually a positive outcome. It could be the sense of accomplishment; the fact that you can look back and smile at the fact that you finished that tedious task and you don't have to bother about it anymore. It could be in the positive reviews you may get after completing the task or it could even be for bragging rights; being able to proudly say that you did something. Whatever it is, find it and work towards it.
**JUST DO IT** - This is really simple. If you read the book "Eat That Frog" by Brian Tracy, you'll learn about taking the biggest or most unpleasant task and just doing it immediately. When you get that out of the way, the rest would be a breeze. So, the moment it's time to carry out a task, just start doing. Once you start, you're already a step closer to finishing. I've found that jumping on a task without taking time to dwell on the negative parts of it helps me reduce procrastination and I'm always proud of myself whenever I finish.
**PLAN AHEAD** - This may sound strange but you can plan ahead to prepare for procrastination. If you have anything that may make you distracted or give you an excuse not to complete a task, make plans on how to remove those distractions. If your friends are going to come over, you can have them come at a later time or do the work earlier. If your phone will distract you, keep it away. If you have things that may actually make you want to complete the work, then use them. If you like listening to music while cleaning, make sure you have your music ready.
**PEER PRESSURE** - Now, who says peer pressure only has to be negative? There are positive pressure that is characterised by having people who push to to do the right things. You can talk to a friend or a sibling and have them keep you accountable. They are to genuinely tell you when they think you're making excuses not to work, remind you of what you should be doing, make sure you do these things and do them on time. In return, you can also be their own accountability partner.
**REWARD YOURSELF** - The reward system works. If there's something you feel like indulging in, like a movie, a drink, etc, rather than just doing it, use it as a reward for accomplishing your task. That way, you'll have more zeal to do the work knowing that there is something to look forward to at the end.
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PS: Who else noticed the dip in BCH in the past 24 hours or thereabout?
The Journey Through Hell
Hey, why don't I tell you guys about the most stressful road trip I ever had.
It was December 2020, I traveled with my mum back to our hometown for Christmas. We boarded a commercial bus at the park as early as 6 a.m. but there was a delay, so we didn't leave on time. While we were at the park waiting, I got hungry. I usually don't eat whenever I'm traveling because I do get motion sickness, but I was so hungry I felt I couldn't wait for another 6 to 8 hours before eating. So, my Mum and I got something to eat. I usually I usually avoid eating while traveling long distance because the motion sickness makes me nauseous and when it's really bad I may actually throw up. I haven't thrown up in a long time and I always tried to avoid it; it's a very uncomfortable feeling feeling nauseous for hours while other people are eating different kind of food that makes you want to throw up or the smell of their perfume disturbs your stomach. I ate very little that morning so that I would have something in my stomach.
While at the park, we watched people selling their wares at increased prices because they knew people would not want to leave the park to go outside because their buses could leave without them. When we finally got on the road, I was not happy that there was a delay, but I was glad that we were finally moving, and I couldn't wait to get to our destination. The journey was cut short when after a 15-minute drive, the driver pulled into a workshop and said he had to work on his bus. I was so pissed that he waited till he had passengers in his car before deciding to work on it; he didn't work on it the previous day, or while we were at the park waiting, he decided to work on his car while he was carrying passengers on a long-distance road trip. During trips like this, it is unusual for buses to stop until they are at designated locations like when they get halfway, the buses usually stop for people to get something to eat, but that day we stopped, 15 minutes into the journey, we came down from the bus with nowhere to sit.
We were at the place for over an hour before we got back on the road again. Having spent so much time on the road, we encountered traffic almost immediately. We were met with people who we are hurrying to their different places of work or wherever they had to be, and the road was jammed. The traffic was so bad that even people couldn't pass through it. I got so tired sitting I decided to put my head on my legs and I slept off. Because we had to wake up early to get ready and go to the park that morning, I was still a bit sleepy especially with the fact that I didn't even sleep early the previous night.
When I woke up, I expected that we would be in another place, but to my surprise we were still in the same spot we were in before I slept off. I was so confused I asked my mum what was going on, and she told me we were still stuck in traffic. The traffic lasted for several hours. My Dad later called to ask us if we had gotten to our destination, and I told him that we were still stuck and haven't left the state. He was furious after I explained everything that happened. It wasn't till about 2 or 3 p.m. before we are able to leave the traffic. Remember, this journey was supposed to last for 6 to 8 hours, and we had spent a lots of hours on what was supposed to last for 1 hour, so, we still had a lot of time ahead of us.
When the road became clear, the driver, in his bid to meet up with time, started speeding. He was moving so fast that people were holding on to their seats tightly and screaming. Somehow I enjoyed the speed of the ride, and I hate to admit it but it was thrilling for me. But no matter how thrilling it is was, there was always also the chance of getting in an accident. The women in the bus screamed at the driver and told him to reduce his speed. The driver then got pissed and told the women that if they wanted him to reduce the speed, he would reduce its so bad that we would sleep on the road. True to his words, he slowed down so much that a lot of cars were breezing past us.
It wasn't until 11:30 p.m. before we got to our destination car park. It was too late for us to find a very cab at the park to take us home so we had to spend the night there. There were other travelers who had arrived late there and everyone was cautious my mum and I took shifts to sleep I couldn't even sleep until 4 a.m. and by 5 a.m. my Mum woke me up and we boarded a cab home.
I think that was by far my most stressful journey. Kindly let me know yours in the comments and don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!
Types Of People Found In A Church
Good day everyone, how is the new year going for you? I had to resume work early, so, it sucks because yesterday was a public holiday and my boss made us resume work yesterday despite the fact that we are still on holidays and are not yet available to work.
It has been said that Africa is notoriously religious. Now, I don't know if this covers all parts of Africa but where I come from, it can be said to be true. I am from Nigeria, although people usually assume I'm not because of my name, and I don't blame them, I've not met any other person in Nigeria bearing my name. it is not my indigenous name though. So today, I thought to write about the different kinds of people you would notice in a church especially a Nigerian church.
**THE PRAYER WARRIORS** - These are the ones that come to church to bind and cast out evil spirits whether existent or not. They are the ones who would roll on the floor and whenever a Prayer is been made to the holy spirit they are usually the first to fall to the floor. It makes you wonder just how much evil spirit they have in them that makes them fall always or if they had first class access to the Holy Spirit. Now you can't watch this kind of people while they're performing during church because it is believed that if they truly have a demon in them, it's going transfer to you for being nosey. Remember that everybody falling down is not necessarily falling because they have evil spirit, it could be because they have received the Holy Spirit or because they just want to ask act.
**THE FLIRTERS** - These ones come to church to look for the handsome brother or beautiful sister in the church. They are known to give passive glasses towards a person they're targeting and sometimes occasional smiles. some would even go as far as to leave a wink. Then, they stylishly wait for their target after church probably at the entrance and then go to meet them. They may compliment their clothes, their singing voice, how they worship, or how they pray. It's actually funny to observe, I call it holy flirting.
**THE PHONE USERS** - These ones are present at every church. You would see them with their phones taking pictures or recording themselves dancing. The phone users also includes those who keep their phones on their laps while chatting and pretending to be listening in church. There are also those whose phones are always ringing, one would think they worked as a customer care agent. Their phone would go off every second. Some of them would allow it ring out because they don't want to pick the call instead of putting the phone on vibration or silencing it. There are some who would run out dramatically every second their phone rings, whispering excuse me's and causing a distraction.
**THE MODEL** - The models are the ones who come to church to slay. They take their time to make sure they're perfectly dressed and they look good. Sometimes they come just late enough to have an audience watch them walk-in, other times they come in at an appropriate time, but you tend to notice them when they go to the altar for any reason. My church has a lot of model types, both in young people and parents. It's almost like a fashion show. I enjoy watching people to see their clothes, hats, shoes etc although, it makes me distracted.
**THE OVERZEALOUS USHERS**- Now, these are the kind of ushers you would think were paid millions to keep the job . They would go overboard in carrying their duties. They are the ushers that will tap you and put their hand over their lips, telling you to keep quiet or tell you to sit up when you bend down because you're tired or maybe having a stomach pain. They always have a judgmental look on their faces and would quickly chastise you for any little thing you may possibly do wrong. These types of ushers are generally not liked, but they keep the church running effectively.
If you're a church goer, what kind are you? What other types did I miss?
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Things I Do Everyday
Last night, I was worried. We were informed that we were to resume work today. We were informed just yesterday! We weren't supposed to resume until a few days time and I already had plans for the day. It was really upsetting. But think about the plans that I had, I decided to write about the things I realised I do everyday. This is not a complete list, so it doesn't include everything I do daily.
**BROWSE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA** - I do this a lot. I spend my time on Instagram going through videos on the explore page. I can spend a long time there scrolling through several videos. I usually watch satisfying videos, food related videos, tech and engineering videos, dance videos etc. I watch a lot of other videos but these are the main ones and you will find them always recommended to me to watch. I also watch YouTube videos a lot. I watch videos about pressure washing, anything on "Insider", movie behind the scenes footages, live performances by musicians, some interviews etc. On Whatsapp, I spend more time going through people's statuses than actually replying messages. I mostly reply the messages when I'm about to exit the app so that I don't have to continue the conversation. There are times when I dedicate some time for messages though; I stay online, reply the messages and converse with people. These are just some of the social media networks I patronise.
**COOK MEALS** - Not to brag, but I think I cook well. The only problem is that I hate doing it. I know how to do it because I've done it a lot. I cook for my family, myself, my siblings; I've spent a good chunk of my life cooking, so much so that I can probably cook with my eyes closed, but I don't like anything about it. It is stressful, it hurts my back, it requires spending a large number of time in the kitchen without rest, I also have to deal with those who have different preferences. Sometimes, I get too worked up after cooking that I don't even have the strength to eat the food, I just drink water and lie down to rest my back. Cooking just for myself is much easier but having to cook for a whole family is a lot of work. I appreciate people who enjoy doing it, and I always wish I could be like them because this is something I may have to do forever.
**RECEIVE PHONE CALLS** - I specifically didn't say "make phone calls" because I don't lol. I don't like it, I'd rather text, that way, I can properly form and edit my thoughts, I can ponder on a message sent to me and know how to properly respond. Phone calls make me anxious, I kee worrying about what to say and hope I don't say the wrong thing or use a wrong tone of voice. Sometimes, I have to remind myself to act excited so that the person on the other end doesn't think I'm upset. Phone calls are easier for me when I'm talking to my boyfriend, he's the one person I like to call. I don't feel anxious or worried when talking to him and I do actually get excited for real. With that being said, I'm usually on the receiving end of phone calls. It's not that I don't reach out to people; I mostly do that using sms or social media chats.
**DAYDREAM** - I'm like a star in my own movie haha. I'm always dreaming up scenarios and creating several alternate endings to them. I like to keep things interesting so I don't limit myself to what is probable; I go all out. When I'm up for it, I include some elements of magic or the paranormal in my thoughts and of course, I mostly win. Sometimes, I feature my friends as my crew members and we go together to do superhero stuff like the avengers lol. Other times, I have thoughts of helping people in my family and my society, hopefully anonymously or by proxy. Either way, I wouldn't want to be directly/physically involved; I wouldn't even know what to say.
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The Bucket List
I've been staring at my screen, contemplating on what to write but I can't seem to figure it out. I've heard of writers block; the thing that makes writers unable to come up with something to write. Is it real though? I think the problem is not being able to come up with something at all but the inability to come up with something good. Ideas are all around us but there are times when you start losing focus or get so mentally exhausted that you can't think creatively. This is the time one needs to rest, take a break from work and come back to it later with a new perspective. This is not the case for me now though, I don't think I need a break from writing because I enjoy doing it at the moment and I'm looking forward to what my brain will come up with.
Ah, I just remembered a bucket list I made a long while ago. I don't think I've done anything on the list but I'll share some of them
**LEARN TO RIDE A BICYCLE** - I'm probably one of the very few people who do not know how to ride a bike. When I was younger, I really wanted to learn it but I never got the chance to. I would see other kids cruising down the street with bicycles. Those who didn't have one would borrow from their friends. I could have asked my friends for theirs but I couldn't ride and I didn't want to be laughed at. I still haven't found the avenue to learn it but I hope I will, someday.
**SCREAM AT THE TOP OF MY VOICE** - This is weird right? Haha. As a child, I used to have this need to always keep my voice, opinions inside of me. I admired people who could speak up without being admonished or playfully made jest of by their siblings or parents. Growing up, I overcame that and started becoming opinionated to an extent. Since then, I always wished to be able to find myself in a deserted location, preferably on top of a mountain or hill, and then scream my lungs out. I feel like I have an inner voice or that I've not heard myself as loud as I could possibly be. Yeah, it's weird, I know.
**LEARN TO SHOOT A GUN** - I don't plan to own a gun but there have been times where I felt like I needed to protect myself. I wanted to have every possible skill that might save me if I ever found myself in a struggle or a life/death situation; I didn't want to feel helpless. Now, that's one reason. The other is that I felt it was cool and badass lol. It would also give me bragging rights haha. I never learnt this, maybe it's for the best.
**LEARN ANY FORM OF MARTIAL ARTS** - Just like the above, I needed to be able to protect myself but I was more serious about this. I remember always watching videos about self defense and practicing alone. I don't think it was much help but I did and I still do want to learn this. I am not very physically strong but I think I have endurance. I even started working out to make myself stronger but my health doesn't let me be very consistent. I do enjoy engaging in physical adventurous activities though and I still hope to learn to fight someday.
**LEARN TO PLAY THE GUITAR** - I have a special love for guitars and I always wanted to play it. I would watch people who could play and wonder how they knew just the string to touch to create a specific sound especially without even looking at it. It was and still is the coolest instrument for me. For now, I've only gone as far as learning the major scale haha. I still wish I can play and maybe one day, I'll be able to. I don't even want to play commercially or for the general public, I want to be able to play for myself and the people closest to me.
That concludes my list for now. This list is not even up to half of what was in the original list. I had/have so many things I wished to do. I guess I should start taking them seriously.
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Fireworks and Friendships
Fireworks and Friendships
The sound of the fireworks blasts repeatedly in the background. New year messages rang on my phone, I read the most important one and sent a reply. I laid on my bed mentally making a checklist of things I had to do when the day broke and I realised I wouldn't have much time for myself in the morning so, I decided to write this before going to sleep (it's weird writing what is going on right now in past tense lol). It was 1am when I started writing; I received a call not long after from a close friend wishing me a happy new year. It felt really nice to talk to her. She told me her wishes for me together with prayers before we ended the conversation. It was after the call that I realised that I hadn't figured out what to write about. It's a new year, a lot of people will be busy celebrating, no one wants to read a boring article. I finally decided to talk about a new year celebration I remember fondly.
It was several years ago, I had returned from school for the holidays. I didn't have a lot of friends at home and I sucked at making friends our rather, maintaining friendships, but I had a neighbour within my age range whom I was friendly with. We made plans to go to church at night for the vigil Mass which started by 10pm. Once it was a few minutes past 9pm, we met outside and set off to church.
The journey to church was fun because my friend never ran out of things to say which compensated for my desire to only speak occasionally. We worked well together because she had the freedom to talk as much as she wanted without being interrupted while I enjoyed not feeling the pressure to immediately say something or respond, rather, I took the time to take in what she was saying and I smiled or laughed when I wanted to. She asked me questions occasionally to get my opinion on whatever situations she was talking about and I gave honest replies sometimes laced with sarcasm for humour. What would have been a 10 or 15 minutes walk took us 30 minutes because we spent a lot of time talking and laughing.
When we got to church, it was almost full so we had to go to the top floor to get a seat. Our church was majestic and could contain a very large number of people, yet it was always full everytime. We took an empty seat and not long after, we spotted some other of our friends from the street (whom I only talk to when I run into them, but it wasn't awkward). We all say together and remained quiet. Church went smoothly especially towards the end when the countdown to the new year began. We counted down from 10 to 1 after which we shouted "Happy new year". People started hugging one another and wishing them a happy new year (this was before the pandemic). I never really liked hugs, so I avoided it as much as I could. I instead smiled and made the first move of offering a handshake to people. My friends of course insisted on getting hugs.
After church, at about 1am, we started walking home and talking about the things we couldn't discuss in church because we had to be quite and focused. At an intersection, my neighbour and I parted ways with the others. On the street, people shot fireworks in the air and the younger ones (mainly teenagers) threw ground firecrackers on the floor. Sometimes, they lit match sticks and threw it at girls returning from church. Seeing the flame approaching, the girls would think it was a firecracker and they would scream while the boys would laugh. It was an exciting thing to witness, my friend and I fell victim to the lit match sticks too after which we laughed it off.
When we got home, my friend and I changed into comfortable clothes and went out into the streets to also shoot the fireworks we had bought earlier. My younger brother wanted to join us but he was to young so he stayed and watched us from the house. I felt bad for him, but I made it up to him later in the day by letting him hold a sparkling firework while I clasped my hand over his to control his movement. Now that I think of it, it was probably dangerous for us to do all that but it didn't feel that way then. I had fun that day and I ate and drank a lot.
**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**
I'm glad everyone reading this made it into the new year. May this year bring us joy, success and peace of mind.
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The Plans I Had For 2021
Good day everyone! We have less than 24 hours to go, and I am really excited to start the new year. I don't know what to expect; tomorrow might be just another new day, but we're going to celebrate anyway. 2021 has been a hell of a year, but it has been better than 2020 in my opinion. I'm really looking forward to what the next year will bring.
In 2020, I planned to stay low key, mind my business and be totally invincible. Well, it didn't work out that way. By December, I found myself in a different location where I got to hang out with a bunch of people for a couple of weeks. I didn't realise how much fun I was going to have there. I made new friends tried out challenging activities and I sometimes found myself in the limelight. Putting myself out there made me expose myself to new friendships, experiences people, and opportunities. So for 2021 I decided not to limit myself in my environment. I wanted to put myself out there and take all that the world had to offer me. And therefore, I made the following declarations:
**I WANTED TO WORK INTENTIONALLY TOWARDS BEING HAPPY** - This may sound weird but over time, I had gotten used to being unhappy or sad. Things got to me really easily and I usually took my time to wallow in the sadness. Most often than not, nothing good ever comes after, so I usually do not expect anything good to happen to me and I actually cherished the rare moments when something good actually happened. So for 2021, I wanted to intentionally make myself happy. I wanted to let go of the negative thoughts, the negative experiences, I wanted to do the things that made me really happy. I also wanted to take note of the negative things, the things that triggered my negative thoughts and do away with them. So, I was taking the step to actively and intentionally do the things that made me feel good for 2021 because I felt and I believe everyone deserves to be happy. For the end of the year I don't think I've been able to 100% accomplish this, but I'm so grateful for how far I've come. I didn't get here on my own though, I have a wonderful person supporting me and pushing me to be my best self and I am very grateful to him.
**I WANTED TO BE MORE SOCIAL** - I am not a very social being. But I realised I had a lot of fun in the previous year when I was out with people and I wanted to try to do a bit more of that. I don't think I succeeded with this, but I did try to go out and make friends once in a while. I think every situation I found myself, I didn't limit myself so much. I tried to talk to people and start new friendships; the main problem I had was continuing those friendships. I always had problems keeping up with people, having to call or chat often. I usually want to be in my own shell and talk to people only when I see them. I do get nervous around people and I usually do not know what to say to them, so for my own comfort, I avoid confrontations.
**I WANTED TO TRY NEW THINGS** - I'm so happy to say I did do this. I did not only move to a totally different place, I got to try new things, experience a new culture, and even start a new wonderful relationship. I spent most of my 2021 in a whole new state it was very exciting being away from home. I didn't know anybody there, neither did I have anywhere to stay but I was able to figure it out. I made new friends, I met exciting people, I discovered the cultures and how different things were, how the people reacted to different situations and how they did things differently than I was used to. Everyday was just like a new adventure. The best thing about 2021 where's my relationship. I met this amazing person who was and still is totally perfect for me. He made life seem easier. I learnt how to experience love differently because of him and I also learnt what it meant to have a relationship of two fully committed people. It was refreshing knowing that I didn't have to live just for myself because I had someone who genuinely and totally cared for me just as much as I cared for myself and I'm eternally grateful for that.
So, how about you? did you make plans for the year? Were you able to achieve them? how did that go or did your plans change along the way? Will you make plans for next year and intentionally work towards them?
Thank you for reading as usual. You guys are amazing!! Don't forget to subscribe, comment, upvote.
Happy New Year in advance!! See you next year!
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I Learnt My Lesson
Good day everyone!! How are you doing so far? In life I have been through some things and they thought me some valuable lessons. These are my opinions, you don't have to agree with them ok. I'll be happy to hear your thoughts in the comments. So, I'll be sharing my lessons with you all.
**1. THE WORLD WON'T BE NICE TO YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE NICE TO EVERYONE** - I wish I knew this when I was younger I tried to be nice to everybody and I just expected positive karma will always happen I expected that people will always be nice to me because I was nice to them. I have been bullied by senior students while in junior secondary school and then I realised that the world is not entirely a nice place, that bad things could still happen to good people, but I'm glad it did not stop me from trying to be nice. There were times when I wished I could just change and stopped being who I was but that would just be out of character for me but the sooner I realise that the world was not a nice place it's Help Me Understand the attributes of being nice it is not in order to expect niceness in return you do it because it is the right thing to do and I think that's good enough.
**2. SOMEONE DEFINITELY LOVES YOU -** You don't have to always doubt people's intentions**.** That's just the truth, no matter your personality there is always someone who admires you for whom you are, for how you behave, for how you talk etc. They probably see some of themselves in you or what they hope to be, and they admire you for that. So no matter what, there will always be someone who loves you the way you are, someone who wants to be just like you. There are some people who do not even understand why they love you, but they just do. They probably met you on a good day, during a good moments, had a good interaction with you etc. Not everyone is good at expressing how they feel about someone, but deep in their heart they do care about you. I know I have people I care about but I'm not very vocal about it and that is probably something I need to change, but that just goes to show you that there are other people out there who just like you for whom you are. So when someone wants to do something nice for you you don't always have to second-guess while they're doing what they're doing.
**3. IF YOU TELL PEOPLE, THEY'LL START BELIEVING IT -** Your words can create an impression on people in ways you don't even expect or realise. Saying positive things about yourself repeatedly may condition people's minds to see you that way. It may not happen immediately, but once they notice the possibility of it being true, they're more willing to accept than question it. I had a friend in school who always regarded himself as smart, whenever he said anything that seemed remotely good, we attributed it to his smartness, but those things were not exceptionally good, anybody could have come up with them, but because we were ready to see him in a particular light, we always looked to see the smart things from him. When we graduated, he was not even one of the best students, he was average at best but still we regard him as smart because that is the impression he left on us. So when you are given a job to do, even if you second-guess yourself, it is something we should work on by yourself or with people who can actually help, but when you're working with your superiors, I think it is best to highlight the things you can actually do effectively. Negative things then to stick a lot easier, so highlight the positive things about yourself.
**4. IT'S OK TO JUST SAY NO** - Whether it's to your boss or your colleagues, you have to be able to say no when you are not able to do something. Sometimes, people are afraid to say no because they don't want to be assumed as difficult to work with or not being a team player, but the truth is that you sometimes have to put yourself first. If you are unable to do something you have to be able to speak up rather than doing a bad job or resenting the person who asked you to do them. The truth is that you cannot please everyone, even by saying yes you may be offending someone. So, you will have to try to do what's good and what's right, but that does not mean that you should always say no even when you can help. Do your best and when you feel you can no longer do work effectively then you can say no with good reasons.
I hope you're able to pick something meaningful from my post. Don't forget to comment, upvote and subscribe!!!
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Things you should do before New year
Good day everyone! How is your day going? The new year is quickly drawing close. Are you as excited as I am? Do you have any expectations for the New Year? Do you want it to be just like the last year? The beginning of this year was actually good for me I met amazing people, started a new awesome relationship, moved to a new place, and I met new people. A lot of crazy things happened in between, but I'm still grateful for the year I've had, I hope that next year will be better and there are definitely people I will love to share my next year with. What about you?
So, as the year is coming to an end, you may be wondering what to do before or during the new year. Today, I bring you some interesting ideas about things that you can do before or during the new year, so here we go!
**CREATE TIME FOR YOURSELF** - try to create something from for yourself to cater to your own needs. You have to take care of yourself both mentally and physically; there's nothing wrong with indulging yourself once in a while. Sometimes, we are too busy caring about other people and how they see us that we forget to actually take care of ourselves and give ourselves things we need. So so take some time to practice self-care; give yourself a warm bubble bath, drink some wine, sleep in, go to the spa, just give yourself a treat and have fun with it.
**TRY SOMETHING NEW** - I think it's fun to try something new once in a while; maybe a new food, sport, new restaurants, see a new movie, visit a new place etc. There is a thrill that comes with trying something new and not knowing what to expect. You could either find out that you hate something and never want to try it again or you find your new best thing. Trying something new is always fun and you can even do it with friends and compare tastes, likes and dislikes.
**CELEBRATE YOUR WINS** - Your wins do not have to be something extremely big, it could be the little things. Something as little as waking up and having your life, having food on the table, and a roof over your head, having people to share your thoughts with, doing your laundry, cleaning your house, etc. Anything you've struggled with that you finally managed to do no matter how small, celebrate them and appreciate yourself.
**THANK THOSE WHO WERE THERE FOR YOU** - It has been a long year especially with the covid pandemic in the way and the new variants changing our plans. We have had times when things were not exactly working for us and we have had people who have helped us in any one way or the other. It does not have to be big. It could be someone who smiled at you in the streets, or someone who lent you money when you had no hope, make a list and say thank you to them, and while you're doing that, don't forget to thank yourself too.
**HAVE FUN!!** - Since the start of covid, we have come to understand just how much things are unpredictable. You can't always tell how things are going to go; one minute everything is fine and the next thing your world is tumbling upside down. So amidst all the things that are happening, we have to learn to find time to have fun. We don't have to always dwell on the negative things, we can also create our own positivity.
So, that's the end of my list. Also, don't forget to wish yourself and everyone around you a Happy New Year, spend time with your loved ones and do the things that bring you joy. If you like my list let me know, and if there are other things you will like to add to it, I'll be glad to see them. For now, this is where I'm going to stop. Happy New Year in advance!
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The Wait (a short story)
Hey everyone! How was your night last night? Are you anticipating the new year? Today I thought of going a different direction and writing a story. I haven't written fiction as much as I'd love to and I think I've gotten rusty. If you have feedbacks on my writing, I'll really love to hear them. I appreciate a good constructive criticism. Well, here it goes:
He had shiny dark hair that caressed his beautiful skin. His eyes always lit with excitement and his smile carried promises of calm. Dora had waited so long to see him, she held on to every memory of him but nothing could surpass seeing him and holding him in her hands.
It had been months since she saw him. Dora didn't know how he would respond when he saw her or if he would be willing to even give her a hug. They had fought quite a bit while he was away and it was over the simplest things. Two nights ago, they had gotten into an argument over an unreplied message. Dora had falling asleep while chatting with Toby; she had had a long day and couldn't wait to tell him about it but the stress of the day got to her. Toby on the other hand, had received a good news and wanted to share the special moment with the love of his life but he was left hanging and all the excitement swiftly vanished as he took comfort in a glass of whisky.
As she sat in the terminal waiting for him, she couldn't help but feel anxious. She worried if he still loved her as much as he did before he left, if their time apart had made him forget how good they were when they were together, she even wondered if she looked good enough. She had tried to exercise more and ate healthily in anticipation of his return. She wasn't just doing it for him, she was doing it for herself too. He had always told her how much he loved her and how beautiful she was even when she didn't feel that way.
Dora alternated between sitting and standing and after a while she progressed to pacing. She walked up and down the airport. When she returned to her sit, it had been occupied by someone else, but she wasn't bothered; she was excited and had a lot of energy built up in her. She constantly glanced around the baggage claim in hopes to see him but she knew his flight would not be there for another hour. Dora couldn't sit at home and wait till it was time for his flight to land. She was filled with a mix of dread enthusiasm, and after rolling in her bed for what seemed like hours, she dressed up and went to the airport.
When it was time for his flight to land, her heart raced speedily and her palms became sweaty. She wiped her palms on her trousers and urged herself to stay calm. She took deep breaths and waited for whatever was to come. While waiting, she thought of the last time she was at the airport to see him off. His departure was painful as she fought to hold back tears. After a lingering hug, she let him walk away faking a smile in order to assure him that she would be fine. Since then, she had looked forward to his return, yet, there she was anxious about what their fate would be. She didn't realise just how long she had been lost in her thoughts when she felt a slight tap on her shoulder and in front of her was the man she loved; he was as handsome as ever. When he smiled at her, her fears melted away and that was when she knew that she wanted to be with him forever and would do whatever it takes to make things right.
"I'm sorry," she said, searching his face for acceptance.
"No, love. I'm sorry," he said as he held her hands and drew closer "I'm not sorry that we fought, but I'm sorry that I wasn't here for it. Through those arguments, we learnt a lot about each other and I'd rather have my fights with you than anyone else." he ended with a smile.
Dora didn't know when a tear escaped her eyes and with a chuckle, she threw her hands around him. They were happy.
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Favourite characters from The Office (US)
Good day everyone are you still occupied with the post christmas events or preparing for the new year ir just stuck in the limbo that is between christmas and New year? What do you do at this time of the year?
This morning, I woke up after having a nightmare. My heart was beating fast and I also felt disoriented. Funny thing is that when I tried to narrate the supposed nightmare, it didn't seem scary anymore, rather, it sounded comical. Have you ever had such a dream that was surrounded by darkness and dread and instilled so much fear in you only but when you tried to talk about it out loud, it didn't seem as scary?
Anyway, now, I don't know what to write about, but I have decided to start typing in the hopes that my brain will come up with something. I don't have much plans for the day. I already did most of what I had to do for the day in the morning. Now, I'm stuck between watching a movie or playing mobile games. Sleeping is also an option but it's boring, nothing happens while I'm asleep. I guess my nightmare last night was an attempt to make sleep seem more interesting.
I might stick with watching TV series. I started watching The Office (US) a few weeks ago and I'm down to the last season. I'm really not ready to part with some of my favourite characters. When I started watching the series, at the first episode, I thought the comedy was slow-paced yet, I couldn't stop watching. There are some characters I enjoyed watching. I guess I could list some of them here. No Spoilers (I think), in case you haven't watched The Office.
1. Michael Scott- Michael was ridiculous, inappropriate, unprofessional and everything wrong in an office. Michael embodied all the ridiculousness of the other employees in one person. He was so bad that he he so good at being bad. Funny thing is that Michael was the best boss Dundler Mifflin, Scranton had. He made me cringe a lot and his presence during delicate situations made me anxious about what stunt he was going to pull off next but I realised that I also looked forward to the stupid things he did and how far he goes to make people like him. He was an awesomely bad boss.
2. Jim Halpert - I think this might be an obvious choice for some people. What I liked about Jim was his pranks against Dwight; they were really fun. I so liked how he always managed to make Dwight look stupid with his sarcastic responses, jokes and facial expressions. One thing I also looked forward to was his Halloween costume or lack of it. His relationship with Pam was also wholesome.
3. Stanley Hudson - Stanley is never in the mood for anything. I love how he always had an automatic frowning face. It made the moments we saw him smile feel precious. He was always serious with his pen and paper...solving crossword puzzles. Stanley is one of the people who always responds positively to food and the close of work. If you want to get Stanley a gift, offer him a day off and cake.
4. Dwight Schrute - Personal assistant "to" the regional manager, that was Dwight's unofficial title. Despite being one of the best salesman, owner of a large beet farm a Sheriff's assistant, Dwight still manages to get fooled countless times by Jim. Dwight has a high sense of self and considers himself better than others. He is often intense in his interactions with people and he really owned his character. I believe Dwight is the best Dwight that ever Dwighted.
5. Ryan Howard - When I first saw Ryan the intern, I assumed that was probably the most sane person in the office; the one who watched everyone's tomfoolery from a distance and is just appalled at how much absurdities goes on in the office. Boy, was I wrong! Ryan's character went from zero to one hundred real quick. His character development was one I really enjoyed watching. It made sense that the drastic status change also affected the way he responded to situations and they were really funny and just as silly as the rest of the cast.
I will end here. I have other characters I definitely enjoyed watching. If you have watched The Office (US), can you tell me who was your favourite character?
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Visitors and visits
Merry Christmas! How was your celebration? Did you do anything special on the 25th. I spent my time with my family catching up with each other and getting updates on how our lives has been going. I ate a lot too and I was mostly happy all day. Like I mentioned in my previous article, Christmas is my favourite holiday and I just feel happier during the season.
The day after Christmas is quite deceptive. It's the day that promises to be stress free since the main celebration is done. What one may not realise is that a lot of people stay home with their families during Christmas and then visit other people after Christmas. The few visitors one had on Christmas day would be nothing compared to the ones who'll show up after Christmas.
The visits are mostly brief because they would like to visit other people too but as a tradition, they must be offered food and drinks. Some people will decline the good because they might have eaten at the first place they visited so, hosts tend to also have some snacks to offer. The snacks could be eaten there or taken home by the visitors.
Some visitors call ahead to inform the hosts of their arrival, some wait till they're about to leave/or on the way before calling while some close relatives may not even call at all. This makes it hard to plan ahead, so the ultimate plan is usually to cook more than needed and if any is left at the end of the day, they will be refrigerated.
While my parents have been hosts to a lot of guests during Christmas, they have also visited a lot of people. One of such visits I really enjoyed was the visit to my uncle's house. I was a lot younger then, still in primary school. My uncle had just gotten married that same year. On getting there, the house was filled with other relatives, some of whom I didn't know at the time.
My uncle's wife was very friendly and I some other kids joined her in the kitchen. I still remember her standing over the counter, kneading dough and listening to our childish stories. She was making snacks for us to take home while asking us questions about school and our friends. It felt so nice to have an adult who entertained our enthusiasm and seemed to show genuine interest in our lives. I was a quiet kid but even I competed to tell my story and listen to her comments. She would praise us when we talked about something we did that was good and if it wasn't good, she would tell us how to go about it next time. It was refreshing to receive advice that didn't come with complaints or yelling. We felt like it was OK to make mistakes as long as we learnt from it. We helped her cut the dough into a shape of our choosing, and she let us have them when they were ready. I felt so proud holding my snack in my hands and telling everyone I had made it myself haha.
That visit made me feel seen and heard, and I realised that being around family was quite nice. I don't remember some of the kids I met then, but that day, they felt like my community; a bunch of wide-eyed kids gathering around a willing adult, trying to fill out curious minds with as much as it could take and also eager to share our stories without fear of judgement.
It has been so many years since the kitchen discussion but till now, whenever I see my aunt, I still feel the warmth radiating from her. I feel like I can tell her anything without judgement. It's probably why she is such a good nurse.
Do you visit people on Christmas day, after or never?
To everyone who is facing any form of crisis during this period especially those who were struck by the typhoon Odette in the Philippines, I pray for the courage you need to face this and the strength to keep going on. I believe things will only get better from here 🙏
List of Things I Liked about Christmas
It is Christmas day and I must say I am exhausted but I am so glad I was able to do all the cooking and I finished on time. My siblings will be arriving anytime soon and the house will be full.
Christmas us my favourite holiday and there are a few things I've enjoyed about Christmas over the years. They are:
FOOD: I'm not a big eater but I always like to know that a variety of food is available to me, whenever I want it. This was one of my major joys of Christmas. I remember when I was younger, my siblings and I would help my mum in the kitchen. While my mum prepared the main dishes, we would help with little things like cutting up vegetables for the salad, doing the dishes as soon as they're used and running errands around the house. Christmas used to be a big affair. When we cooked, we made sure to prepare more than we needed. After cooking, my mum would have us give some to our neighbours and they'll do the same in return. We got to taste different meals from our trusted neighbours/friends. We also had visitors, most of whom show up unannounced. We would serve them food and drinks and if they had kids of our age, my siblings and I would play with them. It was fun for us as children but now I'm older, I don't get excited by the food anymore because it means I'll have to work a lot with barely any time to rest or enjoy the celebration.
CLOTHES: When I was little, my parents would buy "Christmas clothes" for my siblings and I. Christmas clothes are simply new beautiful clothes you wear to church or to visit people on Christmas day. Some kids usually wore their Christmas clothes all day on Christmas day; I usually took mine off as soon as I got home. Putting on new clothes on Christmas day was fun as we would go to church showing our friends our new clothes especially if they came with accessories such as dummy wristwatches and eyeglasses. One year, I didn't wear my new clothes to church and I realised no one even noticed that my clothes weren't new, they still complimented me anyway, and I had fun.
HAIR: Making Christmas hair is also a big deal. This is a time when everyone tries to look their absolute best and are willing to go the extra mile to achieve that. Hair dressers know this and they hike the prices for hair making during Christmas. The hair dressers are also always swamped with customers during the festive season so people usually get to the salon as early as 4 or 5am to claim a spot as one will be attended to on a "first come, first served" bases. As a child, I always fixed curly hair, it was called "telephone wire" haha. I did look cute in it though. When I didn't make Telephone Wire, I would make Bob Market braids which would be adorned with colourful beads. Now, I still love making those braids, without the beads though.
TRAVELLING: Sometimes, Celebrating christmas meant we had to travel down to our home town. We travelled by road it it took about 8hrs to get there. I never liked the journey because I always had car sickness but I liked being home. There I would meet people who I didn't know and my parents would introduce them and explain how they were related to me. My extended family is a very large one. Every year, we celebrated the end of the year. Family members from all over the world would come back home to celebrate together and get to know each other. The older ones usually gave gifts or money to the younger ones. I remember saving all the money I collected and giving it to parents (rookie mistake), when I asked for the money, my mum said she used it to buy food stuff for me to eat and my dad said he paid my school fees with the money haha. I don't enjoy travelling much anymore because I now have to give gifts to my little cousins, participate in family activities and I still have car sickness.
I'll stop here for now. What do you like/liked about Christmas?
The Day before Christmas
Hi, I'm new here. Well, I opened this account some weeks ago but I couldn't bring myself to start posting here until now. This is my first post and I'll like to introduce myself.
My name is Daria, I feel like I'm 5'10 feet tall but I'm only about 5'3 or 5'4. When I'm not working, my ideal day involves lazying around on my and with my phone. Although sometimes, I get the sudden urge to clean up everywhere and when that comes, I have to listen to it immediately or I may not feel like lifting a finger anymore.
It's just one day to Christmas, my mum has travelled to spend the holiday with her sister, I'm home with my dad and little brother and my other siblings may be coming home tomorrow; that means I'll have to cook a lot. I will be going to the market today to pick up a few things I may need for tomorrow and after Christmas.
The market during this period is usually filled with people, causing a human traffic. It is like a war with the pushing and shoving, racing to get attended to first, and the struggle to carry all you've bought while arguing with a stranger and making your way to the next store.
The crazy thing is how quickly one can also make friends in these situations. You may meet someone who said a simple kind word to you and then you both form an alliance, helping each other spot things on your lists, sharing market hacks and taking each others sides when arguing with other people in the market. It's a strange kind of excitement; while subconsciously worrying about stranger danger, you still let your guards down to accept the help you need.
There's a chance that you may never even meet the person again, but they would always be part of your Christmas stories. Sometimes, when you remember them, you may wonder where they are or what they're doing but that's as far as the friendship may go. Other times, you may form a friendship that transcends the Christmas shopping wars and it may be the beginning of a wonderful thing.
The shops during Christmas always have lots of goods on their shelves and the prices are usually higher during the festive season. The good thing is that you'll always find what you're looking for, but you may have to fight for your turn though.
I don't intend to buy a lot of stuff because I already bought most of the things I needed for Christmas earlier in the week. I know I will be very exhausted by the time I get back, but I won't be able to rest because I'll have to start cooking. I guess I'll find time to rest after Christmas, that's when my holiday will truly begin.
Before going to the market today, I have to do some cleaning around the house. That is going to take me an hour or two. The trip to and from the market could could also take an hour or two because of the Christmas rush. This evening, I'll start prepping for tomorrow's cooking by marinating the meats and refrigerating them. If you have any idea on how to save cooking time, please let me know in the comments.
Tonight, I may go to church for the vigil Mass which starts by 10pm and lasts till after midnight. I enjoy the count down to Christmas that is usually followed with fireworks outside the church. I especially like the fireworks; the thrilling sounds that comes it a burst of colourful shimmering lights. It's like a beautiful danger. I could stay up all night just to watch them. I love the nights before Christmas maybe more than the actual day itself. It could be because of the anticipation of Christmas, knowing that it's so near, receiving the Christmas calls and messages by 12am or just the feeling of the calm before the storm.
Do you celebrate Christmas? If yes, how do you prepare for it?
@Daria