A Fated End
If someone had told me that was how the day will end for me, I wouldn't have believed it. I had the day all planned out after all. I was finally going to tell him about it, and in my head, it will all end romantically and in bed hopefully.
It's been a whole month since Romaine last took me on a date. With Romaine, getting to spend quality time was a sort of luxury in itself, and that's gotten even worse since he added the herald to his clientele. I tried to remember the last date they were on. How we had gone to the Tymans waterpark. That was the most playful I had seen Romaine in a long time. We would buy that Hermes bag I now hold dearly on our way back home. It was nice. While lost in my thoughts, a knock interrupted my daydream. That has got to be Romaine she thought. I stood up and ruffled my hair a bit. "It's never best for a girl to be prepared too early for a date," I thought.
I opened the door and there he stood, all sharp and lovely with his well-pressed Eagles shirt and those black Jeans that turn me on whenever he's wearing them. "Hey babe," he says. Jolting me out of you know what. Hey love, come inside while I quickly fix my hair, I replied.
A few minutes later, in the car, he's driving, but his eyes are on me, I pretend not to notice as I was enjoying the attention, but I soon realize I also don't want to die. So I tell him, Romaine, you are going to get us killed. It's not my fault that I have got beauty on my side. Maybe you should sit in front of me, that way, my eyes will be on the road. Or my boobs, I replied.
You know, I don't understand it. Your hair was amazingly quick to fix. If I didn't know any better, I would say it was already fixed when I got to your house, he says. I hate him when he does that; predicts human behaviour with such accurate precision. Like you aren't wearing those jeans, hoping it buys you some goodwill to get into my pants, I retort. We both laugh at it.
We are at Saltsman dinner, where we are about to have dinner before we head home. I thought better now than any other time. We need to talk Romaine. He looks up at me and goes "establishing a baseline doc. Miss, are you pregnant?" Amidst laughter, I say no. Need money for after-abortion treatments? Romaine!! No!, I said still laughing. Despite the jokes and laughter, the dinner suddenly seems a little darker. Some lights must have gone off, or maybe it was the look in Romaine's eyes. Nah, it must have been the light bulbs.
Romaine, do you love me? He drops the fork and the piece of chicken that was destined for his stomach. Do you love me? I repeated. What is this babe? Just answer the question, Romaine. It's easy enough. I retorted. Yes, I love you, very much, he answered finally. Tell me then, why then do you find it so easy to be away from me? You go for work travel for weeks on end. You don't come in during the weekend of such travel. Most times you don't call when you are away. If I don't call, we might not talk, I say. At this point, Romaine drops the table knife too. He wipes his mouth and looks at me with a sturdy look. Are you serious, right now? Are you? He says with a slightly raised voice. Keep your voice down Bee. All I am saying is that it's like you don't want to spend time with me at you. Almost like you find every reason not to. This is the first date we've had for over a month and for most of the time we spent seeing that movie back there, you were on your phone, and you weren't even holding my hands or anything. I might just as well go see the movie with my next-door neighbour. He would have been more involved, I said. I realised I shouldn't have said that last part, almost as soon as I finished saying it.
You wanna know why I seem to always travel for work, Why I barely have time? It's you, yes you!! I work so f*cking much so I can provide all you need, cause you are always needing something. Then the little time I get away from work, I have to spend it meeting your emotional needs and being present for you. While you were giggling away at every silly scene in that cinema, I was trying to finish up these two articles I have to submit to the Herald by 8 AM tomorrow, so I can be paid eaearlynough to get you your rent. IsAren'they dying two days from now? It's like since I met you, I've stopped living. Everything I do now is for you. You are a burden to me. I'm choked up so bad, I can hardly breathe. I'm almost sinking into depression, but you don't see that, do you? Because somehow, this relationship is all about you, your needs and you again, he says.
With tears streaming down my eyes, I tell him, you don't mean that, you are just angry. It's okay, sit down bae. But I do, I mean it, every word. You have been a burden to me since I met you. My life has taken a bad turn and has kept on spiralling down. You are killing me, you are destroying my life. All of this has been one great mistake, he says.
***You can't possibly mean any of that? How can you say that? I can't believe you right now.*** I replied. By now, the whole diner is looking at us. With tears streaming down my eyes into my chicken, I make a last-gasp effort to save face. Baby, look at me, it's me Julia, the love of your life. Just please look at me. I said. But by then it was too late. I had lost him, I knew it. He sialidosis hands into his back pocket bring out several notes, puts them on the table and made to leave. He stops abruptly at the door, turns around and says, you haven't got an idea, have you? We are done Julia and don't call me. Goodbye.
At this point, I can't take it anymore. I let it all out and scream, Nooooooooooo!! All eyes are on me and I know if I don't leave soon, I will take it all out on someone. The young waitress comes up to me and asks, are you okay ma? Is there something I can do for you? I look at her and smile a bit. Poor little damsel of a thing. Someday, somebody will treat her like this, even though she deserves better. No, thank you, I replied. I open my purse and pass her a few notes. Thank you ma, she says.
Later that night, I can't sleep, I can't stop crying. It continues to echo in my head; you are a burden to me, you are destroying my life. I can't believe he said that, I keep telling myself, but I knew he did say it and meant it. This was the end of the only good thing in my life. Indeed the gods had dipped a hand of poo into my destiny.
**Thanks for reading..**
Joram's Radioactive Orb
I walked by the wire fence hoping to avoid Sebastian and his gang. They would be brutalizing me for weeks. You are either for or against it, but whichever way you chose, death is how it ends. So, no thank you, Sebastian. The way they carried on, you wouldn't think that we have been selected to be sent to die.
It was quite an assorted group. You had murderers, rapists, serial killers, armed robbers, and arsonists. Then you had those who were at the wrong place at the wrong time, the activists, the guilty of poverty, the green awaiting trials and then you had me. Yeah, just me or so I thought.
We never really knew who we would be working with until we arrived at the set rendezvous. On that first day, we lost three people to a fight about who is going to be the leader. At the end of it all, two gangs had been born, and some free birds. I would come to learn that the three people who died were Jermaine, in for theft, Sarah in for manslaughter and Storm, a nickname I'm sure, in for rape. Storm and Jermaine, two brothers, had been arrested the same night in the suburbs in the house of a newly wedded Hawaiian chick who storm had had an eye for from the first day he saw her. How they were arraigned for differing charges though, I didn't quite understand.
One look and you knew we were going to fail on this mission. You do not pack a load of thorns amid little green and expect anything beautiful to thrive, I thought. Until that faithful morning, while walking the mesh of the outpost we infiltrated last night. I was taking in the whole subtleness of the base's cover when I saw her sitting at a bench in the middle of the yard, like a red mushroom amid thorns and greens.
Can I sit, I asked. It's a free world man. Do what you like. Took you long enough, she said. Long enough for what?? I don't know, you tell me. What is it for you? The pretty face, well-rounded boobs, sumptuous hips or well nice ass. It's always one of those. Boys will be boys, she said.
"Being the only colourful thing standing on this dark earth, I guess you have earned the right to that arrogance". I replied.
She scoffed. Arrogance is what this is. You wish. Just to correct you, didn't take me long, I am just noticing/seeing you for the first time, I quipped.
"You must be blind then". Yeah, I'm probably colourblind. You don't go into battle seeing anything as any other thing than black and white, I said.
She looked at me with a half-smile, "that must be why you are one of the few yet to be shot or wounded. Probably the same reason why your free regiment has suffered little to no casualty, I guess" She said.
Maybe so. I take it that means you are in one of the two gangs; Sebastian probably. Which means I should be leaving this table before he bashes my head in.
"I am sure he would love that. Oh, seem like you were on point with that forecast" she said, rather excitedly. I turned around to find Sebastian coming my way with his regiment, as we now call the gangs as well.
"Hey turnip, you got a problem?" Oh, Sebastian, I was just leaving, I quickly replied. "We're you now? I think not" he retorted, almost a rebuke. "Sit your ass down."
"Sebastian, get lost. I'm talking to him". It sounded like a voice from a distance as I was already focusing my mind on the bruising to come. Sebastian stood there, shell-shocked, shooting me and her vicious look, and then he left.
You should just shoot me now, cos he will do worse to me later, I said. " You are not afraid of him, you just don't want to humiliate him in front of everybody" she replied.
Why would you think that? Seem like there's something between you too. "I don't think it, I know it. I am a good judge of people's abilities. Why do you think I joined his regiment? To stop him from getting them all killed. As for the other part, we have been on this battle tour for months, so, I helped myself to his p*nis a few times, since you wouldn't come around" she replied.
So, you are not just in his regiment, you are one of his girls?
"I slept with him, doesn't make me his" the instantly retorted. Alright, got to go prepare for tonight. Talk later?? "Why don't you try and make it through the night first? She joked (or not)
As I put on my Hazmat suit, having already worn my bullet, I couldn't help thinking how we were a hundred at the beginning of this mission and now we are just thirty-six. That's sixty-four young lives sacrificed for " the greater good", for Joram's orb. The orb can somehow suck out radiation from the air, but Professor Joram wanting to create a new world order refused to share its science and let the world die from the radiation unleashed when Russia and the US nuked each other and half of Europe and Asia out of existence. Joram had gone on to form his army, with the mission to wipe out the remnant of the human race not loyal to him. He hAd the upper hand, cos radiation could not affect his forces. Eventually, the Africa league of nations decided to send us prisoners to fight his forces, armed with a hazmat suit each, and a nop detailing ammunition stores and depots. We were not expected to succeed, we were disposable. It was a technical decision; to reduce the number of mouths to feed by eliminating the outlaws and depleting Joram's forces for when the AGL decides its forces are strong enough to face Joram again.
Walking into the briefing, "we have seriously depleted Joram's forces, but his headquarters will be heavily fortified. We attack in three formations as usual. But this time, one group will take the tunnel, one will flank them and the other takes them head-on. The group that takes them head-on will suffer heavy casualties" said Tyrone, leader of the other gang/regiment. "Let the Freebirds take them on," said Sebastian.
Sebastian, you must be dumb. The Freebirds have traditionally fought with far fewer numbers, as of now they have 8 men, and you have 16 and yet they should be the ones to take Joram head-on? She asked. After a mini brawl, we the Freebirds agreed to it, and she agreed to follow our regiment instead.
As we made to leave, I walked up to her and said, don't die out there today and we will maybe revisit that conversation of how colourblind I have been. She smiled and walked away, as we moved out.
The battle was fierce and even in the midst of it, I couldn't help but notice how she laid cover for others much like the red mushroom lays cover from the rain for the thorns and green that come under its umbrella. The battle raged for 48hrs. At about 21:00 two days later, she walked out of the building with Joram in one hand and the orb in another.
Sebastian made a beeline for Joram but was dropped by Selina. He stays alive, she said. At that moment, I knew I was right, she was the colour and cover in the midst of all this.
**Note: This article was firstt posted on hive by me**
I Still Remember
I still remember that incident like it happened yesterday. There was one of the times in my life that I saw Nigerians in their millions put the nation first. Interestingly, it was also one of our collective darkest times in the country. The story I'm about to tell you is one of prey that refused to be slaughtered dishonourably and of a hunter who will go to any lengths to see his will forced on his prey.
There was a time in Nigeria when it was a crime to have a laptop and/or a good phone. When it was a crime to be able to afford good clothes and look good. In a country where more than those of employable age are unemployed, with zero support for innovation, ideas and entrepreneurship, and in the face of exploding inflation, people are left to find their way. The thing is the last set of people you want to seek to frustrate in finding their way, are Nigerians, cos they will.
Due to the economic situation described above, Nigerian youths dought to find ways to earn money online. This period saw an explosion in the adoption of cryptocurrency and forex trading in Nigeria, which like every other thing Nigerian, had a spillover effect on the whole African continent.
With all of the ways we could earn money online, it usually required a device with internet capability; laptops and good phones. But with the adoption of online money, Nigerian youths were able to live fairly better than most people of other age groups. This didn't sit well with certain people, but only one group sort to do something about it; a federal police unit called the **special anti-robbery squad, popularly known as** SARS**
They went on a rampage, with all forms of impunity; illegal arrest, illegal searches, kidnapping, torture, and extrajudicial killings. Nigerian youths were dying in droves daily. As usual, the police brass and government officials let these guys continue with their impunity, even covering their tracks. The future and soul of our nation were being destroyed and scorched.
The youths would have enough and they were tired of being murdered by animals by those who ought to protect them. It all started as a Twitter hashtag #EndSARS. Before long, it became protests in the streets. The crowds grew bigger and bigger with each day. Soon, they left the streets and shit down the highways and expressways. Never before has such crowds gathered across geopolitical, religious and tribal lines.
The Nigerian government and the police brass were in panic mode. The government saw what was easily shaping to be an uprising, a revolution against the power structure of the day. The youths were ready to take back power from the cabal of old vultures killing their futures. The government was waiting and hoping the enthusiasm and momentum will die down, but it didn't. It kept on increasing. People were cooking and sleeping on federal highways. Organisations we're supporting the protesters with money, food, drinks, entertainment etc. Donations were made via crypto to make it impossible for the federal government to freeze the funds. The world wa standing still and watching Nigeria with awe. There was an outpouring of support for the protesters from all over the world.
When the government saw that indeed these youths would have enough, fearing that this might end with them being forced out of power, they yielded and disbanded the police unit in question. But they were too late. The protest had morphed into a revolution cry. Their greatest fear was happening before their eyes. They were back against a wall and they responded the only way they know how to; with force, with guns, with bullets and with violence.
This response of violence and death is what culminated in the events that took place on October 20th 2020, at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos, where armless and harmless youths, sitting on the floor, chanting the nation's national anthem, were fired indiscriminately upon by soldiers of the Nigerian Army. Innocent youths were mauled and ripped by bullets as they sat, cried and were slaughtered for their country by those who took an oath to serve and protect.
While all of these were happening, I kept living my routine life. I participated online, but I couldn't leave work to join the protest, except for the one time my boss asked us why we were still working, and that we should get out of his office and g protest. It was hilarious. I loved that man.
That day has and will always go down as one of the darkest days in Nigeria's history. The organisers decided to stop the gatherings for the sake of the innocent lives that these evil forces were going to keep taking. In the eyes of the government, it was a win. They had succeeded in crushing the revolution. What they don't know is that one who retreats, live to fight another day. That day will come.
***This article was first published by me on*** ***Hive******.*** https://ecency.com/hive-106316/@talon12/the-fight-for-the-soul
A Destiny Thrown
Take him away, he said. "Dad, you can't be serious. It's just a stupid old relic. You are going to let them lock me up for some stupid ancient animal skeleton??", I replied. That stupid old relic was supposed to be your destiny. You have no idea what you've done.
That was the last thing my father said to me, or so I thought. I still remember it like it was yesterday. Him sitting in his leather chair, wearing that brooks brothers suit I so much hate, and that godforsaken shoe that he hadn't once changed in fifteen months. I remember how in his tantrum he had sent the glass of wine he was holding across the room, punching a hole through the Van Gogh painting that he had bought at auction two years before. Even now, the smell of his marigold-scented cologne still lingered in my throat.
On the cold, jagged floor of what has come to be my home for the next five years, I sat down. With the thin stripe of foam on the bunks, I have come to learn the floor was no less comfortable. The package I now held in my hand had arrived two days ago. It had been a year since he passed and even from the grave, he wanted to have the last say and laugh.
Dear Son, how best shall I start? What you are about to hear from this journal will leave you dumbfounded and leave you wishing for those days when I forced you to bone through law school. Howbeit, it has to be told.
This is a story that started 600years ago. In what is today's Ekpoma town, Edo state, Nigeria, there lies a town that gave the British colonialists no end of trouble in those days of colonialism. The British had conquered all the surrounding lands, but for some mysterious reason, whenever they sent forces to this town, they all but disappeared. This repeated itself until the Crown commissioned an investigation into the cause.
Your ancestors were amongst the first to learn the English language. One of your ancestors was sent with a group to covertly learn the secret of the town. Having been there for six months and having become part of the community, the British launched another expedition. When the town scouts reported an advancing force of British soldiers, the people laughed and made merry as the chief headed inside his palace.
On his return, he had a certain bone in his hand. Your ancestor would later learn that it was the bone that protected the heart of a certain beast of nature. The villager claimed it had the frame of what we call a T.Rex today, the head of a lion and the fury of a dragon. They killed it 400years prior. As he and his group watched, the chief played a melodious tune through the hollow of the bone, and the townsfolk danced to reckless abandon. When the fanfare came to a halt, the chief made a wish and it was so unto him. " I wish death and disappearance on all our enemies making a move on us now, and let their riches become ours" and it was so.
Just over a little under half a kilometre, they saw men die, fall to the ground and disappear, but not their horses, armament, apparel or other belongings. I know what you want to say, but it is what it is. It was a literal wishbone. A week after, at what passed for a bar, the drunken son of the chief boasted of how he was going to use the bone to consume the brits and all the lands that surrounded the town, till the end of the world.
On the night of that day, the group plotted to steal it from the chief and return it to their master. Your ancestor had other ideas. Not trusting the Brits himself, he aligns with two others in the group to steal the bone and keep it for themselves and so they did. But knowing its powers, they knew they couldn't let it fall into the wrong hands. So, they bound it to themselves and their generation by using the services of a witch to put a curse on their constant misfortune of themselves till the end of time. This curse can only be paused, not broken ever.
The curse will not hold them or theirs as long as they keep watch over the bone and they do not wish evil from the bone. As long as they kept the bone from doing evil, they will prosper to no end.
Not long after, the Brits took the village, came to the knowledge of the wishbone and hunted the three of them. They would succeed in killing the other two. Your ancestor would find a way to escape the continent and travel here, where he built a whole new life with a new identity. Since then it has been passed down to the firstborn from one generation to the other and we have kept it safe….till that day.
I don't know how came to the knowledge of that safe, or how you bypassed it, but when you dishonoured that bone by selling it like a piece of art, you Lost your birthright to it. You threatened the existence of our entire family. I was forced to disown you, so your brother becomes the firstborn. He has inherited your destiny if you are reading this. On my deathbed, I leave you this. I wanted you to understand. I never stopped loving you. It was the way you made it to be. Now, I'm tempted to say I told you to say. Have a good life son.
I couldn't help the laughter. Even in death, he kept his humour. I laughed and cried all night, just wishing for what could have been. But so my fate was sealed.
***This article was first posted on hive by me***
Tech Break
I got this topic from @Jane's post. You have been restricted from having any use and/ or interaction with a tech device of any sort. This restriction is to be in place for one week. What would your life be like? Well, for starters, we all know how our lives are centred, depend and guided by our devices these days. It's like without our devices, we almost become useless to ourselves and that's even worse for those of us who try to earn a living online.
There's a general smart device addiction going on in the world right now and no one is talking about it. Of course, this is an engineering of the tech companies. They make you believe that you can't do without their devices much like every other business out there, but the problem is the sheer amount of money and investment that huge companies like these tech companies pour into conditioning the minds of their customers and potential customers.
In recent years, drug firms have had to pay all kinds of settlements for the intentional engineering and fuelling of the opioid crisis in the US. While the tech companies are doing the same thing. Will they ever be held to account? Who knows? Most are American companies after all, vital to "national security" and of course, Europe will stupidly kneel before the desire of the American government and every other nation will just be disrespected.
Back to me. What would I do if I were on an enforced one-week tech break?
**Reading**
Firstly, I am an avid reader. 95% of the time I spend on my phone, I'm reading things or the other (funny things; none of them are my academic needs😂). So, I will spend a lot of that one week with my eyes on one book or the other. I also do a lot of newspapers reviews, although that will be less, considering I will have to buy hard copies and there's just so little money to spare for these days, thanks to inflation, unreasonable and unprecedented price hikes, as well as rusty's unkindnesss😂.
Writing
Once a writer, always a writer. I will keep writing, howbeit on paper writing is kind of an outlet for me, so I know I will keep doing it, knowing fully well that I can post it when I get my phone back.
**Exercise**
I have been struggling on and off to do this on a regular. But I'm failing. So, I will give it a whirl. The one week might just be what I need to make a habit of it. I will also do more to care for my hygiene as my room is hardly a place to be proud of most times. Consequences of spending too much time on the phone.
**Hobbies/Fun**
I don't remember the last time I got to play football or scrabble. I don't remember the last time I went to watch a real-life football match. Given that one week, I will play football every single evening as long as there are no injuries.
**Sleeping**
Lastly, I will allow myself a freaking good amount of sleep. Lately, I've developed this habit of sleeping late, with or without cause. Most days, I see myself actively fighting sleep and instead wasting time on my phone doing anything and everything unproductive. So, I will catch enough sleep in that one week.
***What about you? I would like to hear yours***
**This article was first published at hive by me**
A Wonderful Story
I was reading on my beloved nairaland forum earlier and I came upon a very interesting story. That's just one thing about Nigeria you just can't give up once you've had a taste of it; we always find things to interest ourselves. There's never a shortage of such stuff. So, the story goes thus.
A man got to know that the girl he so much loves and provides for is cheating on him. Now, the average non-Nigerian will confront the girl in question and tell her how much she's hurt him and all that mumbo-jumbo; not a Nigerian. I mean where's the fun in that, right?
So, this guy says nothing about it to the girl. He keeps his cool. Then the girl embarks on a trip with her friends. While she's gone, the guys break the lease on their current accommodation and get a new one for themselves alone. Here's the cruise; currently this guy is giving away all of the girl's belongings, literally everything.
This girl is to return next week. Not only will she realise she's single, but she's also homeless and left with nothing, except what she took with her (and what's in her bank, I presume). As usual, such topics breed all sorts of comments. The ladies believe it was unfair and weak of him to seek vengeance. The alpha males think of him as a real man. What do I think??
Firstly, I might do the same as him, as much as not saying anything goes. But giving all her belongings to charity might be a bit much for me. I would probably just pack out and cut her off. But the fact that I won't do it doesn't make him wrong, does it? Is he wrong for supposedly seeking vengeance?? I mean, does she not need to be taught a lesson on what betraying trust feels like?? The act might have come from a place of empathy for her potential next victim, right?😂
I do wonder how the whole drama will play out eventually. Will the girl go back to beg, and even if she does, it's not like he can go and collect the stuff he gave away back? Anyways, this whole situation highlights two things. Loyalty and independence. One shouldn't be dependent on others for their needs, especially the basic ones. We should strive to gain personal independence and autonomy over our lives, at the very least, in the essentials.
Therres is an African proverb that goes thus "do not bite the hand that feeds you". What it simply means is to have a sense of reasonable later to those on whose benevolence you stand. In the case of this girl, it seems she depends on the guy to fund her lifestyle. The very least you could do in return is stay fateful, but she hasn't heard that proverb. Now she will have to learn the hard way.
Anyways, it's her problem. I hardly think she deserves my sympathy. ***Thanks for reading my article. I'm grateful.***
My Trust, Fast Becoming A Fantasy
It's another weekend. For the majority of the guys, that can only mean one thing; FOOTBALL! All the European leagues return to give us the most exhilarating (and quite frankly, the most heartbreaking, most times ) football. Depending on the team(s) you support, it can be something you look forward to or something you await with a kind of dread. I happen to fall in the latter group.
If you guessed that I must be a Chelsea fan, you guessed right. For a team that has splashed over £270m in the transfer, Chelsea has been worse for it. I always expect that the exit of Ibrahimovic was going to spell a few years of struggle for Chelsea, but I never envisaged it will be this bad early, with a complete lack of any policy or strategy as regards the philosophy or direction of the club.
To put my outlook on Chelsea in perspective, of the fifteen players in my FPL team, only one is a Chelsea player. Still, after watching their first two matches and considering how disorganised the defence and midfield are, not to mention their willingness to ship goals, I have been thinking of removing that one since game week two.
My FPL team has been a little short of disastrous; is. I've has barely been able to amass 40points per game week on average. It's shaping up to be my worst FPL season yet. Looking at my team, I wonder how I spent the 100M, cos there's very little quality in it. My strategy was to go for a few big names, sure point takers if you will. The shore the team with fairly average players
I couldn't have gotten it more wrong. All my big-money players have mostly drawn blanks these past few weeks. Mohammed Salah has been disappointing, and Hue-min Son hasn't done any better. My defender has been turning blanks as well, seeing as all the big teams aren't keeping clean sheets anymore, instead, their defenders now think of themselves as wingers and forwards.
My captaincy choices haven't faired better either, but of course, that's because the team, in general, is bad. Of course, there's the one player who turns up, but it's rarely the one I pick. For this game week, I have decided to stick with Salah as my captain, hoping he gets his mojo in this match, not that it matters what I hope.
I decided to bring in Newcastle's Isak, giving him the vice-captaincy. I can't say I'm optimistic, but I will just wait and see this week, and if things don't look up, I'm going to have to use my wildcard. The games will be starting soon. So, fingers crossed. Have a great weekend folks.
The Intrigues Of Married Life: Introduction
Holla folks. It's been a while since I wrote anything on here. It's been a while since I wrote anything at all. It's like the writer in me has gone for a long break/vacation. Having not written anything substantial in a good while has its blessings and its disadvantages. My general creativity and vocabulary development has always been tied to how much and often I write as I'm not much of a talker. So, you can guess both have suffered in recent months.
Lead image : Jonathan Borba https://unsplash.com/photos/yigM_oC6GgY
Anyways, I would like to make a return, but that would generally require a reconditioning of my mind, which has never been an easy task for me at any time. But hey, you don't know until you try, right?
Lately, I have been doing a lot of reading, albeit on other platforms like a Nigerian forum nairaland.com. It's quite fun and interesting there. One of the most interesting groups of writeups I enjoy there has to do with marital and relationship issues. It's just funny how youths and people in relationships see marriage as something that they can just walk into. There's almost this general belief that you can work a marriage the same way you work a relationship.
Relationships lead to marriage, hence can be seen as a sort of extension/crowning glory of it. But as much as they have a lot of common elements, they also have a lot of differences that set them apart and sometimes make them seem so apart and different. These "differences" are chiefly responsible for the conflicts that arise in marriages.
You would think with the number of generations of marriages we have to look back and learn from, we would know to do better by now. But instead, the divorce rate is rapidly increasing, especially in the "developed" world where the comforts of life are easily afforded them. You would think the opposite would be the case.
Africa as usual, is hot on the heels of the "developed" world in the number of marriages ending in divorce and the number of partners cohabitating, just like with every other negative thing that has come out of the lack of moral customs and norms in the western way of life. This is happening in an era of human existence where there are millions of "qualified" marriage counsellors and therapists, who themselves are the worst at holding a marriage down.
This is what has prompted this series for me. I thought about it; my thoughts on the matter and the sub-matters and returned to writing. Two birds, one stone. It would be folly to pretend anything I write on these things could pass as authoritative, as I am not a marriage counsellor, therapist, or priest. I'm not even married, hell, I am in my first relationship (and my last, God willing).
This series will be simply the wording of my thoughts on these controversial matters. It will centre on what I think of the problems plaguing marriages today and possible remedies.
**Disclaimer**: *This series would only be stating my thoughts and ideas on these things. By no means is it marital advice or anything. As a matter of fact, it's for entertainment purposes only. So, stay tuned friends.*
An Unending Tale Of Return
It's been a long while my friends, and I have missed writing here on readcash. I can't quite say I miss everything about it, but I missed the human side of it immensely. It was hard staying away from all the friendships and acquaintances I was quickly building here. Not to mention the development in my writing, vocabulary, and general understanding and usage of the English language. I have missed these things, but for some reason, they haven't seemed to serve as enough motivation to bring me back and make me stay since my first break.
I don't even remember exactly when it is now that I took my first break. However, I do know that since then, I have made several efforts to return and despite all my efforts, I don't seem to be able to stay more than a few days. You may think maybe I have more important things in the real world that is drawing me away, but I don't know so. I have tried to use this as some form of justification, but a part of me is at odds with the "excuse". I think it has nothing to do with my activities in the real world or the amount of free time I have. You might wonder why I assume so.
Well, for one and the one only, I have had more free time these past few months than I had when I originally joined this platform, but that hasn't translated to more time here, instead, it became less and less, until I went MIA. I think it has to do with something of the mind. How so?
To understand why I would make the assertion, we have to remember what motivated me to join the platform in the first place; reward. Even from the beginning, my journey here wasn't rosy, especially as my number motivator was the money. There's been a cumulative long time I didn't earn anything despite working my a*s off, and the other times, I was earning so little compared to my peers.
Overall, why there have been great rewards in terms of development, but it has also caused me a lot of mental stress and anxiety. I think that is what is blocking me from actually making a real return; the fear of having those feelings of anxiety and mental stress returning. You could say it's a form of PTSD😅. Once again, here I am with another attempt at a return, with probably the same fears lurking deep within me, howbeit unknown or unacknowledged. I would like to think something has changed, but I don't feel that way.
Wow! I just went through my writeup and I find it quick melancholy for a return speech, can be quite misleading actually. I am happy to be writing again, no matter the uncertainties. It's been a long while, almost feels strange now. I guess I'm just going to let myself get used to it all over again.
It's funny though. Almost feels like I'm a newbie, and I expect it's going to feel that way away, and that will also reflect in the number of views and comments this article gets. Got me feeling almost nostalgic for the good old days. Anyways, it's nice to be back with you guys. Hopefully, it works out this time.
***Thanks for reading this article.***
A New Year, A Day Of Reflection And A New Hope
To say it's been a while since I wrote on this platform would be putting it mildly. If I'm not wrong, one could say I've been absent from this platform for almost two months now. I could say it wasn't my intention but even I don't know if that would be wholly true. Of course, it's not news that the platform is no longer what it used to be, at least for some of us, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to say it has never really panned out for me at any point in time. Regardless, I held my forte and paid my dues until I decided to let it go.
You might wonder why am I writing now if that is the case. Well, I can't say I haven't missed it. Why I can't say I was one of the top writers, I can confidently say I was good at it and I loved it. I got so used to it that at some point couldn't go a day without writing. I also feel partial to it, as all my time writing here helps me brush up on both my writing skills and grammar. But the chief reason I'm back writing is that I feel a sense of a new beginning.
Yea, I know that might seem a bit "spiritual", but today is my birthday and as such, this is like a new year for me. While most people will commemorate such a day by spending it with friends and family, having fun, and being happy, what I did with it could easily pass as the opposite. I mostly spent it alone, reflecting on what has been in my life. The intriguing thing about retrospection is that you see a lot of things that make you realize you are tougher than you've ever given yourself credit for, but at the same time you see so many instances where you've been a fail and made choices that have somewhat put you behind where you should be in life. I'm going on and on, please don't take me too seriously.
Well, my retro and introspection made me realize that if I were one to give up when things get messy, I would not be who I am today, and that was chiefly responsible for my "return". I am not also one who's brutally honest to myself, and I know there's a possibility that this lone of thought and seeming resolve might just be a result of retrospection and emotional overload.
However it does turn out, it does feel good to have written again after a good long break. I've missed it, although I've been reading articles, howbeit not leaving comments. I hope it works out this time though. So, nice to be back with you guy.
***Thanks a lot for taking out time to read this article. I appreciate it.***
Get Rid Of Them All (Part One)
It's easy to think we know what we are doing. As much as we try to be logical and reasonable, certain emotions just stand in the way of this and most of us don't even know how much influence they have on what and how we do this. These are emotions we need to master or get rid of to be the best version of ourselves.
**Ego**
Ego in its simplest form refers to your idea or opinion of yourself, especially your feeling of your importance, self-worth and ability. From this definition, you can see that ego in itself is not a bad thing, as we all have it. It's needed in many ways. Your sense of self-worth usually has a big part to play in shaping how people see you. The problem arises when it starts to tend towards **egotism,** which is an exaggerated sense of self-importance, as well as one's abilities.
Naturally, the term **ego** is often now used to **mean** personal pride and self-absorption. It's at this point that it becomes a problem. The biggest problem derived from self-absorption is the inability to learn from others. This is because you will tend to exaggerate your self-worth and abilities even in matters that you know little of. Such exaggeration usually makes one think they know better than everybody else. The reason behind that is they see any incident of anyone knowing better than them at any time as a threat to their worth, which is usually not the case. It's a problem of attaching their self-worth to how much they are ahead of the pack which is quite arbitrary.
It leaves one close-minded and impossible to teach anything. It has the potential to cause one to lose help, as well as friends. The damage an inflated ego can cause in the long wrong can not be overestimated.
**Envy**
An inflated ego is indeed a problem but will look like child's play when compared to envy. Envy is the painful or resentful awareness of an advantage and/or good fortunes enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage and/or good fortunes. If you look at the definition, you will see that contrary to what envious people might say to make themselves look good, it's not the desire to want to have or enjoy the same good fortunes that the person they envy has that is the problem.
It's only natural to see something good and to want to have it. There's nothing wrong with that. When I see someone with an iPhone 13, I can help to wish I had even iPhone X. When I see young fellows driving nice cars past me, I can't help but wish I had one of those. But what I do doesn't amount to envy, and for one reason only; I do not have any resentful feelings of unhappiness over their having it. The burning desire to want to have the goodies that you see your friends and colleagues enjoy is not what makes you envious. It's the ill feeling you have towards them and their good fortunes.
We see this in our society today manifesting in so many ways, most of which are abhorrently callous. We have heard of people who caused all sorts of harm to their friends and family members because of the success they had or were enjoying. Some of this harm, to the point of death. The worrisome thing is that when we have conversations about these things, we are all quick to dismiss them and claim we aren't infected with them, and that's part of the problem. I mean, you can fix a problem you don't even agree you have. We all as humans have a general seed of envy in our nature.
In the worst case, it establishes itself and becomes for combines with covetousness. That's when things begin to go to hell. We have to learn to admit that we all have to potential to manifest these, and then we can now make the effort to guide our hearts against it. In the long run, we would have eventually expelled it from our being, but that takes conscious work of guiding our hearts against envy as it rises, anytime it rises.
The worst thing about envy is that it prevents you from focusing on yourself and your personal growth. Instead, you spent all your time nurturing I'll feel towards the one you are enjoying, time that would have gone a long way in helping you grow to the point of getting that which you so desire. You have to learn to focus on yourself and your growth. You need to know that you compete with no one but yourself, despite the contrary societal perception. You are only ever truly in contention with yourself. Seek and strive to be better every day, and soon enough, you would have grown enough to have that which you desire and more.
***Thanks for reading this article. I hope you found it beneficial***
Hard Truths (Part One)
For some time now, all I can bring my mind to think about are things that we all know (or not), but won't accept. We live in denial of it and I know for a fact that this makes life a lot harder and more complicated than it is or should be. Some of these things, I like to call them truths, would seem common knowledge, but it's not, at least, not applied.
**You Can Only Control You**
I don't know if you're like me, but I'm someone who is easily irritated by the actions, words and behaviour of others. In my head, I'm sort of a perfectionist, an idealist, but it's more what I expect others more than myself. Although I'm actively dealing with this now. On a norm, it would be natural for me to seek to want to correct/change people's behaviour, and for a time, I did exactly that and more often than not, it ended in conflict and almost cost me some of my most important friends; it has cost me a few. Along the way, I've come to learn that you can't change anyone.
Have you tried to break a habit? Do you remember how hard and seemingly impossible it was? I know how I've been struggling with two habits for years now. Now, if I can't even bring myself to change a habit, why should I even think I can change a person or his ways? The point is at the end of the day, we can only really control ourselves and ourselves alone. Knowing this will help you become more tolerant of people and the difference between you and them.
**Nothing Last Forever**
You know, sometimes in life, we are living in bliss and everything just seems to be right and all our worries are gone. At times like this, we worry for nothing, as if we know that this life has been cast in some for us. You might be that person who has a best friend who can complete your sentences, communicate with your eyes, and have the same goals, dreams and hobbies, who can guess what your response will be in any circumstances and not be wrong, and you just think this is the best; best friends for life! Hold your horses there my dear, you couldn't be more wrong.
Nothing in this life lasts forever. The only thing in life that has been and will always be the same is change. Change is the only constant. As for every other thing, circumstances or people, not so dear. They all change with time. I'm not trying some motivational speech on you, absolutely not. I never said all these changes will be good, but they will happen for sure.
The man who has all today, might not have so much tomorrow, that blissful marriage might turn sour or become more blissful tomorrow etc, but the point here is that nothing can or will remain the same forever, no one can or will remain the same forever, no relationship, no circumstance etc, no one. They are all constantly changing with time and whether we approve or not, whether we like it or not, whether we want it or not, nothing can be frozen in time, they will still and always change. It is almost the most basic natural law.
Why does this knowledge matter? I've seen people complain about losing childhood relationships they thought would last forever or losing a certain bliss and euphoria in their marriages and relationships. They say it like it's a bad thing, a bad thing that should never have happened and that they don't know how to deal with. But it's only a problem for those who have not already accepted this truth; the truth is that people change, circumstances change and so on. An acceptance of this knowledge will make it easier to deal with changes whenever they come your way.
**Conclusion**
Change is a delicate subject. It expresses itself in multifaceted ways, but it's not a thing to be scared of, to abhor, to wish away. Life will have no taste if it were stuck in an ever-reoccurring loop of whatever we desire. There's a reason change is a concept in nature and one that seems fiercely protected by nature itself. Embrace it..
**Thanks for reading... I hope this article has been useful to you**.
Lack Of Contentment ≠ Ambition
The current development happening in the tech and online space has resulted in the creation of a massive amount of wealth. The beautiful thing about it is that, unlike the current financial and economic system where the means to create wealth is in the hands of the few who lord it over the many, the internet allows for far more access to wealth generated online.
This has resulted in a certain craze for supposedly easy money, with some hoping to get instant success and then millionaires overnight. It's commonplace days to see certain kinds of ads these days, with certain claims and implications, such as the possibility of turning into a millionaire in one week just by investing one dollar into an online scheme, or doing nothing at all but making thousands of dollars every week from one online platform etc.
One of the resultant effects of this whole craze is the seeming growing ambitions of youths. In the days of my parents, ambitions were relative to their current ability. In other words, they understood the fact that progression in life is somewhat of a gradual process. But it's different today. What we see today can hardly be called ambition. The youths of today have come to regularize "lack of contentment" as "ambition"; sadly they couldn't be more different from each other.
This whole thing is one of the reasons our societies are been destroyed. Vices are at an all-time high and continue to rise. We have lost respect and patience for the gradual progression in life and goals. Rather, today's youths seek to want and get it all as soon as possible. This is not "wokeness", it's an anomaly of our generation. Nobody is saying it's wrong to have big dreams and aspirations. The problem here is the lack of contentment in us that makes us want to have what is far beyond us in an unreasonable time frame.
We need to learn to tailor our ambitions appropriately. While the overall goal might be to own a private jet, you have to understand that you start with owning a Toyota Corolla, be for you get a Benz, then Rolls-Royce and so on. You don't just begin to see yourself moving from public transportation to owning a private jet. That's not ambition, that's a lack of contentment, and even if you were to call it ambition, it's an " unchecked ambition" and more often than not, such 'ambition' leads to paths of destruction.
We need to know to be content in our place and what we have, for it's only then we will be able to go back to the understanding that gaining and fulfilment of great ambition is a gradual process. It is only when we know this and is content, that we will be able to strive for it honourable, without succumbing to vices and criminal tendencies.
I say this because it is a known fact that the number one reason behind the vices and criminal behaviours that have become the order of our day is not necessarily poverty but a lack of contentment, masked as "ambition". Poverty comes a distant second. A lack of contentment more often than not is what results in such lofty and unchecked ambitions that have become the bane of our society today as we know it.
Conclusion
The current scourge of unchecked ambition of our youths is destroying our society and our youths, causing us to partake in vices and criminal activities which are ultimately self-harming. It has led to the loss of our conscience and humanity as we hardly care these days for gradual and legitimate progression in life. Now, it's a matter of the end justifying the means.
It's not uncommon nowadays to see a fraudster celebrating a successful fraud and boldly saying that " he needs the money more than the defrauded" even if it's their entire life savings, which it usually is. This lack of contentment has led to the regularization of certain vices and criminal activities that used to be appalling in our societies. Nowadays, some of them are even encouraged and celebrated. We can't continue like this, we have to break and check this sickness.
***Thanks for reading. I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter.***
Let Them Scar A Little
It's been a while since I wrote last on this platform. As much as I love writing and love doing it here, it gets depressing when the green baby decides to ignore one's work. This is a fate I've suffered for the majority of my time here. At the beginning of this month, my earnings seem to have picked up, but then they just went off, back to zero. That has been the case since and has demotivated me. Anyways, I'm trying to not be detected, which is why I'm back now and hoping I can fight the urge to give up on the platform.
I was trying to clear my notification earlier when I stumbled upon a very nice article by @Mhizutty. You can check out the article here. I've decided to give my thought to the prompts she wrote about. https://read.cash/@Mhizutty/heal-the-world-f1b89871
**Correct A Person Or Let Them Suffer Some Burn??**
I like to think the answer to this will depend on certain factors such as the severity of the potential damage the mistake will cause, the kind of person involved etc. But generally, I believe experience is by far the most effective teacher, not best, but most effective. Why do I believe this? Well, take a child, for example, you can tell a child a thousand times not to put its hand into the flames of a candle and it will still want to, but if you let the candle burn her once, that would be the last time you will ever need to tell her, as she will never forget.
You might like to argue that we are not babies or children, and I would permit it. But the bitter truth is that mistakes are to us what a flame is to a child. It's usually attractive to our senses until we do it and get burnt by it before we learn not to try it again. It's like they say, "the forbidden fruit tastes sweetest". In the same vein, humans generally are drawn to something they have been told not to do, they can't have etc until it burns them.
So, generally, I let people learn from their mistakes if the potential damage is not permanent or severe. But in a case where the potential burn will leave a huge scar, I try my best to correct the person, but that's only if I know or think that the person can logically assess my advice/correction, which will most likely result in them using it. This in effect, means I usually just let very recalcitrant people learn from their mistakes.
**Same-Sex School Vs Mixed School??**
I think the rationale behind same-sex schooling is the need to have your child focused on studying and studying alone, without the distraction of the opposite hovering or lurking around them. But the practice has shown this is not just ineffective, but counterproductive. Argue with me as much as you like, but as I've said above, whatsoever you tell us as humans that we can't have is what we are drawn to. Most students in same-sex schools leave the system damaged in certain ways. I will be emphasizing just three.
Firstly, same-sex schooling has contributed to the rise of same-sex relationships such as lesbianism and gays. This is because these children are limited in their choice and ability to test and express their sexuality, so the available becomes the norm for them. There are no two ways about it, because at that time in a teenager's life when he or she needs to learn to identify and express his/her sexuality if they don't have a free and safe environment to do it, they will make with what they have, and by the time they leave the system, that's all they know. The majority of people that are gays and lesbians today are products of these kinds of systems, they are people I like to call situational gays and lesbians.
Secondly, in the same vein of desiring what you're told not to have, children in same-sex schools are somehow more wayward and sexually promiscuous. It's like they try to get what they can't have every single chance they get. No matter how you try to monitor these children, they will still find a way around the system to practice their waywardness and the appeal of getting in trouble makes it all the more exciting and pleasurable for them. A teenager in a same-sex school is more likely to be participating in unsafe sexual practices such as the use of pornographic materials, masturbation, sex with condoms etc.
Thirdly, for those who somehow manage to succeed in focusing on their studies and coming out of the system. They tend to come out as social pariahs. They find it hard to socialize even with people of the same sex outside their school cycle and it's almost impossible for them to socialize with the opposite sex. This also leads to a situation where they are usually more naive than others, making them generally unsafe in ordinary circumstances as they can be easily deceived and manipulated by mischievous persons, especially of the opposite sex. So, it's a mixed school for my kids.
***These are my takes on these matters. Hat about you? I'd like to hear yours in the comment section of this post. Thanks for reading this article***
Truths We Don't Want To Accept
As humans, we like to think we are capable of being objective. But no matter how objective we are, there are some truths that we find hard to accept. Knowing and accepting these truths can lead to a better quality of life as they will help to deal with misfortunes and tragic events better. It's hard but we need to know and start accepting this truth as they are.
**People You Love Will Hurt You**
This is a truth that's not easy to accept, but that doesn't make it less true. We want to believe that the people we love, love us just as much and as we seek only to make them happy, they seek to do the same top, all the time. But the truth is that not everyone you love loves you as much as you do them. Some people are just with you in whatever capacity because of what they are getting from you. Such people won't hesitate to hurt you if it serves their interest. Even those who love us still hurt us from time to time, whether by mistake or by intent. Sometimes it's usually as a sort of revenge for something we've done to hurt them, which might have been an accident or mistake that we might not even have taken notice of.
**You Will Lose Friends**
No matter how wonderful and kind you are, no matter how much length you go to, just to keep in touch and the likes, you'll lose friends. That's one of the few constants in life, and it will always be so. Growing up then with our childhood friends with the innocent unbreakable bond we shared, we thought it was always going to be so. We planned to attend the same secondary school, same university, and build our own companies together. Friends for life we would say. If only we knew.
Life will always happen to us, we will outgrow some friendships and go on separate paths in life. Some of us will move far away from each other and then gradually grow out of touch etc. We might not like or want it, but it's just life. Knowing and accepting this makes it less painful to take in.
**You Won’t Always Get What You Want**
We all want things. Human wants are indefinitely insatiable. We will always want more and more. We will always want something else. In a world of limited resources, it's folly to think that there's a scenario in which you can always get what you want. Yeah, I know what you're thinking; you think that there's a level of wealth you'll possess that everything you can ever want will be available to you. Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're sorely wrong because even the richest men on the surface of this planet, have things that they've desired for a long time, but haven't been able to get. It's almost like a rule of nature, a rule that says you can't have everything.
**People You Love And/Or Live With, Will Die Eventually**
This one is interesting. We generally cry and mourn when we lose a loved one or a friend. That's okay. What I don't get is why we cry and wail for days or months even when we lose our loved ones who die at a ripe old age. Is it that we were expecting them to live forever or what? I don't get it. You'll see people crying and wailing for a loved one who died at the age of 91. Are you sane? What? She's supposed to live till the end of the world. We just need to learn to accept the fact that no one is going to live forever. We'll all die someday, and that goes for our loved ones as well, no matter how much we love them.
**Closing Thoughts**
These are some truths that we need to accept for what they are. Knowing these will help us handle some misfortunes better. Know these things and know peace.
Keep Moving
I don't understand how the world works really. I mean, some things don't just add up. We all grow up almost the same way, with the same set of training, although with variations, and the same set of goals, that's about where it ends. You put in all the effort to see a thing work, you do everything and beyond just to achieve a certain goal and somehow, it doesn't work, you're still unnoticed. While someone else gets all of the stuff you desire and more without having to work for it. Such is the world we live in. The imbalance is sickening. Forgive my rant though, as that's not my article for the day, or is it not?🤣.
I've been thinking about it for some days now. It's quite unfair for a world created by a Just Impartial God. Is it those who struggle that in spite of everything and themselves, nothing works, or is that something that has to do with the natural order or the institutional order? It even gets worse when you're the one doing all the work, but somehow because of a structure in place, someone else gets to reap all the reward and all the glory for your work, you don't even get to share in it. It's frustrating.
It can even get suicidal if you're one whose friends and equals at some point in life have gone far ahead and seem to have left you behind. Of course, this can sometimes not be a problem, but you have to not compare yourself with others or measure your success by other people's standards or success. You have to be someone with a certain understanding, which is the main focus of my writing today.
Not quite long ago, I wrote about the Chinese bamboo tree and how we all have different paths and different timelines for our success. The right understanding and mentality to fully grasp the whole bamboo story is what I'm going to dwell on here.
In this quest to succeed, to make something of yourself and your life, you need to understand that even though it's a marathon, not a race, it's still a one-man marathon. You are only competing against one person and that person is no other but yourself. You are your competition, your rival, your enemy. Life will always be life. It will always seem rigged and impartial, like it's out to get you, to make you fail always. So, the real question is, how are you going to handle that, deal with it?? Are you going to keep comparing yourself with all of them "successful" folks and friends and feel sorry for yourself? That's up to you to decide.
If you were to ask me though, I'll tell you that the best way to give the middle finger back to life as it is, is to compete with yourself and yourself alone. Accept that we aren't all the same after all, our timetables aren't the same after all. Understand that the only way to measure true success is to compare yourself to yourself, compare who you are today to who you were yesterday. Always compete with yourself, and try to be better at what you do every day. No matter how small, let there be improvements every day. Learn more, train more, read more, practice more, seek more, and let there always be more today than there was yesterday.
This way, you don't get to feel like an inferior human being or a failure, and at the same time, you're getting better w for when your time to shine will come. It's a one-stone to kill two-bird solution. This also goes the other way. Do not get so comfy in the current position of life you are today, just because you're far ahead of the curve. You're not in competition with the curve but yourself. **It will always be you versus you.**
**Conclusion**
Life can suck sometimes and I understand that, darn I live it too. But that doesn't mean it's the end of it will always be so. Far from it. You just have to understand this simple principle and compete against yourself alone. Develop yourself every day and one day that big breakthrough you need will come. But you don't want it to catch you unprepared, you don't want to let it meet a you that has given up on it. Keep striving, get better every day. Like Martin Luther King once said, "**if you can't fly, run. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, then crawl. But by all means, keep moving**". Never stop moving.
***Thank you for reading this article. I hope you find something beneficial in it.***
My Return Or Not?
The month of June has been quite the month. The beginning of the month saw me earn the highest amount I've earned in recent weeks, actually months. I think on the first of the month, I earned around $3+, and yes, it's one of the best days I've had on read.cash in recent months. Earnings that made me hopeful that this month was going to be great, you could even call what I had faith. But whatever it was that made that happen, seems to have gone away as suddenly as it came.
The days that followed saw me struggling to earn a tangible sum again. As if that was enough, things just went from bad to worst. My earnings almost went to zero; if you remove the tip I give out, it probably did go to zero. So, the motivation to write just went down. I've never hidden the fact that my number one motivation here is the earnings. This resulted in me reducing my activity until I went completely awol about three days ago. Funny thing is that all the time that was afforded me wasn't spent on productive activities, but rather on watching movies. In a matter of days, I started and finish 'The last kingdom season 1-5'.
The lack of motivation even sipped into my offline life. I didn't leave my room for three days, except to get food as I couldn't even get myself to cook. As of now, I don't like how it makes me feel, so I'm going to do something about it all, which I'm starting now by posting this article. So I'm back for what it's worth. Hopefully, rusty shows me the kindness he has denied me for so long now.
I've spent a little while trying to get the general feel of the platform these days. Seems like the number of articles being posted daily has reduced, or maybe it's just the people I follow. I did miss reading your articles though. Anyways, the only direction to look now is forward. I do need to ease into it though. I noticed that my throughput of articles has reduced drastically. Before my few days of leave, I could read as many as 80+ articles daily, but now I'm struggling to finish ten at the same time I would have read twenty by now.
I'm just going to run at it like I'm starting all over again until my body and mind get used to it again. Of course, this won't take more than a few days. This will also have to apply to some of the routines in my life. I'm positive by the end of the week, everything would be right back on track and you'll always see me in your articles.
**Conclusion**
I'm quite sorry for my absence. It might not have been forced, but I like to think it was needed for my mental health purposes. I don't know how you guys deal with it, but the elongated disappointment I've faced in rusty's hands can be depressing sometimes. Anyways, it's good to be back. I say it so because somewhere in my head, I was already contemplating leaving the platform altogether, but I guess there's just a lot here, for anyone to just walk away, or maybe it's just me.
**Let me quickly say a big thank you to this who have always and still believed in him. To those who have supported me all the way, whether by viewing, reading, tipping, liking, commenting and subscribing, I say a most heartfelt thank you.**
Injustice Served On A Platter Of Democratic And Public Justice (Finale)
If you haven't read the first part of this article, you can read it **here** https://read.cash/@Methion/injustice-on-a-platter-of-democratic-and-public-justice-6bef9f8a
It's interesting to know that both Amber and Depp are American citizens which removes possible nationalist bias in the judgement received in the UK trial. However, this can't be said of the US trial. Moving on, another key difference is who the judge of the case was. In the UK, it was solely a judge trained in the art and business of the law, while in the US, it was a bunch of people with no prior law training or idea on how a case should run, people who were more focused on the online comments about the case than the argument in the courtroom. I know you might argue with this reasoning, and understandably so, but even the judge saw it happening. How do I know this?
I know for a fact that the jurors were told not to read about the issue online. But their phones weren't taken, and neither were they sequestered. So, do you think they didn't go online to read about it all through the trial while they had smart TVs and their phones with them in their respective homes? I know my answer. You answer it for yourself. I will now make my arguments. The judge knew because they were not quite trained on how to separate genuine arguments and evidence from manipulated ones, justice might be perverted.
As I've said before, the same set of evidence was presented in both the US and the UK. While it was enough for the judge in the UK, it was wholly "malicious" for the jury in the US. Amber Heard lost in this case for two reasons which are jointed. Amber lost because she was tried in the court of the public. The real jurors and prosecutors were the thousands of people who gathered online, either against her or for Depp. Before you start to say people were against her because she lied, I would like to remind you that it was soon after the #Metoo trend, that this whole saga started. Amber's online trial was a result of the backlash of the #Metoo trend.
The second reason is that these jurors relied on the popular opinion online, which they were not supposed to come to the knowledge of in the first place. There's a third reason which is a very classic one. There's a method amongst lawyers known to be used to pervert justice in cases like this and that's exactly what Depp's lawyer used. This technique is however something a lawyer or judge can easily spot and dismantle, but not so much can be said of a jury. Don't take it from me, take it from a certain international lawyer who gave this opinion on **BBC**. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61673676
According to this lawyer, "The fact that the jury found that Ms Heard was guilty of defamation with an article in which she claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse means they didn't believe her testimony.
Mark Stephens, an international media lawyer, told the BBC that it's "very rare" that essentially the same case is tried on two sides of the pond and gets different results.
He believes the main factor that influenced Mr Depp's victory in America was the fact that his US trial was before a jury while his UK trial, over an article in the British tabloid that called him a "wife-beater", was before a judge only.
"Amber Heard has comprehensively lost in the court of public opinion, and in front of the jury," he said.
In both the UK and the US trial, Mr Depp's lawyers argued that Ms Heard was lying - to make their case, they attacked her character and claimed that she was in fact the abusive partner.
This is a common defence tactic in sexual assault and domestic violence trials called "deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender" or "Darvo", said Mr Stephens.
The strategy turns the tables on the alleged victim, shifting the conversation away from "did the accused commit abuse" to "is the alleged victim believable".
"They deny that they did anything, they deny they're the real perpetrator, and they attack the credibility of the individual calling out the abuse and then reverse the roles of the victim and the offender," Mr Stephens said.
In the UK trial, Mr Stephens said the judge recognized that strategy and dismissed a lot of the evidence that did not directly address whether Mr Depp committed assault or not.
"Lawyers and judges tend not to fall for it, but it's very, very effective against juries," he said."
If after reading that, you still don't see what happened, then I rest my case.
**Closing Thoughts.**
While I'm not denying the fact that Amber was just as abusive to Depp as he was to him, if not more, it doesn't invalidate her claim that she was abused. Mutual abuse is not the same nor equal to no abuse. Hence, there was no defamation whatsoever. The jury didn't judge for defamation, they judged Amber's person and on that basis, they invalidated her arguments and evidence without even looking at it.
I'm hundred percent certain, that if it was left to the sentencing judge alone, the final decision from him would have been the direct opposite of what we have now. What becomes of it now is for Amber to decide. Maybe she'll appeal, and this time ask for a non-televised trial, so she can be tried in a courtroom, and not on Twitter.
***Thanks for reading..***
Injustice On A Platter Of Democratic And Public Justice
I don't know if you've been following the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard saga, but I've stumbled upon it in the news a few times, although I didn't pay much attention to it. As of now, the trial has come to an end and Amber Heard has been marked the villain; a tag that came with a hefty sum in damages to the tune of $15million. Say what you will about the case, I respect your opinion, but I'm here to highlight a few things.
This whole saga can be said to have played out before, just without Amber being a party. How you may be asked? A newspaper in the UK once publish an article in which Mr Depp was called a "woman beater". Me Depp sued the paper to court and promptly lost. What that effectively meant is that the court agreed with the newspaper that Mr Depp is indeed a woman beater who had been abusing Ms Amber.
Ms Amber is only a villain today because she dared to repeat that same statement, unfortunately for her, on American soil, the supposed land of freedom and justice. She was sued by Mr Depp for $50million in damages. She responded by counter-suing for $100million. The big question we should all be asking ourselves now is this, how is it that the same case, with the same set of evidence, has resulted in two conflicting judgements in two different jurisdictions. Maybe, the British judges are terrible at their job and the justice system over there is dead?
Before you make that judgement, let me give you a few facts. In the British case, the case was decided by only a judge, but not do in the American case. America has a juror system where civilians are supposed to be granted the powers of a judge. This group of civilians preselected before a case gets to listen to the argument and determine the guilty party as well as the judgement. The judge, in this case, is simply their errand boy who reads out their verdict.
While in the British case justice was in the hands of a man who had been trained to recognise truth from a sea of lies, to recognise deceit and manipulations of desperate men, and to deliver justice without fear or favour, the American case was determined by a random group of people whose sense of justice draws from emotions, gamble, guesses and social media.
Like a lot of things we think we know today, what we think we know of this whole saga is far too underwhelming compared to what we should use to come to an assessment of it, but I'll be dissecting a few things tomorrow, so we can see how this whole case has shown that justice is subjective. This whole case has also shown me that not all those that have been convicted of one crime or the other are anywhere close to being guilty.
***To be continued..***
**Thanks for reading...**
It Won't Last Forever (This Too Shall Pass)
I don't want to come across as a motivational speaker or something cos it's beginning to look like I'm all about motivations these days but who knows maybe someone needs the hear this or should I say read this that's why I'm being inspired to write about it. Whether we like to believe it or not, we are being pushed or led by something, that's why going on seems easy and not hard. Whatever that thing is, that's where our motivation lies.
But, can only one thing be a source of motivation for us? Certainly not. We can have different sources where our motivation comes from, after all, the more the merrier. Having said that, I'm just going to be an extra source today to that which you already have.
You remember how they say that Rome wasn't built in a day, which is to connote that the result you want will not just magically happen in a minute but will take time. Also if you are Nigerian then you would have probably heard " No condition is permanent" this one explains that whatever you may be facing in life that is unpleasant will not last forever but will last a while and give way, so be patient.
The above statements are true and hold till today and will hold till tomorrow. So I'm here today to add another which is "this too shall pass". It is not originally mine, as I got it from a video earlier in the day but hey, I decided to buttress on it. It's human nature for us to want the good things to last forever and then for the bad ones we want to be ephemeral and fleeting. Sometimes, I think we have even ruled it there in our minds that only bad things last for a night. But I beg to disagree.
Anything that is in this life that we are living is not cast in stone and the sooner we begin to accept this is we already haven't the better we get to enjoy life. Dark times are bound to happen and they do happen, longer for some and shorter for others but one thing is certain and it's that it shall pass. You might say some people died in their dark times, their troubles got the better of them and killed them how come they did it pass? A person who is dead no longer cares about dark times anymore, in fact, the cares of this life are now oblivious to him or her and they've moved on. Therefore I like to think that it has passed.
Happy times too are not left out. As much as we want them to last forever, they too Shall pass and then comes sadness and sadness too doesn't last forever but passes away too. It is obvious therefore that there is an endless cycle of things both good and bad that passes and comes and we live life, until the very end when everything becomes nothing.
**Is It Worth Dying Over?**
Certainly not! No situation is worth dying over. Death may be an option but it is never the only option. Most people actually would think death here refers only to loss of life and being buried all that. Death isn't all about losing one's life, a choice to stop living, is a choice to die. Therefore, we should have it at the back of our minds that despite things being down do not give up cos they will pass.
The storms may rage but this too shall pass.
The rains may fall nonstop and the wind rage on without mercy, this too shall pass.
The darkness suddenly came unexpected and with ferocity and might, this too shall pass.
Happiness that seems like heaven, this too shall pass.
**Rusty acting live you are oblivious, this too shall pass**
The conclusion of the whole matter is, don't get comfortable and lose control of the reins cos nothing is cast in stone.
**Thanks for reading and I hope you get the message**
Just Maybe You Are A Chinese Bamboo Tree
In life, we all strive to get one thing or the other, to achieve one thing or the other. We have goals, dreams, aspirations, need and wants. We wake up every morning, thinking about how to get these things, how to fulfil these things. The thing is that we are not alone in our pursuit. There's always someone seeking the same thing. The tricky part is the fact that some people seem to get theirs on a platter of gold.
Lead image source https://www.pinterest.com/pin/511862313901166759/
Take two people who started high school together. One is intelligent, one is less than average. Fast forward ten years later, the less than average one who has never taken anything seriously in life, is already a graduate for some years now, working for a very respectable firm, and occupying a very important position. The intelligent one on the other hand is still struggling to get through college. Now, if that were me, I would be pissed at life, I would feel cheated.
For some of us, it seems we have to put in 10x the work to get what our mates are seemingly getting effortlessly, and even then, some of us still don't get it. You begin to wonder what the problem is. It's almost like there's a power stopping good things from coming your way. It's not a good feeling or thing to experience.
Even here on read.cash, we see it. We see some old users who are putting so much effort, earning very little while some new users are hitting it big, it goes every way. Some people do not interact much, but earn huge sums in their posts, while some others who do everything are earning very little. It's nobody's fault, of course, that's not my goal, to cast blame. I'm just using that as an example.
The truth of the matter is, while we might all strive the same, we aren't the same. If you believe in the supernatural, then I'll say, our destinies and stars aren't the same. For some, the breakthroughs come early but for a short time, for some long, for others, it comes late but lasting. We are all going to the same destination called happiness, prosperity and success, but we will all take different routes and arrive at different times.
For some, life can be like a seed of maize, which terminated early, and grows within a reasonable time frame and being its fruit. While for some others, life is like the Chinese bamboo seed. The Chinese bamboo is a very intriguing plant. When the seed is put into the ground, it doesn't germinate early. All the plants around it will grow and leave it behind, mocking it. Some would have completed two full cycles or more, it will still be in the ground. It takes the Chinese bamboo seed four and above whole years to germinate! Four+ years!! You heard that right. But here's the catch.
Once it emerges, the tree grows a whopping eighty feet in six weeks!! Again, you heard that right. Eighty feet in six weeks! Think about that. That's amazing growth. Did the Chinese Bamboo Tree lie dormant for four years only to grow exponentially in the fifth? Or, was the little tree growing underground, developing a root system strong enough to support its potential for outward growth in the fifth year and beyond? The answer is, of course, obvious.
Had the tree not developed a strong unseen foundation it could not have sustained its life as it grew. The same principle is true for people. People, who patiently toil towards worthwhile dreams and goals, building strong character while overcoming adversity and challenge, grow the strong internal foundation to handle success.
Starting anything is very similar. We often water and fertilize; water and fertilize our ideas, goals, dreams and pursuit over and over again and for months nothing seems to take place. However, by staying focused and working towards your goal, remarkable growth can staggeringly take place within a short period – just like the Chinese bamboo tree.
**Conclusion**
Whatever you're looking for, it will come, it's just a matter of time. That's why you can't and shouldn't give up on your dream, goals or pursuits. It won't be easy, no. Your patience and perseverance will be tested to the limits, but you have t be strong and pursue that which you desire and it will be yours. Do not give up on your tree and end up uprooting it to plant somewhere else just when it's about to germinate. Do not stop watering, do not stop fertilizing. It's all about time and perseverance. It will surely come to pass. Hold fast and hold strong.
**Thanks for reading this article. I hope you got something from it.**
Trusting Wrongly Or A Genuine Mistake?
I don't know which is best, not trusting people at all or trusting people by default and hoping for the best? I've tried both and they've had their days when I came to regret them. As of now, my strategy is to trust you but still expect you to misuse that trust eventually. When you do come around to doing that, I don't feel so hurt or surprised. Since I came back from my industrial training and attachment, I have not had a chance to go for fieldwork. For the first time since then, I visited a fish farm today for work purposes and it was evident that I've lost my touch slightly because I kind of let my guard down. My Nigerian people will say 'I loose guard'🤣.
I had to wake up by 5:30 AM today, so I can make it to the farm in time as the sale of the fish was scheduled for no later than 7:00 AM. I got to the house of @Kushyzee, as he was supposed to go with me, only to find his lazy ass was still in bed. We eventually got to the farm, but to our dismay, the buyer hadn't arrived. We waited patiently and when the buyer finally came, we got to work. It took around four hours to conclude the whole thing, not necessarily because it should have taken that long, but because the buyer and seller were are loggerheads, with the seller accusing the buyer of cheating. It was an unfortunate and unnecessary accusation as the buyer was being very honest, and the accusation made the whole atmosphere tense, with us having to recount a bowl of fish multiple times just to satisfy each party.
We somehow managed the situation until we finished selling and still had to go help a neighbour who had few sell hers as well. The work was made long and unpleasant by the tense atmosphere and cloud of suspicion, but the most intriguing part was yet to come. These kinds of jobs are usually arranged for me by one of my bosses, he even negotiates the pay himself. So, I usually just finish and collect what I'm given knowing that's what he's arranged with the people using my services.
In that same spirit, we finished and collected what we were given. This case was even more peculiar because I just some part of the negotiations between my boss and the seller who I worked for. So, when she gave me what was to be our pay, I was heavily dissatisfied, cos it was the worst and cheapest job I've ever done, because of what I was being paid.
I was displeased but took it and left. I and @Kushyzee shared the money accordingly. I went to his place to rest a bit before I head out to the next farm I had scheduled and while resting, I slept off, only to wake up about four hours later. A few minutes after waking up, I got a call from my boss. He was asking me why I hadn't sent his cut over.
During the conversation, the pay came up, and that's when I got to know I was paid less than 50% of what I should have been paid. I was livid. I wanted to just bounce back to the woman's place and give her small trouble, but my boss said he was going to call her and make her choose between paying me completely or losing our services forever.
She claims it was a misunderstanding of what she heard from my boss. My boss made a point of blaming me for the whole fiasco, as he's never given me a job with that much low pay. It was even lower than the flat rate. He said I ought to have checked with him when I wasn't satisfied with it. I owned my mistake and apologized. The woman has requested my account number, but up till now, I'm yet to get the expected alert. But the question I've been asking myself is, did she intentionally try to dupe me or it was an honest mistake? How did I fall for something like that anyway?
The reason I didn't bother to check in with my boss is that I probably trust her, as this is not our first time doing business. But it's also that trust that almost if it hasn't already, as I'm not so sure she will complete the payment, cost me more than half of the fruit of my labour today; more like our labour.
I trusted her and I don't know if it's turned out I trusted the wrong person, but I guess that's to be seen. But the woman does seem like a reasonable and honest person, but again it wouldn't be the first time I'm wrong about a person's character. Even amongst those, I call friends, I've been wrong sometimes.
**Closing Thoughts**
While it's yet to be seen, I'd like to think I wasn't exactly wrong about her and all this is just an honest mistake. But I doubt I'll ever give anyone this much leverage/freehand. I hope she sends the remaining part of my payment, as that's what can be called my profit. What she's brought so far barely covers my transportation and feeding during the job. What she's holding is the actual reward for my efforts. We will see how it plays out. **I would like to hear your opinion on the matter. Do you think she deliberately tried to cheat me??**
I just got in now and I thought to just type and post my article first as I'm really tired and won't do it if I don't do it now. So, you guys will have to forgive me for not interacting this evening, even though I've done quite enough during the day. I'll make it up to you tomorrow, hopefully.
***Thanks for reading..***
Cherophobia Is Real
I was reading @Peter-Molnar 's article about four days ago when he talk about Cherophobia. According to him "While many people might think that fear of happiness seems silly, for some it's a very real and debilitating phobia. Cherophobia can manifest itself in many ways, such as an aversion to Christmas or other holidays, parties, and other social events. Those with the phobia may also feel uncomfortable when others are enjoying themselves or display an exaggerated response to good news." You can read his full article **here****.** It would be worth the time. https://read.cash/@Peter-Molnar/cherophobia-an-irrational-fear-of-happiness-7938c7aa
From the above, you can see that Cherophobia is the fear of happiness and despite how it might seem, it's a real thing, just like an allergy might seem funny to you, but it's a real problem for those who experience it. When I read that article, I started reminiscing about my childhood and certain things began to make sense.
In my childhood days, I had a father that was a disciplinarian and a mother who was going to heaven's length to manage whatever my dad was bringing to sustain us. It was a home where there was little to no time for hits, kisses or bedtime stories. It wasn't easy growing up like that. The disciplinarian tendencies of my father were on the ground, a demand for perfection in his children, especially me. Growing up, I missed out on all the fun things kids did during that age.
Looking back now, I can't tell if it was because I was trying to be the perfect son or if I was just afraid of fun. But I do remember days when my mother was urging me to go out and play with the other kids and I refused vehemently. After all, all of that time went into reading, so she made her peace with it eventually, even though she knew this was going to make for the improper development of this child.
Over the years though, having taught my fun to harbour fun in my childhood, I grew up into a teenager who was Cherophobic. Whenever my mates were excited over certain things, it made me uncomfortable as I just didn't see why they had to be so excited. I avoided any group stuff, howbeit, watched and loved it from a distance.
An unavoidable situation where I was required to be excited or be in a crowd or spotlight always caused my heart to race, basically a low impact anxiety attack. I just wanted to be alone in my corner of the room being the observer. It became harder and harder to stay that way. Mine was a bigger problem because despite introversion being one of the best human personas, and I was an introvert, it also fuels Cherophobia where both are present.
It took a long time to start getting over the problem, and this was only achievable because I met this girl. Over the next few years, she carefully sneaked into that protected space of mine, somehow convincing me she wasn't a threat to the peace, quiet and modest life I'd come to build inside my shell. She helped me along the way consciously and with a lot of effort. I remember trying to push her away, cos was becoming a source of comfort and happiness and I started to fear that. I tried pushing her away, again and again, but she wasn't going to have it and I'm grateful to God she didn't give up on me.
**Conclusion** https://read.cash/@Talon/cherophobia-is-real-cffd177e?signature=b6a27013241b7f5597e5f29a8ff29cd25083e2f52b92ff444a106ba1a4e2226e#conclusion
Today, I can say I'm far from that Cherophobic guy, but I haven't gone all the way. Sometimes, I still get a little anxious, but that's not the point. The point here is that this stuff is real and a good number of people suffer from it. Instead of looking at them like weirdos, try and help them. It's not like they hate to have fun and be happy, they fear it.
***Thanks for reading...***
Dark Childhood Memories
Interestingly, I don't remember much of it. I don't know why. Maybe there isn't much to remember or there was a traumatic experience that I was trying to block out, so I suppressed everything, I don't know. But I do remember it in bits and pieces. The most prominent memory of my childhood that has stuck with me has been the circumstances of my birth and my near-death experience(s). The birth part is more of a story I was told and I built a memory out of it.
At the time my mother was heavy with me, my father was living in a different city, away from my mom. My mom was living with my dad's elder sister in the village, while my dad was supposedly hustling in the city. At the time I was due, it was only my aunt that was there to help my mum to the hospital. After delivery, my mum wasn't allowed to leave with me, because they could not afford to pay the hospital bills. An agreement would later be reached. My aunt had to work as a cleaner in the hospital for three months to offset the bill. I will forever be grateful to her for that. I always thought, in all these, where was my dad and the money he was hustling? But some things are better left unsaid and some questions unanswered.
As I began to grow into a very healthy, intelligent baby, tragedy almost struck. I remember how my mom told me that I fell sick, that I almost died. According to her, one of the treatment routines included putting my tender legs into a burning flame. Soon enough, I began to decay from the foot. She thought she was going to lose me, but I guess I'm a born fighter, cos somehow I'm still here. I've almost certainly had to fight for everything I have in life, with God on my side, and I'm guessing that's what saw me through.
The ones I vividly remember myself were too near misses with potentially deadly situations. They both occurred around the same time in my life. I was probably in junior secondary school then. To get to my school, there's this very narrow bush path with multiple bends around buildings that I used to pass. On a certain day, as I made a bend, I froze.
Lo and behold, a very big black snake was slithering past the road, with barely any distance between it and my toes. It might even have grazed my sandals, I'm not so sure now. But I froze there until it had passed all the way. You would think I would never use the road again, but due to our economic status then, I didn't have a choice if I wanted to go to school at all.
The other times involved a motorcycle and a vehicle. On two different occasions, I came pretty close to being hit by these. Luckily for me though, on both occasions, it ended with them running one of their tires over one of my legs. I could never forget those days. The thought of what could have happened haunted me for a while after each incident. It's indeed a miracle that I'm still here. I guess that's God's way of letting me know I haven't fulfilled my destiny and purpose on earth.
***Thanks for reading my article. I appreciate the love.***
Do What's Right (Part Two)
One of the most talked-about topics in Nigeria in recent days is getting your PVC. You would think that the increased interest in getting the PVC amongst Nigerians as a result of sensitization by NGOs and CSOs, is to exercise one's franchise, but sadly it's not. Amongst the youths, the prevailing reason is to have an internationally accepted identity card for verification purposes online. As we know, the majority of online platforms that ask for verification do not accept the NIN slip that most Nigerians have as it's not the ID card itself. The ID card takes years to be available, unlike the PVC. Anyways, I've been trying to get mine for the past week.
Usually, application for the PVC is only available a few months before the election but this time around, it has been on for a while now. This is because some part of the process has been moved online for easier application. Now we can do all the documentation online and just go to the nearest office for biometric capturing. Knowing this, I did the online submission and went to their office last week. I spent a whole day there and still couldn't do anything. They didn't even care about my appointment. People who were physically there before I came were still prioritized over people like me who had appointments. I made my peace with that though.
I left for home. Yesterday, I decided to try again. I got there at around 10 AM, only to meet almost a hundred people there. They had already written their names on a list, and I was late for the list. The interesting thing was that that list was taken by 8:00 AM, but by almost 12: 00 NOON, they were still on number eight!! Imagine that.
You wonder why? Because they were registering people who weren't on the list, privileged people, 'special' people.
It got to a point, I couldn't take the injustice anymore. There was this girl who started protesting, I joined her and a soldier fellow who was not in uniform joined us. I thought the soldier would use his privilege as we know how they are worshipped in Nigeria, but he didn't. He was ready to fight for justice for everyone. After we protested, an agreement was reached with the management, that no matter how long it takes, they must register all of us before they leave, and that's what happened.
At a point, it was about to rain and we all had to go inside. That's when I realized one of the reasons the whole exercise was slow was that most of the people they were attending to at the time, didn't do the online part. So they were doing the online and capturing for them. I, the soldier who never disclosed that fact all through and a bunch of other people who led the protest had to stay behind till the end, to ensure the agreement was honoured.
I was just so disappointed with those staff members. You have been employed to do a job on behalf of an agency that is supposedly impartial and independent, but still, you are biased and corrupt, even to the very faces of people standing there. The worst part is that it's still this same set of people that will be in charge of the election. What are the odds that they will be fair? What are the odds they won't cheat?
In this election cycle, we all must do our parts and do it right. That's why I went to collect my PVC, and that's why everyone who hasn't should, as it's ending on Monday next week. If you're an official at any step of the way in this election cycle, please do right.
***Thanks for reading***….
Do What's Right (Part One)
The time for the general elections in Nigeria is upon us again and while the candidates are busy jostling around Nigeria trying to clinch their different parties' tickets for the different offices, another theme is being discussed amongst the populace, and it's that of voter's apathy. The level of voter apathy in Nigeria is quite alarming, we all know that. Over the years, there have been measures to try and eradicate or reduce it and for good reasons. Some believe that our electoral system is easy to manipulate and rig due to the high level of voter apathy which is seen in our nonchalance towards education and our lack of demand for election transparency and integrity.
But if we are being honest, it is understandable. The level of voter apathy we see today did not happen overnight. It mostly stems from the loss of faith in our electoral system and practices which results from constant electoral manipulation and malpractice. This has turned people's belief that their electoral choices matter.
I'm happy to see that we are actively trying to deal with that problem of voter apathy today. This new drive to deal with it is a part of a much larger drive to take back the electoral process from the fraudulent and malicious elements that have now become the major players in a process that is supposed to be decided by the people for the people. It's even more pleasing to know that at the forefront of this drive are Nigerian youths who are tired of their futures being wasted away, used as bargaining chips by two different sets of self-serving old men who think they are all and mighty.
This is a telltale sign of how much dissatisfaction there is in the streets of Nigeria. The usual practice of recycling the political establishment as corrupt as it is, for a lack of a better choice seems to be something Nigerians are getting tired of. It seems we are now ready as a nation to demand good governance from the public servants we put into office, only for them to start plundering the resources of their masters and lording it over their masters.
Youths are volunteering to help out with the voter registration process. I wanted to volunteer today, but that all took a different turn. It was kind of a good turn, but that's a story for another day. The voter's registration would be ending in a few days even though the elections are still more than 8months away.
This is to enable the electoral body to clear all the backlog and provide the cards before the elections. I'm sure they would have done it way before then and they will likely reopen it, but why gamble it? If you haven't registered, I strongly advise you do so, cos if you don't choose who you want to preside over your future for the next four years, you have no right to complain about the outcome whatsoever. Do what's right for our country, your family, yourself, your children and their unborn children, by getting your PVC and coming out to choose the right leaders when the time comes.
***Thanks for reading..***
I'm Getting Tired
A few weeks ago, things were beginning to get better for me here on read. My earnings seemed to be improving in tandem with the marathon interaction I was doing. I was beginning to feel hopeful, a feeling I've tried not to have, so it doesn't hurt when it fails. This was only possible because I got my hands on a phone to be using, but that wasn't going to last, I should have known better.
Sometimes, I wonder who I might have offended that probably cast a spell on my read.cash account🤣. I say this because every time things start looking up for it, it takes a spiral all over again. If you notice, I've not been posting for the past few weeks except for a few days. This is because the phone I was using is gone, again. Now I have to look for a phone every time I want to post. The reason why this is quite hurtful is that during the early days, I was very convinced this account was going to do well. Then the constant troubles and breaks set in.
Now, I'm back to that place where my earnings are nothing to write home about, especially for a supposedly five months user. This is really getting frustrating and I'm getting tired of it all. Maybe read.cash isn't meant for me and these are signs to just quit the platform and move on. The problem is I've already grown attached to writing here, not to mention the many virtual acquaintances I have here. Another big reason I'm struggling to remain here is all of those people who supported me all through my journey here, despite how rough it has been.
Anyways, I'm hearing that people have not been able to withdraw from noise.cash for some time now. This combined with the current situation of the platform's benefactor has led to speculations that the platform might be dying. I don't know how possibly true that is, but if it were to turn out so, I'd miss it. I haven't used it for a while now, specifically since heart tips were removed. It's hardly profitable these days for those who weren't lucky enough to get free tips.
What I'm most worried about though is that, if this were to be the end of noise, then the demise of read.cash must be also very close. These two platforms have helped some of us achieve things we thought impossible and for some, they are fully dependent on the earnings from the two platforms. I'm hoping the rumours are wrong, but it's looking more plausible by the minute.
**Conclusion**
Sorry about my meaningless rants, I just needed to let it out a little. It's becoming too hard to just ignore my problems here and continue writing. Maybe it's time to move to another platform like hive maybe.
I've got to say though, @Marcdemersel and Simon the dev have such wonderful things with these platforms, that if they were to shut down today, we would still be grateful to these guys for a long time to come.
***Thanks for checking out my rant*****…**
Why Musk Is A Concern
We all are aware of the whole Twitter drama that has been ensuing for some time now. If you don't, you can read @CyberCrypto **article** to be informed. A look at the whole Twitter deal situation, as it would be with any other big firm, will show that a lot more people stand to be affected by this situation. If you think I'm talking about the millions of Twitter users, you're wrong; not that they aren't important, but they will always find an alternative if it comes to it. There are a whole lot of concerns or potential concerns that have nothing to do with the users, but other stakeholders such as advertisers, shareholders, management, staff etc. https://read.cash/@CyberCrypto/best-twitter-drama-you-have-ever-seen-436f6f53
Why Should Staff Members Be Concerned??
In today's labour market, job security is becoming a very rare commodity. This situation is more acute in low and middle-income countries, where the labour market is well saturated and labour is unreasonably cheap. Lots of jobs that seemingly offered security, turned out to be false during the pandemic. This is not to mention the fact that AI is increasingly replacing humans at a very fast pace in different industries and workplaces. In uncertain times like these, the thing workers most desire is job security. **Why should this matter to twitter's staff??**
To answer that question, we need to establish the persona of the man called Musk. Mr Musk is a man who likes attention and constantly wants to be in the news. The only way to do that in this age of information overload is to be constantly unpredictable, unstable, disruptive and controversial. Anyone or a combination of those will do, although a combination will work better. This persona far contrasts that of Twitter's current CEO, who's more pragmatic and rather refines the way things are done than unsettle everything.
It matters to twitter's employees in several ways. If the current CEO were to carry out a change in Twitter's workforce, it will be done in such a slow meticulous way that wouldn't leave anyone uncertain about their future, but can we say the same for Musk? An unpredictable, attention seeker like must could just wake up one day and decide to lay off 25% of Twitter's workforce for no good reason, just to be in the news.
Another reason why staff should be worried is that Mr Musk is an aggressively profit-seeking businessman and to him, business and profit come first before workers' welfare/satisfaction. His desire for profit could see him want to reduce operating costs by reducing workers' overall benefits, especially in low and middle-income countries where sadly most of its workforce in the form of moderators are based.
Last but not necessarily least, Mr Musk is someone whose thoughts are more inclined towards the future. He's also tech-savvy and technophilic. This could effectively mean that with the advancement in AI technology, some current jobs in Twitter's workspace will probably be removed in favour of AI. As long as it's more efficient and productive, a man like Musk wouldn't mind replacing the whole Twitter workforce with bots and AIs.
Conclusion
These are some of my thoughts on the matter, and as such are just speculations, but if what we know of Musk from his public persona is to be relied on, I doubt it would remain speculations for long.
***Thanks for reading…***
Relationships Rambles
Sometime yesterday, I was scrolling through my WhatsApp status when I came across a status post and it really got to me. I was like 'that's my article for today'. I'm not saying you should take it, as I'm not a relationship expert, I'm just saying the little I know.
**Trust, Then Love**
One of the first criteria for a relationship is love, at least that's what the movies make it look like and that's great too. But what most people call love,that feeling of euphoria, butterfly in my belly experience isn't something that will last forever. A relationship that's built on the promise of the perpetuation of that feeling will soon run into the ground. A good and healthy relationship is one that has both partner trusting it each other. For starters, you can truly love a person if you don't trust them. How so?
True love involves a conscious decision to commit to making another person happy all your life, because you trust they would be doing same for you all their life. A relationship without adequate amount of trust between the partners would soon start having issues. I'm not saying love without trust is a facade, although it is, but I'm saying as much as love is very important, trust takes an equal if not leading role up there.
**Happiness In A Relationship**
One of the reason we seek romantic relationships is to be happy. There's an established notion that our relationship should be a source of unending happiness. But what a lot of people don't know is that, happiness is,something you first develop within yourself. A relationship will not create one where there's none, but rather grow the one it finds in the person.
This is why you see some people who are in relationships with people you know to be nothing but angels still remain unhappy. You have to first learn to make yourself happy first and foremost. Make it easy to love you, don't be an insurmountable burden to a person you care about. Learn to make yourself happy first.
**Priority**
When you're in a relationship, it's only natural to want to be able to say you're his number one or her number one priority. You want them to treat you special and right at all times, you want them to flaunt you to their friends,you want them to show up on time for your date etc, and that's a good thing. Sometimes, it might seem like you're asking for too much from your partner, but you're not. There's totally nothing wrong in expecting your partner to turn up for you when you need them.
I know this from experience, because there was a time my partner could say she was suffering from same; me making her feel she was asking for the moon, when she was not. If a partner is making you feel that way, it's not your fault,don't blame yourself or try to make up excuses for them, it's not about you, it's about them. They are the ones who still do not understand what it means to be involved with a person. It's not you, always remember that.
**Time Can Mean Nothing**
When it comes things of the heart, time can mean very little. It's possible to have been with a relationship with someone for years, only to find a person whom you've known for less, mean well for you, more than the one you've been with for years. I'm not saying it's okay to be jumping from one partner to another, cause the next guy will always seem better and nicer than the one you're with. The lesson here is that, sometimes it can be clear as day what is. It's possible that you've been in an abusive relationship. That's a clear one.
Lead Image source **here** https://letlovebelouder.com/2020/09/03/5-characteristics-of-a-healthy-relationship-that-you-dont-find-in-a-toxic-relationship/
**Conclusion**
These statements, I would like to call it that, aren't expert relationship advice. They are more a thing that I drew from my introspection of a certain WhatsApp post as I stated earlier. Point is, if you take them too seriously at the detriment of your relationship, you're responsible😂😂
***Thanks for your time....***
Knowing My Personality
There's this 30-day challenge thing that stumbled upon when I read @Ellehcim article a few days back. I really found the question interesting. She should be on her day four by now, you might want to check her out. I've decided to also take,up the challenge. Of course, I won't be doing it on a streak, but I intend to go through all of it. I'm starting off today with the first question there, which is all about personality.
Describing my personality it's not really an east task. I know a lot of people would say that if you can't easily define your personality, then you do not know yourself and the consequent blah blah blah that follow, but that's incorrect. A typical description could something like 'I'm a kind, smart, independent, intelligent young lady with a passion for the arts. I'm always positive, hence I see opportunities where others see problems etc'. Beautiful right? Well, my personality isn't that simple to highlight. Take for example, I'm usually very kind, but when other will bring about the greater good, I can be a necessary brute. So, how do I define that? Kind, but necessarily unkind, see the problem. Anyways, I still have to try though. My personality can be summed using some of these characteristics.
Kindness
When it comes to kindness, you are going to find only a handful of people on this planet that can,very more kind than me, I can say that with absolute certainty. Even when I know my kindness is being taken for granted or being used against me, it hardly ever stops me from showing it. My kindness is both in action and in words, but a lot of people around me would disagree that I'm not kind with my words and I totally understand why they would say so. If I see a thing, I say it as honestly as it is, regardless of how it will seem. This is because, I honestly believe a person who cares about you will always tell you the truth the way it is and no less, cos they want to help you by showing you the problem, so you can fix it. So, by popular opinion, my kindness doesn't extend to my words.
Smart And/Or Intelligent
Most of my friends like to say I'm one of the smartest and most intelligent person in any room I find myself, and I like to think so. This is not me being boastful, but I'm hardly ever average in terms of intelligence and/or smartness. I remember a time when I was quite a manipulative person. It's not like I was doing it for any gain or to harm anyone, it was more of a mental sport, a hobby to me. Trust me, it's not as easy as it sounds. All through my life, I've always been at the top of the chart in terms of my academic performances, although that is gradually reducing.
Independence
I'm totally an independent person. I'm my own man in so many ways. Even when I was just say, five years old, I already had a mind of my own, a dangerously inquisitive one. I don't remember a time I ever took anything just the same way I was told or taught, without looking at it critically for myself first. I was so independent growing up, that I had almost no relationship with anyone, including my parents. Over the years though, I've learned how to maintain relationships and still keep one's independence. I'm finding it hard, but I'm doing it, trying to get the best of both worlds.
Tolerance
As a child, I was quite intolerant of things that went against what I had been taught was right. I was a moral extremist. I used to classify people and judge them on the basis of what they wore, the head cut they had and such trivia things. My mother was extremely worried about our moral standings, so she kind of drilled morality into our brains, so much that if I saw a girl and a boy standing alone, talking and laughing, I'd have concluded they are spoilt children, that they are promiscuous and are the bad eggs of the earth. But over time, I learnt that life isn't so simple and that's not the way to go. When I got into the university, my tolerance level starting growing rapidly, so much that you can be doing something i hate so much beside me, and I'll just pretend you're not doing it or I'll politely walk away.
That's not to say I'm always like that. There are some things I still don't tolerate from people, especially when I'm in a position of leadership over them. I might not stop you from doing it, but as long as it is wrong, there will be consequences for it.
I could go on and on, but I'm going to leave it here as my intention isn't to bore you to death.
***Thanks for taking out time to get to know my person by reading this article. I really appreciate it.***
@Methion
