tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290157215282257342024-03-12T21:07:28.782-05:00ASAKE OKINA tiny portion of what is on my mind.ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-49446370810147216652023-12-03T06:04:00.007-06:002023-12-03T06:24:43.302-06:00The Weight They Carry<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I spoke with a friend earlier in the year, and she was sad about her inability to financially support her brother's master's degree. She felt like a failed older sister. So, I asked her, "Money aside, how did you support your brother before he departed for school?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Her list included housing him, reviewing his application essays, coaching him for a visa interview, driving him to the embassy for his visa appointment, looking for an affordable ticket, organizing foodstuffs, packing his bags, and getting a friend to pick him up at the airport. It was not the first time a friend who is an older sibling complained about feeling like a failed first child.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Our conversation made me realize that many people, especially eldest siblings, often measure their contribution by how much they give their families and communities. Maybe this is how their families see their contributions too.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Growing up, my mom taught me that support comes in different forms. The person who helped us cross the road, the lady who visited us every Eid celebration, those who passed down their clothes to us, the boy who coached me in mathematics every holiday, the person who sent us a job vacancy, the cousin who paid for our expenses, a friend who housed us, and the neighbor who took us to the hospital were some of my mom's examples.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;">As a last child, I know this post is written from a privileged point of view, as I will never know what it feels like to be a first child. However, as the last child, I have rarely measured my siblings’ contributions based on money (except when I need to borrow some and have to figure out who can quickly lend me without any stress). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I have to admit that I sometimes view my siblings through a situational lens. I often say I have a sibling for every issue. I go to one sibling for travel advice, another for support with my ideas, and then another for brutal feedback. The one I go to when I'm being bullied or need someone to stand up for me is different from my career coach. I hope none of them feel burdened (especially financially) by me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;">As a last child, I also recognize that some families have invested so much in their first child, hoping that they can lift the other siblings. But the truth is, life does not always turn out as we plan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;">My appeal to everyone reading this post is to give your siblings grace and stop judging them based on money or how much they contribute. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif" style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Till next time, remember that the saying “you never know what battle someone is fighting” also applies to your loved ones.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></o:p></p>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-62379278893179795392023-03-17T11:02:00.004-05:002023-03-17T11:31:49.196-05:00Those Who Stepped Up<p style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Have you ever encountered someone who steps up to help children in need when they lose one or both of their parents or guardians?</span></p><p style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Growing up, there was a family that always had a full house. It wasn't until I was in secondary school that I realized who their biological children were. This family was always ready and willing to assist others, particularly children who had lost a parent or both parents.</span></p><p style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember when a relative of mine passed away, leaving behind several children. None of her siblings could single-handedly care for all her children, so they divided the responsibilities among themselves. Each of the siblings took in one of the children.</span></p><p style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">"Asake, I'm ready to get married now. My parents married early but struggled with infertility until their 40s. They had our youngest sibling when they were in their late 50s. I started working at a young age to help take care of my siblings, and now that our youngest is finishing up university, I feel like I'm in a position to take care of a wife," Deolu explained.</span></p><p style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">"Asake, it’s been tough lately. When my brother passed away, so many people promised to help me take care of my nephews. Unfortunately, none of them have followed through. To make matters worse, my fiancee recently broke off our engagement because she sees my nephews as financial burdens. Their mother remarried and couldn't take them along, so she left them with me. I'm doing my best to provide for them with my small salary and the profits from my side hustle, but it's barely enough. Almost 85% of my income goes towards meeting their needs, and sometimes I wish someone could just offer me some financial support. But no matter what, I can't imagine abandoning them. My brother was the best. I owe it to him to make sure his sons are taken care of," Ken said.</span></p><p style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">"When someone dies, things change. You know, I was raised by my uncle, and his wife took care of me like I was one of her own children from day one. She even resigned from her job as soon as I came to live with them, and she never treated me any differently than her biological children, even when they came along. My uncle has sponsored so many people from our village who now live abroad or in big Nigerian cities. I thought maybe some of them would help out because things are tough without him. It has been a long time since my aunt worked, and her industry has changed significantly, making it difficult for her to find a job. So now, I'm the breadwinner of this household, and it's been a real struggle. If you see me, abeg, give me a fat envelope; I need money," Hazimah said.</span></p><p style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">In many parts of Nigeria, it's common for surviving relatives to take on the responsibilities of children left behind by deceased family members. Unlike in some countries, there's little involvement or assistance from the court or social services in this arrangement. </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">But despite the challenges, there are countless heartwarming stories of relatives who stepped up to provide for these children. Today, I celebrate people like Ken, Hazimah, and Deolu who have risen to the occasion.</span></p><p style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Within your circle, there are stories like those of my friends. Please, let’s make a conscious effort to extend a helping hand to them, as they may be going through hard times. Losing a breadwinner or financier can be devastating, and it's easy for people to feel alone and unsupported. Whether it's through financial assistance, emotional support, or simply being there to listen, we can all play a part in helping those who are struggling.</span></p><p style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Till next time, please remember to include these loved ones in your giving plans!</span></p><p>
</p><p style="color: #252525;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></p>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-81803567718646697772023-03-10T23:30:00.001-06:002023-03-10T23:30:00.176-06:00About Q!<p><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">There is something about Q; it seems fine when your name begins with it 😊.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">But when it is not the first alphabet of your name, you have to expect that some people will misspell it. This post is an addendum to <a href="https://asake-okin.blogspot.com/2021/06/bilqees.html">BILQEES</a> (a blog post named after me on my blog).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Some years ago, when I began my career, I noticed a couple of people would switch the “q” in my name with “g”. Whenever I reply to such a person, I would sign BilQees hoping that the person would pick up the hint. Most times, they did. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">As long as I can remember, I always write my name in block letters on official forms as this was the usual instruction in Nigeria. Recently, I decided to write my name in sentence case. I am happy to inform you that after so many years, someone wrote my name with a “g”. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">The mix-up is understandable because q and g when written in lowercase sometimes look alike. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Till next time, consider writing your name in block letters (capital letters) if your name contains letters that are commonly misspelled or confused with other letters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: x-small;"><i>This post was reviewed by ChatGPT. </i></span></p><div><br /></div>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-41942157299045454282022-10-23T08:44:00.005-05:002023-03-10T20:43:01.128-06:00Bare!<p><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">This post started as a caption for a photo on Instagram.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">As a member of the overthinking club, I was about to sit on this for a while but decided to post whatever I wrote. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I sometimes fall into the rat hole of perfectionism, especially in my non-professional life. I think, talk, and dream of the idea but because my work in progress is not “perfectly perfect”, I may delay executing it. </span><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I have come to realize that in life, some people are starters, some are builders, some are scalers, and some are closers. Some people have</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"> a healthy mix of everything, and it is ok if you are not one of them. Acknowledge it,</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"> i</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">dentify where you fall, and surround yourself with people who can help you execute the idea. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">When I started my blog, I used to write whatever came to mind, but as I grew, I wanted something that would inspire me and others reading it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Many people may not know that I had a short-lived photography blog, but I closed it down because I was not sure my work was “ready” to be seen, forgetting that I was doing it for the love of art. I love taking pictures (I wrote about it here, <a href="https://asake-okin.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-amateur-photographer.html" target="">The-amateur photographer</a>)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Reflecting, I realized that a past conversation may have influenced my diminished interest in putting content out. In my early days of blogging, I was advised by a close friend to think about monetizing my blog. I remember telling her this was just a hobby, and I was not interested in monetizing it. But as time went on, I started questioning whether whatever I wrote was as good as the monetized blog, and I had a similar question about my photography.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">While I don’t have a closing paragraph for this post, I have decided to keep enjoying my hobby and share them once in a while, even if they are not perfect.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQA6P7UTOwz3Y-JhNfvfzbjFXAd2JT0MRIR1qzYdrdWzkpi-YFMPvIcWF3wSyPogrKHLBL81Gpc3hh2i2CzGtsmSIVkUc9Yi25n9Q7AA_nyqsEzexTroED7QPKgjq3IJdoEUIP30NVeL2L7P-3xO3-BnM6_qFYpt4nlmlK-ErWTN7M0caA5cDnpr0/s4128/20131210_033314_Original.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQA6P7UTOwz3Y-JhNfvfzbjFXAd2JT0MRIR1qzYdrdWzkpi-YFMPvIcWF3wSyPogrKHLBL81Gpc3hh2i2CzGtsmSIVkUc9Yi25n9Q7AA_nyqsEzexTroED7QPKgjq3IJdoEUIP30NVeL2L7P-3xO3-BnM6_qFYpt4nlmlK-ErWTN7M0caA5cDnpr0/w320-h180/20131210_033314_Original.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">PS: I took this photograph in 2013, one of my first “up-in-the-air” photos.</span></p>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-52607827692027695302022-03-05T22:53:00.015-06:002023-03-10T20:47:54.367-06:00Nakumbuka wewe<div><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Do you remember them?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Those that left.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">I still remember them.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">I hate to admit I have forgotten some names.</span><br /><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">But I remember something about them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">My earliest memory was in primary school.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She was my classmate's younger sister.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember her.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She lived down the road.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She was my childhood best friend's "street daughter."</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember her.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember him.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">He lived a street away from me.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">He was a nice person and always smiling.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">His older brother is friends with my folks, so I remember him.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember his burial.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I never met him, but I met one of his daughters. We were at NYSC camp together.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Witnessing his burial humbled me.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">My brain could not process how he did not scream or push back when lowered to the ground.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">How could I ever forget her?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She was my indomie eating partner.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She was the coolest grandma ever! My grandma. She birthed my fave. </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She always tried to ensure I did not get home late after visiting her.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Whatever you give her, she would always give some out. Always!</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I have many memories of her, her bus stop, slang, indomie, picture, and calmness.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember her.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">We met during USIU orientation and became friends - close friends. </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember her smile.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She was so kind.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Even though I met most of her family members after her death, they all knew who I was.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Do you remember him?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Of course, I remember him.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">One of the most hardworking people I have ever met.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">We called him by his surname.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">He was a shining star.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">An extraordinary sales and business manager.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember where I was when I heard the news of his demise, it shook the team. </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Do you remember her?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">How could I ever forget her?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She made my university life more manageable.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Herself and NG started award night.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She was one of my marketing north stars.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She was fearless.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She was our Lily<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">I remember who handed me the phone and who broke the news. </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">He was like a father; he treated me like I was his.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">We had the same complexion and lived beside each other, so people thought I was his.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember him.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">We always discussed my results and plans.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">He always gave me "something" to take to school. </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">He would randomly call to check up on me.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She was my grandma.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">The one that told me my oriki is Asake-Okin.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I heard stories of how she took care of me when I was little.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She would tell me stories when I visited and ask after everyone. </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember her smile.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"> </span></p><div><br /></div><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I lived on a street named after her. How could I ever forget her? Fearless!</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">His nickname is the contested area between Nigeria and Cameroon. <span>He was so kind and warm. I remember him. </span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span></span></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember him; he was my first employer. I interned at the organization where he was a partner.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">How can I forget him?</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">He was like mine; his brother thinks I am their mom's biological sister. </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">I attended his naming ceremony.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">I was with him sometime last year.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember his infectious smile. </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Most people could carry him; he was not too clingy to his mom. </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><b>I remember so many others! So many!</b></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I remember those that did not come home.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">The one I already shopped for.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">The one I planned to spoil.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">The one that left before I even started planning.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Shangazi yako inakumbuka wewe. </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I am grateful I met you or thought about you.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Till next time, remember death is the only sure thing in life. </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><i style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: small;">*Nakumbuka wewe means I miss you or I remember you. </i><br /><i style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: small;">*Shangazi yako inakumbuka wewe means your aunty remembers you</i><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: x-small;"><i>*Translated using my basic knowledge of Swahili, Google Translate, and webtran.eu</i></span></p></div></blockquote><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p></div></blockquote><div><p></p></div><div><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p></div></div>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-75110360832261445712021-12-02T18:05:00.004-06:002023-03-10T20:48:59.898-06:00This journey!<p><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: "Century Gothic";">It is not that they do not care.</span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">It is just that they do not know how to bring up the conversation.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">They saw how excited you were when you started the journey.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">They saw how sad you were when you were unable to complete it.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">They are not sure if bringing it up will trigger you.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">They chose to keep quiet out of care.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Some of them will call to have random conversations.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Some of them will avoid calling because they are afraid they will bring it up.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">They might not be able to walk a mile in your shoes, but their feet also hurt.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">It is not that they do not care.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">It is not that they were hiding it.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">It is not that they did not value your relationship.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">It is just that they want to get to their destination before announcing it.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">They have been on this journey before but never got to the destination.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">While you cared to ask for the details then.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">The details sometimes became overwhelming when shared.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">And sharing led to comments like why didn’t you, you should have, next time try. Comments like that sometimes got to them, made them feel inadequate. Some comments open doors they never thought existed. </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">It is not that they do not care.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">It is just that they are also having a hard time.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">They do not want to compound yours with theirs, so they kept it to themselves.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Waiting can be daunting.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Waiting can be very emotional.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">We all waited for something or someone.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Some of us are still waiting. </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Emotionally supporting someone can be exhausting.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Not all emotional supports are verbal.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I have realized that sometimes silence is a form of emotional support.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">People care about you, they just have diverse ways of expressing it. </span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Till next time, switch things up!</span></span></p><ul style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Reach out and ask about their wellbeing(<a href="https://asake-okin.blogspot.com/2019/09/abewo.html">Àbèwò</a>)</span></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I am here if you need to talk about it. I have found this very powerful if communicated genuinely.</span></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Accept the fact that people are fighting their "own" battles. </span></span></li></ul>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-41398090861922188792021-06-02T14:58:00.006-05:002023-03-10T20:50:41.226-06:00BILQEES<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My name is Bilqees, that is the spelling on my birth certificate which was issued 11 days after my birth
in the late 80s. </span><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif">According to Islamic
history, it is the name of the Queen of Sheba. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif">Blessed with
different spelling variations, one of the first things my mother told me
about my name was if an official document issued to you </span><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif">is not spelt - B-I-L-Q-E-E-S then
that document doesn’t belong to you.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Well, I almost got kicked
out of primary school because the accountant spelt my name wrongly on
the school fees payment receipt and I refused to collect it. Aunty
Maggie, the accountant insisted on not writing me a new one, so I left her office.
Some weeks later, I was not allowed on the school premises because I was not
with the receipt. I tried to explain but I was sent home, I am not
sure AbdulGaniu (my older brother) realized I was not allowed into
the school premises.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I went back home and my
Grandma (May Allah grant her Al-janah Fridaous) followed me to school and said –
“My daughter, her mother will not pay 100% of ‘Ganiu’ s school fees and 0% of
Bilqees. And trust me, you do not want my daughter leaving work tomorrow to
come here”. Because my grandma was elderly, they listened to her and I was
issued a new receipt.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I have fought many
spelling battles after that, some I won, some I lost. You do not even want me
to get started on the pronunciation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">People tend to spell or
pronounce my name based on what they are familiar with. I get that but what I
do not get is when people who have my email address and sometimes see
the spelling of my name still choose to spell it differently - why do you
feel the need to spell my name differently?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Does your name have
varied spelling, if yes, please write in the comment below? </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Till next time, remember the alphabet “U” does not always come after a “Q”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"></p>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-17629979360645234162020-12-21T14:27:00.019-06:002021-12-04T21:15:04.279-06:0022329<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">This life has all kinds of tests.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">A smaller test can break one.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">And a bigger test can prepare one for an upcoming smaller
test.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Having gone through a bigger test, one might not realize it
when one is going through a smaller test.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Having gone through a bigger test, one might unintentionally
invalidate other people’s experiences by disregarding their struggles.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Having gone through a bigger test, one might be ungrateful
for “scaling” through a small hurdle.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"> </span></p>
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="text-align: left;">When I jumped down Moses Mabhida Stadium's(The Big Swing) in
2015, I was super scared of jumping but when I jumped, I didn’t feel any
adrenaline rush. Weird right?</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="156" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ijuJPnPPFT8" width="202" youtube-src-id="ijuJPnPPFT8"></iframe></span></div><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">When I reflected on the fact that I didn’t feel any rush, I
concluded it was because I had experienced a “bigger” rush in 2013. A 240km/h
rush was a result of being on the fastest roller coaster in the world - Formula
Rossa.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">So, when someone who had been on The Big Swing talks about
their adrenaline rush, I cannot relate.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Instead of
disregarding their experience, I am learning to treat it like my bigger test.
By doing so, I hope to be more compassionate.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Instead of
thinking of the small test as nothing, I am learning to practice gratitude.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Instead of sharing my unsolicited similar experience, I am learning to actively listen and ask relevant questions about their own experience.</span></li></ul><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Till next time, you might want to practice active listening,
compassion, and gratitude.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxC9Pz1yvzIUT-NI8L9NcH3W77OiinYtJ_obw8GRZsq-j8NehGZdtT6V2WvSxfZ-fCJfc-fxo3M3UmhXX9XHjLxLo8dyAPLKgsihncRPNjIqd9T7Dq8gbu8oT0NtAVFzYF_TmJXib_aA/s827/b9ea7693-936f-4eaf-ab80-73f9d28b534e.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="827" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxC9Pz1yvzIUT-NI8L9NcH3W77OiinYtJ_obw8GRZsq-j8NehGZdtT6V2WvSxfZ-fCJfc-fxo3M3UmhXX9XHjLxLo8dyAPLKgsihncRPNjIqd9T7Dq8gbu8oT0NtAVFzYF_TmJXib_aA/s320/b9ea7693-936f-4eaf-ab80-73f9d28b534e.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />PS: In case you are wondering what 22329 means it was my
jump number.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> <br /><br /></span></o:p></p><br /><p></p>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-13903789408756476492020-10-01T13:44:00.009-05:002021-02-06T16:56:24.874-06:00The amateur photographer <p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif">I
have called myself an amateur photographer for a long time. If my memory serves
me right, I have been calling myself that for 6 years. I am thinking of
changing it to DSLR owner – it sounds funky right – I know </span><span face=""Segoe UI Emoji", sans-serif">😊</span><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif">.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Somedays
ago, I stumbled on my first camera. I got it towards the end of Senior Secondary
School. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think a day student helped me
to buy it, I do remember my childhood friend Rafiat playing a big role in
getting it. It is an analog camera; I took a couple of secondary school
graduation pictures with it. I still wonder why I did not include the camera in
the list of things I own. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess it is
time to update my asset register. Well, the first thing I must do is to download
it from my brain and keep a soft or hard copy that is accessible to relevant
people. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">My "second" camera was not mine really, it belonged to my Dad, but I used it most of
the time till it spoilt. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, it did
not get spoilt on my watch. My Dad did not want to fix it in Nairobi (the
Capital of Kenya oh!, not the character from the Netflix series) because he got
it on one of his business travels, so he thought it was best to take it back there on his next trip to the country of purchase. Guess what? They could not
fix it, so he got another one. Thinking about it now, the unfixed camera must have
been the reason I did not buy the brand when I got my official second camera.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">I
love pictures, I love to take and be taken, I used to have over a thousand
pictures (uploaded by me) on Facebook. When I started earning, it was only natural to
include a camera in my must-have list. I think it was the first or second item
I purchased when I visited my cousin in the US. I was super excited to own a
professional camera. Back then, I was blogging consistently so I thought I should
start another blog (for photography) – I must have named it “through my lens or something related”
but when I started taking pictures with it, I could not bring myself to post
most of them. I realized I enjoyed going through them on my camera. I ended up
closing the blog. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had photography
plans, I really did <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– I planned to sign up for Shola Animashaun’s class while a
colleague who was giving me professional photography tips advised that I should
get a different lens – I was going to buy myself the lens after passing a level
in the professional exam I was doing – Well, guess Consequence Management: does
not bring out the best in me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDajANN4Uajvgrf7V_tPxEO4aQxEDLU7d64DU7zL8lciKKKT2-lRShYg3mTsUzcprcy3NqMAY9ItK2AZKTihR-Q4TIXPs97ePVt4PIZGemH-dQOAHASOqaxYs0P_eL8ISVtmwcd6emPBo/s1024/8cb4ecea-f25a-49d9-9d4c-dfc26466c9ec.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1024" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDajANN4Uajvgrf7V_tPxEO4aQxEDLU7d64DU7zL8lciKKKT2-lRShYg3mTsUzcprcy3NqMAY9ItK2AZKTihR-Q4TIXPs97ePVt4PIZGemH-dQOAHASOqaxYs0P_eL8ISVtmwcd6emPBo/w200-h133/8cb4ecea-f25a-49d9-9d4c-dfc26466c9ec.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span>As
some of you may know, I am #TeamWindowseat and when it is safe to do so, I love
to take “up in the air” photographs. I have this strong feeling that one day, I
might put them up or have a photography showcase within the limits of Islam.
Yes, there are some rulings on photography in Islam. </span><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
</div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Till
next time, think about the story behind that tucked away the item you stumbled on
recently. To keep or to trash? You decide.</span></p></div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Edited
by Opeyemi Eniola Dada & Dolapo Ajayi</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">PS:
One of my editors asked what DSLR is – I told her to Google it </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-char-type: symbol-ext; mso-hansi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-symbol-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">😊</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><i><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif">DSLR
- Digital Single Lens Reflex</span>. <span>DSLR camera is a type of digital camera.
According to</span> <span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif"><a href="https://photographylife.com/what-is-a-dslr">photographylife.com</a>, </span><span face=""Century Gothic", sans-serif">a DSLR is a digital camera that
uses a mirror mechanism to either reflect light from a camera lens to an
optical viewfinder (which is an eyepiece on the back of the camera that one
looks through to see what they are taking a picture of) or let light fully pass
onto the image sensor (which captures the image) by moving the mirror out of
the way</span></i></span></p></div>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-42860606809317811502020-09-08T14:16:00.009-05:002021-02-04T15:05:21.167-06:00Ise abi alafia 2.0<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">As I waited for my turn at the paying till I couldn’t help
but hear everything the man behind me was saying on the phone. “Yes, I
understand he is ill and on admission, but this update cannot wait. Do you know
if he has his laptop with him at the hospital?
He’s one of your best subordinates, those figures should be top of mind,
I do not mind an estimate at this time”. He kept talking while I wheeled my
shopping cart out of the supermarket.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">As I was about to judge him, I wondered if I have ever done
the same. If there were times, I should have been more compassionate.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">Hey, I am not feeling too well. I spoke with the doctor and
she recommended some medications. Once the pain subsides, I will log in and
attend to important tasks. As I laid in tears, praying for the pain to go away
I could not help but think about the meetings I have missed and all the updates
I promised to share before COB.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">As I was about to judge myself, I wondered what I could have
done better to prevent the pain.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">A colleague once said, if you work within a team and based
on your organization’s information policy, other team members are permitted to
have information, please share it with them as this can make the work better on
days you are unavoidable absent.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">I haven’t figured out how to stop feeling guilty on my sick
days so let me throw it out there, how do you mentally handle being away from
work when you are indisposed?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Till next time, remember to also be compassionate to
yourself.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Ise means work</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">abi means or</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">alafia can be loosely translated as
wellbeing or good health</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">COB - Close of
business</span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">This post was edited by Dolapo Ajayi</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/829015721528225734/4286060680931781150"><span style="color: blue;">You can read the first ise or alafia here</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></o:p></p><p></p>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-45946932121860421302019-11-04T11:18:00.003-06:002020-09-27T12:33:25.097-05:00Omitted!<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt;">People told stories of how their Mothers cooked a whole
chicken when they attainted womanhood! aka saw their monthly period aka the
visitor aka that time of the month. Whatever it is called, you get the gist, right?
I was in boarding school, so no one cooked a whole chicken for me, but my
friend did celebrate like I won a lottery. It was a tradition back then to
celebrate your friend when their period came. People who started their period
while on holiday came back to either announce it in the hostel or “display” an
unused pad in a manner that sends the message.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">I can’t remember when I started my period, but I can remember
taking sanitary pad to boarding school and “lending” it out with the hope of
collecting it back when my period finally started. I never had the opportunity
to collect it for some terms, in fact I never collected it back but las las my
period came. It came after our teachers and parents had started talking about
reproductive system and sexual education. I thought I knew what to expect; use
sanitary pad, starts every 25-28 days, stay off groundnut, no salat days, 3-4
days max, stay off “sugary” things, the list was long, so I assumed nothing was
omitted. People around me had been on their period. I have two elder sisters so
it cannot be that different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boy, I wish
I knew better!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">I wish I knew my school uniform was not immune to period
stain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">I wish I knew changing my pad every 3 hours does not
guarantee a stain-free day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">I wish I knew boys would tease me when I got stained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">I wish I knew my period can come about 2 days earlier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">I wish I knew my period could get delayed for 5-8days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">I wish I knew how to tell people that I was not sleeping
because of Ramadan but I was sleeping because I took pain medication and sleeping
is one of the side effects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">I wish I knew how to tell people that I am not fasting
because it is that time of the month and I could not get an enclosed place to
eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">I wish I knew I would walk out of several examination halls
because I could not handle the period pain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">My friend who was not allowed to go out of her house without
parental approval wished she knew how to tell her older brother she needed
sanitary pad.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">Below are some other things that might have been omitted <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">Your
period can be longer than 5 days, yes, I know people who bleed for 7 days.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Your
period can be shorter than 5 days, I know people who bleed for less than 5 days.</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Your period
pain is not universal, some people do not experience any pain. So, don’t blame
them when they do not understand your struggle.</span></li>
<li><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Your threshold
for handling pain is not universal. It is ok to use a prescribed pain
medication. Please see a gynecologist or doctor to prescribe the best pain
medication.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Your
prescribed pain medication might have side effects. Please ensure this is
discussed with your doctor.</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Your period
flow is not universal, some people do finish a pack of sanitary pad on their
first day.</span></li>
<li><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Your
preferred absorbent material is your preference. People should be encouraged and
not forced to try other hygienic options – Pads, tampons and menstrual cups.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Your period
blood does have a smell, remember to change your pad as often as possible and
clean down there regularly.</span>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Discuss
with your gynecologist, if your period smell change is accompanied with unusual
symptoms</span>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Your
decision to stay off sugar is not universal. People have different tolerance
level for various things during their monthly period. For example, I crave
sugary things, I take sugary things, and nothing happens to me but there’s
something that I observed that if I do take, I can end up in the clinic or
hospital. The goal is to understand your body and know what to stay off during
this period.</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Your religion
might have a “period ritual”, it is important to understand and learn it if
possible.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">If you
have a vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries, it is important you see
the gynecologist at least once a year or once in 2 years (depending on your
Gynecologist guidance after your first appointment).</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span face=""century gothic" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">If you
have inconsistent monthly cycle, tracking your period might help your
Gynecologist understands you better.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #2a2a2a; display: inline; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">Till next time, in the comment section, please include some important points that I might
have omitted.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">This post was edited by Dolapo Ajayi.</span></span></div>
ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-16729280050677789552019-09-13T06:11:00.006-05:002021-12-02T17:16:51.359-06:00Àbèwò <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;">Have
you ever chatted with someone one day and then the next, the person was dead?
At least, I knew my friend was ill because we spoke on the phone a couple of
times. It took me a while to forgive myself for not visiting her in the
hospital, but I find solace in the fact that we spoke a couple of times.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;">“Asake,
it is not possible, I chatted with her yesterday and she said she was fine when
I asked her how she was doing. We chat every week and she never mentioned she wasn’t
feeling well, she never mentioned she had been on admission for a month. How
was I supposed to know she went through a surgery? I thought we were close, I
thought we were best of friends…” Yeni kept lamenting with tears in her eyes.
Yeni hadn’t spoken with her friend for months but they chatted every week.
Tola, her friend went to the hospital for minor surgery (that was what her
doctors called appendicitis) but never left the hospital alive.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;">Life
of the party, you are out this Saturday again, I commented on Omotoke’s
WhatsApp update. “Which party? Don’t be deceived, I am just bored, I am waiting
for the Doctor to discharge me” Omotoke said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;">Doctor?
I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;">“Yes
Asake, I was admitted on Tuesday, in fact, I was rushed here from my office”
Omotoke said, while she was explaining her prognosis, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for myself because on Thursday I
wished<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was with Omotoke when she
uploaded the image of legs while on the beach with “chilling” as the caption. I
kept on saying to myself, you work too hard, instead of you to take some leave
days to chill by the beach like Omotoke. If only I knew.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">A
while ago, I was having what I thought was a very good chat with my friend but
since we hadn’t spoken in a while, I decided to continue the conversation as a
voice call. The moment I asked how she was doing; she broke down and in tears
explained what she is going through which was different from the happy vibe I
got from our initial chat.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;">Some
weeks ago, my eldest brother called me and could sense something in my voice,
he asked how I was doing, and I said fine. He called back the next day just to
gist with me but deep down, I knew he was checking up on me to ensure my mood
had either changed or I was willing to talk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">As
life gets busier, we often send short or quick messages in form of texts or
chats to our loved ones. We tend to assume their happy social media update
reflect their reality, we call less and visit lesser. You might not be able to
visit all your loved ones in a year but try to call them at least once in 6
months – what you have missed might amaze you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">Till
next time, do one voice call</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">Abewo
means “checking up on someone”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">This
post was edited by Dolapo Ajayi</span></p>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-29744079597621440692019-06-16T14:39:00.002-05:002020-09-27T12:34:06.887-05:00Ile-Epo <span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br />
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">When I started driving, I had three guiding
principles –<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">1.</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Top up my fuel at half tank</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">2.</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Always buy full tank when I drive into a
fueling station</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">3.</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">When broke, buy fuel - at least I can still
move around.</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Topping up my car at half tank made it easy
to mentally calculate the true value of the fuel I bought</span><span face=""Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">😁</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Yeah, I sometimes use excel but I have to
know at the pump)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">One day on my way out, I decided to top up my
fuel which was a little above half tank but something weird happened. The cost
was over my usual spend and my tank was far from full. I told the station
attendant to stop when it was a </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">₦</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">1,000
above my average spend then challenged him. “Madam your gauge might be bad o,
“he said. While driving out, I told him he just lost a customer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">I wasn’t paying any attention to the fuel
meter because I was trying to get out the keg I use to fuel my generator. “Your
money is </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">₦</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">5,000 she said, this one is </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">₦</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">1,500 and the one I sold into the car is
3500” The station attendant said. But why did you clear off the previous one
before showing me?” I questioned. As we were going back and forth, my colleague
emerged from the car and said, "no, I saw everything, you sold </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">₦</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">2,650 into the car". Then the station
attendant began to stammer. While giving her </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">₦</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">5,000
I told her she just lost a customer. Trust my colleague to collect my change on
my behalf.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">I started defaulting on my first guiding
principle because I had to buy fuel from a tested and trusted fueling station<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Over the years, I have marked a couple of
fueling stations never to return to because of dubious transactions. I also
have my regular petrol stations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">One day, I went to one of my regular fueling
stations but the bill for a full tank did not make any sense. At a similar fuel
level with my previous purchases, it was about three thousand Naira above my
usual spend. I kept going back to the station and switched attendants then
realized it was a particular one. Without concrete evidence, I couldn’t report him,
but I challenged him and told him I wasn’t going to buy from him again. It was
at that point I said to myself “Maybe it is not the fueling station, maybe it
is the attendant”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Last year, I decided to return to the </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">₦</span><span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">5,000 fueling station, it is one of my best
budget decisions<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Do you have an ‘Ile-Epo” story to share? We
would love to hear from you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br />
Ile - means "house" in Yoruba<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p></o:p>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Epo - means "petrol" or "palm
oil" in Yoruba<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p></o:p>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Ile-Epo is also the name of a market in Lagos
state, Nigeria <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span face=""Century Gothic",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">This post was edited by Dolapo Ajayi<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span><br />
ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-42736500448464566852019-05-22T12:18:00.011-05:002021-12-02T18:36:11.029-06:00Maybe<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><i>Maybe he doesn’t know, but you never asked.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><i>Maybe she doesn’t have, but you never asked. <o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><i>You assumed you know her, but her appearance is far from her
struggles.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><i>You assumed he is happy, but his smile is plastic. </i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">I couldn’t help but notice she wasn’t properly dressed for
salaat. I tried to focus on the lecture, but I kept thinking about her. When I
finally had the opportunity to speak with her, she said: “I don’t like going to
the mosque because people stir at me like I have done something wrong”. I asked
her why she was dressed the way she was, but her answer shocked me. “This is
the only scarf I have,” she said. A year or a two before that, I had 50 scarfs,
it had never crossed my mind that there are people who do not have scarfs for
salat.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">“Asake, she’s fasting but never joins us in congregational
prayers. Today, I challenged her, but her response surprised me”, Musa said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">“I don’t have a Khimar and our uniform is a short sleeve
with jeans, so I pray when I get home” She replied. The lady works in Musa’s
office as an office assistant.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Asake, I greeted the ladies before proceeding to the
pharmacy section of the supermarket. I asked the pharmacist for pregnancy
strips then the ladies switched to their local dialect. “Imagine this small
girl already sleeping around, how old is she that she allowed a man to knock
her up,” one of the Ladies said. “Poor girl, I pray the test is negative, so
she can plan better in the future,” the second lady said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">On my way out, I greeted them again and they smiled. I
turned to them and spoke in their local language “I finished University more
than 7 years ago and I have been working since then, I have been married for a
while and we have been trying to conceive so I pray the test is positive.” Jade
narrated.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Known for making excuses on
behalf of people, Jade concluded with “I guess it is because I don’t wear a wedding
band”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Till next time, before you jump to conclusions, give the
benefit of MAYBE</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">This post was edited by Dolapo Ajayi</span></p><p></p></div>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-61281532190601420242019-05-18T03:11:00.003-05:002020-09-27T12:35:10.813-05:00Self encouragement <span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">It’s been a long
while. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
</span><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">
I have written several posts in my head but it’s a constant battle between what
I think I should share on my blog and what I shouldn’t. Not much has
changed between my last post and now, but a lot has changed.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">
I am hoping with the post, I encourage myself to write on this blog again.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
Till next time, don’t give up on yourself<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-88521843014728609812018-07-02T08:51:00.001-05:002020-09-27T12:35:30.235-05:00I failed <span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I couldn’t remember the last time I woke up with so much
confidence.</span><br />
</span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">I knew only one person who
had passed it the first time.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Those who had passed
recently had done it more than once.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">I was determined to take and
pass it the first time. I think I was fixated on passing it the first time.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">I followed most of my usual
routine and I was very sure it would work. The only time it had not worked was
when I was emotionally stressed but this time I was emotionally neutral.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">As I drove to the testing
center, I mentally composed my success SMS.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Usually, I don’t review my
answers once I am done with an examination, but I wanted to ensure I got way
higher than 300 and that I had reviewed each and every question more than once.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt;">As I raised up my hand to
notify the test administrator of my completion, I hurriedly completed the
survey so that the congratulatory message can appear. I was thinking of the appropriate
time to update my LinkedIn profile when my score appeared - 297<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">To this day, I am super
grateful that I failed that examination. It was an eye-opening experience
that taught me humility and the importance of surrounding yourself with the
right support system.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<o:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt;">
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt;">I toyed with the idea of
rewriting the examination. I thought about picking up another goal to achieve
but this was the final examination before I would become certified. It was no
longer about passing the exam. It was about achieving a set goal but then the
thought of failing again scared me. It paralyzed me. I initially gave myself
different excuses for not paying for the examination then one day, I decided to
give it all my all. I paid for the examination. I still remember whose card I
used and where I was at that moment. I bought the highly recommended reference
books on Amazon and my friends brought them to Nigeria. I studied the
dictionary, bought an online quiz and I reached out to colleagues who had
passed to guide me. One of them even gave me one of his notes. I took some time
off work and stayed at my parents’ home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Then the scored appeared –
299! I was petrified. I cried!!! It was painful. In case you did not know, the
pass mark is 300. I planned to write the following month, but I wasn’t
psychologically ready. I had moved into a new role in a different department
and the certification was no longer as important as it was in my previous
department. However, the final paper was applicable in every department and the
certification was part of my goal.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">I gradually started reading
again, posted my dilemma on the examination online networking site. Someone
reached out to me, shared some resources and relevant tips. I also evaluated my
use of technology, I sometimes get distracted by work-related task (the beauty
of agile working) or social media during studying period, I guess the iPad I
got as a gift came in handy as I moved all my study materials there. Just
like the previous module, I decided to take my examination a few hours before
going on vacation but this time around, I sincerely asked Allaah for help. When
I opened my eyes, I saw the highest mark in my CPIM journey.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Till next time, remember
“Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the
ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success.
I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing.” – J.K. Rowling<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 10pt;">This post was edited by Lerato Ndlovu
of https://blvbookclub.com/</span></div>
ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-45041228682790089482017-02-11T14:39:00.003-06:002021-12-04T21:16:07.349-06:00Star struck<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br />
</span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 11pt;">I cannot remember which match it was but I remember he sped like an Okada.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p></o:p>
<br />
</span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 11pt;">He
was one of the reasons I started watching football.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p></o:p>
<br />
</span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 11pt;">I
listened to Brilla FM and read Complete sport just to know how he was doing. I
spoke about him as if we were related.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p></o:p>
<br />
</span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 11pt;">I
remember hurrying out of my GCE Mathematics examination just to watch the World
Cup qualifier. Even though he scored twice we did not qualify.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p></o:p>
<br />
</span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 11pt;">When
he moved to England and my team played against his team, I could not decide whether
to support Chelsea or Newcastle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p></o:p>
<br />
</span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 11pt;">When
I had the opportunity to travel, I would look around for him at the airport –
waiting to get a photograph with him that I can finally put it up with a
caption – Guess who was star struck today?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p></o:p>
<br />
</span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 11pt;">@asakeokin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p></o:p>
<br />
</span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 11pt;">11/2/2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"><o:p></o:p>
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</span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 11pt;">This
post was inspired by the @africanwriters February challenge - day 10 title
is Star struck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-47492997546755989542017-02-10T15:28:00.002-06:002021-03-03T09:40:34.768-06:00New beginnings<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">There was no sunshine or moonlight. I am certain there were
no stars. I could hear sounds, but it seems far away. It was always dark, and I
wanted to leave every day but at the end of the day I find myself exactly where
I started.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Today I decided to run. I kept running till I reached a dead-end, previously I would have turned back but today, I decided to hit the
surface that always prevented me from going further. I thought it was a hard
wall and I would get injured but surprisingly it was a wooden door and I broke
it down.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">For the first in a very long time, I watched the sunset, the
moon glow and the stars glittering. Today is my new beginning, the day I
decided to break the top of every tunnel so that whether it is sunny, the moon
is out, or the stars are shining I can always find my new beginning.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">@asakeokin</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">___________________________________________</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">This post was inspired by the @africanwriters February
challenge - day 9 title is New beginnings.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Thanks to Lerato (blvbookclub) for editing this post</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div>
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ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-12785348369253016842016-12-01T05:29:00.000-06:002019-06-06T12:52:09.094-05:00BLVbookclub's post: BE A SMART MONEY WOMAN<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">I am one of those
people who never finish reading a self-help book or a biography but buys them
whenever I am going through one of those low moments. I cannot remember when I
started following Arese on Instagram, but I think I clicked on her profile from
a post Nimi Akinkugbe put up. Arese’s “The Smart Money Woman” book launch/tour
flooded my IG timeline frequently, but I thought it was another self-help book
and that thought brought back memories of how I struggled to complete “Rich Dad
Poor Dad” while in University. I am one of those people who pride myself in
saving before spending so when my friend Bukola handed over Arese’s book to me as
a late birthday gift, I was wondering what more I can learn. <a href="http://blvbookclub.com/2016/12/01/be-a-smart-money-woman/">Click to
continue</a></span><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Edited by Lerato Nkanyezi
Ndlovu </span><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-27254331382651364732016-09-09T05:55:00.001-05:002021-01-14T15:04:12.391-06:00 Lẹẹkansi<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Yaay!! My first personal post of 2016 – Yes, I usually don’t write about
myself. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Two weeks ago, I realized I graduated 6
years ago. 6years of absolute change and transformation. When I was leaving
University and relocating back home - I had only two goals – two
goals I am yet to achieve. Looking back at the goals, I feel if I had
achieved them, I wouldn’t be the better version of myself today; hence, I am
very thankful<span style="font-size: 18px;">.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My life has taught me not to judge
people by their “yesterday” and to give them the benefit of a doubt even if
they hurt* you because if anyone had judged me by my very subtle past, the
person is probably reading the 5<sup>th</sup> edition of a book that now
has a 15<sup>th</sup> edition.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">I remember reading a pre-wedding story
on Bellanaija where the husband stated his fiancée used to be a party hopper and
he was not that kind of guy, so they went separate ways. Years later when he
met her, she was a transformed lady and they are getting married. What if he
never gave her a second chance?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">I also remember the story about a guy
who used to have sugar mummies in University and did not know whether to
mention his past to his bride to be. Four years after marriage with a second
baby on the way, his wife still thanks her friend for introducing them. The
peace of mind and love in her home cannot be compared with any of the
relationships she has experienced including her parents own – who are your
regular upright prayer point couple.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">To be honest, I can go on and on about
stories on how people have changed and how a second chance should be given.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">I saw this quote on my friend’s profile
–“When someone treats you like an option, help them narrow their choices by
removing yourself from the equation” I remember replying “When you have the
opportunity, treat them way better but try as much as possible not to be
available to them again” – (maybe I should let go of the “again” if they come
back willingly – give them a second chance, if they mess up again – then let
go)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">Till next time, remember age does not
equal maturity, when life happens, we are forced to grow up faster than others.
You might have met someone in their immature stage, they probably have grown up
now – give them a second chance. </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">*Hurt: excludes hurt in an abusive
manner. Please, if someone is abusing you – physically, sexually, emotionally –
get yourself to a safe haven then get counselling</span></i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">L</span>ẹẹ<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">kansi
is a</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yoruba</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">word that means </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">again",
"try again", "one more time" and maybe "Second chance</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">This post was edited by AOB </span></p>
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ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-85550200494027954222016-08-04T05:19:00.003-05:002019-06-06T12:57:32.789-05:00BLVbookclub's post: The Path<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Do you
think you have never walked <a href="http://blvbookclub.com/2016/08/04/the-path/"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">the path</span></a>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">That
path you are ashamed to speak about, that path you were the victim at the same
time the person to be blamed or that path you initiated someone into thinking
it is the right path. Your home became silent with the mention of the path. We
all know the path exists, sometimes we know people who have been through the
path, we want to speak about it but silent seems like the best form of dialogue<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="https://blvbookclub.wordpress.com/2016/08/04/the-path/"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Click here to continue reading</span></a><o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">This post was edited by Fadekemi <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-77888383447031273882016-03-30T04:59:00.000-05:002019-06-06T12:58:46.825-05:00Bella Naija's post: Hakuna Nyumbani! Let’s Join Hands to Help Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 10pt;">I must have missed the
Social Studies class, or I was carried away with my teacher’s eloquence and
“poshness” that I didn’t recall whether she taught migration happens willingly
or unwillingly. For a very long time, I thought people always migrated
willingly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <a href="http://www.bellanaija.com/2016/03/asake-okin-hakuna-nyumbani-lets-join-hands-to-help-internally-displaced-persons-in-nigeria/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">Click me to continue reading </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-41646607288620205572015-10-12T11:28:00.000-05:002016-03-30T05:01:59.888-05:00Bella Naija's post: Borrowership 101<span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'bookman old style', serif;">In Principle of Finance class, I
was taught that the sources of funding include; family and friends (F&F),
grants, financial institutions etc. Apart from F&F, other sources might
require the borrower to meet certain criteria. (Read up the 5 Cs of credit
if you are getting funds from a financial institution.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to clean-up my internet banking by deleting
beneficiaries I did not foresee future transactions with. As I cleaned it up, I
realized about 3 or 4 people who promised to payback funds borrowed by month
end did not fulfil their promise – 2 out of these people never mentioned
anything about the money till date.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><a href="http://www.bellanaija.com/2015/10/06/asake-okin-borrowership-101/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Click
here to continue reading </span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Edited by AOB</span>ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-38589876216700083772015-06-17T08:15:00.000-05:002019-06-06T13:05:36.049-05:0024days <div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style", serif; font-size: 11pt;"> “Asake,
I dread my daughter coming home today, I am going to get all sort of mood from
her and it wasn’t my fault. How do I explain it to her that the ATM did not
dispense but my account was debited? You see, I bought her siblings books last
week but most of hers were not in store, she ran home yesterday excited about
her textbook being available and I promised to get it today. This morning after
they left home, I decided to withdraw money from the ATM and it didn’t
dispense, I walked into the banking hall and I was told it would be reversed in 5
working days. Before you ask neither my husband nor I have spare money to
buy her books; we usually stick to a budget when it comes to their
education. This is school resumption time; everything is tight, no spare
money in circulation as most of my friends also have kids in school” Bose said.</span><br />
<o:p></o:p>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">My
name is Asake –Okin and I am cashless. Yes, I am one of those who are cashless
to the core as I depend on cash in card 98.5% of the time. I am your typical online airtime
recharger, faithful POS user but sometimes holding cash is necessary as Danfo (<i>public
transport like Matatu in Kenya and Taxi in SA/Angola</i>) do not accept card or
mobile payment – our payment platform has not grown like the Mpesa so we still
roll with cash. Although I could relate with Bose’s story, I never had to
wait longer than 24hours before any failed transaction was reversed until a few
weeks ago when I had to travel to Ibadan.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Since
I was traveling with Danfo, I needed cash which I attempted to withdraw at
another bank’s ATM. Just before dispensing, the ATM went out of service and my
account had been debited. I waited a while then called my bank’s customer care
line and the person who picked my call stated a call will be logged with the
other bank on Monday and I should expect a reversal in 5 working days. I
followed up on Monday to ensure the call was logged and in the following days,
I kept calling. By the 10th working day, I was pissed, by the 16th day I
stopped calling as I had spent over 500 Naira following up.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">It
took 24days to reverse a 10,000 Naira failed transaction. Although the
money was not a show stopper for me, I couldn’t help but worry about people
like Bose whose, last penny or decision-making funds is held in the bank for
days while the opportunity is being lost and the relationship is being broken.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">I
am not an expert on card payment, hence I reached out to a friend for assistance</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">ASÀKÉ-</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ọ</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">̀KÍN: I have some questions with respect
to ATM withdraw</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Babs
: Shoot.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">ASÀKÉ-</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ọ</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">̀KÍN: How long does it take to reverse
a failed withdrawal?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Babs
: Ideally, it should automatically reverse latest by 11:59pm. if not,
please log a dispute claim with your bank. If using your bank's ATM reversal
should 24hours but if you used other bank's ATM reversal should be 3-5
working days.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">ASÀKÉ-</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ọ</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">̀KÍN: Mine took more 6 working
days.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Babs
: Maybe your bank did not log it on time. In reality, your customer service
consultant either sends an email or log it on their bank's portal depending on
how the bank operates. Dispute team reviews then log it against the other bank
on a dispute management portal." The bank has 5 days to revert.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">ASÀKÉ-</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ọ</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">̀KÍN: What if I did not notice my
failed transaction, can the bank reverse it?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Babs
: Yes, only automatic same day reversals.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">ASÀKÉ-</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ọ</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">̀KÍN: What if I did not notice
early?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Babs
: Even if you notice after 6months, complain at your bank and your funds could
be returned but this not guaranteed because some card schemes set a limit on
dispute. We expect you to check your balance periodically.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">ASÀKÉ-</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ọ</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">̀KÍN: Is it possible to reverse
failed transaction funds deducted but not dispensed without logging?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Babs
: Due to some technical difficulties, it is currently impossible to do so. ATM,
POS and the likes make use of internet services, once a link is down, it can
affect an ongoing transaction – each ATM has a report that shows whether or not
a particular transaction dispensed funds – When a customer makes a complain,
the bank checks the report, then reverses the funds.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">ASÀKÉ-</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ọ</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">̀KÍN: In January2013, banks
were supposed to begin Cash reversals on ATM. “<i>Most money deposit banks in
the country have begun immediate cash reversals of uncompleted transactions on
their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and customers are happy about it,
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learned. Uncompleted transactions on ATMs occur
due to system malfunction; insufficient funds on the cash machine; and network
failure among others” <a href="http://nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/e-financial/banks-begin-cash-reversal-on-atms">Nigeriacommunicationsweek</a><o:p></o:p></i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">If
the above is in place, why did I have to wait for 24days in 2015 before I was
refunded?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Babs: Lol, we tell you to wait 24 hours for instant reversal
because there is a possibility that your reversal is on the queue waiting to be
processed. Instead of 24 hours, just wait till 11:59pm & make your
complaint first thing on the next day.<br />
<br />
ASÀKÉ-</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ọ</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">̀KÍN:
Mid last year, two of the banks I use started sending weekly summary via SMS,
being one of those people who dislike SMS alert ( privacy purposes plus N4 is
a lot of money o!) I called one of the banks to stop but I was informed it was
a CBN regulation, I must confess the weekly summary has assisted in detecting
misalignment between my balance in mind and balance in the bank.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
Babs: I am not sure about the weekly or monthly summary was mandated by CBN.
You can send a mail to CBN<span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">info@cenbank.org </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
ASÀKÉ-</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ọ</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">̀K</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Í</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">N:</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Thanks, Babs.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Babs
: Anytime Asake </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Personally,
I feel the most important thing is detecting you have been debited for a failed
transaction. So till next time, pay attention to your bank statement – you
might discover a couple of missing Nairas</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">This post was edited by Opeyemi E. Dada </span></div>
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ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829015721528225734.post-45634199507181497842015-04-19T16:18:00.000-05:002015-04-19T16:19:30.057-05:00Change: Not another political post<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Sade, Sade,
Sade” my dad called out. Before I could answer he was already in my room. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Your
University is in this country so I cannot say you are jetlagged, why are you
not dressed for church?” my dad asked<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Daddy, I
have attended church service already” I said<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Haba Sade,
a well brought up Christian child should not tell lies, your car is still
parked in front of mine oh, I forgot you landed your jet on the roof abi” my
Dad said sarcastically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I laughed
and responded “I attended church online”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Really, I
told your mother allowing you to go to that Christian University might result
in a change of your denomination. My daughter, show some respect, when you are
home, attend our church, when you are back in your University, attend your
church; thank God you are graduating this year” my dad said<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Asake,
before I could respond, he stormed out of my room screaming Mama Sade, come and
hear what your daughter said. I was expecting my mom in my room soon after, but
they zoomed out since they were both rushing for service, when they returned,
all hell broke loose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sade, Sade,
when did you become a big liar... Where did you learn all these from? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Dad, I am
sincerely sorry” I said<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sorry ke,
which of the lies are you sorry for, or you want to add another lie? My dad
asked <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Sade,
Olivia said your University does not have online service” my mom said calmly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I almost
burst into laughter but I had to control myself<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yes mummy,
she is right - my University does not have an online church service, I just
attend the school’s service because it is compulsory however when it comes to
my spiritually, I attend Lifesaver* Church, so when I cannot make it there
physically, I attend our online church service- it is very convenient.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sade, you
moved from our family church to Lifesaver?? What is the name of the man that is
influencing you? When am I meeting him? What else has he changed about you? My
dad asked<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Dad, the
church is run by my pastor and his wife” I said<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Do not play
dumb, who is the man responsible for your change in denomination? My dad asked <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Asake, I
tried to explain to my parents how I attended a seminar hosted by the church
and decided to switch but my parents were not convinced. If only they know I
only bother about my education and God. Sade concluded.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When Obong and I became friends, she was a Chelsea fan, after a messy break-up with her then
boyfriend; she became a die-hard Arsenal fan which led me to conclude Obong was
only supporting Chelsea to please her boyfriend. Obong is not the only person who made a change
because of the opposite gender and when the relationship was called off, the
change was unchanged however there are people who have changed because of
someone and still maintained their new life after the person walked away.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A friend
once narrated a story of a guy (Toye) who converted to Islam because his
girlfriend’s family will not allow her to settle down with a Christian. After
the acceptance of Islam the family still prevented their union narrating how
the girl’s uncle converted to Islam only to revert back to Christianity after
the birth of their first child. It has been 4 years since Toye’s
relationship ended, he is still a practicing Muslim, just returned from Hajj
and he is the Amir of a relatively popular society in Nigeria.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sometimes,
our decision to change is personal other times, it is influenced by
someone. Irrespective of the influencer, change is inevitable<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Till next
time, don’t be afraid of change however remember to consider your individuality
before making a change <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">*Lifesaver
is not the original name of the church.</span></i></b></div>
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<i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></i><i style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Edited by Lola Johnson and
Tomi</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">PS :Do you have a change story to share? Is it personal or influenced change? Who influenced it? We will like to hear from you</span></div>
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ÀSÀKÉ-Ọ̀KÍNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17465905016748826785noreply@blogger.com2