So I have missed out many opportunities to share.
About the airport in Walvis Bay versus the kota kinabalu
airport; the review of ‘there was once a country’ and following through with
the irony of colonization and immigration; about chimmamanda and her hairtitude
and the disappointment on watching her interview on BBC; a review of americanah
and how its story is that of many of us; on my extreme sensitivity on how people
behave towards me, avoid me, ignore me, bully me and maybe the real whys behind
it-maybe related to my hair ( I sang that song for a long time ‘I am not my
hair’ so I know). Maybe an expose on what I really want to do – what my inner
pilot says I shd do – d mistake I am going to make! Also on the opportunities I
have misused.
On Americanah!
A very funny book. I found myself laughing carelessly or I
should say unashamedly in public while reading this book. I remember 2
incidents: on the train and on the plane seating beside a snobbish portugese
couple. Infact, the whole plane was an invasion of snubs. So maybe I laughed a
lil too hard because the book I was enjoying was telling a funny story about
them from OUR perspective. You know, I am kinda uneasy at CNA’s audacity only
for me to realize that it is exactly the same audacity the Westerners have
always had – a presumptuous superiority that enables them tell our story from
their perspective. Again, like Prof Chinua insisted, there is nothing like the
end of the story, you tell your own and let me tell my own. Hopefully in all of
the tellings the whole picture will emerge or stand a lil bit closer to
truth. I think CNA has done something
very profound by Americanah. Let’s let it out in the open – we can: speak
English, have opinions and express ourselves. We have feelings and as
recipients of condescension (some of it with good reason e.g. mediocrity of
Nigerians) we can reciprocate or at least respond with same feelingness.
I am so excited today that I finally made good on my desire
to go to the gym. This is probably the first time I am going to the gym this
year - and to think it is almost half year.
First about today:
I will say today is one of the more productive days I have
had in a long time (as far as I can remember). Productive, I said. Not pleasant
or happy or fulfilling - just a feel-good-rewarding day. It started off as a
day that would see me overwhelmed at work and that means it started off on a
not-too-good note. Somehow, I determined that I would work to eliminate the
workload and with it the attending stress/possibility of stress.
So I set about the many tasks of the day. I must confess I
was miffed at the slow pace which I believe was self-inflicted, unjustifiable
and a mockery to my diligence. I guess you can say I was justifiably upset. But
achieving a set goal in the midst of setbacks is for sure a morale booster. See
as I just de tick off on my to-do list.... At the end of the day I had to be
careful not to do too much - I heard the mockery in the 'voice' of my appraisal
"You have to work smart and not work hard".Anyways, at the end of the
day I was raring to go and especially as I had set my mind to also go to the
gym!
This brings me to the second thing. The Gym:
I only ever see the insides of a gym while I am at work. It
is an acquired taste. One that I cannot seem to replicate when I get home, try
as much as I want - and I have not really tried. The acquisition of the taste
was borne out of two things: as a method of survival and as a 'forming activity
something'. The survival bit, because the need to take fresh air and clear the
head while at work becomes mandatory for continued sanity and marginally
acceptable mannerisms. There are several activities that one can take part in
to make time pass quicker. For a girl surrounded by hard-core men, I came to
realize that I am NOT a tomboy. Football and video games don't interest me. And
nope, I don't like playing foosball either-at least not with the seriousness
I've seen it played. I don't mind watching sha.
