Bridge of Spies: Movie Review or Spoiler Alert?

This 2015 historical drama thriller featuring Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg is about the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union at the time the Berlin wall was erected. As at the time I had the option of watching it, I had not heard a peep about it. I recall asking my movie friends for heads up and only one of them told me it was not my kind of cinema movie but since I was going with a group of couples, I should suck it up and go with the flow. That I did, and boy was I not disappointed. Apparently it is a critically acclaimed movie with 90% approval by professional movie critics. So what was it about this movie that has got me back to blogging on Movies again? Well, simply put, it is the 'moments' that imprinted on my heart.

There was a part where Tom Hanks asked a profound question which any multi-cultural country like Nigeria needs to keep in mind always - what makes us Citizens of any nation? His answer paraphrased: the fact that we live by a constitution under the same sovereign authority. In the wake of misplaced National Identities in Nigeria (the war on Boko Haram trying to destroy us in North and the Biafrans in the South East agitating for a republic of their own due to perceived marginalization in the current governance system), we need to ask ourselves the same question, what makes us Nigerians?

Another remarkable part of this movie that got me speechless was the fact that the entire movie was based on a true story. One man, James Donovan, in the face of hostility stood by his principles uncompromisingly fighting for the tenets of the constitution to be upheld to all ‘aliens’ or foreign persons regardless of who and what they are. In this era where the fear of terrorists hiding among Syrian refugees to infiltrate countries and cause mayhem has gotten countries closing their borders, this film speaks to the humanity in us. Asking us to treat everyone with dignity and love as we would a fellow countryman. Then there was Mark Rlyance’s character (Rodolf Abel) and Austin Stowell’s character (Francis Gary Powers) who never betrayed their country but were still treated as liabilities to their country’s intelligence agencies. This brought to light the fact that even when you stand strong doing what’s right, people will believe what they choose to. But do right anyway.

I believe Rodolf Abel would have spilled the information the Americans expected from him if only they had shown the same genuine concern for his wellbeing that James Donovan had. Donovan had won his trust so much so that he had begun to slowly open up to him about who was his family and who was a fellow spy and even the code to which Donovan would know how he would be treated by his country on arrival home. This is not to say the Americans didn’t treat Abel better than Powers was treated oversees. The contrast just went on to prove that regardless of what others do, if you know what is right to do, do it anyway. Last but not least in the details that made me hopelessly crazy about this film is the fact James Donovan went on to accomplish greater good for more people just by being true to himself and sticking by what he believed.

In my life I have enjoyed some war & espionage movies; I was introduced to them by my father who had a ravenous desire for historical and biological information and just happened to love war films as much as boxing movies. And thanks to him, I have had the pleasure of watching my two all-time favourite war movies, Schindler’s List (starring Liam Neelson) and Saving Private Ryan (starring Tom Hanks). Although I’ve been told Brad Pitt’s Fury is a remarkable film, I am yet to see it – even though it’s been on my laptop’s desktop for months – because I haven’t been in the mood to watch a war movie. So now you see why I was willing to suck it up and watch Bridge of Spies when I could have been watching Hunger Games: Mocking Jay2 which is topping the box office charts right now. I’ve got to say after Fast and Furious and Spectre 007, Bridge of Spies is among my top five movies for 2015.

6 Realities associated with Child bearing

Being a mom has opened my eyes to a few things no one tells you about while you are anticipating being a mother. It’s not that they don’t love you, it’s just that it’s better experienced than told. But I love you so much I want to spare you the agony of being taken unawares about some roller coaster experiences you will go through when you get pregnant, go into the labour room and have your dream baby.

Here they are:

1. Body awareness – there are a class of people whose bodies are the perfect 10; they never have to exercise or watch their diet to stay fit. I used to be in this category. Chances are the changes that occur with pregnancy will fascinate you a lot. Even if you had to work out to keep your muscles toned, or have the illusion of a six pack before pregnancy (yeah women love those too) it means you really do love your figure. After delivery, your body will never quite be the same again. Sure, celebs in Hollywood look great after 3months of pregnancy but be honest, as a Nigerian, do you really have the time and money to get a personal trainer or hit the gym like they do to have that smoking hawt body? Truth is no, not really. You could be among the lucky few whose bodies didn’t change at all during pregnancy or whose bellies disappeared after 2weeks of delivery, if not, welcome to my world of body awareness. With pregnancy, changes which not only affect your skin like facial discolourations or sagging belly skin; your body size like broader nose or increase in feet size (e.g. from a 39 to a 41) and your weight like from a maybe 55kg to 84kg, worries emerge on how to get back to the old you. Suddenly, you’ll find yourself obsessing about your body like you never have and doubts such as, ‘will my partner still find me attractive or still love me like he did before’ will begin to emerge. All of a sudden you’ll find yourself investing in body shapers, corsets and what not just to give you the appearance of pre-pregnancy body and allow you wear certain outfits. So before you judge all those women embracing cosmetic surgery, understand that child bearing does wonders to a woman’s body and can make you more conscious of your fashion choices, your figure or your relationship.

2. Time consciousness – have you ever sat in a meeting and wondered why so much time was spent discussing an issue which should be slam dunk to decide on especially because in your mind, you have a ton of things to do and this didn’t rate high on your priority scale? Well, take that feeling and apply it to the first few months after delivery and you’ll get what I’m driving at. With babies sleeping between 2 – 4hours at a time, every spare minute becomes extremely precious, especially if there is no one around to assist with the baby or with career goals. Even watching, movies feel like a waste of time (unless of course, you are the type of person who blogs about movies or absolutely can’t live without that past time) because there are a ton of other things demanding your attention like the need for a nap. Even resting sometimes can feel cumbersome in relation to all you hope to achieve in a day. Suddenly, being a mother makes you time conscious as you subconsciously start gauging all your activities and deciding what is higher on the priority scale so as slash down on any irrelevant activity and become more efficient in whatever you do. If you already feel you are this way now that you aren’t a parent, don’t worry, the feeling will intensify after you have a child. And if you have more than one child, this feeling will be accompanied with a myriad of emotions like frustration, exhaustion and short temper.

3. Lack of energy – you might wonder why people tell you to rest a lot after delivery and focus on just taking care of the baby, eating, bathing and sleeping especially when after the second week you feel fine and ready to cook your own meals and make decisions around the house. The term ‘Rest’ slowly begins to sound like solitary confinement as you watched the whole world go about their daily routines and you feel jobless. But the minute you violate your rest time with work, you’ll feel so fatigued that even handling burping of the baby after a meal becomes stressful. What you don’t know as a new mother is that the older they grow, the more time they’ll demand from you. And when you spend the time you are supposed to use to sleep for other activities, you’ll find that they never really get done completely any way. If you still keep pushing, you might catch yourself drinking energy drinks just to keep up while compromising on other values (like your relationship with your spouse). One way to keep your energy up besides sleeping – preferably a month after delivery – is actually through exercise. Mild exercise like stretching exercises like Yoga and Pilates, a few cardio or muscle strengthening exercise done briefly for about 10mins – which can be done twice a day if you have the time – can really do wonders for boosting your energy. Also, try to set aside time for resting and time out for your personal space so as to avoid burn out and stay revitalized while raising your kids (this helps to also prevent you from resenting your kids or blaming them for all your woes).

4. Pains – childbearing is always associated with pains and for good reasons too. During labour, people assume pain intensity is synonymous to progress in the delivery process but this is not always the case. The dilation/opening of the cervix which signals the journey of the baby out of the womb is not necessarily dependent of the contraction pain intensity felt. This is why some women feel no pain and suddenly the head of the baby is already in the birth canal or why doctors insist that once you see any of the signs of labour, you should head on straight to the hospital. In a bid to have a speedy and pain-free delivery, women have woven a myth out of the birth of captive Israelites in Egypt during bible days called it the ‘Hebrew women delivery’ forgetting that pain threshold for individuals vary and can be held responsible for why some women experience less challenges with their delivery than others. I did a number of tweets on this issue of Hebrew women delivery a while back on my twitter handle (annkite0), you can visit my favourites tweet tab or the hashtag #anafricanwoman’stale for my breakdown of the actual Hebrew women and their delivery. Speaking of pain, whether you deliver normally or with cesarean (CS), you will experience tremendous pain. Starting with the multiple vaginal examinations done before and during labour till the actual delivery. With normal delivery, it is contractions and labour pains which may last for hours or days depending on the circumstances surrounding your delivery while for CS, the spinal anesthesia may take away the pain of the surgery for about 12 hours or thereabout after which you have to learn to overcome the numbness of your limbs and deal with the pain post operation which could linger for days or weeks. All these are with reference to safe deliveries without further complications (because complications like hemorrhaging, loss of the child or the womb is a different story altogether that go with psychological pain). In the words of my mother-in-law, “all things delivery involves pain so just cross your mind and bear it”.

5. Gift giving – when it comes to getting gifts for a newborn, people are majorly clueless because they have no idea what the parents have or what they need. That’s why abroad, they have a culture of baby shower where the parents put out a registry of possible gift items to be bought by friends and well-wishers. In Nigeria however, that custom does not involve the registry. While some friends are wise enough to just ask you what you would like them to get, others feel you should appreciate whatever is given whether you need it or not. Kinda like weddings where people buy you a ton of plates or drinking glasses that you can never exhaust using in your lifetime. So here are a few gift-giving advice to help make this phase easier: You can do the unmentionable and get a gift for the mother. Yes you heard right, not the baby the mother. You could get her snacks and juice, green tea or chocolate drink (Milo or Ovaltine) which she can eat while waiting for food during the first 2months of delivery. You could also get a pack of disposable breast pads or tops/clothes ideal for breast feeding when she’s out for a function. For the newborn, the principle is get things the child can use way after the time of birth (0-3months) like you can get baby wipes, diapers for 3-12months, cerelac/baby food for when the child starts migrating to semi solids after 6months, clothes for a much older age like 6months to 1 year old or older. You can also get age appropriate toys or little things like Milton’s sterilizer for when the kids starts using feeding bottles, frames to put up pictures of the baby around the house to photo document the baby’s growth, etc. The gift ideas are so many but if you are in doubt, simply put your cash in an envelope and bless the family with it. Money is a defense and hardly anyone would reject monetary blessings because they are seeds sown into the life of a child which the parents could use for the child either by opening an account, an education fund package or meeting needs when economic challenges hit the family. Just put a lot of fore-thought into the choice of a gift item, no matter the cost, and you can be sure the parents will definitely appreciate it.

6. Diet consciousness – nothing like the burden of knowing you are responsible for the existence of another human being to make you want shape up diet-wise. Some people are blessed with such a good body that anything they eat doesn’t cause their weight or physique to change but others are not so lucky. Those who aren’t lucky but are health conscious will probably already be working on their weight issues while those who are may be in for the shock of their life when pregnancy changes that dynamics. The fear of having a big baby may prompt some women to watch what they eat but the baby’s growth only increases exponentially in third trimester, so before then all the excess food you eat just get stored as fat. After the baby is born, tendencies are you will be on a diet to enhance milk production and in Nigeria, it’s usually pap, rice with vegetables and pepper soup. Milk is usually not recommended because it gives babies a nasty case of gas which can be hell for nursing mothers at night but you can replace your intake of the usual full cream milk with skimmed milk which is easier on baby’s system in terms of digestion. And guess what? A protein rich diet with loads of water, fruits and vegetables does more for milk flow than all the carbohydrates our culture says we must take and the former are way healthier. Once the baby is off breast milk, the possibility of slipping into old habits may arise but if the weight gain caused a disfigurement in your body (e.g. under arm ‘chicken wings’ or bulging bellies), worries on how to regain what was lost becomes a motivating factor for one to be conscious of what foods are eaten because weight gain is 80% what you eat. Another reason to watch what one eats is the need to avoid healthy challenges that can cut short one’s life and the ability to live a long life and see the growth and evolution of their kids.

Being a woman isn’t easy and it is far more that changing one’s outward appearance or internal organs. But these issues aren’t isolated to being female, they are realities most people, male and females deal with in different way it’s just that pregnancy amplifies them. If you weren’t already aware of how pregnancy brings all these to the fore of a woman’s life, you are welcome. It’s been my pleasure educating you.

Incommunicado rant

Dear Readers,

I apologize for the extended silence. Bet you guys have been really disappointed with coming around and seeing nothing new on my blog.

Lately I’ve been very busy career-wise so I find it hard to keep up blogging. My specialty runs from content creation (taking an idea and giving it a publishable form) to Ghostwriting, Editing, Social Media Management, Transcription, etc. Prior to now blogging to me has always been my leisurely writing to express the burden of issues I need to express that I can’t with other people’s property. this doesn't mean that blogging isn't important to me. This write up is simply about why I have been absent for months and reduced my blogging schedule from at least twice a month to once or none a month. Blogging is and will always be to me as my attempt to give value to my loyal readers who have been wondering why I have been silent on so many issues lately like the new movie releases, the ‘change’ in the political atmosphere in Nigeria, the progress of the Nigeria Army in the war against Boko Haram or even the wedding of a prominent 60 year old widower to a 26 year old beauty.

Usually when i am not blogging here, i am microblogging on twitter (@annkite0) or chatting on current issues on my blog's facebook page (Life, Love and Anything Goes). see below:

NIGERIA DECIDES

I know it’s not the best time to discuss elections since they are almost over and the freelance as well as paid journalists have already discussed the issues in as many ways as possible. But this isn’t another article on “let’s review the 2015 presidential elections and the consequences of the outcome of the elections”. No. This is simply the story of a Nigerian from her perspective on a monumental time in Nigeria’s History.

For weeks we’ve been experiencing the desperation of the politicians in their campaigns – digging dirt on each other and spilling it all over the media waves, sharing bags of rice and money to people they hope will vote them, etc – and the general impression was that these elections were going to be ‘bloody’ afterwards. People who came home for whatever reasons or had valid visas to travel out decided that week of March 28th was the best time to get out. Those of us who had nowhere to go could only preach against violence, avoid volatile conversations that could lead to negative physical expressions and pray for peace before, during and after the elections. Christians were divided in their choice of who to vote, some wanted continuity of the good works this administration had done while others were tired of making excuses for this administration’s inadequacies which involved not listening to the cries of the people as well failure to safe guard human lives. Pastors spilled political opinions all over social media incurring both the praise and wrath of listeners.

Barely six weeks to the elections, with help from neighboring countries, our armed forces began an effective counter attack on the dreaded Boko Haram. Assurances of security presence at the election grounds were made. New technology to cancel out rigging mechanics were also promised and yet many registered voters still felt disinterested or too scared to go out and vote. Many claimed lack of PVC cards or inability for them to vote at the closest polling unit as opposed to travelling to wherever they registered for their PVC was the reasons why they had no intention of coming out to vote. I with my pregnancy, determined to exercise my franchise irrespective of the challenge it would pose to me physically, I went out to vote. I figured if I prayed for peace, I should trust God enough to provide protection for me and those who would vote at the polls.

When I got to the grounds, the first thing I noticed was many people leaving. Albeit they were mostly those who were already accredited and didn’t want to hang around before the actual elections at 1pm. A few people left and never came back (accredited and not accredited) because they figured the stress of voting for candidates they had no faith in was not worth their hassle. So in the end, those who did vote were a handful of our over 100million populace (say below 40 million people). Yet I was amazed at the dedication of those who did come out to vote. The old were undeterred by the heat, long wait in line and lack of seating arrangements; to them voting was their gift to those they may leave behind when death calls on them. Babes were strapped to backs of nursing mothers who stood under the sun unprepared with umbrellas. Rumours of non-functioning PVC card readers put a scare in people but the reasons were discovered in time before the accreditation process was over (there were nylons covering the part of the machine for finger print verification).

In some parts of the countries, the INEC officials never showed up, others showed up late. A few polling units in the North East were attacked by Boko Haram but after which voters came back out to cast their votes. During the voting session, I was given preferential treatment much to the anger of many because I was pregnant, something that should have been done from the start of the elections (get an extra card reader and area for the aged, disabled and mothers – pregnant or nursing – to enable them get through the process faster). After casting our votes, we all went home and waited for the counting of all the votes from each state and its polling units on National television for three days. Unlike most, I already knew who would win irrespective of who I chose to vote for. I believe a lot of Nigerians did but they just wanted to believe their candidate would win. Either way, what Nigerians really voted for and accepted as the final result was electoral peace. That’s why we were elated when the incumbent president conceded defeat before the results were finalized, despite his party’s claims of unfair treatments in regards to their claims. Some Nigerians even sat in front of INEC offices for hours to prevent any intruders with the capability of rigging from getting in and refused to be turned back by threats from the government and police force.

As the governorship and state house of assembly elections draw near, Nigerians have already made it clear the values they stand united on. We’ve decided on having no more corrupt or ineffective leaders, no more insensitive government that would turn a deaf ear to the cries of the people, no more cabal that are not subject to the law or accountability to the Nigerian people, no more tales of fraud or a dying economy with no way out, no more rigging of elections, no more lack of power supply that hinders the manufacturing and entrepreneurial sector from attaining great heights, and so much more. The people have realized we finally have a voice and our votes count. It’s time to demand from the government what is our right for the sakes of our children and the next generation. Yes we are still plagued by religious and ethnic divisions, blinded by erroneous party system beliefs; but the New Nigeria, the one I belong to, are learning to look beyond what divides us as a nation to what unites us. And it’s on the strength of this knowledge that we have began to hope again for our nation just like our parents did. From now hence forth, we are Nigeria and it is us who decides the fate of the Nation and its leadership.

Anime

Anime is a term that refers to animations be it 2D or 3D graphics. Yet for some reason, more often than not, it’s become more loosely associated with Japanese productions of Manga (graphic novels/comics created in Japan). This review is on the Japanese anime productions because they showcase colourful graphics, fusion of genres, vibrant characters and unforgettable themes. They focus more on realism of setting, emotive eyes, weird character proportions, adult themes, and intriguing angles of shots as well as remarkable effects that feel like panning and zooming of an actual camera lens.

With the level of violence portrayed, these are definitely not for kids or young teenagers. The anime genre mainly combines fantasy with shonen, supernatural, drama, action, comedy, etc .You ask why am I reviewing them? It’s simple, I enjoy watching them.

So here are a few out of many:

1. Naruto – Written by Masashi Kishimoto, this story held readers the world over spell bound for years until it was concluded last year. It tells the story of a young boy – Naruto- who was raised an orphan, desperate for attention and acknowledgement due to the fact that he was castigated and how he rose above it, conquering even the evil within himself. Driven by passion, love and empathy for others (including the enemies he fought), Naruto’s evolution from boy to man will keep you captivated. The story is full of emotional challenges, lost visions, bonds of friendships, loss of mentors and loved ones, fights scenes of technique versus talent, wisdom versus instinct and best of all, the battle of good against evil. Needless to say, this is one of my favourite manga and anime of all time.

2. Bleach – Get ready for a spiritual journey as the concept of death and the afterlife as well as realms outside human existence are dabbled into. Tite Kubo, the creator of this story, starts with the tale of a young boy (Ichigo) who begins to see things no one else does. He encounters Rukia who shows him a world beyond the physical and soon they have a team of humans with superhuman abilities that can cross worlds, battle evil even within the realms of the heavenlies. Watching Ichigo train and become one of the most powerful beings is just as interesting as falling inlove with the other characters whose self struggles remind us of our own inner turmoil. It does get a little boring after a while but the characters are the one thing that’ll keep you going.

3. Claymore – This original story by Norihiro Yagi is a 26 episode sci-fi tale about a world ravaged by flesh eating demons called yomas - some territorial, others loners – who can sometimes disguise themselves as humans and live among them. There is an organization that is sworn to protect humanity at a cost of course, not just monies paid to them by communities they help but by recruiting young children and infusing them with yoma flesh and blood so they can become claymores, having the strength, speed and agility of a yoma while still being part human. Over dependence on yoma powers invariably awakens the claymores and turns them into yomas eventually. To hide this fact, the organization developed a code which is kill the warriors before they turn. In all this is the tale of a young claymore who ingested the blood and flesh of another claymore thereby making her unique. She learns that she can control her yoma side and doesn’t have to kill other claymores who have ‘awakened’. Bent on revenge against yomas, she finds that being able to love and share her life with a human makes her more human than monster and hence finds a cause worth living for.

4. Kenichi the Mightiest disciple – This funny series is about a teenage boy with teenage issues who is encouraged by a skilled female fighter to join a dojo (Ryozanpaku, in particular) in his personal quest to find some courage and sense of self worth after years of being a victim of bullies. Here he’s taught different forms of martial arts by masters in the different art forms and the stronger he gets, the more attention he gets from a street gang (Ragnorock) who want to recruit him. The more people he fights, the more people he removes from the gang by inspiring them to follow their true passions and stop being delinquents. The original comic book created by Syun Matseuna and every bit of its 50 episodes, is more fun than serious.

5. One Piece – This anime created and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda is filled with diverse characters with outlandish super powers in a world where being a pirate is both a thing of honour and a crime. Young wannabe pirates set out on an adventure with different agendas but along the way get unified by a common feeling of companionship. Together they help those in need, liberate lands from oppression, change the perception people have of pirates and overcome impossible odds all because of their steadfast determination reach to their personal goals. They stand by each other and those they regard as ‘nakama’ and together they triumph. One piece is light-hearted with good fight scenes; full of weird adventures as they travel down the Grand Line and exceedingly long (over 900 episodes with different arcs of different stories just like Naruto and Bleach). This is not an anime you can watch in a hurry.

I would tell you more (like Magi, Fairytail, Codebreaker, Blue Exorcist, Legend of Korra, Akame ga kill, Blade and Soul, Halo Legends, etc) but that would take forever. Maybe I’ll write another post later on other anime I have watched and enjoyed so you can know why I love them. These make for good distractions and now you know why sometimes I spend forever before a putting up a new post. *covers face in shame*.

Elections and Valentines

February 2015 is a month like no other in Nigeria’s history. February 14th which has been dedicated to lovers as an unofficial public holiday for the celebration of love, was announced by INEC to be one of the most important days in Nigeria’s history, the presidential elections. After years of military rule and recycled military leaders under the name of democracy, Nigerians have finally begun to understand what it means to be a democratic society. The freedom of information (FOI) act has empowered Nigerians to become bold and ask the much needed questions to ensure our leaders are held accountable. No other time has the free flow of information been this fluid than during the campaigns for the upcoming elections (which are now scheduled to hold in March 2015).

For years Nigerians have cried for a change in the way the affairs of this country has been handled by its leaders. 4years ago we had the second free and fair elections in the Nation’s history since June 12th 1993 where MKO Abiola won and was denied the right to rule by the then military administration. 4years ago all Nigerians –northerners and southerners – rallied behind a man from a minority tribe because for once, hope was stirred and dreams of a better nation seemed within reach. 4years after, a host of voters are left disillusioned by the failures and short comings of an administration they had high hopes for and now clamor for the safety of military experience which they believe will bring an end to all the nation’s woes. Though it’s painful to see how easily forgotten the good done by the present administration has become in relation to its short comings, it is a positive thing to see Nigerians standing up for their rights and saying ‘no more politics with human lives’ and ‘we want true, exemplary leadership’.

Another sad development is the aggression and lack of tolerance for the views of others. Facts stated are now assumed to be propaganda by the opposition. Questions that should prove the strength of the foundations of integrity or give clarity as to the intentions of running candidates are now assumed as attacks on personalities. People no longer read manifestoes of not just the parties but of the individuals; neither are they objective and open minded to read between the lines of the promises being dangled in front of us all. Sentiments, religious fears and outright bias runs wild on our social media. Friends have stopped speaking because of opinion differences and enemies have formed alliances to foster a unified agenda. But I ask how long will these last? It is important for us to know that the problems of our Nation are not a one man affair. No one person or political party has the solutions to all our problems. We can’t fold our hands and point fingers at those we elect to solve all our problems and make our dreams come true. We all have a part to play. Corruption isn’t just stealing; it is the self-serving nature in us all that drives us to put our agendas before the greater good of others. Unemployment isn’t just a Nigerian thing, it’s a global affair; even with over 257,000 jobs created in the US last year, their unemployment rate is still unchanged at 5.7% while in one European country, unemployed youths have been encouraged to move back in with their parents to reduce the debt in the mortgage/housing sector. The lists of global challenges which are now at our doorstep are too many to name.

In the spirit of Valentine I implore my fellow countrymen to practice restraint and show tolerance for one another. No politician is worth the blood of anyone. Someone once told me, politics is a game of popularity and democracy isn’t a perfect system because the people may not always be right in their majority opinion. The mainstream parties are both playing dirty right now but I believe we are not yet a two party nation, if you don’t like the choices before you; there are 12 other candidates to cast your votes for. It is your civic duty to cast your vote; if you truly love this nation, you won’t make plans to not participate in these elections slated for March 28th (Presidential, Senatorial and House of Representatives) & April 11 (Governorship and state House of Assembly) 2015. I choose to believe that it was no coincidence that the day of love was initially chosen to contain a period known for violence. Let’s say no to violence, let’s vote and not fight. Get your voters card (PVC) and show your love for your nation.

Let brotherly love be shared among us even if the results of the elections do not go our way. We all want the same thing, a better Nigeria. So let us show love for one another by contributing our quota to National development. Happy Valentines’ day and may our elections be peaceful.

Hello 2015

Hello, Happy New Year.

The year started a bit slow and has been picking up momentum ever since. So sorry for my extended silence, I owe my faithful readers who have been checking up on me regularly even when I don’t post in a while. I promise to repent in 2015 *big grin*. With everyone becoming a life strategist, telling you how you should live your life and what to do about New Year resolutions, I decided to sit still and be quiet. I want to try envisioning the year and life from a different perspective. So here is what I came up with on Facebook just a few hours before the New Year about how I intend to take on 2015.

“It’s one thing to not have goals or plans for 2015; it's quite another to not have a vision for 2015. God wants us to have a vision for our lives. Having a vision gives us a drive, a sense of fulfillment and makes living a joy even when all situations around us look hopeless.

As we cross over to 2015, nothing really changes unless we choose to make things change. We are change agents and the drive that pushes us to desire the change that we eventually create is vision.

Don't live your life without a vision. Dream, dream big, trust God and watch your visions come to life. He said in Joel that the young men shall see visions. We are young. Don't just see things (goals, plans, achievement), have a vision. Speak things to life, use the creative power at work in you to create a picture of the future you want and keep hope alive. Have a vision.”

Pretty neat huh?

That’s my plan, to focus on my vision for 2015, the bigger picture, rather than the goals to get there. For me, focusing so hard on the goals for some years now has not yielded the results I need (especially when I fall short). So, while I’ve been silent, I’ve been reading Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe, Avonome by Xavier Ighorodje (comic) and Rich Dad Poor Dad’s practical take on Resolutions and how to accomplish them. I’ve also been mourning a dear relative whose death came as a shock to us all as we were unaware of any previous health issues (medicine calls such cases acute) and I’ve responded to an interview by chukzbooks – feel free to check it out.

So this is me signing out and saying welcome to a queer 2015 for Ann Esievoadje.