Kingsley Okeke @kingsleychi

Today we went into an auto company, a place that sells exotic, very expensive cars and also some fairly‑used models. The showroom was split into two sections. One side was sleek and tiled, displaying very high‑end, brand new rides with all the fancy specs. The other side held the fairly used imports, still nice but a bit more modest.

My role in the meeting was to supervise a marketing skit that would showcase the cars and draw customers. I had been referred by a friend, and it was my first time handling something like this. I trusted I could pull it off, but I was nervous: what if the team didn’t like my ideas, or if the manager was a control‑freak who’d dismiss everything I said?

We started shooting about an hour after we’d hashed out the theme, the time‑line, and which cars we’d feature. First up was a Mercedes‑Benz AMG. I suggested a quick skit, not sure if it would work, but the team manager’s face lit up, he was impressed. He wanted more, and I told him we’d keep generating ideas as we went, but let’s nail one scene first. He agreed, and the ideas began to flow.

After three takes we had a perfect clip. The editor was a talented university student in her second year and she was quick to catch on instantly to every direction I gave. She worked fast, and I loved how quickly she turned my ideas into something polished.

We wrapped up two videos in about an hour and a half. Everything felt perfect, and the manager pulled me aside to say that I did a nice job. That praise gave me a huge boost. We already have another shoot scheduled for next week, and I’m hopeful it will go just as smoothly as today′s own did.

We went to church today for a family deliverance and thanksgiving service. Since we’re a Christian household, everyone in the extended family was expected to be there, and nobody complained. It was the D‑day that we all had been preparing for.

The program lasted several hours. From a little after 2 pm. until about 9 pm., it was filled with powerful prayers, miracle testimonies and life‑changing moments, it was most definitely a day we’ll never forget.

When the service finally ended, we all headed home. By then most of us were exhausted; we’d come straight from work and other responsibilities, so the thought of heading straight into bed once we returned home was very appealing.

Just as I was about to turn in, my brother’s daughter reminded me that she had an exam starting the next day. She was clearly worried because she hadn’t prepared at all. My heart went out to her, so I asked her to sit with me in the sitting room.

We spent the next hour going over her notes. She’s a quick learner and listened attentively, so the revision went faster than I expected. Unlike some kids who struggle to understand even the most simple things said. she picked things up almost instantly and by the time we finished, I was sure that she was ready for the exam exam.

I hope she finds tomorrow’s questions easy and does well. It was a long day, but seeing her smile after the study session made it worth the extra effort.

In my 100 level year at university we had to do departmental and faculty clearance at the Student Affairs office on a specified date. I woke up very early and, as I walked the road leading to campus, I saw many students already far ahead of me, rushing to be at the venue before the official time. I thought I would be the first to enter the hall, but looking at the crowd heading toward Student Affairs I lost hope instantly because there were so many of them, all with the same idea of being first.

Suddenly it began to rain heavily. Most students ran for shelter because they were holding their files and documents in their hands and didn’t want them to get wet. I did have a waterproof file bag and seizing that as an opportunity, I kept moving. While the others scrambled for cover, I slipped through the rain proudly with my file bag which kept everything dry and made my way straight to the Student Affairs building. I was little concerned about my clothes getting drenched.

When I arrived, the faculty officer was already stepping out of her car and opening the hall doors. A few other students were also taking shelter near the entrance, but their numbers were nothing compared to the crowd that had been delayed by the rain. I took one of the first seats and, to my surprise, was only the twenty‑third person to be attended to that day. What I expected to be a whole‑day ordeal was over in just a little time, about two hours. Went home that day feeling like a king that I am.

The first time I cooked soup. I was still young, but it was my very first attempt at making soup. Up to then I had learned how to cook rice, yam and a few simple dishes, but I had never tried cooking soup or stew.

That day my mother and my elder brothers had gone to the farm, leaving the ingredients for okra soup ready on the kitchen counter. The secret recipes for making soups were always my mother′s, and I felt a strong need to help so she wouldn’t have to start cooking again after a tiring day in the farm. I had no phone and no way to look up a tutorial by that time, so I gathered everything I thought I needed: okra, vegetables, stockfish, crayfish, pepper.

I began to cook, stirring the pot as the soup thickened and a delicious aroma filled the kitchen.
When my mother and brothers returned, she went straight to the cabinet, only to find the soup already done. She called me over and asked who had made it, and I proudly said it was me. Instead of the praise I expected, she frowned at me and using a spoon scooped some and tasted it. Immediately, she began shouting that I had wasted the soup.

I was confused; the texture and smell seemed perfect. Disappointed and a little annoyed, I retreated to my room, locked the door, and sulked. Later when I got hungry, I went to the kitchen to get some of my delicious delicacy, only to have a taste and realize that it was a bomb that I had prepared in a pot. The flavor was good until it meets the tongue. I couldn′t even swallow the mess.

My mother had to go to the market again to buy fresh condiments and I learned that good cooking isn’t just about good intentions or thoughts, the skills matter too.

I tried out the new stadium and volleyball court with a friend of mine last weekend, and it was an experience that isn′t easy to forget. We had been hearing about the newly renovated facilities in the stadium for weeks, and we were eager to give them a try most especially because it was 5 minutes drive from our area of residence.

As we arrived at the stadium, we were impressed by the new equipment and the reconstructed pitch.
At a point we decided to join in a volleyball, and to add: the volleyball court was just perfect and dark coloured.

But as we played, we noticed that the facilities could use a bit more maintenance.: the volleyball net wasn′t elatic and made with inferior materials, I am certain that before The end of the season, it would have gotten weak. The changing rooms were a bit dirty and untidey, if people who would take care of the whole facilities are not put in place, it might turn into a junkyard in no time.

Our experience there was great asides the few things that needs a retouch.
We were already planning our next visit, and we couldn′t wait to come back and try out the other sports facilities.

I could barely walk, stand, or lift an object, and it was a struggle to do even the simplest tasks. This was a result of the stress I′d been under lately, with a heavy workload and tight schedules taking a toll on my body. The sickness I felt was a clear sign that I needed rest.

The night before, I′d gone without sleep because I was busy with work and trying to meet deadlines. The next day, I came down with this illness, and I knew I needed to rest. I took some medicine, but it didn′t seem to be working, and I couldn′t shake off the feeling of sickness. I lay in bed, hoping sleep would come and bring some relief.

As noon approached, I started to feel sleepy, and I was grateful for it. But just as I was drifting off, a car horn started blaring, spoiling everything. It was one of those emergency alarms that cars have, and it was loud and continuous. The noise was like adding fuel to fire and it made my headache intensify. I was annoyed, but I thought it would stop soon.

But the horn continued to blare, and I realized it was kids playing around the car, triggering the alarm. I mustered up some strength and went to talk to them, asking them to stop playing around the car. They agreed, and I went back to bed, trying to sleep again. But the horn started up once more. After some minutes it went off.

This happened several times, and I was getting frustrated. Despite my fatigue and headache, my adrenaline started pumping, and I was furious. I grabbed a strong cane and went to deal with the kids, giving them a stern lesson. Their father appeared, apologizing and saying he′d warned them, but they hadn′t listened.

After that, the horn stopped, and I was finally able to sleep. I slept soundly, undisturbed, and I′m sure the horn didn′t blare again until I was long asleep.

Me and my friend decided to go into the market today. After all, we had been planning for several months to purchase new pairs of shoes, each for ourselves. In our workspace, bad clothing is never tolerated or entertained.

Because we noticed that both our shoes were wearing out, we had concluded about two months ago to get new pairs. But each month, we kept postponing it with excuses of how to spend our budgets and everything, how to allocate our monthly salaries.

But this last month, we were very determined to purchase new shoes for ourselves. It’s been far too long to postpone, and we wouldn’t want to make that same mistake of misusing our funds. So, immediately we received our salaries, we headed out to the market to purchase new pairs of shoes.

We went through about three outlets that showcased very fine pairs of shoes, but each of them, each one of them that we passed through, gave us exorbitant amounts that would almost dig very deep into our salary money. So, we continued to dive into the market.

On the other hand, I was never used to staying in the market for long. In fact, market life wasn’t my thing. But my friend, my other colleague, he was a market lover; he loved the market. He was even... unconventional in his approach; he just found things to spend time on. Yeah, he rather walked into a shop that he knew he wouldn’t patronize and just spent time there.

I was feeling very tired when he told me, “Let’s just take a last walk into the market, since we have not found the shoes that we liked yet.” So, we walked deeper into the market, and just right at the heart of the market, we found the shoe seller who sold even more better styles of shoes and quality. She showed us different qualities and the real prices, and the real prices were very, very attractive.

But we still ended up negotiating the price, and after everything, we got them at a lesser price that suited us and even made us feel like we were taking a very nice decision. By the way, it could have still been a nice decision because the shoes were for work and not for parties or celebrations.

But then, knowing that the amount we bought them for hadn’t affected our salary earnings that month too much gave us a little bit of, gave us some kind of unexpected happiness as we went home together. I was glad to have gone with the friend, even though I regretted going with him initially when he was wasting time in the market. But still, I thank God for having made him go with me, made us go together.

Anytime I turned on my music player and played soft, relaxing music at night to help me sleep or read, I will notice noises on my ceiling. Rats would be running around, making very loud noises, disturbing my concentration and attempts to sleep. This happened every time, and at one point, I even thought it was spiritual, maybe some sort of witchcraft, trying to disturb my concentration, peace, and focus. It was weird to me, but I knew these rats were doing it intentionally.
Whenever I turned on very low music, they would start making weird noises on the ceiling.

I didn′t know what to do; they always continue with this most especially when I try to focus on my exams or do other important things.
At one point, I almost believed it was witchcraft, but I didn′t give up. However, I never had a remedy for them or the noise, and I continued to endure it until I eventually adapted. One day, on a school run to pick up my little nephew, I ran into a vendor who sold rat poison and pesticides. I bought one at a cheap price and set it on the ceiling. I won′t go into the details of how I placed the ladder and almost slipped off but maybe next time.

When I got to the ceiling, I saw no sign of the rats; I had no clue where they went or how they entered the ceiling (I mean, the roof). But they′d always come at that particular, important time to disturb me. I set the traps and pesticides where they should be and left it. The next day, the noise was still there, but days later, I′d almost forgotten that I′d put the pesticides there. I had to quickly run up there, and that′s when I saw the mass of dead rats. I thanked God they hadn′t rotted and the smell hadn′t engulfed the whole house. I quickly got a shovel and bagged them up, disposing of the bad of witchcraft.

I went on a camping trip with a community that my cousin introduced me to. We set out last month, and it was my first time attending a camping trip. The schedules and places they planned to visit seemed interesting, and the cost was reasonable. My cousin had invited me and convinced me to attend, and I had a close relationship with him, so I thought it was a great opportunity to experience camping for the first time. Aside from church campings, I had never gone for a recreational or fun camping trip before.

The first location we visited was a hotel which was different from our usual modern hotels. They had entertaining sites, waterfalls, and amazing land views. I really enjoyed it. However, the second location was on top of a mountain, and it was a different story. There were mosquitoes everywhere – I′d never seen so many on a mountain before. I wondered how they even flew up there.

As night drew on, the community host suggested we set up tents, just like some other groups were doing. He thought it would be more fun to sleep there through the night, and assured us that there was security around the mountain to keep us safe. That wasn′t my concern though because my main plight was the mosquitoes. I had not brought mosquito repellant or a net, so I knew it would be a bad night for me. I endured through the night, but I couldn′t sleep due to the mosquitoes. I hate mosquitoes, and it was a nightmare to me.

The next morning, the leader said we′d be going to another mountain with more views, but I wasn′t interested.
We journeyed up the mountains during the day and frankly the second mountain had more engaging features and was more broad. But as soon as evening approached and I saw the possibility of us camping, I took the next bus back home ASAP – I couldn′t continue. The money I paid wasn′t wasted though because the first hotel location and the awesome sights from the mountain tops was satisfying enough for me. They could enjoy the mosquitoe package alone.