I'm back!

Ok, so my last post was on the 23rd of November last year! What excuse can be given and accepted for this? Don't say none because excuses always abound. I would love to say I've not been lazy. That I've been so busy you wouldn't believe it if I told you. That my life has been a roller-coaster between my last story (not post) and now. All those are true. But who says you can't write while on a roller-coaster? Before anyone asks me if I've ever been on a roller-coaster, yes I have! And writing is not always about putting pen to paper or typing out on a computer. You can write in your head and pour it all out when the calm which lazy writers like myself are always looking for comes around. I think  No, I know I've just been plain lazy. And I would not give anyone the pleasure of telling me that to my face and having it hurt :p So i'll admit it so I can laugh at those who are unkind enough to agree with me :D
Of course there have been times when I'll start a post but lose interest by the end of the first sentence and never get around to posting it.Those are still there as drafts which I don't ever see myself finishing. I'd like to believe I have repented of my sins. I'm going to be serious from henceforth....but I'll perfectly understand your hesitance to trust me on this one. I'll just have to prove what I'm saying. Time will tell :)
I just think I've rediscovered my writing mojo. I just hope it sticks around for a longer while this time.

What do Indiscipline and Corruption have in common?

I just found this post which I'd been writing on 20th June 2014 in my drafts folder! I never finished it but I think it still makes for an interesting read.

Sometime in October last year, I was driving to work when I noticed a sticker behind the car ahead of me. It was at the Fiesta Royale traffic light on the N1. The light had turned red so I reached for my phone to capture what I thought was an interesting aphorism, but just before I could capture the shot, the driver changed lanes ;( . I cannot quote word for word what it said, but it was something along the lines of "I love my country. It's those in charge I have a problem with".
So he loves his country but has a problem with those in charge. That's not a big deal. But it got me thinking and I must say it made me more aware of how almost everyone in Ghana is always whining about our leaders. I believe in constructive criticism. The kind which puts aside political party affiliation and objectively states ones views on how things are not being done right and how they could be rightly done.

What I've come to notice in recent days in Ghana is this. Almost EVERYBODY has nothing good to say about those we have elected to govern us. You log in to any social media for a maximum of 5 minutes and you're sure to be greeted with a tweet or status update berating the government. Now, I'm not saying everyone must sing the praise of government even when things are not being done right. I just think we seem to forget that the people in authority over us are a reflection of the people they govern. Corrupt deals are exposed or the price of fuel goes up and you get everyone commenting and using distasteful language on those in authority. The most recent one I sighted was on Facebook earlier this week when one of my social media friends said "We are being governed by a bunch of fools". My heart bled when I read this. I was like, "really?" It took Grace to stop me from commenting on that status.
 And I wondered, where did these bunch of fools governing us appear from? Did those in authority who dabble in corrupt deals become corrupt upon assuming those positions?
I don't think so. We are a bunch of undisciplined people. I use the pronoun "we" not because I believe every single Ghanaian is undisciplined, but because majority of Ghanaians are undisciplined. If you need evidence of the indiscipline I'm talking about, take a walk or drive, depending on your location to the Tetteh Quarshie interchange. The section opposite the Villagio apartments. What do you find when you get there? What used to be greenery is now some sorry looking bits of grass competing with dry patches of land. Don't for a moment think the dry patches of land you're seeing has anything to do with the dry season. Rather, it has everything to do with Indiscipline both on the part of drivers and pedestrians. Crossing the N1 onto the motorway during the evening rush hour is any driver's worst nightmare. Instead of all of us staying in line and slowly inching towards our destinations, we have these group of drivers who decide to race along the green grass and the end result is...
ok i was just interrupted at work for some 45 minutes and the writing inspiration is gone. I'll save this and get back to it the next time it comes.

Hair and beauty

So I just spent over 30minutes writing a post only for my phone to ring and for me to lose everything I wrote!! I'm going to start afresh....
I'm at this salon getting my hair braided, and there's this toddler here crying my ears off. This post is being written not because I can't stand crying babies. It is being written because I cannot fathom why for the life of me a less than two years old baby will be subjected to such torture! How can a mother seat her baby on her laps and hear her cry from the pain of having her hair being braided?
I'm convinced this little girl is gong to grow up with a warped understanding of what true beauty is. She's most likely going to grow up thinking to look beautiful, she always has to cover her beautiful reddish brown kinky hair with fake hair. Her cries were so much tearing at my heart that I almost asked her mother why she was doing this to the girl. I stopped myself because I cannot speak twi well and knowing myself, I'll end up coming across as judgemental (which I am on this issue by the way :D)
I am braiding my hair because it is natural and knowing how busy I'm going to be in the next couple of weeks, I'm better of putting it in an easy to manage style. But this little girl here has short natural hair which only has to be trimmed in order for her mum to be able to pass a comb through it when it's messy.
The crying got unbearable to the point where one other customer in the shop advised the mother to breastfeed the baby to sleep so the braiding can continue. She heeded to the advice and the baby is asleep now, but the whole situation has awakened in me something! It's got me asking myself what is wrong with us women? When are we going to get to the point where we understand that true beauty is not about how you look on the outside, but is something inside that radiates on the outside.  Of course that doesn't mean I agree with women who go about looking like they're crazy all in the name of keeping their hair natural. They twist their hair and keep it for weeks on end, making them look like they were crazy for real. This post is not even about keeping the hair natural. I have no qualms at all with whichever way one wants to keep her hair so long as the person understands that beauty is from within and not about what she adorns herself with.
I think I'll end my post here before I digress. And next time,  I'll make sure to intermittently save as I write. O wow! Call it perfect timing.  The baby just woke up and is at it again! Mercy me.

Christianity or Fanaticism?

I've been wanting to write on this topic for a while now, but I kept holding back because I wasn't so sure it was a topic I should address seeing as I'm still a baby Christian. However, recent happenings here in Ghana have broken whatever it was that was holding me back, and I'm ready to speak up.

Before I go further, let's get some basic definitions right. I am one who's been taught to never quote Wikipedia in any academic write up... I have since then always found myself unconsciously looking down on any article in which Wikipedia is referenced, although that's always my first point of call on any subject matter! Ironic isn't it? Anyways, as a Christian, I decided to put up my own definition of Christianity.

What is Christianity?

Christianity is the belief that there is one God who came down to earth many many thousands of years ago in the form of man. This same God we Christians believe is a three in one God (The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit)....a concept that is difficult to understand if you want to use your human understanding to....So, God The Son came down to earth in the form of man, lived for some 33 years, and when the people of his time who had been awaiting the Messiah had had enough of him claiming to be the Messiah, they put him to death. Unknown to them, they were only playing a role in getting the prophecy around God The Son, "Jesus Christ" to come to pass....The prophecy was that He would be put to death, but would rise on the third day....Now, I wasn't there, and I can't say which side I would have belonged to... would I have believed that Christ was the long awaited Messiah? Or would I have been part of the crowd that was screaming "Crucify Him!"?

I don't have an answer to that....all I know now is, I believe this story....and that makes me a Christian. And I try my best to live by what the Bible says.

Ok, so now, what is Fanaticism? According to Wikipedia, "Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal, particularly for religious or political cause or in some cases, sports, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby." 

The same Wikipedia quotes one philosopher George Santayana as defining fanaticism to be "Redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim"

Disclaimer: Although I love this definition, I'd never heard of this philosopher until today :) 

So where am I going with this my long talk on Christianity and Fanaticism?

I'll go straight to the point here. Every Ghanaian who is on any social media, has a radio or a TV knows what's been going on in recent times regarding people flocking to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) which is headed by Prophet T.B. Joshua. As I said earlier, I am a baby Christian, so I'm in no position to say if this Prophet is true or false. The Bible I read says by their fruits you shall know them...the same Bible says in my name they shall cast out demons.....and he does cast out demons from what I see...The same Bible further says in Matthew 24:24-25 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand." These are Christ's own words!....

I just want to say I'm not out to say someone is real or not real. I just want to say that Christians are missing the whole point of what Christianity is about. We are missing the point so much so that our belief seems to be now rooted in things such as holy water, holy oil, anointed handkerchiefs. 

I'm yet to come across a story in the Bible where Jesus bottled and sold his miracle making potions....take for instance when he spat and mixed it with clay (or was it sand?) and used it to make that blind man see....Why didn't any of his disciples take up the initiative to bottle and sell it? Is it that they just didn't have the marketing orientation?

I was once dragged to a church service in London by my aunt...I don't remember the name of the church, but the pastor was called "Jesus Abrantie" I was disheartened when I saw people buying t-shirts anointed by the man of God for as much as 300pounds sterling! yea, you read me right! Give me that money and I'll get myself some Chanel purse ( I mean, a whole lady like me has not got one designer purse in her wardrobe!)...this shirt was supposed to be worn anytime the owner was in a difficult situation....one specific example i remembered was headache....

You can blame it on my Deeper Life upbringing, but I've never believed in such stuff...I believe in miracles, but I don't believe in " I've prayed over this so do this and you'll be healed, and you'll get visa, naaaa" we've got to be real!

I believe that If I have a problem, and I get down on my knees, and call on Jesus, He will come to my rescue. Let me also make it clear that I don't believe in living a reckless life and running to Jesus only in times of trouble. Being a Christian is an everyday walk. One day at a time. So when you live your life just any how, and you hear of a man of God who is distributing holy water somewhere,...even if it is God himself who asked him to do this, your going for that holy water is not what will save you....and this is where I like the definition of Fanaticism as "redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim"

Is Christianity about living like Jesus and believing that your own belief in Him is enough to save you, or is it about believing that water prayed over by a man of God is what you need to solve all your problems? Is the aim about being more like Jesus, or is it about miracles? When you redouble your efforts to get holy water by getting to the church venue at 8pm saturday when the service starts at 9am sunday, then surely, your aim is to get holy water....but should your aim be to get holy water, or to get to know Christ better? If it is to know Christ better, then trust me, you could have done that in the comfort of your bed!.

All you have to do is pick your Bible, ask God to through His Holy Spirit speak to you, and read it! It's as simple as that.

Anyways, I think this is enough for now....I hope I did not miss my aim of trying to get we Christians to take a step back from being fanatics who double our efforts in search of miracles, while missing the point of what Christianity really is about....i.e living like Christ.

Baby on Board

I was driving home yesterday on the Accra Tema Motorway. I think I should at this point clearly indicate that I don't drive like a woman. I'm the kind of girl who honks at the car doing 80kph ahead of me in the inner lane and keeps flashing my headlights into your rearview mirror until you move to the outer lane..well, at least that's what i used to do until my car developed this problem where it starts to vibrate and shake between 80 and 100kph...strangely, it doesn't do that when i hit 100!

So yesterday, whiles driving, I saw through my mirror this car coming at real top speed, so i changed lanes to give way. I was really surprised when i noticed it was a young lady driving the car.....and to add to that, there was this bright yellow "baby on board" sign hanging on her back windows!

This sign got me thinking...why would I want to let the whole world know there's a baby in my car? I really don't get it! Is it something all would be mothers except me look forward to?

I tried reading around the reasoning behind the sign, and what I found says "it is to encourage safe driving"!

Oh really? That lady was certainly doing over 100kph, and the limit on the motorway is 100!

I don't see anything safe in letting the whole literate world know that I have a baby in my car. It is even dangerous to me because you're probably making a baby thief's work easier! Telling him/her, "Oh, you've got a potential here"...

Well, I just felt like putting what I'd been thinking into words.... no offence to readers who cannot wait to hang their "baby on board" signs in their cars some day...feel free to put up a post on how it amazes you why anyone would drive around with a baby in their car without warning to other road users....I just might get it after reading that...But until then, I stand amazed!

It's March Already?

Wow! It's been five months since I last posted!....and already three months into the new year! There's no excuse for this...well, I've got loads of reasons and I could start typing away to explain my "laziness". But I'll spare anyone who cares to read the details....I figured I should just put up a post (even if it's just three lines) to help get me back into the writing and posting mood (the same one I found myself in about six months ago)....So, hopefully, I'll soon start writing and posting :). With this being my first post of 2013, let me wish anyone who finds him/herself reading this a happy new year....My new year resolution (which I JUST made) is to MAKE time to write instead of just WISHING i had time to write...So help me God!
Maybe I should mention at this point that I actually made some time to continue the story I was working on before I took my hiatus...I've read through it a number of times, but it's not impressed me and that could explain why it's yet to see the light of day on this blog...

Bill's Story - Part 4

So it's been over a month since I last posted...I have a good excuse...WORK! Anyway, thanks to those who kept asking "when are you going to post part 4?" I managed to make time to pen down something.   I hope it is worth the wait!...oh, and let me add this. I really do appreciate all your comments and constructive criticism, but could you pleaseeeee leave those comments as comments beneath the post instead of sending them through Whatsapp and so on? ;)  A kiss for every comment that comes through here :* 

I was seated at my desk catching up on happenings around the world when my Chief Executive Officer called for me. It was rare for him to ask to see anyone in person. Being such an impersonal man, the telephone was his best mode of communication. His secretary, Marianne, was on the phone when I entered. With the phone wedged between her shoulder and neck, she signalled me to go ahead in.

He was at his desk, furiously typing away at his keyboard. He offered me a seat, his eyes still fixed on his monitor. I greeted and took the seat. It took him well over ten minutes to respond to my greeting. All I did during that time was stare at my fingers, regretting that I had not carried my phone along. I had the option of paying more attention to the pictures hanging on his wall. But who would want to stare at pictures of his boss speaking into different colours of microphones at different events? He finally took his eyes off the screen, stretched his hand to shake me with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and went straight to the point.

“Mr. Mensah, I’ll need you to fill in for me next week at the Annual Architect’s Conference. You’ll have to present a paper on my behalf.” His huge voice belied his tiny structure. I always wondered how such sounds could emanate from a man his size.

“Wow”. That was all I could manage once I got my thoughts in check. This was not the time to be analysing his vocals.

“I know you are probably thinking this is above you, but trust me, I thought long and hard about it before deciding on you.” He went ahead, not giving me the chance to put my thoughts together to say something sensible.

“Jean, being the next in line should have been the one to go, but there is another equally important meeting around the same time.” He handed over a file to me. “This should help you prepare. Let me know if you need further clarification. You can leave now.”  He did not give me the chance to say anything. I thanked him for the opportunity and hurried out.

Marianne’s desk phone was ringing when I went past her desk. Seconds later, she ran after me. “Mr. Daniels wants to see you.”

This time around, he did not offer me a seat. “I forgot to mention that you will have to go along with one of the junior staff. The Human Resource Manager will have to decide which of them goes with you. Speak with him and let me know by tomorrow whom he decides on. That’ll be all”.

I made a beeline for the HR manager’s office. It took him less time to make his choice than it took me to explain why he had to make the choice.  “You’ll have to go with Ralph”, he announced. I heaved a sigh of relief. I’d been praying tongues in my head that he’ll not choose Amy. My prayers had worked! I headed back for my desk, and got so engrossed in getting myself ready for the trip I forgot to check on Berth until close of work. I called her before leaving the office.  From the look of things, I was very likely to meet her at home since she was now going to start packing. I figured I could try convincing her to reconsider her decision to move out. I stopped on my way home and got some pizza with a double serving of her favourite topping. We’ve been together for close to three years, but I was yet to wrap my head around how she could enjoy pizza with pineapple toppings all in the name of Hawaii.

I let myself in and placed the pizza on the dining table. She gave me a hug when she came out after I called out for her. Nothing looked amiss. I started nurturing hopes that she’ll inform me of a change of mind, but she didn’t. The look of delight on her face on sighting the pizza could not be missed. “Oh darling! You got my favourite!”

That got me a quick kiss on the lips. From what most guys tell me, the only things that could elicit such delight from their wives or girlfriends were usually presented in cute tiny boxes, not pizza boxes. I seem to have found a different kind of woman for myself. One that would show appreciation for the most mundane thing you got her!

She went on, “I had wanted to eat after packing, but you know I hate cold pizza.” She went ahead to open the box and took a bite.

“You can always heat it in the microwave later on,” I suggested, and regretted the words once they were out of my lips.

The next slice stopped midway to her mouth. “Do you want me out that fast?” She laughed before I realised she was teasing, but I still went on to let her know how I really felt. “Berth, you know I love you and would move heaven and earth to get you to stay.”

“Bill, we already talked about this, and I’m not backtracking.” She said it in such a gentle way, but the finality behind the words was unmistakable.

“Ok, whatever makes you happy dear.”

“Do you think I’m happy to find myself in this situation?”

I could tell she was slowly getting worked up. I had to diffuse the situation.

“No, I know you’re not happy, and I’m really sorry. But trust me, it won’t be long, I’ll get that smile back on your face.” I walked towards her and kissed her on the forehead. With my arms around her, I looked her straight in the eyes as I said, “I need one thing from you.”

“What could that be?” She enquired.

“Why don’t you stay till the weekend? It’s late tonight.”

She burst into a fit of laughter. “Nice try Bill!” She said between her laughter fits. “I agree it’s late, so I’ll leave tomorrow Wednesday.”

“I’m asking for you to stay till the weekend because I’ll be going to the States on Sunday for the Annual Architects’ Conference and -”

“And you’re now telling me?” She cut me short.

“I only found out this afternoon. Why would I keep this away from you?”

“Ok, that is a good enough excuse. I’ll stay till Sunday then.”

“Aren’t you a darling?” I gave her a hug and went for a quick shower.

The rest of the evening went well. We spent quality time together talking about anything that came to mind. When I asked what I should get her from the States, all she said was “Anything, dear”. I already knew what I was going to get her though. I couldn't wait for her to fall asleep so I could measure her ring finger. We both fell asleep on the couch in the living room, and it wasn't until sometime after 2am when I woke up to use the washroom that I woke her up and we moved to the bedroom. I did not forget to take my measurements before waking her up though.