6th September 2014

             It started quite well with me doing Saturday home chores- washing the toilet and doing some laundry, while listening to a sermon. I had three slices of bread and a cup of milk for breakfast. Then I dressed up in a smart blue top and a pair of black jeans, made sure my hair was in proper alignment, packed my bag ( you know, transfer some things from one bag to the other), then scurried out of the house 'cause I was already thirty minutes late for the Tax Seminar organized by my church. 

            As I walked into the church, I was greeted by a greeter and an usher ushered me to where I was going to sit. I suddenly realized I was quite a distraction because the metal fancies on my sandals jingled as I walked. So I tiptoed, trying to stop them, but to no avail. I finally saw that delaying my movement would only prolong the distraction, so I walked faster and took my seat. It didn't take long before I got into the message of the day. Many speakers took the stage. Though I was hearing some terms for the first time and because I didn't own any business, it was quite enormous to contain, the seminar was really helpful. I'm thankful for the education and I know I'm better equipped for the future. My drama workshop was scheduled to hold at 12 noon, but the seminar had run into that time, so I waited an extra thirty minutes before I left. While in the tricycle, popularly known as 'Maruwa', I contemplated my going for the workshop ('To go or not to go', that is the question). I decided that since I was preparing for a professional exam in October, it wasn't wise to go. So I stopped at my house and brought out my book. As I began to read a few pages, I got a call from the drama director. I felt so guilty for not even taking permission to be absent, so I told him I was coming right away. I took pictures of some pages of the text- a skill we learnt in med school to save time while in the bus, then I jumped up and scurried off again. I met the workshop just at the right time. We were taken on speech for acting by our very passionate and knowledgeable director. It was a very interesting class with some fun practical exercises.

             Then came the event that made my day- seeing Izi, Carina and Uche again after eight years. These were my secondary school mates that I hadn't seen since we left school, save Uche who I saw a month ago, for the first time in that long while. That night she recognized me and called me but it took me a few seconds to recognize her through the darkness. Today's was easier. I could see everyone's faces properly. Izi's was a give-away. She still looked like her. I could recognize her anywhere, anytime. Carina had grown bigger but still recognizable. We met at Shoprite mall, Surulere, where they had been waiting for me, hugged ourselves excitedly and decided to take pictures. I quickly excused myself to the rest room to top up my make up- nothing much, just powder, cause I'd been out since morning. When I came out, I decided to ask someone to take the pics and he said we must buy something for him. I tried talking him out of it jocularly but he was adamant so I left him. I saw another young chap who I asked and he quickly accepted and I felt like blessing his generation. So we took a few pics cause we were running late and exchanged BB pins. Then we went to Filmhouse cinema at Leisure mall, where we paid to see 'Into the Storm.

            At the counter, I brought out my NYSC ID card, hoping for a discount but was disappointed to hear the cashier say that it only worked on weekdays. That ID card had never failed me before. We bought two packs of popcorn and drinks to go with. Bouncers stopped us at the entrance to Hall 2 'cause we had Coldstone ice cream with us. So we had to plead and I implored them to consider that we even bought popcorn and drinks from them, so they allowed us in. We walked in the darkness and found our way to some seats behind. As we sat, Uche suggested we should move forward, none of us responded at first. I sat and tried to recline on the seat but noticed that if I reclined, I'd be blocked by the seats in front, so I understood what Uche meant and then we agreed to move to the front. We secured comfortable seats in front and at the centre and positioned our pop corns and drinks. I was at the extreme left followed by Carina, then Uche and Izi at the extreme right. I tried to get into the story of the movie since we were fifteen minutes late, but was surprised but happy to see that they were still showing trailers of other movies. Izi was right. She had told us that trailers would take fifteen minutes and I had disputed that because I was used to starting movies at exactly the time written-trailers would have been shown before that time. But then, that was for Ozone Cinema. 

          So the movie began. Initially I recognized that the three heads were bowed down and hands were busy with their phones. Of course, changing DPs with the recent pictures of us. But it wasn't long, the heads were glued to the screen, all hairs stood up and butts were at the tip of their seats. I was so on edge. The suspense was just too much. For that moment, I forgot it was a movie. I would say things like 'oya, run away now', 'hey, how can you risk your life, are you mad?' Don't worry. I wasn't the only one. Everyone was tensed. It was about some documentary guys who were on a project to capture tornadoes as they occurred. So you can imagine the kind of suspense in it. Well, the movie ended well, without casualties in the room. I just wondered how it would have been in 3D. We actually came with our 3D glasses but were disappointed to hear that they weren't showing any movies in 3D that day. But at last, I was thankful that we saw it in 2D cause the tension might have been traumatic. (Lol)

          Outside the cinema hall, we took another set of pictures. This time we got a lady to take the pics and she proved to be professional 'cause she snapped from different angles. We got down to the road, spent some time bargaining with a cab guy and dismissing a chyker and then we had our final greetings and dispersed- Izi to Ikeja, Carina to Surulere and Uche and I to Yaba. When I got home, I was so tired but I needed to upload my pics on Instagram and write about the day. So I laid down, brought out my tablet, wrote down some part of this account, but I didn't succeed in uploading the pics due to poor network (I've done that now). Then I began to feel some hunger pangs. I had eaten only 3 slices of bread for breakfast and potato chips for lunch, asides the popcorn at the cinema, so I was really famished. I had some stew in the fridge, so I thought about cooking rice, but it was too late to eat heavy, besides I might have slept off while waiting 'cause my eyes were down heavy. I considered a light meal- Quaker Oats. But there was no milk in the fridge and I didn't like taking it without milk. Then suddenly, I thought about cooking the oats with the stew and some carrots that I had in the fridge. Ingenious indeed. I started to it and in seven minutes I had my Jollof oat meal. I ate it quite compulsorily and sank into a deep sleep. 

And that was how my day went..... *wink

©Radiant ~September 2014

(PS: I would have loved to post pics, I actually tried, but due to technical issues with my tab and probably IT ignorance, I couldn't. So click on this to see the pics. http://instagram.com/officialradiant)