Terminal 8: Executive Orders

Posted on April 21, 2014 by De-Me-Stified

Executive OrdersHi. Welcome back. This will be the last episode of the series. It was an absolute pleasure for me, getting to work with some writers I hold in high regard. I have to thank you too for staying with us. Let’s hope all dots connect [visibly] after this episode. [Here’s where we left off]

Today’s writer is @SeunAlade – a trained lawyer, proper good guy and forward thinker. He’s a fantastic writer on top of all that. His enthusiasm was the fuel we ran on……

I had absolutely no clue how my day would go as I left that state house that morning. With the weekly executive meeting out of the way, I thought I’d coast into the weekend. My planned visit to some construction sites was mere formality – nothing I considered disturbing. It looked like a smooth sail. What did I know!

Even Macbeth’s witches could not have predicted a call from the president – but there he was on the first line. It was the last thing one could have expected, seeing as we weren’t from the same party – or on particularly good terms. But, elections were around the corner; sh*t happens. Continue reading →

Posted in #512iMagInG, 5-12 iMagInG, Easter, Leadership, Nigeria, Nurse, Politics, Terminal 8 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Terminal 8: The Great Escape

Posted on April 8, 2014 by De-Me-Stified

Great Escape

Hi and welcome back to #DeMeStified. My most sincere apologies for how late this post is coming. It was 200% avoidable this time; entirely my fault. I did something really silly that set the team back three weeks.

I hope you’ve been able to identify some trends and see what should go where? Today’s writer, @Feyishope, is a medical doctor and a proper marvel. He did all of this from his mobile device.

If you’re just joining in, you’d need about 1 2 3 4 quick breaths to catch up 😉 This would be the penultimate episode – and, with your permission, we’ll proceed.

The pain in my left knee which is usually so slight I forget it’s there had surged to an agonizing throb. The way it does when the cold descends or something bothers me a lot. The jolts of pain that shot through my bad knee as the train shuddered made me regret my decision-albeit necessary-to leave my walking stick in the office. It was going to be a rough walk to my destination. I wasn’t looking forward to it.

I set down the PM newspaper I was trying to read to put the maelstrom in my head at bay. It was futile; I hadn’t gotten past the first line of the headline news since I picked it up. I couldn’t get rid of my friend’s apologetic voice echoing in my head. Loudly. I barely stayed above the overwhelming urge to cry and laugh at the unfair hand life had dealt me. I may have lost all else, but I wasn’t going to lose my dignity and my sanity, not in front of my fellow train passengers. Continue reading →

Posted in #512iMagInG, 5-12 iMagInG, Hospital, Suicide, Terminal 8 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Terminal 8: Friend In Need

Posted on February 22, 2014 by De-Me-Stified

Friend In Need

Hi, and welcome (back). Thanx for all the love you’ve shown the series so far. We didn’t plan for the break to be this long. Glad we can pick up from where we left off. Happy val’s in arrears. 😀

Today’s writer is a man with hands in lots of pies. He does as he preaches and is amazingly thorough. I’m excited to have Obafuntay on here – and he’ll be waiting in the comments section too. Let’s dive!

“Police is your friend” – #Naija Police

You know that pungent feeling of impending doom, when you walk through a hospital corridor? That one you recall for years after the last visit? I don’t feel it anymore; I’ve been through so many it’s begun to feel normal. The past two years have seen me go in and out of hospital more times than I can count.  A part of me dies every time I step back in. So, more of me has gone in than has come back out. Still, my concern is not for myself; I’m healthier than a race horse.

I work in the police department and fight crime by day. At night, however, I’m reduced to a living statue besides his wife’s dying bed. We been here at this point so long I know the names of every nurse and doctor in over ten hospitals. I’ve seen patients come and go – some to joy and cheer, others to tears and eternal silence. Continue reading →

Posted in 5-12 iMagInG, Anger, Cancer, Corruption, Crime, Death, Decisions, Determination, Devotion, Dreams, Family, God, Hard Work, Hope, Hospital, Naija, Nigeria, NoFilter, Nurse, Police, Resolve, Stereotypes, Terminal 8 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Terminal 8: Highs and Lows

Posted on December 31, 2013 by De-Me-Stified

Highs n Lows

Hi, and welcome (back). Hope Christmas was as amazing for you as it was for me? Thanx a lot for making the series so much fun. We’ve literally been here and there – in case you’re just joining in. Now, we continue…

When I woke that morning, I had no idea who or where I was. I felt familiar; heck it all felt familiar – but that was as far as I could know by myself. Time soon came to my aid – and, after the millionth try, I found the strength to open my eyes and crawl out of the couch.

I could feel the forger’s hammer against my skull and an angry yoyo turned in my bowels. Nothing felt right – like a pizza cut by a drunken chef. The details remained hazy but I knew two things for sure: I was me, and this was it. While passed out on the couch, I had drifted through different worlds, feeling like many things. One after the other, though, those worlds had all vanished or morphed into others. This last one, the very worst of them all, felt real. Continue reading →

Posted in 5-12 iMagInG, Anger, ASUU, Attraction, Christmas, Death, Desire, Disappointments, Dreams, Friends, Frustration, Fun, Hanging Out, Hangover, Life, Naija, New Year, Nigeria, NoFilter, Risks, Starting Over, Terminal 8, Tomorrow, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Terminal 8: Crime Pays

Posted on December 21, 2013 by De-Me-Stified

Medical Allowance

Hi and welcome (back). Thanks for the very warm reception of the ‘Terminal 8‘ series. Hopefully, the dots begin to emerge from this episode (you choose when and how to connect them). In case you missed the opener, you can find it here.

Today’s post was written by someone I’ve got tons of respect for – Michael. If I had no more than three words for him, they’d be: Genius, Industrious and Adventurous! He’s (amongst many other things) an excel consultant, and you can learn to fix an ailing government on his blog ;-). ‘Crime Pays’ [sic]!

There I was in in my living room, reading the police account of my handyman’s death. It was the second time in three months one of my top associates had been whacked. I always thought my crew was air-tight – that we had things on lock. But, all that was changing quickly. Instinct told me there was more to the deaths; someone could be making a move on me. It felt like fiction, only realer!

My wife is the best woman God made. She thinks her husband is into the booming haulage business, so she focuses on raising a great family. Even though luxuries abound, we vowed to teach our kids the walk of honour. My daughter is in the uni, studying to become a lawyer and the boys graduate from college in a few months. Overall, we’re the perfect family – and I, the father of dreams. But no one can know the truth – at least not them; I would die to keep them safe from it. Continue reading →

Posted in 5-12 iMagInG, Choices, Christmas, Corruption, Crime, Death, Family, Frustration, Life, Nigeria, NoFilter, Repercussions, Terminal 8, Trust | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Terminal 8: Medical Allowance

Posted on December 9, 2013 by De-Me-Stified

Terminal 8

Hi. Welcome (back) to #DeMeStified. As usual, I start with an apology for the silence. Usual as it may sound, this time was different. I promised in the last post that the next was going to be a ‘silly series’. The team and I have been working on that. Sometime later, I may be sharing the post I was sorely tempted to put up hours before the Paul Walker crash. It was about my race-car uncle, a Brazilian – and their fatal crashes. Thoughts of the promise just wouldn’t let me post anything else before this.

Today, we kick off the ‘Terminal 8‘ series. Parts of it may remind you of yourself or someone  – but it’s essentially a string of posts themed to appear random and totally unrelated. Life, though, is anything but that!

Think you know where this is heading? Comments box is open below. @Dhamani_ takes this opener. Enjoy!

At 5:30pm, my bags were packed. I’ve never been in such a hurry to get home. NEVER! I just wanted to get away from here, the drugs, the smell, the eyes and the beds. Moreover, I had to get some groceries before the stores closed.

I hated the train stations for all they were – dirty, crowded and old. But, somewhere in my mind, I knew the train was the fastest route from work to those incredibly cheap stores. That’s what you get for living uptown and working in the middle of nowhere. Continue reading →

Posted in 5-12 iMagInG, Friends, Fun, Hospital, Life, Nurse, Terminal 8, Work | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Solemn Souvenirs

Posted on October 18, 2013 by De-Me-Stified

SS

Hi. Welcome [back] to DeMeStified. Happy [belated] Eid.

Michael did a post a while ago about some of the weird things he does and I made the mistake of commenting. Now, he’s asked that I compile and post a similar list. Hopefully, you’ll see it soon. The next post, however, should be the start of a series featuring a few of my favourite contemporaries. Still piecing the central idea together.

I threw a #SpotTheDifference challenge a few days ago about a picture I took and had to retake [cover pic for Potential Independence]. I had forgotten to clean the scales on the tap before taking the initial shot. Interestingly, only three people cracked it – and that’s from all of facebook, twitter, whatsapp, bbm and God-knows-where-else. Some of the attempts just reminded me of our inherent tendency to complicate otherwise simple things.  It was a load of fun, though.

Continue reading →

Posted in 5-12 iMagInG, Bucket List, Friends, Friendship, Fun, Humour, Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Potential Independence

Posted on October 4, 2013 by De-Me-Stified

PI

Hi. Welcome back to #DeMeStified. Hope I don’t owe any apologies? Let’s get to it, then.

“What a man can be, he must be” – Abraham Maslow

“Live long, live good. Above all else, live full” – Imisi

A few days ago, just as I started work on this post, the most tragic news came through. Scores of Nigerian students were murdered in their sleep by the usual ‘unidentified gunmen’. There was a #PresidentialMediaChat not long after but it failed to do the issue justice. It really makes one wonder. I just want to say my thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased. Nothing one knows to say can soothe the ache.

Some reports put the number at 44, some say 50; others says 78. We can’t be sure – but this one thing is certain: even 1 is too many. No parent should have to bury their children. It’s just not one of those things one should ever experience.

I remember being posted up north for service in 2010. I had no knowledge of the terrain – only the risks. Media reports made it clear that the farewell I bade my family could easily have been my last. But, it was a stage of my life when I was learning to give up control and make the most of life’s seeming randomness. So, against very dear advice, I packed and left. Continue reading →

Posted in 5-12 iMagInG, Independence, Maiduguri, Nigeria, Potential | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

I Don Port Oh!

Posted on September 25, 2013 by De-Me-Stified

I Don Port Oh[Image Source]

Hi. If you’ve been a long-time follower of #DeMeStified, then the timing of this post might excite [or worry] you. Two posts in as many weeks? Not sure we’ve had that here since 2011!

Every post over the past year has had to contain some form of [subtle] apology for the long preceding silence. Somehow, I get the feeling that’s about to change.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference” ~ Reinhold Niebuhr Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Change | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Nothing Makes Sense

Posted on September 9, 2013 by De-Me-Stified
 
[Image Source]
Hi. Trust you have been well since my last post. Thanx for being here again. I hope today’s post meets you well. You may find it’s my most incoherent yet, being largely reflective of the past few months. I’ve tried to keep it short – but it appears I failed again.
Today, we query the very essence of logic. We ask ourselves a few questions that may help us see things differently. We may never have the answers we seek – but asking alone is more than half the walk.
Before we get started, let’s just run through a few interesting things that have happened since the last post.
*I smashed the local record and came down with malaria four [4] times in 10 weeks.
*I tuned up on one of my many hobbies and started the #512iMagInG photography line. I’m thinking to open a new page on here and show you a few works.
*Remember the woman I met a while back? Well, she’s now [officially] “Ms bRinE” 😉 . She hates my pancakes – but warms up my world otherwise!
*Just when I was getting rather good at it, I resigned from my 9-6 [actually, 6-9]. There’s this thing they say about ovations, noise and bowing out. Not quite sure I remember how to phrase it.
All that said, let’s get to it.
“Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen” – A. Einstein
“What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning” – W. Heisenberg
People question the need to change a ‘winning’ team. We’re taught never to trade the known for the unknown – to persist with the assured. But, what guarantees do we have that’s not premised on the uncertainty of our next breath? If anything, time has taught us that is the illusion of comfort is the worst form of suicide. What if the logic we have come to know actually works in reverse? What if to be more, we must [first] be less? What if we find we’re all first-class entries? If we realized there was no generic standard for success, would we still be in the rat-race?

Continue reading →

Posted in #512iMagInG, Common Sense, Joni Eareckson Tada, Life, Logic, Malaria, Slumdog Millionaire, Zero | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments