And it sucks. Pun intended.
Saturday, I travelled to Enugu. I’d never been there, and just the thought of the journey by road filled me with all sorts of queasiness. I imagined Ā armed robbers, deadly encounters with speeding trailers, flat tyres, the driver missing his way… Fortunately, things weren’t so exciting. The trip was 4 hours of unrelieved tedium I spent thinking, reading, wondering.
About doing the right things versus doing what was right. About things like adulthood and responsibility and maturity.Ā Someone once wrote that the first mark of maturity is serenity. If she’s right, then I don’t think I’ll ever be mature. I can’t be serene; I have some sort of mental Tourette’s. I fidget, and when I start talking, sometimes I can’t stop. It’s who I am. I can’t say I don’t wish I was serene. I do. But it’s not a gift the good Lord has seen fit to bless me with yet. Is adulthood something that happens to you whether or not you want it, or is it something you choose? Do you wake up one day and say Okay, I’m an adult from today. I’ve got to act like one.?Ā And if you act something for long enough, does it become reality?
What’s real sef, what’s not? What’s important, what’s not?
My day job asks a lot of me; physically and mentally. I have tried to respond accordingly, but so much more has suffered. My blog, for one. My writing. My still-in-infancy social life in this new environment. My interior life (spiritual). My washboard abs! š Ā I can swear that I’m developing what could turn into a paunch if left unattended.
One of the good things about studying Engineering is that you get a lot of practice solving for ‘x’, an unknown but desired quantity. All of that thinking plus timely advice from good friends, and I have a sort of solution pack, not exhaustive but definitely a first step towards inner coherence.
- Start to think of writing/socializing/prayer/personal health not as luxuries but as priorities.
- Forget multi-tasking, and focus on doing one thing at a time and doing it well.
- Manage time better.
I deactivated my Twitter account. I found out that on the days I tweeted a lot, I wrote a lot less in my diary. I don’t think that’s healthy so I’m now on a Twitter hiatus, sort of. It was fun while it lasted, and I have a feeling I’ll go back later but for the next few months, I intend to dedicate all my wisecracks, wit, sheer brilliance š to my diary and my blog. Yay?
This year, I want to try something new with eurekanaija. The idea is still kicking around in my head but I think you’ll like it. Will keep you updated as it progresses.
Did you miss me?
Dear Acquaintance, We’ve met. You know we’ve met. I know you know we’ve met. You k
Every now and then, a twinge of conscience, an account in red or a well-meaning (or not!) adviser ā
This is how to break up with the juvenile, codeine addict who fancies himself Goth because he paints
Comments
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Chiemerie Nnamani
Great write. Are u now working at Enugu?
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malota
Can’t wait to find out what you will be doing with this blog this year, do share some of the wisecracks, a recent reader of your blog but I will say “Yes, I missed you”
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J.E. Parker
I always say I’ll leave Twitter but I always find myself running back. So I applaud your decision, especially since it involves dedicating more of your time to do what you love doing. I am glad that I’ll more reasons to stop by Eureka Naija now. God bless you. Fulfill Purpose.
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Kingsley
you are doing great. I am a final year elect student at Unilag who has followed your success (Zain etc) and you make me proud.
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Tosin Otitoju
The twitter hiatus is smart. I once stopped writing scraps (journal entries, endless to-do lists) in order to do a manuscript.
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Osemhen
Lol! I understand. It’s hard though. Every now and then, I’ll get a thought I absolutely want to tweet… and then I’ll swallow it, enjoy the pleasure of it alone. š
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Abdullahi Muhammed
Lol! You are not alone Osemhen. Last week, I just let go of my “blackberry”….before I waste my lifetime just pinging!! Are you ever in Lagos this days?
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Osemhen
I do lightning trips! In and out. Are you ever in PH these days? One thing I’m grateful for is that I’ve never owned a BB. I tend to get addicted to social media, can only imagine how much damage it would’ve wreaked in my work life!
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Abdullahi Muhammed
I am yet to return. I was in PH in 2008 (on IT) and had plenty fun. Maybe a visit one of these days won’t be a bad idea.
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ThinkTank!
I might as well have written this myself.
Change in Paunch status – check ( although mine is reducing not increasing)
Twitter account deactivation – check
Musings about life and adulthood – check
Engineering and solving for x – check
Focusing more on my blog/writing and other personal matters – check
Trip to enugu – errr… no ( but I have been on the road/air a lot)Senitments expressed are shared. Adulthood is a strange thing. I think you define what you want your adulthood to be…as much as you can within societal constraints. As to how exactly you go about doing this… Sadly I have no answers. Still working on them. I will let you know if and when I find any.
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Osemhen
*sigh* My best friend says we’re going through a quarter-life crisis. I agree with her. How can your paunch be reducing?! I wish! I exercise and do crunches these days like crazy!
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ThinkTank!
Quarter life crisis eh? Hmmm. Possibly. I wonder when it will be over. Maybe just in time for us to have a mid-life crisis.
Oh, I find that consistent reduced eating and frequent walking are slowly trimming my pauch away. Very. Very. Very. Slowly.
Crunches just build muscle behind the flab. No point. Cardio+diet are the way to go.
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Lolu
Just like Joey Parker, i’ve always said i would close my twitter account but find myself running back like an addict. Wait, i think i’m an addict.:(
So starting from today, i decided to go on an hiatus for 1month so as to focus on school, writing, learning web design amongst other things.
I think you made a wise decision too. I’m a big advocate of time management.
Did I miss you?…I missed your writing:D-
Osemhen
It’s difficult to go cold turkey, I won’t lie. But over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good at being brutal with myself. When I weighed the benefits of Twitter against the costs, it was much easier to let go.
But I think your one-month hiatus is a good idea. Taking it slow always helps. Last year I was a Facebook addict, I went off for a month and suddenly it wasn’t so appealing any more. Might work the same for you.Thank you for missing my writing š That was actually what I meant, I’ve been relatively quiet on the blog.
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Abiodun
Think tank and Osemhen are no longer on my twitter line!? I have not even noticed perhaps because I hardly use twitter these days but if I decide to get active again it gonna be a bit boring without you guys š …
As regards adulthood , I am not sure if it is about being serene or not , but my gut tells me its about being accountable to my decisions…Maybe serenity comes with that!-
Osemhen
Lol! You know what would be uber-cool? If I got paid for every tweet I did (contributed by each of my loving followers). A dollar per tweet sounds really nice. In fact…Twitter should have some premium accounts that if you wanted to follow them, you’d have to pay to do so! I think I managed up to 8,000 tweets. I could do a lot with $8,000 š
I’ve always been accountable for my decisions. The serenity I mean isn’t necessarily peace of mind. It’s… strolling confidently in heels, and speaking softly but firmly and not going, “Oh! Shoot!” almost everyday because you’ve forgotten to do something really important!
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kaudresi
“I can’t be serene; I have some sort of mental Tourette’s. I fidget and when I start talking,sometimes I can’t stop. Its who Iam.”……..And that is what makes you unique. I say keep young!!!
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Timi
Waow..I am fairly. New reader of ur blog, but I must say that I have really been enjoying myself reading ur old posts( like this one š ). I really love how down-to-earth and conversational ur writing is. You souund very interesting, like the person I would like to hang out with *winks, lool. But on a real tho readung ur posts is very refreshing. Oh btw, I would never have thought you studided ebgineering, u seem very girly, lol. I think that’s very cool. Keep doing what u do best. From one of your latest ardent followers :). Take care.
toloruntoba
Yup. That’s one way to beat the dissipation #socmed has brought to us all. I wish you well. We’ll wait, and eagerly read.