13th – All in a day’s work (The day after the day after!)

In the last few days I’ve chronicled the Book Sprint orchestrated by Heinrich Boll Stiftung but facilitated by people (Barbara, Simone, and filed by Louis) from Booksprints.net. Links to those posts are below.

7^{th –} 7th (a.ka. The Day We Got There) – Chronicling the Book Sprint

8^{th –} 8th (a.k.a Day One) – Getting to know you #BookSprint

9^{th –} 9th (a.k.a Day Two) – The Nitty Gritty Stuff #BookSprint

10^th – 10th (a.k.a Day Three) – We have characters! #BookSprint

11th and 12^{th –} 11th and 12th (a.k.a Days 4 and 5 ) – Life! Our baby is born! #BookSprint

 

Do you want to know what I got up to the next day? You’re in the right place.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Woke up still on a high from yesterday, albeit with a fresh headache (thanks to our #TurnUp last night, lol). `Went down to brekky, copped the last two boxes of Special K (since I was the only person interested in the thing), and after gisting with Simone, Elnathan, and Kalu for a bit in our workroom, it was go home time.

 

Went off to my sister’s for her to add up the figures in my time sheet for a gig I worked (I am rubbish with math), and then there was the ‘short skirt discussion’ with a policewoman I don’t have the energy or space to recount.

 

Noticed my dongle (Etisalat) had stopped working on my mac so I went to a service center. Ended up in their mobile booth – never been in one before and extreme dilapidation/extremely poor maintenance aside, it’s a really good idea – where I was told I would be sorted. I wasted two hours of my life there without getting the help I sought, short version including phrases like their technician not knowing how MacBook’s work. Long version would include gratitude to the technician for trying, and his patience, and finally for accepting he didn’t know what on earth he was doing! I would talk about Etisalat being negligent in employing technicians who don’t know the spectrum of their environment.

 

Dropped off the time sheet, grabbed a snack, then pushed off to church to see my darling nephew Boo Boo because I knew he’d be asleep by the time I’d go home. Played with him the rest of the time service held for (((photo))), and then I went off to play catch-up with besto (who’d been in town since Sunday).

 

One hour later (including a call to JT), I tried in vain to reach Pearl. SMH. A bit frustrated and incredibly hungry, I went off to Yahuza, got suya and one incredible banana and strawberry smoothie, and then it was home time!

 

Fortunately there was power, so chicken, smoothie, and antibiotics later, it was time to pack! Yep, I’m off to England tomorrow.

#DiariesOfAnAjala

SOUPS, TEES, ONE OF THOSE DAYS…

I decided to pop to Etisalat’s friendship center to renew my data plan and so I got in a taxi, and we headed for the office around Omega Plaza. Got out of the cab, and dongle in hand I walked up to the security guards only for one of them to ask me, “madam did you come to pay for your internet”? Before I could roll off a ‘no I came to confirm the color of your hair and uniform’ answer, I saw a sign saying that branch was shut down temporarily for renovation and to visit the branches at Ceddi, Silverbird or at the Hilton. To think I left the Hilton less than an hour before. *Sigh*

I turned and walked back to the road to stop a cab, only for a car to pull up and two guys asked me to ride with them. In my early 20’s I would have been flattered, but now? Naaaah! Let’s not even talk about security…

Now I decided to head to Ceddi Plaza because I haven’t been in about three years. On the drive there I noticed a new Sahad Stores; really tall building – obviously the one in Area 11 has really been profitable…

Then there used to be (because I don’t know if it is still there) a joint I knew as ‘under the mango tree’, to the left of Ceddi. Affordable, really tasty food, and back in the day there was literally no one you wouldn’t meet there! I remember driving there with a friend once during the Ramadan fast; the normally bustling, ‘ants-to-sugar’ type place was deserted!  How did we forget the people who ran the place are Muslim?

Anyway, I got into the Etisalat friendship center, and told one of the staff what I wanted to do. I was getting two plans that would cost N16, 000. When he finished activating them and I paid, he said, ‘next customer’ and I asked if they didn’t give receipts for payment. He said I didn’t ask. Really? I have to ask? What if I got home and instead of the 12GB of data I paid for I saw 6GB? How would I prove that I paid for 12? He said ‘madam I don’t forget faces’. I wasn’t impressed at all. Suffice to say I collected a proper receipt and ensured there were duplicates too.

I decided to just look around Ceddi, see what stores were still there from my last visit, and what new ones had cropped up. Entered one lingerie store with absolutely ridiculous prices. There were items from La Senza that cost more than double the original price (not forgetting that La Senza has one sale or the other on at least nine out of the twelve months of the year), and more befuddling, items from Primark for the same price! Haba!!

Reminds me of a particular Zara bag retailing for £80 and daughters of Eve sold the same bag for N60, 000, that’s double and some! A friend of mine had made a part payment, had cause to visit, saw the original price of the bag, and bought two! Still makes me laugh till today, but I digress.

Back to Ceddi. I left that store, and walked past two ladies glaring at me (this unmerited ‘beef’ we females have for each other will only be explained in heaven) and walking towards Bon Café, I looked in at the restaurant on the right and saw a man eating what appeared to be semo/rice flour/eba/whatever. I had to take a call so I stopped walking. Next thing he sipped from a teacup and from his mannerisms, whatever he was drinking was hot! I quickly moved on.

Last stop was Spar, where I got a small pack of cherry tomatoes for N1, 014. They were juicy and very sweet though, so I guess I’ll ignore the price.

I had to go home afterwards, and that’s where this post ends!

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