MWP - The Familiar Smell by Makuochi Okafor

This episode of Myne Whitman Presents is a short story by Makuochi, a young writer, and a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (B.sc). He loves Music, Dance, Arts and Nature. He blogs at www.sugarabc.blogspot.com. His literary works has been published both on print and online media including Naijastories.com. .

Below is his haunting story of a blind young girl and her experience of love. The first time he sent it to me, it was unedited, filled with typos and I stopped reading by the second paragraph. I told him my impressions and he apologized and promised to work on it. This final version is not perfect by any means but I got the story. I loved how the writer let out the details slowly and pulled me along as I read.

Enjoy and tell me what you think...

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Dear diary,

Pardon me for not updating lately; I’ve been very busy recently, rehearsing my keys for my live performance with Asa. Today is a memorable day for me and I have promised myself that I must tender you my story in shorthand.

Today makes it exactly one year that I met Ifeanyi. I still remember vividly that very morning, I woke early and while I had breakfast I overheard Ellen DeGeneres talking on the television, excited about the coming holiday- St. Valentine’s Day, she was talking about how valentine comes with magic. She spoke so convincingly that I believed her. I went to school that morning expectant; I had been infected with Ellen’s excitement. I waited for the magic, but nothing came. Nothing spectacular happened. Nothing magical, except for a rather strong, strange smell in class. Amidst all the perfumes and scents in class. I could perceive a difference. This scent was strong, manly and well, very angry. I loved it because it was a mystery for my nostrils to interpret. From it, I knew one sure fact; that someone me had joined our class that day. I heard it was a boy.

Charly Boy - Commercial Waist

Something to while away the weekend with.

By the way, why do young, beautiful women (video vixens?) continue to appear in these music videos that have no respect for women. In this one, Charly Boy (a father and grandfather of women) seems to be saying that commercial waist is what all women are. I don't blame him, when for a fee, the dancers are willing to wind the waist for him.

Enjoy the weekend my people and see you on Monday. Take care.

Relationship 15 - I have to drop it.

So I was reading about Jessica Simpson in the Stand Up to Cancer Naija Blog and the article was about her wedding being postponed because she had to lose the relationship 15. As I read what relationship 15 they were referring to, I began to nod my head. According to that post, relationship 15 "where you gain 15 pounds thanks to late night dinners with your S.O." I googled the phrase, could it be this was a common occurence and I thought it was just me?

I have gained about 8 pounds since I got married, and it's not just from being a writer and working from home. There's also that I'm cooking more regularly, and eating more. When I was single, I used to eat mostly once a day, and munch and snack fruits the rest of the time. Now I eat twice a day while still munching. And not only that, I somehow think dishing a man's food makes me get a larger portion too. Does that even make sense?

Anyway, I have determined to drop at least 5 pounds before the end of summer. And I'm glad I said it here on the blog, I think it will make me more accountable. Wish me luck!

25 Questions Tag

Hi everyone, so I'm back. Not that I've been gone that long but I missed you guys. Anyway, I came across this meme and decided to do it. Feel free to take the questions and answer on your own blog. I hope we can share the blog love...

1. Do you have any pets?
No pets, unless you count the many fish, cats, and hamsters I feed during my rounds to various blogs. LOL...

2. Name 3 things that are physically close to you.
Laptop, cup of water, table lamp.

3. What's the weather like right now?
Cloudy, and a bit cold at 51 degrees

4. Do you drive? If so have you crashed?
Yes and no, never crashed, hope I never do.

5. What time did you wake up this morning?
6.33am, I am a lark. You know 'early to bed and early to rise'. Even when I do go to bed late, I still wake up early, it's a habit.

6. When was the last time you showered?
This morning. I'm not one for baths.

7. What was the last movie you saw?
Rio - fantastic animated feature, with a great love angle.

8. What does your last text message say?
it is one from my sweetie and sorry I can't share it here, hehehe...

9. What's your ringtone?
Allomorphic expressions or something like that.

10. Have you ever been to a different country?
Many different countries - UK, Germany, Switzerland, USA, Canada, - all in the last 5 years.

Z is for Zinfandel

Zinfandel is a variety of black wine grape grown in California and from which a type of red wine is made. Why this word for today? Join me to toast to the successful completion of the A - Z Challenge!

It has been a hectic ride, lol...and I'm happy I stuck to the end. Congrats to all the other challengers, and thanks to everyone who has been following and commenting. To all my new followers, you're welcome and I'll be back to regular programming soon.

In the meantime, I'm taking a couple of days off! :)

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Picture from http://www.ryhanestate.com/scripts/wineList.cfm

Y is for Yellow Tulips

This year, as spring progresses and the weather starts getting better, we decided to be part of the Skagit Tulip Festival. The festival is more like a pilgrimage by people from across Washington State, the US and even other countries to visit the Tulip fields and admire the beauty of nature. It was a great day and a lovely outing. Enjoy the yellow tulips today, more pictures of red, pink, and moi coming soon.

X is for X-Rated

In a recent interview with Pamela Stitch which you can read and listen to HERE, I was asked the following;

In ‘A love rekindled’, we see more explorations of adult themes compared to ‘A heart to mend’. I am talking about sex scenes - how was it writing those sex scenes?

I replied that it was like any other writing. I mean sex is part and parcel of life and relationships, and my books are all about that. I also added that I had three other sex scenes in the book which were cut when I was editing because I believe sex in writing should move the story forward.

Today for that hard letter X in the A - Z challenge, I bring you one of the deleted scenes. Writing for me is about connecting, making my readers feel - cry, laugh, think, and enjoy. Yesterday I made some of you cry, today, allow me to ..........

W is for Writing - Inspired by A Love Rekindled

Do you remember Twin Bonds from Honing my Short Story Skills? The complete and edited version was published today on Bellanaija.com.

I buttoned my tuxedo, and looked back with a tight smile at the man who stood behind me. The wedding was in an hour, but it wasn’t nerves at seeing my lovely bride that choked my throat. Painful memories swamped me from all sides. My best man was supposed to have been my brother, my twin brother, Odion. Our plan was either to get married on the same day, or be each other’s best man.

Odion and I were identical twins. Mama bought us the same clothes when we were children, and made sure we were in the same class throughout primary school. We went everywhere together. We got on very well together and so we didn’t mind. We loved the same type of food, and wore the same clothes most of the time. We shared one of the rooms in our house, but where we spent most of our time was in a field not too far from our back door playing games together. In the rainy season, the grass in the field was so tall, you could play hide and seek there. But it wasn’t difficult to find each other so we rarely played on our own.

Read the complete story on Bellanaija.com

V is for Voter Violence - Nigeria

And a community response to it.

So the presidential elections led to some violence, especially in the northern part of the country. Sectarian violence has always been a part of the history of Nigerian, right from Amalgamation, and then independence in 1960. Always, there would arise a reason for the (usually) Muslim northerners to attack the Christian southerners among them and unleash mayhem and death. The worst in recent history was in 1967, and led the civil war in which Biafra tried to secede from Nigeria. The war ended and the NYSC started as one of the strategies to broker complete peace.

Unfortunately this same scheme, and worst of all, the young people that are it's lifeblood, was the target of rioters and murderers who took to the streets to protest the outcome of the presidential elections. These malcontents were offended that their Muslim candidate did not win, and blamed the youth corpers who had been in charge of the polls. Within hours, and lasting for days, youth corpers were pursued along the roads and butchered, locked up in their lodges and set ablaze, and had other atrocious acts perpetrated on them. No official number has been released so far of the number of people who died in the outrage, and no definitive action has been taken by the government so far.

And so Nigeriavillagesquare.com is sponsoring a petition for;

- All youth corpers serving in these volatile states be withdrawn immediately.
- All youth corpers serving in these volatile states be redeployed to other states of their choosing, or be excused for the rest of the service year.
- All youth corpers be excused from serving as electoral officers in the upcoming governorship elections as we are not convinced that adequate and confirmed security can be provided for them.
- The identities of all youth corpers who lost their lives in this violence be made public.

You can click here to sign the petition.

U is for Unhealthy Relationships

So, one of the stories going through my head has to do with someone who has experienced and abusive relationship, and is wary of investing in any other person. As I've tried to write a profile for her, I had to do some little research on this issue.

Unhealthy relationships are those ones that mentally stress you out, and they can also sabotage your physical and emotional well-being. And I'm not just talking about romantic relationships, it could also be with parents, siblings, friends, co-workers or bosses, etc. it may be easy to define, but how exactly can one know that they're in an unhealthy relationship? The following are some specifics;

- You feel afraid, and your heart races when the person is around.
- You think that you and your opinions do not matter in the relationship.
- You emotions do not count, and are actually disrespected
- You are always worried about the future or nature of the relationship
- You both have very different ideas and values and you're always the one to compromise
- The other person's anger overshadows you, and you change your actions, or lie to escape their wrath
- You feel you deserve the criticism you receive from them.

If you feel like this in your current relationship, it may be time to assess why you remain in that position. Whether at work or at home, you deserve peace of mind, and a optimal health. You may confide in a trusted friend, family member, pastor, or consult a therapist for counseling.

Usually, the first way forward is to improve on  communication between you and the person aggravating you. Be honest with them about how you feel, and how you expect to be treated. Here, you can try listing the behaviors that hurt you, and a better way the person could have phrased it that you would prefer.

If the person is apologetic and willing to work with you, you can then decide on ways forward. Try to schedule times just to talk. Also make time for both of you to simply have fun. If you're using a professional counselor, it may be time to meet them together, and try to work out if there are underlying issues that need to be solved.

If none of the above works, it may be time to end the relationship. Leave that boyfriend, husband, partner, resign from that job, or just begin to put some distance between you and the person if you cannot leave them entirely, like a co-worker in a job you may not afford to quit.

This is a serious post because I believe this is a sensitive issue.

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image source - nyblogs.net