Corona Feelings

T wenty Twenty-One. A year full of lessons, love, laughter and living. I have been manipulated and 'jostled' but i survived through Christ. ‘Disrespectful’ I was called because I refused to accept mediocrity. Named greedy, a cheat, a liar and odd because I stood firm for the truth.  Others played victim so i could be tagged the horrible and the ungrateful one.  Through it all I am here, because there’s a greater force that beckons me: God and my faith in him!  For the family and friends that journeyed on to the next world, you are missed. I am holding on to the memories we created.  For the loved ones that I hurt through my words or deeds, knowingly or unknowingly, I AM VERY SORRY.  Twenty Twenty-one, a year of Miracles, Signs and Wonders! (Joshua 3:5) 🙏 Thank you, Akpe, Merci, Mostumi, Medase! By Thelma Yawa Obimpeh for Corona(omicron) feelings 

“Truth is so rare a thing; it is delightful to tell it” .   Have you ever fallen in love with a character in a book? You want to read what happens to him so quickly, you turn the pages as swiftly as you can. You’re interested in every page that features him. You turn turn turn then BOOM! An anticlimax. The writer messes with your mind. He is not the ‘man’ you were made to fall in love with. He’s supposed to be a monster. Worst of all, it was not his fault.  When I first read about Prof. Azur, I knew I was going to write about him because I felt he was such an outstanding character. The writer did put him on a pedestal, I was in awe of him. Elif Shafak, the writer, stripped him of all his glory and reduced him to nothingness.  I don’t want to write about a man whose pride was violently taken away from him, had no choice than to live in shame. I still think about Shafak’s unfairness and it irks me.  The story...... Prof. Azur, the God lecturer, he was a charmer. He bro...

“Ah my lady, the last man any woman should think of marrying is the man she loves.” ~Nana  I have a yearly ritual: I reread either So Long A Letter by Mariama Bâ or Changes by Ama Atta Aidoo.  This year I was a bit confused about which book to pick. I wrote both titles on two pieces of paper and balloted. I picked So Long A Letter but deep down, there was a yearning to read Changes (the universe has a way of changing your course).  I ditched my pick and went with Changes.  I have read Changes more than once but this reading was an exceptional one.  I can’t take away the roles - age, maturity and life happenings played in this particular reading. There were pages I was very familiar with, phrases that clung to my chest, I cackled and chortled often because I could relate.The dialogues between Esi and Nana (grandmother), Esi’s mother and grandmother were profound and more meaningful to me. Nana’s advice, I noted it for myself.  I recalled foolish decisions I ...

                My birthday is coming soon, April 1.   I am 39 and very proud of it. Most women shy away from their age and I can’t really tell why?! My younger sister is always dreading her birthdays and one of my cousin’s have been 26 for the past 5 years.  I am one person who bluntly says my age whenever I am asked, irrespective of who and how it’s asked! Yes 39 and beautiful at heart 💜. No children yet and relationship is very much complicated. Relationship wise, I guess I’ve become too comfortable being single. (Hope my mum will skip this part) The things I look out for now are so funny and petty. 1. How he chews when eating  2. Use of shorthand to chat  3. His cologne  4. Low key on social media  5. I’ll end it at 4. In my 39 years on earth, I’ve made some mistakes and learnt a lot from it. I’ve hurt people and  I’m deeply sorry, if you are one of them. Others I know, others I have no ...

I recall before the lockdown in Jan, 2020, I weighed 81kg and I'm 1.7m vertically endowed. That makes my BMI 28.3 clearly above suitable rates. I wore UK size16 and 14 clothes. For my height, the ideal weight should be 72kg, I was 9kg above target Sincerely, with the weight I had, I was looking 6 months pregnant. I often received congratulatory messages, I don’t blame them. One look, and it appeared I had a baby bump. I also had aching knees and was easily whacked at the least physical activity I engaged in. I realized  my weight wasn't the best and had to act on it. I also knew the effects of obesity so it was just a resolution to act right.  I resolved to drop some  5kg by the end of 2020.  My Journey in steps:  1. decided to join an online group focused on healthy weight loss using our own Ghanaian meals.  2. Booked an appointment with my coach who gave me a plan according to my goal. The good part was I could still eat my banku, fufu and rice etc with ...

The new normal... working from home. I've been working from home for the past 1 year due to Covid19.  My initial reaction was unsettling with a dash of confusion. Goals still had to be met from one corner of my bedroom. It was tough adjusting to being stuck in the same place without interacting physically with colleagues.  The advantage was, I still had a job I can do from the comfort of my home. I'm forever grateful for it. I didn't have to make my usual 2 hour journey to work daily. I had less of traffic stress and had the chance to adopt some healthy habits.  There was support from my employer in capacity building to work remotely, mental health and other intervention to make working from home easy. My family was very supportive.. from days everyone had to be quiet because I had a meeting to days they joined me in a virtual celebration with colleagues. I think they also enjoyed a stay-at -home- mum for 1 year. Some fresh meals on a less busy day. I had to come up with...

“ Every Negro walk in circle. Take that and make of it what you will...... And when a negro walk, light get take away from him so he never know when he hit a curve or a bend. Worse, he never see that he walking round and round and always come back to where he leave first ” Two things to note about Marlon James: He’s brilliant and unique with diction and Enthralling with his characters. They don’t go away after you put the book down or done reading.  I finished reading The Book of Night Women this morning. I read his Man Booker prize book, A Brief History Of Seven Killings long before picking this one. If you know me quite well, you’d know I love that book so much.  It’s one of my favorite books.  It takes an exceptional artist to bring to life the characters he portrayed in his book.  It’s a fantastic book. I will recommend it 100% to anyone who wants to read Marlon James.  Let’s talk about The Book Of Night Women. They were six women of the night. The seventh w...

D o  you remember that Jill Scott song about long walks? Let me remind you with the intro: “ You're here, I'm pleased I really dig your company Your style, your smile, your peace mentality Lord, have mercy on me I was blind, now I can see What a king's supposed to be Baby I feel free, come on and go with me Let's take a long walk around the park after dark Find a spot for us to spark Conversation, verbal elation, stimulation Share our situations, temptations, education, relaxations Elevations, maybe we can talk about Surah 31:18” I have definitely been having long walks lately and I can agree with this song writer that it’s exhilarating and fulfilling.  A little background story would do us all some good. I met Sam at his office and got curious. Prior to meeting him at his office, we had interacted over the phone. It was all business. We were both professional. Extremely professional, I must add.  As usual, work took me there. As soon as I saw him, I felt he was diff...

Twenty-Twenty-One is here and Covid is still on the surge and killing people across the globe. Looks like it’s actually going to stay with us longer than expected. Regardless of all the sad deaths, ever increasing infection rates, new strains, inequality in vaccine distribution etc. There’s still some good side to the virus especially for those of us working from home.  I do miss the office sometimes , other days I just wish I’d work from home till I retire. I’m not driving 4 hours to and fro Monday- Friday. This is good for me.  I only miss the office chit chats in the canteen, the afternoon walks around the block, the warm hugs on Monday especially from the guys who smell so *GOOD*.  One funny and interesting thing I miss: the drawing of my eyes brows and *POLISHING* my face in traffic.😜 I’ve been seen/caught a lot in traffic doing that by friends and family. Now to the juiciest part of working from home, I have been able to save 15% of my salary every month, apparent...

  I thought we had Covid-19  under control but Ghana is steadily moving to a second wave of covid cases. Why? People are not taking the Covid-19 protocols serio usly and that’s pretty upsetting . My teammate joins the public transport every day to work and she tells me, she’s sometimes the only one wearing the mask. That’s very unfortunate. I wish we will all be responsible because covid doesn’t end with how cautious you are. We protect ourselves to save ourselves and others. Wear your masks, wash your hands, keep a sanitizer and observe social distance.   Don’t panic if the result is positive, you will be fine. I know you will be.  Drink warm water with crushed ginger and garlic. Add some lemon for a zesty effect. Most importantly, obey the body. Rest. Sleep. Drink water. Lots of it. And stay positive. You will be fine. Talk to friends who care. I just want to send a special mention to that friend who tested positive, you are loved. I will keep praying for you...