If the World Ends...

I am a man with no regrets. Generally speaking, in the moment I will do what I want without thinking of consequences. This isn't to be confused with the phenomena that is YOLO, these behaviours were well instilled within me before the uprise of the term. And I will not look back with regrets because anything I did, I wanted to do at the time, so why regret? And if it was something where I wasn't in control so didn't have the choice of whether I wanted to do it at all, why regret?

With that in mind, if the Mayan calendar was to be correct, I would have some regrets. Like the regrets of a dying man, my regrets would be of things that I did not do, as opposed to things I did do. The regrets of time escaping me.

So here it is, if the world was to come to an end on 21/12/12, the seven1 things I would regret not doing are as follows...

Broken Glass at Christmas

Come with me as I take you on a journey through the eyes of fictional character Abs Williams, of Nigerian descent (Abs being short for Abiola and the surname a result of colonisation) as he prepares for his 25th Christmas. 

An Unhealthy Obsession

All my life, I've noted in others, and at some stage most likely myself, a desire to retire early. If it wasn't retiring early, it was wanting to retire my mother early. In the more recent years of my life, I've steered well away from that notion, truly wanting to spent the rest of my breathing days writing.

Why do we as humans have such an obsession with retiring early? And why do so few of these obsessions materialise? I think I can answer the first question. It's sad to say but one of the key reasons why most do the jobs they do is because it pays. That could be paying: - the bills
- holidays
- nights out
- addictions
- children
- debts

The Stranger and His Son

Below is a short piece I wrote last year December. It had been intended for the website I was having built at the time but that has been indefinitely postponed. Nonetheless, being that time of year, here it is for your pleasure.

The Stranger and his son

There's a man who I have seen a few times in the Starbucks I go to to write. My guess would be that he is in his 50s or 60s. Having been here for the last two days, as well as seeing him on a number of previous occasions, I think it's safe to say he comes in here every day. I think its somewhat a routine for him. He comes in with his disabled son. I wouldn’t be able to tell you what kind of disability he has but to contextualise and help you to visualise (without hopefully coming across as ignorant) I would compare it to that of Stephen Hawkins, who has a motor neurone disease.

Online Consumption Filter

Like all good things, the general rule is that, whatever it is, it should be in moderation. This is no different to the internet. It's an amazing tool but with it comes an incredible amount of garbage.

Specifically, I wield the sword of opinion upon social networking. Even more specifically, Twitter. Ever since I joined Twitter (just over three years ago), I have always been very conscious about who I would and would not follow (I currently follow 192 people). This goes for celebrities, friends and even strangers. I don't follow some of my favourite celebrities nor do I follow some of my closest friends. Why? In short, because I have no interest in what they have to tweet.

Dear Brain

Hello all, happy Monday. This blog post was inspired by my indecisiveness as to whether to read a book or watch some episodes of Park & Recreation when I returned from my run last night. As is often the case, TV won the ongoing war once again. What was originally going to be a couple of tweets became a confessional in the form of a blog post. Enjoy. 

Dear Brain,

The reason I am writing this letter to you is because I believe I owe you an apology for all the sins I continue to commit against you as I repeatedly choose to indulge in TV shows which destroy your intellectual capacity instead of, perhaps, reading a book, something that will not not only enrich you but surely increase your chances of meeting your true potential. 

My Illicit Affair

Two nights ago I was skimming through some of my old pieces of writing and discovered a few things.
1) I used to be far more open and personal in my writing. 
2) Most of the pieces I've written in the past, I wouldn't post without heavily editing, solely due to #1.
3) There are a few pieces which are fine just as they are.

So here we have it again, another one from the vaults, which fits under the criteria of #3. I wrote this piece around two and a half years ago. Without further adieu... 

Idols, Heroes & Their Teachings.

Idol: A person that is greatly loved, admired or revered.
 
Hero: A person who is admired or idealised for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities.

Keep Ya Head Up, Keep Your Head Down

Dear Hakeem,
I see your struggle and it can't be easy
Seeing everyone around you doing big things
Feeling like your hardwork might all be vain
Wondering when you'll get your own break.
Keep ya head up
It's yours if you keep chasing
Keep your head down
Because their story is not yours.

Neopets & Nepotism

When I first heard the word 'nepotism' used, the memories came flooding back of the countless hours I spent as a child on Neopets. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Neopets is a website where you have ownership of up to four virtual pets (which are all random cross-breed looking creatures). You buy your pets clothes, food, toys etc... It's not as boring (and sad) as it sounds but, if you really want to know more, Google.

Public Property

Earlier this week I was looking at an article on The Guardian's website of a collection of pictures behind the scenes of the White House during Barack Obama's tenure, as taken by the official White House photographer Pete Souza (click here to see them for yourself).

A friend had shared this post on Facebook suggesting that the reason why it may have been of interest to him being 'maybe because he is just a normal man with a very important job' which  I agreed with and it also got me thinking, having been something that I have thought about in the past.

Unlived Nostalgia

Born in the 90s, been dope ever since. I don't even know why I wrote that, it just sounds cool (in my head).

I wanted to write about this topic in my last post, especially as it's inspired by Woody Allen's film Midnight in Paris. As someone born in the 90s, I was very fortunate to experience some amazing things:

The Monkey on my Back

Something I try not to worry about but inevitably end up doing so is living up to my previous work. In this case, my last blog post, which received more views than any of my other previous posts in the space of two hours, as well as the most responses/positive feedback. Of course, I am grateful for this, but I can't help but  feel like I could end up disappointing anybody who expects all my posts to impress them as much as that one. I'm not saying I'm incapable of this, but it certainly is the elephant in the room, or the monkey on my back.

My First Time

Over the last few years, I've amassed some pieces of writing that have just remained on my mac, hidden from the world for various reasons, such as having nowhere to post them.

From time to time, I'm going to post some of them. I can't guarantee the standard matches up to my work today but at one stage I was proud of them and, because of this, will run the risk of not rereading them before posting to avoid the inevitability of meticulously editing...

What I will say of this piece is that, two years on, it still remains one of my proudest pieces of writing. Hope you enjoy it.

My First Time 

Recently I was asked about my first time. After spending quite a while to think about this, trying to rumble my thoughts to think about this…I realised that if I’m being honest, I could never forget my first time. Sharing my experience with the world is only right. For privacy purposes, she will remain anonymous.

The Gift & The Curse.

Passion. 
Talent. 
Dreams. 
Self-belief. 
Confidence. 

I've lost count of the number of times I've heard someone say to either myself or someone else who has a passion for something and pursuing that dream something along the lines of:

"You're so lucky to be doing something you love and find fun, I wish I was doing that."

Or something to that effect.

And the only thing I ever think to myself when people say this is ''no you really do not.'

I am not a jealous person but I have a strange envy for people who are in stable, secure, well-paying careers. Generally speaking, via higher education. I don't envy what they do day-to-day, I envy that they do not have the same thoughts, inner conflict, fears, insecurities. But, most of all, I envy that they are happy/contented to just do something that will pay the bills, and it doesn't matter that they don't love it. Fuck, it doesn't even matter if they hate it if it pays enough.

Happiness? Just Do You

As I start writing this post, I already worry that it won't be concise. I shall try my hardest but please do forgive me if it's not, it'll be worth it. I promise and if it's not, oh well, you've already read it and can't take that away from me . Thanks.

Yesterday, I separately bumped into two people I hadn't seen for three years. The first was an investment banker who's team I interned in four Summers ago. The second, a fellow intern who was in a different department. What are the odds, right?

The investment banker is still at the same investment bank and was surprised at the complete redirection, I'd taken but said "more fun thank banking," which I replied to with "but you've got more stability". That was kind of stupid, investment banking isn't a career known for it's stability but he understood what I meant. From our conversation, it seemed like he was doing well for himself. Twenty minutes later, I bumped into the fellow intern who has now graduated and is currently interning at a creative agency of some sort and wanting to go on to be a talent agent. Suits him.

Football Manager Addiction + Poetry: Personifying Paris

The first three hours of my Friday morning I have been playing Football Manager, knowing that I have 5-10 pages of script to be writing. Don't leave Football Manager on overnight, guys. It will ruin the start of what is supposed to be a productive day once you pick that laptop back up and it's just there, staring you in the eye, inviting you to play it. People think that Football Manager addiction is a joke. It isn't. I can't even bring myself to look in the mirror sometimes, I'd just be so disgusted in myself knowing how I'd spent my time and knowing how I should have spent my time.

WARNING: Football manager has the ability to destroy relationships, degrees, careers and entire lives. There is no greater enemy of progress to mankind. 
Well, my kind of man, anyway.

My On-off French Affair

For as long as I've known, I've had this obsession with France. Particularly, Paris. Between you and I, I'm quite sure the root of it was Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen's Nickelodeon film "Passport to Paris".

Before I went to Paris for the first time in the Summer just gone, I knew I would love Paris. I even wrote a poem about Paris, a place I'd never been - perhaps that'll be my next post on here. The romanticism associated with the city, coupled with the language just intrigues me so much.

Introduction: Short & Sweet

I'm terrible at being concise, I honestly am. I think that might be one of the things I'll (attempt to) achieve with this blog.

About four years ago I started up a blog and I believe this is where my true passion and talent for writing was realised by others, as well as myself. At the suggestion of a good friend who reckons it'll benefit me and my writing in a number of ways, we find ourselves here again. Although this time, I hope to be as impersonal as possible, whilst still being personal.