Bibian Ukwueze @bibianeby

It's always funny how it becomes so hard to keep saving when you actually have access to that money at any point in time. Well, I decided to accumulate a little bit of cash here on MindViewers. It’s been quite a challenging task to reserve the money and watch it grow daily, from nothing to a little something.

We all know how the economy has been. Even with #100,000 now, the probability of celebrating a stable Christmas still feels a bit shaky. So, I’m actually planning for my Christmas to focus on being happy and making my siblings and those who look up to me happy as well on that day, rather than overspending or stressing over material things.

It's very hard to save. Each day, I look at the money and think about taking out #10,000 or even #5000, But consistently, God has been helping me.

I had the biggest fight in my 7th journey about 3 days ago, or maybe it was 2 days ago; I can't remember exactly which day it was. On that day, I had some bills that I needed to settle, and I looked at this money. It took me several hours contemplating whether to make a withdrawal for the next day or just pretend like the money wasn't there. I'm very glad that, after everything, I actually chose to pretend like the money wasn't there, and it worked for me. I was able to fix the bill and continue with my life. I pray that God continues to give me this grace so that Christmas will be as joyous as anticipated— not too much, but just beautiful and something worthy to remember.

It has been a long time since I last tasted noodles, lets say it has almost gotten to a year, in fact. After my friend’s first visit, I decided we should make noodles and eat quickly. Since I didn’t have any pre-made food, I opted for noodles, which would be easier and faster to prepare.

As we got cooking, my friend went into the kitchen while I waited. She handled all the actions in the kitchen while I waited eagerly for the food to be ready, hoping to have a taste and remember what noodles were like. Although I still had a vague memory of their taste, I realized I wasn’t as fond of them anymore. I had grown tired of noodles and stopped buying them long ago.

However, after I took a bite of the noodles my friend made, I must say she could really cook! That single bite rekindled my love for noodles. So, as a matter of fact, I will be going to the market tomorrow, and I think I will add noodles to my shopping list.

After the cholera outbreak, I became scared of buying handmade drinks from nearby stores and vendors. I worried because these drinks aren't made in professional or certified conditions. I didn't want to risk buying from street vendors anymore.

So, I decided to make soy milk for myself. I gathered everything I needed for the process, including grinding, sieving, and filtering. It was a bit tough, and I couldn't help but wonder how those vendors manage all the work and expenses.

Soaking the soybeans overnight, I spent hours rinsing, blending, and straining, all while trying to perfect the smooth texture I desired. At each step, I became increasingly aware of the hidden costs not just in terms of the ingredients, but also the time and effort I was investing. The supplies, and the utility bills, began to pile up.

Once I calculated the cost price of my homemade soy milk, the figure stunned me. It far surpassed what I would pay at the store, especially from those who had turned soy milk production into a thriving business. I found myself thinking if those who made and sold soya milk as a full time business, do see any gain from this endeavor after I filled some cans and estimated their cost.

With everything becoming increasingly expensive in the market, I realized that the joy of making my own soya milk didn't satisfy the state of the situation. Maybe it was best to leave the soya milk to the professionals for now. After all, I had quenched my taste and hunger for this delicious beverage; it was time for me to step back and cool out, letting others handle the complexities of soya milk production.

I saw a picture of two pairs of shoes that looked really cool. They caught my eye right away! I was so curious that I decided to investigate them further. I looked up information online to see if they were good quality. I found out that many people said they loved the shoes and that they were really good.

So, I decided to buy them! I found out that they cost a bit more than if I went to the store, but I was excited. When the shoes arrived, I was really happy with how they looked. I checked them carefully, and the quality seemed good.

But when I wore the shoes for the first time, something strange happened. With each step I took, I noticed that the bottom, or sole, of the shoe started to break. It felt like the sole was wearing out very quickly, and I was disappointed.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I discovered that the sole of the shoe was wearing out. So I took it to a shoe man to examine what exactly was the cause of the problem, whether it's just the nature of the shoe or just the way it's supposed to be. So he confirmed that the heel was expired and I would need to change it into a new one. Remember, this is a foreign product, you know how costly buying their parts were.

As I was sitting today in my seat and reading a novel, a romance novel to be specific, I spotted a large mosquito fly in through my doors. I had opened the doors and left my curtains down, you know, and suddenly this mosquito, which was extremely larger than the normal species, made its entry.

I immediately glanced around for my broom, but I couldn’t find it at first where I had dropped it, it might had slid away.
After a quick search, I finally picked up the broom and made my way back to confront the mosquito. It flew around loudly and sharply, with that irritating sounds that all mosquitoes made, except that for its size, the loudness was more loud.

I fought this mosquito for several minutes, waving the broom in all directions, until I finally managed to hit it. It fell down, and I couldn’t help but study it like a scientist examining a specimen. It was such a funny experience though, I couldn’t help but wonder, is that kind of mosquito categorized in our biology, I doubt if a mosquito that large was categorised in those textbooks.

It was a busy day trying to finish this certainwork. So focused that I didn’t see the time moving extremely fast, till now I cant tell how it happened that I wasnt timing myself. But suddenly, I looked at my phone and was shocked that it was already past 12 pm.

My tummy was growling and battling with me to serve it it's first offering because I was very hungry, but I was still trying to round up the work which was almost completed before I continued with any other thing.
If you want to know how much focus I had on this task, then I should let you know that I didn't was my morning face.

When I got done, I thought about getting dressed to go buy something to eat. Just then, I heard a knock at my door. It was my friend, my nice neighbor! She had a big, beautiful plate that was showing of hot smoke.

When I took the plate from her and opened it, my eyes was greeted with the kind of aroma you only find in rare places
She had given me a plate of well cooked spaghetti and two slices of fried fish on it. The smell made me very happy as i quickly thanked her and ran to get my fork. I ate carefully not to spill anything. People can cook, forget stories.

Today, I spent about five hours in church, the two hours service and the youth meeting which took 3 hours.
We were supposed to have a youth meeting, and I was one of the organizers.
I had the chance to speak for some time and received cheers for my good suggestions, which felt amazing. There were definitely others who spoke much better than me, but I was still proud to be one of the people who contributed to the discussion.

We had agreed on a certain plan and finalized our goals for the following week. It was great to see that next Sunday, we’re going to kick off our initiatives. What surprised me was that the meeting wasn’t announced early after church, so we were expecting a low turnout. However, people showed up in their numbers, and that really lifted my spirits.

We also contributed to buying soft drinks for everyone who attended, making it even more enjoyable. Overall, it was a nice day, filled with good discussions and a sense of community.

I use to hear and see people reading through the night with some kind of either coffee or a kind of energy drink, which I've not fancied for long. Sometime during the early stage in the university, I read an article that highlighted the health implications of taking coffee, caffeine-related and all those energy drinks, and I’ve abstained myself untill yesterday.

Yesterday, my friend came around and insisted that we do a night story. Well, she came along with some energy drink, and then during this night study, she gave me a bottle. I drank it, and I think I'm loving it. I think I would get it tomorrow morning, but I'm still trying to keep myself away from it.

This is just a way of somebody starting an addiction without knowing, and I do not want to be a part of it. I enjoyed the energy drink honestly, and it kept me active throughout the night, but I do not want to get addicted to any sort of drinks. I do not.

My friend called asking for help logging into her account on Chrome. She was pretty frustrated because she’d been trying to sign in each morning, only to find herself locked out yet again when she check back.

As I listened to her explain the situation, I could almost picture her there, scratching her head in confusion. So, I calmly explained that simply logging in with her email and password might not be the best option. I told her that it was more prescribable to really use the Google sign-in option to log in directly.

But oh boy, she was one of those people who just didn’t get the simplest things on the internet or smartphones. It didn’t help that she kept interrupting, trying to make a point where there isn't, it was just her usual way of doing things. I could feel my patience wearing thin, but I really wanted to help her.

I found myself chuckling softly as I guided her step by step. It felt like we were in a tech version of building up a Web or something bigger. I gave details to every single directive. From clicking Google, inserting her email, how to recover her email password, how to confirm "not a robot"!!

It was a long process, almost like it stretched out for ages, but finally, after what felt like 3 years, she managed to maneuver through the options and successfully signed in with her Google account.
I could feel her tension soften as she cheered from the other side of the line.

Later that evening, she checked back in, and called to tell me that she was still logged in. I couldn’t help but feel satisfied, it was like I accomplished a lot in one day. It’s funny how something as simple signing in from Google could seem like a full time job.

My friend, if you read this story, no vex oo, na the only story wey dey my head I talk 😂 and you know I'm not a story writer and too much story no dey my head.