Lydia Ukpai @lydia

The crypto event I attended was one of the best experiences I've had in a long time. It was filled with fun, gaming, and a wealth of information about the crypto world. I was fully immersed in the day's activities when they announced a "Fastest Finger" contest. The challenge was simple: participants had to dial a specific code and then input it as quickly as possible. The first person to successfully submit the code would win a prize of 10,000 Naira.

Knowing I had quick fingers, I decided to give it a shot. Who knows? I thought to myself. There were certainly others who might be faster than me, but I was willing to try my luck and aim for the win.

As I prepared for the challenge, I quickly worked out the calculations and retrieved the digits I needed to punch in. With adrenaline pumping through my veins, I typed the numbers with confidence. Just as I was about to submit the code, a sudden error message popped up on my screen.

I hadn't given much attention to the text message we were required to enter, not realizing at that moment that my data was exhausted. I pressed the submit key, but my screen displayed a frustrating "Network Error." Confused and panicked, I couldn't fathom what the problem could be. I tried multiple times to push through the submission, each attempt leading to the same disheartening message.

Eventually, I had to face the reality that the other contestants had likely already submitted their entries while I was struggling with my faulty connection. I took a moment to check the text message again, and that’s when it hit me—I had used up the last drop of my data subscription.

Desperate to participate in the upcoming contests, I reached out to a few friends for support but each of them was earger to win from the fastest finger challenge, so I relax and just watched the fun go on.

After spraying some insecticide in my room, Istepped out to seat around the compound for 30 minutes until the sprayed fumes must have taken action on mosquitoes and cooled off.

I found a comfortable bench outside and under a tree, and there I sat.
few minutes passed and a company came to join me on the seat. we exchanged pleasantries and when he sat and consistently heaved, I peered into his phone to understand what made him sad that was obviously on his phone.

I was looking at what seemed like a livescore interface, he had placed a bet on today's football matches and obviously, his predictions already failed him.
He caught my curious eyes and immediately started letting the load in his heart out_ he had used his course registration fund to place a bet that his friends were all partaking on and while staring at the live score, He was sure to lose his money.
He was a new comer in the betting community, because no male shares his losses on failed predictions with a girl.

After we spoke, I advised him not to ever try betting as people tend to loose more than they even gain, and to exclude religious limitations_ betting was unarguably a bad habit.
He appreciated my words and to assure me of his genuine transformation, he deleted the betting app on his phone, but still I saw the disappointment on his face, he was still bothered about the money he had lost.
A thought almost led me to helping him out but then, one learns with experience. He should endure the pain of the loss.

was going through my bag that contained most of my clothes, and then I found this belt. It had been a long time since I had this belt. I had tied it up as a treasure and kept it at the bottom of my bag, but today I decided to put it on. We were supposed to have a presentation class, and I thought looking good for the presentation wasn't going to be a bad idea.

I put on the belt, but then I noticed that it was kind of hanging on my waist. I didn't know why. I touched it and wondered if it was just a little loose. So instead of opening an extra hole in the belt, I thought it would be better to just leave it that way and let it be. But then, just right during the presentation, when it was my turn to come out, the belt fell!

It kind of aggravated the situation, and it made the audience laugh, but I didn’t actually mind it too much. I knew the worth of the belt and maintained my composure, smiling through it all. Well, many came to ask me about the belt and admired it, saying it looked beautiful, and I appreciated that. But still, that belt almost disgraced me.
But yet, it looked good on me and its colour matched my cooperate skirt.

After getting influenced by some of my friends who used perfume, I wasn't really a fan of perfume, but I think I've sprayed myself either 2 or 3 times while going to school, and I think I started developing some likeness for the scented gas.

Well, I entered the market and decided to get myself a good, well, expensive perfume. When I went to the market with my budgeted plan, I couldn't find the perfume of my taste with the expensive smell that I fantasized, the kind of scent that lasts for several weeks. But then, after wrestling through the market, shuffling and rumbling, I actually arrived at this one perfume. It had a very good scent, and the glass design was perfect. I got that for 5,700 Naira, and that's my most prized possession for now.

No one should start weighing my pockets now, I only got the perfume because I needed it and not like I didnt have problems or some other things to settle with money, its just that sometimes, one need to chase desires momentarily.

Owning a pet was something I looked forward to when I was still much younger. I always admired those movies where the protagonist or the actor would have one fluffy, admirable, small puppy that could talk.

I anticipated that when I grew up, maybe in the university, I would like to get myself a puppy. Not until some months back, a friend of mine kind of suggested that a particular seller was willing to sell a cute puppy for a lower amount. I quickly opted in on them, had to join money from this person and that person until then I met up with the amount and then I got this small puppy dog.

Since then, I've spent on this dog what I have not spent on myself.
I've stayed with this dog for some months now, and I must say that the money I've spent on this puppy is far more than what I've spent on reckless or careless expenditures. You know those expenditures that don’t require deeper thought you just spend, and then you realize you have wasted your money. I think this dog has taken its place.

I do not buy accessories again, I do not go for things that I admire anymore, and I do not even have any savings. Because of my fantasies, I have to budget for myself, and budget for this dog too, and it's taken much.

This dog is already family, and I do love it despite all its disadvantages, I must say. I can't give it up now I've come too far to give up. So let's see where it leads.

I had just finished taking my bath when I stepped out of my bedroom, feeling refreshed. As I opened the door and wanted to enter my room to dry my body, my hand suddenly slipped, and I spilled a bottle of red oil all over the floor.
We all know how expensive that oil is nowadays, and as I picked up the bottle, I realized with that it was more than half spilled it had emptied even more than half. Something I just bought.

What was supposed to last me for about ten meals had been reduced to only last four times. I had just bought the oil that very day, placing it on the cupboard near the entrance to my bedroom, planning to take it to the kitchen later. But it was too late after I picked the almost empty bottle up in regrets. The oil had leaked with such force that I hit it with, splattering everywhere.

At that moment, my day felt like it was falling apart, but what truly spoiled it further was the the rag I had just washed will suffer it more. In a panic, I grabbed the rag to soak up the oil before it spread further into my room and damaged other belongings. I still had some stubborn stains on my bedsheet and the rug that I couldn’t get rid of completely but it fine, stuffs happen.

Today, as I sat down to think, my mind kept going back to my use-to-be friend. I had been feeling really fond of her lately, and our friendship was growing stronger with each passing day. We laughed together, shared secrets, and enjoyed each other's company. It felt wonderful, and I was excited about where our friendship was heading.

But then, something unexpected happened. One day, she started talking about boundaries. She joked about how my calls were getting to be too much. At first, I thought she was just making a funny comment, but deep down, it bothered me.
I tend to take words seriously and always looking for meaning in what people say.

As a good friend, I decided to write her a long message to explain how I felt about the statement she made, I wanted her to know that everyone is different, and I just call her because she’s my friend and I care about her plainly.

When I sent the message, I was hoping for understanding. But her response surprised me. She sent me a sticker that seemed playful, almost as if she didn’t really take my well composed long writeup seriously.
I felt my stomach biting me in disappointment. Since that day, it’s been over three weeks, and I’ve kept my distance from her.

We used to talk often, but now our conversations are different. It was hard to pull though but not when someone I call a friend take me for granted.
She had apologised three times now but I am never letting us go back to the way we used to before.
How was she expecting me to feel when she made that statement.

I was at my usual restaurant trying to purchase some food this evening when I caught sight of people gathering. It wasn’t just a few people oo, it was a large number of people, as if something drastic had happened at that spot.

I didn’t try to figure out what was going on, I was just in a hurry to get my food and rush back home to eat because I was hungry, to be frank.

Then, all of a sudden, I spotted someone familiar in the crowd. It was as if she was the center of attraction, and she was shouting at the top of her voice. I couldn't understand what was going on; she was just shouting. I knew this girl was somewhat of a troublemaker-not a troublemaker per se, but she was a kind of violent person who always liked to pick a fight. You would always see her raising her voice, trying to make an impact...all that kind of things, and I disliked it. When I spotted her, I was like, "Oh, I should call ?, should I go and identify to know her?, should I go closer to just know what was going on?
All sorts of soliloquy came by my head and I think I went with none of the above.
I was home as soon as my food was handed over to me.

During the evening today, I noticed people moving up and down hastily as there was every sign that it was going to rain plus the lightning in the sky.

Meanwhile, I hadn’t eaten anything all afternoon and I desperately needed to find some food for the evening food that which I’m actually eating right now while writing this.

So, I was on my way when, all of a sudden, a bright flash of lightning struck right in front of me. It was the first time I had ever witnessed lightning that was so close and so clear striking. It felt like the my village people finally out for me. It struck so near that I fell to the grounds.

There werent people around, and after I got up, I ran under a nearby shelter because, as we all know, safety first. I watched as other people continued to walk about, unconcerned by the dramatic weather. I thought "Am I the only one who should be afraid of the weather?"

Just then, I gathered my courage, stepped out from under the shelter. Food is life, I couldn't turn back.