lagosstar

2010-02-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

Its been really hard writing , i had to really give it my all to finish my first draft which has been done yippee.
I am now working on two projects one you can follow on twitter http://twitter.com/lagosstar and the other you can follow on scribd http://www.scribd.com/lagostar where i shall paste my current writing exercises which will probably bring tears to your eyes as they are supposed to draw all the drivel out of me .
As recommended by my wife the brilliant mrs D it involves 30 mins of writing once a day,the idea being ,so i can be succinct and bright when i go back to Moyos story .

In the mean time i am working on on finishing PoP my beach house which is a wonderful fun project http://www.flickr.com/photos/lagosstar/ also included are pictures from the original lagosstar blog

working on a social media /online sales campaign for my work www.eaglepaintsng.com its very early days ,but very exciting trying to ride the edge of the tech front in deepest darkest Africa

2009-06-01T05:41:00.000-07:00

My people have a saying ;
" the father of a child is the father of all children "
This is the first of many blogs on my letters to my children .
4 years ago i created a now defunct website called lagosstar with the main intention of providing information on the city I come from Lagos Nigeria .It was meant to be a link between the city and people who visited ,providing you with your basic 6 degrees of seperation
In researching articles for the publication ,I became deeply interested in the history of my people and aware of the geography of the place .
Lagos is a town built around islands set in a series of lagoons and is therefore very beautiful although in its chaotic pace few people get the chance to stop and admire the city
Its history is based on the constant influx of foreigners through the years and the cultural impact this has had on the people.
Going through the Tate Modern i came across a painting by Asger Jorn titled "letter to my children"
And shortly after that ,while battling jet lag in Los Angeles i had a dream which developed into the story which i decided to write as a letter to my son .
Moyo's Tale
It tells the story of a young boy and his friends who meet a man called Olotu and find a portal in the ports near where they live .They travel back in time and fix a lot of wrongs that have happened For example the slave trade . And in doing this transform their present life ,the main point is to show my sons and daughters what a different life we could all have if we chose to care , to be brave and considerate , it tackles everything from slave trade to recycling to pollution and resource control ,while giving the reader a quick history of the world with sometime in 1422 as the pivotal date when the portal was first established , we learn from the point of view of a twelve year old boy standing somewhere on the coast of west Africa what happened from the ice age to 1986 the year in which the book is set .

The book has its origin in scifi and watching Startrek with my son i realised i have inadvertently written a prequel to just about every scifi movie i saw as a kid , which is cool !

A lot of information about the book research etc have been uploaded to scribd see link and i shall be twitting about it , the information on scribd is delibrately not edited and requires a great deal of patience , i shall be uploading on to scribd edited versions which can be accessed with permission .

I look forward to the challenge of learning how to write , while telling my tale , which i hope will help make the world a better place for my children .

2006-12-06T03:02:00.000-08:00

I came ,i saw i ran,i conquered.
I arrived at the meet at around 6.30 am surprisingly there were very few people milling around the CMS end ,the experience concert at TBS was just wrapping up and they seemed to have had a good time . I crossed the road and arrived at outer marina to a barrage of MTN officials and police men shouting at no one seeing as there was no one there ,saying things like only does in yellow jerseys allowed , I kept walking , at first it was dis orientating to see so few people i kept on thinking i must be early ,or in the wrong place , etc .
I saw so few people i belived it was going to be cancelled, by 7.20 when those of us who had bothered to show up got shoved further ,to accomodate a 'minister' who had arrived for a photo up there could not have been more than a few hundred of us , MTN the sponsors should hold the organisers accountable so often we talk about accountability and corporate responsibility well it would seem MTN has been grossly negligent in both ,
A quick poll revealed that everyone there in a yellow jersey had registered by form , not by SMS the organisers had claimed that over 45000 people had registered by this method ,this was a lie ,no one could register .I know because i could not , and none of the people at the meet who tried could.
I ran ,
I got of to a late start ,i forgot to send of my customary begging text on behalf 'sponsor a child' until the starting pistol went off.
I got of to a bad start ,in the confusion i started of running in my old style which i had spent all year trying to change after the injury from 2005, once started i couldnt change it .
the conditions were perfect ,the temperature was low and the sky hazy , the organisers had decided to slash the water stations by about half ,which was annoying.
I got injured at about 13km just opposite the cathedral church on marina my achilles tendon kicked in and i had to stop running and reevaluate .
With so few people running i could not walk i would have been left to the mercy of the Lagos traffic so i walk /ran the rest of the way the longest 7km i have ever endured.
would i do it again ? Hell no.
But then again memory of pain fades fast , my memories are mainly of the sights and sounds and what a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours looking at your city,also i saw the times ran by the winners 1hr 3mins men and 1hr 16mins for the women . this is not to far from what i had done in the past may be a bit of competitive spirit would help give it an edge next time, who's to say .Lets see how i heal .
Its been great .

2006-11-28T07:49:00.000-08:00

Ran the 18k this morning and fell flat on my face at about 11km which happens to be quite a popular intersection , o well, the great thing about falling is ; he that is down need fear no fall ....
besides the new way of running as prescribed by all the professionals is to run on your toes falling along so to speak .

I have been limping all day long at work and i think people are placing wagers on wether i shall run or not the odds are against ,i may join in the wager on the sly and see if i can increase the money i raise through foul means as well as fair.

The limp is due to a strained achilles tendon,an injury i picked up on friday , i am at a loss what to do i have to keep walking its an intrinsic part of my job; so i cant take the weight of it .I was a bit dissapointed that the strain hadnt left, and i hoped to be able to shake it of this morning but i am afraid i may have aggravated the case .

I doubt i shall be able to update the blog before the race so i shall see you at the other side hopefully by then i would have recovered from injury ran the race and raised a truck load of money and also lost a toe nail which is half way off right now, but i am just not man enough to rip it off.

what i would really like is a can of the spray used on athlethes especially footballers.

the mtn lagos half marathon takes place on sartuday the 2nd of dec 2006

2006-11-27T08:08:00.001-08:00

is 18km proving to much for the man

I wasnt able to make my run this morning and the reason are many pronged ,
1, Injury i think i may have twisted my achilles tendon or atleast strained it ,
2, traffic , i got stuck in traffic on the extra 2 km stretch on saturday , i think it may be more than 2km.
3, diet , i went out to dinner at the newly open Reeds restaurant and lounge,190 Awolowo rd and they were fully booked which was a shame as the menu looked superb and the diners all seemed happy. So all i had for supper at home was a piece of chicken and some cheese and onion crisps hardly enough to run 18 km on .
4, Cold feet what more can i say .
will try again tomorrow.

2006-11-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

16 km
O boy, it hasnt been easy. Breaking the 14km barrier was probably the hardest , this was were i faltered and did the walk of shame back yonder in october well we finally crested the wave but not without a fight .
The first try a week ago ,saw me give up 500metres from my house only to have to start 50 meters later when my Kids drove by; 'there is nothing to be gained by them thinking i am less than super human ' On sunday as we drove past Bar Beach and Silverbird galleria, the butterflies but on their kilts and danced a little jig in my stomach, as i regurgitated the memory of what once was .On monday i ran a full 14km with a bit on top "which was nice'
Speed training went ok, but on thursday i convinced myself that my legs needed a bit more rest, a totally reasonable supposition at 5.20 am but left me feeling rather edgy all day. You never know with running if you have over done it or not , like i said earlier... its the mind you have to watch out for, it completely takes over, and comes up with excuses : as we all know "its mind over matter" .To be able to run the race i have to have ran at least 18km especially because of the injury and the new style of running i can't take any chances ,i have been to runners hell and back , i am not going there again .So it was with trepidation that i faced the night , all week long i have had to abstain from booze ,i am no alcoholic but a week is a bloody long time to go with out a drink . It was also my son's birthday on thursday and i was sure i was going to have to have a celebratory glass of wine ,jug of beer ,vat of whiskey....who could tell , all i knew was I didnt run in the morning cause my mind said my legs were too tired to run . So when i found myself in bed by ten it was with a wry smile, which would broaden to a grin when i got up and out of bed at 5.20 am and would turn to an exhausted hallelujah when i completed the 16 km with the bit on top .

I shall attempt the 18 km on monday , my injury keeps niggling me but hopefully i shall overcome , if i am able to do this i should be able to run the race . Running long distances really takes its toll on the mind , you cant even look up for fear of stalling and you do run out of things to think about or prayers to say after about 12 km followed by boredom then delirium and then boredom again this is when injury takes place , I keep on thinking about the charity i run for and how lucky i am to have my health and wealth in such a hard place .
I have run the same route for four years now with little change happening along the route, the roads are still bad ,still not enough people cleaning it. Props go out to the cleaning ladies ,always there, always cheerful . To effect change you have to participate, you have to engage your self in society, love the land you live in. Thats what lagosstar is all about my affair with this slapper of a town , and its only just begun to find out more sign up www.lagosstar.com

2006-11-15T08:57:00.000-08:00

STUCK IN A JAM/HOT STUFF
Didnt get to run on friday, couldnt get out of bed .Didnt get to run on saturday ,but got stuck in traffic on my way to a rugby tournament at the British international school in Lekki . Spent an hour on Tiamiyu Savage street, decided to get an okada ,couldnt find one, ended up walking all the way to Zenith bank on Ajose Adeogun before we got one .
This city is really to small for cars it took us no time to walk,and we saw half the people we know stuck in traffic , even the okada ride was perfunctory we were already 500 meters from our destination by the time we got on .

Racing rugby club continued their rivalry with Eko rugby club with Racing winning the tournament . As a supporter of Racing i had to join in the celebrations and so couldnt run on sunday. Thankfully Arsenal won...... at last, and i managed to see 'A game of wit' a play by the talented Ita Hozaife ,starring Iyabo Amoke amongst others at Terra culture which but me in a good mood and meant i had a good night sleep, and no excuses ,so yes i got to run on monday 'Which was nice' so i am at least back on track if not up to speed .
With the new style of running i cant seem to make up the time which is really annoying , you push your self as hard as you can , get home shattered , check you time , and you are no where near where you expect to be.
I have ditched all hi tech gimmicks and gone back to the purist way of running : no ipod, no watch, no pedometer,No back pack, no nothing just me myself and i . This is truly the best way to run , in this busy world we rarely have time to declutter to meditate to clear our minds , i run using the Lords prayer and the Psalm 23 as mantras to be repeated continually , it works for me . The Natural high is not bad also , its a great way to start your day .
My mind as been filled with morbid thoughts for some strange reason , I dont get religon we profess to want to be closer to God and sit by his side in paradise and yet we pray not to die obviously this is hypocritcal but hey thats life .
Harmattan is back this is the worse season for me, i hate the dust and the white skys , But i love the birds they are back and that is so cool ; the humming birds the king fishers the horn bills , the cranes , its fantastic; i am sure the mallards and other ducks will be here soon its great seeing them in the mornings one of the joys of running ,although if you have a garden you can probably spot the humming birds all day, there are also the jetBlue birds with the white eyes i wonder what they are called ? We got to work on monday and there was a huge OWL up in the rafters ;cool.
I ran on tuesday as wellfor speed training , and got a leg rub using some linament called LOCO ..... If you were not when you started, you will be by the end , No kidding my legs were on fire , it may have worked, but i will never know cause i think i have burnt all nerve endings and this is the end of this post .

2006-11-09T03:39:00.000-08:00

Running Man
The lagos MTN half marathon takes place on the 2nd of december, the highlight of my year . I have participated in the last 3, raising thousands of naira for charity in the process .Last year I raised 120,00 naira for my chosen charity 'Sponsor a child' this year I am afraid I am not going to be able to run .
Of course each year so far i have been petrified and still ended up doing it, so what has changed?
First of all lets go back to the first time i ran....Shortly after my thirtieth birthday feeling I was losing the edge to beer in the fitness stakes fresh back from holiday in Ibiza I latched on to running the marathon ....
I had done some marathon running in school i had represented my house and had not disgraced my self, and was reasonably fit from the session of marathon dancing "Ibiza style" and reckon my stamina levels were pretty decent. I got on the net ,found out all i needed to know to train, worked out i had just about enough time to get fit , drew up a time table and started training .

On my first Half marathon i shot out at the start of the race like a hare startled by a whippet, this was not my plan, which was unfortunate...
I was used to running on my own and found it hard running with the crowd , i needed to put some distance between me and the pack , bad idea ... by the time i hit 11km it was all over .

I had over 10 km to go and i was in bits ,the only thing keeping me up was the fear that i may be losing my memory, i knew i had already lost my mind ; and i wanted so badly to get home , there was absolutely no way that was going to happen if i gave up running some where in the middle of lagos island .
There had been a problem between the organisers and the state and we got off to a late start and had to run at the height of the midday sun .All that was missing were some mad dogs and english men , but i may be wrong .

I had lost all senses by now ,and was being carried by FEAR,REVULSION,and a huge dose of ADRENALIN. I made it in to the stadium with slightly more dignity than the stragglers you see on T.V ,those who come in all knock knee'd and vague ,I made it out of the main bowl, into the recovery area, got a load of water, poured it in and on my self and promptly COLLAPSED FLAT OUT ON THE FLOOR .I was brought round by some medics , tried to thank them , couldnt speak so walked of in search of food . I found a snack shop but discovered i still couldnt speak , after making a spectacle of my self ; if you have ever seen an 18 month old baby trying to get a point across you would know what i mean ... i was babbling badly .
I wandered off before they called the cops and tried to find my car , after aimlessly roaming about the stadium for what felt like a life time , i bumped into some friends... we had all started out together, but they had taken the scenic and sedate pace , and looked all healthy and in control, with their speech intact and their water bottles . I on the other hand was drenched from head to toe covered in mud and with pupils so dilated you could see straight in to my soul , my friends saved me . I got home to a hero's welcome raised 70000 naira for 'Sponsor a child',drank some guinness, DIED and went to heaven , I was hooked .

The next year I would fine tune my training (check out my time table and tips sheet ,http://www.lagosstar.com)take the scenic sedate pace and run the race at a not brilliant 1hr 50mins , but at least I managed to maintain my composure .The worse thing about the race is the last bridge.'Carter bridge' this bridge as more twists and turns than a snake with indigestion .All this is new as you have never noticed it before , cause you zoom past in a car just looking at the view . The bridge links Lagos island with the mainland and skims over iddo island ,most people dont know Iddo was /is an Island, and when you have been running for an hour plus you really dont care .
There is also the view of the stadium to taunt you as you take each curve .It doesnt get better after the bridge, you want to stop ,you can no longer see the stadium and you dont care .
But the crowds wont let : they literally propel you on with their cheering as they form a tunnel which sucks you into the stadium .I managed to raise 90000 naira for 'Sponsor a child'.

Last year was my dream race .Missing out on training in Ibiza , I had taken the healthy option and trained in San Francisco, up and down those hills and in London following the river from kew gardens to Chelsea and beyond . I came back from holidays all refreshed and fit , messed around with training , got the normal last minute nerves but went ahead and ran in 1hr 11mins , was totally in control all the way and loved it .
This was finally me running the race as it should be run . Earlier in the year i had given up smoking and my training involved a lot of carbo-loading without any running , needless to say i was appalled when i saw some pictures with me in them .Runners are generally skinny people ,the fat drops off with the miles , I am not vain (dont ask my wife)but next to the average runner i looked like a wilderbeast to their gazelles . I did manage to raise 120000 naira for 'Sponsor a child' "which was nice"

Now That i was fully in the grove I deceided to keep running albeit haphazardly and may be even try for a full marathon later in the year .... the best made plans of mice and men .
Disaster struck I split my heel bone was laid out for 6-8weeks slap bang in the middle of my schedule, to make matters worse I went on holiday shortly afterwards to L.A and Ibiza stopping of in London and Paris and literally eating my way through four cities .
I managed to get my act together which involved changing how i run to avoid re- injuring my self which meant developing a whole different set of muscles due to the change of style and then getting back into long distance running , so far so good i was on track and enjoying it and then disaster struck a second time .
At the begining of October shortly after my first long run , this is a run over 15km or 1hr when the body needs fluid and sustainance ( i use mars bars and lucozade) I broke training and went out on the town , came back , woke up put some coke in one of those those ruck sacks with a hose in them that allow you to drink while you WALK put on my ipod and tumbled on to the road , with all the distractions i took the wrong route ...Now when you run , one of the most important things is the 10% rule never increase your distance by more than 10% steps , this is the most important rule of all , if you try it the body shuts down and you have to go back to square one . This is not the wall, its mental not physical . Three quarters of the way through my run i realise this, when i notice i have reverted to my old way of running , i have injured myself once again and still have a good 4-5km to go before i get home .SHOCK HORROR SHAME , wellwishers along the route ask if i am okay (this part of the route is my home stretch so i am recognised)as i do the walk of shame back home .
This was 3 weeks ago , the marathon is in 3 weeks time .I shall run this blog to let you know how it goes . I need to rise above my apathy to get off my bed and train ,I need to be able too raise fresh funds for 'Sponsor a child ' I also have a target to beat, its the spirit that counts , or is it?