GAS STATION FOR THE 'EXTREMELY RICH' ONLY

Imagine driving down a road, then running out of petrol in the car, you decide to stop by a gas station for a refill only to be told that you cannot buy because that station is only meant for members of a high-networth club, what would be your reaction? Especially if that's the only station on that stretch of the road?

 

A roadside gas station, exclusively for high-networth-individuals, that is, the wealthy will soon be made available across the united States, US, by Guess Corporation and it will be strictly for the GP Club members,  a recently announced venture from Guess Petroleum.

Hmmm! talk about the already wide gap between the rich and the poor still getting wider and wider on a daily basis.

This gas station will offer sleeping suites, hair salons and more. If you carried out a survey, many would no doubts say “that is simply a hotel”.

According to a publication from Mansion Global, One of the reasons for embarking on this new idea according to Guess Corporation is the notion that there is just about little or nothing luxurious about roadside accommodations especially for high net worth travellers hence the need to change that and it is assumed that GP Club would proffer the change desired for these travellers.

On the one hand, in as much as the targeted clientele will be focused on the nouveau rich, on the other hand, being extremely rich will not be enough  guarantee  that one would easily gain entrance into the GP Club even as Guess Corporation vice President Tiffany Taylor,  explained that it is only after an applicant’s assets are determined, via referrals from industry professionals such as private bankers or real estate brokers, including a review of the potential members application by a local membership committee  will membership be considered. She also revealed that membership will be limited to households with net-worths exceeding $50 million including an annual membership fee which will also be required to be paid by members.

Guess that shouldn’t be a problem for the high-networth individuals. If they can afford to meet up with the requirements of joining the club in the first place, they no doubts would be able to pay the annual membership fee which would definitely be on the high for even the a-little-above--rich-individual to consider.

One quick mention is that the gas station would also have a medical facility, should there be a need for any medical attention. This much anticipated project when completed will from the ‘mind’s eye’ perspective be like or compete with a boutique hotel, if not even better.

It’s a nice idea, but…. Well you never can tell with projects until completed. And for this one, we look forward to hear about the service experiences and encounters from the customers.

Until then, let’s just keep our fingers crossed.

HAS SOCIAL MEDIA SHAPED US UP OR SHAPED US OUT OF OUR 'FUN-LIVES'?

Not too long ago, a lecturer from the department of languages and linguistics in one of the universities in the south west was reported to have got into trouble following the release of a video tape of his alleged sexual involvement with a 400 level English student of the University. Even though many claimed the student was raped by the lecturer, the video clip which was released by the student, notwithstanding that some people said real sexual intercourse was not captured in it, according to reports, was allegedly recorded in a hotel room.

A few years ago, I watched with a mixture of anger and pity, a video clip of a lecturer, pants down begging students who set him up with a student to let him go after signing a cheque with a sum as ransom for his release. I watched with anger because the man should have disciplined himself but he chose to go after students in the game of ‘give me sex and I’ll give you good grades’ and with pity because I could only imagine how his children, wife and other family members would feel if they saw that video. From the discussion which ensued, it was obvious that it was his ‘modus operandi’ to sleep with his students for ‘good grades’ but on that particular ‘operation’ it was a shameful one as nemesis really caught up with him that day.

Where am I headed in all of these enumerations?

A short while ago, I stumbled on this picture /post as shown above and the caption/statement there gave rise to this write-up. I laughed when I saw it, but then, it did make a lot of sense and will no doubts stir  up some nostalgic feelings from the lovely ordinary way life was until technology took over.

In the past, when we go for events or outings, we could afford to misbehave as we always knew where the cameras were so we would avoid them especially when we want to, for example dance in a funny way, laugh and banter the way we felt free to go and you will not see any of the outcome on any social media platform so people ‘loosened’ up easily at events, parties, get-togethers and what have you. We just lived our lives feeling so free until, gbam! Social media became the ‘rave of the moment’ and everyone started being too careful and uptight whenever they are out there for fear of being recorded and uploaded on any of the ‘one click’ social media platforms. With that, our freedom to ‘mingle and play’ at meets went out the windows. What a life!

A lot of people are of the view that this technology ‘thingy’ just crept up on us took away our ‘freedom’ while another group believe that it has helped in a lot more ways than ‘freedom’ taking. Topic for another day, so I’ll stop here.

And so, while you are waiting for that topic, a quick question is  “has social media shaped us up or shaped us out of our ‘fun-lives’”?

INSTEAD OF 'IPHONISING' DOGS, ADOPT A CHILD TODAY IF YOU HAVE THE WHEREWITHAL

Report from CNN says Apple has already sold out all of their Jet black iPhone 7 and just when you are thinking “how I wish I was one of those who could afford it” then a few hours after that line of thought, you read another article, not just article but an insane article somewhere in the world, in the midst of this hunger lingering all over, some persons are buying phones for their DOGS! I mean not just phones, but Iphone7 which many persons would never be able to afford in their lives.

How insane can that be? It is true that too much money, makes mad. Haba!

I know a lot of people would be quick to say “what is our business, after all he can afford it” since he’s the son of 61 year old Wang Jianlin a property magnate  and one of the richest men in China.

Yes he is from a rich family, but then again, it still in that same China that we have people living below what anyone would not be able to even call ‘poverty’ as they live less than poverty stricken people. So the big question is, how does buying these phones for a mere dog aid the lives of these poverty stricken persons , who would have heard the news, in anyway? Gosh, I resonate that ‘money truly makes mad.

It’s not the first time 28 year old Wang Sicong will be buying overtly expensive items for his dog Coco, an Alaskan malamute as it has enjoyed a lot of other very expensive gifts from Sicong, its owner in the past, such as Apple watches to being bought a Fendi bag that many ladies are still dreaming of having, even if it’s ‘knock off’. Sicong will no doubts be giving a lot of people, especially ladies, sleepless nights with these pictures.

After I read that article on the ‘iPhonised’ dog, just a little further on social media, I came across this wonderful picture of a lady who adopted an almost dead-looking child and a year later, she was seen with the child looking so healthy and nothing like what was posted the year before. It is such things that should draw people’s attention and so priorities should be set.

Adopt a child today and stop throwing money around for the wrong reasons. What a dog needs is good food, good wash amongst other daily care and needs. But a child needs all that and more. So let's reach out and show more love by taking care of some of the hopeless, helpless and in some cases 'almost dead' children due to malnutrition if we have the wherewithal.  

My opinion though!

THE MICROWAVE, YOUR CHICKEN, YOUR HEALTH, YOUR CHOICE!

Going through an article by healthadvice team online, I learnt that the much preferred chicken against the now widely avoided red meat due to high cholesterol is every so often infected with Salmonella, a bacterial infection which affects the gut and a type of food poisoning that causes diarrhea, fever, cramps in the abdomen between 12 to 72 hours after infection.

 
The report advises that because chicken is often infected with salmonella, reheating chicken is not suggested because, unlike other types of meat, Chicken has a higher density of proteins with molecules which when exposed to heat can lead to infections in the stomach and lungs, hence it is advised that Chicken should not just be tossed in the microwave to be reheated as the waves take up the heat which gores the chicken, thereafter leading to many diseases.

It seems the option list for healthy sources of protein is getting slimmer by the day as we keep waking up to new scientific developments and health advice on a daily basis leaving us with less or almost ‘no option’ as the times roll by.

Red meat has stopped being a part of my diet and those of very close friends for a long time now to the extent that if I find myself taking as little as you can picture just for ‘a taste’ or bingeing, there is always a somewhat feeling of guilt as though I have committed an irredeemable sin. Yeah, that’s how far I have gone to ‘dissing’ red meat for a LONG time now.

Red meat ‘is sweet’ no doubts, and the temptation to indulge every now and then needs a lot of resistance, especially when you are offered a well spiced, marinated, cooked and garnished ‘thick flank’. Hmmmm, that part of red meat is heavenly, but then again, I discipline myself by avoiding such offers because I know the price I would pay by indulging, and so for me on such offers, it is always simply a polite “no thank you, I think I’ll pass on this” with a heavy heart though. Smiles.

I have taken solace in chicken, fish, snails, kidneys, liver, and of course indulge in some of the ‘insides’ which includes ‘shaki’, liver, kidney amongst others especially when it comes to our local spicy ‘pepper soup’ delicacy. Is anyone salivating at the mention of pepper soup? Laughs* I know that feeling.

This was meant to be a ‘quick read’ so let’s get back to the chicken issue. Eat fresh chicken and avoid reheating in the microwave. Cook properly on the fire before eating to avoid food poisoning as chicken is still a better option of meat when compared to red meat.

As for those imported or should I say ‘smuggled’ chicken from ‘only God knows where’ that is eaten in nearly every home across the country instead of buying Nigerian Chicken? That is a topic for another day as I don’t intend to ‘spoil’ business for those in the trade. Nevertheless, I admonish that if you must eat chicken, apart from cooking properly before eating, EAT NIGERIAN CHICKEN!    

HEALTH: A HUGE SHAME! WILL OUR CHILDREN AND UNBORN GENERATIONS FORGIVE US?

It’s so shameful to say the least that our country is really grinding to a HALT given the way things are going. I bet you, it will take only a miracle to get us out of this mess we are in at the moment.

And hey wait! Before you start casting blames on Jonathan, Yar’adua, Obasanjo and other past administration, I would like you to take a deep breath or better still a huge chill pill because we are all to blame for this situation we have found ourselves.

Now tell me, is it the government that will tell the management in a hospital to bring out already bought equipments to treat patients or is it the government that will go and take inventory CORRECTLY, or fix faulty machines and even buy diesel for generating sets?

I could go on and on and we would still not get to the end even if we spent the whole day.

The truth is, we have all failed firstly, as citizens of this country, secondly, as a people created by God and thirdly, as terrible trailblazers for generations yet unborn.

I just read in the vanguard that thousands of cancer patients are currently facing death nationwide, following a breakdown of all the radiotherapy machines at treatment centres in the country; a development which is no longer news to us as it has become a recurrent issue in our country for years. Sadly it has passed  manageable in the last few weeks as  thousands of patients and their relatives have raised fears and concerns having been turned back from some of the cancer centres as the machines are said to have developed problems due to lack of maintenance and overuse, as a result machines at the National Hospital Abuja, NHA, Lagos University Teaching Hospitals, LUTH, University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, including others in health institutions in Gombe, Enugu, Benin, Sokoto among others are allegedly having the same stories.

That is quite scary because it is a sure death penalty dangling over the heads of these patients if all the machines at the different centres are all truly faulty as reported. So what would the patients do? Especially those who do not have the wherewithal to go abroad.

Now the question any one would ask is “why do we always wait for everything to get bad at the same time before we start running about”? We have always run a bad maintenance culture in everything we use. It has become a part of us. When it comes to maintenance, 1-10 rating is zero as instead of running before-breadown, RBB, we run till-breakdown, RTB.

Reports had it that  the affected hospitals and their managements have adduced the lack of money to buy forex in order to bring in foreign experts to fix the machines hence all those who have oncology problems today in the country, may have to wait for a long time for their treatment to continue.

On the other hand and more heartbreaking according to an oncology expert is that, it was better for an oncology patient not to get radiation treatment than to get half dose or incomplete dosage. He was quoted to have said: “If somebody is getting a radiation treatment and breaks, the cells will now build immunity and bounce back.”

Another worrisome development in the report is that at the NHA, the new Lineal Accelerator Machine procured in 2014 is still intact in the crate and there are fears that they may have gone bad under the condition they are kept. So what are we talking about here?

They say patients need machines for treatment and they are talking about machines which ought to be used for treatment still in crates. Since 2014!

Do we need the government to help management think outside the box? They are busy turning back patients fro hospitals and screaming ‘foreign exchange’, light upsurge, machines are old, and more yet a machine is laying unused or getting bad as mentioned, in some crates. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that it’s not only in NHA that “new machines are still in crates”. This is what I call heartless. May God really help us in this country.

I take some bit of solace in the words of Professor Francis Abayomi Durosimi Etti the Chairman, National Programme on Cancer Management, who confirmed the situation and also added authoritatively that government is doing a lot to get things done as regards the health facility.

Hmmm! We heard all of that and even more in the past. All we are saying is, enough of the ‘talk’, is time to ‘walk the talk’ and this walk will only make sense if we all do our parts in our different circles and up to the government.

You, who is a nurse, doctor, cleaner and worker in the –private and public- hospitals, do you play your part well to enable things move smoothly and keep facilities in working conditions?

Doctors, HOD, Dean, matron et al. what are you doing right or wrong?

Our leaders in Government, including the President, Vice President, Senate, Ministers, et al. What are you doing right or wrong?

And for the rest of us in our little corners. What are you doing right or wrong?

I guess the ball is in all OUR HANDS!

We all need to improve on our maintenance culture when it comes to public and private facilities, eschew foul plays, bitterness,thereby making things work in our country and even our children as well as the unborn generation will bless our souls.