I know this will be the first post I am putting up since last forever and I might've had you viewing me as an unserious writer, which I believe I currently am anyway, or a less than serious writer (believe me, they mean two really different things) but all that looks about to change. It's time, I believe, to put away childish things - put away all frivolities I ever had concerning being a writer.
It's time for a fresh start.
So...
Good day, folks.
I'll start off by telling you all a little bit about myself. Okay, scratch that 'a little bit' off the computer screen (if you can) and replace it with most of all (if you can too). In the end, all of my narrative might end up spanning several posts. If that occurs... wait... let me get to how far I can go in this post to know how many posts might be utilized in preaching myself.
First off the list, I am Artie Margrave, as I believe most of you already know. Note that I typed in 'I am', not 'my name is' as those mean two really different things too. Artie Margrave is a pen name that was birthed in me the day I penned my first short story (which I did with a friend back in high school and which remains incomplete till this day and which also deserves some justice). Oh, and I am talking about the Margrave part. Artie was actually formed from a spoken union of my initials A. pronounced Ar (without any stress) and T. pronounced Teee. Margrave was a renowned wizard in that fantasy short... wait, the name must be... yes... The Wizard From Wight, a Mystic Meg adventure. I've plucked the short from my dusty box of old collections and I'm currently drafting a serial novel based on it. But I digress.
Back to me, which this post and future others is strictly about.
Yeah, I was born seven days and some hours away from Halloween. Pretty appropriate, right? Right now, I can't really remember much about my very early childhood, except I was everybody's baby then. My mum found it pretty difficult keeping me to herself. She had a lot of sisters in a complex, extended family; I still don't know them all. Grandpa (may his soul rest in peace) had married two wives who I knew as Big Gran Gran and Small Gran Gran. Mum came from Big Gran Gran and I was her favorite of all of her grandchildren, at least when I was still cool. Privilege, right?
I spent my early years in the country, where the air was fresh and life was natural. Hell, we even used pit latrines then.
(you know what? I'll upload pictures of those early days in one of these posts. Mind that we were rich enough those times to take mostly black and white pictures).
I was, what--4? when we moved to the city, Lagos. Oh, by the way, I'm Nigerian. I believe that fact nearly fell away. Sorry. The circumstances surrounding our emigration wasn't good and I am to blame but I wasn't at fault. I developed an infection that required top medical attention. Sad to say, that infection still plagues me today but... on the bright side, it has driven me to be the person that I am today. And I am proud, though not yet satisfied, of that person.
Mum and Dad are the best two people that ever happened to my life. Particularly mum. I don't think the encyclopedia has words enough to describe her devotion to my welfare from that time till now. She is the perfect mother all round, disciplined, literate, devoted, courageous...
I should write a separate blog post on mum which I will title Dear Mother sometime. One on dad too, of course. Because he made it happen.
My only other friend then was my sister. She was brilliant, intelligent. She always came top of the class to my envy and inspiration. Though I came in to this world two years before her, she this look about her like she'd known about it long before. Sometimes it made me wonder about the theory of incarnation. Well, she was awesome, so awesome she has in fact acquired her university degree and at the time of writing this post I'm a few months away from obtaining mine.
My little brother (now big) came quite some time later, long after we'd lived the life.
(Living The Life, hmmm... sounds like another good post in the nearest future).
He became mummy's babe because I became too cool for her, I guess, and he became the cute one, and he still is. He's coming up to speed about real living gradually. He's my bud, we run things together. He's also my number one reader. Thumbs up to you, bro.
Ah, I believe I've covered a little bit of myself (so I guess you can restore the scratched text I said you should modify at the beginning) and family in this post. I'm spent. I can only go for so long nonstop which this writing has been if you are wondering.
Hey, I think I should make this a weekly thing. That's it. I'd considered titling this post as An Official Reintroduction but I think it needs a little tweaking.
I think I'm done for today. I'd thought I would do a job of summarizing my lifetime within a post but truth be told, I have no idea how many posts I will run. There's quite a lot to tell. But then I guess it gives me something to write.
Keep your tabs crossed for next week Friday's Being Me. Right now, Dinner beckons, and a good (horror) movie is on the fire.
Love you all. And remember, Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.
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