Cruising Through the Coasts of My Life

Officially...

2011-08-17T10:20:00.007+01:00

The week started on a very good note. I got notice on Friday that the result of my ICSA (Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators) exam would be released on Monday but that only students that have paid their annual dues would be able to access the portal. I am still pained as it was my last exam and wouldn't need the student site anymore plus that money would have bought me some fantastic shoes. My frequent readers would recall that the last time I wrote the exam was in 2008.

I passed three out of four then and decided to take a break. I couldn't write it in 2009 'cos I was doing my LLM and since I was doing double degrees, there was no extra time to spare. Fast-forward to 2011, I decided to take the plunge again. Studying and working full-time is very difficult. The exam was written in June, one of the busiest times of my career so far. I would get home at 10pm or later and still study.

I also remember hiding in one of the conference rooms during break to study. And the week of the exam, I juggling my office and the conference room! I was not given exam leave as you had to have applied about 4 months before the exam. I couldn't 'cos I had not spent u to months then.

The exam itself, was alright except I didn't finish! I answered three out of four questions and I was worried. I can't afford not to pass. The first time around I didn't study hard enough 'cos all my devotion went into the other course, Corporate Financial Management. The whole debt/equity/(in)solvency calculations and formulas was overwhelming. I had to go back to SS1 maths text books to cope and I got a maths tutor to take me through! It was that hard. I still hate maths.

Here we are in August and I passed with a merit! So I am officially an ICSA grad now. Yep, I can add Chartered Secretary to my titles! The funny thing is, when I was at law school, I swore I wouldn't study for any more exams! I finished and I immediately registered for the ICSA. Then I repeated the mantra but I still went ahead to do an LLM not one but two. That done, I registered for my ICSA retake. Now that I have conquered that, I am wondering whether to register for another professional course. I am either crazy or I love studying!

To everyone having a set back in any of their goals or targets, don't let anything deter you, just keep at it, keep working hard and you will reach it with time to spare.

Have a blessed week.

Short and Sweet

2011-08-09T12:50:00.004+01:00

It is Day 9 of Ramadan and I feel like I am on fast forward! Work is still in a lull and I am thankful. Found this wonderful blogger (Verastically Living) again, actually she found me!

So Lagos State now has a new Criminal law. The Bill is about to be signed or has been signed (not sure on its status, I will confirm and update). The gist of the Bill is that the old Criminal Code in force in the whole of Nigeria was made in 1914! Almost a hundred years old and you wonder why the country is over-run with criminals! The Code is archaic and cannot continue to be relevant given today's realities. The truth is the law is always reactive and the police cannot arrest people for crimes that are not defined in an Act or a Law! Gbam.

The joyful news of this Bill that has got me so excited is the crimes that it includes. The fines have been reviewed upwards (thankfully). If you have some downtime, you should look at the Criminal Code, some of its provisions and fines are laughable! Oh my, I was expecting the usual suspect of computer generated crimes, hacking, unlawful use of computer to perpetuate fraud etc. But the shocker is that it also provides for, wait for it... (circa 'How I met your mother') desertion!

You know, when a man impregnates a woman and flees, yes that's the desertion I am talking about! It protects married and unmarried women. So all those men that practice their Houdini moves when their wives are in gestation period with quintuplets and quadruplets had better start having a rethink! They will be jailed. And those brothers that always feel like they have taken plenty smarties in their youth and can 'chop and clean mouth' with a claim of "I wasn't the only one or it's not mine", better start wearing the rubber. Honestly, I can't wait to start broadcasting these sections of the Criminal law to 'hapless' sisters. (Caveat o! This law applies only in Lagos o. So, the brothers in other parts of the country can continue their wicked ways as long as they don't stray into Lagos. Hehehe)

It also provides for aggravated hassling/assault (I wonder if those guys in the markets shouting "My colour" and forcefully touching women can be included in this category). Another wonderful provision is the criminalisation of the harassment of debtors! Do you know anyone who is being harassed over an unpaid debt? Well smile now, because you can report the person causing the harassment to the police! The courts have since denounced the act of using the police to harass debtors but with no law to back them up, it amounted to a barking toothless bulldog. I pity all those ignorant Landlords.

One may wonder the enforceability of these provisions in a society fraught with random acts like these that are now seen as normal and deeply embedded in the fabric of the society. I think the first step has been established, getting the law on board. Then a sensitization of the populace of their rights and the contents of the Law. I hope with time we can bring the intendment of the law into fruition. Until then, three Gbosas for the Fashola administration for this wonderful review. I hope the other state governments emulate this feat.

Enjoy what's left of the week.

Here Again.

2011-08-05T10:43:00.002+01:00

Ramadan Kareem to all my Muslim brothers and sisters. How is everyone doing? This fasting is not easy seriously. I am not a big eater but declare fasting and all the things I wouldn't normally touch just becomes very desirable.

To compound matters, workload has reduced drastically which leaves room for a lot of distractions. I can't even fall asleep to catch up on the extra early hours I have to wake up. The courts are on vacation, so I can't even pick anyone's brain from the Advocacy department and the Olori oko has gone on vacation! I am in Transactions and we get busy all year round but it's like the clients all got a memo to go on holiday!

I have a sneaky feeling they will all return in September and bombard us with their mostly insurmountable problems! Usually caused by greed and lack of patience. I am almost dreading the endless meetings and back & forth emails. Most especially the foreign lawyers who all think they are superior. We have been putting them firmly in their place sha! I have been closing early too, I am dancing for joy for that at least! When everyone comes back, it will be back to the 15hr work days and work vigils!

Most of all, I like this period. The calmness of Ramadan, I can't really engage in the heated discussions as wont to do by lawyers when they are less busy. The reading of the Qur'an in serene moments. My colleagues have even stopped eating in my office out of respect! Yay.

I share an office with a guy and it's just the two of us while the others are in a pool. So people sneak into my office to eat all sorts instead of going two floors down to the kitchen.

I don't miss the distractions they bring especially when I am busy!

On an unrelated note, Our Presido is falling my hand o. This single term proposal is ill-timed and not what he should focus on at this time. I remember his meeting with the youths, it took place right across my office, where he promised to tackle power. Why has he forgotten that so soon? At the very least, he should focus on the health sector. May God guide us right.

My next spate of weddings is October, plenty time for my finances to rest before they take another hit. Seriously though, I will soon stop on the aso-ebi. I don't need it. Mostly over-priced things I would never pick for myself. No accounting for taste in some. I recently saw one, and it looked like something you would use to cover a table as decoration. It was supposed to be silk damask, but we have a material so light, it cannot be constructed into anything meaningful to justify the price. I have politely declined.

Have a blessed weekend people.

We are not friends!

2011-07-29T11:41:00.004+01:00

So yesterday, I made plans with friends to go to Swe bar for their weekly Thursday Live band shows. It's been long since I went there. This job of mine is robbing me of my extra curricular activities!

As usual, it was packed. Finally found a seat, and ordered a cocktail. I had forgotten how long it takes to get your order when the place is full. Finally the waitress brought my drink, but wait it was the wrong drink or so I thought. Apparently I mixed up the order, even the bartender came over to ask inquire. Nice touch. So I ordered a daquiri instead of a capirinha! Blame the intense gbeborun I was doing. BBM just doesn't deliver the lascivious part of a face to face juicy gist!

I don't like white rum or vodka! It always leaves me delirious and I cannot be responsible for my actions after ingestion. So I thought I could handle it, but for where, my body rejected it like poison! I was tipsy from the first few sips! I even ordered some food to combat the effects but no, it didn't help.

I managed to drive home. (Drinking & driving is not a a good idea, I know, but I ensured I was in full control before I ventured out). I even saw past school toasters! The age process hasn't been kind to some people sha. I was home in less than 20mins! The strangest part was that, I felt like I was looking outside myself. I was hyper and at the same time, my reflexes were slow. And I was laughing like an idiot!

Got in and said hello to my Mum. I even managed a shower but my body felt heavy! I climbed into bed and slept so soundly that when the alarm woke me at 5.30, I was up like a shot. I took some very cold water and went by my morning rituals. At work now but my eyes are 'lerry' according to my colleague and he won't stop asking my opinion on all his assignments!

I have told him that if my brain can cope with his incessant queries, then I am fine. But I am not fine, I want to sleep! I know I will escape to the library soon to catch a nap. The last time I had vodka was my sent forth party in 2009. It was a disaster! I was so hung over I could barely walk! I blogged about it. My sister had to support me and we were flying. The air hostesses all thought I was just ill and were extra nice!

This is my second incursion into white spirits, no more! We are not friends. You don't treat my body right. The weird thing is that, I am fine with dark rum or brandy. I can't stand red wine. I need to lie down or something.

Currently...

2011-07-25T12:34:00.002+01:00

Hello All,

Last week was boring at work. So boring that I had to engage in some work unrelated activities. I won't mention them here. Who knows who might be reading. So on Thursday I was armed to the teeth preparing for another dose of boredom, (don't get me wrong, I had work to do but nothing challenging for the week, just regular updates and stuff I could do in my sleep).

A single phone call I was very tempted not to pick saved me. I was nominated to attend a conference. Yay! The conference was wonderful, highly motivating and oh so interesting. Plenty movers and shakers of the profession, networking opportunities, fabulous food and an outlet to showcase the pencil skirts, shift dresses and heels! Two whole days of fantastic fun (read combining work with great opportunities).

Reconnected with classmates, made new contacts, a renewed vigour and passion to reach my goals and what do you get? A very motivated individual.

In my usual internet prowls, discovered ASOS now delivers to Nigeria at no extra cost! Yup you read that right. Now you can cut those extra delivery costs. The best part is that you use your regular ATM card. The website says its for a limited time only sha. But until then, the bliss of direct delivery!

On to other things, I have two scenarios that I need your views on, how soon is too soon to visit a friend that just got married?

Second one is, I recently discovered a friend's husband is cheating, married less than two years, in my mind, I don't think its my place to tell her, I have in fact resolved not to. Nevertheless its very painful to watch. I see the love rat every other day with his paramour. He is yet to catch me sha and I know its only a matter of time. What would you do?

Its Monday, payday today, Yay! I like this time of the month I can't lie. Have a blissful week people.

Oleku!

2011-07-05T10:04:00.003+01:00

Y'all know the song in my title, the only word for my weekend is that. For the uninitiated, google 'Iceprince' go on, google is your friend and no one is looking :D

Omotee's wedding was funtastic! I mean that literally! I left Lagos at 6.00am having previously arranged with my cousin to meet up so he could drive. We picked up my brother on the way and what did we have? Yes, a 6 hr road trip! I lurve those. Been of the same mind and genes, we love long drives (read traffic-free smooth express ways) and stopping to buy any and everything that catches our fancy! I so blame our Grandfather for this (story for another day).

So there were the usual bottle-necks along the road. The former second toll-gate that has degenerated to a trailer park, the Moniya-Ojoo and Iwo road traffic in Ibadan. But past all these, it was smooth sailing. Even the hair raising over taking of massive trucks and trailers on the single carriage way from Oyo-Ogbomosho didn't lessen the fun.

On a side note, people cushioned by ignorance and false safety that live mostly in affluent areas in Nigeria and argue fervently that Nigeria is not a 'third world country' or in the throes of abject poverty should take a trip outside their comfort zone and see how the other parts of the country really are.

Back to the gist, got to Ilorin and and went straight to my family friend's house. We were all attending the wedding, parents inclusive. Omotee was radiant and very excited and I was moved to sniffles when I went to say goodbye. There was also a very emotional part during the thank you address (I hate the phrase 'vote of thanks' thingy!) delivered by the Groom, it was so touching, we were wiping our faces, the Groom's father, the Bride and of course the Groom! At that point, if ever there was a shadow of doubt in me (there never was) that my friend was in good hands, it simply vamoosed.

The journey back was even more interesting we practically floored the accelerator, I have pictures! It was pure undiluted madness! Frequent stops along the way to take pictures on the road side was even more fun than I thought. We had mini-hiccups on the way but that is one trip that was well worth the effort. There is one more wedding to go on Saturday and that will conclude the back-to-back wedding attendance series of mine that started in June. I want my solo weekends back!

On a very unrelated note; I found myself attending this all-important meeting yesterday, as the parties were having their intense discussion, I had this evil thought of breaking wind, not the silent odious one that stinks like a sewer but the very loud butt cracking type that stops conversations and stinks like a sewer! The type that got people labelled with horrible nicknames throughout primary school. In my head it was all so funny, I had to hold my breath rigidly to keep from acting out my ridiculous fantasy. I wonder what the client would have done and the counter-parties. It's all just so funny to me.

Back to reality, I have unrelenting incessant headaches torturing my working hours! I think its the glare of the computer, I spend too many hours in this chair staring at the screen and my social after-work-hours life is in shambles. In total rebellion, I am blogging at work and dedicating the next consecutive hours to Marian Keyes. Hopefully the powers that be will not need my input on anything for the rest of the day (solemn prayer).

Until next time, Enjoy the rest of the week!

Hello... Goodbye

2011-06-20T15:57:00.003+01:00

I don not feel exactly bad that it has been eons since I last put up a post. It used to bug me in the early days, but I have since let go of that guilt! Not to say I haven't missed all you wonderful people, I have but events in my life have overtaken the need to blog.

My wonderful beautiful friend Omotee is tying the knot in a few weeks! Need I say that I am ready to rock that party! I am so glad and happy for her. She deserves all these good things. Some of us know her journey to finding love and to be here when it has happened is just amazing!

My last post highlighted my jobless status. I accepted an offer two months after that. I can't say I love my job but there is a satisfaction in having a place to go in the morning and receiving that bank alert at the end of the month that your salary has been paid :D

The job is stressful walahi! I leave home everyday at 6.30am. Get to work 7.30-7.45, on hellish days at past eight! Blame VI traffic. Utterly annoying. Then I close anytime between 8 and 9pm! I swear I have seen red. There were days I would be on my way out, actually driving home when the dreaded call would come that I should come back because there is an urgent mail yet to be sent or replied! Some of my colleagues sleep over on occasion. I have said I wouldn't complain about the job so I will stop here before I have a full rant!

On a personal note, I am in a very happy place, not to say I don't have my low moments buy hey that's just life. I am good and making the best of what I have.
I have missed this space. I hope I will have the urge to blog again soon. This was totally spontaneous! I laugh at my colleagues when all they want to do is blog, well been there, done that.

I have weddings from next weekend till the end of July! Talk about Gbese and stress. My weekends have been over-crowded of late and I know there is no rest until the very last weekend in July if nothing comes up. I am so looking forward to a weekend that will be spent doing nothing but staying in bed. I am so going to plan it. I will load up on fruits, juice, maybe a bottle of vodka and some cheese and crackers! I will not drive and will definitely switch off my phones. I hope I can achieve this solo weekend thing.

Forgive the lack of structure, I think I will adopt it as my new style. Have a blissful week everyone.

XOXO

The grass isn't always greener

2011-02-08T11:00:00.003+01:00

Thank you all for your comments on my last post.
I was in Ghana over the weekend for a wedding. I was very excited about that trip because I am jobless, single and love to travel :D.
So, we took off early landed in Accra and headed to our destination. Forget all the Nigerian Banks advert about their 'Visa' cards and 'Mastercard' working everywhere! Shame really. Thank God I had Naira and Dollar back up. It would have been a major disaster. And Airtel does not work! All that story about wider coverage and One network across Africa is hogwash. Apparently, you have to set up the roaming service before you leave your country.

The wedding itself was very simple and lovely. The bride's mother puts the crown on her daughter's head. There is no traditional ceremony. It was we the Nigerians that had the gele etc. Everyone else was simply dressed, we stuck out like a sore thumb! But it was fun.

We managed some shopping, plenty in fact, cosmetics is much cheaper. Went clubbing on Saturday night, not the nest night to do that as the club night is Friday but it was ok. We went to about 4 before landing at Aphrodisiac. No cameras allowed. I love the decor, spacious dance floors, beautiful pin dot lights and we saw Majid Michel.
There is a club called Papazz where the decor is all about Moet & Chandon.

My friend and I call Ghana, 'Booty Central'. There is booty everywhere and they show it, as in. Tight short gowns with slits everywhere! I say that literally.

I say the grass isn't greener because I hear a lot of complaint about Lagos traffic etc. Forget it. Traffic in Ghana is also bad, this is my second trip. Almost missed my return flight because of it. Every city has traffic, lots of it, just go out at rush hour!

Have a nice week.

Honestly

2011-01-26T03:26:00.003+01:00

I believe half of the problems in world would be solved if only people respected other people's beliefs.

I am a Muslim and I love practising my religion. If I had a penny for everytime people tell me 'but you don't look like a Muslim' I would be very rich by now. Which gets me wondering what exactly Muslims look like.

I have had people ask me why I am a Muslim! I have absolutely nothing against other religions. I think it's interesting the different forms of faith and communication with a Supreme Being.

My Grandma is an Anglican and her parents were too but she married a Muslim and she still remains an Anglican. To my knowledge my Grandpa never had a problem with it till his dying day. Its curious to me why when some ladies get married, they take up their husband's religion.

I think it's hipocritical, I understand that for unity and the children's sake, it is better to have a common religion but what I don't like is the expectation from people that because you married outside your religion, you must adopt your husband's religion even when you don't believe in it.

I know I would never change my religion for anybody, regardless of pressure if I married otherwise. All my boyfriends have been Christians and I don't have any problems with it. I fell in love with the person not his faith. My family don't have issues either as happiness and compatibility is what matters.

I have had people inviting me to church over and over again but when I deign to ask them to come for an Islamic program, they act like you just hit them with something foul! I also remember a fasting period when a former colleague asked me why I was observing the fast and I responded that it was part of my religion and also good for the body, she looked at me with disdain and did that thing with the nose.

I have nothing against other religions and I respect other people's faith but I am not going to accept anyone speaking/acting towards me as if I were not a person simply because we don't practice the same faith. If we all treated others the way we would like to be treated, there would be peaceful co-existence.

I have this friend who was brought up a Muslim, both parents have performed the Hajj but she changed her religion and no one said anything. Her parents never hassled her, they respected her faith and the fact that she has one.

You certainly don't have to like/understand/believe in the tenets of other people's religion but respect it. If I have one more person preaching to me to convert, I might start screaming and never stop. Your religion won't take you to heaven (if you believe it exists) but it is your action and deeds that will determine whether you get to the pearly gates. Live and let live.

Idle hands

2010-12-13T11:21:00.003+01:00

Forgive the randomness.
I am currently looking for a job (with a torch light I might add!) So I have a lot of time on my hands. I read a lot of things but lately, I noticed that a lot of people have different names for copulation. The interesting ones I have found include:

Playing the pokey table
Laying the Pipe and eating the Goodie box (Sounds icky)
Settling in the lady caves ( This is not funny stricto sensu but I can't stop laughing)

On to other things, I remember a time when make up regime consisted of dusting powder on the hands, rub said hands together and wipe over the face until well blended. I say this because I had to get ready for a party recently and I had 25 mins to take a shower get my face on and be ready!

I wondered how I was going to get it done within the time but I did. I went back to the old routine. Of course the finishing touches were done in the car. Which brought to fore the necessity of wearing make-up at all. Women Palava

I have been wondering lately, can men and women 'just be friends' without any strings? I have tried for years to reach a medium and even argued fervently in times past that it is possible but I can't help but conclude that it is very RARE. One party always want something more. In cases where they don't, if an opportunity ever presents itself, one party will try to take advantage of the other. Can anyone prove otherwise? I have had to prune down my friends list because of this. I can't give what I do not have.

Is anyone excited over Christmas? I am not and I just want the season to be over. The anxieties over the festivities is too much and the evil boys/girls are out en masse all because they want to have money for Christmas. Too many snatched cars, people getting killed etc it is just too close for comfort and I go out now ONLY if it is absolutely necessary. I don't even do the casual 'meet up for drinks' anymore. I sorely miss that.

I pray 2011 brings more good tidings. By the way, my graduation went very well. I had a great time with my parents and I left just a day before the snow started! That was coup for me. :D Have a great week people

This country of mine!

2010-11-11T08:32:00.006+01:00

Hope everyone is doing great. My internet or my computer has been misbehaving, I could read post but was unable to leave comments. I discovered it was my computer, I have deleted all my cookies but yet to check the result, I am back on my old lappy.

I went to Cotonou last Saturday. Nigerian immigration officials are some of the most corrupt people ever! I was watching this freaking eejit demand for 9k to stamp our 'virgin' passports! Our crime? We wanted to do the right thing by stamping when we could have walked past the border gates simply or taken the car and paid 500naira! We wanted to take car. The virgin part was that we had never taken that route!

We were so miffed, I was dangerously quiet and my sister let it rip! They were so galled they went the 'we are not your mate route' and can you speak to your husband like that? My sister God bless that girl, promptly replied that if they had treated her like their daughter, she would have spoken to them like her father! EOD (End of Discussion) We finally got out of there, parked our car and hired a vehicle to take us there. We went through Ogun state, the state of our borders is laughable!

We left home at 5.30 in the morning, our drive to Otta-Idiroko-Igolo was pleasurable until we met those froggy looking immigration men. It is such a shame. They had this ridiculous pot bellies and I was very ashamed to share citizenship with these people.

The trip was fun and the journey back was terrible. Traffic on that Otta road was appalling! We got to the border at 4.30 and from Otta to the toll gate we spent 4hrs! Gbenga Daniel or whoever takes over from him needs to do something. We got back to my sister's house. Her husband drove, I was so tired, I was tempted to crash in their house! But I had to drive back home, Thank God I got home safely, my Dad waited up as usual. That is a road trip we will not be repeating in a while.

Next week is my graduation. Should be fun. So I ordered new boots for myself and Mumsie from ebay only to have my account blocked! I accessed my account from Nigeria! I was so miffed. After about 6hrs on their help line verifying my account etc I got the issue resolved. Nigeria needs a miracle seriously!

I will miss Sallah second time in a row. Not happy about it but grad preps have been in the works for ages. It's a shame they coincided. The funny thing is my parents are coming too and they will miss Sallah for the first time ever! The running joke in the house is that they should call all their regular guests that they won't be coming this year. I can imagine the number of people that throng our house in Ibadan for the festivities, the disappointment chei!

I wish NLC had not called off the strike. I want to see what the current President can do :D. Have a great weekend everyone.

shall i say... phew!

2010-10-29T09:23:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, I had to take my car to the mechanic. I assumed I would spend the whole day, so I called a friend to follow me, armed with magazines, snacks etc. After 3 hours we were told the diagnosis was over and the guys are on break so we decided to go on one ourselves. Picture me crossing the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, I was terrified. I can't remember ever crossing an express before. We went to this very nice place called Tank & Tummy. The food is fab and not over-priced. If anyone is ever in that area, they should try it.

My car wasn't going to be ready until the next day, so we set out for home. On getting home, I remembered I had not warmed the stew since the day before and I wasn't sure if my brother had warmed it before leaving the house. In haste, I put it on fire, dropped my bags and went back downstairs. I had to cook dinner, it was past five, I had to go to the tailor to pick up my outfit and buy plantain.

I left the house, strolled to the tailor's place, exchanged banters, (my clothe wasn't ready) and I walked further to get the plantain. That is when it occurred to me that I left the stew on fire! I don't know how I got on a bike and headed home leaving my friend on the roadside! I just ran into the house, leaving the gate open, to turn off the cooker. Yep, it was totally burnt! Smoke all over, I just opened the door and windows and got back on the bike to go back to the plantain place! It was hilarious on retrospect but at that time, I must have been a sight!

I haven't taken a bike since 2007. It was during chamber's attachment at Law School. There was mad traffic on the Falomo Bridge and I was staying with Uncle in VI at the time 'cos of the proximity to school. The red flag came flying suddenly and there was no way I could drive home without having major stains on the car seat so I hopped a bike!

I was pained that my stew got burnt but even better that I didn't burn down the house!

Currently on my mind

2010-10-27T08:20:00.008+01:00

Fistly, happy birthday to Myne Whitman, hope you had a blast!
Omotee, I dey vex. That cake for Myne, I am envious!
RIP to the Cunning Linguist. Very sad but God knows best. May your family have the fortitude to bear the loss.

By the way, I can't leave comments on blogs today! Don't know what is wrong with blogger o. I like the sound of LG's register idea. Omotee knows me and my entire family we went to high school together. :D I by 2014 we would have been friends for 20yrs! I can't wait to celebrate that, we will have a sumptuous do celebrate. May God keep us beyond that time.

To my post of the day, it's official, I am BORED! I am not actively job searching anymore no one is returning my calls. Plus I still have to go for graduation. So I will keep chilling.

Something that has been bothering me, why do guys misbehave in a relationship? You break up and after sometime, they want to come back. I am asking because all my exes always come back.

Is anyone worried about the current rise in floods in Nigeria? I went to Lokoja last week and the level of water was alarming. It had covered some houses entirely and all that was visible were the roofs. I took pictures and said out loud that I wonder if the State government is thinking of doing something. I think I spoke too soon because it was on the news last night and the government is calling on the Federal Government to do something about the River Niger. Why is it that our government is useless? They have no rescue plan whatsoever on the floods save for Lagos State. I pray the people affected get some relief.

I wonder if the government can pass a law that dragging and touching people in the market is technically an assault. I dread going to the market, all those guys, shouting 'my colour, come buy' etc it freaks me out! I love shopping and I know most of the nooks and crannies of Lagos market but having being absent for some time I fear my re-entry. I say this because I have to follow a friend there today. I wish I could call her now to cancel but I can't, having cancelled twice already. So here I am clinging to the bed instead of getting a move.

Oh well, it's the middle of the week, hope you are all being the best you can be. Enjoy the rest of the week. I apologise for the randomness. Please show this girl some love I would really really appreciate it. http://bnuitville.blogspot.com/ Can anyone guess who she is?

Funny Dudes

2010-10-19T14:43:00.002+01:00

Hello all, I hope everyone is having a good time. Is it me or some men are just totally clueless about some women?

I wonder why men who want to date me make suggestions like me visiting them in their states! I mean ain't you the one 'toasting' me? I have and will NEVER make such a trip. Why would I leave my house and travel all the way to make a visit with you when all you is just talk to me on the phone? Why don't you try visiting me first and see how it goes?

Such is what I have been getting since I arrived. The first guy asked me when I would be coming to Ibadan. I laughed inwardly, I am yet to visit my Grandmother who stays there, it is you I will now visit, puhleeeeeeeeeese. That is why men take women for granted I think. Why would I want to endanger my life on that perilous useless express-way to come visit you?

Another asked me when I would be coming to Warri, wetin I wan come buy for there? I have no business in those places. I don't make such visits, the next thing I heard was, you are a big girl now. Big girl or not, I am not interested in visiting people. I don't understand why people just make such assumptions that you would come running when they say so. Again, why do guys just go loving up on you on the BB in 24hrs when 48 hrs before you didn't exist in their orbit? I adopt the siddon-look attitude, shebi you are fooling yourself ni not me.

That is it for today. Wish it was written better but I just had to get that ish off my mind. I am beginning to get pissed off at all the 'when are you coming to so so place' requests. Get off my case brother, only in your dreams will I make such a trip!

Vacuum

2010-10-04T15:08:00.002+01:00

The wedding was a huge success! Thank you all for your wishes. I am waiting to watch the video since I spent most of my time coordinating the event. I even earned the title of 'field marshall'. We had security at the door and people were turned back, there were too many guests; Some uninvited and or without IVs or the aso-ebi.

I couldn't sleep for a few days after the wedding, I miss my sis. She has been coming and going the past week to get her remaining stuffs. I am yet to fill her wardrobe space, it feels like I am invading her privacy.

On the engagement day, I wore my heels, to say I regret the action is an understatement! I wore flats all through the next day! Wise decision and it wasn't as bad as I thought 'cos I didnt even have time to think about it.

Too many people saw the wedding on air judging by the calls I am still receiving. I just thank God the ceremony was money well spent. May the couple enjoy marital bliss.
The room feels empty now and I ocassionally mention my sister when I want to call my brother hence the vacuum.

I was just chatting with a friend and she is quite angry. Still on the subject of weddings: She says a friend didn't inform her she had a boyfriend and she is getting married on Friday. Her grouse is the 'big secret' and she asked me why people are usually secretive about theitr wedding. I had no answer to that and simply told her to relax, if the other lady valued their friendship or had belief in it, she would have been informed.

I am a realist and I try to avoid assumptions so I don't get upset much by my friends. I have come to realise people have different definitions of friendship. Hope everyone is doing alright. Remember to be the best you can be all the time. Have a nice week

Just how many is too much?

2010-09-08T07:44:00.002+01:00

The wedding is two weeks away! I miss her very much already. That is why I came home early, to spend more time with her before she leaves! It would be so strange to wake up in the morning and not see her beside me. We have shared a room and finally a massive bed to create more space for as long as I can remember.

I watched her grow up, from being the cutest thing into a strong minded woman. From copying everything I did to exchanging words with me to correcting me when I am wrong. It has been an amazing journey and I can't believe this girl whom I would always see as my baby sister is getting married!

She sometimes call me mummy! My voice sounds so much like our Mum's that when I call her she says yes mummy! I even capitalise on that sometimes to get her to do some chores! :D

She said just this morning, (after she woke up at 6.38, late for work already!) that Mum does not bother to ensure she is awake early again since I arrived and I responded that her second mummy is back now so why bother? We laughed about it while she said, she is having anxiety attacks and she can't believe she is leaving in two weeks!

I thought September was far away! Now it's here and we can only count days. She is just so amazing and if I had handpicked my sister, I couldn't have done a better job!

Back to today's topic, our room looks like a bomb explosion site. Thanks to packing and unpacking. She has started packing and is complaining about all the suitcases filled with my clothes that must be empty so she can use them to pack her stuff. Then she jokes about my lingerie, that she could write a book on them!

I know I have quite a number, make that a lot! We have both resorted to keeping a giant vacuum bag to drop whatever we wear after washing so that we can go through them all! The ones I left before I travelled are still untouched in their various bags and none of us wants to even open the wardrobe to find out what is there! It is daunting as she rightly said! So just how many is too much? I know I have more than 150 brassieres, I just love the damn things and I am one of those people that can get away with not wearing one. I do it sometimes especially when the heat is too much.

As for panties, well we are not even going to count or attempt to and I love basques too. On the subject of clothes, I am afraid for myself. Our Dad believes that every occasion needs a new native cloth so he just buys, so I attempted to clear out some from the wardrobe, so that I can unpack some suitcases and fill them with the natives instead since I rarely wear them. I wish I hadn't started. They are just too many. I got so tired that I simply started shoving everything from the suitcases into the wardrobe without folding them. Our dressing room is overrun with cases, we have a narrow path to walk through and then there is this mini room that we designated a prayer room, but now you can barely fit in a mat to pray simply because of our suitcases.

Our Dad is tired of complaining, last week he said, we have about half of the house between us and that is too much. We disagree with him of course! He is a shopaholic too and I take after him. I arrived about a week ago, and during the week, he came home with a bag for me, when I opened it, more shoes! And he is the one that complains that I have far too many shoes. The funny thing is, we have the same size and the unfortunate thing is, no one else in the house shares our size! He is a 41 and so am I! In the three homes we have, he has racks of shoes stretching from wall to wall, the difference between him and I is that I like to have all my shoes in one place.

So I will miss my sister sorely. I already do but I am also looking forward to having her wardrobe space to myself, the shelves, dressing table, shoe racks gosh! I will miss waking up in the middle of the night to tell her to move over, telling her to switch off the light etc.

Here is to my sister my very own ever sparkly, keep me grounded, part-time hairdresser, nail-polisher, cook, drive me crazy, sparring partner, go-to-girl, financial advisor/planner and so much more HAB, I love you so much, I always will be here for you like I always tell you, your hubby is so lucky, your kids are going to be so lucky for having you as a mother! Remember you are to send them to me for some discipline and fabulosity like you always say, and I am sending my kids to you to get away from my sometimes crazy hare-brained fashion ideas (Like the time I decided I wanted short hair and a different colour) and cooking experiments! I will also try not to drag them on my all day shopping trips so as not to kill them like you say.

I love you so very much, I never get tired of saying that. And I am going to miss your 'love you' call outs when you are leaving the house. Have a very happy married life sweetness, you deserve it and much more.

Home and Away....Several months after

2010-08-29T06:36:00.002+01:00

Hi People! I know I have been a lazy gal. Hope everyone is doing greaaaaaaaaaaat! The past few months have been indescribable. So many things to talk about, hope I won't get lazy about it again.

My dissertation went way better than I expected! I thought it would be hell. It was a lot of hard work but my Supervisor was very supportive, I know most of my classmates had a very rought time with it. I am glad mine went smoothly.

My baby sis is getting married and I am so happy! I will make a post specially for her. Wedding is a month away now. I am just so excited. I was in charge of my favorite activity... shopping! I had a wild good time. My goodness! It was fabulous. I had to ship 6 suitcases home!

This is a mini post, thank you to everyone who left a comment on my last post and who checked up on me. I wanted to post but in between watching several series, yoruba film (Yes... I am a fan!), online and high street shopping, making day trips round Scotland (Y'all should visit some day, is VERY beautiful) and a myriad of other activities, I have had little time.

The summer was very bried but the sunset and sunrise left me saying OMG everytime. There were days I slept at 6am and I watched a new day unfold all I can say is God is wonderful. Nighttime during summer in Scotland lasted about 3 and a half hours so it's not much fun sleeping.

Missed this space. Will make the rounds soon. I am going back to bed, this Ramadan is going good. Cheers everyone and I wish you all the best. My eyes hurt already so I apologise for any typos!

Mini Update

2010-05-01T23:07:00.004+01:00

Hi loves! How is everyone doing? I am fine. I feel very guilty that I didn't blog in my birth month April. I have been all over and busy too.

My exams start on Tuesday, forgive me if I have been shirking my duties *wink*

I am stuck that's why I am writing this mini update. Things are good. I have so many things to blog about but they are all in my head and I simply can't put them down until after my exams.

I am back to my hermit mode. I never leave my house during exams prep. I hardly venture into the kitchen too. If it doesn't come in a packet I ain't eating. Why waste time in the kitchen? It shall pass soon though.

I was in Geneva for my birthday. That place is f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s. Deets when I blog properly! I was also in London and got caught in the volcanic ash! I was stuck there for 3 days before I dipped into my very scarce resources and purchased a business class ticket on the Eurostar to return to Paris. I am still very miffed about that! All the tickets were sold out!

Oh so many things to talk about and do! Happy new month people. My apartment block caught fire on Easter Sunday! My God, it was an inferno. Thank God no one was hurt. It was a totally crazy experience. It feels surreal now though.
I also went for a check up in the beginning of April and was told I have a heart murmur. Got to check that out too. Told you there is a lot going down.

Too many happenings. Anyhoos I need to go rest my brain for a minute. See you after the 13th.

Then I shall be F.R.E.E. until hell begins in the form of my dissertation. Can't wait. Have a fab weekend and week. A bientot!

BTW: Forgive the typos, no time to proofread.

Trips & Happenings

2010-03-16T23:23:00.005+01:00

How is everyone doing? Hope things are going good. I have been busy like crazy, had a presentation last week, another one on Thursday and another next Tuesday! I decided come whatever, I am blogging tonight, even if I cannot read posts.

I went to Amsterdam during the winter break and boy, was it an adventure! It started with the bus, the buses from my house to the train station stop working at 9.48pm on a week day. We were meeting at the station to take off at 2.00am. I didn’t want to walk alone at mid-night besides, it’s quite far, so I took the bus and beagn the waiting game. I killed time with an apple cider at a pub with like-minded individuals going on the trip.

We finally gathered everyone and set off to board the bus only to discover that it was running late. We were standing in the middle of the expressway in the middle of the night with no shield from the cold! It was 0 degrees! The bus showed up at 3.00am and we set off. I was dozing off after cornering 2 seats for myself in the from of the bus and getting used to the usual chatter among people bound together on a trip when the first wahala started.

I heard WTF? I woke and smelled smoke, and someone went ‘the bus is f****** and the driver is still driving?’ The smoke was so much we could smell it in the bus with all the windows shut against the cold! And the people at the back could see smoke coming from the bus. The driver finally stopped and we were ordered off the bus, it was 4.10am. We had to wait for the police to set up the emergency cones as we were between borders on the Highway and no one was allowed to get into the warmth of the bus. The temperature had further plummeted of course as I was shivering and everyone was complaining. People had to pee but the bus didn’t even have toilet facilities, it was locked, someone said ‘hit the bushes’ but it was ridiculous as we were on a highway, no shoulder on the road to even stay in clusters! We had to make a single file as it was a bridge and the little space on the side of the road was very narrow. I have never heard so many swear words in a single night before.

We got back on the bus around 5.00am when the emergency signs had been erected and proceeded to wait for the replacement bus. It came 3 hours later. Set off again at 8.00am, badly pressed and quite grumpy we were the motley crew . We found a rest stop after 2 hrs and everyone got about their business. Arrived Amsterdam at about 4.00pm. School trips, you gotta love them!

We got to the hotel/hostel only to discover the fool that organised the trip got two rooms only to be co-shared between both sexes! I promptly objected that the smaller room be taken by the girls and I could see the hesitation on the guy’s face, I ignored him, I am a full grown adult and no way would I share a room with over-grown kids still exhibiting traits of youthful exuberance. They are undergrads after all! Still have the boorishness and manners or lack thereof attached to males of that class.

We girls had our way but some unlucky girls had to share the other room with the guys. I told them they could bring their mattress and bunk with us. We rested a bit and met in the lobby for what they called a visit to the ‘coffee house’. Innocent enough until you have been to Amsterdam and discovered that coffee houses do not have the same meaning. These are cafes where marijuana is sold and smoked freely! Innocent me! I have never inhaled so much smoke. It’s everywhere. The laws are not like in the UK or France where smokers go outside, they can stay in the room and do it. I responded with having allergy attacks! So severe my eyes were almost swollen shut!

Another pet peeve of the trip was, the ‘leader’ kept giving information in French, it was so annoying considering that half the people on the trip do not speak it and he manages English quiet well in school environs. As eloquently pointed out by a friend, since the guy had been smoking weed, all his language capabilities had been disconnected, and he can only resort to his native language!

The guys were principally there for the smoke. We meet in the mornings and go to a museum after that everyone is left to their own devices. I like the city away from the smoke and red lights. It’s a bicycle city. There are thousands of them everywhere. My friend almost got hit by a tram too. Between them and cycles, it was all very crazy.

The food is great! I love their Vlaamse fries, so thick and long, just how I like my fries. And the waffles and huge street pizzas, doughnuts etc. The foods are available 24/7 on most of the streets. Even in the 'coffee shops' you have muffins (made with hash), brownie (made with weed) etc proudly displayed in neon signs! They also have fab restaurants. Even the silly hotel we stayed in, the beef of the burger was so huge the bread only covered half of it. Some of them had silly names, space cakes, space brownie, anyway I assume by the time you finish onhe, you will be in space! This aptly named.

I also saw girls (in minuscule undies) in live windows, calling men and the bars are open all days and hours of the week and the girls are there in the windows even during the day. It really is a bustling city. We went to the Marijuana museum, the torture museum and the sex museum. We also saw the floating flower market. I went on the boat round the city too. I have never had so many touristy activities in a single trip!

There were also quirky quotes everywhere such as, 'drink beer and save water, do your part to save the environment' and ' Don't drink and drive, instead, smoke and fly! It was a lesson!

We went to the Anne Frank museum and it was a very sad experience for me because I could not imagine the persecution such a young girl must have faced during the Hitler era. She was just 15 and forced to hide in an upstairs room with her sister and the people in the office downstairs were not even aware of their existence! They were eventually betrayed and sent to the camps where they were killed. The only good moment was seeing a live Oscar won by one of the actresses in the Film based on her life. We were not allowed to take pictures though.

On getting back to school, a lecturer asked what we did for the winter break, I sat in front so I had to respond and told him I went to Amsterdam, his response? Ha you went there to smoke!

So there goes my trip, many more memories but this post is long enough already and I can’t even include the gist about the stalker I have managed to acquire.

The temperature is going up yipeeeeeeeeeee! It will be 15 degrees tomorrow, I will brave it and wear open toed flats, about time. Enjoy the rest of the week. Will be back after heavy school schedule.

Tales from a Party

2010-03-01T10:33:00.003+01:00

Hi guys, how is everyone doing? Hope all the overzealous natural forces at work is not hampering your daily life. France is being battered by a horrible storm with winds that can lift a human body off the streets! I couldn't sleep through the storm, the howls of the wind was too terrifying and the temperatures magically dipped so it was very cold as well. It's been horrible but mercifully over. I hope the people in Chile are coping well though.

Went for a party last Saturday and I must say I have attended better parties. It was supposed to be a house party by a classmate who moved to Paris away from the school environs. You are thinking fun yeah? Maybe a little.

So I went with another classmate since I can't find my own tail with a compass. We got to the apartment. It was a very nice one complete with marble elevators and English speaking neighbours! We met a few of them 'cos they let us into the foyer. And it's very close to the Metro. Fab!

We met the hostess in sweats and she grabbed me the Nigerian to come make the Jollof rice! Did I mention the party was supposed to start at 9pm? Oh I got there at 9.30 or so. The hostess is a fly African who grew up American. She rarely attends lectures too. I have seen her all of twice since we started classes here, we mostly see on FB!

She was dishing out orders like we were her servants, oh you get the chicken, LusciousRon slice the onions, don't add too much pepper in the sauce for the jollof rice. Oh you go get the paper plates, the store is down the road. etc

On a regular day, I don't mind doing some work to get a party started and ready but sheeeet I did not leave my cosy flat, brave the cold weather, and travel into Paris in heels and flowing hair to come cut onions and ish! When I start reeking of maggi and other condiments at the party what am I supposed to tell other guests? That I had an accident with a curry shop? Puhleeeeeese.

I swallowed my annoyance and made the jollof, lighted the candles and did other minor stuff that kept the party going. It was the kind of party that people come in groups and leave after 2hrs to go to another party or club. And the hostess (we will call her H) kept making disappearing acts for lenthy chunks of time to attend to her stud-wearing-jeans-sagging boyfriend.

I was chatting with some of my classmates when H brought a dude over that he is Nigerian and I should talk to him. Behold a Nigerian that pronounced his name till I got a mild headache. He is supposedly 'Femi' but the way he said it, I asked him to repeat it so many times it sounded like a song! Get this, he speaks the kind of English a 2yr old would speak- very limited and I don't speak much French past what would get me items in a store. His parents are Nigerian but he grew up here. Having a conversation with loud blaring music is terrible at the best of times but having one with someone you cannot communicate with is crazy, besides he ain't that cute so I am not missing anything! I tilted him towards a Norwegian that speaks French and escaped!

I thought I had escaped most of the horrors of the night until a batch of French people came in. They were very drunk from another party. of course they had to do the French air kissing thing. Imagine the stale alcoholic breath coming into your nostrils, its utterly disgusting and 'cos they were drunk the kiss lingered and I had to endure that from about 8 people! I thought I would throw up. They were actually waiting in line to meet a delightful looking lady- their words not mine.

Some time after that, the Naija guy slipped beside me and from what I could decipher, he asked me to walk up to his friend and ask him to dance for me that he can really move. (Do you guys remember those silly games we played in secondary school and early Uni days? Where a guy's friend will tell you to go up to him and ask him to do something? Yes that one) I turned calmly and told him I was tired and the last thing I would do, is walk across the room to ask someone to dance for me! He gave me that incredulous look like, I want to miss the offer of the century. I simply turned to another person and struck up conversation.

I was stuck at the party 'cos the trains stop working at around 1am, so I couldn't go home. We left around 4 after we discovered we could get a bus to our place instead of waiting for the trains to start working. I was so glad. We walked to St. Lazare ran to catch the bus 'cos it was already leaving. Unlike the UK, the buses wait to pick you when they see you running. They even wait at bus-stops close to malls for shoppers.

We got to the Gare and I walked home. It's Sunday the regular buses don't start work until 7.30am. You gotta love France!

So it's winter break this week and I have signed up for a trip to Amsterdam on Wednesday. I have back-to-back presentations immediately after the break so I will be quite busy. I am looking forward to the trip though.
So thats how the past week has been. Have a fab week guys!

Illegal Valentine

2010-02-15T12:07:00.004+01:00

So it was Valentine's day yesterday (like y'all didn't know that). Hope everyone did something fun.

I went out on a double date with my friend and the 2 guys who have been helping us get settled in this place. They both speak English and are students like us. One is Senegalese (tall and dark like Akon, that's where the similarities end!) and the other is Camerounian. (I called it an outing until I told another friend who insisted that since the guys paid, it was a date!)

They are both fab. We knew the Camerounian before we came over to France, he helped us get our flat. We shall call them S and C respectively.

They are quite brillant and make us laugh a lot and they are the go-to guys for anything we need and don't know where to get. They also say Nigerian girls are dangerous :D especially Lagos girls hahaha! When they talk they go, come on this girl is not just Nigerian she is comes from Lagos. That's me by the way.

They had nothing doing on Valentine's day, so we decided to go to Paris. I have no objection since I am not doing anything.

After getting primped and ready we set off, on getting to the train station, there was no one at the ticket stand and we wanted young people's day ticket (which is about half the price of the full ticket, sold only at weekends) and not available on the self ticketing machines. The guys had their Navigo cards so no problem on their side. They decided we could pass through in two's! That we did. You should have seen us (I held the guys jacket so we just go like one) (is that illegal by the way? got to check their rules here don't want to be in some Frnech jail)

We did that until we got to our first destination, Champs Elysees. After walking the length of the avenue with not a single free table at any restaurant on that stretch and people standing at every available space (it's Valentine's day and a Sunday!), we backtracked to the train station got a ticket for the metro and went to another place, this time Chatelet les Halles.

We bought tickets for a movie, had about 45 mins to kill, so we decided to get dinner. The food was horrible to say the least. I had something called Tagliani Saumon (some kind of flat spagheti with salmon and cheese. Salmon tasted like rubber and not like salmon at all and the cheese was just a milky concoction. Macdonalds an escalator down would have been far better). The guys' pizza wasn't much better, it looked like biscuit with congealed cheese and tomato! To cap it off their loo was locked and we were not allowed to use it.

So, after taking a leek (such a guy word) at the cinema loo, we went to see our movie. It was a good one, Brothers, very sad and poignant. I hated that feeling, it's Valentine's day afterall who needs to feel so sad. We should have seen George Clooney's In The Air. We came out and saw another movie was about to start in another screen room, someone said (I can't remember who) we could go in, so we went in and took seats. This time we saw Sherlock Holmes. An OK movie. I liked it though. Nothing like Jude Law to get me smiling :)

By the time the movie ended, it was 12.30. The guys had classes in the morning. We caught the last train home. We got to our Gare (station) only to find policemen on the platform and we were the only ones there. We made our way to the escalators. Remember we didn't have tickets. On getting to the exit, there the police were again we made as if we were going back downstairs- but there are no more trains for the day, it was 1.35 by the way and the policemen knew what was up so they called us, it was embarrassing.

I rooted in my handbag for a ticket, I have the one for buses, trams and the Metro but not the one for trains which was what I needed to exit. The guys in uniform let us through laughingly though and our friends said we were tourists in France for Valentine's day. How cheeky! but we got through.

My thoughts were, if they catch us, we are going to jail! I could literally see the headlines---- Nigerians attempt to get through the station without tickets! A la Mumutallab breaking News! And I saw my Dad's face. He called me when I was coming here not to go clubbing or anything like that 'cos exchange students are targets for robbery and worse. And I did the whole Yes Dad, of course not Dad thingy! Thank God there was no incident. We laughed about it all the way home. We walked again no buses or taxi in sight. Got home at 2.22am.

It was much fun. I can't remember ever breaking so many rules in a single day. Wouldn't be doing that again sha. I will wait for the ticket guy to show up and purchase mine like a good citizen before venturing anywhere. All that sleuth-like business is not my thing! Have a fab week people.

Guilty pleasures!

2010-02-08T21:32:00.005+01:00

I have been away for too long. I feel guilty but I could not help it. Blame laziness! How is everyone? Hope the year is off to a great start. Things are good. Safely ensconced in France. Yet to visit the great city. Moved flats over the weekend so I am doing the big settling down. I love my room, I did it entirely in red with white walls!

Not much going on here, I prefer the UK Uni, much more engaging. Things are a bit slow here hence this free time. We are been taught in English so less books to read as they are mostly in French. I do not speak French and its been hilarious getting around. Picture a combination of sign languages punctuated with a few French words and fluent English. I sound like the idiot from grade 1.

It's sometimes amusing watching these people try to understand me but its equally frustrating. So I have signed up for the school French course which I have termed 'Learn French by force' because its a 6 hour class on Friday afternoons! Talk about losers who have nothing to do! How can I spend all my friday afternoon till early evening cooped up in a class learning a language? 2.30pm-8.30pm! I am still mad! There goes my plan to run away to London every chance I get for the weekend!

Things here are ridiculously expensive! I have been moaning about this since I got out of the plane. From the Travellex exchange service that charged me 27euros to change some money so I could get a bus to my town to the maxi pack of Maltesers I bought that cost 4 euros! I am still smarting form the injustice of it all. So I have resolved to get to London as much as possible and fit in copious amount of TESCO shoppings as I can manage. I will be on the Eurostar so it will be fine.

Getting here was another story entirely! FYI never book EasyJet unless you are going away ONLY for a weekend! They are hideous. I had to pay about £150 to carry 21kg extra luggage! That is more than double the amount I paid for the ticket itself plus I had to buy my own baggage space.

Anyway, all the gorgeous men I have been seeing all around have been compensating for my disappointment! They are crawling everywhere! So fine. I mean I have never seen so many beautiful guys in the same place. I know I am gushing but I just can't help it. Even in my flat. I have to touch my face often to make sure I am not gawking at someone!

Only downside is few speak any English but who cares when they look that good. I just want to stare at those faces! But the ones that do speak my language get extra points in the fuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiiine department. Like the Ghanian that came to my flat yesterday. He could speak flawless English and perfect French and was switching effortlessly between the 2! He was so dreamy OMG. My friend & I couldn't wait for him to leave before we started screaming how gorg he is!

Excuse the typos, blame it on excitement and a decided laziness to proof read! I should go down some more water and a croissant (the pastry shops are divine!) and look at my French translation book to cram what I might say tomorrow if I do leave my apartment. I am free on Tuesdays so not obliged to go anywhere. After been relatively homeless for about a week, I am relishing the idea of staying put in my room.

I will do the rounds when I am done unpacking. Good to be back. I just wish it has a staying power. If anyone is coming to this part of the world anytime soon, kindly leave me a comment. I shall provide contact and maybe we can hook up. Strangely, there is a dearth of Nigerians here! Shocking but true. They ain't many. There are a lot of other African countries repping here though. Signing off. Be good people.

Having a Merrrrrry ol' time!

2009-12-25T20:47:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone, Merry Xmas! Hope you are all having a blast! I have been a bad blogger but that is neither here nor there. Take me as I am, this lazy girl is not repenting any time soon!

I am in Naija! So glad. Missed my folks like crazy! Today has been amazing.

Came in and there was fuel scarcity, no power and no generator (cos of the fuel issue)! The heat was mad. I refused to leave the house for about 4 days (the sun was just too intense and no fuel) till I ran to Abuja! But with all that, there is still no place I would rather be! Currently listening to Lagos Party (remix) by Banky W. It is absolutely fabulous.

This is a very random post so forgive me. Blame it on the excitement. Wherever you are, hope you had a lovely Xmas. Till I come by again have a very beauuuuriful season! And a Happy New year in advance!

Like my friend said, Go Jesus, it's your birthday, we gonna party like it's your birthday!

Be good folks.

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeez!

2009-12-07T04:56:00.003+01:00

Its been more than a month! Sorry peeps, no one told me LLM was this hard! I am still awake at 4 am. Its been like this for about 5 weeks now. Ko easy o

I have exams tomorrow since its Monday already. Hmmn. So tired I need a masseuse like crazy. My bcak aches from staying up all the time. Wishes...lol

I can't wait for Friday when I will be done with the exams, I will go out all night and sleep all through Saturday and go shopping on Sunday! I am so not serious

Exams is like an essay o, imagine essay questions but you have to memorise all your answer or better still learn it before going to into the hall. It is a seen a exam so the standard is way high! Plenty research. I am sure by the time I am through with this program, I will be wearing spectacles! I am always reading. Kai..

This is meant to be a short post. I hope my much loved cyber friends are doing great. I apologise for not paying visits. School work is crazy here!

I have even run out of food and can't spare a moment to go grocery shopping! I had to drink Garri yester-night (Saturday). And I have been doing some dry food runs. I can get home delivery from Asda but I can't even go to their website right now.

I was so hungry yesterday (Sunday) that I got off the bed and left the books aside to go make lunch, I thought since I didnt have anything, I could make tuna sauce with canned tomatoes. I happily started cooking thinking, I could eat it with potatoes at least, I checked the cupboards..... Zilch! Nada! Not even a tiny scope of it. And the stupid stew was done!

Was I to lick stew and drink water with the hunger, I say lai lai, I no fit! I don't even have rice. I swallowed my Naija pride and asked my flatmate for bread! I am not leaving my books.

Silly me. After Tuesday's paper, I am so going to get some milk and bread. I cant stand dry cereal anymore haba I am not here to starve. I even ran out of buscuits! Since when do I ever run out of junk food?

That is my dry life as a student for now. life returns to normal from Friday! I can't wait. And more blogging power then. Let me catch some sleep will be up in the next 2 hrs anyways. Arrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Lusciously Random!!!

2009-10-19T18:03:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone, how have you been? I am fine thanks for asking! I finally got my blogging mojo back. Don't blame me, blame school. If I hear 'you to work hard 'cos this school is one of the top 20 law schools' one more time, I will scream!

Work load is crazy! Considering I am taking just two modules. My lectures are on Mondays only so my weekend is always hard pressed trying to finish up my reading list for the week.

I am loving it though. The French University accepted me so it is Salut! in Febraury to France. I have started French classes. It's fun, the other students are a riot! And the man paying the bill accepted. In fact, he said it was a great idea. I am so pleased.

I haven't cooked a meal since my brother left! It's always noodles, muffins or fruits! I have broken the jinx today! I diced up all the large pepper in my fridge, all 5 of them, added mushrooms, onions, minced meat and some diced turkey laps and voila! A pot of stew!

I also cooked ogbono with okro with shrimps and every other thing I could squeeze into the pot. My English flatmate asked if it was curry sauce, I told him what was in it he said- it sounded complicated!

I went for a flat party the other weekend. It was hosted by my Norwegian classmate. It was fun, I met her Nigerian flatmate, who cooked jollof rice! I was so excited I was just grinning like an idiot. I ate till I couldn't talk! The Oyinbo partygoers said the rice was too spicy! and that we were playing with our liver. I have never heard of such a thing. I had mad fun.

I thought it was a pretty good party until the Naija girl brought her stereo with loud speakers and started playing D'banj's Suddenly! Omo, at that point, I lost it! All the four Naija girls present just started displaying. I think that was the best fun I have had since I arrived. The Oyinbo girls wanted to know why our waist moves like that.

I went shopping last weekend for some leather boots, the prices almost gave me a corollary! I went on ebay and I got some fabulous boots for way cheaper! All pure leather and I think I got carried away with the number I got. Can I wear leather knee high boots in Naija? That is the only explanation for buying 4. I spent Sunday on ebay! I will be drinking Garri for the next few weeks.

I went to Glasgow on Wednesday, I was alone so it wasn't much fun. I plan to go back. I was attending a Graduate's Fair. I missed my bus, I had to buy another ticket which cost me as much as the return ticket. What was most annoying was, I got there as the bus was pulling away. :(

I am soooooo glad I went with the kinky braids, its still looks so neat and my hair is not even 'chopping'. I oil it everyday sha. Yesterday, as I was performing the rituals, I swung my hair, and the bottle of oil just tipped. Thank God I had only just started, I used my hair to clean up the mess! And claened up the rest.

On a good note, I am going home for Christmas! I so can't wait! I will make another hair, take some of my stuff home so I won't have too much luggage for France. win win for all. I must say thank you to my motehr for making it possible. She was supposed to come visit me in December before, she said I should come home instead and use her ticket!

I think I have rambled on enough. Sorry for the lack of theme. I will be visiting pages a little at a time. Looking at all the posts I have missed is a bit overwhelming. Forgive if I don't come by your page.

BTW:- I heard in Naija bukas, they have started calling 'snail' Y'ardua! No be from my page you read am o! LOL.

Principles of Scottishness!

2009-09-15T20:25:00.002+01:00

Hi all. I haven't been following any posts. I know I have a missed a lot! I miss you guys. Like Buttercup said, I have arrived now and I am finally getting my bearings! Let me run you through everything in the next lines.

Leaving
There was a mad traffic on my way to the airport. I thought I would miss my flight. Spent about 3 hrs getting there! I had a lot of mixed feelings saying goodbye to my mum! I sorely miss her.

Arrivals
My flight to Heathrow was smooth. Landed at 5.30AM and my connecting flight to Edinburgh was for 6.50. Almost missed that due to security checks. Had to jump the queue. I explained about my flight and they breezed me through. My brother is on holiday so he was with me. We had a minor ish with the groundnut sha. We poured it in an Eva bottle and it was in my brother's hand luggage. When they checked and saw what it was we were allowed to go! This was 10 mins to take off!

Edinburgh
On the flight, there were only 4 black people including my brother and I. I was terrified. thank God I wasn't by myself. We didn't have any problems though. The school meet & greet that was meeting us came about 1 hr late. We landed around 8.30 and the bus came at 12. My dad called and said we should have taken a taxi to Dundee and we should stop doing Ijebu! That woulda cost about £120!. Taking the bus from school was free. plus £10 for my brother. I told him I would rather wait.

Getting there
The scenery is gorgeous! I love the place. The journey was smooth. Lots to see. I met my faltmates finally and they were nice. My room is lovely. I finished unpacking in less than 1 hr. Thanks to my brother. The Agent cam to meet me to hand over my set of keys and all my flatmates didn't go out. All three were courteous and saw to my comfort.

Day to day
My first 2 days, I didn't see any balck person! I was worried. On getting to the City centre, I saw like 3. Do you know what it's like being the only black person in a like a 100 people gathering? Luckily my brother was always with me so I was fine.
My flat is close to every where so I have everything I need.

I have discovered a shop that sells Plantain and Okro! All the supermarkets here sell Pork. No BEEF SAUSAGES. It was annoying at first sha. But the shop that sells okro sells it. More expensive but at least I can have it now. Tesco, Asda, Lidl, Iceland, Somerfield none had beef sausages.

On the first day of Fresher's week, I saw more Africans. I couldn't believe how glad I was!
The first went by quite fast. It is my second week now. Our internet stopped working about on Wednesday. They just fixed it tonight. Apparently we had reached the limit of our subscription or something like that.

I complained but I was told the person that signed the contract has to complain himself! That is one of my flatmates, finally got him to do it. He is European so we have a mini United Nations going on!

I have registered at the jobshop, applied for my NI no, registerd with a GP etc. Also filled the council tax exemption form.

I do not have a phone yet. I don't know what to get. I have a Lyca mobile but it's not working. I can't make calls on it but I can receive. I can't even top up! Mailed them but they said they will call me on Monday. It's Induction week now so I ma quite busy so the phone is turned off. If they called, I can't retrieve the voicemail. Fired off another e-mail to them. They should call after 5 or during my break.

It was frustrating when the internet wasn't working.

Met a Nigerian lady on PHd today, she gave a pep talk about surviving the LLM. I quickly got her contacts and asked about food and Salons. She gave me contacts. So that is one less thing to worry about! I can't imagine dashing off to London every time I need my hair done or need some serious African food. She did it for SIX months before finding those people!

School
I am thinking of changing my course! I was apprehensive about telling my dad sha, since he is the one paying. He thought it was a good idea. I discovered that I can do a joint LLM for the price of 1. Only downside is, the second semester will be in France. Where I will obtain the second LLM. We will be there for about 5 months and come back to Dundee for dissertation. I am hoping I can change sha. Waiting to hear from my Professor next week. The 1st semester is the same as the course I original planned to study but instaed of staying here for 2nd semester, I get to go to another Uni and bag another degree. I guess I had better start learning French. Although we will be taught in English.

So far, it's been interesting. Everyone wants to get a distinction! You wouldn't believe how ambitious my classmates are. They are from a range of diverse cultures! There is someone form Saudi Arabia, two form Kazakstan, Thailand, Gambia, Tanzania etc. Learning new names everyday and teaching people how not to murder my name. I am loving it all though. But it is hectic. Next week will be easier though.

The Scottish Accent
It is very hard to understand! Most people speak with clear accents though. But when you do meet, the native speakers you say 'pardon' every second. Luckily, I have met only 3 people or so on the member of staff with the accent so it's not bad. Also most of our resources are on the school intranet so not too much interaction with them.

I think I have rambled on long enough! I will get to reading posts once I am through trawling through legalese. I am sooooooo glad to be back here.

Be good all. Oh, and thanks for reading till the end!

Leaving Home

2009-09-03T09:58:00.003+01:00

Coincidentally, this is my 50th post! I thought I would have gotten here sooner. I love all your comments from my last post.

I am finally done with packing. I leave tonight! I shall miss home like crazy. I couldn't leave my room yesterday. I was hugging my pillow till I remembered my clothes with the tailor!
My friends have been great. One call almost brought on the water works. I had mini sent forth get-togethers. It was so much fun!

I went with kinky braids. It looks lovely. I have the long one with curled tips. I can pack it in any style :) I woulda put up a picture but I am yet to have a bath in case you guys smell me from the pix! :D I didn't freeze the palm oil. I got all the other items. Thanks guys

I don't want to go again o:( I am replying last minute emails etc. My flight is arriving Edinburgh around 8:30am tomorrow. School bus coming at 4:00pm. Imagine my joy when I got an email that there is an extra bus coming at 11:30am and if I would like to be booked on it! Almighty God does wonderful things. I won't have to wait all those extra hours.

On the one hand I am looking forward to school, a masters will look good on the CV afterall. On the other, hmmn. I shall miss going to work! Yes the 3rd Mainland Traffic! Imagine. I won't miss the frown lines and cursing that goes hand in hand with driving in Lagos sha! But I will miss my car, the time I spend with my sister on our way to and from work :( that is our own special moment. It is mostly just us. Listening to the news and giving our comments and arguing! Kai can we argue? The office wears, pencil skirts, all the shirts, the suits and shoes! Nothing beats a lovely shirt with pencil skirt and heels! From now its jeans and sneakers. Hmmph!

All in all, I am rambling. My flatmate just mailed that our internet has finally been fixed! I say Yay. More blogging if school time-table is favourable. The next time I post, it will be from Dundee. I am missing my family already. Unconsciously, since last week I follow everyone around with my eyes .

Even yesterday, when I went out with my friends, I was scanning the opposite traffic lane for a glimpse of my sister. She has finally started driving. Her official driver (moi) is leaving. She is doing good sha. I am looking forward to a time she will drive me round Lagos. I drove that girl for years! She used me like something else. School runs, visits, airports drops etc. I was her designated driver of choice. I will mis our bickering sef.

Let me stop before I go all maudling on you guys. Have a fab weekend. I didnt proof read. Sorry for any typos. My phones haven't stopped ringing since Monday.

JETTING OFF

2009-08-26T14:48:00.002+01:00

Hi people! Thank you all for your comments on my last post. I had a good laugh with the suggestions. Idiots they are. I changed the location in the mails just in case. Actual location is Scotland. I had actually typed a response to them when I got a genuine response form a Landlady, so I didn't bother to send it. Finally I have a place to stay. All details have been finalised.

I am exhausted. Preparation is not easy o! I don't know what to buy again. Any suggestions? I have bought most of my toiletries (the ones that will be difficult to get unless I go to London). I haven't even started packing. I am reserving next week for that.

Is it wise to go with kinky braids? I don't know which to choose between normal braids and afro kinky. On the plus side, I bought like 6 wigs. (Not excessive). If anyone knows where they make African hair in Scotland please let me know. (Don't let my fine girl diminish). I bought some weaves as well.

I will be getting dry goods on Saturday, Egusi, dry pepper etc. I have a thought on Palm Oil. (I will freeze it) What else? It's like my brain is operating in slow motion! I am tired.

On a random note, I went to Abuja yesterday for an assignment. I was exhausted, as I finally boarded the plane to go back to Lagos, I was dozing away before take off when the guy that sat beside me asked me if I was that tired. (I was thinking duh, if I wasn't, would I be sleeping?)

Then he proceeded to apologize to me for not saying hello when he boarded. (Guy, do I know you, or dem send you come? I will not let you ruin my fast). He then decided to show off as a Barrister. (Why do lawyers do this? Am supposed to be impressed or something?) I am one myself but I don't think I let everyone I meet know that fact. People always want free legal advice! :D

He tried to torment my peaceful existence by trying to make small talk. Why do people disturb other passengers? I had a good mind to change my seat since the plane wasn't full. I just ignored him and pretended to sleep. He didn't even allow me meditate religiously, he was making conversation in his loud 'barrister' voice to people across the aisle. Was I glad to get off the plane!

Please, my Obodo Oyinbo bloggers let me know what else I should bring o! Enjoy the rest of the week people.

P.S. I still don't know which to choose between Kinky and normal braids. Any thoughts?

Scammers! I no dey House

2009-08-12T17:10:00.003+01:00

Hi people. I am not in a good mood right now. So, I am going to school in September and trying to secure an apartment because I don’t want school accommodation. I spent 5 years in Uni plus another 1 year in Law school, abeg[1] I have had enough of communal living.

I have been checking out websites and placing or responding to ads. Because I am leaving early Sept., I need a place ASAP. Imagine the tons of mails I have been receiving. So, I got this mail yesterday-

Hello,
My name is Cristopher Larsson and I am from Denmark and the flat is still available for rent. I had an aunt in UK and after her death she left me her apartment from UK a few years ago.
The flat was redecorated last year and the flat is looking very nice and clean. The property has a fully furnished kitchen,clean and well tidy sitting rooms,laundry room,and fully furnished with home utilities like: electric shower, Lounge,Vacuum Cleaner,Toaster, Owen and microwave, dryer, iron, washing machine , refridgerator , dishwasher, powershower, heater, cable ready,tv set and dvd player,internet connection, equiped kitchen and everything a house needs. I m interrested in finding someone clean who can take care of this house more then getting money from renting it if you know what I mean.
Till last month the apartment was rented by some students from Germany and now they left and the apartment is available again for rent. The price I want is £440 per month and I am intrested in a long term agreement,minimum six months!
If you have the money I could come in the next few days to show you the apartment and maybe sign the rental agreementif you like it but first I have to be sure you are honest you really do need a place to live because two weeks ago a person from Nottingham told me he is really interested and he asked me to go to Nottingham to meet him and sign the rental agreement and when I arrived there no person showed up to rent my place and I lost time and money for nothing.
I will wait for your e-mail, Cristopher Larsson.

I was surprised because normally, the mail has a link detailing where the ad was seen. Since my sister is helping me also, I thought the guy must be responding to an e-mail she posted in response to the ad which is below.

Hello,

I would like to know if the property has internet facilities and the approximate distance to school. Would I need to look for a housemate? Would I need to pay a deposit or need guarantors/referees? I am looking to rent for 12 months. Any other details would be welcome. Thanks

So I replied –

Hi,

Thanks for the e-mail. I appreciate your honesty. I must tell you that I can't be in the UK next week. As I said in my e-mail, I am an international student. I am still in my country and coming to the UK in the 1st week of September. I am looking to share a flat with someone as I cannot afford the whole rent by myself. I want to rent for 12 months since my course is for one year. I thought the rent will be by direct debit monthly. If you are interested let me know.

Today, I saw this reply in my inbox-

Hello,

I will attach some pictures of the flat,floor plan and also a model of the rental contract! The flat is located near 263f XXXX but I can`t give you the exactly address because there`s no one living out there and I`m afraid of thief's! Please accept my apologies for this but I hope you understand me because I`m in Denmark right now! The property benefits from access to beautifully maintained communal gardens and comprises reception room, kitchen with washing machine/tumble dryer, master bedroom with fitted wardrobes and en suite bathroom, second bedroom with fitted wardrobe and bathroom.

In the kitchen there is a dishwasher and also a Big fridge freezer! Regarding the council tax I can tell you that it is included in the price of £440 per month and also Sky TV,internet broadband,gas and electricity are also included in this price! I am intrested in a minimum six month agreement and I request two months advance rent payment plus one month refundable deposit (£440) wich you will get it back at the end of the contract.

Regarding the plummets and all that kind of stuff I can tell you that the flat was recently renovated and all electrical part and plummets are new so that won`t be necessary any repairs anyway I have a person who can manage this starting from September.
We can sign the rental contract starting from next weekend but I need to be sure that you have serious intentions in renting the flat that`s why I attach here a model of the tenancy agreement and also we can discuss the terms when we will meet!
If you are decided to view the flat let me know because there is another person interested in reserving it!
Kind regards,
Cristopher Larsson

Two minutes later I got another mail from him-

Hello again,
There is parking acces available(one place) I forgot to mentioned it! We can sign the reement starting from September, but you see these is due to previous predicament that I have gone through in the past trying to rent the property to some students,I have got to realize so many people are not really in need of an apartment all they do is secure a place in advance, My last experience in trying to rent the property to a particular lady had got me to predicate on these,she made me believe she was willing and ready to get the apartment she even went to the extend of showing me her statement of account,which made me took her for the viewing but after taking her for the viewing,she saw the apartment and got to love it and never wanted to loose it,so she kept pleading i retain it for her because she is not financially composed at the moment,which i did but end up disastrously.
So basically for me to be sure of you been willing and ready to get the apartment I will employ you walk into any Money Gram outlet and send the total bill cash £1320 (two months rent and one month refundable deposit) to your partener`s name(NOT to ME),or your partener should send it to you with location of Nottingham, All I need is for you to get back to me with the receipt issued to you after making the transaction so I can confirm it! When we will meet in person to sign the papers we will go together to Money Gram and you or your partner will withdraw the cash and pay me in hand or you can pay me on Monday by bank transfer! I just need to see that you do have the money available and you do have serious intentions in renting the flat! If the Money Gram agent will ask you about the receiver you should tell him that is your cousin because the transfer fees will be cheaper! Anyway I will pay for it either you take the flat or not! I will book the flight for Saturday as soon as I have your positive answer because I can come only in weekends!
I do apologise for that but as I told you last time when I arrived to Nottingham to show the flat to a person everything was a stupid joke and I hope you understand me because I don`t want to waste my time and money on plane tickets..
Regards,Cristopher Larsson.

I immediately knew something was up! I didn’t even bother to reply. He can rot in hell! Western Union ko Money transfer ni! Although, I wouldn’t mind playing a little trick on him/her. What a load of rubbish! I immediately forwarded the message to my sister, whom agreed with me that scammers are at work. So imagine my shock this afternoon when my yahoo alert popped up saying I had an e-mail. I read it and see what I found-

Hello,
I`m sorry for my late reply but I've had some medical problems! My name is Albert Moulton and I am from France and the flat is still available for rent. I had an aunt in UK and after her death she left me her apartment in UK a few years ago.
The flat was redecorated last year and the flat is looking very nice and clean. The property has a fully furnished kitchen,clean and well tidy sitting rooms,laundry room,and fully furnished with home utilities like: electric shower, Lounge,Vacuum Cleaner,Toaster, Oven and microwave, dryer, iron, washing machine , refrigerator , dishwasher, power-shower, heater, cable ready,tv set and dvd player,internet connection, equipped kitchen and everything a house needs. I'm interested in finding someone clean who can take care of this house more than getting money from renting it if you know what I mean.
Till last month the apartment was rented by some students from Germany and now they left and the apartment is available again for rent. The price I want is 450 UK pounds per month and the advance it's the price for the first 2 months(1 advance and 1 guarantee).
If you have the money I could come in the next few days to show you the apartment and maybe sign the rental agreement if you like it but first I have to be sure you are honest you really do need a place to live because two weeks ago a person from Nottingham told me he is really interested and he asked me to go to Nottingham to meet him and sign the rental agreement and when I arrived there no person showed up to rent my place and I lost time and money for nothing.
I will wait for your e-mail
Albert

You can all go to blazes! No be my papa hard earned Naira you go chop. Go and find better work. She my Yoruba name is not enough to tell you that we might be form the same country? (I didn’t say they originate from my country o!) See me see wahala[2] o! In fact for this, they will not prosper! I should have sensed something was up immediately I saw the long email. All the other agents I have been mailing usually send me short-to-the-minute-mails and include their phone nos.

Dem no even try make them change the format small[3]. I would be a very stupid maga[4], if I fall this kind thing. So to all my enemies, I no dey house! Try again another time. I dey ground for una[5]. God go punish you well well. She na yahoo yahoo you still dey do, una no go even see pure water sell in future. Olosi gbogbo![6]

Na so I see am o! Can you imagine? I am practically foaming right now! What would you guys do in my shoes?

Please
Trouble
They didn’t try to change the format
Gullible person
I am prepared for you
I can’t translate the rest jare!

Things to ponder

2009-08-04T15:05:00.004+01:00

Hello people, how have you all been? I have been busy like mad. More update soon. I have read a lot of posts today. Mostly on relationships. Everyone is talking about it. As for me life is on a slow mo at the mo (I sound silly). I am back to my basics. False nails are on a rest for now. Grooming mine again. I missed being here but when duty calls, you have to do your job. I need a masseuse!

I have so much to talk about, yet I can't put them down. Meanwhile enjoy this post. It makes you wonder.

Things to Ponder

- Can you cry under water?

- - How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

- Since bread is square, why is sandwich meat round?

- Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

- How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

- Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?

- If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

- Why are you IN a movie, but you are ON TV?

- Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

- How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss Nigeria?

- Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.

- I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose-fitting
clothing. If I HAD any loose-fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!

- Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life, we could simply press Ctrl Alt Delete and start all over?

- Just remember...if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.

- If raising children was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor!

- Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever

-Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

-Why are there locks on the door of stores that are open 24/7 365 days a year?

-If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?

-WalMart is lowering prices daily, how come nothing in the store is free yet

-Why is abbreviation such a long word?

-If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

If it is illegal to drink and drive, why do bars have parkinglots?

-Why do we call it a hamburger when it is made from beef?

-If a mime is arrested, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?

-Why do they sterilize the needles for lethal injections?

-Why there's a pair of panties but just one bra

-how can there be multiple Final Fantasies

-How can someone be dirt poor, and another be filthy rich?

-If firefighters fight fires, what do freedom fighters fight?

-why do we drive on a parkway and park in a driveway?

-Why does a ship carry cargo, and a car carry shipments?

-How is it possible to have a civil war

-If sunflower oil is made of sunflowers, what is baby oil made of???

-Why is a boxing ring square?

- If you spin an oriental man, does he become disoriented?
.
- Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites?

-if the polish are called poles why aren’t people from Holland called holes?

-Why a goose and his wife are geese, but a moose and his wife aren't meese?

-Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?

-If air travel is so safe, why do they call it a "terminal"

-If Cheese is made of milk why is it yellow?

-if dinosaurs once roamed the entire planet why aren't there fossils in my yard

-Do Chinese mothers feed their babies with toothpicks?

-if we're evolved from monkeys, then how come monkeys are still alive?

-Should crematoriums give discounts for burn victims?

Another Affair

2009-07-16T17:32:00.000+01:00

I remember the first time I became aware of you. It was about 10 years ago. You had been in my subconscious for quite a while. I had heard the raves about you, how all the girls are crazy about you but I thought it’s just another passing fancy, we will get over.

You flirted, caressed, tantalised and hurt but still I refused to let go, I finally succumbed to your charms. You were simply too alluring to let go. Everyone was doing it so why not me?

I especially like the way I compared notes with my friends on what was, better you all the way or with a little variance. You came in different colours, I just couldn’t resist.

I remember abandoning all and everything else for you. I spent a lot of money in those days feeding my habit. Oh yes you became a habit.

We were always together even when my grandma was visiting in red. Some felt it was risky and I was quite mad to do so but who cares. I was having the time of my life! I loved you so.

Then came a moment when I got over you. You just stopped appealing to me. I was fancying another obsession. How I love obsessions. I just fall headlong without a thought or a care. I always go all the way. I am doing this already, why not do it all the way? That is my life’s philosophy unless I realise you are not good for me that is.

I remember the hurts, I always felt sore at the end of the day. Then I stopped altogether. I packed up all the nick-nacks of our affair in a little bag not to be seen again unless I wanted to have a little fun.

The codes of fashion and times dictates that I take a trip down memory lane every once in a while. But I daren’t. I don’t fancy you anymore. You used to hurt too much and I finally got over you. Why begin again?

But eventually I succumbed! Again. It happened because of my laziness. I got too busy for my new love and ended up being back with you. You also saved me from the curse. Especially during this week.

Alas we have to part ways again. You have started hurting again and I can’t cope.

This is my affair with the G-string!

I had to wear it this week because my boy shorts with the seamless lines have to take a trip to the laundry. I decided to bring out the ‘other’ undies bag that is filled with all sorts of medieval torture devices disguised as female underwear.

I love undies. I have bags and bags of it. It takes a pride position in one half of my entire wardrobe.

I had a series of meetings lined up for the week and I didn’t want to embarrass myself with VPL at any moment. My dressing gives me the ultimate seal of confidence. So I take the trouble to avoid any fashion faux pas I might make.

My skirt today is very tight and made of a material that glistens like satin but stretches as well. I have been wearing them strings since Monday but ones with little straps of cloth at the back. Today I felt extra confident that since I haven’t had any issues, I could go back to the ropy types. How wrong I was. I was already having a headache by mid-day. I have been to court twice today. So moving around is quite painful. I had to prepare some documents and all I could concentrate on was the stupid discomfort.

I went into the toilet and pulled the darn things off! Yep I did. My jacket has pockets so it is currently residing in one of them. Might as well put the pocket to use. It never holds anything anyways.

As I write this, I am bare and loving it. I still have to meet friends for drinks later today. Hope no one tries to dip a hand into my pocket though. They will get quite a surprise. I also hope fervently that my skirt does not rip. It is that tight.

This affair is so over!

I used to spend most of my money on buying thongs. My friends and I would talk about it and how they felt wearing it. Even during that time of the month, it was strings all the way. It helped that I am a tampon girl.

The different colours fascinated me. I wanted to own it all and the designs. The ones that look like catapults, the ones with the glitter and chains etc. When I fell in love with boy shorts and low rise panties, the fascination ended.

Some things are just not worth it.

Sorry for any errors, I still have some work to do.

Ehm....

2009-07-14T09:00:00.005+01:00

Thank you SolomonSydelle, IncogNaija, Leggy, Honeywell and Buttercup for your insightful comments on my last post. I couldn't reply. I say thanks to everyone who left a comment, you put me in a better place.

Still going gaga over the Storm. I thought the excitement would have waned but no! I am just in love with the surepress.

Someone said when I am low, I get new gadgets. I don't think that is true. Everyone knows I have been dreaming since like forever over the Storm.

Ok to the gist of today, Imagine this scenario, I will tell this in the first person to make the story flow better-

I met this guy a few years ago, he liked me but I didn't date him then. Too many issues besides I was in my no men phase then.

We kept in touch over the years then met at a wedding recently. Then the chasing intensified. I am falling but there are a few issues. He didn't complete his degree and he is now a businessman. I am a career person. When people see me, they see forward, chic and smart.

Said guy is very sweet, writes me poems and calls a lot plus sends me messages like crazy.

He occassionally asks me to buy him credit or he is broke or issh like that. I don't mind but at the back of my mind, I am like this shouldn't be happening. We are already dating at this time.

We never went on an official date, boy takes girl out kinda thing. He lives with his family. We had a mini-tiff based on his type of work and he assured me that it is working out but I don't really believe it. In fact, I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the whole idea.

I feel, if his customers don't pay, he will be basically broke or if they don't make orders. I do not envision living like that.

Besides, I doubt if my family will accept. I am going for a master's soon, so it will be a mismatch degree wise. I am trying to make it work, it's not all about fancy degrees nut how the you both feel about each other (I think).

I begin to resent him. I am not really feeling the thing that is 5 months into it. Not like I don't like him but I find I am angry more than half the time. I am a girl, I want to be taken out on dates and do fancy stuffs. I want to travel at a short time's notice, I don't want to hear that you can't afford it. It seems that is all I hear from you. Future looks bleak at this time.

Then we had this a text conversation-

boy- you were not happy to see me last time

girl- sorry I was in a foul mood

boy-tell me about not being happy

girl-i don't want to talk about it

boy-how are we supposed to communicate

girl- i will be fine just a phase, just make sure your business is working

boy- so that's what its all anout

girl- no, just ending the conversation

boy- you always snap at me, have a nice day

girl- don't start

boy- i don't know you anymore maybe i thot i did

girl- i don't think you ever did

Then no more talk. I sent him messages but no reply and I tried to call but I couldn't hear a thing and he didnt call back. Then apologised still no reply, after 2 weeks, then sent a message that by the silence I am assumning, it is over still no response.

So people, what do you all think?

That is the story I got recently and I didn't know what to make of it.

She is confused.

I have a mini story of my own to tell but not today. Post too long already.

Have a nice week all. I shall be checking to read the comments.

You (The First Part)

2009-07-06T09:48:00.005+01:00

I have thought long and hard about this and this keeps coming back. I do wish I could say this to your face but it can only hurt both of us. You will be too upset to see the truth of my words.

When you called to tell me I should come over, it was very urgent. I came running despite the fact that I was writing exams. I think a part of me knew what you were going to say.

I met you in a friend's house. You looked a tad unkempt. Then you said it. I think that was a defining moment in our relationship. I could not believe you could be that stupid and repeat the same mistake.

You said you suspect you are pregnant!

This is not the first time. It happened before and the guy in question exhibited his true colours. He got another girl pregnant around the same time, so basically you were on your own.

Things went back to normal when you lost the baby. I was relieved in truth. With the baby went the guy.

Then you met this latest excuse for a man.

We all expressed our misgivings but you insisted and indeed was quite upset about our attitude towards him. We knew his past even told you but you like a dog that wants to get lost refused to listen to the hunter's whistle.

We reached a compromise. We will all try to be polite to him, so as not to hurt your feelings.

Then it happened. Even after all the pro-choice arrangements you had with him simply because he likes it 'skin-to-skin' How stupid can you be?

This latest predicament occurred and pronto he left for his 'master's' leaving you to bear it alone. And you made this decision of Pro-life.
That they told you in church not to go pro-choice is the lamest thing you have evr said. Please lady save the trash for someone who actually believes it. If you had been told that, you had no business being sexually active or at least protect yourself if you must do it.

It's been 3 yrs and he has refused to come back! You are alone with the child. You didn't complete your education and you do the stupidest of things. Like dropping out of school. Wrting university exams that you will come up with inane excuses not to attend if offered admission. Expecting the friend caucus to always pick up your peices.

I am done. I hate seeing you this way but please it's time you faced up to your responsibilities. Get a grip, a job and stop wallowing in self pity! It's downright annoying and you put yourself in this situation.

We have all tried and frankly we have lives too. Mine certainly doesn't revolve around you. I need a life of my own not having you mentioned with your latest bout of foolishnes mentioned at every friend gathering.

The child, you have turned into a brat. You don't ascertain any sign of discipline you just let her do anything she wants. Then you beleive the 'guy' is coming back to you. He didn't even have anyone representing him or his family at the 1st year celebration! Not to talk of the common decency of seeing his child have enough food. He renewed his visa without letting you know. And you have the audacity to say you will only bear his kids and make statemnts like 'when we have our second child'

When the heck will you wake up? I am just sick of being depressed by you so before I scream in your face I will take a step away. Yes that is what I will do. I will help you when I can.

Sorry people for the long post but this is what I want to say to one of my friends. Sorry for the errors I can't do any spell checks. I might end up deleting the post. Have a fab week!

On a very happy note- I got my Storm! It is everything I wanted and more. :D.

More of what?

2009-06-30T08:17:00.006+01:00

It's like its been ages since I last came here. Been following a few posts but didn't leave comments. I never thought I would ever get this busy! I mean wow!

Hope everyone is doing good and the death of Micheal Jackson didn't hit too hard. The least expected things just happens.

There is no theme to this post just me saying hi and that I miss my blog family.

Is it weird that I feel no allegiance to some of my friends? I mean we spent quite a good number of years been friends but nowadays it's like the effort it takes to be friends with these ladies is too much and I am throwing in the towel. I can't keep up with the charade it annoys me and before I engage in a screaming fit I stopped making any effort towards the friendship.

There are so many things I want to say to them that I literally get choked up in their presence and I also don't want to hurt their feelings. I guess I will get the courage to get it right some day.

Is it also weird that I am not interested in men at the moment. The wahala is just too much. The amount of time women invest in making a relationship work or getting into one is kinda crazy!

I mean I am tired of hearing the will he/won't he, what do you think etc questions. I get these visions of slapping people to shut up and get a move on alreday! I think I ma going nuts or am I stressed?

Even the home bound traffic doesn't get to me anymore, I am just there, my mind blanked out, with the single theme of getting home some time. There is an end to every journey afterall!

I think I am just in a sour mood.

I had better get on with work. I will go shopping at the end of the week. Retail therapy always help. Speaking of which, I am still in love with the Blackberry Storm. I dream of holding it in my hands. I can't wait to get that phone.

Remain Blessed. May be I will blog more to let out some of my inner thoughts.

Akwaaba!

2009-06-03T10:32:00.004+01:00

Hello people, how is it all going? Hope the global recession is not affecting you too much.

The road trip was long. I knew it would be, but I wasn’t expecting it to be roughly about 12 hours! ManCee commented- if my backside would be Luscious enough to withstand the journey, I say YES.

We first had to confirm our tickets and the journey began at 9:00am. The Nigerian/Benin border was quite aggravating. Too many people at the passport queue, it was like everyone was travelling out of the country. I saw modes of transportation I thought only existed in fabled stories.

There isn’t much to see in terms of vegetation. If you were expecting forests sorry to disappoint you. There were lovely palm tree lined roads and stunning beaches in Togo. As in very stunning! We stopped for a rest in Togo. I had to use a convenience built with raffia palms as the walls, cement thingy being the lavatory itself and beach sand as the floor tiles! It was clean thank God! It also cost me 25 Cefas! I don’t know what that translates to in Naira though.

The currency exchanges were quite confusing. Cefas in Togo and Cotonou, then Cedis in Ghana and other currencies in between. One resounding theme about the whole journey was, there is very minimal difference from Nigeria in terms of food, scenery, vegetation, markets etc. Only the languages were different!

On the road, we had whole fried plantains instead of the sliced dodo we do here, fried yam, suya etc. They also do the whole barbecued turkey, chicken, gizzard ensemble that the Northerners and road travellers are famous for.

It was difficult changing Naira to Ghana Cedis as we couldn’t find bureaus changing Naira except for the Mallams at the borders. Luckily we US $ so we had money. Changing from Naira to Cedis is better though since you get better value. Thank God my sister was there she can do numbers like crazy. And she could determine which was which. I think I already mentioned the currencies were confusing. I would have been hopeless if alone!

We got to Ghana around 4:30pm. We even posed and took pictures at the Ghana/Togo border. It took us another 4 hours to enter Accra itself! The driver was quite rough, I still have aches in my joints. Right there and then, my Sis & I decided to fly back. No way were we going through that again!

Getting to the park, we asked for hotels. Luckily I had checked a few Accra hotels online and I had quite a list. The first one we checked out was a disaster! We called a few peeps that had been to Ghana before and they recommended others. The second one we went to was waaayyyyyy over-budget! We finally found a perfect one. It fitted our budget nicely, 2 minutes from the airport, central to everywhere and it even had a Woolworths beside it.

After a nice long shower, we got dressed and hit the town! They have a vibrant night life. We had a really sumptuous dinner at the House of Ovation. Not quite what we expected since the soft-sell mags here always rave about it, but the food was really good. I noticed they eat a lot of pepper, I mean very HOT food. Everything is also smaller. A bottle of Star Lager I saw was like a miniature caricature of the real thing, even smaller than the small bottle in Nigeria. I asked if it was really Star and was told yes. Also their Fanta & Coke came in 300ml bottles. I am used to the 35cl we have.

We had a long stroll and even went for the opening of a new club but they were just ending the ceremony when we got there. We finally got back to the hotel around 2:00am.

Saturday was spent leisurely. Ghanian cab drivers don’t know anywhere. If you have no idea where you are going and no address, you may find yourself being driven around in circles!

This post is getting long so I will summarise the rest.

Bought plenty Woodin Ankara at the market. There were no tickets at the airport to get back to Lagos. All the flights were full booked and the airline offices had closed!

Went online to book tickets we got two seats luckily. How wrong we were. We went to the beach to kill time and enjoy our last hours in Accra. On getting to the airport to make payment for our tickets, we were told our booking had been cancelled and the flight was already full when we made our booking, but it was not reflected on the website. The guy was quite arrogant and by then I was desperate!

We eventually bought tickets for the next flight out. Luckily there were available seats. My sister was ill. A very bad case of flu and sore throat which, I now share. My parents are blaming the road trip.

I was so glad we got those tickets! If we had waited a bit longer we would have been stranded. We had to pay penalty for them, Thank God we had enough money.

With 5 more hours to kill before departure, we just strolled round the mall, bought lunch and went back to the hotel for a shower and a mini rest. They were very nice at the hotel, we explained our situation and they allowed us stay without paying extra. I trust my Naija hotels, No Way!

Everyone kept asking if we were students and we got a lot of numbers, from the forex bureau to the information desk officer at the airport and other tourists who wanted to visit Nigeria. It was all quite amusing.

I had a blast and we are now planning our next trip although, our parents do not want to hear about it. We are definitely going! We MUST book a return ticket first to avoid any stress whatsoever!

Enjoy your week!

Blogger woes and Children's day

2009-05-27T11:40:00.006+01:00

I don't know what is wrong with blogger o! My last post has refused to display. I only see the title and a few words. I even tried to repost but I keep getting the same blank page. Can anyone help?

Happy children's day to all the blog kids o! I wonder what Solomon Sydelle, Nefertiti, Fluffycutething and all the other blog moms are doing at the moment with the kids.

Clearing throat *ahem* all the adults; our own holiday is just around the corner one day away as we celebrate wetin dem call am? Democracy day.

Honestly I envy the children all the holidays they have this month and teachers too! First it was May 1st, Now May 27th and May 29th! 3 working days free in one month? I miss being a child honestly.

My father sent me an e-mail wishing me 'Happy children's day'. When I saw the message I went pink! (I wish) :) I was laughing when I placed a call to him to find him chuckling that shebi I was still his child so I get children's day message!

On to other things;
Am I the only that finds Hugh Jackman sexy as hell in X-men Origins? I love that film. I even go to browse picture scenes from the movie to satisfy my eyes *wink*

We are approaching that time of the year when my country men travel all over the world in the name of 'summer trip'. I will envy people o! I am not entitled to any leave just yet. I am still on probation :( I am not thrilled about it at all.

Thinking of all those 'girls' gushing on the phone about when to book their ticket, the shops to visit etc is churning my stomach. I have to make do with internet shopping! Ouch. No sales for me. Double ouch!! And the most gruelling part no delicious-I-will-be-the-lucky-recipient-of-envious-looks-when I wear this outfit finds!!!

I will miss the shops, the walks, the let's-try on-this-outfit breaks. And so many more.

Anyways I am doing Ghana this weekend by road! That should be fun. I will cram as much fun as possible into the long weekend.
Will do the rounds soon. I wish I had 8 extra hours for each day. Now I know that school days are the freest and best times ever!

Be good people.

The Doctor is in

2009-05-26T09:06:00.003+01:00

Hello people, how are all doing? Hope the week started on a good note. Mine is not bad. I had to repost this since O'dee and afew others couldn't read the post. Wondered what happened.

I got this from a friend and I wanted to share especially with all the weight loss issues going on. This is just to make you feel good about yourself. Try not to overdo the whole thing. Relax with this joke. It was from a Doctor friend of mine. Frankly I was surprised as he is one of those serious people and wondered briefly if he actually tells his patients any of these.

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! ..... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming well for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember:
'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, What a Ride'

AND.....

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION

Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

BTW: Does anyone know if Oluwadee has opened a new blog?

Overly Random

2009-05-20T13:05:00.001+01:00

Work has been intensive. I can't even read posts. I tried last week but the sheer magnitude of updated posts overwhelmed me. I chickened out. I refuse to complain about the fuel thingy today. Hope everyone is doing okay. I will try to come by your pages as soon as I am less busy.

I am loving Wande Coal's You bad. I just can't stop singing it.

This is a very random post as depicted by the title.

I got this in my fb inbox last week. I found it highly ridiculous! I haven't spoken to the guy that sent it in 10 years, I mean that literally. That was way back in high school and I it left me wondering when the events he described took place. I could only conclude that the message wasn't for me. Or the guy is confused. Here it goes;

We've been friends 4 so long,back in d secondary school days. There have been lots of tears and so much laughter between us. I feel closer to you than anyone else. I've listened and hurt every time you fell in love, longing to be the one in your arms. I've been there for you when every one of ur relationships fell apart. You listened and cried with me when we found out about the cancer and you stood by my side through all of it. Now is the time to tell u that the waiting is over.
The love you so desperately seek is here in my arms. You've often asked why I'm not interested in any of the gals who hit on me when we're all out. I've always told you they weren't the one for me. Now I'm telling you that you are the one for me. You're the one I dream about. No one can make me laugh like you, even when I'm knee deep in tears. The reason I've been alone for 9 longs years is this: I've been waiting for you to see the love in my eyes that's only for you. I'll wait forever if that's how long it takes. I nid you. I miss you when u're gone, and I hurt wen u're sad. For everything you are.

Love Always,

You can imagine what my face looked like when I read that. What a load of crap!

I want the new Blackberry Storm. That thing is lovely. I know what I will be saving for next. I wish I would just win the lottery or something. This working thing is not easy. If I think of the hard work that goes into making the money, I won't spend a dime on frivolous items but my vain self will simply not let the sensible self see the light!

I was surprised when I heard that Nigerian Senators are cutting their base salaries by 10% to help the meltdown. I think they should cut their allowances by 30% instead let's see how jolly they will be then. Some of them were actually smiling when it was announced, obviously that is peanuts compared to what they get to spend.

I saw the season finale of Grey's Anatomy on YouTube, I couldn't wait for Mnet, What is Shonda Rhimes doing? George must come back for next season. Not so sure about Izzie though I will miss her. Meredith and Derek didn't get married again! The suspense is becoming annoying.

Forgive the randomness, I am in autopilot work mode. Be good people.

May the 25th!

2009-05-13T15:41:00.007+01:00

I am happy my last post inspired a lot of people that was the aim.

Work is burying me but I refuse to let it overshadow my blogging power!

I am presently holed in the library under the guise of conducting some dusty crusty research.

When the power of google fails, ye shall resort to the good ol' days of thumbing through books. But seriously I am still sorting through the books that weigh half my size. Just taking a mini break. If I glance through another fine print within the next hour, I might just start smashing things. What happened to the days of simply waking up at your own pleasure with nothing to do but watch tv all day or read a book?

Thank you all for sympathizing with me on the fuel thingy. It abated during the weekend but the queues were snaking back as at yesterday. I don't know why the government is so bovine about the whole situation.

The President had a press conference yesterday where he stated that it is a 'cartel' that is responsible for the situation. I would say Puhleeeeese! Although he did say that he would deal with them apropriately when they are caught.

On to less aggravating issues, the koko mansion (D'Banj reality tv show) is generating a lot of negative feelers. I am a kokolet myself, I mean I love the guy but I think that idea is silly. For more info check out JideSalu.

Forgive the randomness of the past paragraphs. The lady is not co-ordinated this afternoon.

To the reason for my post; May the 25th is AFRICA DAY.

As a way to celebrate our origin, I would like everyone to state why they love being an African. We should celebrate Africa on that day and not dwell on the poverty and all the other negative issues. I say this because we live with those issues everyday and we don't celebrate its beauty and richness often enough. Besides the foreign press will use the opportunity to broadcast our problems.

I have attempted to put up nice pictures about Africa but it's not coming out the way I want.

I should get back to work. The headache is coming on with a mild toothache.

Does anyone where they do really good Sharwama? Please don't suggest Bob's Express. Thank you.

Enjoy the rest of the week people.

I believe.

2009-05-07T11:06:00.005+01:00

It must be a good week for me to post twice!
The fuel situation is getting my goat literally. But I remain strong. I am running low but I should be thankful because several people do not have at all. It's the long queue inducing traffic that I hate. Plus the rain in Lagos. It is veeeerrrrrrryyyyyyy annoying.

How has your week been? Mine is still busy but I am sneaking off to blog and more. I am also hungry got to go eat.

A friend sent me this to lift up my spirits in these trying times. It helped. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did.

I Believe...
That just because two people argue,
it doesn't mean they don't love each other.
And just because they don't argue,
it doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...
That we don't have to change friends
if we understand that friends change.

I Believe...
That no matter how good a friend is,
they're going to hurt you every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe...
That true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.

I Believe...
That you can do something in an instant
that will give you heartache for life.

I Believe...
That it's taking me a long time
to become the person I want to be.

I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones
with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe...
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe...
That we are responsible for what we do,
no matter how we feel.

I Believe...
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe...
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe...
That my best friend and I,
can do anything,
or nothing and have the best time.

I Believe...
That sometimes the people you expect
to kick you when you're down,
will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...
That sometimes when I'm angry
I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe...
That maturity has more to do
with what types of experiences you've had
and what you've learned from them
and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe...
That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others.
sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...
That no matter how bad your heart is broken
the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I Believe...
That our background and circumstances
may have influenced who we are,
but, we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...
That you shouldn't be so eager
to find out a secret.
It could change your life Forever.

I Believe...
Two people can look at
the exact same thing
and see something totally different.

I Believe...
That your life can be changed
in a matter of hours
by people who don't even know you.

I Believe...
That even when you think
you have no more to give,
when a friend cries out to you -
you will find the strength to help.

I Believe...
That credentials on the wall
do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe...
That you should send this
to all of the people that you believe in,
I just did.

I Believe...
The happiest of people
don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything.

Tomorrow is Friday! TGIF coming on. Enjoy the rest of the week people.

Not really.

2009-05-04T17:24:00.006+01:00

Hi peeps.
Work has been crazy!
My title should read 'not really a post just an update'
Couldn't even sneak off to write or read a post.Thank you for all the birthday wishes! It was much appreciated.
I had a lovely time, in fact it was so wonderful I didn't want the day to end. Alas it had to, to make way for another day for someone else to feel special.
The dinner was superb. everyone behaved themselves except for one guest who arrived late. I had to start ordering without her and her plus 1. My other guests were beginning to get impatient.

I have been really busy, wait, I said that before. I finally made my court appearance debut last week. I got a raving kudos from other counsels present and my senior colleague who followed me. If it was a show I would have gotten a standing ovation!

I had a few hitches but with sound background preparation I sailed along beautifully. I thought I would just adopt my written paragraphs already filed before the court, the Judge had other ideas. She asked me to argue my Motion, I promptly did and I would like to think I floored my learned colleague on the other side. in fact I did. Court was adjourned for ruling for about 2 months.
Because of this ahem... perfomance, I have more work from the litigation department even though I am in the corporate department.

On to other things-
I am loving my current nails would have put up a pics but anyone who 'stumble' on this page would know it is me. The nails are that hawt! It is done in purple and gold. I love the royal color!

Seriously this fuel scarcity situation has got to improve! It is totally frustrating. People are suffering. I got lucky on Friday I bought fuel and there was no queue. I mean just a few cars. So my Dad & I filled the cars at home.

Had to look through my calendar for the next public holiday. Yes I am that overworked. It's all good sha. I was happy I mean VERY, to discover that our democracy day or whatever they choose to call it, is on the 29th of this month. Double Yay 'cos it's a Friday.

It's almost official closing hour but I will be here for a good extra hour before I can leave. I know I will pay for this blogging.

By the way-
What is up with all these companies laying people off for the flimsiest excuses? I know there is a recession, but cut the salaries or ask people to work in shifts don't look for stupid little things to sack people. There should be a valid reason at least.

I know of someone in a telco (telecommunication company), she was laid off for 'sending the official car to go pick her mother'. talk about ridiculous.
I understand about the banks cutting top level management salaries but watching people and giving them query/memo because of a hairstyle is pushing the envelop a bit far! hairstyle in question is a full fringe and the color was neutral (black) for a bank. What is wrong with this? Check the pix below-

Who knows where LG is? I haven't seen any update from her.
It looks like it will be a busy week. I can see that office assisstant delivering my letters from last week. More outgoing mails for me.

Henhen before I forget, I want to start Pilates. I am a skinny bonga fish but I need more flexibility and tighter abs! My bones crack all the time. I only need to stand up, you will hear 'ka ka' depending on how many bones choose to partake in the current action. My colleagues are having a good time with my 'bone music'. I tried over the weekend, now I ache in places I didn't even know I had. Any tips?

Have a fabulous week people. I will try to come by your pages more often. You guys update too much sef. :-D

Break out the Champagne!

2009-04-23T17:27:00.004+01:00

I have been away for quite some time. Missed you all like crazy. Interestingly my thoughts have been with Buttercup and Chari lately. Hope you guys are doing ok. My Google is misbehaving. I have been opening my blogger page but it comes on in Arabic. I tire. Even my search pages come out like that. Pretty frustrating since the bulk of my work these days seems to be writing up articles and making a comparative analysis of company issues in different jurisdictions.

On to other things- I had things to blog about last week. I had major pet peeves but they all seem to have disappeared.

My birthday is tomorrow. Bought a dress and went venue shopping on Sunday. I wanted a gorgeous atmosphere and amiable staff, where I can relax with my friends and be totally free, not one of those stuck up places. Finally found a nice restaurant with food I love. I am hosting a birthday dinner for 12 persons. Selecting the people I want to spend my evening with was an arduous task I tell you. I had these thoughts-Who would get mad if not invited, which friends would get along best with one another etc. I guess I should be thankful I don't have to do sitting arrangements. I would have screamed!

I wanted an all girls evening before but my male friend whom I accidentally jabo'd to made all sorts of noise so he kinda finagled an invite and I had to exclude some more girls to have an equal representation of the sexes.

Like a friend pointed out, the dinner will end late, getting home will be a chore so why not make it a more rounded 0cassion as the guys will act as the Calvary? I had to agree with that.

So people what have you all been up to? I will be round your pages soon. that will be my weekend gift to myself. Speaking of which, Lagos is agog with the Eyo festival plans slated for this Saturday. No Lagos Island waka for me on that day. A word of advice, I heard if you will be in that vicinity as a woman 'do not pack your hair up in a ponytail' to look like a 'suku'. I don't know why that is though.

I missed my blog I swear. Typing this up soothes my spirit in ways I can't describe. Even though I am not happy about the ton of paper I have to write as my report for the work I am currently working on.

I don't feel different even though this is the last day I will spend as a 24 year old! The past one year in itself has been fabulous. I cannot thank God enough for all that he has done for me.

Everytime my alarm sounds off in the name I go 'oh another day', the thought that immediately follows is, be glad you are alive and healthy. A lot of people would give anything to be where you are at the moment. So I get up and smile and set about the day's activities.

Sorry if this post is totally un-coordinated, its good to be back and I didnt think of this I am just going with the flow. Pardon the typos work has been crazy. I just took a mini break and it seems the break is stretching to a full one. In fact I will continue the work tommorrow. I shall blog to my heart's content for now.

New job Title!

2009-04-09T13:43:00.004+01:00

When you have nothing to blog about, what do you do? Share a joke? That's exactly what I am doing.

Easter was really nice, rested like I had been slaving all these months. My cousin also got married during the break. Lovely wedding. Another opportunity for the clan to gather and make other plans while teasing each other about who is next. I am happy no one is stressing us out just yet.

The guys bringing their ladies and us wondering who will dare to be next.

This is to Temite:- How can you go PRIVATE without inviting me? Not happy at all! :-(

Omotee added another year yesterday. Happy Birthday girl!

I think that's all with current events. Enjoy my joke. Of course its not really the Ministry of Labor in Nigeria.

The Ministry of Labor in Nigeria has introduced 'new titles to jobs' to remove inferiority complex, so that workers could be proud and comfortable with their professional Titles.

These are:

1. Garden Boy ---- Landscape Executive and Animal Nutritionist

2. House Maid ---- Domestic Operations Specialist

3. Typist ---- Printed Document Handler

4. Messenger ---- Regional Business Communications Conveyer

5. Window Cleaner ---- Transparent Wall Technician

6. Temporary Teacher ---- Associate Tutor

7. Tea Boy ---- Refreshments Overseer

8. Garbage Collector ---- Public Sanitation Technician

9. Watchman ---- Area Theft Prevention and Surveillance Officer

10. Thief ---- Wealth Redistribution Officer

11. Driver ---- Automobile Propulsion Pilot

12. Mechanic ---- Automobile Propulsion Specialist

Please be advised accordingly

Off my chest

2009-04-07T10:12:00.000+01:00

I feel very unserious at the moment. In fact I am faffing around at work even though I have several files to go through and prepare but don't blame me, blame all the posts I have been reading all morning.

This post has been in my journal for quite some time. Months actually. I always carry on conversations with myself. I don't know why. When Smaragd said she was a thinkaholic, I commented that I was too. I talk to myself. I was going through my journal and I found this. It was further inspired by a book I read over the weekend. I have since moved on from this episode but I did wonder how the dynamics of the human mind works. One minute you are all upset and angry and the next you are fine. Anyhoos here it is....

IN MY HEAD.... IMH
IN MY MIND.... IMM

IMH: He is cheating on me

IMM: Hmmn, you should have known. You never go to his place except he takes you there. You don't know what goes on when your back is turned. What about the time that girl came to his house and walked straight to the bedroom when you were reading thinking he was there when in fact he had gone out and you left the door open?
He is always on the phone or sending text messages.

IMH: But I worked so hard at loving him

IMM: You worked too hard at loving him for too little in return.

IMH: But he didn't love me

IMM: You are right, but that is his shortcoming not your failure.

IMH: But I tried so hard

IMM: It's not your fault he is a rotten sod. He probably liked you a lot but he didn't love you. He will try to get you back.

IMH: Do you think so?

IMM: Stupid girl, you shouldn't be hopeful, you should be horrified! You are better off without him. If he comes back begging and crawling and send him away with a resounding NO!

IMH: All my friends like him and my family too. I thought we might get married

IMM: Silly you. They are not in the relationship with you. It's good you found out now not when you are too far gone.

IMH: But all my friends are getting married. What do I say?

IMM: Think about yourself! A marriage is for ever. You should enjoy it not endure it. You have to deal with all his ish on a daily basis. NOT THEM. He makes you feel less than worthy. Why would you want that?
I think deep down you were never sure of his feelings for you and that's why you tried so hard. Gosh! It was like a full time job, taking breakfast to his office, anticipating his needs, matching his socks, you worked so hard at being a sexpot, a wifey and an amazing girlfriend.

IMH: What more could I have done?

IMM: You are trying to measure yourself against how much affection you could inspire in him.
You feel so low because you are judging yourself on how little he loved you.
You expected respect, affection and fidelity, none he gave. So stop beating yourself up. He doesn't deserve you and you are a wonderful girl.
It's not your fault he is an emotional imbecile.

IMH: I am so hurt and angry. I gave him everything.

IMM: You will get over this. He never makes love to you talkless of having an out of this world totally-driving-me-crazy-experience. It was always a wam-bam-thank-you-miss-I-am-tired kind of thing. Do you want to live with that? You were born to be made love to not ******. He is shallow and unworthy of your love.
He is always too busy to call or text you, yet he spends all his time with you texting and calling other people. If you really matter to him, time spent with you should be cherished not flittered away on an electronic gadget that's going nowhere.
He forgets everything you tell him. Your friends will get over how nice he is and in fact tell them to **** off! You are dating him not them. The loving halo he puts on for their show does not penetrate your soul. It wanes when they turn their backs so quit wondering what they will say you have done this time.
You are too loving to be constrained and maybe to him you are just a fling. You must not take this personally.

IMH: How can I not?

IMM: If he came tomorrow asking for forgiveness, would you take him back?

IMH: Silence

IMM: Would you?

IMH: Silence

IMM: Just answer the question

IMH: No, I don't think so

IMM: You see, it's nothing to do with you personally or the love or lack of it that he had for you. Ultimately you will see that you didn't love him that much to be with him for good. when you doubt someone's love for you that much, the harder you work trying to secure it and that's not healthy.
He is not worth your tears.
You might feel unsure of your next move or your heart might skip a beat whenever you see something that jogs your memory of him but in time it will slow down and return to normal.

Lastly it would be wrong to settle for anyone less than a man who absolutely adores you.

IMH: hmmm ok maybe you are right.

IMM: I am always right. You just never bother to consult me on these things.

And so it is.
Have a nice week everyone.

My Diamond & I (part 2)

2009-03-26T18:00:00.000+01:00

Thank you all so much for your comments, I feel blessed. I am sorry I haven't replied the comments, work has been crushing. This post has been set to publish automatically.

If you missed part 1, read it here.

My mother the prankster. She gets me every April fool's day. She once woke me up saying that my favorite aunt was downstairs. I ran to where she was supposed to be, only to find my mother behind me giving off one of her mischievous laughter. I joined in and admitted she got me again. I am still trying to get her, at least once but she always beat me to it. I wonder what she will do next week.

My mother taught me tolerance and how to love without reservation. She also made me realize that all we can ever really have is ourselves and the love of our family if we are lucky and not to rely too much on anyone except ourselves.

She told me to love my two siblings as they are all I have and anything can happen at anytime and then I would see people for what they truly were. She is never shy about her mortality. Suffice to say that my parents are still here and I have seen what people are capable of so I simply stick with my family.

My mother beautiful like the early morning dew on fresh green leaves. Every time I go out with her, People ask if she is my elder sister. I don’t look like her, my sister is gifted in that department. She taught me self confidence and hard work and not to let my looks go to my head as that could cause me untold trouble, but to combine same with sheer brilliance and then the world will be at my feet.

She tells me to be prudent so every time I buy a new shoe that I don’t really need I have to sneak it into the house.

She taught me how to count my cycle and know my ‘safe’ period. She knows the best to do for a female child is to teach her everything that needs to be taught and allow her make her own decisions as there is very little you can do when they are away from you. Life will always intrude.

You never know what could happen to them when they are away so just pray. I overheard her telling a woman. My mum has few friends. The ones I know are the ones she met not too long ago. I being me pack friends. I am a people person. I always find myself in a circle of them.

My mother the computer guru! When I was younger we would go to her office and watch her stare at those green screens that look like a tv but never speaks to you. After the real work she would allow us play Pacman, then she would play the Prince of Persia while we watched enraptured. Fun times. Each time we have a computer problem, we just call her and ask what to do. Every time I go to her office, people ask me if I am as good with the computer as she is, as if! That was some time ago though.

My mum put herself through University. She had me in her final year. She went to serve when I was 2 months old. She told me the best I can do for myself is to find my feet first before having kids because it’s not easy. One minute you are you, and then the next minute you have these little miniatures of you crawling around and demanding all your attention.

My mother who taught me the joys of reading a good book. I was a very naughty child. I could scream for hours without being provoked I just wanted attention. Once I start, my mum would fill the bath tub with water (I hated cold water) put me in, lock the door and switch off the lights. I was terrified of the dark. I was till I entered University. She would go to her room and start reading. After an hour she would come release me and tell me to stop being naughty.

I look at her books and think boring since they had no pictures in them but I wondered all the time what my mum saw in those books that she would forget me in the bathroom so I picked one up one day and read it for a week. I liked it so I kept reading. I read my first mills & boon at age 7.

She taught me to love music for it is food for the soul. She was the one who told me Left eye had died. She was on Fb before I joined. My sister flipped when my mum sent a friend request to her! I had a good laugh with that.

If there was a full moon, she would put my brother on her laps and we would sit around her while she tells us stories or she would teach us songs. What was funny was some of the songs were by Lionel Richie. Imagine! That was when I was about 5. Every time a see the moon I always remember.

I loved watching her apply make up. She would do her lips and my sis & I would pout for her to apply wet lips for us, she obliges. I remember one day my dad asked her why his 'girls' were spotting lip gloss she replied "it makes my dressing faster they won't get in the way once they have their own".

My mother the gentle tiger. My mum never beat any of us. She leaves the beating for my dad. She can't stand beating. Her strength in that department lies in the power of her words. I was a sully teenager too but she always finds ways to reach me.

When she was going for Hajj, I told her not to come back without the gold capped tooth. She said she doesn’t like it and she wouldn’t get one. I begged and begged because when I was young, I saw it on several people and I was fascinated by it. She succumbed and got one. Anytime we go out and she smiles widely, people go ‘so you are an Alhaja’. She turns and gives me the look that says ‘see what I go through every time because of you’ I just smile back at her.

If I wanted to go for a party, as long as I tell her and she sees the people I am going with and I am not dressed scandalously, I am free. She has saved my derriere too many times to count. She would encourage me to bring my boyfriend over rather than going to his house. That way she can limit the kind of ‘activity’ we can engage in. She needn’t have worried about all that as time has itself proven.

She still wakes up to make my sister and I sandwiches to take to work. I especially love the few minutes we spend chitchatting at that early hour when she enters our room to see if we were ready for work. She would come back from work and ask my brothers what they did during the day and what they ate. Then she is off to the kitchen to make dinner even though she just got home and the traffic was horrendous. I wonder where she gets the energy, once I get home I go up to my room to plan for the next day. Take a shower and sleep or go down for a few minutes.

I hope when I am a mother, I get to be like her.

If I had been asked to hand pick my mother, I wouldn’t have done as good a job as God has given me.

There is lots more I could have written but I will stop before I see my name on the epistle blogger list.

So as she turns 50 this week help me salute my mother my Diamond.

My Diamond & I (part 1)

2009-03-23T13:50:00.000+01:00

How was your weekend all?

My mum will be 50 this week. As usual I went to ask her what she wanted for her birthday, I think between my dad and us kids we have gotten her all the gifts there is because her birthday and Mother’s day are always in the same week. We thought of what we have never given her and we all came up with nothing.

There I was on her bed and she answered “as long as you kids are happy, I have gotten all I wanted”

I was surprised and I told her we were happy already and she should come up with a serious gift she wants and she insisted that what she said was all she wants.

That statement inspired this post. It made me think of the relationship between us. I have to say she is my closest friend if I exclude my sister. She knows when to be my mother and when to be my friend.

My mother cool like the waters of a spring. I remember whenever things go awry; she is most times the voice of reason. When you want to take a rash decision she comes up with different ideas that would automatically make you change your mind. She has intervened on more than one occasion when my boyfriends misbehave and I complain to her, she makes me see other sides to the situation that I didn’t think of.

My mother strong like the trunk of an Iroko tree [insert laughter]. I remember when I was in secondary school, my school was a 4 hr drive from Lagos, My mum never missed a visiting day, she would drive down those Saturdays and cook all kinds of food. It makes wonder how many hrs she spends making all those. There would be Jollof rice, amala, fried yam, mashed potatoes, fried meat, fish, dodo etc and she was most often than not the first parent to arrive.

She had this flashy red car, once it appears on the express beside the school fence, I would hear people scream my name that my mum was around. The joy that made me feel is still indescribable.

She comes early so she can spend several hours with us before making the journey back.

My mother the working mother. She holds down a powerful job and still managed to raise us. When I see people making a fuss about raising kids and going to work, I wonder how she managed it, there weren’t too many people doing that, because most people we knew then were house wives. She travels all the time and my dad was always on the move too but she always makes time out to be our mother. The times she is around she will drive us to school and gist with us all the way.

I remember all her training courses when she has to travel all over and implement software for all her company locations, she got a moniker for that, I had finished my SSCE then and I was alone at home, she would take me round the locations with her, We used have so much fun. We traveled round Nigeria. We once took a luxurious bus because she wanted me too see the Lokoja bridge.

She was always making chin-chin, kokoro, cookies, fruit punches, so many things I can’t recall their name now at the weekends. To say our bags were always filled to bursting would be understating the obvious.

When I was younger, every party my mum went to, she would bring something back. She would share it equally and as the custom the eldest being me chooses first but really, there was no needs for that because none is bigger than the other so just pick one and forget it.

Every December, when all the neighbours decorate their houses for Christmas, my mum would do ours too so we wouldn’t be left out even though we were Muslims. She understood kids could be cruel and our house would be the most decorated and all the neighbourhood kids would want to come. I was always so proud of that.

I can’t remember a time when she ever embarrassed me.

Once I caught a cousin of mine having sex with her boyfriend. I was six. I told my mum and she explained to me what it was all about and how I should be careful and never let any boy touch me that way until I was an adult. That lesson stuck and I am glad she didn’t take the high road of most parents and shun that topic.

When said cousin got pregnant, I saw the disappointment in my mother’s face and she told me that if my cousin had been careful, she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant. That it was too much too soon.

To be continued...

Another week and a bat story

2009-03-13T15:28:00.000+01:00

I should say TGIF but it hasn’t been a bad week thanks to the holiday on Monday.

I like...

•My 4inch heels that make me tower over the guys in the office and look the very tall ones in the face without tilting my head up

•Waking up early (I need the practice so when i have my babies I won’t find it difficult to wake up to feed them-right)

•Ordering lunch (having the choice of eating what i want without having to cook it)

•Scoping the blokes in traffic while I drive home (it eases the boredom of the traffic)

•Signing my name at the bottom of every document prepared by me (Yes way cool, you
never know who might see those papers)

•Blogging at lunch break when I have a bit of time to spare

•Seeing my sister come into my office at the end of each work day (the reaction she generates when she walks in breaks the monotony of work; I can leave then after another accomplished day)

•Logging on to the office server and seeing the tons of paperwork that I have to be adept at finding and recreating

•Going up to the solitude of the library to chill a bit maybe catch a 5 min cat nap (kidding)

•Saying goodbye to my mum each morning and seeing the joy in her face that her girls have something to do

I dislike...

•Having my car dented by crazy impatient drivers (I have more dents in the past 2 wks than i have had in the past 1 yr; I went to Oyin Jolayemi yesterday, when I came out from the office I was visiting my fender had been dented and the plastic protecting the fog light is missing- i was livid)

•The sound of my alarm clock at 5:00 am

Not much to complain about

BTW....

A bat entered the house on Sunday evening, I woke up on Monday to go downstairs and my sister woke up to inform me that I shouldn’t that a bird was in the sitting room. Apparently she was watching TV late and when she put out the lights something swooped around her head. She was totally spooked.

She didn’t say anything, she just came upstairs quietly. If it were me, I know I would wake up the entire street with my screams.

As I made my way downstairs cautiously, I felt something flapping around my head and I looked up to see a stretching black wing I screamed and ran into my mum’s room. She admonished me about screaming around the house for she ‘knew’ was nothing.

My cousin ran away when he saw it too. My mum eventually got it out the window in like 5 min after expressing her ‘disappointment’ in us for not been able to chase out an ordinary bat. Both my sister and cousin had tried to chase it out for several minutes. Where was I you were wondering? In my mum’s room of course!

My irrepressible sister was quiet for the better part of the morning. I resisted the mountainous urge to tease her. I should be kind after all, she was badly shocked. So I was the magnanimous big sister.

I was thinking vampire, I was really tempted to ask if she got bitten by the thing hehehe. Those things are really ugly eeww!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

Experience so far

2009-03-04T12:36:00.000+01:00

Thank you all for your comments, really you guys are the best! Sorry I couldn’t reply all. Work isn't bad. My weekend was spent unpacking. I knew it would be hectic and I was prepared but I wasn’t ready for the standing and bending that goes with it.

Traffic isn’t as bad as I thought. I leave early. My sister got a job too! We both resumed on Monday. It’s a lucky thing her office isn’t too far from mine. I drop her in the mornings and she comes to meet me at the close of work. She closes 30 minutes before I do.

I missed a turning after dropping her off on the first day and got stuck in Isale-eko traffic with the rain, I was so mad but I kept asking people and they directed me so I found my way back but i was a bit late. Lucky for me everyone was late because of the rain.

I can blog at work on my laptop at my free moments. If I don’t use my assigned desk top I am home free I guess. I am typing this while preparing for a board meeting. Imagine?

My send forth party was cool. I had so much to drink. Thank God my sis was there. She kept adding ice to my drink to dilute the stuff. I still had to drive home.
We got home without incident though except I was laughing like an idiot and I kept playing with the police men at all the check points.

I tumbled into bed. I slept for for like 5 mins before I started throwing up, I mean it was crazy. My sis said I was just speaking grammar for her. I remember some of it.

I was so dizzy the following morning, thank God the flight was smooth. I was as weak as a kitten.
Got home like 11:30 to find my cousin had gone to school and We had to stay outside with all the boxes at the gate like evicted tenants for more than 2 hrs before he came. I was livid but too weak to do anything about it.

I pitied my sis whom had to go look for him in school and finally went to my mum’s office to collect the key when she didn’t find my cousin.

I admit I need rest but I haven’t been going to work since middle of January so I think I rested well then. Sitting home for me is not an option, my brain will turn to mush if not activated. Mucho gracias to you all. I couldn’t stay away. I will set this to auto post. What have I missed on blogsville? Oblige me please. Have a great day everyone.

That was yesterday, one of the meetings was kind of volatile. I learnt a lesson though- eat before any meeting, you never know when it might end. Woke up 15 min late today I was almost in a panic but surprisingly there was no traffic! I kept glancing at directions to make sure I was on the correct route.

Work isn't bad. I get to do the kind of work I am suited to. I am yet to see the Partners I hear they are away. The co-workers are very friendly( no monsters yet) Ok people got to go. Have a blessed week.

I Plead Exhaustion!

2009-02-25T23:03:00.001+01:00

I am sorry I have not been leaving comments on blogs. I have been too tired.

Secret Diary I will nominate you for that award on Naija blogger's award!

I was ill over the weekend. Had the mother of tummy aches I didn't even realize it was Aunt Flo 'cos I wasn't expecting it for another week at least. Talk about surprises, nothing worked ( I took 2 tylenol 500mg and paracetamol fast action 4 hrs later) and I was in excruciating pain, which led to a severe headache and some throwing up all in all, not a good weekend. Finally got my groove back Monday evening.
It totally ruined all my plans.

My things have been transferred to Lagos I am leaving on Friday. I am not looking forward to unpacking all those boxes at all. But I have to. Work starts on Monday.

Went to the Parade Ground in preparation for passing out tomorrow, as usual naija style plenty sun, endless queues and enough suffering before someone high up decides to attend to the minions. I am really tired and to think we still have to go through the same routine tomorrow to collect the certificates.

I still have last minute packing to do and a few people to say my goodbyes to.
My friends are having a mini send-forth party for me tomorrow evening. My sister is around too. She is supposed to help my transition back to Lagos easier by helping me carry a box or two. What did she do? She brought more luggage from Lagos saying she didn't want to borrow anything from my wardrobe so she is effectively no use to me in that department. I have put her to other good uses sha. She actually complained that I am treating her like my Personal Assistant! What can I say? I can be a diva.
I had a good laugh on that one.

So I may not be here for a while as I will be unpacking and getting settled in the job. I will be reading posts maybe not leave comments but I got nothing but love for y'all. I hope I won't be too tired with all the things I have left to do.

I should stop here my eyes are droopy and my back aches. I have been drinking water by the gazillion since I started going to that parade ground. There is something in the air that just saps all my energy and the heat isn't helping. Its so hot in Abuja, I wonder what is happening to people in Maiduguri, Sokoto and the other Northern States.

P.S. I have sent in my nominees for the Blogger's award. I followed the link on Vera's page. Sting, Buttercup and others please note.

Locked in!

2009-02-10T18:58:00.001+01:00

Sorry everyone for my last post it was way too long.
Everyone who read it deserves an award for their patience!

Woke up today after a blissful night rest. Saw my dad and my cousin to the door on their way to work, went back to the book I was reading before I fell asllep yesterday and forgot all else.

Got up around 11:30 to make breakfast. I ate and thought to myself should I take a bath now, I said hmmn No maybe later, so I continued with my book.

I finished it and went to get another.

After reading for a while, I dozed off, then I heard someone knocking, I wondered who it could be no one knows I am home, sure my car is outside but hey I am not expecting visitors. It turned out to be the gateman with some clothes he picked off the line. I mumbled my thanks and dumped the clothes.

My sleep addled brain proceeds to lock the door without removing the key and I slammed my room door because it was creaking earlier and I didn't want it to further interrupt my sleep so I lay back down and doze for all of 5 mins and woke up with a start.

Oh NO!

The door was jammed! The front door is locked and my key is hanging from it. No one can enter with a spare key to break me out. The door opens inwards so I couldn't break it.

I thought about what to do but it was 1:30 and no one would be home for hours so why worry now when I can worry later right? Wrong!

I called my cousin and told him what has happened, he promised to be home early.

I practically live in my room so I have everything I could ever need. I couldn't watch TV because PHCN is 'holding' electricity. With nothing to do except maybe read, I slept off. I had a good nap actually. I figured maybe when I wake up I will have a better chance at opening the door.

Woke up 2hrs later still nothing. Then I tried to pry the door open with all kinds of tools I could lay my hands on but no luck I sustained all kinds of knicks and scrapes mainly on my knuckles. It hurts so I stopped.

Its 5:00. Dad might leave the office early. Best call him and apprise him of the situation before he gets home. He has zero patience. The running joke is he wasn't around when it was being shared plus if it was on sale at a bonus he would drive past it!

He said I should have called him sooner at least he would have sent someone home to help me. Had I eaten? etc.

I wasn't panicked but I was still locked in the house and I had this overpowering need to leave my room. On normal days I could stay in my room for days, I only venture out to cook or say hello to my dad or cousin or just sit with him. No such thing today.

5:45, Dad's driver came, knocked on my window which I opened and gave me a crowbar, I tried with him giving directions on all sorts of tricks. It didn't work I only succeeded in bumping my head against the wall rather hard while trying to force the bar in, it snapped back and I now have a bump on my right eyebrow hurts like hell. With my other scrapes which were now bleeding anew.

I told him to wait for my cousin he had this idea of climbing through the ceiling and coming in. My father said he could get electrocuted with all the wires and we should forget it. Get a welder and a carpenter!

He came home at 6:30 got a saw and cut out the burglary proof bars on the sitting room window. Got one of the gateman's kids in to remove my key from the door, then he inserted his key and they were in!

After a lot of prying, heavy pushing, shoulder butting et al I hear the wood begin to splinter, it finally gave way and I was free!

All is back to normal now and I can leave my room whenever I want. It just brought to light how much I cherish my freedom. We don't know what we have until it is taken away.

Locked in!

2009-02-10T18:58:00.000+01:00

It seems just like yesterday.... (Long post alert!)

2009-02-02T19:15:00.000+01:00

Right now I am listening to my favorite songs in the world, I could do this for hours and never get bored. I do this whenever I remember moments in times past or I just I want to loose myself in music. Toni Braxton’s Breathe Again just finished and I am on Breathless by the Corrs. I love my songs from the early 90’s and a few oldies to the soothing blues of John Legend and the smooth moves of Chris Brown and Neyo and of course I couldn’t the forget the timeless voice of Mariah Carey forget her occasional foolishness and Brandy whom I feel like we grew together.

Sorry I didn’t update sooner, went to Lagos for some interviews which took most of last week and the first two days of this week. I spent my spare time in the cyber ecstasy world of Ubong Da. That was an expose. I had to concur with his blog title it is indeed the ‘memoirs of a randy Nigerian’, I read all his posts.

How time flies, I collected my clearance forms from NYSC today and I remember when I left Law School and went back to my university to collect my Call up Letter. Checking my name on the board the first time, only to discover it wasn’t there and that I will be in the next batch ‘Batch A2’ was pretty deflating.

Anyhoos went back to school two weeks later and found out I had been posted to Abuja. I was excited, that was what I wanted. I was the only one posted there amongst everyone and I knew this would be like starting my life all over again, no friends except some of the younger ladies in my Dad’s office whom I hang out with on several trips to Abuja.

So there I was at the airport on that Monday morning to buy a ticket to Abuja, I totally forgot going to Abuja on a Monday without booking a ticket earlier is just a waste of time. My brother took to the airport, finally purchased a ticket for 3:00pm and I got to the airport at 8:30am meaning I had several hours to kill in that boring place.

My brother stayed awhile spent like 2 hours with me before he left, I appreciated that. I had spent the previous weekend going round to all my friends and saying my goodbyes as I didn’t know when I would be returning. It wasn’t so bad because I hadn’t really seen anyone since I went to law school which turned out to be very time consuming leaving room for very little save sleep for me so it wasn’t like they had been seeing me all the while. The only difference was I was still in Lagos with them but this time I was going away.

A friend of mine called and said she will meet me at the airport after I checked in my luggage. She was in Batch A1 so she brought me her waist purse and white shorts. Also she was in Abuja so she gave the lowdown on all the horrors of camp. I followed her to a salon in Ikeja to kill time. She made her hair and we did our nails suffice to say it was a relaxing parting gift before I left for camp. She was wonderful, spending all that time with me and she followed me back to the airport and waited till I cleared security before she departed. I was deeply touched. My mum was calling constantly to make sure I was alright. I was already having problems with my ex so I wasn’t my usual bubbly self.

Landing at the airport in Abuja after exactly a year of leaving was memorable. I thought I would go to the Abuja Law School Campus so I was there when I saw I was posted to Lagos I was very upset.

My luggage had arrived with one of the earlier flights so I didn’t have to queue at the baggage claim for it. My dad was waiting at the airport to receive me. I was happy and excited. I thought I would get to go home, drop my luggage and go to camp but my father refused saying I was late enough as it were so I should just proceed to the camp.

He left me with his driver so off I went. The camp was in Kubwa unknown to me as I just headed to Dutse thinking it was there, we had to go back to Kubwa. I was tired and cranky. Saw several people at the gate and the soldiers were their usual boisterous mean self. I was asked to come down ‘Government pikin!’ I was told to put my box on my head and frog jump to where my fellow Otondos[1] were waiting. I was made to sit on the bare ground. Luckily for me, I met this guy on the merry go round to Dutse who told me all the horrors I would suffer. I had two boxes, A large one and a smaller one. I am one of those ladies who just pack everything! The guy said I should just bring down the small one only as I would be made to carry it on my head. That he would help me swap the boxes later. I did as he told me otherwise I would have just died with the weight of that box. I thought I would drop a few things off at home first.

Didn’t get anything done that night. I was glad I didn’t arrive earlier at least it reduced the stress I would have gone through. The queue for registration was insane, so I didn’t bother; my number at the gate was #1762! Imagine all those people on 4 different stages of registration. Didn’t even know where to start, it was all so rowdy. I had to sleep in a classroom. The guy helped me get a mattress and pillow and found a good bunk for me in a nice class so I wouldn’t be disturbed. I was so thankful. I didn’t have any bucket, lent one from one of the girls that ended up in the classroom with me, suffice to say before I got back from fetching water, taking a bath in an open air while the guy stood guard was all very un-kosher and it reminded me of my boarding school days. I had to walk down a dark path so the guy wouldn’t see anything while afraid of snakes or anything that crawls in the dark! Some other girls had invaded the make shift room and scattered everything, to think they are supposed to be Graduates!

Got my mattress back after some small display of madness and got a tiny piece of quiet. Law school result was released that night. It was posted on the web. I was apprehensive. One of my friends sent me a text that her boyfriend checked for me and I had a 2:1. My friend from the airport sent someone to check for me she said I had a 2:2. I was tired and confused, didn’t know who to believe. I had already sent my mum a text with the result then I had to change it again. Did I mention it was around 2:30am? I was running on pure adrenalin no sleep. The girls woke up at 3:00 to get back to the queue to complete registration. I was exhausted had my bath with two sachets of pure water which I bought for 50 naira. The place was upside down with girls trying to get ahead of the queue at every opportunity, I was so angry I had to speak up at a point and go to the front to warn the guys and threatened them with calling the attention of the soldiers. They behaved for a while after that. I met one of my good friends today on that queue.

My mum finally checked my result for me later in the day and I was so happy it was a 2:1 after all. Later saw some of my Law school mates on the parade ground we were all so excited with our results we were practically jumping at every opportunity. The news of my result made up for every stupid thing that happened on that camp (the disgustingly dirty habits of some of the girls, the ridiculous beagle[2] blowing of the soldiers at 4:00am, taking more baths on a freezing morning in the open field as the bathrooms were to dirty to even step into, the tiny spaces between the bunks-we were 62 in my room! And all the other irritating minute details the soldiers pay attention to like bursting into the female hostel after an impatient knock without waiting for an answer to chase people to the parade ground, the endless lectures, the early morning songs, this is one

‘Dem go born mumu

Dem go born mumu

If corper marry corper dem go born mumu’

Etc The song is used to mock sexual relationships between corpers in camp) My knee knocked off again once during preparation for one of their stupid (did I say stupid again?) endless parades and I was exempted from further activities (My knee cap rolls out of its socket every once in a while if stressed. Stomping on the ground for hours in the name of marching is taking it too far, so I didn’t do any of those tortuous rope climbing exercises and I wasn’t around for the endurance trek! That was aptly named that trek surely tests your endurance level). Had a run in with one of the soldiers who said in Hausa to his subordinate to take me to the guard room, they call him Mad Dog because of his rabid behavior! I heard the words yarinya[3] and guard room[4], I disappeared fast and mixed with the crowd in spite of my painful knee.

This is turning out to be one long post hope it isn’t too boring sha.

My birthday came while I was in camp. Still upset over my boyfriend he sent me one very blasé text message. My parents made my day. My dad sent me a cake with cartons of my favorite juice. The cake was so beautiful and it was covered in whipped cream with handfuls of red sugar crumbles. I was a loner in camp except for the people around my bunk, I didn’t mix. I shared the goodies with these people. My mum wrapped up my gift and cards from my siblings in a package taped to one of the outside pockets of my box. Didn’t even know it was there until she called to tell me, I was so happy and very surprised. I met more friends on the parade ground when people kept calling me to wish me a happy birthday. Left camp 2 days later after spending like 8 days to prepare for my Call to the Nigerian Bar. I didn’t go back o merely went for the passing out parade and collected my posting. If I remove all the annoying deets of camp it wasn’t so bad in the end I enjoyed a few of the times spent there.

The year itself has been a blast met some wonderful friends along the way. I met up with one of my closest friends in secondary school, Omotee after years of been apart.

This post is getting too long.

I am dedicating this post to thousands (I should say millions, the scheme started in 1975) of graduates who have gone through this scheme before me including my parents (imagine?!). It gave me an opportunity to further discover myself, love myself more, have more people in my circle of friends, wheedle out people I would rather live without, learn new traditions, value my true friends, be thankful for all the people in my life and all the things I have and lots more. To those currently serving have a blast during your service year. For me it has been fun and I am glad I ‘obeyed the clarion’s call’. God bless Nigeria!

I have to start packing my things soon not looking forward to it at all and I have to regulate my system back to the high strung life in Las giddy (Lagos) that wouldn’t be bad. I have already started saying my goodbyes to all of my favorite places here, in my special way of taking loads of pictures to last a lifetime.

Signing off with one of Enrique’s songs in Spanish totally love the song even though I don’t understand a word he is saying, he is such a passionate singer, The song just changed to Dan Seal’s Everything that glitters. My songs are arranged in alphabetical order.

P.S. 1-Otondo: Name the soldiers call the corps members

2- Beagle: A trumpet-like thing blown for every occasion in camp

3- Yarinya: Hausa for female

4- Guard room: A room kept by the soldiers for punishing people

Update: This post was written on Thursday. Its Saturday now, I am having problems with my wireless card. I will post this when I get it to work.

I got a job! All the Firms told me they would get back to me so I was checking my mails everyday only to be disappointed as I got nothing from them. I then decided I wouldn’t check for a few days. That was torture I tell you, staying away from the internet. Alas, I checked on Friday evening and voila, I got a mail from one of them, actually the Firm I liked best amongst all the ones I interviewed with. I was told to resume on the 2nd of February and to pick up my appointment letter. I was so surprised I didn’t know what to say.

I called the Managing partner and explained my situation that I haven’t finished NYSC clearance and it will take two weeks, plus packing up and coming back to Lagos would take another week and she said I could resume in March, that she will modify my appointment letter and she will forward it to me if I can’t pick it up. Imagine!

I was so happy until I called my dad and he gave me news of some foolishness a certain family member of mine has committed. It overshadowed my happiness but like my father said, good and evil sometimes move together and there was nothing I could do but be thankful to Almighty God and that I shouldn’t let it bother me, I should just be happy keep being at my best.

So I have resolved to feel blessed and I will simply pray more for my family member. To think this time last week, my sister and I were lamenting over our jobless status Yes, my sister has relocated back to the country. I pray she gets a job soon as well. It would be so cool playing dress up with her in the mornings. I can see the cat fights already, say wearing the same outfits on the same day, we have several items of clothing in common.

I am so thankful for you guys. The feeling I get, knowing I can share my innermost thoughts without having to speak is indescribable. May all your wishes come true. Wish me luck in my new job, I know I am going to need it.

Imagine its Monday evening! I had to visit my ISP’s office and reinstall the data card before I got hooked up again.

All things pink

2009-01-12T14:30:00.000+01:00

When asked what my favorite color is, I would probably say black or purple. I would never mention pink! So it is with shock on retrospection that I discovered most things in my bedroom are varying shades of shocking pink including my blog template!!!

I have a biscuit tin beside my laptop right now and it is the same shocking pink. I almost wore that same color to work today. I unwittingly buy pink shaded lip glossies. (I checked I have five) I am like WHAT?

Where is this love of pink coming from? Did I somehow fall in love with this color or did I get brainwashed by adverts and stuffs that pink somehow is appealing?

So yesterday, I was lying on my bed and I looked around the room and I saw for the first time what anyone entering my room for the first time would see. Pink everywhere. I even have a hand luggage box in shocking pink! It is embarrassing.

On my dresser I have two bottles of 'A touch of pink' by Lacoste, 3 Pink bottled body sprays from Victoria Secret, Hairbrush, Make up bag, showercap, pink shoes I don't wear (it hurts the eye, why did I buy it?) A large pink towel, Pink items of clothing, several in fact, at a point all of my knickers were either pink or had something pink on it, I had to specifically write in my shopping list no pink panties.

I was obsessed with pink nails too. I still have a nail polish in that shade that is actually my favorite now. I had to tell the girl who did my nails last not to show me any shade in pink.

I hated pink when I was a girl so this just baffles me. So is there any way to correct this current compulsive predisposition towards anything pink?. It seems so girlish.

Done with the pink rant it was driving me up the wall.

New Tidings

2009-01-02T08:59:00.000+01:00

Hello people, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Miss you all took a little break. I saw this mail and I wanted to share with you. Hope you all had a fabulous holiday. Read on:

Dear Friends

Kindly listen to this conversation.

2008: My son am tired

2009: why?

2008: My time is up, i will be going to join your forefathers

2009: I know, u have less than 72 hours to live... i will miss you dad

2008: But let me tell you some things b4 i go

2009: What is it?

2008: Please when i go, make sure you take care of this person

2009: Who?...

2008: The person (reading) listening to this conversation of ours?

2009: Okay

2008: I made some promises to this person during my reign, i fulfilled some, and some i couldnt

2009: But why couldnt you fulfill all dad?

2008: Well, my son...sometimes time, destiny and human factors affected some of the promises

2009: But...

2008: But surely, i spoke with God on this person's behalf, and God granted my wish in you to fulfill the rest promises. So these are the rest of the fulfillment you will carry out on this person...

2009: Go on dad...

2008: Stabilize this person's health without cease all through your reign!

2009: Yea

2008: Open a direct link between our God and this person

2009: Done, carry on

2008: Ensure that this person's dreams come to reality within the shortest time

2009: Alright

2008: Give this person wealth that will touch lives of multitudes

2009: surely

2008: Make sure that you remove all remaining hindrances to success from this person's way

2009: Noted!

2008: I have being trying to make sure that money will never remain d priority of this person, so keep to that pls, make sure son!

2009: I will dad, no problem!

2008: Pay more emphasis on the advice of this person's friends, dont worry about that of this person's enemies, God will take care of that! Get it?

2009: Yes

2008: Finally, promise me that when your own time is up, you will instruct that your offsprings after offsprings (2010, 2011, 2012.....to....2100) to keep positive fulfilments of this person going!

2009: yes dad, may God help me!

2008: Now i can pass to the beyond happily! May you be prosperous!!!

2009: Amen!

My Xmas break was wonderful. I had a bit of drama in the office over the break but I resolved it before I left Abuja sha.
This new year started wonderfully and 2008 ended on a very sweet note. I hope I can keep up my enthusiasm for the rest of the year and I hope the year goes as I plan and wish.

May the year bring good tidings for us all.

PS: Temite, hope you had a fantastic holiday.
Ladyguide: Where is my hamper o!
Vera: Hope you weren't too naughty over the holidays.
Omotee: I am expecting gists.

Oh the wedding anniversary party was fabulous. The pix were great and I had so much fun. My parents loved it. My siblings were sweet. Although the planning was stressful but it all turned out great. Ok I resume work on Monday. Have a fantastic weekend everyone.

Been gone for a minute

2008-12-01T14:51:00.000+01:00

Been gone for a minute! Missed you all! I didn’t even check my mails! The exams had me. Haven’t been to work in a full week and I had to come in today. I am so exhausted. My eyes are droopy and closing at their own will. Haven’t been sleeping well ‘cos of exams thank God its over now.

After my law school exams, I swore no exam would scare me again but then each one has its own peculiarity. The first one was a bit difficult I did my best though hope it goes well. The second one was really good. Those stupid calculations came in every way imaginable. In one of the question I multiplied instead of dividing I am still a bit miffed over that.

On the morning of the exam, my calculator refused to come on I was angry and praying my enemies will not succeed. Hehehe! To think that was the second calculator I purchased for that exam. The first one fell and started misbehaving. To put it on I had to smack it onto a hard surface. I finally bought a new one which was perfectly fine on Monday evening.

Went for a wedding at the weekend it was alright I actually had fun and I didn’t want to go before because my exams were coming up during the week I am glad I did sha. I met up with this guy whom I had a little crush on at one time. I knew he liked me then but something happened more gist later if it goes well.

Temite tagged me in the 2 truths and a lie but I couldn’t come up with anything so I am setting out my quirks instead. I will post my truths and lie soon.

•I am allergic to perfume but I wear it all the same. I spray it on my clothes before I wear them. To use body spray I leave my room for the bathroom then I come back, you should see the way I run around the room like a headless chicken trying to diffuse the scent. It’s ridiculous ‘cos its on my body and I can’t get away from it so I always end up sneezing for the first two hrs of each day. My mum has named me the ‘Tissue Queen’ and my friend said she will buy me a whole truckload of tissue as a wedding present!

•I love biscuits and cookies, my family and friends call it an obsession. I go to shops almost on a daily basis to restock. I love fox biscuits and chocolate digestives!

•I love accessories so much I went to learn how to make it so I can save myself some money as well as create whatever I want.

•I read all sorts of books story books included. I once went to the Nu metro section at the Galleria and descended on the children’s books. I sat on the floor and I started reading!

So, that is a few of the silly things I do. It’s good to be back, I can go back to normal life without any guilt of abandoning my books. Yay!

Mini update: Thank you all for leaving comments on my last post and for the suggestions on the anniversary plans. We have decided to throw them a party with all the fan fare, hope they love it.

Its the 1st of December, what happened to the other 11 months? It seems like yesterday that I was wondering when service will come to an end now the end is nigh and I am wondering what happened.

I know the year has been good. I achieved all the important goals I set for myself, I am feeling pretty smug about that. Hope I get a big Xmas present in the form of a fantastic job offer though.

I guess I will stop at this point. Have a great week everyone.

Still here

2008-11-10T09:06:00.000+01:00

Sorry I haven't been updating as often as I should. I am still studying. Thank you all for leaving comments. It is getting better though. I am done reading the mathematical one now I am reading the easier one (Corporate Governance). It reads beautifully.

The chaser in my last post has finally stopped calling. Nothing new going on.
I am just really sick of these so called friend asking me out. I mean if you want to date me, start right off don't do through the ruse of 'just being my friend' and 3 months later you are singing a different tune. I am freaking upset. Don't blame me when I tell you not to cross the line, don't tell me you are simply expressing your feelings for me, it gets me angry. Why can't you just shut the hell up and stay in the friend box. If I had any glimmer of feelings for you trust me you wouldn't be in the friend list.

My parents 25th wedding anniversary is in December, I don't know what to get them. I am the first and I know my siblings are waiting for my thoughts on the subject. Being in different places is not helping the matter. If you have any idea pls share with me.

After almost 4 months of silence my ex sent me 'hei' on my fb chat and immediately logged off. I mean what is up with that? If he has anything to say to me he has
all the means of getting in touch, what did he think? that I would call him? No way!

I don't know why some people act the way they do. One of my friends called and said she will be staying with me for a week, I say fine but I am traveling at the weekend and you start harassing me about where you will stay before I return. What has that got to do with me? I have planned this trip for weeks and you tell me I should come back on Saturday so you can come on that day and then she goes on telling what to bring for her from Lagos, including the shoes she will wear while with me, I was so livid I wanted to tell her not to even bother again if you can't come on Sunday when I will be back, then stay where you are stop bothering me. My life doesn't revolve around you. I am the hostess, you should plan your stay around what is comfortable for me not making annoying demands on my time!

I have a short fuse these days. People just take you for granted. Some expect me to take them around to wherever they are going just because we are leaving a place together. You are not buying me fuel neither am I your designated driver get a cab. Why should you be costing me extra money when I am saving you a few bucks?
Its a different thing if I offer to take you, don't make it a right that because I have a lot of time on my hands I want to spend it driving you around!

We should consider how others feel when we make demands.

Sorry for the randomness of the post.
I need to get back to work.

Got none

2008-10-29T08:55:00.000+01:00

I thought about naming this post WHY? But I didn’t have that many questions to back it up.

I was sleeping but I couldn’t get comfortable so I have resorted to writing this since my mind has refused to shut down completely so I can sleep. My mind is overcrowded.

I am not too happy that I can’t seem to settle down enough to study for my ICSA exams.

I am not finding this funny at all. One of the courses is Corporate Financial Management (CFM) it’s driving me nuts! (I am taking the last two having completed the other two, I am self studying).

I don’t like maths. Give me hundreds of pages I am perfectly fine my brain will just keep assimilating but when it comes to calculation my brain just tunes out.

I told my Dad what was happening and can you imagine his reaction? He just started laughing! He reminded me of the war we used to have over all my maths results. And that I should go buy a secondary school maths text book!

When I got over the mild anger at him, I actually bought the text plus a scientific calculator only problem is trying to figure out how to use the dang thing! Or remembering what I used to do with it when I was in secondary school.

It was so annoying trying to explain to the guy at the bookshop the specific topics I wanted in the text. Ratios, square roots, fifth roots, equations, standard deviation etc.

Here’s my WHY dilemma.

Why can’t I understand simple mathematics?

Why didn’t I start to work out the CFM since I got it?

Why do I always do this to myself?

Why do I spend more time thinking about having a boyfriend than actually having one?

Why do I keep buying shoes that I only get to wear maybe once a year?

Why am I never satisfied with just one body spray at a time? (I must have at least 4)

Why do I always buy junk food that I would end up not eating? (My room is littered with shopping bags of all kinds of snacks)

Why am I a compulsive shopperholic?

Why do guys I am not attracted to always ask me out?

Why do my so called male friends always ‘fall in love’ with me and expect me to reciprocate?

Why can’t I even like them a little in that way since they are always basically good guys?

Why do I listen to D’banj’s album back to back everyday? (I am turning into a kokolet!)

Why do I chew gum every morning on my way to work?

Why am I upset about all these questions sef?

Why do I cyber flirt with guys I know I would never date?

Why am I typing this in word doc? (If I go to blogger I would stay up all night reading blogs so I will save it and post tomorrow)

Why am I still here? (Still have questions duh)

Why haven’t I made an entry in my journal in several months? (Blogging has taken over)

I think those are all the whys I want to put down for now. Work is back to its normal boring self. I am good with my boss now. Its 3 more months to the end of NYSC why not spend it just reflecting and chilling?

I can’t wait for the next phase of my life to begin. I don’t even know what I really want to be doing. I want to go and practice a little (I think!) hope I like it and not get stifled in the process.

I still can’t believe all that has happened in the past year. Time really does fly! Why am I even in this reflective mood tonight? I am going back to studying.

On a lighter note, I had one man chase me all the way to my work place this morning. I was coming to work jejely na so this man dey flash him lights and drawing up beside me at every opportunity. I didn’t even notice I was too engrossed in D’banj’s Entertainer album to see him. Finally when I passed the last traffic light to my Office my brain snapped out of the koko world enough to realize that the same car had been following me since I got into Central Area.

It was too late to change directions I was also kinda late so I just braved it and continued on my way to work. I parked outside and he drew up beside me. I know I should have gone on to park inside. The gateman wouldn’t open the gate for the man if I had done so, part of me was also curious to see the ‘bloke’.

I was disappointed. It’s an older guy whom I am sure has a wife somewhere. He is fortyish but very good looking plus I didn’t sight a ring. I know I won’t be fishing in those waters. We got introduced. He didn’t get my number not for lack of trying sha.

What did he do? He showed up at my lunch break asking to take me out. I didn’t go with him o. I had other plans which was going to Chicken Republic to get moinmoin.

Anyways I gave him my official number to save having him come around to the office trying to see me. I don’t have to pick his calls now.

I had whitlow last week! I was supposed to go for a party with Omotee on Saturday. I was wearing open toed shoes so I decided on a pedicure. It was an over-enthusiastic one. When I was done my toes were pink!

I ended up not going for the party sha. So I went to the market instead. It rained heavily while I was there and I knew in my mind that something would go wrong with my foot.

On getting home I washed my legs thoroughly I guess I didn’t do enough. I woke up on Monday to see my right big toe swollen and tender. Apparently I had broken the seal between the skin and nail while doing the pedicure.

I knew trouble had come. So I went to work, googled ‘whitlow’ and found a cure. I was popping antibiotics & vitamin c like it would go out of fashion. I hate taking drugs.

It worked but I had to contend with some limping for a few days and wearing flat sandals to work! Ouch! I was pained o, part of the fun of going to work for me is playing dress up. Anyhoos its all gone now and I am back to normal.

Enough said for today. I am either going to sleep or study! I think this is a long post, if it is Sorry!

Government property!

2008-10-17T12:44:00.000+01:00

I am having cramps right now but I had to come in to work, I am having issues with my boss. I can't go for lunch, the cramps is driving me nuts so I am blogging.

Back to this title, last Friday on my way home, I was speeding as I saw the light was still green so I wanted to beat it before it turns red. As I did, there was a lady in front of me and another driver behind me we all made it but were all stopped by the police, that we ran the amber light.

So I rolled down my window to talk to the policeman, he asked for my driver's license and I showed him, then he said I should bring it, I was like no. My experience with these people is once you give them, you won't get it back without parting with something or plenty police wahala.

This guy was like I should open the door that he is arresting me and we are going to their station I was like on top wetin? I refused to unlock the door so he put his hands through the window and unlocked the door! Before I could say WTF he was sitting in my passenger's seat instructing me to drive. I felt violated! I was so angry my entire body was shaking!

I asked him why he did that and he was like I was proving stubborn that I FLASHED him my license instead of handing it over. See me see me trouble! I looked around and saw that the other people whom they stopped with me had been 'released'. Na so my brain kick into overdrive.

He was like I ran a traffic light and they are charging me to court, that I didn't slow down at a traffic junction etc. When he mentioned court I laughed in my mind. I told him in as calm a voice as I could muster that that court he mentioned is my stage so he doesn't scare me. I am a lawyer ke!

That angered him he was like so because I am a lawyer I am above the law, I had no respect for the police, he just went on and on. A colleague of his then came over and he also asked to see my license me as a pro at these things, I simply showed it to him as I did, the contents of my wallet just tumbled out. Na so I see my yellow NYSC ID card I was so happy!

I have never played the Corper card before even though people have told me the power it wields. I just turned to the guy and said:

I haven't committed any crime and I didn't run the traffic light besides if anyone had run the light it should be the guy behind me.
The other two people they stopped for the same thing had been allowed to go and why were they still holding me?
I am a Corper.

As I said these, he was like the woman begged so they allowed her to go but me, I was playing with them and I wasn't even remorseful, I was like for real? Why should I be remorseful for something I haven't done?

His colleagues told him to allow me go as I was a Corper but this guy was just like no she must go to station. I looke at the guy and I told him I was driving nowhere do I look stupid? I will drive myself to a police station with him in the car then he will go and fabricate orisirisi story against me! No sir!

I even expected him to say something about my expired vehicle license which proclaims May 2008 but this fool didn't even realise that, all he cared about was how I was speaking to him and these are the same idiots that are entrusted with the safety of citizens!

After he made more noise and he realised he wouldn't get anything from me he got down and I almost ran over his foot! You guys should have seen his face as he was trying to cuss me out while looking down at his foot to make sure it was still there. I had a good laugh as I looked at him in my rearview mirror.

Then at my office, my oga said I should be transferred out of his dept as he couldn't manage me anymore! My outspoken self is too much to handle!

I was at CD (Community Development) yesterday when I got a call from one tatafo in the office that I wasn't been transferred anymore. Apparently the CEO said if my oga couldn't manage me then there was a problem. I have a sneaking suspicion that my 'transfer' had something to do with 'aboki lady/office brat'. Well they can't sack me I belong to the govt! I wish I had been in that meeting to see my oga's face when he was told that. NYSC sure has its uses, yes ke I am untouchable since I am government property for now!

Work experience

2008-10-08T15:39:00.000+01:00

Temite & Vera I noticed something went wrong yesterday, that post was supposed to be a comment on Inyamu's post. Blogger don craze. I saw it became a post by me today sorry for the confusion jare.
Vera: There is a post you missed check out the title 'Orisirisi'. It is just before this.

Which reminds me, there is employee appraisal going on at my work place. My Line Manager happens to be my friend and he was told by the COO that his own appraisal will be based on how he does mine as he thinks he will be biased in my case. What is up with that?

I have got two degrees for heaven's sake! Of course I am more capable than the girls in my unit not blowing my trumpet here. One of them is cute and all but I remember when we first resumed she didn't even know where the @ sign was on a computer and how to use a search engine or what google does; Hello she is supposed to be a graduate! No dissing here thank God she didn't use to babble about going to UNILAG. I would have ribbed her to no end. Then the other one is just here 'cos she just finished school and has nothing doing at home plus she has contacts that can get contracts for the office so? She is freaking lazy! Tell her to do anything and she just looks and complains that she is going home and doesn't have to be here, if she feels that way, why not go home?

She majored in French language and one day i said 'fromage' that's cheese in french, she told me I didn't pronounce it well that 'f' in french is pronounced as 'p' meaning 'promage' I was like isssh? Then it occurred to me she is a northerner I just kept my counsel. Also we had to go sign a contract at one international organization, the workers are mostly from French speaking countries, so the CEO took her along thinking she will be the interpreter, on getting there the CEO was bragging that they need not force themselves to speak English as he brought along a french speaker na so conversation start o! O boy she couldn't even interpret a lone sentence. I would still pay a million naira to see the look on my CEO's face again. What a laugh I had! I mean she spent 4 plus years studying the thing.

If she has any disagreement with anyone in the office, the COO tells us to apologize to her or take documents to her house. He does that to my Line Manager a lot. The day he tried it with me, I gave him an earful, I said respectfully and clearly that he never ask me such again. Who the heck is she? If she is here to work she had better be treated like any other employee.

I used to have a log thing for all our projects that I update regularly, when my responsibilities expanded I was told to delegate it to her, on doing so she refused to do anything about it, my boss then asked me to take it back, trust me I say lailai which kind yeye nonsense be that?

She doesn't even get up for lunch she sends the office messenger including getting fuel for her car. She comes late too, once she gets in she doesn't get back up until she wants to go home which is usually at anytime it suits her.

Then the cute one is very malleable she goes along with everything the boss says which earned her a place in his heart. Me? I am not a zombie I have a mind that works if I don't agree I voice it out, so I have been labeled argumentative. They rarely get a job done on time they now say the Line Manager is biased? Me I do my own o!

Then this afternoon she called to tell me the CEO said one person should attend an exhinition, I didn't even allow her land. Na me be one person abi? She dey craze! I went back to the office and she went on about how I didn't allow her talk and I was yelling at her, excuse moi? Me yell? I was in a client's office o!
Didn't speak to her till she left for the day what a brat.
I am getting back to my presentation jare.

The presentation is the conclusion of our appraisal my little madam has left imagine and she is supposed to present after me.

Orisirisi revised

2008-10-07T15:31:00.000+01:00

I am at work but things are pretty slow at the moment. I have work to do o, just can't be bothered at this time. I am still smarting from the queue at the NYSC office. To submit PC now is war especially if its the last day. Chei.

See me in my very tigh-high-waisted-just-before-the-knee-skirt with nice large purple belt over my ruffled top plus a two-tone purple banana heeled shoe. Abeg I can't shout. Na so I remember say I suppose submit PC for this month so I can get my stipend from govt.

Thank God I always have my kit in the car I just went to change na so dey ruin my fine girl today. I was ready to do the waka, see client, generally pose all over the place thing and I wasted the better part of 3 hrs at that damn place! Thank God my boss wasn't around I would have been in deep sh*t.

On the queue couldn't remember my no on the list na so the winch comot me for line to say I was pissed na another thing. Sha she got up to do something I just jeje flip the booklet to find my name and number before she came back. I went back to join the queue sha, the fine boy I was eye-balling no gree give me space in front of him. I don't know the kind beef she get for my face as she see me again she said I didn't write my account number well, bla bla bla. I just left after all her talk. See the crowd and before you find your bank...... Phew.

Getting to where I parked some olodos had blocked me and I didn't see myself waiting for nobody to come move their cars, I just jejely checked if the cars were in park mode and manual, I saw a friend of mine and I told him to let's roll the cars a bit forward so we could go. Na so I comot for the place o! I can imagine the expression on people's faces when they look for their cars and can't find it where they left it.

I have a presentation at work tomorrow and I haven't even prepared the paper. Na wah for me.
I logged on to fb this morning only to find a msg from one fine bloke I met a while ago at the conference, (he has a girlfriend remember?), he said: 'hey hot chocolate', I am like 'excuse me?'
I refused to call him when he didn't call even though he is really cute plus he has a girlfriend. I no want bottle for my head. I want to remain fine girl till I am sixty, ask Oprah.

So I was talking to one old flame who thinks he still has a chance, I will call him 'agbaya'
Agbaya: Are you still slim and slender?
Luscious: No I have gained weight duh. (Just kidding)
Agbaya: That's nice you will be more handy for my 'use'

I am like have you lost it or what? What arrant nonsense? I was so angry I hung up on him. I mean what kind of yeye talk is that? Hell will freeze over first before that!

Anyways I sufficiently calmed down enough to pick his call later and I gave him a piece of my mind. When did I become a tool to be used?
People really should learn speech manners and choose their words carefully.

Which reminds of one idiot in my office who says I eat too much and I am gaining weight. Yeah so I love cookies, chocolates etc its nobody's business what I put in my mouth. Its safer for me than real food another food poisoning I don't want! At least I need something to sustain me while I work. So this fool repeats it every time he sees me munching, That I was really slim and pretty when I started work and more body won't fit me. Where does he get off saying that rubbish to me?

I weigh 52kg! Where in the world does that qualify as overweight. My mother hugs me by the side and her arm encompasses my whole waist and this idiot says that! Everyone says I should gain more weight including my aunt who has 6 grown children and is just a little bit fatter than I am!

I just told him to stuff his comments where the sun doesn't shine. Opinion is an arsehole everybody has one! Thank God I am not insecure about my body I would have been upset. I told him not to say anything to me again except maybe greetings. We still have to work together. I would have reported him to HR sef but I just chilled.

Anyways I am going back to work let me earn the bandwidth time I have spent.

Back and already........

2008-10-03T11:17:00.000+01:00

I am back. The trip to the airport was better than I thought it would be. I was dreading that trip literally. I love traveling but if I could just sleep and wake up in my destination without all the airport stress I would be thrilled. A little magic anyone?

My sister and cousin both followed me, which lessened the hassles considerably not one of them complained about how heavy my luggage was. They were very magnanimous, I know if I were in their shoes I would grumble all the way down.

My sister is one hell of a babe! She annoys me the way only younger sisters can sometimes drive one crazy but then I still wouldn't trade her for anything. I remember the start of my vacation, we had to go move her things from Kent to London. I was pissed throughout the whole process. Stress I hate. She didn't once complain about my attitude. I really wish I could be more patient like her.

On the day of my departure she took me on a mini sightseeing. I was thrilled and surprised because most of our arguments stem from the fact that I can wonder around for hours as long as I am window shopping or taking pictures, she doesn't like doing any of these. So it was really fun, for her to do that. She even indulged me in taking pictures of me whenever I asked. I even asked her if she was doing it because she will soon be rid of me and get back to her normal routine.

I wish I could put up a picture of the way she was dressed for the airport journey (She will skin me if I do) I had a good laugh along with my cousin! She was dressed like an ECOMOG soldier. She wore this crazy combat trousers and black Uggh boots, black clingy top and a rain proof hooded fur jacket!

My security screening at the airport is story for next time. Just a quick post to get back to real
life.

This post is for my sister who made my holiday what it was.

She didn't even get mad when I monopolized her computer when she finally gets an unsecured network to tap from. My cousin finally came to fix that problem sha.

I will upload some of the pictures when they have been properly edited.

Ciao!

I wrote this post yesterday but the internet at home was messing up so I saved it for later. Then I got to work and the internet wasn’t working as well. I simply packed up and I am now at one of my project sites where we are deploying VSAT, LAN etc. I told my boss I wanted to check on the workers.

Speaking of which he said I still had to explain why I didn’t resume when I was supposed to, that my ‘flu’ is not a valid reason and that I shouldn’t think because I bought him a gift I would go off easy. I knew he would say that.

I showed up for work today because I know they are not expecting me. They are sharpening their knives so they can all attack me on Monday so to lessen the jibes I came. My colleagues were all like what was I doing at work on a Friday that I should just have resumed on Monday, I smiled they are not the ones to face the bosses. Those bosses are not at work today sha. Still enjoying all the sallah break and independence hols I presume. I am a bit pissed though.

Its almost lunch time I want to eat pounded yam I have missed that meal! Something went wrong at the top had to edit.

Have a nice weekend all.

What a day!

2008-09-25T22:58:00.000+01:00

Oh have I missed blogging or what? Tried to blog with my fone but T-mobile was hassling me. It keeps saying it can't find a secure connection to the page and I couldn't leave comments either! The internet at home is not fixed my cousin can't remember the password?! Tapping into someone's network via my sister's laptop, you should see us carrying the thing all over the house trying to tap into an unsecured network. Right now its balanced precariously on an arm rest. I will need a massage at the end of this post. So great is the kink working its way up my neck and shoulders.

So I am still in London supposed to resume at work today but I have extended my self-imposed holiday. Had to do a mail saying I had flu, hope that ruse works; the extent I go in pursuit of my self love. I am absolutely in love with myself! Right now I am having an affair with myself.

I have finished spending all my money but I really don't care at the moment. I will go and drink garri at home. I can't resist the lure of shopping, why am I here anyway? Bought so many things I just wanted to loose myself in Oxford street. It just reconfirmed what I have always known I can't live in this country I will probably be deported for over-spending and having a bad credit record.

My sister hates shopping with me as I can spend the whole day just looking at clothes and she would rather watch tv or surf the net. I am a woman and I inherited my father's affinity for shopping thats a bad combo.

Today was quite adventurous, back on oxford street, I met this man who should be at least 50 if he is a day, he said he had seen me around Peckam, I do not stay in Peckam and my experience of the place does not exceed 45min at the most shopping for food is not my fort. So this white man continued in his lame attempt to be friendly, he finally asked for my number I told him no he then said it was a shame as I am very pretty. Don't know what the shame is still. This happened at Debenhams.

On my way to Selfridges to go and look some more I saw this cop who was strolling by he kept glancing back at me and I wondered what he might say to me if he walks back to meet me. He was very good-looking I was almost tempted to go ask him out.

After that I made my way to Trafalgar Square. I braced myself and climbed the granite statues like all the oyinbo teens I saw took plenty pictures and made my way down. Then I met an Egyptian who thought I was a model and offered to take pictures of me by the London Eye and anywhere else I want. Its not like its my first time in London but I wanted to indulge the man so I started traipsing aroud Westminister with him. He was actually fun I walked from Tralfalgar Square to Waterloo where we parted. That I won't do again in a while.

So I got nice pictures, I got on a bus only to discover the credit on my Oyster card had finished. I jejely got down from the bus before the driver digraces at me. I called my sister several times but she was at a conference and she didn't pick up. I wasn't too worried sha I knew she would come rescue me if she doesn't find me at home. I walk into the Waterloo underground station to top up only to discover I had barely up to a pound in coins on me. I forgot I was supposed to withdraw money from my sister's debit card. What I did? I saw a black man in uniform and asked for assistance he obliged me all the while laughing at my predicament. He was very cute and he is Nigerian. He bailed me out and completed the 1.50 pound I needed to get home. ( Can't find the pound sign on this computer its supposed to be on the 3 numeral but another sign keeps coming out).

I am still debating going back to that station to see him and tell him I usually don't leave home without money, it just happened.

Altogether an eventful day and I must say I quite enjoyed myself. Hope I haven't bored anyone. Which reminds me I have to do a post on my random musings soon. But this uneasy access to the internet is a silly hindrance. I asked my sister to supply the title to this blog and she did. Finally told her about my blog as she wanted to know why I always laugh everytime I use my phone to read people's post. Going to bed now sha don't think I will be going anywhere tomorrow, today was quite enough. But on the other hand behaving like a tourist is quite fascinating. So I may go inside the Parliament tomorrow or sleep the day off.

Finally!!!

2008-09-12T10:35:00.000+01:00

Shhhhhhh! Doing this at work again. I will get caught soon I just know it. My boss asked me one day if I blogged I vehemently denied and pretended I had no idea what a blog was. (Imagine na 21st century we dey o). I have started playing truant at work I am extending my holiday by a week! After the ten days I asked for was reduced I told the HR to please reconsider as I had purchased my ticket already, she said "Sorry I can't reconsider". I was so angry when I received that mail ( If I was a bull I would have charged into anything) I just decided there and then to be a bad employee.

I am going to the Queen's country tomorrow Yay! (Doing a very happy dance number in my head). Work and Ex thoughts will be far away for the next 3 weeks. (Another happy dance). Hope it won't be that cold sha. I just can't stand it. This is not really a post just a stop gap before I leave besides I must clear my table before I leave to avoid further harassment from my Ogas.

I am looking for a new job. I will start searching actively when I return. Gotta go.

PS: Read Omotee's post for girls only.

That post is just for the sistas o!

Wavering

2008-09-10T16:04:00.000+01:00

At work, my boss will skin me if he catches me. Finally my holiday has been approved but was subsequently reduced by 2 days because I skipped work on friday without a written permission after obtaining a verbal one. Anyways I don't care again.

I haven't posted since 'cos there was nothing to post except maybe the anger i feel towards my HR for all the stress she is putting me through.

My mum is around and I just don't want to hear any man talk at the moment! she is like my best friend but she is still my mother.

Those guys are still calling but I have nothing to offer any one at the moment. My ex left me a fb message recently how silly is that, maybe I should block him......I mean if he has anything to say to me he has my number. I didn't reply sha! I am closing soon anyways and I just want to sleep I am being overworked o!

Went for an uncle's wedding recently and it was nice seeing the entire family but the inevitable prayers and jokes of my wedding being next was a bit much.

Which brings me to the question why is everyone so obsessed about weddings? It is driving me nuts as I will soon start avoiding my friends who are either getting married or married already. Then again why do they all keep asking me to be on their train? What the heck is that? Ishh, can't I be a member of the aso-ebi group.

Which reminds me of the time I was single for quite sometime and they all thought I was a lesbian or I had a problem. That's gist for another day. Thank God I can close now officially as it is Ramadan period we can get to close 30min earlier than usual.

So So

2008-08-28T20:26:00.000+01:00

Here I am again. Life as a single girl is fast coming back and I can't beleive the ease with which I am rolling in it. The Conference must be overwhelming me. Met a few guys I was just sending out my numbers, anything to make me feel better.

I met a guy whom I attended his Bachelor's eve party and he wanted my number too! Guys sha! Anyways it was fun as I enjoyed reminding him where he knew me from. That was really good.

Met another guy who has a girlfriend but is massively attracted to me! He literally stopped in his tracks when he sighted me, I was on high. That is really good for my physche right now. He even asked me if I minded him having a girlfriend. Imagine? I know that won't be happening anytime!

Its all fun though. I must say I miss my ex but its all for the best it wasn't working so.......

Saw lots of friends as well it was really more like a big reunion than a Conference I am so glad I attended.

Speaking of which my boss hasn't said anything about my vacation. But then I won't feel any guilt if I take off as they haven't paid me in 2months!

I had a severe case of food poisoning yesterday I was so scared. Thought I would have to go back to the hospital the last one almost killed me! I spent weeks int the hospital, I am just still recovering, still don't have my whole body weight back and now this?

I have to be more careful but then I aways feel the need for snacks what's a girl to do?

Gotta go anyways looks like I ran out of stories but I have to say single ins't a bad place to be for the moment!