Honestly

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. I guess I understand why when some ladies get married, they take up their husband's religion.

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 it would be difficult for me to change my religion for someone, very hard indeed. 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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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