Hey all

How's the week going? Hope the weekend went well.

Mine was activity packed. Had to attend a conference Thursday-Saturday. Lots of talk, talk, and more talk. It went well though. Made new friends and strengthened some old ones.

Sunday was my niece birthday. She turned 8 (can't believe she's 8 already). Its seems like yesterday when i held her in my arms and now she's beginning to dab my lipsticks on and play dress-up with my clothes.

Her name is Rukky (full name is Oghenerukeme-means God has given me or God's gift to me).

There's some form of strange flu going round in Lagos. Almost everybody i know has either catarrh or cough or both. Almost escaped it but my chest feels kinda funny.  My siblings are not left out too, Rukky's mum had a mild fever so she was banned from the kitchen-related activities. 

We had a small get-together for the birthday gal and cos i'm the most fit person around i was the cook, photographer, DJ and MC. Fortunately, it was just about 10 kids that came visiting so it wasn't stressful.

The celebrant-Rukky

Ms Busy Bee

I am really thrilled another Friday is here again, now i'm confirming some form of trend. Sincerely hope "The Lazy Me" is not becoming a more dorminant personality. I'm particularly looking forward to this weekend cos i intend to stay on the bed till about 9:30am, i only get that luxury once in a while.

I've been meaning to drop a post here for a while but i always turn up with the excuse that i am very busy. To some friends i may sound like a broken record, i even sound like a broken record to myself.
Why didn't you call me? I've been busy
Why didn't you do this? I've been busy
Have you eaten? No, I've been busy
You've had that book for ages when will you finish reading it? I've been busy.
We've not see you in ages!  So sorry I've been busy
Haba! I'm not the only adult working, tis just poor time planning, plain and simple.
So making a firm resolution before going to bed to write out daily To-do list for the next day(and stick to it).
Today i resolve to change. Starting from now. Thank you, thank you very much, enough of the applause.


Lots of people have mentioned that when you're about to get married you'll get very interesting admirers (serious toasters). I'm always quick to say "Abeg! na today men dey toast! I know what i want and no amount of temptation can influence me".
Darling dearest is one of the best things in my life, he's my best friend and we talk about almost everything. My stance hasn't changed but i know that men get very attracted to happy and contented ladies and sometimes they want to tap from that happiness bug.

Last weekend, a close married friend called and she kept asking " What's the gist? Give me names of all the exciting men calling now" Not you too, i thought.
I've met so many willing attractive men in the past. Usually i'm sloooow  in developing emotional feelings. That doesn't mean i'm not passionate, just that over the years I've learnt to keep my overactive imagination and hormones in check.

So couple of days back, i got my first temptation. He's single, tall, dark and handsome....hehehehe. Una wan hear story abi?
We had a long conversation and i discovered we had some things in common. It was nice just chatting and he asked for a date; dinner or perhaps a drink. I had to immediately let him know i'm engaged and won't want him to misunderstand my friendly attitude.
Thought that was going through my mind was will i willingly permit darling dearest to go on a date with a very attractive friend in the name of friendship. If they're old friends, no problem. If its a work date, no problem. But if it can't be defined then best to be cautious.

In situations like this, is it best to 'gist  about other toasters' to one's partner?
Personally i feel too much emphasis shouldn't be placed on other toasters because your partner may either get jealous and a little insecure. But on the flip side, talking about it may nip the bud at any treacherous feelings.

Why does female/male seem more appealing when they're taken?


I was just wondering if there are people who still think in their mother's tongues. I was thinking yesterday when i realized that i was thinking in English. Some years ago i used to think in 'pidgin'. Wonder what language will be next, maybe French! So tell me, in what language do you think?

TGIF

Hey all

Its Friday again! Yay!!!
 Lately i get particularly excited when its approaching the weekend.

Maybe its the stress of work and my body's needs a vacation.

Maybe its my body silently craving for a change. 

Maybe its just the fact that i can decide to stay indoors and not feel guilty.

Maybe i'm a little lazy....

Usually i read about 4 books simultaneously.

Number 1 book is what i call my Spiritual Fiesta. Aside from my bible, i'm currently reading "The Purpose Driven Life" (the book on the right hand side of this page). Its a must-read for any body that believes in God. May share some stuff on the book when i'm done.

My number 2 book is always in the toilet. This i call Loo Aider. It used to be fashion or gossip magazine but presently its a book on 1000 jokes. Sometimes it makes me stay in the toilet longer than planned and then have to rush so i don't get late to work.

Number 3 book is usually under my pillow, i call this my Midnight Dose. Years ago, i was a die-hard novel fan; i can stay up all night reading (not school book then o!). This can range from romance, crime, biographies and sci-fiction. The last couple of years i enjoyed some books written by Nigerian writers; Chimamanda Adichie, Myne Whitman, Sefi Atta and Jude Dibia just to mention a few. Lately its romance novels again, Yes oooo, i do that too! A girl can occasionally indulge nau. Older now and  can barely stay up couple of hours before drifting off to dreamland. Maybe Atilola's  book will be my next midnight tonic. 

Now the gist is about my number 4 book; the book presently in my handbag, i call this my On-the-go Fix. The title is "The Art of Living Totally". When i flipped through the first few pages i was tempted to assume it's a waste of my time. But delving further revealed some expected basic truths (that i don't completely agree with).

The book suggests that there are some "Symptoms of Health"; which are:

• Timely and sound sleep (at least 8 hours). according to the book, untimely sleeping such as siesta is unhealthy and a bad habit. The need for siesta is always due to excessive eating, badly digested book or both. (Tough one! I'm addicted to siestas on Sundays).

• A healthy appetite. Feeling the pangs of hunger on a full stomach is unhealthy; to get rid of false hunger, drink water on feeling it. A healthy breakfast should favour elimination e.g fruits. A healthy lunch should favour digestion. There should naturally be only one major meal a day, savoury and varied. (One meal ke! Usually don't joke with my 3 square meal o.) A healthy dinner should favour assimilation, which really means there is no such thing as a healthy dinner. Nature would require that nothing should be taken before retiring ,or at most fluids( Haba! i will dream of food).The body takes about 3-6hours for digestion, more hours for assimilation before elimination. If a whole day passes without elimination, look into it at once (that means i'm abnormal  ke*covers face*)

• Fitness such as brisk long-distance walking, jogging, cycling and swimming. Panting is a sign of unfitness. Fitness is a result of exercising the vascular and respiratory system rather than the muscles. Fitness should not be confused with strength or agility.

• Healthy skin is clean, moist, odourless and able to heal wounds fast.

• Healthy elimination of solid waste which should be consistent and odourless. (So smelly shit is abnormal?)

• Regular and easy urination, which should be almost colourless and odourless.

• Resistance to infection. A healthy body destroys germs of all types long before they get a chance to cause trouble.

After writing this post and making firm resolutions (firm small) to quit eating between meals my colleagues are trying to tempt me to eat corn. GET BEHIND ME........!!!!!!!

PS: I like my new colour purple, it looks regal right?

I Got Tagged

OMG, I got tagged and forgot to post this. Thanks so much Okeoghene. I'm soooooo sorry this is late. But better late than never abi?

Post Rules

I 'm sure everybody knows the rules already, so skip!

11 Random Things

• I love to read Karen Kingsbury's books. I feel like i'm part of the story and characters are my imaginary next door neighbors. 

• I love music.

• I was a good dancer, wonder where all that talent completely disappeared to.

• Past horror movie lover. Some of the scenes are so foolish that my sis and i would laugh long and hard at the stupidity of it all. The addiction stopped after watching  "Exorcism of Emily Rose"-based on a true life story. For about 2 weeks after the movie, my eyes would snap open at exactly 3am *that was spooky*. Rarely watch horror flicks these days but occasionally can't resist "1000 Ways to Die" .

• I like suya ( BBQ beef). I've been told numerous times that its unhealthy but i still indulge.

• I come from a family of 7.

• I'm about 5ft 9 inches tall.

• I'm Deltan.

• I love children; babies, toddlers, pre-teens. Don't plan to have more than 3 though.

• I love God.

• At last....... I feel emotionally drained after reading newspapers these days.

 Okeoghene's Q:

What is your middle name? Atary.



Favorite food? Presently, Rice.... rice....rice. It can be jollof rice, fried rice, white rice, coconut rice, Chinese fried rice, rice pudding, rice sha. I can eat rice so many times and won't get tired.



Favorite board game? Snake and Ladder. Tempted to say Chess but that tense me up.Snake and ladder is soooo relaxing, not much thinking involved (mostly a game of luck)



Favorite Nigerian musician?  Lemar, he's British-Nigerian, that's Nigerian now (was a little obsessed with his voice 5 years ago, bought all his cds).



Education or fame? Education please. In love with my privacy.



What grinds your gear? People who eat noisily with their mouth open.

Books or Movies? Books. I like to choose my own characters. Sometimes these directors never get it right.



Favorite movie?  Sound of Music. Old skool me.


Earth, Wind, Water and Fire? What describes you? Earth. I'm relatively cool headed.  Very practical and dependable. Don't like drama.


Legacy? What would you like to be remembered for? I want to leave behind a legacy of  love. I want to be remembered for loving and caring for people.



If you are not you, who would you like to be? Would be me over and over again. I love ME.



Don't intend to subject anybody to any late tags so will just skip this part

Purpose Driven Life

Reading this caption i'm sure you'll assume this is going to be a post on talk, talk, talk....... and more talk on how we all can make the best of our short trip here on earth.

Sorry to disappoint you a little. Actually used that title cos i'm presently taking a 40-day journey  trying to discover my purpose here on earth. May give a short review at the end of my journey though.

My doctrine makes me believe God made us to know him, love him, serve him, in this world and to be happy with him forever in the next. Y'all may be lucky to have discovered  your purpose on earth, i envy you if you have. I've started this kinda journey a couple of times in the past. First time was when i turned 21. Got this book from my elder sis *my family is a little obsessed with reading*. The title of the book is "A Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. Its focus is on God's plan for your life. Its not like the usual self help book (some of those those can be very good too) that suggests that people should look within at their own desires and dreams. Its emphasis is in understanding God's purpose in creating us.  My second journey with this book was about some years ago. Unfortunately, i'll start the book with high hopes planning to be a better person but i don't get to complete it. Procrastination comes knocking, i skip a couple of days and then it gets difficult to complete it. Oftentimes, i get distracted with one thing or the other. I'm perfect at\making valid excuses but no excuse this time will stop me.

 I guess most of y'all may have read this book in the past, its a great bestselling book *definitely worth reading*. Not the conventional book that you'll be done with in a couple of hours or few days with little message left with you. Its a book that  seems like  a journey of discovery.

It is paradoxical that we all want to make heaven and nobody want to consider death. Earth is not our final destination, our final abode is with our creator and presently planning to live each day as if it'll be my very last. I'll advice all of us to do same, cause we don't know the exact time when it'll come calling (now that
sounds like a small sermon).

Enough of serious serious talk.

I'm always scared of the internet and revealing myself here but will share a couple of my pictures today. Just for fun. Enjoy.....

A Black Weekend

My weekend was horrible, guess it was same for over a million Nigerians.
My heart bleeds at the tremendous loss.

It started on Friday afternoon with a broadcast on my phone about multiple accidents on Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

Saturday at 7:10pm, it was a plane crash. A cargo airplane leaving Lagos for Accra. The crew of four people on board all survived the accident but unfortunately the aircraft collided with a minivan and resulting in death of 10 people./

As if that was not enough on Sunday morning we heard of yet another painful incident. The Islamic sect Boko Haram again struck. This time it was a Harvest church at Yelwa Borno  State,  about 15 lives were lost. Reports said that the bomber drove a Honda car into the church, sandwiched between Deeper Life Bible Church and Living Faith Church. The bomber detonated the bomb killing himself and the guards at the church

The one  that affected me most was the Dana flight 9J-992 that crashed at about 3:43pm in Lagos (Iju-Agbado area) yesterday, 153 passengers + cabin crew members died. I refused to look at any pictures yesterday and didn't see any sense in rebroadcasting images. Today, looking at some of the pictures made me weep.
Imagine those caught in the plane screaming and watching their body burn makes me weak.
Imagine the state of confusion and total helplessness.
Imagine the little ones asking their momma " Are we gonna die?" That tears me apart.
Imagine the terror going through the pilot's mind knowing that the plane will crash.
Imagine the fear not sure what will be next, if they'll be rescued or drift to the great beyond.

Dana Air Crash 03/06/12

The future seems bleak but we have to keep moving on.
You travel by road, a tanker can catch fire.
You attempt to travel by air, plane crashes.
You sit in your house, plane can come crash on your roof.
You go to church, you're afraid Boko Haram will attack.
You run to your village, get ready to bear the risk of been kidnapped.
Please God help us.


I have been thinking these couple of days about stuff.  My life....... My country..... My friends............. My family.............. My God.

What is it God trying to tell us in all of this?

Back at last

Hey all
It definitely feels good to be back. Had major issues with my starcomms modem and the wi-fi at work just decided to go off as well. Miss reading all ya blogs.

Guess i have to catch up on all the interesting gist ASAP.

Had a nasty experience this morning just outside my office. Saw this young female trying to cross the road (its actually a very busy one), unfortunately there was a careless  driver obviously in a hurry. It happened so fast i actually don't know who to place the blame on but the driver will definitely get the bulk of this.He practically shoved the lady off the road, as if that wasn't pathetic enough, he didn't stop to check if anyone got hurt. She tripped and fell down, in his bid to make a quick exit the lady got stuck to bottom of the car. The next scene was horrific...... The driver sped off with the lady lying almost lifeless attached to the bottom of the car. The driver was oblivious of what was happening and dragged the lady 5 blocks away before he realized something was wrong. She was eventually rushed to the hospital. I was in shock most part of the morning, angry at the carelessness and insensitivity of the driver. I pray she survives it.