Happy 2008 to everyone! Yeah I know it's 10 days late, but who's counting? The important thing is that I'm wishing everyone a very happy, peaceful and fulfilling year. I had a great time over the holiday period and I've been having a great time since the year began. It's only been 10 days but I already have testimonies! God is good for real.
Last Saturday, I went to the Bloggers Party and had a great time. Initially I wasn't sure if I would go, but Writefreak said she and her hubby would be there so I decided to tag along with them. The party was held in a nice bar on the island, but it was quite chilled out as in, everyone could sit down and talk to the next person without shouting. When we got there we met Tayo (playing host), Princesa, Manda, Obi and an anonymous bloke. We introduced ourselves, ordered our drinks and had a nice time chatting and getting to know the people behind the blogs we read online. Soon we were joined by UnNaked, Omohemi Benson, Dscribe and her sister, Babs (of Babs House), Fantasy queen, Omo Alagbede, Tope, Jaycee and two other bloggers that I didn't get to meet. Everyone was really nice and friendly, we all got on very well and the conversation flowed smoothly. We were all rather surprised to discover that UnNaked is actually a very shy person! I was pleased to meet Omohemi and Jaycee because I love their blogs, so it wasn't surprising that I felt as if we were old friends meeting again, not strangers. I got to chat with Dscribe and her friends and we got into a very interesting discussion on relationships. I can't remember the conclusion of the gist now, but it was fun while it lasted. Then we asked her to produce her album quickly so that we can have an album launch and another bloggers get-together! As the winner of 2007's Blogville Idols, she has to do something, don't you think?
I stayed for a few hours, chatted to a few more people and posed for all the flashing cameras. Babs, the nice gentleman agreed to give some of us ladies a lift so I hopped off when he was ready to leave. I was hoping I could meet Overwhelmed but she arrived much later after we had left. Still it was nice meeting everyone there and I hope we can get to do this again sometime. Many thanks to Tayo and Tope for hosting and organising the event. Maybe the London bloggers want to plan a party? I'll be there!
The very next day I attended the engagement ceremony of a high school friend, which was very interesting too. The bride looked absolutely lovely dressed in her aso-oke and everything and you could see that they were both excited to be taking this next step in their relationship. I met some old school pals there and we had fun, dancing in with the bride, taking photographs and all that. People in Nigeria know how to have parties. I was telling my friend that those are the things that keep us from going crazy during the stresses of the week.
I'm making plans to return to the UK now and one of the things I've done is to buy 11 albums of the coolest Nigerian artistes right now. I got Sasha's album and I must say I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would! Big props to her, if she continues this way then we would have an international female rap star on our shores. Then I also got Asa's album recently and I was blown away. She's got such an amazing voice, her songs are deceptively simple but they stay with you long after you've finished listening to them. I'll be watching out for her because I think she's got a wonderful gift that you can't help recognising. I've also bought "Plan B", the new Plantation Boys album and a few others that I've been hearing about but haven't had a chance to buy.
I still need to stock up on a few more books and Nollywood movies however. You know a trip to the motherland is not complete until you bring back indomie noodles and nollywood movies! The problem is, there are so many to choose from, it's not even funny. You just have to do a lottery when picking, some will be good, some will be average and some will be silly. But we still love Nollywood.
I hope I can blog again before I leave but if I can't, do stay blessed until I come back again and have a great weekend.