I’m still blogging from the Motherland and I’ve got things to say. So much has happened since my last post. I wish I was carrying a video recorder around, so that I could have a video diary of my experiences daily. It would be interesting to watch it over and over again.
I've been stocking up and reading lots of books by contemporary Nigerian writers. I went into a bookshop the other day and I was really pleased to see a huge shelf dedicated solely to Nigerian authors, mostly newly published ones. I bought seven books and I've already read three books and I'm on the fourth one. Seems like I can't get enough of them. And it's good because they really do inspire me. I've got my eye on a few more and I hope I can get them before I leave. Speaking of writing, I've come to respect people who do creative work in Nigeria. I appreciate that it is not easy for any profession, but it is especially hard for anyone to stick to a career in Writing, Music or Arts. In the pressure to survive by all means, the first thing that goes out of the window is creativity and desire to follow your passion. What if that passion does not guarantee a regular income like other jobs? Best thing is to bury that talent and look for something else to do. So great kudos to those people who are sticking with their passion, irrespective of the economic situation of the country.
Nigerian Police
Last week, I was thinking: it's been great to be in Nigeria for seven weeks without encountering police trouble. Seems like I spoke too soon, because the very next day, we got stopped by the rogues wearing police uniform. My aunt and I had gone out with the driver and we were returning home when we were stopped by four policemen at a check point. I asked them what was wrong and they said we had passed a one-way street. A one-way street! Several other cars were going before us and after us, but they didn’t disturb those ones, they decided to disturb us. They asked us to park and they started asking us questions: Did we not know this was a one-way street? No we didn’t. Did we not see the sign? Which sign? Where? Are we aware of the punishment for breaking traffic laws in Lagos State? No we are not.
With great glee, one of them explained to us: “For breaking the law, we will take you to the police station where we will give you a fine of 25,000 naira, we will impound the car, and we will require the driver to take a mental health test. He will have to bring the test results to us and confirm that he is fine before we release him. After that, we will wait six months, and you would have to pay another 15,000 naira before the car will be released to us.”
I could not believe what I was hearing. My aunt was trying to explain that we really did not know the street was now a one-way, when one of the policemen pulled open the passenger side of the car and jumped in. Then he said he would pardon our offence and let us go free if we give him and his colleagues 15,000 naira!! In essence he was saying, give us a 15,000 bribe here and now and we’ll let you go, or follow us to the station and face the penalty. Well I wasn’t about to give anybody 15,000 naira for nothing. My aunt started begging the policemen while I sat in the car fuming. We were in this deadlock for almost thirty minutes, the policemen issuing threats and my aunt trying to plead with them. ? Eventually my aunt had to pay them off with a third of the amount they asked for, so that they could release us to go on our way. I was so angry and sad. What kind of society do we live in when people who are supposed to be the ones upholding the law are the thieves and extortionists, harassing decent citizens? What will it take for the Nigerian police force to do their job and stop abusing their powers? Is this how corrupt our society is? God help us.
Mum’s Progress
On to other stuff. My mum is back home now, she came back early last week. I’m really glad with the progress she has made. I went with her for her medical check-up when she arrived and her doctor said she is recovering well. She just needs to practice some gentle exercises and have lots of rest and soon, she’ll be as good as new. I’m still keeping an eye on her though, so that she doesn’t stress herself unnecessarily. It is a tough environment to survive in.
The Experience
I attended the Experience concert yesterday and it was a real experience. My friends and I decided to get there early so as to get a good space, but by the time we got there, it was so crowded! It was a struggle getting into the main arena itself and then it was a scramble to get chairs to sit on. But it was all worth it in the end. We enjoyed the music and the acts that came to perform all night. I particularly loved Don Moen, Cece Winans, Tye Tribett, Mike Aremu and Bishop TD Jakes. There were three other acts I don’t remember, probably because I had to sit down at some point to catch my breath! I met a few old friends there, some I could only wave to amongst the crowd, and some I could actually get close to, close enough to chat briefly. We were there from 7pm till about 5am. I had fun although I was really grateful when I got to my bed this morning!
Let me round up my ramblings at this point. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Hope to be able to blog again soon!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Aye Ole - Infinity
I've been missing for a while, due to many reasons. My internet access at home is not so reliable, and I'm so reluctant to go and update my blogs in the dodgy internet cafes around here. The last time I went into one, I experienced such a horrible nightmare, but that is another story for another day.
Anyway I recently bought the Infinity Olori Oko CD cos I had been hearing about their music when I was in London and I liked what I heard. I've enjoyed listening to it, I think their songs are thought-provoking, interesting, uplifting and encouraging. By far the best track on it is "Olori Oko", but I also love "Aye Ole" and "Only Praise". Anyway if you can, go get the album. Here is a video of their fourth track, Aye Ole:
Anyway I recently bought the Infinity Olori Oko CD cos I had been hearing about their music when I was in London and I liked what I heard. I've enjoyed listening to it, I think their songs are thought-provoking, interesting, uplifting and encouraging. By far the best track on it is "Olori Oko", but I also love "Aye Ole" and "Only Praise". Anyway if you can, go get the album. Here is a video of their fourth track, Aye Ole:
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Funeral and Churches
I finally get to blog again, thank God. I have been very busy in the last few weeks; I’ve hardly had the chance to pause for a moment to gather my thoughts and blog about stuff. Hubby was around for a bit, and I was so happy to see him! I had missed him badly. The first thing he said when I went to pick him up at the airport was: “You’ve now got a tan!” which I though was quite amusing. Apparently I have acquired a tan while sitting in the heavy Lagos traffic. I had lots of fun while he was around and it was a bit strange because both of us had never been in Nigeria together until now. He’s gone back now, but I still have things to do so I’m still in Nigeria.
Then my grandma’s funeral was last week. I went to Ibadan where all the events were taking place. I spent the whole week running around getting things done at the last minute. Thank God in the end, everything went well. We all got a bit emotional during the church service and when we were at the cemetery. And it is hard to think that someone who was alive two months ago, is now gone. But life must go on. It makes me stop to think though. What is the real meaning of this life? If you consult the writer of Ecclesiastes, mostly he says that everything is meaningless. That is, without God, everything is meaningless and fleeting. That is something to reflect on.
I'm back in Lagos now and I’m still absorbing some of the funny things I see in Nigeria on a daily basis. Something that has struck me since I’ve been around is the number of churches there are. On almost every street, there is a church, sometimes even two or three! Churches and fellowships have sprung up in the most unlikely places, including old warehouses, a disused sports field, a Sweet Sensation restaurant, several uncompleted buildings, and the house next door. Then, there are also countless billboards, posters and flyers on the roads advertising this or that prayer meeting, healing service, special programme, revival, seminar, etc. I don’t know what to make of it. Is it that Nigerians are now far more religious than before? If that is true, then why does it not reflect in our mentality, character and attitudes? Or perhaps is it that churches are now big money-making businesses, selling prayers and numbing the minds of people with lots of motivational speaking? I’ll throw that question open to the public.
Now I personally have no grudges against churches. After all, I’m a Christian too. But I had it up to the neck two weeks ago and had to go and have a word with the church next door. This church is right next door to the house I’m staying, and they are quite annoying. Or perhaps I should say they are VERY annoying. Every single day of the week, at all hours of the day, they have a meeting or an event. And they make so much noise! They go on and on for hours with their annoyingly loud PA system, disturbing the neighbourhood. Imagine how much noise they make when we have to shout to hear ourselves in our own house. Everybody in the street complains about them, but nobody had ever done anything about it. I had joined in the grumbling for some time, but one day it was the last straw. Early in the morning, around 5.00 am one Friday, they started singing and clapping, abruptly disturbing my sleep and waking up the whole neighbourhood. I was soooo angry because I had a headache and it was as if their noise was right inside my head. I couldn’t sleep another wink so I had to listen to their noise until 9.00am. Finally the person bellowing into the microphone shut up and I was finally able to have some peace. The rest of my day was going well until 8pm when they started preparing to have a night vigil! Everybody in the house started complaining and hissing. After an hour I couldn’t bear the noise any longer. I could not imagine going to sleep with that racket right beside my window so I decided to pop down to the church to ask them if they could turn down their microphone.
You would not believe what happened next. I stepped into the church and a man sprang up from his seat. While I was still trying to explain why I was there, he said that I had committed an abomination by wearing trousers in the house of God! I had gone there with the intention of making a polite request but when I heard that statement, I became livid. What? I told him he should not tell me such rubbish, and anyway I hadn’t come to join their service, I just wanted some peace and quiet next door. The guy then said I should go and drink Phensic and fall asleep. I was like “What?!” The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by people. Some were saying that I had no respect for the house of God. Somebody asked me if I didn’t know their time table as they had a vigil every month. Another person said that I might end up in an early grave if I was not careful. I talked back to all of them. We stood arguing outside the church for almost 30 minutes because I was not going to take such rubbish talk from anybody- usher or not. Eventually one of the elders came out to find out the cause of the disturbance and I told him all what had happened and he agreed to turn the volume of their PA system down. I’m not proud of what I did, but I thought it was about time the church knew that their neighbours are not made of wood. They can’t just be making so much noise because they are the “house of God”. Besides aren't Christians supposed to love their neighbours?
Well I have some errands to run, so I've got to go off in a minute. I just want to say many thanks to those nice people that sent me an email, you know who you are. God bless you!
Then my grandma’s funeral was last week. I went to Ibadan where all the events were taking place. I spent the whole week running around getting things done at the last minute. Thank God in the end, everything went well. We all got a bit emotional during the church service and when we were at the cemetery. And it is hard to think that someone who was alive two months ago, is now gone. But life must go on. It makes me stop to think though. What is the real meaning of this life? If you consult the writer of Ecclesiastes, mostly he says that everything is meaningless. That is, without God, everything is meaningless and fleeting. That is something to reflect on.
I'm back in Lagos now and I’m still absorbing some of the funny things I see in Nigeria on a daily basis. Something that has struck me since I’ve been around is the number of churches there are. On almost every street, there is a church, sometimes even two or three! Churches and fellowships have sprung up in the most unlikely places, including old warehouses, a disused sports field, a Sweet Sensation restaurant, several uncompleted buildings, and the house next door. Then, there are also countless billboards, posters and flyers on the roads advertising this or that prayer meeting, healing service, special programme, revival, seminar, etc. I don’t know what to make of it. Is it that Nigerians are now far more religious than before? If that is true, then why does it not reflect in our mentality, character and attitudes? Or perhaps is it that churches are now big money-making businesses, selling prayers and numbing the minds of people with lots of motivational speaking? I’ll throw that question open to the public.
Now I personally have no grudges against churches. After all, I’m a Christian too. But I had it up to the neck two weeks ago and had to go and have a word with the church next door. This church is right next door to the house I’m staying, and they are quite annoying. Or perhaps I should say they are VERY annoying. Every single day of the week, at all hours of the day, they have a meeting or an event. And they make so much noise! They go on and on for hours with their annoyingly loud PA system, disturbing the neighbourhood. Imagine how much noise they make when we have to shout to hear ourselves in our own house. Everybody in the street complains about them, but nobody had ever done anything about it. I had joined in the grumbling for some time, but one day it was the last straw. Early in the morning, around 5.00 am one Friday, they started singing and clapping, abruptly disturbing my sleep and waking up the whole neighbourhood. I was soooo angry because I had a headache and it was as if their noise was right inside my head. I couldn’t sleep another wink so I had to listen to their noise until 9.00am. Finally the person bellowing into the microphone shut up and I was finally able to have some peace. The rest of my day was going well until 8pm when they started preparing to have a night vigil! Everybody in the house started complaining and hissing. After an hour I couldn’t bear the noise any longer. I could not imagine going to sleep with that racket right beside my window so I decided to pop down to the church to ask them if they could turn down their microphone.
You would not believe what happened next. I stepped into the church and a man sprang up from his seat. While I was still trying to explain why I was there, he said that I had committed an abomination by wearing trousers in the house of God! I had gone there with the intention of making a polite request but when I heard that statement, I became livid. What? I told him he should not tell me such rubbish, and anyway I hadn’t come to join their service, I just wanted some peace and quiet next door. The guy then said I should go and drink Phensic and fall asleep. I was like “What?!” The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by people. Some were saying that I had no respect for the house of God. Somebody asked me if I didn’t know their time table as they had a vigil every month. Another person said that I might end up in an early grave if I was not careful. I talked back to all of them. We stood arguing outside the church for almost 30 minutes because I was not going to take such rubbish talk from anybody- usher or not. Eventually one of the elders came out to find out the cause of the disturbance and I told him all what had happened and he agreed to turn the volume of their PA system down. I’m not proud of what I did, but I thought it was about time the church knew that their neighbours are not made of wood. They can’t just be making so much noise because they are the “house of God”. Besides aren't Christians supposed to love their neighbours?
Well I have some errands to run, so I've got to go off in a minute. I just want to say many thanks to those nice people that sent me an email, you know who you are. God bless you!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Update and Adjustments
Many thanks to everyone who left me a comment on my previous post. Sorry I can’t reply to everyone individually! Apologies for the long delay in updating my blog. I have been unable to blog for a while since I got to Nigeria. I had to leave rather quickly, so I didn’t have time to leave an ‘explanatory’ post. I have been in Lagos since the first of October, readjusting to the stressful and hectic pace of life. Internet access where I am at the moment is a bit sketchy, so I have been unable to come online as frequently as I would have liked. Plus I don’t really want to blog from other people’s computers, it just doesn’t feel right.
My trip was quite cool; I had been dreading it due to the horror stories I hear from friends and family who travel to Lagos. Everything was fine, from checking in, departure, to take off, to landing, going through baggage pick up and meeting my family at the airport. That is, until we left the arrival terminal and some guys tried to extort some money from my dad at MMA, over a parking space at 6.30 in the morning! I just shook my head when my dad said “Well that’s your rude welcome back to Nigeria”.
After a day here, I’ve realised that I’m addicted to the internet! I’ve been experiencing withdrawal symptoms from my emails, blogspot, facebook and a host of other websites that I visit regularly. Practically all of my communication with friends is done online, most of my social life is organised online and any information I need to find is googled and found straightaway. Not being able to come online often here is sooo boring. LOL.
I went to an internet café the other day and I nearly cried with frustration. I spent three hours and still did not achieve anything tangible. The connection was sooooo slow, it was unbelieveable. It was as if every page took twenty minutes to load. Since then I’ve been pestering my family to renew their home internet subscription.
I’ve been here for almost three weeks now and I have mixed feelings. Since I’ve been back, I’ve met my in-laws, many of whom I hadn’t met before. I’ve also hooked up with some of my old friends and met a blog pal – Writefreak! That was a lot of fun. We found out that we have so much in common; we were talking for ages for so long that we lost track of time. We’ll definitely meet up again before I leave. I’m missing my hubby though – we haven’t been apart for this long before, although we talk on the phone everyday.
It’s been fun readjusting to Nigeria and all the things it represents. When I met up with Writefreak the other day, I made us go to Tantalisers because I really wanted to eat those snacks that I had missed for so long! I’m sure some people in there thought I was a complete bush girl, getting excited over meatpies, donuts and scotch-eggs, lol. I went with my sister-in-law and her husband to C-Royal to have some nostalgic treats. I’ve also been going to all the newer places I had been hearing of but I hadn’t seen. I went to see a movie with a friend at the Silverbird Galleria, went to Shoprite and some other places on the island. Lots of things in Lagos have changed.
Some things in Nigeria haven’t changed one bit though. When I first arrived, I thought everywhere looked strange and then it all gradually began to feel a bit familiar – the erratic power supply, the appalling state of the roads, news and allegations of financial scandals in government, the mosquitoes, terrible traffic and general lawlessness on Lagos roads, police extorting money from road users, terrible customer service, etc. Yep, some things haven’t changed.
At the moment, I’m helping my dad with my grandma’s burial arrangements, and I’ve offered to write a short tribute to her. In the next few weeks, things will start to come together. Hopefully it will all go very well.
I’m looking forward to hubby’s arrival very soon and meeting some more of my friends, when they have finished forming “busy busy” for me. I hope I’ll be able to blog again soon sha, if I can wade through the protocols to get to the internet café, LOL. Until then, stay blessed!
My trip was quite cool; I had been dreading it due to the horror stories I hear from friends and family who travel to Lagos. Everything was fine, from checking in, departure, to take off, to landing, going through baggage pick up and meeting my family at the airport. That is, until we left the arrival terminal and some guys tried to extort some money from my dad at MMA, over a parking space at 6.30 in the morning! I just shook my head when my dad said “Well that’s your rude welcome back to Nigeria”.
After a day here, I’ve realised that I’m addicted to the internet! I’ve been experiencing withdrawal symptoms from my emails, blogspot, facebook and a host of other websites that I visit regularly. Practically all of my communication with friends is done online, most of my social life is organised online and any information I need to find is googled and found straightaway. Not being able to come online often here is sooo boring. LOL.
I went to an internet café the other day and I nearly cried with frustration. I spent three hours and still did not achieve anything tangible. The connection was sooooo slow, it was unbelieveable. It was as if every page took twenty minutes to load. Since then I’ve been pestering my family to renew their home internet subscription.
I’ve been here for almost three weeks now and I have mixed feelings. Since I’ve been back, I’ve met my in-laws, many of whom I hadn’t met before. I’ve also hooked up with some of my old friends and met a blog pal – Writefreak! That was a lot of fun. We found out that we have so much in common; we were talking for ages for so long that we lost track of time. We’ll definitely meet up again before I leave. I’m missing my hubby though – we haven’t been apart for this long before, although we talk on the phone everyday.
It’s been fun readjusting to Nigeria and all the things it represents. When I met up with Writefreak the other day, I made us go to Tantalisers because I really wanted to eat those snacks that I had missed for so long! I’m sure some people in there thought I was a complete bush girl, getting excited over meatpies, donuts and scotch-eggs, lol. I went with my sister-in-law and her husband to C-Royal to have some nostalgic treats. I’ve also been going to all the newer places I had been hearing of but I hadn’t seen. I went to see a movie with a friend at the Silverbird Galleria, went to Shoprite and some other places on the island. Lots of things in Lagos have changed.
Some things in Nigeria haven’t changed one bit though. When I first arrived, I thought everywhere looked strange and then it all gradually began to feel a bit familiar – the erratic power supply, the appalling state of the roads, news and allegations of financial scandals in government, the mosquitoes, terrible traffic and general lawlessness on Lagos roads, police extorting money from road users, terrible customer service, etc. Yep, some things haven’t changed.
At the moment, I’m helping my dad with my grandma’s burial arrangements, and I’ve offered to write a short tribute to her. In the next few weeks, things will start to come together. Hopefully it will all go very well.
I’m looking forward to hubby’s arrival very soon and meeting some more of my friends, when they have finished forming “busy busy” for me. I hope I’ll be able to blog again soon sha, if I can wade through the protocols to get to the internet café, LOL. Until then, stay blessed!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Emotional Roller Coaster
It's like I've been on an emotional roller coaster in the last few days. I thought last week was full of highs and lows, until this week began! And it's not even over yet. I've already had good and bad news in the space of three days. Oh dear heavenly Father, help me before I drown! OK, enough with the theatrics, FG, get to the point of this blog.
Hubby and I had a nice time at the Christian Blog Awards last Friday. It was an honour to be invited to the event, as it was the first of its kind. We met so many people: the Bishop of London was there, journalists, other Christian bloggers, people from Premier Radio, and so on. Hubby and I sat on a table with a team from a church in Surrey, they were nominated for the Best Church website award, and it was really nice to chat with them throughout the ceremony. We had a champagne reception and a four-course dinner which was very nice. After the meal, it was time for the awards to be presented. Winners got a trophy and a chance to give a small speech. I was quite nervous when the list of nominees were being called out. I didn't win in my category, but I was the runner-up! I got a certificate with my name on it, which I am proudly looking at now. Here's a list of the awards and the winners:
Best Creative Christian Blog or Website - Dave Walker at http://www.cartoonchurch.com/
Most Inspiring Leadership Blog - Colin Adams with http://www.unashamedworkman.wordpress.org/
Best Christian Newcomer blog - Dr. Krish Kandiah http://krishk.wordpress.com/
Best Young Christian Blog (under 25) - Emily Woods with http://www.unfurlingflower.blogspot.com/
Best Church Website - King’s Church, Manchester http://www.makingjesusfamous.org.uk/
The Most Original Worship Blog - Worship Central- http://www.worshipcentral.org/
Best Provision for Youth Website - Soul Survivor http://www.soulsurvivor.com/
Best Christian News and Reviews Site - http://www.christiantoday.com/
Best Christian Social Action Website - http://www.stopthetraffik.org/
Most Successful Evangelistic Blog - http://www.rejesus.co.uk/
People’s Choice Award - http://www.mindandsoul.info/
After the awards were given out, the presenters thanked the judges, sponsors and everyone that made the event successful and the evening came to a close with a prayer. We got lovely goody-bags to take home filled with worship CDs, DVDs, chocolates, and lots of other treats. I'm glad I attended and got to mingle with lovely people. Many thanks to the good people at Premier Christian Radio for organising the awards and inviting me.
The rest of my weekend went well, I attended a friend's wedding on Saturday and that was lovely. So I was just feeling much better and my mood had only just lifted when I got some more bad news on Monday night! My grandmother had passed away on Monday afternoon. I can't describe all the emotions I'm dealing with right now. It's a mixture of sadness, disappointment and regrets. Mostly because death is so final, at least on this side of eternity. She was 79, and we were already talking of marking her 80th birthday, but that's not going to happen now. Since Monday, the memories of her have been swirling around my mind. The last time I saw my grandma was in 2005 and I've been wishing I saw her more often, I've been wishing I spoke to her more often and so on. I wish I'd I let her know I love her. I wish I had known she was ill. I wish I had seen her one more time. I pray her soul rest in perfect peace. She was a wonderful woman.
So I've been making plans to attend her funeral. If all goes well, I should be in Nigeria by next week. I haven't been home for a while and I do wish I was travelling under different circumstances, but what can I do? We just have to deal with the things life throws at us sometimes.
Hubby and I had a nice time at the Christian Blog Awards last Friday. It was an honour to be invited to the event, as it was the first of its kind. We met so many people: the Bishop of London was there, journalists, other Christian bloggers, people from Premier Radio, and so on. Hubby and I sat on a table with a team from a church in Surrey, they were nominated for the Best Church website award, and it was really nice to chat with them throughout the ceremony. We had a champagne reception and a four-course dinner which was very nice. After the meal, it was time for the awards to be presented. Winners got a trophy and a chance to give a small speech. I was quite nervous when the list of nominees were being called out. I didn't win in my category, but I was the runner-up! I got a certificate with my name on it, which I am proudly looking at now. Here's a list of the awards and the winners:
Best Creative Christian Blog or Website - Dave Walker at http://www.cartoonchurch.com/
Most Inspiring Leadership Blog - Colin Adams with http://www.unashamedworkman.wordpress.org/
Best Christian Newcomer blog - Dr. Krish Kandiah http://krishk.wordpress.com/
Best Young Christian Blog (under 25) - Emily Woods with http://www.unfurlingflower.blogspot.com/
Best Church Website - King’s Church, Manchester http://www.makingjesusfamous.org.uk/
The Most Original Worship Blog - Worship Central- http://www.worshipcentral.org/
Best Provision for Youth Website - Soul Survivor http://www.soulsurvivor.com/
Best Christian News and Reviews Site - http://www.christiantoday.com/
Best Christian Social Action Website - http://www.stopthetraffik.org/
Most Successful Evangelistic Blog - http://www.rejesus.co.uk/
People’s Choice Award - http://www.mindandsoul.info/
After the awards were given out, the presenters thanked the judges, sponsors and everyone that made the event successful and the evening came to a close with a prayer. We got lovely goody-bags to take home filled with worship CDs, DVDs, chocolates, and lots of other treats. I'm glad I attended and got to mingle with lovely people. Many thanks to the good people at Premier Christian Radio for organising the awards and inviting me.
The rest of my weekend went well, I attended a friend's wedding on Saturday and that was lovely. So I was just feeling much better and my mood had only just lifted when I got some more bad news on Monday night! My grandmother had passed away on Monday afternoon. I can't describe all the emotions I'm dealing with right now. It's a mixture of sadness, disappointment and regrets. Mostly because death is so final, at least on this side of eternity. She was 79, and we were already talking of marking her 80th birthday, but that's not going to happen now. Since Monday, the memories of her have been swirling around my mind. The last time I saw my grandma was in 2005 and I've been wishing I saw her more often, I've been wishing I spoke to her more often and so on. I wish I'd I let her know I love her. I wish I had known she was ill. I wish I had seen her one more time. I pray her soul rest in perfect peace. She was a wonderful woman.
So I've been making plans to attend her funeral. If all goes well, I should be in Nigeria by next week. I haven't been home for a while and I do wish I was travelling under different circumstances, but what can I do? We just have to deal with the things life throws at us sometimes.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Criticism and Nominations
What a week I've had. I had been having a bit of writer's block so my work wasn't flowing very well and I got frustrated. I was feeling guilty because I spent all week in front of my computer and I still didn't have much to show for it. Then I finally finished writing the second chapter of my book and got negative comments! I was quite discouraged, to be honest. I had got good feedback with the first chapter and I was excited because that encouraged me to think I was good at writing. Now what? I was hoping I would continually improve with my work, not get worse. The truth is the criticism is quite valid too, which makes it more crushing. Gosh, dealing with criticism is so hard because I feel the person is critical of me and not just my work. I guess I have to go back to the drawing board and really assess what I'm trying to achieve with my writing. Maybe I should leave it for a while and come back to it when I feel better.
Then I got some bad news that made me sad for a couple of days. When I couldn't bear it any longer, I went on my knees to pray about it, and God gave me His peace. So I feel much better. The issues are still there, but I feel God's grace and assurance that He is with me no matter what happens. I'll be alright, I need to trust God to work everything out in His own time and in His own way.
Thank God I've got something nice to cheer me up at the end of this week. My Journey Down the Aisle blog was shortlisted for one of the categories in the Premier Christian Blog Awards so I'll be attending the dinner and award ceremony tonight! I'm taking hubby with me and I'm really excited about it. Well a lot of the stuff I've been writing on the blog is about him so it's only fair. He's also been patient with me when I'm glued to my laptop and I appreciate that. I would never have imagined though, when I started that blog that an organisation such as Premier Radio would find it interesting at all. I just started writing it for my sisters to read about my relationship and maybe learn a thing or two. I've been surprised with the response I've got from people who've read it. I hope I win the award but even if I don't, I'm still excited to attend the ceremony, wine and dine and meet a lot of inspiring people. I'll take my camera with me, so I'll try to get a couple of photos if I can. Should be fun!
I've also got a friend's wedding to attend tomorrow. Between now and the end of the year, six of my friends are getting married. I love weddings though and since I'm not under pressure anymore, I just enjoy the celebrations. So I'm looking forward to a nice weekend- I really need it. Hope you have a nice weekend too.
Then I got some bad news that made me sad for a couple of days. When I couldn't bear it any longer, I went on my knees to pray about it, and God gave me His peace. So I feel much better. The issues are still there, but I feel God's grace and assurance that He is with me no matter what happens. I'll be alright, I need to trust God to work everything out in His own time and in His own way.
Thank God I've got something nice to cheer me up at the end of this week. My Journey Down the Aisle blog was shortlisted for one of the categories in the Premier Christian Blog Awards so I'll be attending the dinner and award ceremony tonight! I'm taking hubby with me and I'm really excited about it. Well a lot of the stuff I've been writing on the blog is about him so it's only fair. He's also been patient with me when I'm glued to my laptop and I appreciate that. I would never have imagined though, when I started that blog that an organisation such as Premier Radio would find it interesting at all. I just started writing it for my sisters to read about my relationship and maybe learn a thing or two. I've been surprised with the response I've got from people who've read it. I hope I win the award but even if I don't, I'm still excited to attend the ceremony, wine and dine and meet a lot of inspiring people. I'll take my camera with me, so I'll try to get a couple of photos if I can. Should be fun!
I've also got a friend's wedding to attend tomorrow. Between now and the end of the year, six of my friends are getting married. I love weddings though and since I'm not under pressure anymore, I just enjoy the celebrations. So I'm looking forward to a nice weekend- I really need it. Hope you have a nice weekend too.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Another Start
So I begin another year on blogger now. It's almost unreal that time has flown by so quickly.(Thanks everyone for coming to the anniversary party, it was fun!). I hope we will all still be blogging for many years to come. Although I can imagine how much technology will change in the next few years. Perhaps, blogging will not be as popular as it is now. Perhaps some other Internet phenomenon will come around and take its place. Like we've seen with the social networking sites hitting the news almost everyday now. My parents' generation would never have imagined where the world is now, when they were in their 20s. I can't imagine too, where the world would be, by the time my children are in their 20s. Communication and technology will be so vastly different to what's the hype at the moment. My goal is to keep up to date with the technology, so that I won't end up like the 60-year olds of our time who don't know how to send an email or a text message!
Speaking of those social networking sites, has anyone noticed that hi5 is now copying Facebook lately? Before Facebook became so popular, hi5 didn't have a lot of features. Now I just checked my hi5 account after many months of neglect and I noticed that hi5 now has the photo-tagging facility, mutual friends, activity and news feeds, and some other features which were exclusive to Facebook before. I don't blame them sha, somebody only has to come up with a good idea and before long, other people copy it.
I spend so much time on Facebook right now, even I am getting worried. I only have to be away from my laptop for a few hours, and as soon as I log back in, I have to login to Facebook to see what's been happening since I left. Oh no I'm addicted! Somebody please tell me there's a cure for this. I may have to go cold turkey and not sign into Facebook for a few weeks, otherwise at this rate, my life would be more virtual than real. I suspect the interest will fizzle out after a while, fingers crossed.
Hubby and I were invited by a couple of our British friends to come on holiday with them to Prague. We agreed to go, but we told them not to book the flight tickets yet because we would need to apply for visas. They looked shocked! They could not imagine why we would need visas just for a short weekend trip. We had to start explaining to them that even though we are resident in the UK, we are not citizens, so we are still subject to passport and immigration control. They were just saying "So you mean you have to plan holidays in advance?" "So you mean you cannot fly to Prague as a last minute trip?" "You mean you need permission to go to Europe?" and so on. In the end, hubby and I just shook our heads. They just didn't get it. I now realise that they can never understand what it means to be a foreigner living in the UK. It has never happened to them. It got me thinking about so many situations that people try to explain to you, but until you have experienced the situation for yourself, you cannot understand where they are coming from. For example: If someone has just lost a parent, can you understand how they feel, if both your parents are still alive? If someone has just been told they have terminal cancer, can you really put yourself if their shoes? I doubt it. Even when I went with my mum to her physiotherapy session, the exercises they told her to do looked so easy to me, but she was finding them difficult. I had to remind myself that she is not as strong as me, so I shouldn't expect her to be able to do those exercises so easily.
I'm beginning to question my own fitness levels anyway. I went for an hour-long exercise class two days ago and I still feel uncomfortable! Now it's going to take me longer than I thought to get back to the level of fitness I'm dreaming of: where I can run for a bus or train and not get out of breath. Maybe I should keep dreaming... lol
Speaking of those social networking sites, has anyone noticed that hi5 is now copying Facebook lately? Before Facebook became so popular, hi5 didn't have a lot of features. Now I just checked my hi5 account after many months of neglect and I noticed that hi5 now has the photo-tagging facility, mutual friends, activity and news feeds, and some other features which were exclusive to Facebook before. I don't blame them sha, somebody only has to come up with a good idea and before long, other people copy it.
I spend so much time on Facebook right now, even I am getting worried. I only have to be away from my laptop for a few hours, and as soon as I log back in, I have to login to Facebook to see what's been happening since I left. Oh no I'm addicted! Somebody please tell me there's a cure for this. I may have to go cold turkey and not sign into Facebook for a few weeks, otherwise at this rate, my life would be more virtual than real. I suspect the interest will fizzle out after a while, fingers crossed.
Hubby and I were invited by a couple of our British friends to come on holiday with them to Prague. We agreed to go, but we told them not to book the flight tickets yet because we would need to apply for visas. They looked shocked! They could not imagine why we would need visas just for a short weekend trip. We had to start explaining to them that even though we are resident in the UK, we are not citizens, so we are still subject to passport and immigration control. They were just saying "So you mean you have to plan holidays in advance?" "So you mean you cannot fly to Prague as a last minute trip?" "You mean you need permission to go to Europe?" and so on. In the end, hubby and I just shook our heads. They just didn't get it. I now realise that they can never understand what it means to be a foreigner living in the UK. It has never happened to them. It got me thinking about so many situations that people try to explain to you, but until you have experienced the situation for yourself, you cannot understand where they are coming from. For example: If someone has just lost a parent, can you understand how they feel, if both your parents are still alive? If someone has just been told they have terminal cancer, can you really put yourself if their shoes? I doubt it. Even when I went with my mum to her physiotherapy session, the exercises they told her to do looked so easy to me, but she was finding them difficult. I had to remind myself that she is not as strong as me, so I shouldn't expect her to be able to do those exercises so easily.
I'm beginning to question my own fitness levels anyway. I went for an hour-long exercise class two days ago and I still feel uncomfortable! Now it's going to take me longer than I thought to get back to the level of fitness I'm dreaming of: where I can run for a bus or train and not get out of breath. Maybe I should keep dreaming... lol
Friday, September 7, 2007
One Year on Blogger!
Wow, it's been a year since I started blogging! I've had so much fun in the past year writing and reading other people's blogs. It's been like a hobby, a passion, a job and an addiction rolled into one. I didn't start blogging with any particular purpose in mind, but it's been a very interesting experience so far. It's been fun writing things that come to mind, and getting comments from the good folk of Blogville.
Soon I started writing another blog (JDTA) and I've been really encouraged to see that people actually read and enjoy my posts and find them inspiring. I've enjoyed documenting the changes going on in my life, life's ups and downs, random tit-bits of gist and thoughts in my mind. I've enjoyed getting a glimpse into other people's lives, and some of the episodes on blogville have cracked me up, some things have made me sad, some news has made my day or week! I've even gotten so used to my "Favoured Girl" pseudonym, it's almost like my second name now!
Sometimes I've been inspired to write something while I'm away from my computer and I couldn't wait to get home to blog it! Sometimes I've spent so much time online, blogging and reading other people's blogs that I've lost track of time. I would like to thank my wonderful hubby for being patient with me when I haven't made dinner because I've been blogging!
In the past year I've joined a community of "Blogville" residents, made both online and offline friends, laughed and cried over posts I've read, and rediscovered my passion for writing. Now I've even been so inspired, I changed my career path! It just goes to show that even the most insignificant things we enjoy doing can change our lives.
So, to celebrate my one year anniversary on blogspot, you are all invited to my palace for a grand affair tonight. There will be six-course meal, lots of drinks and live music, you don't want to miss it. Here's to many more "favoured" years in Blogville!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Many Thanks, Other Stuff
Thank you everyone for your kind words and prayers about my mum. I'm really grateful and I pray that God will bless you in return! Mum is doing much better now and I'm trusting God to fully heal her. She has already improved a lot since she arrived and I can see the difference. Hubby and I are going to see her tomorrow and we are going to her physiotherapy session together. I'm glad I can go with her, we may even have a small bonding time by going shopping afterwards! That is if she feels strong enough to brave the shops on the high street. I'm excited about that, I must admit.
Well my writing's been going well so far. I'm working on a short story at the moment and it's harder than I thought! I thought you know, it's just a short story of no more than 5000 words - how hard can it be? But I've realised it is hard. I have to tell the whole story and come to a conclusion in a short space so it's not easy at all. So that's my first learning experience about writing a short story. I'm still working on a novel as well so my head is full of different characters and story lines right now, really cool! I've actually started dreaming about the characters too, is that weird?
In the past week I've "met" and spoken to some amazing people who are writers and I've been awed, challenged and inspired. I feel like I've got so much to learn about how to continually improve my writing, how to carry out research, seek out inspiration and overcome writer's block. I formed the "Nigerian Writers" group on Facebook and I've met more writers that way and it's great! I'm developing a new obsession: stalking other Nigerian writers and their work. I'm not just interested in Nigerian writers though, I think I'm just particularly curious about how they express themselves through their writing.
Speaking of Nigeria, I've just heard about the currency reforms the Central Bank is proposing. They are proposing a revaluation of the naira so that the current denominations will be a hundredth of their value ie N1oo.00 will be worth N1.00, the N20 note will be the highest in circulation etc. I've read about the supposed benefits the revaluation will have. It will reduce the amount of notes that people have to carry around, it will make the exchange rates with the Dollar and Pound Sterling more comparable and so on. But I just can't help wondering: Did they not change the Naira notes a few months ago? Why didn't they reform the value then? Why do the new notes need to be phased out again? Are there not more pressing economic problems to sort out first? How about lowering inflation and creating more jobs? Would revaluing the naira make any difference to the average trader in the market or the average salary earner? I very much doubt it, but we'll see.
I know I shouldn't look back and regret things I can't change, but sometimes I can't help wondering why I had spent all that time at uni studying the wrong degrees, and then graduating and doing the wrong career. I feel as if all those years were a waste and I'll never get them back. An acquaintance of mine called me recently, we went to uni together and I knew her through a mutual friend. She was calling to invite me to an event and then she just asked: how is work? I told her I had left my job. She asked to why and what I did now. I told her I was now a writer and she was like wow, just a few days ago, she was thinking of leaving her job to follow her dream of starting her own business but she was afraid. I told her not to give in to her fears anymore because further down the line, she could end up regretting not taking the plunge earlier. She said she would think about it, I really hope she goes for her dream!
This summer has been such a dampener, it's so annoying. Imagine, it's raining in the middle of August! Hubby and I had planned a day out last week, but the weather forecast had predicted rain so we decided to move it to this week. Well it's been raining this week too, so we've had to cancel our outing. Sigh. I guess I shouldn't complain too much, I should think of the green grass and the lovely flower hedges enjoying all the rain. Hope you are all enjoying the summer where you are.
Well my writing's been going well so far. I'm working on a short story at the moment and it's harder than I thought! I thought you know, it's just a short story of no more than 5000 words - how hard can it be? But I've realised it is hard. I have to tell the whole story and come to a conclusion in a short space so it's not easy at all. So that's my first learning experience about writing a short story. I'm still working on a novel as well so my head is full of different characters and story lines right now, really cool! I've actually started dreaming about the characters too, is that weird?
In the past week I've "met" and spoken to some amazing people who are writers and I've been awed, challenged and inspired. I feel like I've got so much to learn about how to continually improve my writing, how to carry out research, seek out inspiration and overcome writer's block. I formed the "Nigerian Writers" group on Facebook and I've met more writers that way and it's great! I'm developing a new obsession: stalking other Nigerian writers and their work. I'm not just interested in Nigerian writers though, I think I'm just particularly curious about how they express themselves through their writing.
Speaking of Nigeria, I've just heard about the currency reforms the Central Bank is proposing. They are proposing a revaluation of the naira so that the current denominations will be a hundredth of their value ie N1oo.00 will be worth N1.00, the N20 note will be the highest in circulation etc. I've read about the supposed benefits the revaluation will have. It will reduce the amount of notes that people have to carry around, it will make the exchange rates with the Dollar and Pound Sterling more comparable and so on. But I just can't help wondering: Did they not change the Naira notes a few months ago? Why didn't they reform the value then? Why do the new notes need to be phased out again? Are there not more pressing economic problems to sort out first? How about lowering inflation and creating more jobs? Would revaluing the naira make any difference to the average trader in the market or the average salary earner? I very much doubt it, but we'll see.
I know I shouldn't look back and regret things I can't change, but sometimes I can't help wondering why I had spent all that time at uni studying the wrong degrees, and then graduating and doing the wrong career. I feel as if all those years were a waste and I'll never get them back. An acquaintance of mine called me recently, we went to uni together and I knew her through a mutual friend. She was calling to invite me to an event and then she just asked: how is work? I told her I had left my job. She asked to why and what I did now. I told her I was now a writer and she was like wow, just a few days ago, she was thinking of leaving her job to follow her dream of starting her own business but she was afraid. I told her not to give in to her fears anymore because further down the line, she could end up regretting not taking the plunge earlier. She said she would think about it, I really hope she goes for her dream!
This summer has been such a dampener, it's so annoying. Imagine, it's raining in the middle of August! Hubby and I had planned a day out last week, but the weather forecast had predicted rain so we decided to move it to this week. Well it's been raining this week too, so we've had to cancel our outing. Sigh. I guess I shouldn't complain too much, I should think of the green grass and the lovely flower hedges enjoying all the rain. Hope you are all enjoying the summer where you are.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Mummy, Health and Writing
I've been away from my blog for a while, I know. It's not because I didn't have things to say, and not because I was stranded on a remote island somewhere. I didn't have the inclination to blog for a reason, or maybe a few. I got a phone call recently that my mum was ill. My aunt didn't want to tell me what was wrong with her, all she said was that my mum had fallen ill and had been taken to hospital. I asked how mum was doing and my aunt said she was responding to treatment. I was quite worried because my mum is never sick. She is one of the most active and hardworking people I know. I can't remember the last time she was ill and had to go to hospital. Initially I thought maybe it was a fever or something, so I told hubby and we prayed for her. I called my dad and he was being very vague as well, he just told me that she had been admitted into hospital and she was getting better. But he wouldn't let me speak to her. So everyday all I could do was pray for mum to get better. It wasn't until a week later before he told me that my mum had had a stroke. A stroke?! I was stunned and I couldn't speak for what seemed like several minutes. The first thing I asked him was: why did you keep it from me all this time? There I was thinking she only had malaria or something! After I had recovered from the shock, I calmed down enough to ask more important questions about her health and how her treatment was going.
Well to cut a long story short, mum came around two weeks ago. I had been so scared that she would be permanently disabled or something, but to God be the glory, she is recovering well and she is able to walk and talk almost as normal as before. I spent the last five days with her and I'm really glad she is improving everyday. She told me what she could remember of when it all started happening and how she was rushed to hospital, how she was unconscious for many days, how she herself didn't believe she was so ill until the doctors told her. She is undergoing physiotherapy now, so she will be around for a while until she fully recovers. I'm just really really really grateful to God for sparing her life and I pray she will be perfectly healed - amen. When she gets better, I'm going to tell her that she must not stress herself again, she needs a long holiday.
That got me thinking about how much we take our health for granted. It is so so vital, something that cannot be bought in the market. I mean, for me that I had never seen my mum being in hospital, it did come as a shock. I had never imagined it could happen. I now thank God for my health everyday, it is a precious gift. I now appreciate life itself a lot more as well. My mum's friend said that after my mum got ill, she started appreciating that life is short, so she has started wearing all her nice clothes that she used to keep for "special occasions"! I thought that was funny but there is an element of truth in there. Why wait for another day to start enjoying your life? Who knows how long we will be around to live our lives anyway? I've made up my mind to live my life to the full everyday, because I don't know if I will be given another day.
I'm glad I could take the time to be with mum last week since don't have to be "in the office", but that does mean though that I've fallen behind my writing target for this week. I was hoping to have written a short story and another chapter of my book by Friday but that didn't happen. I couldn't do any work during the weekend either because I had to attend a wedding all day on Saturday, and I was so tired on Sunday. I'll have to adjust my deadline now but I intend to work extra hard and have something substantial to show for it by the end of the week. I'd better, otherwise my friends could start ribbing me like Brian in the funny clip below.
I hope not! LOL, have a blessed week everyone!
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