Randoms once again

Hmmmm


What a day! One of our major accounts that we lost due to some silly errors just called us back, God really does give second chances to ALL!!! I'm happy it has certainly made me smile today.
I have been wondering all day why people in Lagos are still greeting each other Happy Easter, Se Easter has come and gone? Abi?
For the past few days I have had to take public buses and even in the few hours my experiences have been enough to blog about :D. This morning,for some reason, when the driver who was also doubling as conductor said I hadn't paid the correct fare I cleared my throat and in my best fone I said "I beg your pardon" **covers face in shame** then I remembered where I was…… silly me! The bus I entered this afternoon had a DVD for our viewing pleasure. He was playing a Pasuma type CD though I was traumatised not only by the music but because the driver kept wanting to watch as well. Thankfully a few mins after the thing stopped showing and the driver spent the rest of the journey changing CDS trying to find one that will show… thank God he didn't crash the car.


The whole experience reminded me of a friend of mine who I ran into a few weeks back, we hadn't seen in many years though I had kept up with her via the media. She's an absolutely brilliant woman that friend of mine. She was even my bunkmate at a time. She's got 1^st class degrees(note the plural people) from Havard and the likes…. What I found really funny was the fact that despite all she has at her disposal the "cares" of this world don't seem to interest her. She didn't even drive a car!!! She preferred bussing she says. In this Lagos? I mean no brazillian or Peruvian weave, no Louis Vuitton bag or sandals…. She wasn't even dating anyone!!! She said she didn't seem interested in the regular girl's dream of get married to Leke the bank manager and live happily ever after with your children and pets with loads of domestic servants in Chevron Estate Ikoyi/Lekki or Maitama, Abuja….
It seemed bizarre to me I tell you… she could easily have any job she wanted and earn as much as Goodluck Jonathan sef…..


Na wa.


On the home front things are fine, my son Ayobami too is becoming a Tinsel addict like his mama, the other day he called me "mrs Okoh" and when I exclaimed in shock he said "Amaka Okoh" LOL smallie too dey there. Still refusing to use his potty, he only agrees to pee in the thing when one lifts it right up to his peepee. Naija men sha like to be FULLY served. Mcheeewwwww
I feel like some cake, not good for my weight loss meme I'm told.
I've been quite good by the way, been jogging and doing aerobics. I must win this battle of the bulge :D

i was going to blog about my inlaws today but its my husband's birthday so i decided otherwise....

I wish i could blog down all my thoughts immediately they come to me, it'll save me trying to remember what it was i wanted to blog about LOL

I wonder why we Yoruba people  say 'come and join me' when eating??!!! I've somehow started doing it too even though i don't understand why and don't really want whoever to join me in my meal anyway...

The boys are fine, driving me nuts as usual :D. Now they demand for songs as soon as we get in the car and because they don't know the titles the way they describe it is absolutely ridiculous... Like Ayobami would say 'mummy play "aha" for me and i know he means MI's "beef" or something like that... or he says play "hohohohoho" and it's the no 6 song on MI's CD LOL

In a bid to really shed weight  i am currently sipping some green tea.... i am not enjoying the process but the thought of becoming and remaining a size 18 is even less appealing. My main challenge is reducing portions and cutting out dinner for now.... God help me abeg

My place of work is still full of perplexing moments and i really pray my circumstances change soonest... I went to speak with the Operations manager about getting a seat( i currently share my table with 3 other personnel) and he says really getting a seat for me is a 3 month project.... Ah ah

I'll stop here for now, dont want my green tea getting cold ;)

Travails of a Lagos 'ride hitcher'

This morning i remembered some experiences i had in the days i didnt have a car and had to hitch rides... People dey take person eye see sha.

one lady used to give me a  ride and park at her office while i walk to mine which was just a stonethrow away. I didnt mind at all.

However on this day we got to Falomo bridge or so and suddenly there was rainfall!!!! it was really sudden and in a matter of minutes people were wading through water up to their knees...

we arrived VI and the lady parked at her usual spot. I didnt want to be forward but i wondered how i will get to my office in the downpour na only one umbrella dey and of course she's the priority! she said if she took me to my office less than 2mins away someone else would take her parking spot. so i said maybe i should stay in the car till the rain stops and then lock up and she says 'her keys nko?'

my people i had no choice na so i enter the rain that day oh!!!!!!

I got into my office absolutely drenched..... twas a day i certainly wont forget.

My benefactor no 2 was a neighbour whose girlfriend lived with him. she moved in after myself and another female neighbour started to hitch rides. They were Ibo and we were not. In the days 'before her' conversations were centralised and at least one could breathe in the car. when she started to go with us, you'd say hello and she wont respond. sometimes she would pretend to be fiddling with something like shes distracted and cant respond. then she would speak to the guy in Ibo so of course it was apparent she wasnt interested in us joining the conversation. LOL i found it amusing, the most silly part is at the point of disembarking she would make a real big show of kissing him.... this kain 'pissing on her territory' LMAO people sha


Benefactor 3 was a family friend cum neighbour's nephew. He was nice too and had at the start of his career hitched rides in my brother's car. Some other lady whom i assumed was a friend of his. She was civil to me at first and i stayed out of her way because i preferred my peace and quiet at that time of the day. I think they started shagging somewhere along the line.(his girlfriend was abroad)....
He would say i should move to the back seat so she could drive and he would be in the passenger seat. Wetin concern me? Na make i sha reach office in one piece. One day however as we wanted to pick her up, me i don open door to change seats sef and he said oh no need, make i siddon. The girl eye change...

The guy now stretched his hand to pick something from the back seat and the gal began to shout- leave me, leave my bag LOl ah ah we were both shocked. The guy come say wetin, say na pillow him wan take. So she said oh sorry i thought you wanted to take my bag, the guy come say ehen and so what if i wanted the bag? Kai me don nearly burst from laughing....

Eventually the real owner of the guy arrived from abroad and was kuku as badly behaved as the 'abelejayan'. You go greet am she no go answer etc...

After a while me sef buy motor and that ended my travails..... i think these were my most memorable stories of the lot..

I Wonder if it's still ok to say "happy new year?"

Happy new year anyway *rolls eyes*


It's only been 24 days and aaaaaalllllll sooooorrrrttts have already happened to me.


I better start it off light.


So the other day, Ayobami opened my drawers (chest of drawers if you may). He pulled out my pink g-strings. As colour was spreading all over my face, he said "Mummy what's this?"


For a few seconds i pondered what to answer, seeing i was tongue tied, he offered an answer "oh its for covering your breast?" i didnt know what else to say so i said yes...


Then he says 'ok lemme wear it then' and he proceeded to place it on his head in an attempt to wear it.


I couldnt take it anymore i grabbed my thing and rushed out of the room


I really need to get my own accomodation in that house.....


On a totally unrelated level, men will always be men sha...

Yesterday i went to buy jollof rice at some place- buka type setting.


Some pretty chick was standing nearby with her friend. Some man was eating at a nearby table...

He says to the pretty gal, oh you look nice or something of the sort. Didnt hear too well i was busy remembering my single days when i used to get all those kinda comments *sighs*

Anyway her friend who wasnt being talked to answered something and the pretty girl too sha answered...

Then she's leaving and says "oh bye we are late for work" (or something of the sort)

Then her friend who once again wasnt being talked to edges her to go back, then she struts back and says "or do you have a card?"

Gosh "okurin sha" (translates men!!!)

The man kuku got up, left his meal unattended and strolls to his motor to give her a card.

I wonder how the transaction has since progressed.....

Hmmmm

My girl -Suliat

So i recently(few months back to be specific) hired a house manager :D aka  help.

She's been quite helpful. My issues with her are minimal which is rare in these parts. She's 22 and saving to  "do her freedom" in photography.

Like i said she seems quite ok when i consider the other extremes, however the other day this happened.....

I'll be relaying it in pidgin and Queen's  English.

I asked her  to clean fish make we cook stew, after a few mins by which time i felt fish should have been cleaned and salted i strolled into the kitchen and alas there was my titus fish being BOILED!!!

Boiled people BOILED!!!!

Fish wen i wan put inside stew oh....

She says my mummy taught her to do that!

I just dey look d gal with shock, I asked her if she's even seen me do such? She say she think say we wan fry d fish...
I say even then has she seen me boil then fry?
These girls dey foolish wen dem wan foolish sha!Ah ah

Another day while i was at work she decided to help my son with homework... i no send am oh, but she tries to be proactive.

My cousin said she heard her repeatedly say "curve and dash". On peeping now she saw them writing no 7 so she says Sulia, wetin be "curve and dash" and the silly gal says oh that's what mummy says when doing Ayobami's homework....

Obviously the bugger had heard me while i was helping Ayobami write no 2 and assumed 'curve and dash' is applicable to all nos.... ****eyes roll***

Hazards of living in a face me i face you!!!

So i live in a face me i face you :D

Maybe i should even start a series on all my co-tenants!!!!

We've got 5 tenants in all....

Some co-tenant of mine whom i have a relationship with i.e we greet when passing each other in the yard ;)

She calls me aunty and considering she's married and probably 25ish i feel embarassed as in her calling me aunty probably means she thinks i'm veeeerrrrrryyyy old or something.

Anyway she sometimes brings her food over for storage in my freezer during long power outtages. She's got a small gen that obviously cant power her generator....

So that's about how much we relate- barely!!!


She's got a niece  who's about Ayobami's age, so when the girl comes around they play together. I usually dont mind. Anyway i recently realised that my neigbour and her sister(the mother of the little girl) obviously have no respect for boundaries or just choose to behave badly.

I find that the occasional visits from the little girl usually stretches into hours and hours. I feel it isnt proper to fob your child on people you barely know. To further buttress my point this  was what  happened a few weeks back

My neighbour comes and says " oh Aunty i need to quickly dash off to XYZ please can "little girl" stay here till her mum arrives at 10 or was it 11 am(cant remember well now) . This was probably around 9am ish. anyway i say no problem...

1pm and the girl mama never show. so i'm like wetin be this one now? meanwhile i don dey tire to do babysitter. I didnt even have the aunty or the mother's telephone no sef...

sha at about 2pm ish i send the kids down to ride bicycles and generally just get a breather, then i see little girl's mother about to go out!!! And then she says" ah i knocked on your door and no one answered" i want to go and make my hair. SHE MAKES NO MOVE WHATSOEVER TO TAKE HER CHILD ALONG.

i no talk.....

At about 7pm i was still saddled with this girl, aunty i no see, mama i no see. By this time i was furious and my voice don change... d gal sef don see as i change she begin cry. So i felt bad and calmed down a bit. I started getting the boys ready for bed and just left the girl in the living room, then her mum came and she refused to follow her or something like that and the mama turn back....

Ah ah  see me see something. Of course i charged and asked my maid to take her home only for that one too to come back and say nobody dey there...

I went straight to another neighbour to ask if she had their no just as i was still getting that information, the mother returned and i told her, the little girl was crying and i didnt know what to do....

You'd think they wouldnt show up at my door again abi?

One fine evening the boys were playing downstairs and little girl and her mother were passing by, next thing she leaves the girl and wakas off. By 7pm when i asked the boys to come in, her mama still never return. I ask my maid to stay downstairs with her. Like half an hour after i start thinking mosquitoes will be biting the poor child lemme ask them to come in....

Rain starts threatening to fall and her mother appears.... the girl once again refuses to follow her mother and the woman strolls off. This is past 8pm oh!!!!

I no just talk na look i dey look them. Thankfully she starts to cry again so i march straight down to call her mother oh, luckily she was there!!!

The next time we ran into the little girl, i sent her right back before she will have to spend the night in my house mccchhhheeeewwww

My hubby was there and he felt i shouldnt have sent her back. I did it tactfully mind you. This kain "oh little girl we are going home now, see you later"

He is of the opinion that it was the girl's refusal to go home that caused her mum to leave her with us endlessly. I am of the opinion that you should draw limits and boundaries for children especially when they're so little.

Moreso i barely know these people!!! I dont know their surnames sef so its not like we are friends in the first place.

what say ye?

N.B- Didnt realise the story would turn out this lenghthy!!!

Hair net- To wear or not to wear!!!

I hope i get some male perspectives on this discourse!!!

I grew up watching/seeing my mum wear hair nets.

I thought/assumed/believed it was normal. I was happy when i started wearing hair nets too.

Now i'm married with children and they too have started to watch/see/know me as a hair net wearer.

The challenge is this, i was once gisting with some friends and one mentioned a husband reporting his wife to her that his wife was a hair net wearer. And his main grouse was that the hair net constantly smelt of "dodo" i.e fried plantain. In her defense i said well better her net smelling of dodo than her brazillian weave on that cost an arm and a leg.

Some of my female friends have expressed concern about my hair nets.***eyes roll***

I am comfortable wearing them but i dont want to be a pain to my hubby you see.... truth is i find that many husbands dont always mention the things they dont like e.g wearing hair nets or tying wrappers around the house...

So hair nets....

... to be worn by wives or not?