Happy Children's Day!!!

Children! Children!! (Yes, aunty)

Eating Sugar (No, aunty)

Open your mouth (Haaaaaaaa...)

We are H – A – P – P – Y (2x)

We know we are, we are sure we are,

We are H – A – P – P- Y, HAPPY!

All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colours, HE made their tiny wings.

Who stole the meat from the cooking pot?

(Number 1 stole the meat from the cooking pot)

Oh me? (Yes, you!)

It couldn’t be (Then who?)

Number 10, stole the meat from the cooking pot!

Hmmm... I remember the sweet old days. When Nasco Wafers and Capri Sonne made frequent appearances on my mum’s shopping list. I can’t forget Okin Biscuit in a hurry... how I love the rectangular shaped one... bliss!

Sometimes, I want to go back to being a child. Like today when the rain just wouldn’t let up! If I was still a child, I’d be home on holiday, watching Voltrone or Sesame Street while building pyramids with my Choco Milo and forming rainbow with my Gogo (Smarties). I miss those days.

Do you remember Cortina shoes? If you don’t then it means you wore Kito with your knee length socks! tehehe

BTW, does Mr. Sada still live in Sapele? You remember him don’t you? Yes, the farmer in Macmillian Book 3. Hopefully, Simbi would have changed her hairstyle by now.

How many of your old books do you still have? Do you remember Queen Prima, My Book of Bible Stories, Songs of Praise, Brighter Grammar and Students’ Companion? I never liked Larcombs, how can a book meant to teach children maths be so boring? No illustrations, no pictures, just black and white all through... unfortunately, we had to use all its volumes!

Did you play ten – ten and suwe? What about catcher and after-round-one? Well I didn’t because I was too orobo cute and classy for such. I had a jump rope instead, and during inter house sports, you can bet I was always the queen of the house. Why wouldn’t I, when everyone knew I couldn’t run to save my life was such a charming little lady *wink*

Growing up was so much fun, we drank Tandi Guaraná, Dr. Pepper, Afri Cola, Fanta Ginger Ale etc. There was also Planta, Cadbury Chocolate Spread, Fan Ice (a.k.a Yoghurt), Walls Ice cream and SAMCO, Bubblegum.

BTW, what’s the lowest price you remember buying Coca Cola?

We watched Fèyí kó gbón, Òwúrò lojó (Joke Silva), Tele Match, Rent a ghost, Frank Spencer, Dr. Who, Fragile Rock, Jumbo, Kiddies Vision 101, Speak Out.

 

Lastly, do you remember:

All stand, greet!

Good morning sir, you are welcome to our class, may God bless you sir!

Happy Children’s day to the young and young at heart!

Keep your Identity

As human beings we strive to make an impact either in our immediate environment or in the world. While working towards being a force to reckon with, there are a lot of forces that try to sway us. To succeed, we hold on tight to our beliefs and focus on the goals to be achieved.

I have noticed that most successful people rarely ever change the winning formula. Manchester United for instance has won more trophies and accolades from football lovers and critics worldwide because they’ve been adjudged consistent. They have a tradition which they guard jealousy. The British Monarch is also revered, respected and thought to have no equals, simply because it sets its own standards, creates rules and compels everyone who must interact with it to comply, be it individuals or nations.

Unfortunately, same cannot be said for some of us. A common saying amongst our parents in this part of the world is ‘remember the child of whom you are’. They say this because they are well aware of the challenges we face during our daily endeavours, because they know that the greatest and strongest of men have lost their identity just for a moment of pleasure, while being distracted by the most mundane things.

Samson lost his sight to a woman and Esau sold his birthright for common ‘Asaro’ (pottage), other great men in history have also lost their fame, fortune and integrity on account of their lack of self control.

Your identity doesn’t end with your name, social security number, personal data or DNA. It extends to your culture, beliefs, value system etc. It is not enough to chant the ‘I am African’ mantra. Show the world you truely are. Some people travel out of Nigeria and after a few months they rename themselves, bury their manners and sometimes disown their parents, all because they want to belong. You cannot be more English than the British!

A few others go off to study and become so wild one would wonder if they ever heard the word. This identity denial is also evident on our blogs. Why would you agree to things that are against your personal beliefs just so you gain another follower?

I, for instance have personal views about certain issues – no to violent/abusive relationships, no to friends with benefits set ups, no to office romance amongst others – I make these known as I comment on people’s blogs. I’m not asking that you adopt my belief system, you can hate me for it, that wouldn’t change my stand; in the end, you’d either block me or unfollow me. That wouldn’t change the price of tomatoes at Mile 12 market!

If you spend all your time following the trend and trying to become a mirror image of others, you’ll only end up publicizing their achievements while your own dreams die.

Haile Gabriel Selassie didn’t become a long distance race champion because of his handsome face;  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie didn’t need a sexy name to win the Orange prize. I can almost bet the members of the review board cannot even pronounce her name! Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett didn’t have to go nude to achieve the enviable records she had in the movie industry. I’m sure some of you do not even know she once acted in the popular sitcom Frank Spencer.

Finally, all I’m just trying to say is, be true to yourself, your little beginnings would metamorphosis into a phenomenal future if you keep working at achieving your life’s purpose.

*This post was inspired by Beyoncé’s new video (Run the world). Although I’m not a fan, I’m disappointed in this new person I see. She seems to be infusing too much of Lady Gaga + Nicki Minaj spirit into her style; do you think she’s feeling intimidated by them? That yellow dress is such a disaster... the green one too.

On the bright side, it’s nice to see the African dance style. I particularly love the neck twisting/shoulder jerking one in 1:15min, I’m sure you remember it from 2face Idibia’s Nfana Ibaga video.

Enjoy the weekend y’all.

25 Questions

Hey people, so last week I said on Myne’s blog that I was going to do the 25 questions thingy, well my talk about movies got in the way on Friday and since there’s nothing to do in the office today (generator broke down and PHCN is on bed rest), here we go

1.    Do you have any pets?
No, I can’t stand them so I just make do with the one in my name.

2.    Name 3 things that are physically close to you.
right now... my phone, my laptop, external hard drive

3.    What's the weather like right now?
Sunny. It rained a lot yesterday so the sun got angry and retaliated.

4.    Do you drive? If so have you crashed?
Yes. I ran into a stationary bus on my first day behind the wheels. No damages though, the trainer said I was confident on the field so he thought I was just trying to brush up my skills. Alakoba!!!

5.    What time did you wake up this morning?
4.40am. No matter what time I hit the bed, my body is automatically programmed to come alive between 4 – 5am every day, sadly, even on weekends. *sigh

6.    When was the last time you showered?
Last night. It’s the last thing I do every night. Baths are for the morning and pre-outing.

7.    What was the last movie you saw?
Tyler Perry’s Madae’s Big Happy Family.

8.    What does your last text message say?
Buy wheat bread when you’re coming. (from my mum off course)

9.    What's your ringtone?
Numb/Encore – Jay Z ft Linkin Park

10. Have you ever been to a different country?
Does Benin Republic count? I was there for shopping during my undergrad days, asides from that I’ve been to Seychelles, Aruba, Brazil and Pueto rico, all in my dreams tehehe.

11.  Do you like sushi?
No! I’ve never tasted it but I’m sure raw fish can never taste nice so why bother?

12. Where do you buy your groceries?
Shoprite, AshMart and the local market. Who cares? As long as its not fake/adulterated or expired!

13. Have you ever taken medication to help you fall asleep faster?
No. It may take time, but eventually my body shuts down unaided

14. How many siblings do you have?
2 sisters (I'm the pacifier, the link between old and new school, Malcolm in the middle)

15. Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop?
Both

16. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
Oya oya ask my mummy LOL...

17. Do you wear contacts or glasses?
Glasses, as far as I’m concerned, sticking something into my eye is rough play, contacts or not!

18. Do you color your hair?
No, black is beautiful

19. Tell me something you are planning to do today.
Go home early.

20. When was the last time you cried?
February. You’ll find out why if you go here

21. What is your perfect pizza topping?
Pepperoni, it’s about the best... no?

22. Which do you prefer-hamburgers or cheeseburgers?
Ham will do, let’s leave Cheese for the mice.

23. Have you ever had an all-nighter?
No, except reading and watching movies in the comfort of my room counts!

24. What is your eye color?
Brown

25. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke?
Who cares? I don’t drink either, tonic water or cream soda does it for me.


*   In response to Kitkat's question on my last post, I get the movies here. Let me know if you need instructions.

Movies

I love movies... I can’t even begin to explain how much I love movies. One of the reasons I can stay home for an entire week without going even as far as my gate is because of movies.

I really enjoy seeing movies at home. That way, I can rewind as many times as I want just to enjoy a joke over and over again; I can also identify the actor/director’s mistakes and well, it’s cheaper! *wink*

There’s just something about seeing movies in the comfort of your house. It’s better than the cinemas; there’s no one disturbing you with BB noise, no one chewing gum aloud, you’re not distracted by the couple practising the kiss they’ve just seen in the movie and definitely no one laughing 5 minutes after everyone else saw the funny scene!

Don’t get me wrong, I go to the cinemas sometimes, especially when I need to get the full effects of a movie (e.g. 2012, Avater, Blood diamond) but most times, I see the movie even before it starts to show at the cinemas... don’t ask me how! It’s not easy to start explaining how to get down the load.

I have my movies on the go – at least 3 on my phone at any given time and over 100 on my external hard drive still waiting to be watched. When I’m not tweeting or reading, my movies help me through traffic.

A simple drama isn’t just enough; there must be something thought provoking about the plot (Inception, Shutter Island), the suspense should make your heart race (88 minutes); the characters must make you want to watch it again (Prison break).

Criminal plots/detective stories are my favourite. I just get really excited at solving the puzzle in my living room before *Michael Scofield or Agent Jason Gideon or Charlie Duchamp find the answers on the screen. In my mind, I’m a profiler; hopefully someday I might get into the behavioural analysis unit of the FBI. Even if I don’t, there’s no harm in increasing one’s IQ is there?

I love Tyler Perry’s works a great deal. He always has a serious message to pass along hence whether he’s dressed as hilarious grandma Madae or fine husband Terry Brock, you’re sure to learn a thing or two. His choice of soundtrack is always on point too and if you’re looking for a family based drama with an input of the God factor then you know where to look.

I’ll leave you with ‘Each Tear’ by Mary J. Blige. Its dedicated to Kitkat, I pray you shake off your worries and conclude your preparations for the exams on Monday. Best of luck.

*lead acts from Prison break, Criminal minds and Breakout kings respectively.

P.S: please let me know what your favourite movies are

Needed: A helping hand.

A friend of mine had a little get together recently. While we boiled yam, I noticed her husband kept coming in to ask, ‘is it ready? Honestly I thought he was just hungry or probably they were expecting more guests. It all became clear some minutes later. Once she notified him the yam was ready, he promptly yanked off his shirt and got to work... pounding.

I didn’t taste it (I do not eat pounded yam) but everyone attested that the pounding was professionally done! At some point my friend mentioned to them that as a house rule, her husband does the pounding and that was when the argument began.

All the men, except her husband and one other guy felt it wasn’t right that he was the one pounding. According to them, it wouldn’t speak well of her if his relations were around! You need to see their looks when he revealed that he learnt it from his father... priceless.

He said his father had always told them that yam pounding is a man’s job!

Personally, I do not know how to pound yam and I’m not even eager to learn...

Dear Future Husband,

Where I come from, Eba is their staple food. Owning a mortar is not synonymous with being a good wife. A while ago, Mama Nkem at the market told me about Poundo yam, I have never tasted it but mum says its okay. If you ever crave pounded yam, just let me know, I’ll order an entire carton for a start. You know I’m doing this for you right? Or do you want me to have muscles like those bouncers?

XXX

            #TeamPoundo.

I have spoken with a couple of guys about this issue and while a few of them do not have a problem with helping out at home, some unfortunately have stupid reasons for not wanting to. I think the dumbest I’ve heard thus far is ‘you have to let her know her place. I just concluded that the guy had ego problems.

I do not think it’s a big deal if the man pounds for the family, and not just pounding, any other supportive role in home keeping too!

The days of ‘mummy in the kitchen cooking rice, daddy in the parlour watching film’ are long gone! I’m not advocating that women should cross their legs and watch E! all day while the family starves and the home becomes a potential ‘Clean House Crew’ destination. All I’m saying is, there’s nothing wrong in daddy rocking the baby while mummy makes dinner... in the end, everyone is happy and she probably won’t have a headache later on in the bedroom. *wink*