It could be sooooo much worse!

This is by far the funniest thing my eyes have beheld in 2009. Perfect timing, as I was just starting to ponder over the things that didnt go quite as planned in the past 364 days.

I am greatful to God for the things He freely gives, even when I dont know to ask: love and friendship, sanity and good health! And the artist who thought this up!

Here's to 2010!

Favour!

I woke early enough to make last minute preparations for my trip this morning.

Everything was going according to plan until I went to get a cab and I was told that due to the environmental sanitation exercise, I would not be able to leave my place till 10pm. That would have been ok....except my flight was scheduled for 11am.

Everything seemed bleak but I heard a quiet Voice say I would be on the flight. The first two people I called could not help. Then it occurred to me to call a third person.

To cut a long story short, a long standing friend of mine who happened to be visiting his mum in my neighbourhood found someone with the right 'clout' to accompany us...

Here is to the favour of God, against all odds!

Christmas Street Party in my hood!

How long does it take to build a tradition?

It seems like only a few years ago since the first firework went off in the estate on Christmas night and now its become an estate tradition to have fireworks, food and family fun on the streets between the houses.

Its become something for the children and parents to look forward to - family away from family. Time to catch up with everyone.

The fireworks have not lost their charm. Simply beautiful.

Too Funny!

Saw the funniest thing in traffic today. Slow moving bumper to bumper traffic. All of a sudden a door opens and a young man in his late twenties bails out clutching a bag full of newspapers and magazines and runs for dear life. He ran through traffic and scaled the railings demarcating the road from the nearby community of wood workers.

His not so fortunate colleague (not running quite as fast) also managed to escape but with his shirt torn to shreds.

It appears they were arrested for street trading by a 'no tolerance' unit and took the opportunity of unforeseen traffic to escape!

Too funny!

The fashion show

Clothes by Ituen Bassey who was chased out of needlework class because she was 'no good'. She's gone on to be a successful designer.

The fashion show ended with her embracing her needlework teacher who was here to grace the event.

Someone pass the tissues!

30 years of excellence

I am attending the Class of '79 30th anniversary of Queens College old girls as a guest of Jibola Dahunsi.

Its an inspiring event, with the ladies well accomplished and in good standing in society. The camaraderie is infectious and I nearly cried when they sang their school song. If I could turn back time...

The lady in blue (in the picture) is the current Hon Minister of Womens' Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. She is an old girl of QC, and also an alumni of LSE where I did my masters...my claim to fame ;)

Damsel awaiting Cash bearing Knight

I like to hang out and eat at Terra Kulture. Last time I was here I ordered Asaro (yam pottage) and it came as a runny lumpy (but tasty) mass of what I feel Asaro should not look like.

2 weeks later, and possibly a change of chef, this looks about right. A little salty for my taste but who died and made me food critic?!

What's really comical/ironic is that I've come out today without my purse and the only reason I'm eating is because I'm waiting for someone to come rescue me from the shame of not having money to pay for my drink...rotflol!!!

I couldn't sip my drink slowly enough so I ordered food. Hope my knight shows up with enough cash!

Everyday deserves a chance

I just finished reading this book and it's going to stay with me for a long long time. Yes, the genre of the book is (Christian) motivational/inspirational but written in vintage Lucado style drawing profound depths of meaning and lessons from everyday life.
Need a new attitude? Read this book!!!

The Leaning Bottle of Eva

Public Speaking Masterclass at the Oceanic Bank Leadership Academy

I had a great time meeting and learning with these brilliant people from Oceanic Bank today!

Dusk at the Lagoon

The sun is nowhere in sight, neither is the moon; Heavy clouds cloaking heaven's chandeliers.

The setting is perfect for a business meeting to discuss an assignment that's getting my creative juices flowing...

Sunset at Sun International

I spent yesterday evening watching the sun set with a good friend of mine. I took this picture about 6pm...worth the mosquito bites I think!



Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

Love in a Box

A couple of weeks ago, I felt 'led' to give gifts to underprivileged children this december. 1000 to be exact. The gifts - basic things to put a smile on a child's face, albeit temporary - will be packaged in a small box, wrapped/ribboned :) and distrubuted just before Christmas. That's why I'm calling it 'Love in a Box', coincidentally reminiscent of a time looooooooooooooong ago when LOVE came to the world and was laid in a 'box' because his parents had no where else to lay him...

Thanks to all the people who have contributed to make this happen. I only had to mention it in passing before the offers came streaming in. I have not asked for permission so i wont be announcing any names yet!

I put the word 'led' in parenthesis earlier because when one knows a good thing to do, does one have to wait for a 'leading' to do it? Does one need an excuse to do good? It's a question i'm increasingly asking myself.

It's all coming together

Its 10 years since I heeded the 'call' and came back home. It's been the most tupsy turvy decade of my life, spent groping, barely seeing more than a week ahead. Very confusing times.
A whole lot has happened, the good bad and ugly.
However, as this year races to a halt, I sense stronger than ever before that its all coming together.
My 'IT' is taking shape, more substance coming into what has been a shadow for so long.
I feel an announcement on its way.....

Back on track

Happy to announce the arrival of my new blackberry weighing in at...
They say that in order to climb up a flight of stairs you have to give up one step to access another. This is the life lesson I have learned from this lost phone/new phone experience. There is no way I would have discovered how much more I could achieve without letting go of old things and stepping out of my comfort zone!
All's well that ends well. Its been really cool reconnecting with friends and family and I look forward to what else is in store!

Starting over

I hate losing things, and its worse when something personal and precious to me is stolen. My blackberry was stolen last week and it was a very disconcerting experience. I had not bothered to backup my address book and I had pictures I had taken on a recent holiday on it.

While the phone itself is replaceable (though I miss my bruised tatty one) and important contact re-established, it's the pictures I miss the most and I hate the fact that someone who I don't know has access to my privacy. Yuck!

On a positive note, my thumbs are resting from endless texting, and I am now 'forced' to upgrade to a later model phone. I am looking forward to breaking the shiny security seal on the box. Also, I am looking forward to re-establishing contacts, you know, the ones that really matter. It's so easy to clog up one's phone's memory with numbers one is never going to call...

This time though, I will put a security password on the phone, back-up my address book and download pictures as soon as possible so that in the unfortunate event that the phone is nicked/lost ever again I can start over again quicker.

(before anyone asks, I don't know who the cute David is...I've borrowed a stock image of my old phone...*grin*)

What's the worst that can happen?

For weeks now I have been moaning about how the poor internet connection back home would seriously affect keeping up with my promise to blog more consistently.

Just now I was playing with my blackberry - and old beat up pearl - and I thought...what if I could access my blog dashboard with this?

What you are now reading is the result of not just the thought, but the action that backed it up.

It got me thinking about life in general, how many times a new idea pops into our consciousness and we discard it out of fear or just plain laziness...because we don't know what the outcome would be.

The people at Nike got it right with their slogan 'just do it'. I did and stumbled on something exciting and liberating.

Who knows what you will discover at the end of your next 'what if?'.... (just please keep it legal!!!)

Lunching with my 'Frister'

I had lunch with my frister today. We both turned up wearing the same things - blue jeans, black top and a blue scarf...and sunglasses! It was such a blessing to just hang out, talk and eat lunch on the (wished it was drier) grass.

And in case you are wondering what on earth a frister is, it's a friend who is more to you than a friend...more like a sister in every way except biology!!!

Who moved my brain - funny and thought provoking.

Armloads of Blessings

Psalm 126 (Message)

A Pilgrim Song

^1-3 It seemed like a dream, too good to be true, when God returned Zion's exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
we couldn't believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
"God was wonderful to them!"
God was wonderful to us;
we are one happy people.

^4-6 And now, God, do it again—
bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair
will shout hurrahs at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

Creative Expression

I had a strong feeling to be creative today - to 'let my art out' as my brother says, so I dusted off my sewing machine (gosh! its only a couple of weeks old!) and made this bag.

The beautiful yellow and black fabric is called Aso Oke, native to the Yoruba people of West Africa - used for important ceremonies.

The cloth has been mine since 1990 and it featured as my costume when I played the role of Madam Ajanaku (in Ola Rotimi's Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again) when I was with the African Playhouse at Reading University (1991 - 1994)

I have made the bag out of the scarf piece - and given it a new purpose in life :)

World Wide Words

I am particularly interested in words, what they mean, how to pronounce them well, how they can be modified to mean different things, taken in and out of context...

I recently stumbled on this website while researching the meaning of the word 'gobsmacked' called World Wide Words. It's simply delightful and will engage lovers of the English language (from a British perspective) for a long long time!

Check out the World Wide Words

(please note this is not an advert. I truly enjoyed my experience looking through the site and felt it was worth sharing)

Fellowship

I received some great news yesterday! I have been elected a Fellow of the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning in the UK.

My first degree was in accounting and economics (joint honours) but I did not go either route. I was just thinking the other day that if I had followed the accounting route to become a certified accountant, I would now be eligible for Fellowship...and now this!

There's an inscription on one of my (many) journals that I find very inspiring and it speaks to this so beautifuly:

Sometimes on the way to your dream, you get lost...and find something better! :)

Reciprocity

Just 'borrowed' this picture of me hard at work from a blog belonging to Fabiana one of the lovely Italian girls in my sewing class week before last.

We worked together on a short project and I gifted her one of my tomato pin cushions. She immediately gave me a fabulous gift she had made by herself in return...the law of reciprocity in action!!! Thanks again Fabiana!!!

Dynamic Inconsistency?!!!

Let's face it. There is no woman on the face of this planet - even the ones we consider worthy of the appellation 'goddess' - who is 100% happy with her body. We are always trying to lose a few extra pounds, change this, nip this, tuck that.

We have more resources and information now - books, websites, DVDs, blogs - than there was available in out parents' generation, yet they were healthier on the average.

Although this is a brilliant book (101 Things) aimed at making me more aware of the reasons I should be taking better care of myself, etc, I have found myself eating more biscuits and ice cream between laughs than I have eaten the former 3 months prior combined!!!

The author discusses a concept psychologists call 'dynamic inconsistency' which I think is another way of describing what apostle Paul was trying to convey in the following scripture from Romans 7 (The Message):

^14-16I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.

^17-20But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

^21-23It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

²⁴I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

This is the question I ask myself every time I walk past a reflective surface and I'm unhappy with what I see. When I am closest to throwing in the towel, I remember that there is more to what Paul is trying to convey....

²⁵The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

These words give me strength in the deep places of my soul that the finest confectionery can't reach!

My new BF?

No, not boy friend...best friend!!! (apologies to the gorgeous people in my life who currently own this title, but you can't do for me what my potentially new BF does for me!) :-)

In the past few days that i have been learning to sew, the one tool that has kept me on the straight and narrow is this humble but mighty helpful seam ripper. Basically what it does is that as the name suggests, it allows me to correct mistakes in my work by gently unpicking the seam (line of stitches) and redoing another, better line. No one ever has to know I didn't do it right the first time.

If only life had an 'eraser' like that...one that would allow you to gently 'unpick' your mistakes and allow you another take like nothing else ever happened. But the truth is LIFE is not a dress rehearsal (if you will pardon the obvious pun). Yes we make mistakes - with and without consequences - BUT with every new day we get the opportunity to choose to do things better/differently/or do nothing at all.

Take friendship for example. You regretably betray the confidence of a close friend, who trusted you with their most intimate secret. It was a mistake and you are broken up about it. Try as you may to make restitution, the damage is done and it may take years of consistent 'better' behaviour to mend that bridge - or it may never happen. However, you learn a valuable lesson and get to be a better friend to the next person who honours you with trust.

For everything else, there is a seam ripper/eraser/your original shade of hair colour/laser tatoo remover...

Maybe they are telling the truth for once?

After a long hard day, seeing this advert banner (circled) was a welcome 'laugh out loud' moment. In case you cant see it clearly, its an advert for a 2 step programme to a FLAT stomach. Only, someone must have put the pictures on wrongly, because the model starts out at day 1, pale but with a waist definition and by day 30, an obviously different model is now tan with a deliciously rounded tummy and a cute mushroom above her pant band.

Maybe they are telling the truth for once?!!!

Its never as easy as it looks!!!

I have wanted to learn how to sew for over 20 years and since I tagged '09 as Action Year, I decided to do it. How hard can it be? As it turns out, its headache-inducing hard - and its only day 2 of the Basic Sewing Skills short course at the London College of Fashion.

It seems that I have become so accustomed to the 'big picture' - which characterises the strategic view of all things business, my core strength - that I have become unaccustomed to taking and implementing SIMPLE instructions. Its so frustrating not knowing what the final project will be that I want to yell at the instructor but I fear she will throw me out of the class.

But I get what is going on in a way one sees things clearly as an observer. The course is tagged BASIC because we are building a foundation. If one learns the basic skills right (or best practice as S-Lee, my instructor, calls it) with a little bit of imagination, fantastic things can be created.

I must say though that my respect for people who sew for a living - not the fashion designers, but the guys who slave over sewing machines in factories and sweat shops - is greatly renewed.

My sincere prayer is that this will eventually follow the same process as learning to drive. The first few lessons are high stress, but once you get the hang of it, you really don't have to engage ALL your senses in getting from A to B.

Lessons from 2 Kings

Much has been said about the sad passing of 'King of Pop',
and I would like to share two points that stood out to me,
and also share a verse from the Bible written by 'King of
Wisdom Jr'.

1. Do your best work everyday. Give everything into it. You
are spending your life - not just empty time in a vacuum -
so it matters. Don't be content with yesterday's success.
Strive to improve in some way everyday. It eventually pays
dividend!

2. Take time to enjoy the fruits of your labour. Take a
break. Get a health check - what you don't know CAN kill
you. Get excercise (i'm really trying but its easier said
than done!) because it's good for your body and mind. You
don't have to join the gym - walk when you can. Use the
stairs instead of the lift. Spend quality time with your
family and those you love. Love replenishes our souls in a
way nothing else can!

In the words of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:1, 2, 13 and
22 -

1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every
purpose under the heaven: 2A time to be born, and a time to
die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is
planted; 13And also that every man should eat and drink,
and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of
God. 22Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better,
than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that
is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall
be after him?

The day the Earth didn't stand still

Save the incident recorded in the Bible of Joshua and the Time Freeze, there really appears to be no incident, great or cataclysmic, that can stop time.

I am writing in the wake of the announcement of MJ's passing (which i dare say has touched people in every part of the world) and it's baffling to me that only 2 days on, the conversation is waning. Amazon has all but sold out of everything MJ they carry and I got a text message to pay N100 to have 'Heal the World' downloaded as my ringback tone. Not one dime/penny/kobo will ever make it to his estate, of course but that is the nature of the Capitalism beast...but I digress.

In a world where millions of children do not live past their first breath, where war and inhumanity is becoming more and more sophisticated (who on earth invented the phrase 'Collateral Damage' to euphemise the death of innocents!!!), and famine exists in the midst of plenty, the passing of one (great or small) diminishes in significance.

Yet to people who knew and loved the one, it is, like Quincy Jones said - a piece of your soul goes with them. Yet, even for these near and dear, time mellows the pain but does not stand still.

Ecclesiastes 3 (KJV) rings so true...

¹To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

²A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

³A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

⁹What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

¹⁰I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

¹¹He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

¹²I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

¹³And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

¹⁴I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

¹⁵That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

¹⁶And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

¹⁷I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

¹⁸I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

¹⁹For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

²⁰All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

²¹Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

²²Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I have never been one of those people who instinctively KNOW what they want to do with their lives, and i think it has always been like that. Looking back to my secondary school days, i'm sure i had as many answers as the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?" was asked of me. It was clear that i did not have a future in science though after i broke a few test-tubes during volatile experiments :)

Fast forward 20+ years, and I now know, within a semi-flud parameter, what i want to do as my vocation, and how i want to spend my time.

Has it all been a waste of time? Heck no! I can confidently say i am a richer person through my life's experiences - stuff money cannot buy. Now, more than ever before, i am ready to live my own life!