Good bye August!

As the down pour halts I'm reminded of a grand orchestra  closing a symphony; I can almost hear it, I canalmost touch it; the happy tears of a great perfomance trickkle down your cheek as the applause rise loudly and just for that moment you are lost in the music.

August came and is gone like the first day I feel over whelmed, it's gone so quickly, almost missed it's moments. It had it's share of tears and ovations just life the orchestra and when the time comes to say good bye, the chill that runs throug my spine is not for moments lost but for those lived...

I had some good laughs and some tears too..most blessed by the rains it brought with it, maybe now we'd all get a break! (from the rains). Sweet August you'd be remembered for breakthroughs and ground breakings, new things and new hope; tough decisions and not so wise ones too.

One thought I'd like to leave you with is, whatever you did in August, the regrets, the silly decisions, the out right dumb mistakes or the genius stuff you were able to pull off, one should have an attitude of doing better cos there's always room for improvement...

This is the least you could be, alot of other opportunities await you, God doesn't give you just 1 or 2 chances, He gives you another chance! Imagine if you had just one chance at anything..most of us blew it already.even if it were two chances, we might just fail at the next try.

August is gone withit's worries, I dust off myself from theground where I fell face up looking for the next ladder to climb cos September is bringing with it an EXPLOSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New month, it starts now!!....................................rbg

Evangelion!!!

I startedoff this piece with nothing to say; no title, I mean no words to say what I intended to....I just let the message drive me..I'll be as brief and conciese as I possibly can. The after writing I got the perfect title 'EVANGELION'.....(pronounced e-van-ge-leon)

Evangelion means good news or better still, good news from the batle field. The word of God lies in the good news, if you don't hear it you cannot function in it, so I'm speaking the word so you hear it. 

Each of us is born in to something, some go through life not knowing what their purpose is whle others discover it and live it fully.

We were created to do the Lord's bidding(for His pleasure He created us.) He gave us options, life and death,'choose life' He says to us, that we might live.

You are sole architect of how your life turns out and eventually ends. 

The goodnews here is, God made the first move all we need do is meet him half way........

Christianity is God reaching out to man after the fall, God's redemtion plan is for all who turn to Him and accept the life He offers; everyone, I mean everyone has that chance of a God-filled life; hope is only lost when one crosses to the other side of eternity...

I remember the words of the savior, ''you must be born again'' He tells the religious ruler. There's a pattern to do this; first believe in your heart that Jesus came in the flesh, He died on the cross, He ressurected after three days and ascended to sit at the right side of the Father and will come again. It doesn't end there; you are then expected to confess these words with your lips..(with the heart we believe and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation).

It's not enough that we go to church and do all the right stuff, this is what God wants us to do, make this confession and watch God transfom you.

As an ambassador you speak for your home counrty; well, that's what I'm doing offering the same life;eternal life to as many as would receieve.

Call me a Jesus freak or pastor I'm ok with that, I'm just a messanger in my place of assignment.

Seperate yourself from what you do;God sees you differently, He sees you through the eyes of Love. John3:16 ''for God so loved the world that He gave His onlybegotten son, that whoever believes in HIm shouldnot perish but have eternal life''

It's never toomuch for Him to cleanse, you sins don't repel God, He wants you just as you are..

make a decision today,accept Jesus into your life and let the new life beging ''if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new'' 2 corinthians 5:17...............................

If there's any thing I can do to help in this life changin decision, I'd be glad to...................................rbg

the big red 'L'

Who ever said the cars in driving schools should be beat up? (at least the ones I see around Abuja and other Nigerian cities are) Maybe it's a criteria for running a driving school?? I don't know, I'm just looking to get some clarity here.
The first question on my mind this morning as I walked past one such vehicle is, who gives these schools license or permit to operate? do they carry out an inspection of their facilities?? do they even test the operators of these schools to know their ability?? probably not..it's like any pavement or pedestrian walk that has some trees around it becomes the driving school, so you walk by a couple of ''beat up'' cars parked together, each with a 15 inch plate and a big 'L' painted in red; and that's supposed to be inviting?? whatever happened to good advertising not forgetting safety..I'm sorry but I'm not easily convinced.
I've seen students made to push the car or even wait for the tutor while he attended to personal issues.....

I learnt how to drive not from the driving schools but my teacher was pretty good...I was lucky to learn from someone who knew exactly what he was doing and who knew what road signs meant and what the high way code looked like.(lol)
My point is, the first two days it was hard enough concentrating even though it was just us two in the car, so this gets me  wondering how the students in these driving schools do it I mean how they are able to learn anything with three other people watching and criticizing their every move..and how much can three people learn in a few hours, or is it part of the plan to get people to do less daily so they stay on and pay more?? (am I making any sense?) anyway like someone just corrected me if the students aren't willing to be clustered they probably won't be.
How come the road safety officers or VIO never stop such cars, am I the only one that sees something wrong with it?? (ok maybe) these guys are supposed to be responsible for the safety of road users and check the road worthiness of vehicles but NO, they don't see them, isn't the road safety supposed to approve operations of driving schools? I know the road safety and VIO issue drivers license.
Call me naive but non of these questions have been answered and I fear they won't be in the near future.

can you see the 'L' ???

I'm just an advocate for proper driving lessons, the more drivers we have that get adequate training the lesser the accident rate..In Abuja there is an average of about 4 to 7 accidents daily. The fact that you own a car doesn't make you fit to drive it..do you know the rules?? do you know the rules??

Recently I asked a driver what the white markings in the middle of the road meant and to my astonishment he was indifferent giving me some explanation that made no sense at all, this is coupled to his stunt-like, action movie-like driving that almost got us run over twice; then I began to panic...i could feel the cold sweat run down my spine, need I say more? I almost flew out of the car as soon as I go to my destination...phew what a relief.

The morale behind this piece is not to spite the road side driving schools but to get our authorities thinking, who said organizing and equipping them would be a bad thing? maybe then the patronage would improve......just be sure you're getting your monies worth and your conscience satisfied as you board that beat-up crowded car in the name of learning to drive............................rbg

Women are from mars, Men are from Jupiter

Ok we had this lengthy discussion in my office today...four guys and three ladies...one married man, one married woman.
I can't remember what brought it up but it became heated when the issue of women being subordinate to men came up...submissive is the word you're looking for i suppose!

Submission, one dictionary defines it as "the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person" The Bible also says wives submit to your husband but later adds that you submit one to another....so we all submit; get it!! (I hope)

Anyway, the discussion winded down to character and what a courtship period should be..well after a 30 minutes discuss, we concluded the following: courtship is a time for:
- discussion..talk, talk, talk...
- decision making..what are u're plans? what do you want out of the marriage?(i mean that's where a courtship ends isn't it. )
- discovery (knowing and accepting your partner for who they are.) don't accept what u're not comfortable with, cos it won't go away.

We also learnt that people can pretend but they always leave vital signs, these signs tell you who they truly are, so, if you look carefully beyond the image your partner is trying to portray you'll get to know them for who they really are. Look beyond face value look for more and I bet you'll see it.

Ok, another quick one is, guy or girl, if you have low self esteem or you continually lower your value standards just to accommodate someone, you might not get the best of them cos you're squeezing them  to fit a mold you created.
Well I got to go now, I'd be back with a more researched and precise version of this....soon..........rbg

Techno junkies !!

Gone are the days when we wrote long winding sentences in letters trying to get our thoughts across...I remember receiving a letter from a friend, it took me at least 4 days to read and digest it's content (no joke!). till this day we call it 'the epistle'
well now, it's either lmao, lol, brb...etc these alphabets most times not skillfully arranged are supposed to express our thoughts??? i really can't say, u fill in the blanks. most times it's a herculean task deducing what the encoder meant. Anyway, that's not my focus today.

I was thinking of what to say today and someone suggested the GSM/smart phones and other technology craze we seem to be experiencing. He was out with friends and  he ended up watching them ping all through the evening (what a boring outing that must have been).

we had this exact one in my house.

Before 2001 in Nigeria, telephones were exactly just that that, TELEPHONE!! the ones that sat by the stool in your living room, and they all had a universal and quite annoying ring tone..little wonder when old folks talk they say..."i'll ring you later" it's cos of that old telephone they're not over it yet....lol

in the begining..

Now we don't just have cell phones we have smart phones that don't only make calls and send sms but have other perks added to them..there's the Blackberry or BB iphone's and ipads....and the list goes on.

Whatever gizmo's we find we want to acquire, they've become like accessories to our outfits most of which we end up using only about 30 to 50% of it's capabilities (that's even for people that are a little smart) I don't mean to be insulting but really, do u need a BB, an ipad, a mac, and an ipod???common i mean if you're able to effectively use one you'll see how improvident acquiring the other was.....are u feeling me? (maybe not :D)

now..

Typical scenario: three guys chilling suddenly, ping! and like a light bulb their eyes light up and in an instance no one on the table is talking everyone is bent over pinging...is that your idea of spending time with friends?

scenario two; (i actually experienced this somewhere in Abuja) two ladies exit a store chatting both busy on their phones (pinging of course) and like clock work they stop in the middle of the road typing away till someone (me) walks inbetween them and says; "see how BB has turned you into mad people"......not exactly what i said but what I wanted to say...
I'm sure you get the gist now. It's not wise if you're using a gadget just cos it's in vogue or everyone is having it...pls have better reasons for buying stuff.

This technology is a way of enhancing human activity including communication not eliminating or replacing it. Then there's social network; good or bad?? it's still being debated. from twitter to facebook, to 2go, to im to buddy to netlog, to linked....others are hi5, myspace, blogger, badoo etc the list is endless, i found out there are hundreds of social networking sites world wide (even the list on wikipedia is not exhaustive). It's disturbing that most people become addicted to one or more social networks that if they are away from their phones for a few moments they might not survive.You don't look smart or intelligent just cos you have two phones and an ipad, it's what use you're able to put one of them to that makes you smart!!


As we continue to face the bizarre and unlikely things people subject themselves to for gadget/social network sake; remember to keep your communication lines open, don't let technology steal the gift of meeting people, make conscious efforts to have conversations; (like a friend will say, stop forming busy and talk to people)..conversing frequently will improve your people skills.

I own a pliris1 it's an android phone and I bet you that's all I have (for now) and making the most of it too, I'm still finding out more things I can do with the phone...........I also enjoy healthy uninterrupted conversations not just on the phone but in person...........rbg

oh the joy of rest!!

When the first moments of excitment passes and the euphoria begins to die that's when true rest unfolds.
It's just like the start of a weekend; you start off with excitement but  as you begin the chores; lundry, erands to the market, house cleaning,cooking, washing the car and fixing that ruffled closet that momentary peace begins to elude you and you almost loose the joy of seeing the end of another working week...you actually begin to worry about the new week ahead.(sound familiar??)

What we mostly describe as rest is only a momentary display or experience of tranquility...
There is a rest that is prepared and we can only enter it if we choose to.
Who prepared it you might say? The one who holds the earth in the palm of His hands, whose footstool is the earth...The one who discribed Himself as "I AM" He is all you want and need Him to be.

Rest is not the absence of war as I have come to realize, but the peace one enjoys in the midst of it all. It is only the prepared rest that offers such peace. When Jesus was leaving the earth He left us His peace... "not as the world gives"... that tells me the world offers a form of peace; "He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies" ...that is a position of rest unlimited even in circumstances that seem other wise.

Saturdays are rest days for me and as I punder on the nap I need to be having right now and the chores left unattended, I can only recall and meditate on a rest that is not superficial, a rest that doesn't leave me wondering or anxious for what I have to do; but that rest that assures me everything is ok even in the tangled situation....
I have entered into the prepared rest...have you?...................................rbg

The hair 2

My shampoo and conditioner

Hello beautiful people; yes you!! You have to identify who you are to gain access to certain levels and break out of several mind sets..
I am beautiful and so are you.

Now to the business of the day; I promised showing you the hair products I use they are very few and inexpensive, remember what works for me might not work for you so use the transition period to experiment on products and make your choice.

  THE PRODUCTS:

Both the shampoo and conditioner contain tea tree oil which helps unblock hair follicles, has anti bacterial components and stimulates the scalp to promote healthy hair (to mention a few benefits)
I got the shampoo and conditioner at a store in Abuja for less than N500 each... remember to read the ingredients to be sure of what you're buying.

leave in hair mayonnaise

Because your hair needs to stay moisturized at all times you need a good hair cream or oil. I use shear butter mixed with any hair cream/oil of choice. I use shea butter cos it's organic(natural) and has replenishing components. you can also use shea butter to steam your hair.
The key is to use oils that don't clog your pores your hair require clear pores to enhance growth. Olive oil is also good for the hair, like tea tree oil

 Leave-in hair mayonnaise/cholesterol locks the moisture in the hair it also helps soften the hair like a leave-in conditioner..(you may or may not use this depending on your hair type and texture)

 organic shear butter

 

 

 

as hair treatment not salad dressing :D

Ok easy on the mayo....while you try to avoid mayonnaise as salad dressing your hair can use its richness..simple apply a good amount to damp hair, massage into the hair, cover hair with a shower cap and wash out after 10 to 20 minutes..so the next time you walk by that bottle of mayonnaise on the stall, think hair!

Fruits like avocado pear, lime or lemon are good hair care products that can be used as rinse-out conditioners.
 you can achieve healthy hair if you put your mind to it.

Stay beautiful.............rbg

The hair..1A

my Afro attempt.

corn rows

 So I started this journey five months ago...it hasn't been easy and I aint getting lots of support by the way. But, its a cross  I'm bearing.

Well caring for natural hair is not as expensive and difficult as we make it all seem...
By the way, before the relaxer we all were doing well with the glorious hair God gave us...until we started seeing it as 'bad hair', 'nappy hair', 'kinky hair' and all the other bad names you can think of. Who ever said natural hair was bad hair, I mean who decides which hair texture is good or bad?!!!??? (I thought so too) I used to have what you could call a full head, but after about 14 years of relaxer and product build up my hair became thin, weak and scanty that's when I decided to cut the length by half and start the transition!!

 

 

laid back

 I'm not trying to get everyone to go back to their natural hair, I decided for myself.All I'm saying is, embrace who you are and don't let some synthetic hair define your idea of beautiful hair, after all God gave it to you as your crowing glory! And even while perming your hair aim for healthy hair.

braids...

more braids

Caring for natural can be achieved with as little as two products or as much as you want and can afford.The basic things you need are, a good shampoo, conditioner and hair moisturizer of choice...(see it can be that simple). A quick note, try to use products that contain lots of natural/organic ingredients..How do you know, it's easy.....recently I learnt a new way of choosing my hair/cosmetics, just read the content and if the first 2 to 3 ingredients are chemicals then the product isn't as natural as made to appear. The idea here is, a product contains about 60 to 70% of the first 2 or 3 products on the list..

another afro!

 To transition from perm to natural hair you have two options;
a) do the big chop ( BC) or cut off the perm and start the new growth OR,
b) transition for a period by allowing the new growth get to your desired length before you cut off the perm...(that's what I'm doing)

the kinky.... :D

 Make your transition period fun, the moment you decide to go natural start treating you hair like it's all natural, read stuff and begin testing products you will use when you are completely natural..also never comb your natural hair when dry...always dampen the hair.. Look for support systems for your new choice and plan your hair regime.
Also, wear protective hair styles while you are grooming the new growth(i like braids and kinky..i also attempt corn rows often) but also allow the hair breath between styles...(like my attempted afro styles :D) Avoid  heat application to your hair as much as possible (driers, hair straightener etc) let your hair air dry. Always use a wide tooth comb no matter how tempting the tiny ones look..

more kinky.

I'd do another piece showing you my hair products to give you an idea of what I use. I also use fruits and vegetable in my hair...
Writing about this is a coping mechanism for me, it rids my mind of those who want to ''rain on my parade''...My BC (big chop) is in December when I'd be 9 months transitioning, I'm looking forward to it....keep being beautiful and love how you look!! ................................rbg

One fine monday..

  Most of us hate Monday's it's a rude awakening to the end of a usually long or short weekend.  It's Monday and like most Monday's in my recent past, it has a slow start...


The weather in Abuja (Nigeria's capital city) is great these days, today the skies are clear after a whole weekend of down pour...but I looked outside my office window and saw some clouds....like it's gonna rain later, boy do I wish I were home.

 You see the clouds???!! I immediately feel like going back home and getting to bed, well if u must know my weekend was eventful, hence, very short and I feel kinda sleep deprived.

These pictures are some views of the Abuja sky line from my office window nice hey...

One way I get through Monday's is looking forward to the next day, and before I know it, Tuesday is here and the rest of the week just rolls by. You can also set a new task or challenge for yourself every monday, that keeps you busy and as the clock ticks your attention is taken by what you have to do.

Also decide how your day goes, when you make deliberate efforts to smile and be polite it works, it not only brughtens your day and your mood; you look younger and it puts a smile on someones face too..

Funny how our state of mind affect our perception of how a day will go. I noticed on my way to work today that most people I walked by had a slight frown or some look of frustration so I decided to smile  :D
It worked...I walked by the first lady and she looked at me and smiled back, the next was a petite old man who after some hesitation replied with an almost toothless smile (at least he has a reason not to smile....just kidding). So I'm wearing this smile continuously knowing today won't be a bad day.........rbg.

 

 

Weekend fever..

I'm not running temprature but i feel a fever ..
This week was for me the fastest in history, before I knew it it's friday..what did I do, sleep through the week?? I still don't know how I'm back to friday already its a joy anyway cos i'm home alone and excited.

well I was able to figure out the picture thingy I guess I just had to be a little patient.
weekends have always been a time of recreation, rejuvenation and relaxation, I'm hoping to get the much needed rest but the I find my self worrying when what the coming week will bring and how I'd approach it, if that doesn't get me stressed then worrying about arranging my closet and picking out clothes for the week would.

Piece of advise I got; enjoy the weekend while you can it never lasts that long...so that's what I'm gonna do..rbg

My natural hair journey..

This is one attempt at wearing corn rows, it was the first month of the transition period...ie march 2011. 
I wore this hair do for a week and people kept saying..''there's something different about you''; I believe it's cos i had my natural hair ..

This is five months down the line and my hair looks nothing like this, it's much more healthy and natural..

This is what the hair kinda looks like now, it's the kinky twist out. I love the natural feel and look it has so I guess you're going to be seeing more of me in this hair do till I do the BC in December..

The kinky..

I started a natural hair journey sometime in march this year....i couldn't go through with the BC (big chop) as it's called so I'm transitioning. I'm letting my natural hair out grow the perm..see that's what i'm doing. Alot of you may not understand the natural hair gist, well  women of black decent, African American, Africans can relate to this....we have over the years been made to believe we have bad hair, but relaxers and straightening has left me with more damaged hair than I bargained for..so you see my reason for starting over.

During the transition, one is advised to carry protective hair styles, that prevent breakage...my transition style of choice is the kinky twist outs, the kinky extensions serve as the protective covering to my hair plus i can wear the twist outs for about two months with frequent cleaning....

who said going natural was going to be easy?
well, for all those lovely ladies who like me what to go natural, take the plunge and make a decision today. My BC wil be in December, 8 months into the transition...so i'd be cutting off only about 4 inches of hair...If you are brave and can start with the BC, that's a gud idea cos you can style TWA's (tiny winy Afro's)...plus you get loads of support and tips from youtube, just search for care for natural hair or transition from perm to natural hair..that should do...I'll have the  photo's up in December when I'd be wearing my fro proudly...I'm still unable to add pictures to my posts, any help???
cheers.........rbg

August rush..

why is it call August rush?
some say its cos the month flies by so quickly taking you unaware..
I say it's cos there's so much greatness to be discovered.
It's day 2 of this great month and I'm charged up..my hair is growing really fast and I'm starting this fat loss/weight loss program.. i hope to record remarkable results at the end of the month..
Oh work.....work has been drowning. I sometimes feel I'm lost in the activities that i need time to re-find myself in the cacophony.
As the rush begins, I'm armed; umbrella in hand, warm clothing and a healthy diet, that should get me through the month.. This is the month I realize and manifest great things... can't wait..