Aso Ebi Palaver

When i was growing, i was made to believe that the tradition of people wearing uniform clothes (aso ebi) was for the yourbas. Then, in my place, the only time a family wore the same clothes was when someone died. The uniform showed that the wearers were members of the deceased's family. Gradually, families started wearing uniform clothes for weddings (both traditionals and white) as well. Then extended families joined in, then close friends, then not-so-close friends. Then other parties joined in, even birthday parties.

These days anyone can wear aso ebi to a party. it doesnt matter who it is. I knew a girl in school who made it a point of duty to buy, sew and wear any aso ebi and even attend the event no matter where it was. cos she thought being on the aso ebi train was the fastest way to get noticed by a guy (potential boyfriend). Cant say her marketing paid off cos she was still very very single (boyfriend and husband wise) when we graduated.

Thing is, i dont even like wearing same kind of clothes with people. I have never liked it. As a child, when my mum makes same clothes for my cousins and i and made us wear it on the same day,once we get to wherever we were going, i will get missing from the pack. This was in a bid not be seen wearing 'uniform' with them. I will try to be as far away from them as possible to try to hide the act that we were wearing the same cloth.

Learnt that these days,its a money making avenue for the bride. She buys the clothes, then sells them at a little above cost price and people buying do so as a form of contribution towards  the wedding. Well, sounds good sha. Cant remember if i have ever worn aso ebi for any event before. And i didnt even bother to saddle anyone with the obligation of buying mine so i didnt have asoebi for my wedding. My contribution for people's weddings usually comes in form of my attendance and my nicely wrapped gift (or envelope as the case may be)

Now, some people are just taking it too far. How can u be wedding and expect your friends to buy aso ebi that cost 50 thousand naira! Yes, 50K. Isnt that a little too extreme. I just got that brief and i am pretending not to have heard that. 50thousand???? So wait, na me wan do the wedding for u? Abi u wan collect the money for the food wey i go chop that day from my hand? For this austerity time? I will sit down in my house, thank u very much.

How has your week being going. Its mid week already and there are 2 lovely days of public holiday just right ahead. Talk about silver lining on a dark cloud. Cant wait

Ciao!

Diamond and Gold dispensing ATM!!!

Mehn, i just had to write about this!

Just imagine what it will be like if we had an ATM machine that instead of dispensing cash, actually churns out diamond jewellery, gold bars and silver bars! Yeah. I am not dreaming.

Bollywood actress Raima Sen poses with an example of what can come out of India's new diamond- and gold-dispensing ATM machine during its unveiling in Mumbai on October 22, 2011.

(Credit: Getty Images)

The Gitanjali Group of India - self-described as the "world's largest integrated conglomerate of diamonds, jewelry and lifestyle brands" - seems intent on proving that the ever-growing class of wealthy Indians also have an insatiable appetite for outlandish luxury goods. Over the weekend, they unveiled what is most likely the world's first diamond- and gold-dispensing ATM in Mumbai.

The diamond ATM machine in India, according to its developers, is "designed like an ATM, the machine however will dispense gold and silver bars coins, pendants with religious motifs; as well as a range of diamond studded jewellery, making it the first of its kind anywhere in the world. High on convenience, this new retailing format will be ideally suited for last minute purchases on auspicious occasions and for gifting, providing instant gratification to the purchaser."
The company claims there will be dozens of options for purchase using your debit or credit cards, as well as cash. Although details are vague, Gitanjali has announced plans for several more machines in "places with high consumer footfalls"

If the gold- and diamond-dispensing machines show success in Asia, it is safe to assume they will spread the world-over before long.

Ol boy eh! If that ATM dares touch ground for naija, na im be say dem also need to invent cream wey go make the person wey wan use am invisible. So that when the person finish, area boys no go carry im and im gold dey go house! lol

Get pregnant before we get married!!!

"I always feel like pouring hot water on ladies who belittle themselves so much to the level where men now tell them to take in first if they want marriage. Their God given senses shpould tell them that the man has no love for you. What that simply means is this; no love without children. This is very wrong and i think it is spreding and becoming acceptable and becoming acceptable even by our elders who should be correcting us". 

The above was a quote from a write up i read sometime ago. I have actually heard of men who insist that their fiances get pregnant before they proceed with wedding plans and i ask myself 'what the f***'! How could they do that? That probably means that they want to ascertain the woman's ability to bear children before they walk down the aisle with them. That  now brings me to a BIG question - "WHAT EXACTLY IS THE ESSENSE OF MARRIAGE?"

I had this arguement with a guy that wanted to hire me some years ago (believe it or not, i was talking about marriage and the essense of marriage in a job interview!!!) The man - an elderly, respectable looking man - asked me what i thought the aim of marriage was. I told him what i thought - i thought marriage was a legal reason for 2 best friends to live and grow together, a union between people that want to spend their lives together, based on friendship which leads to children. He then asked me 'so you think marriage isnt solely for procreation'? I said NO. IMO, marriage should not be based solely on making kids. The man disagreed vehemently, telling me i was thinking and talking like a child and that when i grow up i will know. I was a grown ass woman then already so i dont know what he was talking about (me being a kid). He said the ONLY reason people marry is to make babies and that if that wasnt in the picture, then there wouldnt be any need to marry. We argued a little bit before his secretary signalled me to just accept his oppinion as this conversation wouldnt end if i dont. I dont know if that was the reason i didnt get the job cos after that, i didnt hear from the man again.

That is a man who is probably a grand father, having that point of view. THAT kind of man will ask his fiance to take in first before the get married.

A friend of mine once told me of one of her friends who had this guy that wanted to marry her. The guy had told her plans would only commence after she is confirmed pregnant. So before the make love, they will both kneel down and pray that the girl concieves!!!!! (pray before you fornicate??? Isnt that like calling the house owner to watch you while you rob his house???)

Maybe, guys just want to make sure the girl is fertile forgetting that they could be infertile as well.

Pregnancy is a beautiful thing. It isnt right for anyone to subject any other to pressure of getting pregnant. It just isnt fair. This is the intended husband. What, then, do u expect the lady to go through at the hands of the intended inlaws (or inlaws after they are married)

It just dosent make sense to me. Does it make sense to you???

My day of the week, yayyyyyy.

Ciao!




*****Image source - google.com*****

Jet age. Where exactly are we flying to?

I remember when we were very young, When TV used to start transmission at 4pm - starting with the 'shhhhhhhh', then the coloured lines, then the national anthem, then the program line up read out by a tired looking presenter and ends transmission at 11.30pm. When we used to rush home to watch 'Tales by moonlight', 'fraggle rock', 'ovid video', Sesame street etc. When we used to play in the sand, building sand castles when it  rains. When respect from a kid to an elder was mandatory. God help you, you see an elder and dont greet, the 'konk' u get on ur head will tell u the full story! When you dare not 'put ur mouth' when ur parents are talking with their friends. Try it and recieve icy stares from all parties that will send u scampering to safety! When we used to dance 'running man' and 'scissors' and 'butterfly' steps- dance steps that required one to keep ones body and bodily parts to oneself while trying not to punch the other in the face. When kids knew bad things (yes we did) but were terrified of making it known that they know.

Fast forward to now

TV broadcast is 24/7, Kids dont really watch cartoons now cos its 'boring' (thats according to them), its now one teenage series or the other - Hannah montana and the rest. They could manage the animations like shrek, ice age etc but that has to be on dvd or from a computer system. Respect?? You are on ur own. Kids these days lack it! Most anyway cos i know there are still good kids out there. I have a cousin who looked his grandma in the face and said 'fuck u' and his mum just laughed and said 'he is just a kid'!!! (he was about 4-5 at the time). Kids these days see u and stare into ur eyes, probably waiting for u to say 'good morning' to them. Parents and friends having a conversation is free for all 'oppinion-sharing' in some families. The kids just contribute as they like, not minding that they werent invited to the gist. See dancing moves in parties, chei, it is short of making out! Girls roll their waists sometimes into the groin area of the boys with the boys holding the girls' asses in their hands and flowing to the rhythm! Yes i have seen that happen (on video) and the adults were laughing and having fun. Dressing nko? Let us leave that side for now.

I then ask myself, what is the problem???

Is it that we are scared of training our children well, so as not to offend them? Are we taking this 'liberalism' too far? We are in the new millenium so we should let them train themselves??? Its just sad to see the SPEEDY downward spiral our kids are on. I hear the kid of things some kids do these days and i just shake my head. It all boils back to home training. It isnt all about how intelligent the child is, how well he/she is doing at school. Abeg, Biko, Ejoor, (dont know the hausa version), let us try to teach these leaders of tomorrow. They wouldnt bite us if we try. They are our future

My day was FULL of challenges, one work crisis after the other. It wasnt funny. Somehow, i find peace and sanity here and so here i am.
Hope you all had it better.

You take care. Ciao

Time and tide changes us.

 Superficial individuals. Do you know any? People that think and talk shallow. They never look beneath what lies on the surface. Try having a conversation with one - TORTURE! All they talk about is 'what she was wearing', 'what she bought', 'how she looks' etc. They never (rarely) stop to actually try to figure out what substance the person is actually made of, what motivates him/her, what is not seen, what is left unsaid.
My days in the uni, There was this girl in my dept. She was in the league you could call 'big babes'. She wore the latest designs, used the latest perfumes, travelled up and down the country (doing God knows what) and was generally living large. She always judged people by what they wore. If she saw you at school, and said hi to you, that means you were dressed in a manner she finds acceptable. If she feels you were not looking up to her standards, she will so totally shun you no  matter who was around or where you guys where! She even used to do it to her very own sister (who didnt approve of her lifestyle)! Try having an intelligent conversation with her, you are so on ur own. If u guys talk more than 5mins, just be rest assured that the gist has gotten to shoes, bags and clothes. She  never seemed to understand the concept of saving money. Anyone more judgemental than this girl was yet to be created. Talk about reading or classwork, you are so on ur own! I have no idea (or rather, i dont want to have an idea) how she graduated. Dare tell her something someone did wrong, she is mortal enemies with the person. She will still  bear the grudge with that person LOOOONG after you (who was offended) have forgiven the person and moved on.
I saw her on FBrecently, after a very long time. She looks good, still flashy and all but had a more conservative air about her. I wondered if she still had that attitude of yester years. I dont think she will anymore, not with the way one has to work to get a certificate in the states (where she lives now) Heard she is studying to become a nurse!!! Mehn, how life changes people. I guess no be person tell am say life no be 'jangorova' (Swing. For you wondering what jangorova means. i am bush, i know. lol)
Just goes to show that time and tide has the ability to change people. For the better or for the worse is story for another day.
Hope your week is going on fine.
You'all take care.
Ciao!





*****image source - google.com*****

Does pimples actually have a cure?

I went over to an interesting blog i just found out, naijabankgirl . she had just gotten the Stylish and Versatile Blog Award and had to say some things about herself. One of the 7 things she said was that she had had to battle pimples for a long time. I could relate so well with this!
I didnt start having pimples when my mates where having theirs - between the ages of 13 and 18. My pimple breakout started after i should have gotten past the adolescence stage! I started having the tiny annoying stuffs when i was almost 20yrs. My friends used to taunt me that i was having late adolescence. It was so very annoying. It made me so self conscious. You can imagine just meeting this real cute boy, hanging out with him for about 2days and on the 3rd day u wake up to find about 7 boil-like looking stuffs on your face with whitish thing like pus. Mehn!!! I used to feel so bad. I tried everything - Nixoderm, one funny smelling sulphur cream (have forgetten the name), cleansers containing benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, facial wash, different soaps, even tetmosol soap (tetmosol used to be so hot that if u bath with it as a woman, u had to be careful it dosent get into 'you-know-where', else u will dance alanta for the next like 1hour while exposing the affected 'area' to fan, AC and other cooling devices!!!)
Well, i did all the 'normal' stuff and even ventured into the 'not-so-normal' ones ; akanwu (potash) mixed with lime (that burnt the crap out of my face!), rubbing honey on my face (i killed an ant on my face that night and didnt try it again). Then the advises started coming in - 'Use early morning urine to was your face' (yuk), 'Rub close-up on your face and wash it after 1hr'. I didnt pay heed to any of these obsene advices sha. The height of the advises was 'Rub sperm on you face and ur pimples will be a thing of the past'!!! SPERM as in human male reproductive liquid SPERM!!! I almost slapped the silly girl's face. I just looked at her and walked away as calmly as i could muster, but not before i told her to help me tell her boyfriend to get me the sperm to use.(shio kelebe)
I sincerely think that pimples is a phase that will pass. Maybe a reaction to something or an imbalance somewhere. All i know for sure is that some how, i managed not to care what the pimples on my face were up to and then one day, i saw my face in the mirror and couldnt believe it. they had cleared! I still have occasional breakouts but nothing major.
Just try not to eat lots of oily stuff, wash ur face at night with mild soap- make sure u remove every makeup and oily stuff. In as much as the temptation is great, try not to burst the pimples on ur face ans this will now leave a scar as it heals. leave the rest. One day, the pimples them go tire to waka up and down ur face. If u no send them,dem go go find another person to take hostage, leave u. So babes, do not bother, if i can NOT have pimple issues now - YOU CAN TOO.lol

Lalalalala, it is friday!! My best day of the week. I am so so glad.

You all take care. XOXO



*****image source-google.com*****

Would u want to be 'found' at all times?

I mean, would you let your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend install a 'location finder' software on your phone? For him/her to have ur location a click away.
I wouldnt want that, honestly. Not like there is anything to hide but i dont just think it is natural or healthy for one to monitor the other that way. I mean, the whole bane of friendships and relationships is acceptance,trust,giving the other the benefit of doubt. Where does all these go to when we sit back and follow the dot (that is the person) around? I know that when asked where we are, we shouldnt lie about it (cos for you to lie means u are doing something u know will hurt the other person so why do it?) Sincerity is key.

I read this on yahoo -

When Apple released its new iOS 5 operating system to go with its iPhone 4S, it touted a new app called "Find My Friends" as a great way to track and meet up with friends. If they agree, you can see their locations on a map on your screen.
But the app's enterprising customers are apparently already finding other uses. If the online posts appearing on a chat forum at MacRumors.com are for real, "Find My Friends" may have already claimed its first marriage.
Saturday night on MacRumors, a man saying he lived in New York City posted this:
"Divorcing wife. Thanks iPhone 4s and Find My Friends.
"I got my wife a new 4s and loaded up find my friends without her knowing. She told me she was at her friends house in the east village. I've had suspicions about her meeting this guy who live uptown. Lo and behold, Find my Friends has her right there.
"I just texted her asking where she was and the dumb b---- said she was on 10th Street!! Thank you Apple, thank you App Store, thank you all. These beautiful treasure trove of screen shots [sic] going to play well when I meet her ... at the lawyer's office in a few weeks.
"thankfully, she's the rich one."

Was this man supposed to have done a thing like that? Well, he might be excused since he says he has had his suspicious of her. he probably was waiting to authenticate his suspicious so he can have an excuse to get the hell out of the marriage. Well, he bought himself and excuse.

This reminds me of a story on www.wivesroundtable.net  where a woman was asking if it was ok to browse through her husband's phone.

Going through ones phone is just a tiny step short of installing a location finder on that person's phone.

What do you think?



*****Image source - Yahoo*****