Something to think about......

A friend of mine called me recently, she was furious because another friend of ours had called her names and insulted her. I told her to forget about it, she did not need to become petty. She then got mad at me and asked how I could be so calm about it all. I told her a story I had read in one of Paolo Coelho's books(I am pretty sure he would not mind me sharing it with you guys).


There was once a wise man who moved to the city of Akbar. No one took much notice of him, and his teachings were not taken up by the populace. After a time, he became the object of their mockery and their ironic comments.
One day, while he was walking down the main street in Akbar, a group of men and women began insulting him. Instead of pretending that he had not noticed, the wise man turned to them and blessed them.
One of them said:
"Are you deaf too? We call you the foulest of names and yet you respond with sweet words!"
"We can each of us only offer what we have", came the wise man's reply.

For my sisters

Who in childhood delirium actually thought they were top class lambada dancers. I am sure they still know the moves! Dance on girls!

The coffee club

I got a nice message today, a very good friend of mine is coming to visit, and this brought back lots of fun memories. I remember the first time I met my friend, I was rushing as usual from the metro, cigarette in one hand (yes, much to my shame, I used to be a smoker) and books in the other, trying to walk as fast as I could while at the same time smoking as fast as I could. I noticed someone across the street doing the exact same thing, trying to smoke and run at the same time. We got to the front of the building at same time, still trying to finish off what was left of our cigarettes.

Me: We are finishing these, right?
Him: Of course.

We finished our cigarettes and went up the lift, we stopped at the same door.

Me: I think we are in the same course
Him: Thank God! a normal person at last!

Thus, commenced a friendship and invention of the "coffee club". The coffee club started off with very honourable intentions, we were going to go to the cafe after every course and do our assignments together while drinking coffee and smoking. Well, the coffee club continued throughout the duration of the course but the only honorable thing we ever did on our meetings was to have discussions on books we had read, apart from that, the sessions were mostly filled with gossiping and smoking our lungs away. Soon enough though, the coffee club became quite popular as other members of the course thought it was a great idea to "study". Unfortunately, not everybody was suited for the coffee club and we were wont to "sack" people at will. I remember a particular case of a very sweet Greek girl that became a regular in the club circuit. She turned up like clockwork and would actually make us do some work. However, one day, she also happened to open her mouth. She was quite young but already had very strong political views. She had a lot of hatred for her Turkish neighbours and expressed her views quite openly. The founding members of the club both agreed that she was no longer suitable to be a member of our club. We "sacked" her that same day. The club disbanded after our course ended and we all soon went our different ways but by this time next month, there will be a reunion of the coffee club with the only two members left.

Serious help needed! what do you do if a lump of your hair turns to "dada"?

I need help. Normally, I just add tons of conditioner and the hair detangles but this time around, it has refused. What should i do? I am desperate, my hair is long and I don't want to cut it. Does anybody have any solutions? I 'll try anything. Pls help!!!!!!!!!!

update: I am going to cut my hair now, I am sad.Yes, self pity. Its not fair, I do everything right, really try hard and every fucking time, some shit like this happens. I hate this shit life and everything in it!

update on the update: I now have short hair. Life sucks and yes, I am still wallowing in self pity!

And off you go!

Its 4 o'clock in the morning and I just dropped off my brother at the airport. We talked about many things, his aspirations, dreams, hopes, goals and life in general. He has great hopes for his future and he spoke with such determination in his eyes that I know he will achieve all his goals. Discussing with him brought back so many memories of the 18 yr old who left Nigeria many years ago. I remember my father talking to me at the airport, I remember crying as I waved him goodbye, I remember being scared on the plane, I remember feeling cold and thinking everything seemed strange. Those days are long gone now and instead of a scared girl, I am now a woman giving the same advice my father gave me years ago "buy a bus card immediately, so you can move around", "stay out of trouble", it all sounded so foreign to my ears, has time gone by that fast? I still remember carrying him on my bicycle, taking him to school, I remember our secret treats of "fried fish and yam" from a roadside seller, I remember him chasing me out of the house with a stick, I remember when he could not pronounce my name properly, I remember all this and I want to cry. He has grown and I am so proud of my brother who today told me his hopes of saving enough money so he could take care of mummy, she is getting old, of finishing the house my father started. It struck me that his dreams were so unselfish, thoughts of others. As he starts his journey into adulthood and life, I close my eyes and pray.....

Dear Lord, guide my brother, let him continue to be the good and kind person you have made, may his days on earth be full of love and kindness, may his life continue to be a blessing to everyone around him, but most of all, give him happiness and fulfillment.

The world is waiting, off you go!

SPEAK UP NIGERIA!!

Hello friends, our very own solomonsydelle and Omodudu are at it again! They will soon be launching a brand new website NigerianLighthouseand to celebrate our country's independence day, they have also launched a new campaign. Please do not be afraid to take part in the competition, write something, anything, I am sure we all have a lot of venting to get off our chests!





Nigeria will be 47 on October 1st. To celebrate the nation’s birthday and to commemorate Nigerian Lighthouse’s inception, we present the Speak Up Nigeria campaign. This is an attempt to encourage unity amongst Nigerians.

Instructions
Write a message to Nigeria. Whatever it is you have ever wanted to say. Your message can be long or short, funny or serious. Just send a message to your country on its day of Independence. The top 5 messages will be selected by the Nigerian Lighthouse Team and voted upon by the Nigerian blogger community. The best message will receive an IPOD NANO and the winner will be announced on October 1st.

Only one message per participant is allowed, so make it a good one!

Deadline

All messages must be submitted by midnight (US Eastern time) on Saturday, September 29th.
Restrictions

1. One entry per participant.

2. The winning post will become the property of Nigerian Lighthouse.

3. All participants must provide their email address.

4. The winner may be asked to provide their name and address to receive their prize.

For more information, please go to NigerianLighthouse

LAGOS BOOK AND ART FESTIVAL 2007

9th LAGOS BOOK AND ART FESTIVAL
Theme: Literacy As Democracy Dividend
DATE: NOVEMBER 9-11, 2007
VENUE: NATIONAL THEATRE, IGANMU, LAGOS

Hello people, came out of blogville retirement to announce a very cool event coming up soon in Lagos! For all you book lovers, make sure you attend,there will be symposiums, discussions, music, dance, and lots of other fun events for adults and kids. For more information, please go to cora