Umbrella

I am an umbrella

Sturdy, definite, dependable

Most times I feel neglected

When I am not outside

Me and the sun, we do get along

I am a shade when the heat is on

I worry when it's windy and would usually flip out

I want to be considered as reliable, though I could fold up in doubt

The silence of the seasons would usually freak me out

I feel guilty when I wish for rain, morning showers are the best

A reminder of a fresh start; to protect, to serve and to shield

Think of me as a true accomplice, ever ready, ever sure

Come rain, come sunshine, come fall, I am here with you through it all

I write like I speak

I write like I speak. I have all these thoughts jumbled up in my head and I try to bring them out as quickly as possible so I don't leave out any little bit of information. With writing, it works because you can always go back and edit, but in real life, a lot of times I just get all kinds of looks depending on whom I'm speaking to. My man-friend tells me when I speak 'excitedly' (he has coined it!) that I start to lisp. If I knew that all I had to do to get rid of my lisp was to talk really slowly, this would have saved me a whole lot of money and the pain of braces.

Imagine that....

Weird that my last post was about living with a celeb because this morning this fact actually kicked in. I was awakened by a lot of noise and movement going on in my apartment and I started wondering if my roomie had invited some people over for brunch and assumed I would be in class (forgetting I am on holiday, YAY!), so I decided to be brave and venture out of my room. Strangers, everywhere, suitcases, tripods and then in the living room, my roommate with all kinds of curly things in her hair and a make-up person attending to her.

Me: Wow, what`s going on????
Her:`Cee, I`m so sorry, I had a shoot today and I forgot`
Me:`No problemo, can I watch?`

I must say that I enjoyed the shoot, watching the stylists, make-up lady and photographer work, with all the different languages just floating around was a beautiful thing! In my younger days I remember always wanting to be in the world of fashion, over the years I`ve learnt I am just not cut out for it, I prefer to be a very close observer. In that sense, I guess having Anna as a roommate doesn`t hurt : )

A funny story

So when I moved to Basel, it was crazy trying to find an apartment, I didn`t know how ridiculous it would be so I put it off till I actually got here. Big mistake, I ended up staying at a Bed and Breakfast for 2 months! It was a learning experience, my advice to all when starting off in a new place, make all arrangements before you get there or else you`ll end up spending a lot of money you probably do not have. So I started my studies with the huge burden of looking for a place lingering in the background. Fortunately, the lady at the B&B was very helpful and understanding (I call her my mama in Basel and we still keep in touch), I eventually found a very cool place, like right out of one of those vintage French movies, old and cosy, just the way I liked it. This is exactly where I saw myself living when I thought of Europe and my roommate matched the apartment completely, artsy, girly and cool! She had told me she was in a band called Anne Claire, told me to check out their website and invited me to a show. I was amazed when I did, such talent, I couldn`t understand how they hadn`t been picked up yet...

I moved in and it was great, my roommate told me she was going to perform in some kind of contest and it was going to be aired on TV, being new in town I wasn`t sure what it was but I had told her I would definitely give my support! I wasn`t able to watch the show on the day it aired, but the next day I rushed to Youtube (God bless them) and SHE WON!!!!!! SO, I am now roommates (till April at least) with Switzerland's representative for the Eurovision contest!!!!!! I am super cool people! and that`s my claim to fame for now : ) enjoy her winning performance!

I am here

Finding time to share my world hasn`t been easy, so I have a backlog of pent up feelings which I believe is a little unhealthy, so here I am back to unload all I have stored up.

So much has happened...

I lied last year when I said I would be more consistent with my posts, but hopefully, I will be able to keep that promise this year.

The big news from 2010 was that I moved to Switzerland : ) Basel to be precise. I am a student once again! Is it bad that I am already done with the experience? I just miss the freedom that earning money gives you!!!! Either way, I shall milk this whole experience for all it`s worth, lots of backpacking planned.

Me and my man friend made it to 2011, yay! Long distance has been tough but we have managed to keep things interesting so happiness all around!

Happy new year to all, still working on getting a camera, till then I shall depend on pics by friends, this one was taken by the beautiful Maeva, when she came to visit me here in the land of the Swiss. We were in Bar Rouge that evening, you can view the whole of Basel and beyond from there : )

Over the rainbow...

Happy New Year, it's been a very fast year so far, the weeks are moving along really quickly and I must say I am quite happy about all my little projects unfolding as the time rushes by. 

A quick summary of all that's been going on since I last shared. So last year my friend did get married, I feel I did a good job as a first time bridesmaid, I ended up having to hook up all the little flower girls with french braids while also trying to get myself together, let's just say I dunno if I want to be that involved in a wedding that's not mine again....I didn't say it loud enough cause already another friend is trying to sign me up for the same gig 'God Help me!'. Also in 2009, I got to see my friend Maryam twice in one year (she lives in DC, I live in Lagos), that never happens, so it was great to catch up. She decided to come out and celebrate her birthday with us and we were toooooo happy to oblige! That's us in the pic with my beautiful sisters!

My man-friend went off to school in England and so our relationship is now long-distance, I feel very mixed about this....

My sister, I and Sally launched our new t-shirt collection and the feedback has been great, we are presently working on revamping our website and just being more organised, feels good that we're still in business after all these years!

And that brings us to this morning, I just watched the Marc Jacobs show compiled by one of my favorite fashion bloggers Garance Dore and it put me in very high spirits, my own personal Monday morning boost! Some people need coffee, I need my Bill Cunningham (NYtimes on the street), Scott Schuman (the Satorialist) and Garance. Every time I see something beautiful it gives me hope and inspires me so I already know this week is going to be great (it helps that Friday may actually be a public holiday). Well, hopefully, I'll be a bit more consistent this year as far as sharing my thoughts in blogville, just taking everything one step at a time.

Tchau xoxo

ok.?

My friend Bee is getting married and I am so excited but at the same time a little anxious. She made me a Chief brides-maid (CBM), and there's two of us but I feel I haven't quite lived up to expectations even though I'm not sure what exactly the expectations are these days. From all I've seen on the big screen the CBM is the bride's biatch for the day of the ceremony, she basically has to be prepared for anything, soooooo does that mean I twiddle my thumbs till the day of? (which is in 2 weeks btw)?

Arrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Feeling a huge bout of frustration! I feel like I am loosing control of my situation/life, de ja vu almost. I'm probably not making any sense right now but I just need to blow off some steam, so please bear with me.......... I tried to find a picture that would match my mood and this was the perfect one, lol. Disbelief mixed with shock... I wish everything could be still and just wait for me to collect my thoughts. I shall definitely be munching on some dumplings tonight so I can get everything back in perspective, they just make everything feel so much better!

Schengen!

I finally stopped being lazy and compiled some pictures from my European summer, it was calm, quick and educational...

On dumplings again!

So I'm off to Europe soon. I'm a bit anxious about it, but in a good way. Change is always good and I shall be going through a lot of it in the next couple of months, scary but good. 

Just rediscovered one of the bands I liked back then, Domino band with lead singer Domino Kirke. They weren't signed and used to play regularly out of ANNEX in New York city. Lucky me, my roommate at the time was dating the drummer (the one holding the wine bottle) so I was allowed to be a groupie and for a cool band... good times! 

WTF?

I just had an out-of-body experience driving to work this morning. I live in a city I have nothing in common with, how did I get here? The only way I have survived here thus far is by frequently going on vacation to nearby cities.

Lagos, Nigeria according to a friend that dared to visit 'has no charm whatsoever,' sometimes I believe this statement and I guess today was one of those times. A city with so much potential and every day I see it being ploughed down like the old colonial houses that have to make room for the new high rises 'cause for some reason people keep migrating here. 

My frustration lies in the fact that Lagos, a huge metropolis which originated from Islands separated by creeks, is empty. It exists purely on hype. The boredom that overcomes me sometimes is scary, I mean work has become my social life. What happened to the excitement you feel when you've discovered something for the first time, these days I get that when a new lounge or restaurant opens up and I wouldn't call it excitement, more like an 'ah' feeling that lasts exactly 5 seconds. The sad thing is, according to gist, Lagos is considered the most exciting city in Nigeria, wtf? 

I love what Governor Fashola is doing, I mean it looks really pretty, but how about the Mallams on the street corners, our own kind of Bodega, or the women that sell roasted corn and Boli on the roadside, that was actually a remnant of the cool that once was, when one could walk down the street and be shaded by the trees and actually get there without being run over by either a bus or an Okada, the simpler times. Could it be that exposure has me craving more than what was satisfactory in the past or am I just old and going through the motions? 

One thing I realise is that I probably have to make something happen or else this is it, so this is my new mission, God help me! 

What Next?!

I feel I am at a point in my life where I am never satisfied. For some reason, I have it in my head that I am in some kind of huge tournament, with who you ask, well, whoever comes across my mind at any point in time. This can be tiring but this is how I've lived must of my life and like they say, you can't teach an old dog new tricks (I can't believe I just quoted that). 

This way of life has it's good and bad, the good is always being one step ahead you basically analyze things till there's nothing left and then make your move based on the results. The bad is, you become very paranoid and probably will miss out on a lot of good things (like the time I was supposed to hook up with this really hot French boy). 

I am almost 30 and I feel like I have not quite gotten where I hoped I would be by this time, so cliche yet so true, like some kind of 'right of passage'. I am finally coming to terms with my path, I am trying to embrace it in all earnestness, God help me! I hope to start a new phase of my life soon and I am very open to whatever life has for me next, can't compete with life, unfortunately!

O no! What did I not eat?!

So I did a blood test or should I say a bunch of blood tests (that left me with a nasty bruise) and I got my results today. I am clear on the HIV front but apparently, I have anaemia and not the 'you don't have enough iron type' this one I had never heard of till today. Normochromic Normocytic Anaemia, yup quite a mouthful! Not sure what that is, have done a little research online but still not quite clear... 

Merry Christmas?

I love to travel at the end of the year. Lagos gets way too superficial in December so I use that time to explore my surroundings and gain humbling experiences. Unfortunately, due to the contract, I signed when I got employed, this time I was stuck at home. 

I tried to make the best of the situation but it just wasn't a very happy period for me, I didn't really feel the 'Christmas spirit' this year. I managed to shop, I think to wrap the gifts was the highlight of the whole thing for me, even attending service didn't do it (God knows my heart!). Could it have been the economic crunch?! or was I just so set on traveling that I couldn't appreciate being around loved ones? naaaaaaaaah, must have been the economic crunch.

I was such a grump that my man friend got me a present and I had him take it back, I felt it just wasn't me and he should have known this period. When I think about it now I am so ashamed. I totally forgot about all the effort that must have gone into getting the gift. No worries I have apologised and we are still together thank you very much! 

I remember Christmas 2004 where my sister and I had just moved back to Miami from Virginia and New York respectively. We had no furniture, no family around, couldn't afford to buy presents and yet we had the best time baking and reminiscing. I want to go back to those simple days! Where we made Christmas happen in the real sense of the season, sharing and showing love just like Jesus did!

What I learnt out of the whole experience is a lesson that seems to keep coming up, Don't wait for things to happen 'MAKE IT HAPPEN' this message I shall carry over into this new year.

WISHING ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

I love Dumplings!

I love Dumplings (hence my profile pic), the ones filled with yummy meat that come either steamed (if you want to keep it healthy) or stir-fried (if you want to live on the wild side). I mean I feel there is no other food in the world that even comes close, and ever since I revisited the 'metal in the mouth trend' (yup, the braces are back on!), it has been the most convenient of the comfort foods that not only make me happy but at the same time does not offend my dentist! 

We just celebrated Eid-el Kabir over here in Lagos Nigeria and we got two days off (YaY! a 4 day weekend). Now, this is known as Ram day, just like Thanksgiving is known as Turkey day. I forgot this fact and decided to pay a visit to my dentist on Saturday before the break. He felt that it was time to change my wires and put on what he called 'the Power Chain'. Excruciating pain is what I felt, followed by a huge sense of disappointment when my girl Maims called me up to invite me to Sallah lunch at hers, I mean according to my dentist all I would be allowed to eat was mashed up rice and maybe some boiled potatoes if I was feeling adventurous! I knew I was in for trouble but I put on a brave face and a cute dress and headed out, first to pick up my man-friend and then on to the lunch.

It was an amazing spread of Nigerian delicacies cooked to perfection and all kinds of ram meat, sitting there mocking me. Just when I started feeling sorry for myself, almost in full out sulking mode I caught a flash of something and it was coming from some girls mouth, upon closer inspection (I really had to strain, she was a rookie in the braces game, therefore very self-conscious) I noticed this other girl, Bunmi had on some metal too, yay! I shall not suffer alone, so we basically looked out for each other, it was like some sort of support group 'giiiiiiirl, I wouldn't risk those snails if I were you...' etc, etc. We bonded over metal and it felt good. Sallah was more bearable 'cause I got to eat food that wasn't mashed up and I made a new friend. 

Forgive my rambling on about food, but if you know me really well you will know that food is a big part of my life, and since I am opening up it seemed like the perfect ice-breaker. Welcome to my very first blog. Not exactly sure what I'm going to put on here but I'm sure I'll figure it out.