hello ladies and gents! as some of you know i'm on vacation.....yay!!! Right now i' at schiphol airport in amsterdam paying outta my ass for some internet connection. can't find any network services that's for free but i just heard couple talking about it so if you know, please let me know cuz i'll be passing through here again on my trip back.
So yay!!! I'll be visiting home for the first time in a year and a half and i'm quite anxious i think. It feels like a dream to right now, i don't really know why sha. Like i've thought about it for so long now that i can't believe the day is here already, and the time couldn't be better. I wonder if the strike in nigeria is still on?!?! Cuz THANK GOD my trip was scheduled for this time cuz the thing was driving me nuts. i couldn't believe that a labor organization shut down the country for three days and counting! jeez.....weird ish. I guess i'll give it more time when i blog next as i'm gonna be doing on this trip since i got hi speed wireless at home and plenty of time. YAY again! Anyway, ya it feels weird to be going back. I'm curious to see how "nigerian/lagosian" i've become. I was on the plane with a Belgian (? is this what you call people from Belgium?!?!) anyway, he's been living in Nigeria (Port Harcourt for 3 years) and he was speaking mad pidgeon throughout the trip man. He was saying that he hopes when he gets to Belgium he doesn't starting saying "na wa o" and people would be looking at him weird! LOL. Totally got the guy. As the plane was taking off and my intense fear of flying was kicking in (i mean as bad as it gets, hyperventilating, frantic prayers punctuated with songs, and the occasional "oh jesus"....lol, trust me, it's bad!!!) anyway, i was getting mad scared so he like held my hand and kept on saying, "pele, pele".......if i wasn't busy thinkng of me loosing my life, i woulda just laughed!!! Anyway, good guy sha.
Ha....let me hurry off, seems like i got 15 more mins on this bad boy and i haven't checked out bella naija!
Ciao!
This is My City
I was dragged kicking and screaming to Ottawa. I had chosen University of Ottawa as my school of choice in Canada because it was completely bilingual and i thought, tres cool? tres francaise! This city will definitely count in the top five of beautiful cities for anyone once you've been there. Ottawa is the capital city of Canada and is a bilingual (French and English) city, as in completely bilingual. It is next door to Quebec and Hull, Quebec is still considered part of the National Capital Territory and is like 15min away. It is 4 hours from Toronto, 2 hours from Montreal and 1 hour from the American border. Ottawa is the second coldest capital in the world, behind Moscow!!! Oh, we also hate Toronto and anything to do with it. Let me introduce you:
Gotta love the mounties!!
At Night!
In Winter!
Architecture
Interior Parliament
Notre Dame Cathedral
Interior Parliament:
Several festivals go on in Ottawa. There's the Blues and Jazz Festival in Summer. That's where I knew that Lauryn Hill was definitely bonkers!!! I was walking back from work one evening and all I could hear was Ms. Hill's screetching and crying as she sang and i was like wtf?!?! Anyway, we also have the Tulip Festival in July which is when tulips are EVERYWHERE in the city. The festival is a gift from the Queen of Holland who stayed in Canada during the second world war so since then she donates hundreds of thousands of tulips to Ottawa.
Then there's Winterlude! Ottawa is mad cold so of course we celebrate everything cold and make snow and ice sculptures and skate around the Rideau Canal which is the longest skating rink in the world, and eat beaver tails!!!
What Do We Eat?
Ok, this is fun! An Ottawaen must like poutine. In fact as a Canadian you must at least KNOW poutine, but if it's not made by a frenchman or there isn't a french person around, RUN!!!
And how serious are we about our poutine?!?!
So what else must you eat if you happen to be in Ottawa? well a shawarma of course. and i'm not talking about those pita sandwiches that some people try and pass on like it's a real shawarma, no! it has to have hummus, and garlic sauce, and tunips, if your sharwarma doesn't look like this:
and the place doesn't have one of these:
you're not eating a real shawarma, sorry! I actually LOVE LOVE sharwarma plates, y'all should try it if you can:
There's also beavertails which is fried dough covered in brown sugar or powdered sugar, this here is plain although it can be topped with apple sauce or whatever you like.
Falun Dafa
for some reason, we love our falun dafa. what is falun dafa?!?! me sef i no know oh! na so i dey see people all over the place it's sha interesting...check it out
I just like this pic below cuz it's so Ottawa, so Canadian!!! to have a stop sign for crossing turtles, how absurd, i can't imagine that would fly in America, lol.
I'll caption the rest of the pics tomorrow if there's no strike! If there's strike then yay!!! no work pour moi. I think i'll blog about the strike on my next post.
Ciao!
Gotta love the mounties!!
At Night!
In Winter!
Architecture
Interior Parliament
Notre Dame Cathedral
Interior Parliament:
Several festivals go on in Ottawa. There's the Blues and Jazz Festival in Summer. That's where I knew that Lauryn Hill was definitely bonkers!!! I was walking back from work one evening and all I could hear was Ms. Hill's screetching and crying as she sang and i was like wtf?!?! Anyway, we also have the Tulip Festival in July which is when tulips are EVERYWHERE in the city. The festival is a gift from the Queen of Holland who stayed in Canada during the second world war so since then she donates hundreds of thousands of tulips to Ottawa.
Then there's Winterlude! Ottawa is mad cold so of course we celebrate everything cold and make snow and ice sculptures and skate around the Rideau Canal which is the longest skating rink in the world, and eat beaver tails!!!
What Do We Eat?
Ok, this is fun! An Ottawaen must like poutine. In fact as a Canadian you must at least KNOW poutine, but if it's not made by a frenchman or there isn't a french person around, RUN!!!
And how serious are we about our poutine?!?!
So what else must you eat if you happen to be in Ottawa? well a shawarma of course. and i'm not talking about those pita sandwiches that some people try and pass on like it's a real shawarma, no! it has to have hummus, and garlic sauce, and tunips, if your sharwarma doesn't look like this:
and the place doesn't have one of these:
you're not eating a real shawarma, sorry! I actually LOVE LOVE sharwarma plates, y'all should try it if you can:
There's also beavertails which is fried dough covered in brown sugar or powdered sugar, this here is plain although it can be topped with apple sauce or whatever you like.
Falun Dafa
for some reason, we love our falun dafa. what is falun dafa?!?! me sef i no know oh! na so i dey see people all over the place it's sha interesting...check it out
I just like this pic below cuz it's so Ottawa, so Canadian!!! to have a stop sign for crossing turtles, how absurd, i can't imagine that would fly in America, lol.
I'll caption the rest of the pics tomorrow if there's no strike! If there's strike then yay!!! no work pour moi. I think i'll blog about the strike on my next post.
Ciao!
My First Blogger Crush!!!
It was a quiet morning. The sun was out after a full day of dullness and downpour that was yesterday. I seriously didn't have high hopes for the day, just one of those "getting by" types you know. I decided on lazily checking up on blogs this friday. So off I go to Linda Ikeji's blog and i read her post about her very chauvinist sounding friend and i'm so incensed i decide to comment. In doing that I read one snazzy's comment and it sounded so well written and then i'm like "is this a naija guy?!?!?!".... Hmm, i said, let's see what this person's profile says. So I read and he says "just moved to nigeria from yanks and jand..." so i'm like, hmm....this should be interesting so I go...........
I was caught.
Funny
Relevant
Intelligent
Cheeky
Witty
Ahhhhhhhh..............I swoon. I've found my blog crush and his name is Snazzy
To those gbeboruns present, yes i do work, so shut up. That's all.
I was caught.
Funny
Relevant
Intelligent
Cheeky
Witty
Ahhhhhhhh..............I swoon. I've found my blog crush and his name is Snazzy
To those gbeboruns present, yes i do work, so shut up. That's all.
'Ol Time Killin'
Oh my!!! Today is just one of those days you know. Work has been trying these last couple of days as we go through some major restructuring. Those of you in the know, know what i'm talking about. I think if ever i'm in a company that starts to show these kinds of signs again, I will definitely bounce before you can say "jack robinson"!!! It's not easy.
All my Canada heads, my toronto heads, will appreciate this next video link. For those that don't know.........there's an artist called Kardinall Offishal. There's an artist called Jully Black. They are hip hop. They are Canadians. And yes, they are black. It takes a true canadian to really appreciate canadian hip hop, it's different and fresh. It's mostly not about bling and hos (check out Fabolous vid about nothing for reference). Some of you may remember Kardi from "Bakardi Slang" which was hot in the states for about a minute, he even made it unto 106 & Park in those days. Anyway, this song here is called "Ol Time Killin" and it's classic. I'm just feeling it today....
Go Chimamanda!!!
I'm very proud of Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie who has just won the Orange Prize for Literature. I'm sure she appreciates the 30,000 pounds prize that comes with it, that sure inspires me to write! But on a serious tip, the lady has accomplished something wonderful for herself and other young women out there who are inspired to put pen to paper and document their thoughts for the world. So my hats off to her! She should just share the money around now....Chimamanda, just plan small party for the boys (girls)!!! lol.
All my Canada heads, my toronto heads, will appreciate this next video link. For those that don't know.........there's an artist called Kardinall Offishal. There's an artist called Jully Black. They are hip hop. They are Canadians. And yes, they are black. It takes a true canadian to really appreciate canadian hip hop, it's different and fresh. It's mostly not about bling and hos (check out Fabolous vid about nothing for reference). Some of you may remember Kardi from "Bakardi Slang" which was hot in the states for about a minute, he even made it unto 106 & Park in those days. Anyway, this song here is called "Ol Time Killin" and it's classic. I'm just feeling it today....
Go Chimamanda!!!
I'm very proud of Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie who has just won the Orange Prize for Literature. I'm sure she appreciates the 30,000 pounds prize that comes with it, that sure inspires me to write! But on a serious tip, the lady has accomplished something wonderful for herself and other young women out there who are inspired to put pen to paper and document their thoughts for the world. So my hats off to her! She should just share the money around now....Chimamanda, just plan small party for the boys (girls)!!! lol.
Stolen Again!!
I'm stealing this from TMinx again....i think i may have done it before though but why not:
1.What time did you get up this morning? 6:15am
2. Diamonds or pearls? Hmm...this one is hard oh!!! Ok....i'll go for diamonds, but ONLY after i've had lots of pearls. or maybe i'll get pearls with a diamond pendant?!!? yea...i like that
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Probably Spiderman
4. What is your favorite TV show? Gilmore Girls, i can't miss that show
5. What did you have for breakfast? Toast....(i won't tell you from where...)
6. What is your middle name? Temitope. for some reason everyone at the company clinic has refused to call me Lola. i don't know why.
7. What is your favorite cuisine/meal? Well, I love Pad Thai.
8. What foods do you dislike? Indian, i should tell you of the last (absolute last) indian restaurant I went to and what i saw the chef doing....
9. Your favorite Potato chip? i don't eat these...
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Robin Thicke and B'Day (bootleg version with close to every damn good song beyonce ever made along with of course the songs of bday), Tuface Idibia
11. What kind of car do you drive? right...moving along.
12. Favorite sandwich? probably chicken hummus...or if shawarma counts
13. What characteristics do you despise? Unkind people, arrogance and self-centeredness
14. Favorite item of clothing? One of my ankara outfits for sure.
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Seychelles Island, or some Eastern European country.
16. What color is your bathroom? Pink....yup!
17. Favorite brand of clothing? BCBG, Banana Republic, Gap....those are the only ones I KNOW for sure i'd pick and just wear, no complaints.
18. Where would you want to retire? i've never thought of that before......uhm....canada or europe.
19. Favorite time of day? Morning
20. Where were you born? Lagos, Nigeria
21. Favorite sport(s) to watch? Football, u know, the one that counts......NFL!!! let the america bashing begin....
22. Who do you least expect to respond to this? It doesn't really matter now does it?
23. Person you expect to respond first? Ditto
24. What laundry scent do you use? Doesn't everyone use downy or bounty??? but no downy in Nigeria that i've found anyway....everything is persil.
25. Coke or Pepsi? I'm not a soft drinks person
26. Are you a morning person or night owl? Morning person
27. What size shoe do you wear? promise not to scream?!?! Size 11 American. and watever that is anywhere else.
28. Do you have pets? NOpe, used to have a cat called Lulu Chiquita
29. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? I'm nutty over someone/something/some project
30. What did you want to be when you were little? Bacteriologist and Pediatrician
31. Favorite Candy Bar? Kit Kat or Twixt
32. What is your best childhood memory? i don't know man....i just remember i was quite happy as a little child oh! once pre-puberty hit it was trouble.
33. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Bingo Attendant, Plus Size Lingerie Sales Attendant, Receptionist, Market Researcher, Marketing Database Assistant, Marketing Information Manager
34. What color/type underwear are you? Something pink or yellow i'm sure
35.Nicknames: as if i would say.
36. Piercings ? One in each ear
37. Eye color? Brown
38. Ever been to Africa? duh, i live here...
39. Ever been toilet papering or rolling? I think so, probably at halloween.
40. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yes
41. Been in a car accident? Minor, baby ones...recently though a trailer and i mean a HUGE trailer grazed off the side of my friend's car and I was in it. I was soo scared but dude was chill.....that ish scared me!
42. Croutons or bacon bits? Ewww...i hate bacon! Croutons please...
43.Favorite day of the week? Wednesday! don't ask me why, i've just always liked it
44. Favorite restaurant? I'm assuming in Lagos right? Marco Polo. I also like Pattaya but give me Yellow Chili anytime, that's my second home :o)
45. Favorite flower? Sunflowers
46. Favorite ice cream? Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Mint Chocolate Chip
47. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Lol.......once so far!
48. What color is your bedroom carpet? Brown
49. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Again?!?!
50. Before this one, from whom did you get your last email? My last email was from AC Nielsen (drats!)
51. Which stores would you choose to max out your credit card? I don't have a credit card but.......H&M cuz i'll be able to buy plenty of cool stuff, Banana Republic just cuz i'm a banana republic whore.
52. What do you do most often when you are bored? Read, and i mean read everything....oh and also SUDOKU!!!
53. Bedtime? 10pm, if no light and i've got to turn off the generator, lol. otherwise depends on what's on tv.
54. Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire? Blah...
55. Last person you went to dinner with? A friend
56. What are you listening to right now? Robin Thicke, Lost Without You. this song means a lot to me.
57. What is your favorite color? Forest Green
58. Lake, Ocean or river? Ocean...a la Beyonce and JayZ off the Amalfi Coast...
59. How many tattoos do you have? None. But i'm really thinking of it now, how come everyone I meet has one or two?!?! When I was younger I wanted the hieraglyphic sign for destiny in the crook of my back but now I think i want the playboy logo......LOL (how my priority has changed over the years!!!!)
60. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The egg of course! trust me, I can explain that.
1.What time did you get up this morning? 6:15am
2. Diamonds or pearls? Hmm...this one is hard oh!!! Ok....i'll go for diamonds, but ONLY after i've had lots of pearls. or maybe i'll get pearls with a diamond pendant?!!? yea...i like that
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Probably Spiderman
4. What is your favorite TV show? Gilmore Girls, i can't miss that show
5. What did you have for breakfast? Toast....(i won't tell you from where...)
6. What is your middle name? Temitope. for some reason everyone at the company clinic has refused to call me Lola. i don't know why.
7. What is your favorite cuisine/meal? Well, I love Pad Thai.
8. What foods do you dislike? Indian, i should tell you of the last (absolute last) indian restaurant I went to and what i saw the chef doing....
9. Your favorite Potato chip? i don't eat these...
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Robin Thicke and B'Day (bootleg version with close to every damn good song beyonce ever made along with of course the songs of bday), Tuface Idibia
11. What kind of car do you drive? right...moving along.
12. Favorite sandwich? probably chicken hummus...or if shawarma counts
13. What characteristics do you despise? Unkind people, arrogance and self-centeredness
14. Favorite item of clothing? One of my ankara outfits for sure.
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Seychelles Island, or some Eastern European country.
16. What color is your bathroom? Pink....yup!
17. Favorite brand of clothing? BCBG, Banana Republic, Gap....those are the only ones I KNOW for sure i'd pick and just wear, no complaints.
18. Where would you want to retire? i've never thought of that before......uhm....canada or europe.
19. Favorite time of day? Morning
20. Where were you born? Lagos, Nigeria
21. Favorite sport(s) to watch? Football, u know, the one that counts......NFL!!! let the america bashing begin....
22. Who do you least expect to respond to this? It doesn't really matter now does it?
23. Person you expect to respond first? Ditto
24. What laundry scent do you use? Doesn't everyone use downy or bounty??? but no downy in Nigeria that i've found anyway....everything is persil.
25. Coke or Pepsi? I'm not a soft drinks person
26. Are you a morning person or night owl? Morning person
27. What size shoe do you wear? promise not to scream?!?! Size 11 American. and watever that is anywhere else.
28. Do you have pets? NOpe, used to have a cat called Lulu Chiquita
29. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? I'm nutty over someone/something/some project
30. What did you want to be when you were little? Bacteriologist and Pediatrician
31. Favorite Candy Bar? Kit Kat or Twixt
32. What is your best childhood memory? i don't know man....i just remember i was quite happy as a little child oh! once pre-puberty hit it was trouble.
33. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Bingo Attendant, Plus Size Lingerie Sales Attendant, Receptionist, Market Researcher, Marketing Database Assistant, Marketing Information Manager
34. What color/type underwear are you? Something pink or yellow i'm sure
35.Nicknames: as if i would say.
36. Piercings ? One in each ear
37. Eye color? Brown
38. Ever been to Africa? duh, i live here...
39. Ever been toilet papering or rolling? I think so, probably at halloween.
40. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yes
41. Been in a car accident? Minor, baby ones...recently though a trailer and i mean a HUGE trailer grazed off the side of my friend's car and I was in it. I was soo scared but dude was chill.....that ish scared me!
42. Croutons or bacon bits? Ewww...i hate bacon! Croutons please...
43.Favorite day of the week? Wednesday! don't ask me why, i've just always liked it
44. Favorite restaurant? I'm assuming in Lagos right? Marco Polo. I also like Pattaya but give me Yellow Chili anytime, that's my second home :o)
45. Favorite flower? Sunflowers
46. Favorite ice cream? Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Mint Chocolate Chip
47. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Lol.......once so far!
48. What color is your bedroom carpet? Brown
49. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Again?!?!
50. Before this one, from whom did you get your last email? My last email was from AC Nielsen (drats!)
51. Which stores would you choose to max out your credit card? I don't have a credit card but.......H&M cuz i'll be able to buy plenty of cool stuff, Banana Republic just cuz i'm a banana republic whore.
52. What do you do most often when you are bored? Read, and i mean read everything....oh and also SUDOKU!!!
53. Bedtime? 10pm, if no light and i've got to turn off the generator, lol. otherwise depends on what's on tv.
54. Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire? Blah...
55. Last person you went to dinner with? A friend
56. What are you listening to right now? Robin Thicke, Lost Without You. this song means a lot to me.
57. What is your favorite color? Forest Green
58. Lake, Ocean or river? Ocean...a la Beyonce and JayZ off the Amalfi Coast...
59. How many tattoos do you have? None. But i'm really thinking of it now, how come everyone I meet has one or two?!?! When I was younger I wanted the hieraglyphic sign for destiny in the crook of my back but now I think i want the playboy logo......LOL (how my priority has changed over the years!!!!)
60. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The egg of course! trust me, I can explain that.