See Jamb Question

Na so he see me for road one day, He come dey ask stupid questions. Have I met you before? Is your brother Paul? Did you go to my school? Does your daddy play football?

Yea i know I went AWOL since the last post and for that I would like to apologise. Life has been crazy, hectic, new, exciting and weird.Quite a number of  posts went stale in my head. Sorry about the long silence

Few days ago, after work I picked up my phone from  where I abandoned it all day and saw that I had several unread messages demanding my attention. The numbers of messages from  my high school group on WhatsApp caught my attention (cause the turn up had been low lately) but on this day participation was higher than usual. Well the subject of discussion  was "So what's your favorite song of the moment?". Someone mentioned "jamb question" was on replay amongst others. I had never heard the song then ( please don't look so surprised I know it should be stale for some people by now but you know what they say better late than never). The title was catchy so I promised myself to look up the song but never did. 

In the early hours of the morning today, I coincidentally came across a post  by one my favourite bloggers titled "Simi is Bae! Jamb question has been on replay" with the YouTube link to the music video and was like "this song again". Quickly, I downloaded it full of expectation. People! it didn't  disappoint. I love the 80's or is it 70s theme (I don't know sef), the location, the costumes, the colours, the concept, Simi's voice, the dialogue, the  hilarious lyrics. That dude Falz, he wont kii sombory honezly plus his yoruba intonation used in the rap at the end. Favourite lines were "does your daddy play football?", "did you ever go to Redeem?" "did you ever spoke with him?" lolz. Anxiously waiting for the rest of the video....

                                                  

Every "Ifem" has a "Ceiling"

I finished reading "Americanah" few days ago. It was a long read. Americanah left me with mixed feeling particularly with the ending,*Lolz* maybe because I began to dislike the lead character - Ifemelu. My dislike for her crept in half way into the book and even more at the end. She started of as a sweet and intelligent girl along the line ended up being a judgemental and selfish being. *sigh* She is truly an "Americanah", both strong and weak, both prickly and vulnerable. She is just different.This is honestly the first Nigerian love story i have ever read.

Though I ended the book not liking the turn out of events, its a suspense-filled page turner. It  shows the author's narrative, descriptive and captivating power to hold the attention of its readers keeping them interested and entertained as they read It also shows that one doesn't have to like the protagonist in a book to actually like the book. I love her style of writing.

Obiwon's "Obi Mu O" started and she sat still and silent as the words filled the car. This is that feeling that I've never felt… and I'm not gonna let it die. When the male and female voices sang in Igbo, Obinze sang along with them, glancing away from the road to look at her, as though he was telling her that this was really their conversation, he calling her beautiful, she calling him beautiful, both calling each other their true friends. Nwanyi oma, woke oma, omalicha nwa, ezigbo obi m o. 'Americanah' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

That happened in chapter 52 of the book. Reading about two people-Nigerian like myself for that matter - in love and singing along to Bracket's "Yori Yori"  and Obiwon's "Obi Mu O" *smiles* what can i say "Soulmates".  It was written with such detail that activates the imagination and allows one relate to reality.

While I was reading I could actually feel the love there. After I finished with the book I immediately YouTubed Obiwon's "Obi Mu O" and also downloaded the audio version of the song and it has been on replay since then. What is it about this song o! I have always loved the song but it had been long since I heard it. Very lovely song. Igbos representing. Powerful lyrics. Strong beat. I was listening dance to it at work and my colleagues were also feeling the song with me too. Lolz.

It was a good story despite my "beef " with Ifemelu.         

The Reason Bread Doesn't Last...

Dear Peanut Butter, thank you for existing. if somebody tells you that you are putting too much peanut butter on your bread, Stop talking to them because you don't need that type of negativity in your life.

     Can't remember the age i fell in love with it as it has long been a guilty pleasure. The whites "ndi bekee"would call it peanut butter (creamy) and Igbos call it ose oji (chunky). I hate garden eggs but i love garden eggs with ose oji. Idon't really like bread but i love bread with peanut butter. You get the gist??

     I bought Skippy (a peanut butter brand) as a change from the regular butter we use at home. It was amazing the rate at which bread was consumed and also the rate at which the peanut butter jar was emptied. It was indulged in various ways we could think of - eaten with bread (toasted, spread in between the bread or spread on the outer part of the bread), biscuit, garden eggs etc. Sometimes i found myself scooping a spoonful of peanut butter straight out of the jar and licking it.

   The bread never passed a night in the house. Even when you didn't feel like eating bread because of Skippy you find yourself eating  bread. The day Skippy finished, the bread stayed days in the house without anybody touching it. My little sister went round asking everybody if they wouldn't eat bread and we all laughed.

I wonder if my fondness and near obsession for peanut butter is shared.

Now Reading - Americanah

I'm chasing you

      I had totally forgotten how good it feels to read a book that has nothing to do with school. Though I don't have the physical book, I've the downloaded e-book version of it and now reading it through Epub Reader. I don't even know how many pages make up the book, the Epub app doesn't sum it up. Maybe if i knew the  total  number of pages wouldn't have started the book. I only know the number of chapters. I'm almost half way through, *i guess* judging by the chapters but i have got to say that it is indeed a good read.

     Simple diction with regular everyday words that any one can read and understand without getting confused. It has interesting characters that i enjoy meeting *I hope I don't start disliking them along the line*. The story-line is a strong one. Its interesting how the author spans three continents and takes us to the past happenings decades ago and back to present day using flashbacks -smooth transitons. The author is know for her boldness in  addressing touchy issues. In Half of a Yellow Sun it was the Biafran Revolution and in Americanah racism is a focal point. 

Overall, so far so good, gotta to get back to the book.

FaSHioNiSTa

*clears dust and cobwebs*
Hello peeps! longest time! I've been think of what excuse to give this time around guess i can blame it on my internet connection and WiFi issues. Well i'm back now.

Couldn't resist sharing this picture i came across on Instagram. I know, she is the combination of style and cuteness. How adorable is this #BabyFashionista. Isn't this the cutest little thing? Babies tend to be cute when they are wearing very little. Who doesn't love baby skin?

"I am Not my Hair!"

You can shave it off like a South African beauty, Or get in on lock like Bob Marley, You can rock it straight like Oprah Winfrey, it's not what's on your head, it's what's underneath, and say, I am not my hair - India Arie

     Painkillers. Check! Phone battery full to listen to music, tweet, browse and ping the pain away. Check! Mentally and physically prepared. Check! Well, you might be wondering what I’m going on and on about abi? It’s the torture every woman who braids her hair goes through. It's worse at times when you can't use your phone as planned as your hands are busy dividing the hair (Xpression Ultra Braid) for the braider to braid or the braiding lady outsources two other braiding ladies and they are on top of your head, gossiping while forgetting it’s your hair they are pulling when they start hi-5ing each other. After 3 hours or 4 hours of all that, the hair will go through fire and hot water as a  means of getting the hair trimmed. Finally, they pull your hair back, and dab a hot towel on your scalp. You leave the hair dresser's place with your eyes looking all Chinese from the pulling, your hairline slowly fading and you want to kill someone.

     Getting one’s hair braided is really not a fun experience it takes a whole lot of time, if you are not so patient and without the ability to stand much pain and also the stress of taking the braids out after it has stayed it tenor then you should seek other alternatives, like me. Because of this rigorous process, i decided to stay off braids. For the past 7years I have been either on sewed in weaves or  on my natural hair never braids.     

     Just this week i finally got my hair braided (*gasp*, I know a bunch of you who know me are like, whaaaaat???) Yes o! wanted to take a break from combing hair for a change. I have gone through the fire and brimstone part, So now that I have my braids done, I'm looking forward to exploring new and interesting ways of styling and rocking it with pride.

Season's Greetings peeps!

India Arie

India Arie