Closure

I don't know how to present this but the journey of this blog has reached its final destination. With three years and 117 posts under my belt, I cannot deny that there are many times that I have sought refuge by writing a post instead of whining by myself. Many thanks to the those who have read my posts, commented on them and/or related with my anguish, laughter, randomness and rants.

When I started this blog, I was a freshman in college. This was in 2009. Today, I am two weeks away from proudly walking down the aisle with my diploma from a prestigious university in the US. At this point in my life, I have contemplated several career paths and I am almost confused. I know that my interests lie in for-profit social entrepreneurship, international development, photography and health systems improvement. I don't know how I am going to get to my desired position that will encompass all of these interests but I know that I am on the right path.

That said, I will no longer blog via this outlet. I will still follow and read other blogs (500+) religiously via my google reader. However, I will start a new blog/chapter that is more reflective of this new phase of my life and it will not be anonymous.

If you find me, good for you :)

Peace and light
-Yinkuslolo

Year Recap - 2011 Edition.

Happy holidays!!! I was going through my blog archive and came across my 2010 recap. It was a good read and I decided  to do a one for this year. This is definitely an online diary act.

So here we go with the 2011 recap.

Travelling

I thought 2010 was my euro trotting year but boy, 2011 brought it on. I travelled to similar or the same cities but I had more fun in 2011.  Cities - Budapest (my home, technically), London (study abroad), Wales, Oxford, Amsterdam, Brussels, Oostende, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Venice, Abuja (my home in my heart), and of course North-East Tri-state in the USA. I was glad that I got to visit my favorite city, Paris, twice in 2011. It still remains my favorite Euro city, although Amsterdam is a major competitor in my heart. I should add Lisbon because I leave for there later today and would be there till the New Year's. I doubt 2012 would be as crazy because I would be making more thoughtful choices in my countries and be more thrift with my earnings for leisure travelling. 

I'm going to Geneva for 4 days, early January next year. I hope to venture to the south of France like Grenoble during my stay, fun times before my last semester as an undergraduate. Let me know if you have any suggestions for enjoyable activities in Lisbon and Geneva.

[Non-Platonic] Relationships

I seldom blog about this but 2011 had no romantic loving for me. I did not fall in love but I went on way too many dates *cough*. Well, ‘too many’ is relative to my dating history. I definitely understood love better this year but it remains a tricky concept. This year entailed a lot of marriage talk from my mother and friends. I paid none of their persuasions attention because I was really busy and geographically unstable, this year. However, I have started thinking about it. I want to get married early but there are many feats, like a terminal degree, that I desire to accomplish before taking such a major step. Tsk tsk. I believe in settling own with the right person when you feel it is the right time, simple. I will just continue to go with the flow.  

Friendships

I have always been a social person but I lack tact in choosing friends. In 2012, I will be working on making conscious choices on the kinds of friends that I want to have, post-college. While I was abroad, I met some of the best friends that I’ve ever had – shout out to Michelle and Kiah. It was amazing to go abroad and make friends with like-minded students who had truckloads of energy for adventure. The Nigerians at QMUL were also hilarious. There is something weird about Britigerians, good weird. My main study abroad friends are back to the US and our schools are far apart from each other but I hope we stay in touch. My summer in Abuja also nurtured several friendships from working with Kay to hanging out with Ms.Oreoluwa and getting to know an awesome ‘curfew boy’. On another note, I was glad that I remained friends with my college crew because I thought my semester abroad would strain our friendship but it didn’t! College has taught me not to push myself unto people. Everybody that I want to be friends with must not be friends with me.

Finances

I was consciously lavish with the travels, party-hopping, eating out etc while abroad and I loved every second. I was living my college dream and my purse had to feel the impact. #Notmad. Nonetheless, I am still a student on work-study. Thus, I had to find a way to repair the study abroad dent that I had made on my savings. This semester, I got a well-paid job as a Residential Assistant position on campus. I have also cut my wardrobe spending. I have been giving out lots of stuff too. Senior yr has been pro-decluttering.

Religion

2011 was not a very religious year for me, despite my conscious effort to improve in the latter half. I was concerned about this in the fall and I wrote this post here. I am trying but I tend to shove my spiritual ego aside because of academic and social commitments. I can only hope for a better 2011.

Blogging

This blog is about 30 months old now and I currently have 120 or so followers. My blog traffic significantly decreased in 2011 as a result of my minimal blogging. Much gratitude goes out to the readers who have  I commend bloggers like Ms. Oreoluwa and TWP, who keep up with their blogs. 

In sum, 2011 was eventful but I was happier in 2010. I know, I know. I had too many solo sad moments in 2011, despite my busy schedule. Life as an adult is definitiely not rosy. As usual, I have no New Year Resolutions but I’m starting this year with more positivity. My only regret 2010 is that I did not perfect my driving skills. My goal for 2012 is to become a confident car driver. I need to stop depending on people to get me to places.. I’m really excited to graduate from college this May with a Bachelors’ degree in Neuroscience at 20. Unfortunately, I don’t know what I would definitely be up to yet. Crossed fingers on my public health ambition.

Btw,  I finally won something i.e this awesome hand-made clutch made out of adire, below from Agsowho's one year giveaway. She has an awesome blog, mostly about fashion. 

Have a rest of 2011 and an awesom 2012! Don’t get caught up making resolutions, get it moving, time waits for no one.

Je t’embarasse

@yinkuslolo

Learning to love God some more (and again).

In my last post, I briefly commented on the lack of spiritual ginger ( 'presence' for my Non-Nigerians) in my life and this has been bothering me lately.

This year has been on a downward slope, in terms of my religious awareness and I'm not proud of that. I've always been a only-sunday church goer but I was more spiritually conscious. Before, I didn't have to go to church before I prayed and showed thanks to God for my life and all the good things/people that I've been blessed with. Sadly, I can't remember the last time I thanked God for my meals, opportunities, mother, journey mercies et all in my life. I can go on and on about these things but I won't. I was going through my google reader and I read something on FarahMcQueen's photoblog on her love for God. It was like an awakening. 

As silly as this may seem, I've setting a daily alarm on my phone to alert me of a 10am God appreciation period. I'm going to leave the agenda this time window open ended but I must praise God and communicate with him in some way, during that period. 

Sigh.

_____________

On a random note, I saw some black men chanting some persuasive comments by the roadside in Brooklyn, yesterday evening. They were dressed strangely and had a sign that read ' Tribes of Israel' beside them. That was bothersome. It was also my first time in Brooklyn. I decided to visit that borough. because I usually stay in Manhattan or Bronx. I'm in NY. I should visit Queens next time.

I still wonder about what the Tribes of Israel men were on about. Weird stuff.

_____________

Peace, love and hope for spiritual ginger. 

Kay, another addition.

This summer, I was opportuned to work in a youth-led Nigerian NGO, Education as a Vaccine (EVA). EVA focuses on issues that affect the sexual and reproductive health of Nigerian youth. I was the Advocacy Intern, in the Headquarters/FCT office. This post is not about my experience at EVA, which was great, but about my relationship with someone that I met there.

For the purpose of this post, I will call the someone 'Kay'.  At my first day at work, I was assigned to work with Kay under a designated supervisor. Kay is 24 and I'm 19. The 5-year age difference did not affect the way we related with one another. Kay is one of the most passionate young Nigerians that I've ever met till date. We worked, talked, prayed, ate together, did random stuff and talked some more. Kay is a church worker, a wonderful sister to her siblings, a dedicated volunteer at EVA and a part-time 300Level Sociology student. This may not seem like a lot of responsibilities but she is as busy as it gets for a Nigerian student. Nonetheless , she is not perfect but I'll focus on her positives. We all have our faults.

During work hours, we will talk about my weekend escapades, from my clubbing rendezvous to pool chilling at Chelsea. She doesn't approve of my nighttime activities and tries her best to get me to attend her church programs at House on the Rock (HOTR). The first and only time that I went to her church program, a young Honorable was hitting on me. Kay was surprised that I already got a man in just one attendance. We often joked about what will happen if I attended a Sunday service - if I could get a Honorable at first attendance, I may get a Minister with constant attendance. Need less to say, I didn't attend any more programs at her church and it wasn't because of the Honorable. I have always been a Christian but my religious mojo faded in college. After 12 years of education at an Anglican missionary primary and secondary school, I unintentionally took a break in college. I need to step up my spiritual/religious game. I've never talked to a peer about God as much as I did with her. I didn't even realize when I learnt the HOTR youth theme song, thanks to Kay's constant humming. It was refreshing to be around someone that was religious and conscious of her morals. Let me remind you that Kay is not perfect.

Kay also made me more aware of the fact that wealth isn't everything. She is not from a very wealthy family but she holds such a high esteem of herself. There was an episode at the galleria, when we bumped into one of her friends and she talked to the friend in a manner that surprised me. I could tell that the friend was from a wealthy family and was one of the those people with an egoistic atttitude. I forgot to mention that Kay is also very opinionated and intelligent at that.

I miss her commentary on how fast I type, criticism for the amount of skin that my friends show in photos, displeasure with my club outings, admiration for my "don't dull" attitude, never-ending discussion about the type of friends that I hang out with, reminder about the importance of marriage, joint breaks to eat Aunty Ajobi moi-moi and so many other precious memories.

I can go on and on about Kay. She was one of my favorite additions to my life, from this summer.

<3

*****
Unedited, like always.
All gramm. errors are mine, do not claim.


______________________________________
New video from Tuface for 'Outside'. Tubaba!

I am alive

I'm going to be one of those bloggers that dusts the cobweb off her blog and go on and on about how she missed blogging et al. I really do. I can't believe that I've not published a post in 4 months. I spent the past 10 minutes reading my 2010 posts and I can't help but laugh at the unedited pieces of my poorly-written thoughts and excerpts of my experience on here. Blogger has even changed the dashboard template, that's how long that I've been gone.

Mid-June, I left London, in too much of a hurry even though I knew the date that I was to leave months before. I am just the queen of procrastination. I had too many last minute errands to run, from buying a strapless bra for my party dress to giving out my bag of garri to my London acquaintances. Then, I went to Nigeria to start my summer internship, which was great, but I didn't blog about it. I don't know how Nigeria-based  bloggers do it but I lose my blogging mojo whenever I'm in Nigeria. The slow internet connection and non-stop social activities do not help either.

Mid-August, I came back early to my host university in the US to start my senior year because I had a 2 week training for my Residential Assistant (RA) position. Since then, I've been in many situations where I compose a blogspot in my head but lack the time to sit down and type it out. This semester is my busiest so far. I'm taking 7 classes, a TA for a class, an RA, the President of my school African Students' Association, in addition to my active participation in two other student groups. The problem  is that I don't have enough hours in the day, yet I add more items to my box of  commitments. It somehow works because the busier that I am, the more productive I get. Nevertheless, all these activities can not take the place of blogging because I actually love blogging and the lack of any set frequency or topic in mind that comes with it.

On another note, I can't cope with all these e-technological advancements. In a bid to catch up, I decided to switch up my blog template, after 2 years. Let me know if it is unpleasant or confusing. Earlier this night, it took me more than 5 minutes to figure out how to deactivate my Facebook account. I almost gave up on deactivating my FB account but the amount of time that I spend on FB is unhealthy. The maximum that I've spent lately is 1 hr/day but I can't afford such this semester. I have already deactivated my twitter and will only reactivate during my breaks or trips off-campus. I really need to concentrate on my academic pursuit, this semester. Why do I sound like a nerd? Am I one? Nah.

As you can tell at this point, this post has no specific direction. I just want to type away my thoughts as they come to me and revive this blog. I am surprised at how I can whip out a blogpost in 20 minutes but it takes me a whole day to write a 2-page paper. Talking about writing, I need to improve on that. I can only avoid taking paper-writing classes in college but I need to be able to come up with logical statements and well-written proposals, when I get a job.

Enough with the rambling. The girl who lives above me is at it again because I can hear her bed creaking. I've talked to her and emailed her about it but she hasn't called Physical Plant to fix her bed yet. I guess she wants me to decode her chexing melody from her creaking bed, by the end of the semester. Not interested.

It's 2:30am, I should go to bed.

If you're still reading this post to this point, I salute you.


'Night!

I Thank God

For every thing, opportunity, disappointment and person that has been a blessing to me.

I do not do this enough. I'm learning.


Always,
Yinkuslolo

Ps: comments have been disabled for this post

Cannot wear my glasses anymore, without thinking of pee.

Monday morning 23/04/11

A call interrupted my slumber at 10:30am. I was pissed but grateful when I saw the time on my phone because I had to leave my room at 11:30am.

I hurried through the unnecessary phone conversation and propped against the wall beside my twin-sized bed. I could still lick the aftertaste of the Ping Pong dim sum all-you-can-eat dinner from the previous night. Boy! The dinner was so bomb and it was free. I'm sure I ate more than 30 pounds worth of food. Thanks to their lazy sumday promotion, where you wear your PJs to Pingpon on sunday and eat for free. Londoners, check it out next sunday. The ridiculous things that I do in London because I know nobody here.

Back to my original story - licking some imaginary dim sum off my lips and mentally planning my day's itinerary of errands; I was already occupied with thoughts. I pulled my comforter away from my body and exposed my knickers for that rush of the morning fresh air. I wear only knickers to bed when I have no company. I love that feeling of my skin against the sheets. Bliss.

I strode to my bathroom and checked out my morning look in the vanity mirror. I looked like a normal person, besides the tear mark by my left eye. I yanked my hair wrap away and suddenly felt like I had to pee. I don't know why the view of my toilet seat induces such urge.

I sat on the toilet bowl and continued planning my itinerary: computer repair centre for my Mac's hardware, hair store to make my hair installation appointment, Westfield's TM Lewin store to pick up my online order, Harvey Nichols in KnightsBridge to pick up my Brazilian hair extensions *cough* and other randoms. It's quite amazing that my best flash ideas light up when I'm doing my thing on the toilet seat.

The last trickle of my liquid waste dropped into the bowl and I stood up to look at my pee, before flushing it down. I always observe my body waste before disposal. The pee seemed unusually very yellow, almost lemon green. I don't know how this happened but the cosmetic kit seemed unsteady on the shelf above my toilet seat. I tried to re-position it correctly but my eye glasses on the kit's lid fell INTO THE TOILET BOWL with my pee unflushed.

It took less than a second for my only pair of eye glasses to sink to the bottom of my pee-logged toilet bowl. Yuck! For a second, I was too disgusted to pull it out. Then, I remembered my unfortunate uber-myopic sight and the fact that that was my only pair. The earliest that I would have a replacement will be a month from now. I can't be blind for that long, when I take my contacts off at night.

So, I closed my eyes, pulled the glasses out of the toilet bowl, flushed my pee down to avoid another accident, rinsed my glasses under a running tap and wondered why my day had to begin this way.

Le sigh,
Yinkuslolo
-----
I'm on train to Oxford, one of my attempts to leave the London bubble and appreciate other parts of this British awesomeness.

Update: Oxford was beautiful. It looked like Windsor to me with the Harry Potter feel. 

Amsterdam - The city of free (Pictures)

Typical street divider in Amsterdam. Canals everywhere. Loves it

Everyone and their aunt's cats ride a bicycle in Amsterdam no joke. There are more bicycles than there are cars.

I loved and will forever love Amsterdam. That was the first city that I visited on my mini eurotrip, in April. It was epic, to underestimate my satisfaction derived from the trip. 

Before going, I had looked up myths, stories and guides to exploring Amsterdam in 2 days. Many people go there to smoke the legendary weed or visit the Red Light District, where prostitution is legalized and done in broad daylight. What I didn't know was that Amsterdam is an 'archipelago' of canals, bicycles, and free thinkers. Dutch is the native language but almost everyone in Amsterdam speaks English too, because it's a tourist destination.

I went to Amsterdam with a fellow London study-abroader and her friend that flew in from Madrid. It was nice trio of young black girls set to live the Amstel way. 

Most streets in Amsterdam are divided by canals, not roads. Bliss. Imagine this view, every morning

When I got there, I flew into Eindhoven airport, two hours away from Amsterdam because it was cheaper than flying into Schipol, Amsterdam airport. I actually liked my two-hour train ride through the Hague and Eindhoven. By the way, Amsterdam is in Holland, which is also referred to as the Netherlands. Two names for the same country. o_O

On the way to Anne Frank Haus (Haus = House in German)

Of course, my ignorant self knew nothing about Anne Frank, until my buddies mentioned her house in Amsterdam. From the knowledge that I gathered, Anne Frank was a daughter of a German family that sought refuge in Amsterdam during the German war or something like Hitler or Nazi regime. My bad, I suck at history and knowing these things. I should though. She kept a diary of her life, hiding away in the Anne Frank haus (named after her), until they were found in the 1940s or 50s. Her diary has been turned into a popular book in different langauges. Please google her story.

queue to get into Anne Frank Haus

Anne Frank Haus guide booklet

There are kiosks everywhere that sell fries in these cone-like wraps. 

If you ever go to amsterdam, you have to try these fries. They are everywhere and they have also sorts of sauces available, from ketchup to masala.

Boat cruise along the Amstel

My girls and I decided to take a personal cruise, across the river Amstel. I guess this is where the famous Amstel Malta drink is named after. 

These are boat-houses, floating on water. They look like houses built on water but they have boat foundations. I saw many houses like these. 

Children left by themselves in a boat

Famous Skinny Bridge

Amsterdam is small city. We literally walked across the city, three times during our 2-day stay. You can use a bicycle to get from end to end in 25 mins. On a lower note, it is expensive though. More expensive than Paris but not as much as expensive as London, from my experience.

Club sign in the Red Light District. Prostitutes everywhere

Of course, we visited the Red Light District. It was a nothing short of a wowzer. A future post will be dedicated to that. Teaser: One of the female prostitutes winked at me. #shocks I find it funny that a majority of the patronisers are English men. C'mon, coming all the way from the UK to bang a prostitute in Amsterdam, that's serious.

Drinks made from weed. Cannabis merchandise in coffee shop window

Just to clarify a common misconception, weed is actually illegal in Amsterdam but it's tolerated, as long as it is not commercialized openly. That means you cannot explicitly have 'Weed for sale' on your shop sign. Weed shops are referred to as coffeeshops. My advice to you is that you should not joke with Amsterdam weed. Their stuff is hella potent. One joint is enough to take you there. A weed novice should only attempt a few puffs. Don't harm yourself!

Weed lolli-pops

I didn't try the weed derivatives because the weed content was ambiguous. We heard stories of tourists who went nuts from trying weed cakes, weed cans and stuff because they underestimated the weed content. I had to caution myself. Imagine passing out in the first city of my eurotrip. No bueno.

Main structure for Amsterdam's chinatow

Wooden Tulips at Flea Market

Human-size Chess board.

I saw this chess game and was amazed. I don't know jack about Chess. Sadly, whenever it comes up in general trivia questions, I feel like a dummy. I presume Chess is assumed to be of universal knowledge now.

Sign, in front of Van Gogh museum

It is was a nice trip. These pictures do the experience no justice. I did a couple of activities not in the photos like going to a club, to the dock, the brewery and many other stuff. I will do similar posts for the other cities visited. Amsterdam is now my second favorite city in the world, after Paris. She took the position away from London LOL.

On another note, why is there so much ruckus about a calculated end-of-the-world date on May 21st. I don't care what's happening then, all is know is that I'll be eating some crêpes and sipping orangina in Paris, this weekend. Yes, I'm going again. Can't get enough of that city.

I really should have not changed my mind from Paris to London, for studying abroad. Nonetheless, my London experience has been amazing non-stop. I just cannot have it all, can I? I have finished my exams. So, I have about three weeks left in London for chilling/travelling/being a fool and making love to Londontown. Suggestions of non-touristy London spots are very welcome. I need to see it all, before I leave.

Till next time,
Yinkuslolo.

PS: My two-year blogaversary is coming up in June. For the two-year hall mark, I will accept 20 questions. So feel free to leave the question in the comment box or email me at yinkuslolo@gmail.com

On Pole Dancing

I've watched this video more than five times, since morning. I love it for so many reasons.

The video is sensual without being as explicit as the stereotypical pole dancing video.

• Natural: It didn't have any commercial effect to it. You know that appeal that commercial porn videos have: perfectly waxed body, all-Italian, flowing hair and made up look. The pole dancer, who is also an instructor, Ashley Wright, has her natural hair in a casual next-door girl look. 

• Healthy: This will be a good workout. I guess, it will help with toning the abs, thighs and arms. I'm currently trying to incorporating fun classes/activities into my weekly work-out regimen. I run twice a week and go to the gym for a 20-min elliptical session, 5 minute cardio (treadmill), 10 minute weight-lifting. The scale is already showing positive results. 

In the spirit of spicing up my work out routine, I'm starting Thai boxing classes, next week at Tokei Centre, London Bridge. Thanks to this 8-pound deal

Will I be taking pole dancing classes sometime soon? I don't think so but I may erect a pole in my matrimonial bedroom. That shouldn't hurt. #jokes

Have a nice weekendPS: My two-year blogaversary is coming up in June. For the two-year hall mark, I will accept 20 questions. So feel free to leave the question in the comment box or email me at yinkuslolo@gmail.com

Why wasn't I good enough?

I ask myself this question almost every time I get rejected. Rejection is one of my greatest fears, next to dogs and failure in life. That is why I never ask for too much, even though I expect a lot.

I didn't get all A's in a semester. Why didn't I do better?

I got another "Sorry, we had more qualified applicants than vacancies." Why was I not a chosen one?

A relationship goes down the drain. Why wasn't I good enough?

I am not a perfectionist but I like to have it all. I never blog about my relationships on here. I keep it random but I got inspired by a SBM post with this same title.

I'm a 19 year old female in her prime. I like to date, amongst my other interests. Sometimes, I can be labelled as a serial dater. This means that I go on dates (not be in relationships) with different men within the same time frame. Although, I only go on dates with men that I sense a potential connection with. There may be that one dude (lets call him Pee) that captures attention. I try to put the best into my relationships and expect nothing short from Pee. I don't believe in “If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, its yours forever. If it doesn't, then it was never meant to be". That's for the birds. If I love someone, I'm putting in work to be with him NOW! And when things don't turn out as rosy as I fantasized with Mr Pee, I keep myself occupied. I'm very fast with closures. I don't linger around if the handwriting on the wall is legible enough for me to see no future. I'm a rocker and I detest mourning the loss of someone or something. Mourning someone and letting it interfere with your happiness is not acceptable.

Sadly, my method is just a short-term fix. After a while, I begin to feel bad about the loss. This sadness may occur while I'm in a happy relationship with another partner. Sometimes,  the sadness occurs six months or more later. What hurts the most is the feeling of my not being good enough for Pee. What did I do wrong? Should I have worn heels on dates? Should I have laughed at Pee's attempts with sarcastic humor? Did I not reply his texts on time? Did he find someone better? Why wasn't I good enough?


Why wasn't I good enough? Scratch!
Why wasn't he patient enough to appreciate the good in me?
Maybe he just wasn't good enough for me.

Like always,
Je vous embrasse.

Disclaimer: This is the first post that puts me out there and it is probably going to be the last. Unlike the message of this post, I'm actually very happy and content with my current state ;) I just felt like putting this out.

PS: My two-year blogaversary is coming up in June. For the two-year hall mark, I will any 20 random questions. So feel free to leave the question in the comment box or email me at yinkuslolo@gmail.com