Taking Stock 2009

Before I even start tori for here, I just wan greet una. I feel like I've been away from blogsville for a minute. I mean, I hella used to update like 2x a week and now the tori don change...blame it on time constraints. How was your holiday season? I hope that Santa brought you all that you wished for and more.

Aniwoos on to the short thing of the long thing, I saw this on Taynement's blog and said that I was sooo gonna tiff it, so here I am in all my thievery. Join me as I recap 2009 in a coupla bits and pieces.

Faith
If you read and remember, you will know that I'm very hot and cold with my faith. Today I wanna be a pastor's wife and tomorrow, the inner slutacious bad girl takes the lead. I mean, I started '09 off in hot hot mode, I even temporarily quit drinking and err that was major 'cos I usually never say no to anything that involves the good sizzurp. I actually considered working in church too as I felt kinda ready to take that step. Today, what is the story? I haven't been to church in a minute, have abandoned the concept of paying tithes (but I no fit skip offering sha) and the bad girl is totally dominating the world. I just know that sometimes God looks down at me and sighs...but I think that with religion I tend to be so black and white about things that sometimes I just feel this ridiculous pressure to not do X Y Z 'cos that is not what a good christian girl should do, and I'm learning to not be so hard on myself. Like for the longest time I refused to go to church because I felt that it was pointless if I was still gonna get into the same ol' sin from Mon-Sat, ya dig? So for the 2010, I hope to just take things one step at a time and see how things go with the big G up there.

Family
I have what I like to call a 'very interesting' family, however my immediate fam has always been the constant and I love them dearly. I thank God that 2009 kept my family safe and sound through the ups and downs of the year...especially my parents who live in Port Harcourt where kidnappings have been so rampant. May 2010 bring greater things for us ooo.

Friendship
Ahhh the good ol' friends. I love them folk, I really do. For the most part, everyone remained constant 'cept for one in which the dynamics changed but that was cool with me, it was a long time coming. This year I definitely learned that sometimes the fact that 'we've been friends for X years' does not always cut it if ish is just plain ol' stagnant. A good chunk of my friends are long distance and I would have loved to see everyone more often but we still ultimately got to see each other so that was good. I also met some new folk and I reconnected with others. All in all, I will say that it was a good year for friendships and I truly appreciate and feel blessed by these very diverse group of individuals.

Finances
I have money saved but I could have definitely put more away. To voltron for myself, I splurged on a bit of travel this year. On a better note, I made some grown up decisions concerning my cash money so that was a plus. In terms of debt, I only have student loans + a car note and so thankfully, credit card payments are one less thing to deal with. Generally, the finances in 'O9 weren't too terrible sha but I could have done better.

Education/Career
In terms of the career, I think that I have what most people would call 'a good job' and I don't disagree, I feel blessed to be in my position. The education part na another tori. This year I definitely bounced back and forth between options sotay the thing no get part 2. Let's see... I randomly decided to go for an Msc in Forensic Accounting (I was genuinely interested in the program), applied and got accepted for Fall '09 and then took a step back and decided that it might not be as diverse and marketable if I decided to relocate to Naija. Then I did what I swore I'd never do and actually started considering getting an MBA. My argument for this was that an MBA is very marketable and in some instances is almost as good as having a CPA (in case I got lazy and decided not to go the CPA route), I got a GMAT prep book and had my action plan set. Then... I fell off, lost my motivation and started observing people who took/are taking the CPA exam. Do they have 2 heads? I'm scared of the darn exam but yes we can, abi? So I ditched the MBA plan and decided for real, for real to hop onto 'Operation conquer the CPA exam', after which I could take the CFE and CISA exams and call it a day in terms of certifications, and that is where I currently stand. Don't even think about shaking your head at me... I got this! :-D
Reminds me of how I bounced between Computer Science and Psychology for college major options before finally settling for Accounting. Hahahaha!

Relationships
LOL. People keep asking why I'm single like there's some tree out there where chicks go to pluck hot and sexy men. For the most part I feel like the caliber of men who approached me this year were just not cutting it at all, and I don't even consider myself to be unreasonably picky. It was either that they weren't serious candidates...(just on some plain iti kom kom levels), they appeared to be a little too traditional or I just was not feeling them...zero sex appeal, zero swag (I know the word is overplayed but it is oh so accurate), just generally came off as razz and bush, like abegi we can only have one razz person in a relationship and that will be moi, thank you very much. So for the '09, I was/am quite singular and in all honesty, I can't say that I have any complaints about that status.

Physical Health and Fitness
I guess this will be a good time to confess that I have never been to the gyno for those check ups where they stick a piece of metal up in your goodies *shudders*, nor have I been to see a doc for a physical in errr 9 years *hangs head in shame*... It's so terrible that my friends have often threatened to disown me. Somehow sha, I have remained healthy and free of ailments and things. I'm actually kinda scared to go to the doc sef, in case they discover something. Ignorance is bliss yeah? So I really don't make resolutions but I resolve to finally make use of my insurance and go and see a doc. Why else do they deduct X amount from my checks if I aint making use of it. Smh...
In terms of fitness, I was on some gym steez earlier this year, gymed often, ate right and lost 10-12lbs or more. Then I fell off and gained it back and I was trynna go out the other day and realized that I looked like a stuffed chicken in all my dresses...so err that's definitely not good *makes mental note to hit the gym real soon*. But all in all, I am alive and well so we thank God.

Addictions/Bad habits/Social Life
I'm a shopaholic. That's my sport... to heck with Basketball and Soccer. I have close to 80 pairs of shoes and a ishload of clothes and accessories to show for it. I will say though that I made some shopping improvements i.e buying ish that I really wanted as opposed to buying just because it was on sale or it came in my shoe size and that's major 'cos I used to be so guilty of shopping with no real aim/ambition. I thought I was an internet addict but these days I truly do not have time to even do much 'cept for check my email so maybe not. I thought I was addicted to my Blackberry till I had to go without it for a week and I truly didn't miss it up, so maybe not. I guess shopping = main vice. My social life was good, I mingled, interacted, danced, drank and had a good time but I also enjoyed quite a bit of homebody bumming around in PJ's all weekend type of days so I think that it was a nice balance.

Miscellaneous
All in all, I give 2009 a B+. I might not have appeared to have my ish entirely together but mentally, I felt great! This was one of my most confident years where I just felt like I was generally doing the damn thing. I felt wiser, smarter, hotter, sexier, more intelligent, more secure of myself, more comfortable in my skin. I felt like my relationships improved and in general I just felt like this was a really fun year . As I advance into the new year, I can only hope and pray that by 2010 year end, I will be rating that year as an A+ year.

There you have it. 2009 in a nutshell...and on a final note, I just wanna say a big THANK YOU to everyone who reads and comments, lurks and never comments, the people who deem this blog worthy to be followed, the people who have sent me random emails (they truly make me smile), the bloggers that I have gotten a chance to interact with off Blogsville...who have been so helpful and caring, and my blogsville fam in general. Thank you guys so much for riding 2009 with me. I am so glad that we didn't have to mourn any of our fellow bloggers this year and I pray that as we advance into a new one, God (or whatever forces you believe in) will continue to keep you safe, alive and healthy. May your new year be a great and fantabulous one worthy of a A+ rating.

Much love. We go all jam in the 2010...

Random update of some sorts

Apt title...since I really have no title in mind for this one.

I will admit that it annoys me when people say things like 'I don't expect anything from anyone' in relation to friendships.
If you don't expect anything from your friends then who will you expect it from?
What exactly is it, that you do not expect? You don't expect friend A to offer a listening ear or helping hand when you need it the most? Then why is he/she your friend? 'Cos he/she offers great shopping advice and always has the first scoop on what is going on in Hollywood? I really don't get it... Maybe someone can explain it to me sha o. My own be say that if you don't expect anything of me then maybe you don't value me as much as I'd like you to and err that might be a problem.
I know, I know... My attitude towards a lot of things tend to leave little room for gray areas... Na so so black or white. Maybe I need to work on that ehn?
Oh and before someone comes with the 'humans are inherently evil' argument, like I always like to say 'give people a chance to mess up first'. No long thing...


I think its interesting how you encounter some people who swear that you are their personal person and what not, I like to think of these folks as being the empty barrels who make the most noise or like Kelly Hansome go tok am, this na serious case of iti kom kom. They make the most noise because when you actually need them to be more about the talk, and less about the action na so e go fly you like say you dey airport tarmac and British Airways just flew past you. Hmm hmm they aint slick indeed.

Some people are interesting, take 2. Whoever came up with the term 'be slow to speak' and what not, sure wasn't lying. I think it's quite interesting how folk get all emotional and say all this stuff out of anger, and then selectively forget their words in like 2 weeks. If you feel X way then so be it, don't try to come and be all LOL, smiley face-ish later on sha.

I'm watching MSNBC lock up, and tis quite interesting. One inmate in the mentally ill unit has been locked up since 1993 when in a delusional haze, he shot his mom and ate her brains. Wow!

I really and truly am so over it.

Some of my friends said that I can be 'surface'. Now I make an extra effort to share what I imagine to be adequate updates. I don't think that I'm surface, I just don't feel like most things in my life are gist worthy and for the rest, maybe I like to digest and turn whatever the heck it is over before I share. On the flip side, sometimes I get the feeling that people do not even listen in the first place, so why bother sef? I will admit that I'm definitely not one to talk about my problems though, I tend to internalize those ones a lot. In the past coupla weeks I've been on all sorts of emotional rollercoasters, highs and lows, hot and colds, bleh and okay etc etc and to begin with, I can't place one finger on what the main wahala is, talkless of even trying to talk about it with anyone. That is my story on that one, and I am sticking to it.

Some people don dey seriously fall my hand sha, but it really is all good.

I was telling someone how I've noticed how a whole bunch of caucasians be getting married early (I.e before 28-30, per my definition). 80% of all the oyinbo people that I work with are married. I also noted this at my old job. Another observation was that a bunch of them tend to get married to their high school sweethearts and sure enough, when I asked my senior where he met his wife, he said high school. I have now taken to generally checking for wedding rings on every Caucasian that I see/run into... At work, the mall, the train etc and a good number of them definitely be sporting wedding bands and rings. Interesting.

I cringe every time people use the term 'Akata' but I don't cringe for 'Oyinbo' sha. Is this a double standard? :-D

I just generally need the world to be straight forward with me. Are you loving me, or are you hating me? Do you like me, or do you not like me? Do you consider me to be a good friend or do you not consider me to be a good friend? Please circle Y or N. Dealing with people = sometimes quite challenging and I tell ya, I'm just about done with those guessing games. Let's all advance into the 2010 with a clear sense of who is who, and what is what...amen to that!

I watched the Blind side movie and I absolutely loved it. Initially I was cringing like 'the sappiness is killing me softly' and then I got into it. Loved Sandra Bullock's character and the lil boy as well. Prior to this, I hadn't been to the movies since June abi July. I guess me + the movies are really not meant to be. I wouldn't even have seen this one sef, if my coworker hadn't suggested that we go to the movies.

Ok I think I have rambled enough and really should stop here 'cos if you leave me, I go siddon here and just dey yarn/get stuff off my chest.

On a side note,I do not have my personal laptop on me, so can't make the rounds yet but I will certainly get to that soon (I hope), I'm doing the phone blogging thingy again.
I greet each and everyone of you, most especially my anonymous commenters who truly make me smile with the kind words.

Have a fantastic week.

Do you know your blood GenoType?

How many of you know your blood Genotype? Can I get a quick show of hands? When I say blood Genotype, I mean...do you know if you are an AA, AS or SS?

It seems that this concept of knowing your Genotype was heavily promoted in Nigeria 'cos I've met a whole bunch of people in this US of A, and when I randomly ask them...'do you know your blood Genotype?', I get a whole bunch of blank stares. It's especially interesting to note that the folk who are getting married in this day and age are equally just as clueless about this one, which I find quite surprising.

Just in case you don't know anything about your blood Genotype, make I edumacate una small small...abeg take am easy o, I no be dokita or Biology major.

If your GT is AA: You are pretty much set. You can marry an AA and your kids will all be AA, You can marry an AS and there is a % chance (not to sure the exact figure) that some of your kids will have the AS GT or you can even marry SS sef and your kids will have the AS blood type (worst case scenario).

If your GT is AS: You don't have it that easy. If you get married to an AS man/woman, there is a % chance as well that one or more of your kids will have the SS blood GT (worst case scenario), or the AS blood GT (best case scenario). So if you have 4 kids, 3 of 'em might be AS and one might be SS.

And, if your GT is SS: I advise you to just stick to trying to get with an AA individual or if you meet a fellow SS or AS man/woman of your dreams...you might just wanna consider adopting kids.

I hope that I have managed to convince and not confuse any of una. Anyone who has better knowledge of this kini should please feel free to pick holes in my 'edumacation' and show them the way o jare. No problem!

Soooo, ya girl's blood GenoType is AS and growing up, my ma always made sure to drum it into our heads...Whatever you do, do not marry an AS dude because you do not want to deal with the burden of having a child who has sickle cell (SS Blood GT). And so, armed with that word of advice, when I meet men...along with the preliminary 'Do you have a 401k plan' initial 20 questionnaire that I have prepped for them, I also ask them...'what is your blood GenoType?'... Ha!

I keed, I keed.

Actually, I never really paid much mind to asking men what their blood GT was 'cos true talk, I wasn't even thinking that far ahead but it all came back to me when I got older and I started dating this guy who I tentatively gisted my mom about. And being the forward thinking woman that she is, she asked me...'Do you know what his blood GT is?' and I said 'ummm...no'. But she gave me something to think about, and the very next day I asked him what his GT was and true talk, he aint know (he was born and raised here, wonder if that was a factor for not knowing). But that's another story for another day...or more like never. Ha!

This summer, I tagged along with my friend to ze Hospital. We went to see a mutual friend's brother who was admitted because he had a sickle cell episode (both parents are AS + she had an older brother who died from sickle cell complications, as well ). I tell you, seeing that ish up close and personal was not the business at all. The poor boy was hooked up to all kinds of tubes and was writhing around in SO much pain that by the time I walked out of that hospital, my eyes were wet with tears. It was truly humbling to see this with my own korokoro eyes, I mean...some people get problem for this world o. As a sickle cell child, there are so many restrictions on what one can do and those episodes occur every so often. Kai!

Sooo I did some thinking and I was like na wa o, as an AS babe I no wan carry sickle cell pikin na but does this mean that I have automatic grounds for NEXTING an AS candidate who wants to make me his baby mama? Nope. Like I mentioned, when AS meets AS and they make a baby, it's not going to be a 100% chance that the baby will be SS. Maybe baby # 1 will be AS and baby #2 will be AS but baby #3 just might be SS so errrm if you get 2 healthy babies, you fit end the discussion right there and adopt the rest. But on the flip side, baby #1 could be SS even if the other babies turn out to be AS so errmmm....

Also, if you are not anti-adoption, then sure you can marry whoever you want to marry without the fear that any of your children will have sickle cell blood type.

For someone like me who has this ridiculous ridiculous fear of childbirth, the intense pain (And all those episodes of 16 and pregnant aint helping matters), labor and the whole 9 yards...I am very pro adoption. If I met a man who said 'baby, let's adopt all the way', you don't even know how happy I would be. So ahem, if I met an AS man who said something along the lines of...'Let's not even risk having an SS kid, so let's adopt all our kiddies', I would give him a big fat kiss and say YAY. LOL...

I mean, I always say that it's already hard enough to meet a correct individual that you want to spend the rest of your life with. You gotta factor in 'family history', education, religion, if you're Igbo the fact that he/she is Osu could be a HUGE no-no, then you gotta think about Blood GenoType too? e no easy sha o!

Ah wellz. This ends my PSA for the day. Go home and ask your lovers if they know what their blood GT is. Let's edumacate ourselves on this kini!