Coming Home To What? :)

The Gift. Love  Love Love 'em.

So yesterday a friend of mine sent me messages and a picture of a lovely bouquet of fresh flowers (I'm a huge huge huge fresh flower lover:) and a lovingly addressed card from her hubby. She was pretty pleased about it after having had a rough day at work, I was chuffed too. (You'd think I got the delivery sef, lol).  Receiving a gift is always an awesome delight and I was very pleased for her.

It however got me thinking about some couples and the romantic gestures they display between themselves. Being an adult is so tough with the many challenges we face daily (oh, to be a child again) so little things like surprise gifts are necessary in creating happiness fro your partner. Trust me, when you genuinely go out your way to please your partner by putting a smile on his/her face, your relationship is bound to be smooth and blissful. These gestures of giving gifts don’t even have to break your bank account or cost anything at all. In such cases, it is the thoughts behind the gifts that count the most. 

 Things like a short, scented hand-written note left under a pillow, on a dashboard or even sent by delivery can elicit the warmest of reactions, a hand-picked flower (for those who love flowers and yes, I know we have more concrete than soil in the cities but there are still free fresh flowers around. Lol:), a random but warm hug/kiss mid-conversation, a tie, underwear, jewelry, a book, phone credit top-up, etc. The list is endless really. (Notice how I deliberately left out vehicles, mansions and private jets? Hehehe)

I am a very random person, which means I often get hubby nice things randomly without a specific event tied to it. He reciprocates too sometimes, hehehe. I often surprise my hubby with gifts without them being tied to any specific occasion. The look of pleasant surprise on his face makes it all worthwhile. When he reciprocates, I always get giddy with delight at the thoughtfulness behind it. I take it a step further by randomly surprising friends and strangers alike. It is always good to make people smile.

So take my cue and make life easier for yourselves by giving your spouses lovely and thoughtful surprises. ;)

#ThankMeLater

One Day, More Troubles...................

The situation in the country is so awful that I am merely doing this post to try to capture it in words. It makes no more sense now than it did before.

Day in, day out we are faced with newer battles, newer challenges, newer preys targeting us, our children and our future.

It's been over a hundred days since our Chibok girls were kidnapped (and several others since then), yet we stay hoping against hope that they will be brought back in one piece and not in parts.

Daily we deal with cold-blooded murder of men and kidnap of women and children by Boko Haram terrorists up North, yet no positive action occurs.

Armed robbers rob daily and the only justice they get are the jungle sort as we seem to have lost complete faith in our legal system.

Daily the numbers of rape victims are growing, with no seeming assistance from the government to help curb it.

Now Ebola has come upon us, it could have been prevented and avoided but alas........

Fire. Call the fire service. "No water, no fuel", they say. Now it's all gone to ashes.

Female suicide bombers. So young. Really, BokoHaram, really???

No thanks to the recent rains, the sham-of-roads our duly elected have placated us with last season have now been washed away.

The cost of food stuff is on a rise no thanks, especially, to the crisis up North.

I could go on, but I will stop for now.

When will it all end? When?

What's So Funny About Bleeding To Death? -_-

Sigh.

You would think by now the whole world would be aware of the dangers of the most recent epidemic on rampage, Ebola. Sadly, this isn't so.You cannot truly understand how backward Nigeria is sometimes, until some tragedies occur and you realize that the average man walking on the streets hustling to feed and keep a roof under his head has absolutely no idea about what is going on in the country around him. In the past two days, I have had to inform and educate at least FIVE people who had NEVER heard about Ebola and it's horrific and fatal effect on the human body. Traders, cabbies, lower class and middle-class alike, walking around completely oblivious of this epidemic that has come upon us.

Ebola Virus

I find it highly distasteful that rather than take this burning issue seriously and educate people who do not know any better, some delirious and shallow people have found a way of turning the issue into jokes and memes.This is unacceptable and disgraceful, if you ask me. There is absolutely nothing funny about an epidemic that is killing people as rapidly as Ebola is, and to worsen matters, Ebola HAS NO CURE yet!! NONE!!!! People have died and are still dying as a result of it so making jokes at this point is a no-no for me.

I know a lot of Nigerians like to turn tragedies into jokes to make them more bearable to comprehend and deal with mentally, but the truth is there are lines to be drawn. At what point do you then draw the line? Is it when someone you know contracts this dreadful disease or when oneself gets it?

While I get the need to have a "coping mechanism" for tragedies and the need not to create a panic, I believe there are better ways to help spread the awareness that make a mockery out of a situation as dire as this is. The seriousness of this epidemic (and the fact that it IS an epidemic) is watered down by tasteless jokes and flippant comments. Do bear this in mind, thank you very much.

Please find more information (which are easier to digest) about Ebola here: http://ebolafacts.com/ Also endeavor to show it to as many as you can around you. The link has very easy to understand slides that will help even a layman to understand what Ebola is about and how to avoid getting infected.

Thanks and keep being #AllHeartsAlways

Rape Goes Both Ways..............

As far-fetched as it may sound to many, men and boys do get raped too. Rape is all shades of evil and it is especially hard and traumatic on the victims. One would find it difficult to visualize how men get raped given their physical stature and strength compared to women but the fact remains that men have been disarmed in the past by women (and other men) and raped.

I recall hearing a story when I just got into the university, about how a bunch of ladies raped a randy lecturer that had been sexually harassing a younger student. Also, I have been reading about men being raped in places like South Africa, Europe, etc for many years now. Male-rape have been going on for a long time and while they are not as rampant as female-rape, the devastating trauma the victims go through are not to be trivialized.



Recently in Russia, a 27-year-old female hair-stylist knocked out a 32-year-old would-be male burglar who tried to rob her shop and then tied him up. She was skilled in martial arts and was able to knock him out and subdue him with her skills. She plied him with viagra and raped him several times for three days before releasing him.

(You can read more about that here: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/tmt/376242.html )

I would never understand how people get off by subduing another person, with force, just to attain their sickening height of pleasure. The trauma that remains with rape victims, both male and female,  cannot be put into words. I implore victims of rape to speak out as we stand by them to bring the perpetrators of rape to book. Leaving rapists to God or fate no longer cuts it because studies have shown that for most rapists, it is not merely a one-off experience. They continue in this sickening trend knowing they would not be made to pay for their crimes. They revel in a culture that stigmatizes the victims rather than the rapists themselves, knowing they can get away with these atrocities.

I look forward to a day when rapes will rarely occur. I look forward to stiffer sentences for rapists. I look forward to programmes that would help victims of rape heal faster.

For legal help and counseling and all assistance needed in a case of rape, please get in touch with the Stand To End Rape Initiative team on:

Email: contactus@standtoendrape.org OR standtoendrape@gmail.com
Phone Number: 08095967000

I join my team mates to #StandToEndRape. You should too.

I See The World Through My Rose-Tinted Frames

So by nature, I always see the positive side to every situation however bleak it might be and the bit of good side to every bad person. I never thought much about it, because it puts things in perspective for me and of course helps me sleep better at night, until a while back when someone pointed it out to me. She said I "was always wrapped in bubble-gum thoughts that were far from reality". I was taken aback, more-so because I was only trying to help her see a situation, that I could see was consuming her mentally, from another perspective than where she stood.

It bothered me for a short while but then I realized, I wasn't the one going around with so much baggage about who said what about me and how evil or nasty they were. She was. So if she thought I would get on the bashing-bandwagon, rather than step back and see that people's opinion about who they think I am or should be really isn't my business so long as I'm towing the right path, then so be it that I view the world in my rose-tinted cocoon.

As much as I fight for positive changes daily, I do not indulge in burdening myself with things I cannot change. This world would be a much better place if people set down the unnecessary baggage of bitterness, envy, hate, jealousy, strife, etc they carry around.

Love more, loathe less. :)

AllHeartsAlways

The Best Tennis Shot Ever. #CelebratingNigeria

I have been overwhelmed by the series of tragic news about Nigeria and her citizens for a long while now, so it was as an absolute delight to me to get this bit of good news. :)

Watch Nigeria's Segun Toriola win an amazing 41-shot rally against Singapore's Ning Gao in the men's team table tennis semi-final at Glasgow 2014. 

Happy Eid.......

Here's wishing the true Muslims a Happy Eid.

 

 

And happy holidays to the rest of us. :)

I'm working through the holidays though.................. Still, a holiday is a holiday especially in this beautifully chaotic city that never sleeps :) Enjoy.

He Goofed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How would you handle this sort of situation, if it happens to you??

Be Inspired

Very true......

Have a bit of faith in yourself and a healthy dosage of self-esteem! :)

Forgiveness is hard, but very achievable and it is always in your best interest.

Be happy, always.

Note to self.......

Clean Shaven Or Nay? XXX-Rated!

 

Hello readers, having a stressed out day? Hopefully this should lighten you up a bit. Now if you are a prude or anything like that, this post is NOT for you!!!! Flee and save yourself while you can. :)

If you are a bit more open-minded, click for more. :)

A Random Fact About Me!!

 

I wondered and wondered about the one random fact that stood out about me and the only thing I got is the fact that I am very very random. That in itself is a random fact. I am so random, I can break into a dance anywhere I hear good music, even if the music pops into my head in a public place. 

What's one random fact about yourself?

Ebola Precaution

This Ebola virus spread is not funny. It scares the heck out of me. What a torturous way to go. :(

I found this image on the internet and I hope it helps. I will also try to get some hand disinfectant for my self and family. I suggest you do the same.

Life Hacks..........

Here are some life hacks I found online and thought to share. Life hacks are basically fun-short-cuts to doing things easier and getting better results. Enjoy. ;)

Many hotel TVs have handy USB slots in the back that will charge most smartphones

Fit two bowls into a microwave comfortably. :)

Use retail hangers as chip clips

For the always-falling zipper

Use a can opener on obnoxious plastic packaging

Putting your phone into airplane mode will charge it twice as fast

Wrap a wet paper towel around beer, and put it in the freezer to cool in just 2 minutes

Dare To Love..............

I am not scared to say I love you

I am not scared to show I care 

I am not scared of the depth of my feelings for you

I'm not scared of the intense attraction we share 

I'm not scared of the murmurs that will come

I'm not scared of the backlash we would bear

I'm not scared of the mockery from some

I'm not scared of the headlights on this deer

All that scares me, is our love coming undone

What A Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodness me, I can't believe I didn't put up a post today. That's to tell you the sort of day I have had. Busy. Busy. Busy.

There's no one in Nigeria right now, looking forward to the upcoming 2-day-holidays like I am now. (Twirls to reggae). I'm not quite sure yet if I won't have to come in to work on those days, but I am thoroughly looking forward to resting. I think I'm a closet workaholic though and I work better under pressure if I don't get a headache midway, that is.

All's well that ends well, right? Let me rifle through my drafts and upload posts. :)

Roaring Ronaldo Versus Messiless Messi. LOL

You all know my crush on Ronaldo is legit especially because he is AllHeartsAlways as I revealed in a previous post (http://bukiotuyemi.blogspot.com/2014/07/christiano-ronaldo-my-man.html). Well, today OOMF (one of my followers - twitter) sent me the video below and I was mighty impressed some more by my dear (yes, he's my dear, lol) Ronaldo. :)

Now, I don't think the comparison is fair because I genuinely think Messi did not see the little lad, but hey more points for MY Ronaldo, yes? ;)



**Shout-out to the person that brought this to my attention for a post. #TopMan**

Breaking Point And A Happy Ending

Life can get overwhelming sometimes. The key to survival is NOT to succumb to the pressures and sorrows because there is ALWAYS light at the end of the tunnel. Suicide should never be thought of an a way out. A lot of people have little or no sympathy for suicide victims, but I get them. I know what it is to be in so much pain that taking your life to ease your troubles and the burden on your loved ones seems like an option, but it never really is. Whatever it is you are going through, remember that it will pass with time. The time might often be later than sooner, but pass it will. There is always some form of light at the end of every dark tunnel we pass through in life, especially the tunnels life shoves us into.

I came across a very moving story of a 32-year-old Chinese woman, Wei Chung, who has a disabled baby and was struggling to fend for the little one. Wei's baby girl was born with Down's syndrome and a poor heart. Unfortunately, she couldn't get a hospital to help and care for her child despite visiting several. She woke up one morning to find out that her husband has packed up and fled in the middle of the night, thus leaving them unable to fend for themselves and rendering them homeless without an income.

Life became intolerable and poor Wei felt the only way to go was to commit a murder-suicide by drowning herself and her baby. Thankfully, there were some good people around to stop this tragedy. They formed a human chain and dragged Wei and her baby out of the river to safety. As a result of the publicity the case generated, Wei now has accommodation and a sound promise of getting her child the good healthcare she deserves.

Now it's easy to chastise her action and condemn her but I will tell you this, unless you have walked in a person's shoes and you have the exact same strong-will and pain-threshold as the person does, do not condemn such people.

It pays to hold on to hope, no matter what. :)