Long weekend...filled with Fun and Memories

I had a fabulous FABULOUS weekend. What more can a girl ask for? I finished work early, ate well, slept decently well, met new people and got hit on twice by ‘normal’ ‘good head on their shoulders’ guys. Now I know you are probably wondering what I did this weekend that has me singing …pop songs??? Well, I went to school. Literally

I’m not sure if I have blogged about this before, but I got accepted into one of the top ten MBA programs in the States (All praises to Baba God). So, I decided to go for their admitted students’ orientation weekend which ran from Thursday night to Sunday morning. I arrived early Thursday night to attend the minority aspect part of it. I honestly had a blast and I felt really welcome. The first year students offered practical and usable advice and insights on how to get through and prepare for “MBA Boot Camp.” I am so ecstatic that I attended because I know for sure I would be unprepared based on the information I gathered this weekend.
Weekend Gist Remix
Thursday night started off with dinner and a version of def jams poetry night. I must say mo gbadun (I tremendously enjoyed) the poems written by this naija chick who was doing both her PHD and medical doctors degree at the same time. Kai, some people are just born smart and beautiful. She read about four poems and let me tell you… some of them was soul wrenching and others were sizzling!! She compared the black woman’s role to that of a community whore whose services are no longer needed. She told the black man to learn from her jeans how to fit her completely. She told of the love/bond bestowed upon mothers from our Heavenly father above. Mehn, I wish I had her contact info and permission to post her poems. There was this other guy who was doubling as a Host. I liken him to Lupe Fiasco. Here is a guy, lanky frame with glasses, in his third year in Law School/Business School joint program, who can melt ice with his flow. As he was getting the crowd hype and singing an old school song...that was how the guy just put the mic in front of me to sing. Omo, Sahara salute me with the hot look I gave him!! LOL. I didn’t know the words of the song so I shushed him away with my look. Of course, I apologies and explained later. Funny…thinking back this bobo found me like twice during the weekend and sat at my table. Hmmm. School is most definitely going to be interesting this fall.

So, as I was minding my business trying to mingle at the Thursday night dinner/poetry night, why did my olojukokoro senses ‘sense’ someone was scoping me? I turned around and saw this light caramel Afro-American brother looking my way. Apparently my natural beauty had him swaying from the ceiling fans. Mehn, the guy can make a woman feel beautiful sha. I thought it was only Naija guys who knew how to toast but this guy could hold his ground any day. The conversation went something like this:
(I ran upstairs to change for the other half of the shindig but changed my mind and prior to going up he had practically made me promise to come back down)
Suave Brother: I was hoping you would come back down. I had been looking for you. I thought maybe you changed your mind
NJ: Oh no, I’ve been down for about a few minutes now
Suave Brother: it’s funny, when I first saw you I just had to come over and tell you how beautiful you look tonight.
NJ: Thank You!
Suave Brother: You have such a natural beauty that I can just imagine waking up next to you and you being just as beautiful as you were the night before…even with the drool running down your face *funny moment*
(I am one of those women who has naturally smooth skin so I don’t see the need to wear makeup except on special occasions...or when I feel like it)
NJ: Really??? hehehe, thank you. (All this time I was thinking keep it coming oh)
Suave Brother: I haven’t seen anyone with such nicely shaped eyebrows that are naturally thick (as opposed to penciled in I guess) As you can see, I have some thick eyebrows too
NJ: Well, that’s the reason I have them arched. You wouldn’t want to see them in any other state

We talked throughout the night and he asked to walk me to my room. The guy was just complimenting me left right and center throughout the whole weekend. But one thing I was really impressed by was the fact that he could hold a conversation. I mean apart from the compliments, we talked about our careers, why business school, what we both hoped to do etc.
All in all, he was a cool guy but omo the bobo kolo small oh. ***Why did he get mad when I got the number of a guy I went to school with that I hadn’t seen in ages? Why was he mad that I was talking and gisting with my Naija friend who just happens to be a guy for campus? ***I wonder what the fall will bring if he becomes my classmate...hmmm.

The rest of the weekend had the same feel of fun and information to it. We played games, rooted for teams, went dancing and made potential friends. The only thing I did not like was that I was the only naija person in the incoming class to attend. I mean, this was the first time that Ghanaians outnumbered us before. Mehn, this has put an end to my plans of scoping one or two naija men oh…lol.
After the conference ended Saturday night (for me), I went to my old church on Sunday and was reunited with old friends. Funny, my ex picked me up from the hotel and dropped me back home. I thought I would feel somehow about seeing him again but it was like seeing a long lost friend again. It was actually….nice!
It was great being back in a naija setting again with the accents and what not going on. Of course, there was drama and I was filled in on the gist: Somebody is pregnant, someone gave birth and other peeps hooking up. Ah life as I know it

I have been meaning to blog about the men in my life. Just reading through some of my back posts, I’m sure some people may be lost as to exactly how many guy friends or toasters or marriage potential peeps do I even have gan sef. Maybe my next post will be about that. Or maybe I should tell a story…

Book Currently Reading
I picked up this book from our family library: The Corner by David Simon and Edward Burns. I usually don’t gear towards this genre of writing, but after the first few pages, I think this is going to be a fantastic read. I’ll update on how the book holds up.

Poem I came up with…just now.
I loved you as completely as I could
Stood beside you as valiantly as I could
Carried you as powerful as I could
Prayed for you even when I couldn’t pray for myself
Stole to give to you
Lied to protect you
Fought to be close to you

Oh how my heart waits to receive but a fraction from you

Whats Popping y'all?

ohhh, I'm so excited..
And I just can't hide it
I'm about to lose control and I think I like it

Omo, I am high on life and I don't know why. Maybe it was because of my fabulous weekend. Maybe its because of the new book I just read. Or maybe its because I filled finished filling out my tax returns and FAFSA for school.

Whatever it is, I will update and let you guys know whats popping.

BiG UPS to my little sis who got a free ride to RIT and got on Cornell's waitlist....wait oh, can you imagine those Yankees up north putting my sister on a waitlist. They haven't seen prayer yet. By the time we start praying she gets in, not only will she get off the waitlist, they will also give her a scholarship. Everyone say AMEN!!

Running with full speed...sorta

Running. With my running shoes on and my face facing backwards. That was the conclusion of this weekend. We had a nice time together. Did the regular stuff-went to the movies, to the mall, hung out with each other all day etc. Okay, where do I start...I guess from the beginning.
GuyA arrived pretty late as usual, so my Friday was shot in the sense that we didn't get to hang out. I was a little perturbed about this and added this misdemeanor to my imaginary short but growing list of why we can't be together :D.
He had a good excuse and since I don't know how to hold a grudge to save my life, we made up. I don't know what we were talking about later on that night/morning but the conversation went around the way of why he was still here, why he didn't just go find someone else or why is he not just put off with all my 'legitimate' excuses and not just go find another chick that would take him as he is. Then he said or should I say it slipped out of his mouth: I Love you.
To say I was stunned is an understatement. I just stared at him and then asked him about 5 times what he said and he said it over and over again.
I couldn't think, I wanted to cry, I felt so vulnerable, I didn't know what to say or how to respond...because I believed him. It was not cute, it was not something he thought about, it was the way he felt towards me. I still didn't/haven’t say/said anything seeing as I don't think I love him.
aahhh. The whole weekend was nice. It was great having him around. I cooked Lafun (with his help) and egusi soup on Saturday and then Amala and Egusi soup the next day. We cleaned up together and read NaijaFineBoy's blog together, cracking up with tears running down our faces.

This is why I am running because I believe if I don't put the brakes on this relationship and hear from my father in heaven, I can very well see myself matching down the aisle with him. So I am going to take a sabbatical from him and go seek God's face.

Ringing in my head

I just heard Jordan Sparks sing this song on American Idol and I had to look up the lyrics! I love it! It speaks to me. I wish I could sing this song to my secret crush. Just switch the He's to She's

"I (Who Have Nothing)"I,

I who have nothing I,

I who have no one

Adore you,

and want you soI'm just a no one,

With nothing to give you but

OhI Love You

He, He buys you diamonds

Bright, sparkling diamonds

But believe me, dear when I say,

That he can give you the world,

But he'll never love you the wayI Love You

He can take you anyplace he wants

To fancy clubs and restaurants

But I can only watch you with

My nose pressed up against the window panel,

I who have nothingI,

I who have no one

Must watch you, go dancing by

Wrapped in the arms of somebody else

When darling it's I Who Loves you

I Love You

I Love You

I Love You

Ah men, the intricate details of my life.

Conversation

So I had this conversation with this guy that I care about BUT there is a huge question about one of the building blocks of a long lasting relationship. I had been yearning to talk- as in plain speak- to tell him what was going through my mind and how things stood in my opinion. It just seemed as if in the past, I didn't say enough to get through to him or I didn't say anything because the timing wasn't right or I just plain avoided it because I truly like him. He is the most smooth sailing person I've ever met. He is considerate and the kind of guy that would drive 300 miles every weekend to come see me.
But, as prayer would have it, I truly believe that God created the circumstances whereby I could talk to him and he could talk to me.
You might be wondering right now what kind of conversation had to take place that God Himself had to align the stars to make two adults talk to each other. Well, it was the topic of my faith. I am hesitant to say our faith because we don't share the same one.
Let me back track a little to give some context. When I first met guy A, he was a cool dude lurking in my peripheral vision. Some one I talked to once in a while and used to playfully 'harass' as to why his butt was not in church on Sundays. But he made his move- TWICE- when I was not really expecting it and that's when he made his way into my house- Heart: Just enter oh, not sit and make yourself comfortable :-P. We became great friends and when it got to the point that our relationship may be turning from just mere friendship to someone I was truly attracted to, He told me: " NJ, I'm a Muslim." He then proceeded to tell me in my state of shock/denial/you must be joking that he never told me he was either or. I just assumed he was a backsliding Christian and he knew there would come a time when he would have to tell me.
That's the background information.
Fast forward many months later. We still remain good friends. But now, he wants to take it to the next level. He gets upset when I refer to him as a friend. He on the other hand can't stop telling people I'm his wifey. From the get go I guess he made no qualms about the fact that he saw me as someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. I guess I just chose to sidetrack all of that because I just didn't see how it would work. He doesn't see what the issue is since He is not necessarily a strict Muslim and he doesn't say I have to change. But in my experience(as in what I have seen, one person always changes and its usually the woman.
My point of contrition is who I am and how I want to live my life and how I want to build my family. I'm a Christian. I'm someone who follows the teachings of Christ and I loves me some Jesus. I want a family and a life routed upon Christian principles. Essentially, I want to live what I believe not just wear a title for show. I don't think I can bear for my future husband to be "okay" with my Faith as long as he doesn't have to go to church or do the things I want to do. That and the fact that there are some things that he deems okay that in my mind are not that keep cropping up in our relationship. At other times I don't know why I just don't say its over, I don't want to go further, this will not work, you can't possibly be the one, The Bible tells me not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers etc. It just doesn't come out of my mouth. I think guyA has done something to me!
Okay, to my point, we finally talked. I just spoke and I don't know where the words came from and he finally understood where I was coming from. I spilled my heart out as to how I feel about him, how I don't think this would work if I don't bend from my position. I then told him that I've been going on the internet to read up on Islam. He was pleasantly surprised. I figured instead of going by what I hear or have been thought in school about his religion, I should find out for myself. I don't claim to know all the answers or what the future holds but what I do know is the decision to live my life as one who Loves God. I just pray that when we both come together this weekend or the next- me with my Bible and him with his Qu'ran, we understand each other better. I wouldn't lie if I said I didn't want him to believe what I believe.

Serenaded by a Stranger

Okay, my day just ended with a wonderful bang. Oh thank you Lord!! I don't know what it was but it seems the Lord showed up for me in an unusual way since Monday and Tuesday were not so good.
I got up this morning and decided I was going to wear a skirt outfit (which I rarely do) with boots to work. I went out of my room and went up one floor to eat my complimentary breakfast. Only for me to find out that the lounge was closed and we were asked to eat at the restaurant on the ground floor.
It was a four star all you can eat breakfast buffet with fresh pineapples (not from a can), an assortment of breakfast meats and roasted potatoes and different juices. I should have known that today would be fabulous.
I drove to work and I decided to reach out to people to help with our little application at work. That went extremely well and for the first time we were able to test via automation. Honestly, you would have thought I just won the lottery. Let me backtrack a little. This certain project had been pushed backed/scrapped twice before I came on board last month and for it to work while I'm on the heel, is so great. Big ups to Baba God.
Later I got back to the hotel and our complimentary hotel mede mede turned out to be some pasta in marinara sauce and grilled chicken- It tasted great too. Usually they give us cheese and crackers and egg rolls and meatballs. Ah, I though my day just ended with a high note. But Baba God wasn't done with me yet. I say, when the Heavens rain, it rains down babanla showers!!
So I decided that I was going to fix the handle of my carry on which broke on my way here. After many calls requesting super glue(Hey, what’s a chick to do, I had to glue it back together now) from the maintenance guy, I went down stairs to get it myself- Only for him to tell me that there is no super glue BUT he will come up and try and help.
So, it turned out that He could actually screw it back together. AND while he was screwing it back I just innocently asked why he always seems jolly and he replied and said He tries to and it’s a great way to go through life---so why did the conversation turn to music and He serenaded me with "fly me to the moon" and "Somewhere over the rainbow"???AHHH, I was star struck just staring at this tall skinny dude with thick glasses with a fabulous, earth shattering tenor voice sing to me??? HA! I mean he went on and told me that he and a friend of his are putting together a cd of old school songs. He ended the conversation by saying "well, have a good night and I must say you are a beautiful Nigerian woman"- No kidding. Those were his words. I smiled and said Thank you and I believe I must have being on level nine in heaven.
Let’s just say my day is complete. Thank you lord and good night.

Cold and Grass Greener on the other side?

It is COLD. As in, I thought I knew what it was to be cold but today proved me wrong. I believe the temperature was 6 degrees with high winds. My week just did not start off on the right note at all. I set my alarm to get me up in time for my flight out to CT to Monday...only thing was I forgot to turn it on. I got up at 6.50- my flight was at 7.45.
So I rushed to the airport thinking I'll get on the next flight out. WHY WERE ALL THE US AIRWAYS KIOSKS NOT WORKING AND THERE WERE LINES AS IF PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO GET INTO THE PEARLY GATES?? Hmm. apparently, US Airways tried to upgrade their system over the weekend and instead it shut their systems down. I was in line for an hour and a half. By the time I got to the counter, my flight was gone and the next flight was about to take off. I left Queen City at 2.20 for CT.
So I thought the horrible delay and flight was behind me. How about when I got Hertz, they gave me a Chevy. Okay, say I’m being a little choosy but I'm a Ford chick through and through(at least when it comes to American car makers). That and the fact that Chevys are horrible cars to drive. But I digress. The worst part was that I couldn't figure out how to turn off the emergency break? Don't laff! The handle was not where it was supposed to be and I had run back out in the cold and the snow to the office to get someone to help--Only for me to figure it out before the lady came to my car.
So, I missed my exit to the hotel and was near tears as I tried to get back to the main road.
Just to end this on a high note, my week is slowly improving J

Okay, so people gather round oh. News broadcast!! In case you didn’t know, I am a HOT chick oh- to White Guys!
Hehe, okay. It has been a tinney weeney dream of mine to find a half white half Naija guy to sweep me off my feet or an Italian brother with a low cut to bring me a cool glass of water in the hot sun. But all those dreams never came true...in short, it seemed that the opposite race did not find me attractive at all. The only ones that looked my way, I did not have an ounce of attraction for.

Man #1
All of a sudden, I went on a Ski trip and meet this attractive ski instructor. After teaching me how to ski, he took me aside and asked if I wanted ski lessons- as in under the table lessons. I was like “sure.” But I knew he wanted more than that. I have never heard of someone collecting someone’s number just to arrange the lessons when it was done through the skiing office. Anyway, I couldn’t make the lessons and didn’t hear from him in about 2 weeks. All of a sudden he calls me up and wants me to come down for the lesson- half off, ¾ off and so on and so forth. I couldn’t make that either, so he is coming up to see moi- of course under the guise that he is bringing a friend up here for some reason. Hmm. E get as e bi oh. We are meeting at a café of my choosing- just in case I turn out to be a crazy chick or vice versa.

Man #2
This is one long time no see, like what I see (maybe) story. I went on a white water rafting trip with my colleagues at work and apparently I had made such an impression that he remembered me. I on the other hand barely did. So, we met again at a partner luncheon and I say next to him. I thoroughly enjoyed our banter. He could keep up with my wit and smart statements. So he hands me his card and says to keep in touch. I send him an email with literally 4 sentences
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I don’t know what to say
But I’m emailing youuu

Lol, what? It’s funny
He wrote back a paragraph. I spoke to him once over the weekend and we are scheduled to watch a Naija movie when I get back home. Hmmm.
So, I wonder, should I take a chance and date someone of a different race (I say different race because I've dated other Africans).
On another note, a dear friend of mine was done with a virus over the weekend. Please pray for a complete recovery. Now this friend of mine- His story!!! I think I may have already blogged about him. I need to pray more and it’s not about health.