Ope O!

MG don born o, abegi helep me rejoice!

Person go think say na me pregnat de girl as I just dey show my teeth like Cheshire cat since I hear de good news. Gudugbe na 'abi girl' o, I hear say de picken big (4.1kg) and say she long. I happy no be small o, I am anxiously awaiting pictures, I don dispatch everybody wey I know make dem go take picture email to me. I happy sotay, I dey suspect say I no dey coherent. My heart just de do somersault for inside my chest. God is good o! I have been bombarding poor MG (to be known as Maa! from now on) with silly txt messages, I figure they will be less stressful on her as opposed to me calling every 10 mins. I am so happy I could scream (come o wetin dey stop me?) Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Music sweet music - An Update

Today I bought Dr Dre's 'The Chronic' and Bon Jovi's 'Slippery When Wet' albums. Both albums are on the '100 great albums youu shoud own' list (according to bmgmusic.com) which I am trying to make up, I am currently 64 albums shy of my goal, and I have promised myself I won't pay more than $10 (inclusive of tax) on each one. Wish me luck. So I am home, watching American Idol on mute (A well deserved win for Jordin Sparks) , rocking my 'new' Dre album, doing some work on the computer (pathetic I know) thinking why oh why is the cd player in my car not working? I had blogged earlier about the cd player in my car, till this day I have not taken the car in for the unit to be removed and sent to some 3rd party facility to be repaired primarily because I cannot imagine riding around in the car without music. I guess I was missing the cd player today because I didn't feel up to ripping my new cd's to my iPod. Ah well thats that, case closed. The I remembered I was out of hair conditioner and I needed to make a quick dash to Wal-Mart. I grabbed my bag and keys and on a whim the 'Slippery When Wet' album. 'Who knows' I thought, 'Maybe the yeye cd player fit work sef'. I start the car and slip the cd in the player ... it played! I was very happy I listened to my 'Church Mind' as I screamed along to 'Livin' on a Prayer' on the drive to and from Wal-mart. So what happened? Did the player just decide to start working? Perhaps it was working because I had a tape in the tape player. I ejected the tape, ejected the cd, turned off the ignition, turned it back on the slipped the cd in the player ... it worked. No I didn't do all that while I was driving! I performed my little experiment while parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot all the while looking left and right like a thief make dem no go car-jack somebody. Maybe its the particular cd, hmmm ... I waited till I was back at home to perform the second part of my experiments. I whipped out my cd case which holds like 20 cds but I have the sleeves holding at least 2 cds each so who knows how many cds are in it. Anyway I proceeded to try each one. Eject cd, turn off ignition, turn on ignition insert new cd, eject cd, turn off ignition, turn on ignition insert next cd etc etc. My ignition survived the experiment and so did the cd player. Yipee!!! I unload myself and my purchases and skip up to my apartment. Could the people at the dealership have inadvertently fixed the cd player? Who knows, who cares! My cd player is working.

P.S. I just remembered that Time magazine also had a list of must have albums (The All-Time 100 Albums) which they published in 2006. Bon Jovi didn't make it on the Time list, I ain't mad though.

Sir Shina Peters

A friend sent me a link to Sir Shina Peters 'Ace' as a present the other day. I was at work and it was really hard not to just get up and fling my hips around. Anywho, although the lyrics (at the time the song was released) were considered really raunchy, I could not help but admire the imagery they conveyed especially this line:

afara omi ton da mi lorun ton je siki-siki

(the bridge that is your breasts that is 'breaking' my neck)

Back to Black

'They tried to make me go to rehab I said no, no, no'

I am currently 'in love' with Amy Winehouse. There has been a lot of buzz about her US debut album which is actually her second album ‘Back to Black’. I googled her and this tiny white girl under a hug beehive and like tons of mascara and eyeliner emerged. A very ‘50s-‘60s look to match her ‘50s-‘60s rock & roll (as well as R&B and soul) inspired album. I have only listened to two tracks off her album (‘Rehab’ and ‘You know I’m no good’) and I love them both. I especially like her very defiant singing on ‘Rehab’. The story behind the song is interesting too, she apparently penned it after her management company suggested she go into rehab for her … eh … drinking ‘problems’. She dumped them before she wrote the song by the way. As usual iTunes is offering a ‘jara’ track on their site (You know I am no good feat. Ghostface Killah). I heard it once on the radio and it sounded interesting. Hold on, that particular track is on GhostFace’s album ‘More Fish’. I definitely will be putting my money where my mouth is.

Does your poopoo float?

I do like Gregory House. If I were a patient of his, I would be far more interested in his ability to have me cruising down the freeway to recovery and less about his bedside manner. Believe me being critically ill in the hospital hooked up to all sorts of gadgets with your organs crashing with every breath you draw (as is the case with all his patients) it wouldn’t matter that your doctor was polite it would matter that he is able to pull u back from the white light. I am watching House as is my custom on Tuesday evenings after Idol and he had to attend to this couple who had come in because the guy was producing ‘floaters’ not ‘sinkers’. According to his vegan girlfriend who was also a nutritionist, he shouldn’t produce floaters. House agreed with her, since he wasn’t eating meat, fatty or lean his poop shouldn’t float. ‘Floaters’ are caused by a diet rich in fat. House declared.

Hmmm … could this be the answer to the puzzle that I have been pondering ever since I heard Frank Olize ask the following question on NTA’s Newsline – ‘Does your poopoo float?’ Does anyone remember that particular episode? He had Quincy Ayodele on when she was just starting out and he opened the show by asking that question. I recall we all watched in my house in Ikeja like the rest of the nation wide eyed as this woman analyzed the state of peoples health based on their excrement and I have been fascinated ever since. Apparently floaters meant a person was healthy while sinkers were an indication of something gone/going awry. As a toilet worker in form 4, I was conditioned to hate floaters especially when there was water scarcity. You could flush with a hundred buckets of water and after all the commotion, and dodging of splashing toilet water the damn thing would just bob back up defying all your efforts like some sick jack-in-the-box. With time I perfected my technique and I must admit a floater was much more desirable than the ol’ padlock or used sanitary pad in the toilet bowl! A couple of years ago I noticed I was consistently producing sinkers and asked Princess about it. ‘Don’t you have something better to do with all your spare time?’ She asked. She did say as long as I am going regularly, I am not constipated and it’s not black like charcoal or bloody I am fine. I kept meaning to get online and read up about floaters vs sinkers but I guess I was ‘afraid’ of what I was going to learn coming from my Quincy Ayodele/Newsline background.

This morning, drawing ‘hope’ from the Tuesday episode of ‘House’ I got on Google. I found this article online which put everything in perspective. Vegetarians think the floater is king and apparently strive to produce them. In a healthy person floaters are caused by air and gas. The more air and gas in your poop, the less dense it will be and the more likely it is to float. So what causes the air and gas situation? Dietary changes for one. The inability to digest fat as a result of a dysfunction in the GI tract can also cause floaters. Also gastrointestinal infections cause increased gas content in the intestines which will also cause floaters. So I have finally laid the whole floater/sinker controversy in my mind to rest. The final nail in the coffin will be to ask my doctor about it at my next physical.

I also stumbled upon this article which is just hilarious. I can really relate though. For those who know me, I must have regaled you of my eventul trip from Lagos to Ibadan in '92

Arsenal 1 - 1 Chelsea

A draw is the next best thing, congratulations to Man-U

Match Report soccernet.com

Solidarity, my eyes on the line

When I moved to LA I had a list of things to do. Of course the first thing on my list was get an apartment then a car etc. In March, the next item on my to-do list was to get my eyes tested and get a proper prescription. In Nija I had been told I was short-sighted and slightly astigmatic. But to what degree was I a combination of both? Apparently it was for the optician to know and for me to return every year for a checkup and fork over N X for new lenses and N Y for new frames and N Z in service charges. My search for an optician/optometrist in my area returned several doctors including one I identified as Nigerian from her name. Solidarity forever! I immediately called her office to make an appointment. I got the answering machine telling me the clinic was only open Tuesdays and Thursdays and Saturdays by appointment only. I had called on a Wednesday and made a note to call on Thursday. Many calls later Thursday evening and I still could not get a human to pick up the phone. A well, Tuesday is another day. Come Tuesday, same thing, machine no human. I decided to leave a voice message. Thursday is yet another day. Two months and several voice messages later, nothing. I started getting headaches over the past weekend; you know the type in the front of the head around the eyes. Tuesday I tried the lady’s office again, no show Thursday the same thing. Patriotism/solidarity is threatening to kill me slowly and painfully by headache. I run another search on my insurance website and pick the first optician that comes up (she is Chinese). I call the office and on the first ring a female picks up all bright and cheery. ‘I am new in the area and would like to make an appointment to see the doctor?’ ‘Sure may I have your name and provider please?’ Five minutes later I am all set with an appointment first thing Monday morning my cache of Panadol should tide me over the weekend.

Darwin Correspondence

Letters between Charles Darwin and his friend and theological sparring partner Asa Grey are being made public and will be re-cast in play, Re:Design (nice title) written by Craig Baxter which is due to start touring in theaters soon. Apparently irrespective of how you believe you came to be ('intelligent design' or evolution) we all share a common insecurity about atleast one part of our anatomy in Darwin's case it was his nose. In one of his letter to Grey, Darwin writes:

Will you honestly tell me that the shape of my nose was ordained and guided by an intelligent cause?

I am looking at pictures of him and I must say that his nose is big but I have seen bigger and it was clever of him to keep such a huge beard, it kinda balances out his nose!

Darwin's doubts revealed in his letters to friends independent.co.uk

Enough!

Today its a life saver, tomorrow it is speeding you along the highway of bad health. I say the real culprit here is over indulgence, life takes moderation ... and Visa. That said I will be resuming my one a day cup of concentrated Joe habit with a clear conscience. I will replace my Peak Evaporated milk with skim milk and will be holding off on the sugar.


Coffee can be good for you, experts say news.yahoo.com

AC Milan 3 - 0 Manchester United.

So we will be having a repeat of the 2005 Champions League final, talk about Deja vu. Well technically not true since this final will be played in Athens.

Match Report soccernet.com

Liverpool 1(4) - 0(1) Chelsea

Way to go Liverpool, 2nd Champions League final in 3 seasons! For sure I will be watching this final.

Match Report soccernet.com

Yikees!

I had the scare of my life this morning. I got to work and was waiting on the elevator with two guys in the lobby. The elevator comes and I am ushered on by one of the guys. I get in and punch my number, saying a quick prayer for my quick and safe arrival at my destination (this particular elevator is notorious in my building for misbehaving) the doors close. As I am thinking that the cab seems crowded with just 3 people in it, one of the guys asks me 'So how is your day going'? It seemed an odd question to be asking seeing that its just 9:05 am and why is he interested in the way my day is going anyway, is he planning to influence it for the better ... or worse!? 'Good so far' I replying with a smile which I hope came across as care-free. I waved my crossed fingers in the air for good measure. 'Please don't have a gun, please don't have a gun' I pray fervently to my self. The elevator seemed to be inching along at snail pace. It seemed my latter prayer had bumped the former down in the priority list! Ding! I am here! In one piece! 'Y'all have a good one' I admonished as I got off, 'You too' they chorused in unison. I need to stop watching the news!