Customer is King

Of course Internet addict like me, the first thing I inquired about once I moved in to my apartment was getting Internet service. I was told that Time Warner Cable is the company that serves this area and I gave them a call. I was told the earliest time I could get a technician out would be the 26th of January two weeks from my move in date. I don’t have a choice do I so I wait. I was told that I would need to give payment to the technician who comes to set me up so on Friday I excitedly leave a check with my building super. At about 9:20 am on friday on my way to work I get a call from my building super saying the technician was here and needed to have the password to my computer. I was so excited; finally I can browse the Internet in peace. I get home and ask my building super how things went. He said he didn’t know about the cable but he knew the technician work in the Internet connection. Hmm … He also didn’t take the check I left. Now that was odd, I had been told to have payment ready. I go up to my apartment and quickly look around no cable box but I do see the cable modem yippee. I power on my computer and no Internet. I look around perhaps there are instructions nothing. I decide to call TWC. My first attempt at speaking with a tech resulted in me being on hold for 26 mins. I hung up and called again and was on hold this time for 48 mins. I then gave up and went to bed, what a buzz kill. Saturday I woke up early and called them again. I was on hold this time for about 30 mins. I hung up and then decided to call the sales number I was confident that a human being would be on hand to sell the service if one wasn't on hand to help solve problems that the poor clients who have been suckered into signing up for the yeye service being offered were having. I got to talk to a human being in like 3 mins and I complained about my Internet and also the fact that my cable wasn’t installed. The lady told me they only had an order for the Internet not the cable. What? How did that happen? Apparently my initial order was cancelled and replaced with another one for just the Internet. WTF? So what happens now I ask? Well I will have to wait till the 5th for a tech to come out and hook up the cable. WTF? Why do I have to suffer for you peoples obvious ineptitude I ask? ‘I understand that you are upset and I apologise but the earliest anyone can come out is the 5th’ she says. Argh!!! ‘I should have gone for DirecTV’ I reply. Unfazed she replies ‘Should I not bother with the cable order then?’ Imagine. I was getting a good deal on the Internet because of the cable so I really wasn’t going anywhere. I mumble something and she confirms the appointment for the 5th. Then she connects me to the technical help department to sort out my Internet issues. I was on hold to them for 2 hrs and 26 mins. Imagine!!! At the end of the day it turns out a tech has to come out and sort out the issue. Argh!!! I was really banking on Internet connection this weekend so I could research buying a car in peace. After yelling and yelling I got an appointment to get the tech out on Monday. I drop the phone and call the sales people again to see if I can move my cable hook up to Monday as well. I was told it would not be possible because it would involve cancelling both work orders and creating a new one and the closest date for the new appointment would be the 8th of February. Wetin do this people? I asked for and got the address to send my complaint to and believe me I was so angry I was actually going to write a letter. Now I am not so sure, lets see how Monday goes.

Working out Cali style

After much procrastination, I haul my butt off to the gym on Wednesday. Luckily my gym has branches in California with one not to far from my apartment. All I needed to do was come in and make an appointment for my training session. As I stepped in through the doors I thought perhaps I had entered a covered version of Oshodi market without the confusion.

An aside - By the way I am watching ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition as I type up this post, and I am just tearing up. Without fail every Sunday this show makes me cry. Its good news for my tear ducts, although I do feel silly afterwards crying for 'no' reason. I think the solution will be to just stop watching the show but I am such a sucker for triumph of the human spirit stories and secretly wish I could be a crew member on one of the remodels ...

Na so so people full everywhere, every piece of equipment had somebody on it furiously working out; jogging, stepping, pulling, pushing, lifting. For sure I had never seen a gym this full before. I was a little intimidated. The guy I spoke with was friendly and he put me at ease. I made an appointment for my gym orientation for Friday. Of course I went shopping for gym clothes (yes I am vain, I know) and I was finally motivated to shave my under arm hair! Friday arrives and I meet with my trainer who has piercings everywhere I looked. I had done the orientation thing in Texas when I first joined the gym and thought I had seen it all. Half way through I began to realize that orientation in Texas and orientation in California – two different things. In Texas they are a bit laid back, my orientation consisted of a walk around the gym, doing a couple of leg exercises, weighing in and calculating my body fat percentage. On Friday I did all of that plus a long series of evaluations; the way I walk was evaluated, the way sit and stand. My body was measured from top to bottom; shoulders, arms, waist, hips, thighs, calves (turns out I am very symmetric), my upper body strength was measured (with my trainer commenting on my apparently well developed triceps argh!) as well as my lower body strength. Apparently I am also well balanced on my feet and that was a surprise for me to hear although I must admit that I had noticed that walking in high heels has been a lot easy for me to do since I started working out last year, although a friend says that can be attributed to that fact that the walkways here are all paved! Oh and we had a long talk about nutrition and how important it is as per my quest to loose weight. I must admit that I haven’t been eating well since I moved out here, but now that I have my own place and can cook I am finally eating well. Once again I was encouraged to eat 4 – 6 small meals a day to keep my metabolism up, not peaking and dipping. I felt a sense of seriousness about this trainer, a sense I just didn’t feel about my trainer in Texas. I am really not surprised though; this is California, the land of beautiful people. Once again I am given a workout journal into which had been written all my vital statistics and asked to get my resting heart rate. I am actually looking forward to my next session next Friday so much so, I remembered to take my heart rate first thing this morning.

Arrghhhhh!

See me see trouble, I have been looking for the George Michael/Mary J Blige version of 'As' since I got to work today, 3 hours into my intensive search I still have no song playing on my iPod! I could have sworn I had the song somewhere, but after spending the whole of two days looking through every cd I had I realised I would need to buy it so off to iTunes I go. Apparently the song was initially released as a single in the UK and then subsequently was released on the 'Ladies & Gentlemen...The Best of George Michael' as well as the 'Twenty Five' albums. Now for some strange reason the song was only released on the import versions of the albums so when I go to iTunes the song doesn't exist, same thing for amazon.com but when I go to amazon.co.uk - bam!- Robert is your relative! There it is listed as the second song on disc 2 ('on the Ladies & Gentlemen...The Best of George Michael' album). I am curious as to the logic behind this whole 'import' album versions and why some really good songs never seem to make it to the US versions of said cds. I am even more suprised with respect to this particular song. Its a cover of a classic from the american wonder Stevie, produced by the ageless Babyface and features a very prominent US musical presence i.e. Mary J Blige. Did some people think that all that hanky panky good ol' George has been up to in apparently all the public restrooms in LA would hurt Mary, Babyface and Stevie and as such decided to distance them from him? What do I know shey? Anyhow I finally find a US store with an album that lists the song; Walmart has the 'Twenty Five' album on pre-order and 'As' is listed as one of the songs the 3 cd set contains. Who is going to wait till the 27th of March to listen to a song? plus as much as I love music I really don't see the sense in spending $30 just to effectively buy one song! To think studio execs are wondering why illegal music downloads are so popular! If no be say I don reform my ways, for sure I would not be here wasting valuable billable hours whinging!

Eureka! A solution just came to me, all you UK pple, is there a UK version of the iTunes Store? If so how can I get my iTunes application to search that instead of searching the US store. Alternatively is there a site for a reputable store (like walmart.com) that will allow you to buy individual songs in digital form?

Note: To iTunes credit they did state that their listing of the contents of the 'Ladies & Gentlemen...The Best of George Michael' album was a partial one.

Arsenal 2-1 Manchester Utd

Yes o yes o, yes o!!!!!

Match Report soccernet.com

Match Report arsenal.com

Apartment? Check!

It’s an unusually cold evening by California standards and I am writing this post perched on my air bed in the middle my living room! Yup that’s right, sister girl finally found an apartment. Let me tell you all about it. My hotel reservation was going to expire on Tuesday and determined not to extend it again (I had succumbed last week), I attacked the Westside rentals site and craigslist sites with a vengeance. I had seen a place I liked about a week ago and submitted an application. Thinking I was in pole position to get the apartment I kinda slowed down looking alas the 419 people just collected my application plus $30 processing fee, they didn’t even have the courtesy to call and tell me I had been declined, meanshile the listing is still active on the rental board o! Yeye people. I spent Saturday and Sunday driving around the whole of the south bay LA area and although I was getting desperate I wasn’t really feeling any of the apartments I saw. I did see something on Saturday which I naija woman showed me. I took the forms and decided if all else failed I would apply to rent it. Monday morning, just as I was beginning to resign myself to the fact that I might be extending my reservation after all ( I couldn’t bring myself to manage the naija woman’s place), I saw it. The pictures of the exterior looked nice, the rent was well within my budget and included utilities, the deposit was surprisingly low. Could this be too good to be true? Reining in my enthusiasm, I called and made an appointment to see it. The outside looked nothing like the picture I had seen, aha I thought to myself and almost drove off without taking a look inside (thank God that didn’t happen!) It wasn’t like it was bad, I was just going with the ‘if it looks to good to be true it most probably is’ philosophy. Anyhow I step in and it was a totally different scenario. The foyer/lobby was really clean and welcoming and peaceful. Hmm I punch in the code for the manager and he lets me in. He looked like the kind of person who could make roses grow on concrete, and the inside of the apartment building seemed to prove me right. Flower beds were everywhere, well tended with everything in glorious bloom, and not a piece of trash in sight. I felt even more at peace could this be it? The vacant apartment was upstairs (good) spacious kitchen area with a brand new fridge and a gas stove. Plenty of cupboard space, dual sinks, not that much counter space although the counter tops were in good condition. Nice. Ceiling fan in the living room, not the largest living room I had seen since my search began but it would do. Good size bathroom, I could actually turn around in it. No stains in the tub, grout mould free, the seal around the tub was in good condition, faucets and shower head in good condition. The bedroom wasn’t too small, it would fit a queen size bed easily with space for a dresser and arm chair (I have become very good at this) sizable closet although it wasn’t a walk in (bummer). All the doors in the apartment were varnished as opposed to painted and it gave the place a certain warmth and charm. I also noticed the carpets were stain free and the walls newly painted. No strange smells. It wasn’t the largest apartment I had seen since my hunt began, but it was in good condition, in a nice neighborhood, I could really see myself living here. I decided to apply and see how that would turn out. After the tour, I expressed my desire to apply to rent and I explained my situation in as much detail as was relevant. ‘Would it be worth your while and mine if I applied?’ I asked. ‘I don’t see why not’ He replies. 10 mins later I turn in my completed application. He looks at it and says ‘If you write me a check for the deposit now, I will take down the ‘for rent’ sign and once I can confirm your employment details the apartment is yours’. I couldn’t believe it. Kia I wrote the check and to celebrate I drove to the Citadel Factory Outlets in search of a coat. I didn’t find anything I liked but I did get a pair of DKNY sunglasses from SGH and a really nice shirt from Banana Republic. I had almost bought the sunglasses in Houston from SGH, was I glad I didn’t I got them for half the price, that alone made the drive out so worth it.

Although I had noted that the carpets were clean at my soon to be apartment, I really couldn’t sleep on the floor so air bed searching I went. Of course I called my Atlanta support group for a consult. ‘Get the Aerobed brand air bed’ she advised. After an extensive search online, the earliest I would be able to get one would be 5 working days (not good). I decided to just go to Wal-Mart and buy whatever they had on sale. I was a bit apprehensive about going to Wal-Mart, first off it was in an area totally foreign to me and I would be going when it was dark. How would I be able to read my Google map and all that? Anyways I arrived there without incident (thankfully). The trip was educative; first I have never seen a Wal-Mart that was part of a mall and definitely not one that was on three floors. I wondered how I was supposed to get from floor to floor with my shopping cart then I realized that the carts had their own escalator. Cool. Air bed? Check, Bed sheets and pillow case? Check, Thermal blanket? Check, Pillow? Check. Keeping my eyes wide open and my purse in a deathlike grip, I traverse the packing lot, load up my purchases and get out of the area as fast as I could ( I don’t know why I felt so threatened). Tuesday morning I happily checked out of the hotel (bye bye to Subway Sandwiches). I got a call from the apartment manager later in the morning telling me I was all checked out and the apartment was officially mine as soon as I could come get the paperwork done. I left work at about 4 PM, spent like 20 mins filling and signing the required forms a quick 10 mins orientation of the premises followed and finally he handed over the keys. ‘Welcome to the building’ he said. I felt like I had won the lottery.

My first night was uneventful save for the cold, it was freezing! I thought I had dressed warmly enough to sleep in the bedroom since the only heater in the whole apartment was in the living room. However I awoke at about midnight to realize the error in my thinking. I relocated my bedding and myself to the living room and once I was camped as close as I possibly could to the heater I slept pretty much till my alarm went off. Of course I didn’t go to bed without reading Psalms 24 and 91 at Princess’ request. Reading them was comforting though and made me feel even more at peace as I went to bed in my ‘strange’ surroundings. I did a little grocery shopping too that night, managed to clean the fridge out before going to bed not like it was dirty or anything just for the sake of my sanity I guess. Again I visited another Wal-Mart. Although this one was not on several floors like the one I had visited earlier I found it to be pretty similar; teaming with Blacks and Hispanics, isles in disarray, and not a fresh vegetable in sight. I guess I would have to put off eating a salad till I go to Ralphs were I must add everything costs way too much. My commute to work was less than 20 mins which really isn’t bad considering; I have a colleague who has a one way commute of 90 mins! My second night was much warmer. I kept all the doors closed when I left in the morning so the living room was quite toasty when I arrived. I had planned on buying a space heater but those things I am told are such a fire hazard so I decided against it. A friend advised that I turn my oven on and leave the door ajar which I did till I went to bed. That was some good advice. I did the same thing when I woke up and by the time I was ready to leave the house I was feeling like turning on the fan! It should get warm soon sha thankfully. I plan to spend the weekend unpacking my bags (it feels so good typing that) and putting my kitchen in some kind of order. I bought a TV yesterday so I wouldn’t be bored out of my mind; the cable/Internet people will not be able to set me up till end of the month imagine! Meanwhile what is the deal with ‘Grey’s Anatomy’? It seems this season’s plot is for everyone to be romantically involved with their attendings; the latest couple - Alex and Addison. A collegue had promised to show me some furniture stores where I can get really good deals on disposable furniture, I am looking forward to that. Now my next major task is returning my rental car while I search furniture listings on craigslist and scour for garage sales. Did I mention that since Tuesday my phone has been ringing off the hook; after weeks of talking to answering machines and leaving requests for call backs, it seems everyone I have ever called as per renting an apartment picked this week to return my calls! When it rains it certainly pours.

First day at work

Couldn't sleep, wonder why. I had turned in for the night like 10:30 pm, tossed and turned till 3:30 am. Thankfully I didn't have to get to work till 9 am (I love this job) and my office is just like 10 mins away. I wore the suit and I must say I was looking very fetching ;-). I got to work without incident and was pleasantly suprised to find my work station all preped, my computer ready, email account set up, all logons created. Plus I have home access! This was very unlike the reception I received at my first job in Houston; it took a whole week to get me the appropriate logons and permissions on the network and my computer set up! I spent the first couple of hours filling in paper work and getting introduced to other members of staff. I was beginning to worry that I was the only female on staff and was pleased to learn that there are to of us; the other one was away on vacation. She is Asian and I am looking forward to meeting her. I hope she is nice, and she can cook, I really want to learn to cook authentic chinese food, I hope she will be predisposed to teaching me. Then I had a two hour briefing then we did lunch (this people like eating, end of story) then another briefing. For sure there will be no napping at this job, these people mean business. Everyone was polite, the guy who seats next to me has the most amazing eyelashes! They are very thick with a slight curve, they make his eyes look so beautiful, for real I had to caution myself to not stare too much especially since I had just read and signed the sexual descrimination clause in the employee handbook!

iPhone hits stores in June '07

Apple renames itself today (Apple Inc) as Steve Jobs introduces the iPhone. The thing fine no be small. At $499 a pop for the 4GB version and $599 for the 8GB version it will not be a cheap phone but for all the functionality it is actually promising to deliver it might well be worth it. There is a catch though, it will only be available for Cingular subscribers :-(

Apple's new calling: The iPhone time.com

I moved yet again!

To California, and maybe this time I will get to unpack my bags. I got a cheap flight out and thanks to Priceline affordable lodgings. I start work tomorrow and I am undecided if I should wear a suit or do business casual. I think I am the laziest thing on the face of the earth. Although I am happy to be starting work, I am not exactly thrilled at giving up my ‘idyllic’ life i.e sleep till noon, stay up till 5am. However as we all know, lounging around the house all day don’t pay no bills except of course if your last name is Kashoggi or Onassis (yup I am old school!) so to work I go!

Apartment hunting has been … interesting. After expunging visions of me lounging in the living room of my beachfront townhouse with hardwood floors enjoying my view of the bluer than blue water with the whiter than white sand, I head out armed with a realistic listings in the area. This realistic thing really sucks, all the places within my budget I didn’t like and by this weekend I was beginning to get a little depressed. Things began to look up when I stumbled upon a cute studio in Redondo Beach, the landlord was ‘amazed’ I could speak English so well, apparently I sound neither Nigerian nor African (he should know he worked 30 years in the airline industry). At the end of the day I had to pass on making an offer on the studio, it didn’t have a stove because it wasn’t well vented. I wonder how the guy is planning to get someone to sign a one year lease on an apartment/studio without a stove anyway this is oyinbo country and eating out is the order of the day. Me I am sick of eating out I am not joking a Subway sandwich is sprouting from the top of my head! I spoke with the friend of a friend of a friend who encouraged me to expand my search area. This seems to be working because I have seen several places which I like and which I can afford. I like one of them so much; I actually filled out the application!!! My fingers are crossed!!!

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls

I am watching Anderson Cooper 360 and on his show today he is talking with Oprah. In case you haven’t heard, Oprah recently opened the doors to her $40 M academy in South Africa. When I first heard about the school, I wondered what motivated her to embark on this particular project, and anticipated criticism whatever her motives might be. I have not been disappointed. She has received a lot of flack from home and abroad as per the ‘extravagance’ that is The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. I think the most petty/ignorant thing I have heard so far is; ‘these are African girls living in huts, they don’t need all this finery’. Really. The fact that you are from/live in a certain part of the world should dictate the kinds of opportunities you receive? Interesting. Let me not forget to point out that this is all Oprah’s money, not tax payers funds o! I got a clue to her inspiration as I watched the show; a quote from Oprah came up on screen. I don’t remember it verbatim, but its something along the lines that the South African children wanted the education more than the kids in inner-city schools who all seemed to just want IPods and fancy sneakers. As my people will say ‘Eni to lori o ni fila’ (Person wey get head no get cap). South Africans also have something to say, perhaps she didn’t need to spend $40M on a facility for 152 girls when she could have spent the same amount and wouldn’t have had a need to turn back any applicants (over 3500 girls applied for a place in the academy). Perhaps. My issue is not that the school is too grand, rather that these girls will still return to the shacks/huts from which they came, will the school be able to help them see that they can rise above their circumstances and hold their own with the crème de la crème of society like Oprah despite their humble beginnings? Will they see the school as the opportunity it is to a better life not as a life support machine? I wish Oprah and her 152 daughters all the best.

On a lighter note, I wondered why Jeff Koinange was holding on to Oprah for dear life while they walked and talked on the Academy campus. Then I saw it, Oprah’s lashes were so long there were sending strong gales in the poor guys direction every time she blinked. Okay okay the sun was casting shadows so they seemed longer than they actually were but really Oprah should consider reducing the length of her lashes just a tad bit.

R.I.P James Brown 1933 - 2006

The Godfather of Soul passed on in the early hours of the 25th of December, he had been ill with Pneumonia. May the good Lord give his famiy fortitude to bear the loss.

Another pipeline blast

See what fuel scarcity has caused, 200 to 500 people have died senselessly as a result of another pipeline blast in Abule Egba. Recall a similar incident that occured earlier in the year at Inagbe Beach? Saw pictures of it in Time Magazine, gruesome. I tire o!

Up to 500 killed in Lagos fuel blast reuters.com

Where art thou?

I am upset, I spent the whole of last night trying to find the 'A Matter of Fact' album by Vertical Hold. Specificaly I was dying to listen to 'Seems you are much to busy'. I have checked everywhere, iTunes didn't now who they were, neither did Walmart or BMGMusic, though Walmart and iTunes had stuff from M People. I wasn't really expecting a match on BMGMusic ( a Sony Music company) because Vertical Hold was signed to A&M Records and their latest album was released in 1995. I don't know if A&M Records has a 'BMGMusic' thing going on, anyone? Finally a match on MusicMatch and AOL Music unfortunately both of them did not have the album nor the songs available for download (bummer!) I was especially annoyed with AOL Music. The way they displayed their search results, one would have thought that once you sign up for AOL Music Now, you would be able to atleast play the song if not buy/download it. Although Yahoo! Music also had a match for Vertical Hold I could neither buy/download or listen to it. The best they did was offer links to user stations who had rated the artist. After streaming music (good music I must add) for like 3 hrs I had to give up. Amazon and Ebay had used copies of the cd for sale and I will probably be going that route once I move in January. Gosh I could just scream, the more this album eludes me the more intense my desire to get it!

What kind of race is this?

I am not even going to pretend to understand Nigerian politics, aside from the fact that we are horribly divided along tribal lines (which never ends well) nothing else makes sense. This past weekend political parties held their presidential primaries with interesting results. Buhari secured the ANPP ticket (no suprise there), Atiku the AC (an amalgam of AD and PDP rejects) ticket (in my opinion that pretty much puts an end do his dream to rule from Aso Rock) and Yar' Adua the PDP ticket suprise suprise. I haven't been following Nigerian politics as closely I used to so I was really suprised to learn this to me the guy came out of nowhere. So what happened with all the people throwing their hats in the ring, notably IBB? With all the noise that had been made I thought he would have left the primaries and moved straight to Aso Rock. I am assuming he is rather content with the role of king maker for now. I hear that Yar'Adua has a good record in Katsina as the incubent governor. I wonder what good that ecord will do once/if he gets into Aso Rock. Not much if the puppet masters are as rotten as we know them to be. God help us all.

The gift of music

I do not recall the last time I received a christmas present so you can imagine how pleasantly suprised I was over the weekend when I received an early one - an 80 GB IPod! I went visiting with a friend who owns an extensive collection of jazz cds. Now anyone who knows me knows I absolutely LOVE music, I have an extensive, very eclectic music collection to prove it. I wish I could say that I actually paid money for every piece of music I own alas I have to admit I have in the past hooked up to Kazaa, audiogalaxy etc. no more now though, I have joined BMG. Like any audiophile worthy of the name, I have been dreaming of owning an IPod. I actually came this close to buying one just before I moved in June, but it was hot and I knew my conscience no go gree me. When I started work, I came even closer to buying one considering the fact that the bus ride was long and since I can't read in a moving vehicle listening to music was the only option I had to pass time, that or sleeping. This was a really tough decision for me to make believe it or not; listen to music or sleep seeing that I love to do both not simultaneously mind. At the end of the day, the costs involved swayed my decision in favour of sleep. Seriously I felt it would be frivolous of me to get one at that time, and I promised to buy one in January. When I started going to the gym I once again considered buying one, the Shuffle this time but decided against it since it doesn't have an FM radio an important feature at the gym so I can listen to the TV as I work out on the treadmill. So I am in my friends car on our way from the airport and I look in the back and it is full of cds as usual. Then it hits me I have neglected to pack the most important thing on this trip; my external hard-drive for the purposes of ripping cds. I then berrated myself on my sensiblity. If I had not been so sensible about the whole thing I would have bought my IPod ages ago and I wouldn't now be morning all the music I would have to live without till I either buy the cd's or visit again. I voice my error and my friend is like you don't have an IPod I am like no, but its on my to buy list along with the Canon Rebel XT. We start to talk about other things and like 15 mins later he said he had a suprise for me. I thought he was building a house or something and as soon as the thought formed in my head I dismissed it, how would that be a suprise for me. I really hate suprises (my gbeborun side) and I tried to get him to give me a hint all to no avail. I decide to not push it, I will see the suprise soon enough. After lunch he says he has to run an errand and the next thing I knew we were driving up to Circuit City. Do I dare dream? We go in and he leads me in the direction of the IPods, I didn't know what to say, I did say thank you though and excellent place to start to show appreciation. 3 days later I am still basking, why is that I am wondering. I guess the fact that I did not see it coming made it such a nice suprise, that and the fact that my music collection was now finally playable wherever, whenever. Now that I have nailed the IPod, guess what item got bumped to top priority on my wishlist? The Canon Rebel XT!

The hunt for healthy snacks

I love to snack. I have since learned that its snacks that do the most damage, especially when you use them to replace proper meals. Now that I am trying to loose weight and be healthy I have to watch what I snack on. While I am not walking around with a scale and measuring cup tied to my waist or a calculator strapped to my wrist I am conscious of my portions as well my caloric intake. Lets face it e get how far u go chop banana and apple! All the things I like to snack on are really high on calories, especially calories from fat, calories which go straight to my hips, butt, arms, etc and live there as fat. With each day, my pool of appropriate snacks shrinks so you can imagine that the day I actually get to add to the pool I would be celebrating. I recently discovered vegetable chips well not me, my work out partner did. It is sold at H.E.B and its actually green beans, carrots, zuccini, yams and something else I don't know what it is. All these vegetables are somehow fried/proccessed till they are crisp like potato crisps. It tastes really nice and if you like crisps like me you will love them. Unfortunately I have not been able to confirm the nutritional facts for this particular snack, so I haven't officially added it to my pool, I am going to make sure I confirm that asap.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful and tired.

My first thanksgiving in the US was nice but as I had expected it to be tiring. We had guests so we did a lot of cooking. I managed to not blow my 'diet', although even if I wanted to eat 'orisirisi' as y'all know, food that I am involved with cooking 'smells' to me. I had often wondered at the origins of Thanksgiving, and I assumed it was like denim - a US creation. According to Wikipedia, 'Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is an annual one-day holiday to give thanks (traditionally to a God), for the things one has at the close of the harvest season'. This sounds very much like the New Yam festival celebrated in the east, and the Harvest Festivals held in the churches in Nigeria. I think I prefer the American version though, here thanksgiving is more about the individual and less about the church building fund!

So what am I most thankful for this year? I think it would be getting the liver to move here after many years of procastinating. I am thankful for my friends who have opened up their hearts and homes to me. I am also thankful for family.

The Forbes Fictional 15

The richest fictional character according to Forbes is defense contractor Oliver 'Daddy' Warbucks with a net worth of $ 36.2 billion. Apparently he shot to the top of the list by virture of the fact that Santa's status has changed from fictional to real (yup you read that right) and also due to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its good to know someone is profiting from those conflicts! Coming in second is Charles Montgomery Burns with $ 16.8. At number 9 in the rankings is Prince Abakaliki of Nigeria (of the 419 email fame) with a net worth of $2.8 billion.

The Forbes Fictional 15 forbes.com

On the march again

I am on the move again.

My contract in Houston has ended and once again I am on the move this time to sunny California. My contract was supposed to run till the end of November and I was really praying that my services would be retained. Alas. Not only did my project end way ahead of schedule, the company could not find further use for my services. I was a little miffed because I had made all my plans based on the premise that I would be employed till the end of November, where do I begin? At the beginning of course. Luckily I had never really relaxed with looking for work so I just got back in the swing of things. My job search this time was a lot more confident, afterall I now had some 'US' experience. Three weeks into my search, I got a call from some guy in California. He had actually sent me email about a week prior but I had not bothered to reply (I don't know why). I had apparently applied to his listing on Dice.com and he wanted to now if I go his email and if I was still looking. I lied about not having received the email (there really was no excuse for my tardiness) and yes I was still looking. We fixed a time for a phone interview for the following week and I promptly forgot about it, California is too far (from where?) and for a lot of reasons I would prefer to remain in Texas, preferrably Houston. Anyhow the day for the interview arrives, and courtesy of my trusty phone I was not taken by surprise. The interview went well and as we were rounding up, they asked if I had received an email from them. I promptly checked my email. Yes I had received the email, could I be so kind as to carry out the attached skill assessment test, I had an hour to complete it. I was suprised and a little flustered, I had made an appointment to meet with my trainer right after the interview which I had assumed would take an hour max, not 2. I had rescheduled the appointment with my trainer 3 times already and I really didn't want to have to call him yet again to reschedule. Plus I wasn't going to take no skills assessment test under 'duress'. I quickly voiced my concerns to the guy who was supposd to be conducting this test via phone. Okay why don't I go run my errands and let him have the test by 6 pm my time. Sounds good to me. I drop the phone and smile to myself, 3 months ago, I would not have been dictating terms with no recruiter, if he said jump I would have asked how high, how far I have come! I really wasn't feeling like doing no skill assessment test, I sha forced myself and managed to submit it and run all my errands (sweet) Imagine my surprise when the very next day I got an email requesting I come out to California for a second interview, all expenses paid. Why not, never been should be fun. They sent me my itinerary and I rushed off to the Internet to check out the lodgings, the quality of the lodgings would determine if I would be making a trip out or not.

We interrupt this narration to bring you an advert for the Shade Hotel

If ever you are in Manhattan Beach and need a nice boutique type hotel to relax try the Shade Hotel. The rooms are well appointed, the bathrooms luxurious, the staff are very nice the service is really personal and the food is good.

Narration continues below

Mind you this is my first face-to-face interview, AY (my half workout partner) had earlier told me that the best outfit to wear to an in-person interview is a navy blue skirt suit. Please do not ask me how she knows. I am a woman and I really don't need an excuse to shop. Kia off to the mall we go in search of the perfect suit which we found without incident. The plan was to arrive and interview on friday, spend the weekend and return sunday evening.

The interview went well, it started with lunch (Americans eat too much) then we went back to the office for the remainder of the interview. I really liked the people and the offices, I could see myself working with these people in these surroundings and enjoying it. Lets see if the price will be right. Finally at about 7 pm we wrap things up with a promise to get back to me with their decision either later that evening or first thing Monday. Finally I get to go check out my lodgings, the drive down was uneventful although I hated my rental car (a Ford Taurus) it felt like I was diving a fully loaded truck; non existent turning angle, 0-60 in like 300 mins, this car has done nothing to positively enhance my opinion of Amercian cars. The room lived up to and surpassed my expectations. I had just finished tipping the bellhop when my phone rang, yes they wanted to offer me the job, the compensation however was not very attractive. Thankfully I had the whole weekend to think about it. I put all money matters from my mind and proceeded to enjoy the weekend. Manhattan Beach is a lovely place and by Sunday as I drove to the airport, I could see myself living there driving a BMW/Lexus/Mercedes. Sunday came by too soon and although I enjoyed myself I found I missed my peeps in Houston. Monday rolls by and I politely decline their offer, they ask me to make a counter offer which I did after some polite haggling we agree on compensation and here I am, once again preparing to move.

Arsenal 3 - 1 Hamburg SV

Match Report soccernet.com

Match Report arsenal.com

Money for nothing

Found this video on YouTube, it brouht back fond memories of saturday mornings at home watching Top of the Pops with my aunt. I love this song because it features 2 of my favorite things; guitars and Sting!