My 2014 Highlights – A continuation.

From L-R: Eid, manning front office, workshop lunch, lunch with Joy and Birthday Surprise

31/05/2014 – Surprise birthday celebration at home with two of my best friends, Clare & Malcolm. I looked like a hot mess while they were all spiffy. 
04/06/2014 – God will surely punish me for the lies I tell about being married to guys I don’t want to encourage.
- Meeting Mark put a whole different spin on disability awareness.
05/06/2014 – Helped a blind man edit his work. I’m glad we had a chat about what I’d really love to do and where my interests lay.
11/06/2014 – Sad’s birthday.
- Movie plans involving boys never materialise. I should stop making them.
- 30 day blogging challenge, can I hack such an undertaking?
15/06/2014 – Spending time with the keeper of my secrets. I love her.
16/06/2014 – I hate to see her sad; I hope she mends fences with her mum and not let the boy rule her life.
21/06/2014 – One of those days where I wish other people’s good fortune would rub off on me. It is hard being your own hero when you hardly know where to start.
08/07/2014 – 135 views on Simply Shanah.
14/07/2014 – The prospect of seeing an old friend and catching up.
- That sense of accomplishment you feel after finishing the set tasks of the day.
15/07/2014 – Finally finished my braided necklace and thanked God for my creative skills.
16/07/2014 – The compliments on the necklace are overwhelming and heart warming.
24/07/2014 – Unexpected opportunity at work. May it happen as God intended.
- Visit from my girl Belle.
28/07/2014 – Eid. Having one of my oldest friends spend it with me makes it more special.
29/07/2014 – 6 AM inspiration. Another design to add onto my ‘heart’ series.
- An SMS in lieu of the dreaded phone call. Pending interview.
30/07/2014 – Job interview! I’m glad it went better than expected.
- 22OOHRS inspiration visit and going with it.
31/07/2014 – Lunch with OR. It had been long overdue.
03/08/2014 – I feel like I am on the cusp of a yet-to-be written chapter in my life.
06/08/2014 – Utterly frustrating day but a bad beginning made for a good ending.
- My mum and Sad’s excitement on my behalf. It is all so hard to take in.
08/08/2014 – Another design to add onto my ‘heart’ series.
15/08/2014 – Seeing my aunt Asia made me miss seeing her and my ride or die girl on the regular.
17/08/2014 – Check up from the one who started this work journey in my life and his kind wishes made me so happy. I hope it all goes well.
22/08/2014 – Treated myself to a solitary meal at an eatery. I missed these moments of eating by myself in a fancy place.
29/08/2014 – Volunteer workshop at Africana and the meal that followed. A good way to end my volunteer experience.
30/08/2014 – Thoughts of the coming chapter in my life. Absolutely scared and excited at the same time.
01/09/2014 – First day of the rest of my work life. Several things not to like but the work is alright.
02/09/2014 – Chat with my bestfriend from Primary School changed my perspective about work and its challenges.
12/09/2014 – The fact that my crappy handwriting and signature now appear on a few official documents.
15/09/2014 – Got my first work I.D.
17/09/2014 – Gentlemen still exist.
22/09/2014 – If you don’t teach people how to treat you right, they never will.
24/09/2014 – The keeper of my secrets is having a baby!
01/10/2014 – Birthday of the Keeper of my secrets. I think of her as my baby yet here she is having a baby of her own on the way.
- Completed my first month of gainful employment.
21/11/2014 – Celebrating employment with the boys.
23/11/2014 – Artistic inspiration struck yet I’d been in search of writing inspiration.
03/12/2014 – When you’re down in the doldrums, the last thing you need is abuse from a page you go to to chill.
04/12/2014 – So moody lately.
05/12/2014 – Coincidental meeting with a Facebook page mate.
06/12/2014 – Lunch plans with Baby J fell through and I came off looking like an ill-mannered brat because of my mood swings.
07/12/2014 – The knowledge that there is such a thing as Plate Theory.
11/12/2014 – Mariam Nan has been of great help lately yet we have never met. She’s like my sounding board when I need an impartial voice of reason.
12/12/2014 – Waking up to potentially good news and the promise of it coming true. I couldn’t be more happier for Sad.
14/12/2014 – Plumbing with my daddy although I just held the tools and gave orders like a general while he worked.
- Discovered a reader of Simply Shanah. Funny how people come into your life.
15/12/2014 – Contemplating the purchase of Art supplies for my office.
- Celebration with the boys over Sad’s good news.
 16/12/2014 – I succumbed and bought Art supplies for my office. The creative release marginally improved my mood and the piece looks beautiful.
- Catch up session with my friend Captain Jack Sparrow.
18/12/2014 – My mum saying I look thinner due to work.
19/12/2014 – Being provided the opportunity to get to know someone you have been keeping on the peripheral of your brain.
- Counting days to break off time from work.
20/12/2014 – Last day of work until the 5th of January.
21/12/2014 – Finished a design to one of my Works-In-Progress drawings.
- Taking an afternoon nap after several months of work. I had forgotten how taking and waking up from one actually felt like.
26/12/2014 -  Art grind in the wee hours of the night.
27/12/2014 - Created a tribal necklace in a day! Woot!
-Alhamdulilah for creative inspiration.
29/12/2014 - Jewellery editing is hell on my nails but the outcome is always superb.
- I miss my nose piercing a lot, lately. I should man up and see to it because it's been 3 years without it.
30/12/2014 - Getting my hair done. Wonderful way to prepare for the new year. If you look good, you feel good no matter what!

There was so much to be grateful for in 2014 because it has been very good to me. I hope it marks the beginning of many more wonderful opportunities. And that everything happens as it was meant to. Ameen.

My 2011 Highlights

It is hard to believe this year has almost come to an end so soon. Feels like we were anxiously awaiting its arrival in that, I remember how I spent the time between 11pm and 12am 2011 so well. Quite a lot has happened this year that I have decided to share some of my personal highlights.
Je suis un étudiant français. That right there translates to "I am a French Student". Yes, I am still on the journey to become a french speaker cause it is one of the languages that I love with a passion. French people sound so sexy with their accents when speaking English and I want to be one of those.
The Royal Wedding. I have to talk about this because I was amongst those who anxiously waited for the day with bated breath. I remember asking my brother if he would go see them since he lives around the the Westminster abbey and he told me, “there’s nothing special about them. They also wipe their own shit!” It was a beautiful ceremony and it made me believe that true love for some exists and that a commoner can also marry a royal as long as you are patient and believe in the relationship.
Lunch With Friends. Me and my closest friends started having once in a while lunch dates which we have started looking forward to. We pick a restaurant, meet their and then show the food what we are made of. It is a good way to stay connected to each other and also catch up since we are all at different stages in life and working.
Facebook Pages. I made a blog post about an interactive Facebook page for a reality TV show that I joined. The show is on hiatus at the moment and I miss the page. Being on it taught me so much about people and how they will always stick to their opinion, beliefs and give unwavering support to someone they love however flawed. And that; however much we may disagree, we have a TV show in common which we all love.
Beautifully Fierce. Out of the blue and with encouragement from my friends, I went ahead to create a blog about Fashion and Beauty which I look at as an outlet for a hobby that I love. I am so pleased with it despite the small number of followers which I can over look seeing that it is new. I went ahead to create both a twitter account and Facebook page for it as social media is not only influential, it is everything these days. I love the fact that my friends and others like it.
Friends With Babies. Most of my closest friends became first time mothers this year. I am so happy and proud of them naturally. Motherhood is an awesome experience…well not about the labor process but everything that comes after that. Three of them had boys and one had a girl whose name coincidentally starts with “A” which is the letter I had chosen for all my future babies. PS: I already have the names picked out with a few back ups if anyone I know uses one of my chosen ones.
First Anniversaries. This blog  and my blackberry are a year old. I started this blog when 2010 was coming to an end and got the blackberry around the same time. I am proud of this blog and I thank everyone that is following it because it means a lot. I never thought it would grow in followers as much as it has when I started it but people surprised me and for that I am very appreciative. I love my blackberry to bits in spite of all my friends’ suggestions that I upgrade to android technology. What they don’t know is that if I do; I wouldn’t be a blackberry boss…would I?
Friendship death. I had to let go of a friendship that meant so much to me this year. Sometimes, you have to do what you think is right even if it makes you seem shallow to others. It is quite impossible to maintain a friendship with someone who you keep hearing negative talk about from your own family and not make a decision. I do miss the friendship but blood is thicker than water as they say and I have to stick with my family no matter what.
All In My Head. There was a boy I used to talk with frequently and thought we were gong somewhere with it. Unfortunately, it was all in my head and probably a castle in the air on my part so…I am without a doubt very alone, single and NOT frightened. We deal with the cards we’re dealt with in this life.
Reading And Loving It. My reading has been great this year, in fact it has improved. I can’t complain because it has kept me occupied a couple of times. It is good to maintain a reading culture and habit for so many reasons; not only do you improve on your vocabulary, you are also introduced to quite a number of new words you’d hardly come across.
I don’t remember making a resolutions lists at the beginning of this year which makes this a little hard. Inasmuch as it would be nice to know if I have accomplished what I set out to do- I am happy with what has happened so far.  

On that note, I would like to wish y'all a great 2012 and May God continue to bless us with his infinite blessings, Love, health and happiness in the forthcoming year.

Facebook Pages.

Facebook as some or most of us know is a social networking site that connects people. Apart from connecting people and getting them back in touch, it is filled with a lot of pages; for celebrities, TV Series, Magazines, Quotes and Businesses. Some of us have "liked" either one or many pages from the above mentioned categories.
I must confess that I have never actually checked out some of the pages that I "liked." I am one of those people who are content with reading the status updates of the page especially if it's a celebrity's page or a TV Series page. All this changed when my best friend sent me a link to a fan page created by fans for fans of one of my favorite reality show in Africa.
First of all; I am a true addict of Facebook. If I am not on my laptop, I am always on my blackberry writing to my friends or updating my status and commenting on some of my friends' updates. I was trying to kick the addiction until my friend sent me the link to that fan page. Being on it has generally worsened my addiction and I have learnt a few things from it;
I "liked" the page initially because I knew it'd come in handy during days when I am not able to watch the show but still want to know what's happening. I never knew how fun it could be being on an interactive page until I visited it and read through fans wall posts. I now find myself posting and commenting on other people's posts even when I am watching the show.
We have all "liked" pages on Facebook but I have never been on an unofficial page that has been able to reach out to most African countries and fans from abroad. It is amazing that there are all sorts of people from different countries and it continues to grow with each passing day. I guess its growth has to do with the fact that it's more interactive than the official page of the show and the people on it are a little friendlier.
I now know how unreasonably passionate people can be about something or someone. As it is a page for a reality show, most fans have unwavering support towards their country representatives even undeserving ones. They usually attack anyone who says something negative about their representative even when it's the hard cold truth!
One thing I know about Nigeria is that they run the music industry in Africa alongside South Africa. They've managed to put their music onto the international scene and we have all danced to some of their popping tunes. The other thing I've learned about them from that page is that when it comes to this reality show, they have solidarity amongst themselves. They will defend and vote their own because to them, winning is their birth right and so it shall be, even though they have won the past two consecutive years.
It is a good platform to learn about other countries and languages. I find Nigerian Pidgin English so fascinating. Most of their words sound to cool and they beg to be used by curious people like myself even when I don't know the actual meaning. I now know how to greet in pidgin "how una dey", how to ask 'what's going on?' "wetin dey?" and that "W.A.H.A.L.A D.E.Y" means 'there's a problem.'
I have learned to value people's opinions so as to avoid being provoked into senseless arguments because a person will stand by it and trying to sway him/her is a fruitless and aggravating process. An opinion is someone's right however wrong it might be.
I never joined the fan page with the intention of making friends. I always think the fewer friends, the better. What is surprising is that I have made a few friends from and on that page. Some sent friend requests which I accepted and find fantastic because it never hurts learning something new about people every day.
The utterly best thing about this page is that it's something where all fans of the show get a chance to share thoughts, ideas and also rant about the show itself and other unrelated subjects. It is absolutely fun and I love it.
Every time I post or comment on that page, my mind always gives a silent thank you to my best friend because she knows how much of an addict I am to the show and the fan page. Being on it has made me contemplate the thought of creating my own Facebook page though I don't have a clue as to what I should have as content nor what it should be about.
Whatever page you belong to, try and be a little interactive, I am sure you'll end up liking it more than just pressing the 'LIKE' button.