First days of the week

Perfect start of the week. After a 3 hours long, boring and fatiguing course, I was on my way home when it started to rain and I forgot my umbrella. Hate getting wet cause it ruins my nicely brushed hair! It makes it curly and stuff... When I came home, I just wanted to get back to bed to catch up some sleep, until I saw a note that my cousin would come over cause there was something wrong with her internet. Bleh! Means I had to stay up for someone I can't stand (you can't choose your family unfortunately). So I waited and waited... and she didn't even show up! Was kinda pissed off cause I love sleeping!

Luckily my hubby kept me company while I was just waiting there for someone who wouldn't show up. He gave me a pretty long to-do list though (yes Sheriff, 11 things is a lot!) but I got a cam session as a thank you! Ain't that sweet of him? lOl. It's always funny to see his bright face with the big smile, even though his studio walls give me a head ache.

Today I had to wake up at 6 am to catch the 7 o'clock train. Always fun to be dropped in a full to the brim train where you have to stand for the whole trip! People stepping or your feet, handbags slapped to your face (that's the downside of being only 5-3 in this big men's world), ... 8.30-10.30 class was quite exhausting cause the prof was on full force (at this damn early hour where I was still trying to wake up). Second prof was horrible! He started a sentence and half way through his sentence, he started a new one. This is a torture for a "parrot" like me. When I take notes, I just type what the guy says, literally. So when he starts a new one without finishing the old one, my notes are a big joke! The worst thing is that this guy refuses to use books so all you have are your own notes. Lord knows how my exam marks will be...

So next week Monday the train drivers are going on strike, which means I wont be able to get to class. Unless I go by car which is suicide cause they drive like nut people over here! So I'll just be spending a sweet and relaxed Monday at home.

Gotta bounce now cause class will start soon.

Tom Ford

Weekend! Some people live only two days a week: Saturdays and Sundays. The other 5 days are just a burden, something you have to struggle your way through. I am one of those few people. Back in high school, I really hated normal week days. Going to class and all of that. When I entered University three years ago, I started to like the normal days too, but still there is nothing more pleasant than a weekend. Especially a Saturday. Waking up at your own rhythm, going shopping,... Heaven on earth for a girl.

Talking about shopping: I got two new perfumes! Black Orchid and White Patchouli, both by Tom Ford. I love them both! Black Orchid is more a heavy scent, perfect for the "black dress" evenings. White Patchouli on the other hand is suitable for the "jeans, trendy bag and sunglasses" trips to town. They are kind of expensive, but it's a must-have for every woman. Plus these fragrances are so heavy that you only need one drop, to smell good all day long (and even longer!). And because the eye wants something too, the frankincense comes in a classy design (don't we all love those beautiful glass bottles, girls?).

Lol yh I hear you think "how full most her cosmetics box be"? Well I must say I got quite some fragrances. I mostly share them with my mom. My favorite ones so far are:

1. Black XS by Paco Rabanne
   I Just love this one. It's girly, yet strong and different.
2. White Patchouli by Tom Ford
   Unique because not much stores sell it, had to look hard to find it.
3. Donna Karan New York by Donna Karan
   It smells as luxurious as the looks of the bottle!

I made a cake today. Tasted great, but I used a little bit too much coconut... The smell was heavenly! You could smell it from the kitchen to the living room, dining room and even the bedrooms... No I don't share so don't even ask! Lol!

Wishing y'all a nice week ahead

Customization!

I found this cute ass, bling bling, yet kitschy FF theme. Found an apple-like one too but since I also have Safari on my laptop, it would be boring to use two look-alikes. I know, I know, it's just a web browser, but still, the eye wants something too. I always want my stuff to look flashy and not standard like everyone else... Too bad I don't know how to make it myself, because I would love a customized one made by me!

I survived the first week of the new academic year. Barely, but I survived... My body is not used to function during mornings. It is programmed to wake up at noon, be active around 2mp, full force around 10pm and breakdown around 3am... But now it has to wake up at 6am, active at 8.30am (plus be on full force straight away) and it can't break down before 9pm. It's really torturing. I wonder how long this can go on. I'm sure that in some weeks time, I'll need a whole weekend to recuperate.

Received some irritated looks this morning. Was on my way to the station and it was crowded so had to show patience. To chill a bit (yelling at the other drivers doesn't work anyway), I switched on my radio. Searched for a good CD, turned the volume a bit higher and sung along. I must say I received some not-so-friendly looks. Ok, maybe the music was a bit loud... 6 woofers in my car and volume on 21... I would get agitated too I guess... But the whole town could enjoy the Bizzy Body Remix by P-Square. Ain't I friendly?!

Today class was done a bit earlier then expected so I decided to go on elephant hunt. Nah don't start laughing and thinking I lost my mind! From September till November, there are around 70 elephants displayed in Antwerp. This to make people aware that the elephant is an animal species who's threatened. Later on, the statutes will be put up for auction an dthe money will be used to rescue the elephants. So enjoy my trip in images! PS: my favorite one was the Happinez Yin & Yang Black.

60 seconds

Exactly sixty seconds... That's how long one minute takes. Though, sometimes, it looks like ages. Today was one of those days. I was exhausted and wanted to go home as soon as possible. So I was staring at my watch the whole day long. Time was crawling by... Like a snail... S...e...c...o...n...d after s...e...c...o...n...d. You got my point, right? Time just didn't want to pass. After a while I decided to open PhotoShop. The guy staring at my screen gave me a strange look and I gave him the "mind your own damn business"-look. The prof decided to end early today. Mehn was I happy!

My back is still killing me. Yesterday, I decided to pick up some books. Not all of them because that would be too heavy. So I decided to take five books. Pfff! Heavy! It was already five kg. That's one kg a book. From now on they print the books recto/verso. How heavy would they have been if they only were printed recto? ten kg?! So now my shoulder is dislocated from the heavy handbag, back is killing me and my heart, well my heart was in my boots... I will never be able to stuff all of that in my head... I will never be able to stuff all those pages in my head... And I didn't even get all my books. Much more to come! Oh boy...

October 11th, a big red mark in my agenda. I just received confirmation from Brussels Airport that Sheriff can leave the airport while he is in transit... Yay! I'll only be able to see him for a couple of hours, but that's already more than enough! Every second I can spend with him is a blessing. Now we are at him: some days ago I was listening to a love song that I heard millions of times before, but I never had the "it" feeling. Until yesterday! I was listening to it again and all of the sudden I got chills running down my spine. Smoochy love songs only have a meaning when you have someone special in mind. I know that you had some bad experiences with Nigerians, but still, this one is for you. PS: get well soon!

I dey miss you die
I dey beg you
make you try to understand
there's no one like you
and I wonder why
Why it is any time I dey with another person
I dey think about you
Now I realise
I dey think about you everyday
I truly no get anything to say
I really think I'm going insane

There is this TV-show on television for some weeks now. It is a Flemish production called Voorbij de grens (can be translated as beyond limits). It is about ten adults who each have a disability. Some are nearly blind, other ones paralized or missing legs/arms. Yet another person has the Wiedeman-Rautenstrauch syndrome, and the other person is deaf. Each one has his own way to handle the disability. Some have accepted it, other will never be able to accept it. But yet these ten persons dared a trip to Nicaragua where they climb the highest mountain, enter the jungle... Last episode you saw how a paralised woman, Anita, was strugling to get on the mountain. Almost pulling herself up, only using the strength of her arms. She was exhaused and suffering, yet she refused to give up. Or this other person, Sam, who was born with only short arms and legs (no hands nor feet). He went, literally, beyond his limits and he crashed. But they all have one thing in common: the will to fight, to show they are not less than a normal person. And they succeed to do so because they work together as a team. It is truly admirable what they did and the way they did it. Nuff respect!

When something is bugging you...

... you need to get it of your chest. And that's what I am going to do.

There was this girl I was friends with for over 3 years. I was there for her when she needed advise about one of her boyfriends. Yes "one of"... She had this "one true love" in NYC, but while he was over there, she took the time to get into bed with almost every black guy over here. True love my ass... And when she thought he was cheating on her, she was all crying and shocked he could do that to her! Abeg... He was busy earning money to support him and his mother, so is it that hard to be less egocentric and understand that the guy needs someone who supports him and not someone who expects a daily 2-hour call? Where was I? Yes right, we were friends for over 3 years and some months ago, all of the sudden I was not good enough anymore. Without any reason... Childish right?! But heck, who cares. Finally I can stop wasting my time on her. One of the reasons why I don't have many female friends! They always think they are better than you. Ok, fine, sometimes you find a great girl who becomes something closer then a friend, more like a sister... Ain't that right Lolu?
PS: if you feel intimidated or visualized right now, you can either make a scene or bow your head and realize what a crappy friend you have been. You'll probably prefer to make a scene out of it, maybe even write a song to diss me, calling me a bitch and things like that... But hey it took you 3 years to figure out I'm a bitch?!

My hubby got his own blog now and he dedicated a large part of his first entry to me! I'm all blushing right now and I'm so proud of my talented, young, adventurous, smart, outspoken, considerate, clever, carrying and teddy bear looking boyfriend. Girls, you can read, learn and listen but you can't touch! That's my hubby right there!

First day of the new academic year was amazing... because I didn't go! Hah! The actual classes start on Tuesday and I got a morning class so I need to get my ass up at 6am to catch my 7am train. Mehn! I'm not really a morning bird so it will be a real torture for me. Normally I'm going to bed around that time... Great news is that I normally only have 2 hours of class that day (if my predictions are correct). So I gotta get up at 6, take my train, attend 2 hours of class, go back home... If I'm lucky, I'll be home around 12... 6 hours away from home (and my bed) for a two hour class. "Public transport: fast and easy", my ass! Antwerp City is only 30 km away from where I live, but yet ut takes me around an hour to get there. 30-40 minutes on the train (not included the usual delays), a 20 minute walk to my university (the way back is always 5 minutes faster because I don't want to miss my train) and arriving there 30 minutes too early because if I would take a later train, I would be 5 minutes too late. Horrible isn't it? I'm complaining about this for 3 years now and I will keep doing it until I am graduated! This is not an efficient time management!

Sheriff just pulled a shocked face when I told him about how I wrote my book reviews in high school. I'll share the secret. Every time we had a book review to write, I made sure I choose a book that had a movie remake. So instead of spending days on reading the book, I watched the movie and wrote the review! But hey, I didn't end up that bad, now did I? It's an old trick. Students before me used it, I used it and I'm sure students after me are also using it. What's the point of writing book reviews anyway? Let the pro's handle that. They are paid to do so and they are much better at it than us students are! (Excuse out of laziness)

Today it was the first day of fall. Together with winter, this is my less favorite season. It means the days get shorter and the trees go bald. The roads and gardens will be full of brown and orange leaves... It has this sad feeling... It can be romantic too though! You'll stay in bed with your loved one much longer than you do when the sun is shining, you lay close, carress each other, have a long conversation while sharing kisses once in a while... You have breakfast on bed and afterwards you go out to the park for a long walk. You can smell the nature because it rained last night. You hear the birds flying over, on their way to a warmer place...

And that is where I am going too... A warmer place called "my bed"... A place where I can dream about the guy that fills my heart with joy, day after day. Love you S!

The importance of artwork

Tomorrow it will be the first day of the new Academic year and, same as last year, I'm going to skip it. It is über ridiculous that I would take the train to Antwerp, ok it is only 30 minutes, just to pick up my college schedule, which can be found on blackboard.

Today I downloaded the new Joe album and I am kind of disappointed for two different reasons.
I always loved the guy's music. It's a fantastic cross between R&B and smooth vibes. Great music to listen to when you want to spend a romantic night with your sweetie (even though I still prefer D'Angelo for that). But this album is crap! There wasn't a single good song on it. Joe Thomas, New Man a big disappointment music-like.

And also the CD-cover sucks big time. Hopefully it is not the definite version. I mean, a crappy damask background in an ugly brown color and some horrible brushing-away around the head. Then a red line (who doesn't match the brown damask) and a black text with a standard yellow inner glow/bevel and emboss. The sunglasses with this non-natural glaze and bad/forgotten details, especially the left glass.

So what qualities does a good CD-cover need to have? Can't say there is a standard road to success. One time a simple and clean album cover can do the trick, the other time a flashy and catchy is the way to go.

Let me guide you through some great CD-covers. The first one I want to discuss is Hotel Impala (Baloji). It has a clean broken white background with his face painted on it. The colors are chosen very well. They are all significant for the African continent. The font is kept neutral and simple so the face gets all the attention. The guy who made this true piece of art is Pablo Gonzalez. The cover is inspired by His California Album by Bobby Blue Bland. Baloji wanted the cover to be simple, something which he succeeded, and the inside to be colorful, something in which he succeeded too. The cover matches the concept this CD was based on so I would definitely give it a 4 star rating.

Next up is The Birth of Cornelius (Corneille). This album cover is pure class. His face is clearly PhotoShopped, but it is done flawlessly! Use of colors is a big thumbs up. Simple gray color range that matches the jacket he is wearing. And the purple scarf looks so soft and it breaks the hard gray by gives the image this warm feeling. The medallion and grungy effects, together with the tissue of the jacket completes the old portrait-look. 3 and a half star for this classy and sophisticated look.

Erykah Badu. If you know her music, you will also know that you can't put her in a box. She has different influences and her music has some strange twists once in a while. So is her artwork. It's different, colorful and yet controversial. If you look closely to her latest CD-cover, New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), you will notice the hand with the chains (a symbol she frequently uses), but also foetuses, a plane dropping a bomb, guns,... The designer really thought carefully about this and he portrayed her concept about America in a subtle way. You really have to look closely to see what it is all about. Hands down one of the best album covers I've ever seen so I will give it 5 stars.

M.I.A. She's this vivid girl from Sri Lanka with her catchy music that can get everyone up their feet and shake what your momma gave you. Her artwork is just as crazy as her music! The colors are too bright, the shapes are too mind blowing,... It is one masterly unorganized organised (contradiction in terminis, I know) artwork, that shows that the designer thought about this concept for longer than 1 second! Everyone can make trashy things, but it is a true art to make something as kicthy as this and still succeeded to actually make it work! I give it 4 stars.

Nigger, that's how Nasir Jones initially wanted to call his latest album. It was so controversial that he had to change it. But as Nas said "the people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it." The cover is kept dark and grungy, yet simple so all the attention would be drawn onto his back with the N. This N is created by falligation scars as a reference to the racial slur and how slaves were tortured. The scars look a bit too "made", but the overall effect does raise the desired emotions this image in created for. A 3 and a half star for this one.

A new reader

First, my dear readers, let us welcome my new biggest fan: Sheriff. Now see, Sheriff is a journalist himself and he loves writing, so I will have to deliver a real piece of art today because I do not want to disappoint him! It seems that he is fascinated by girls who have writing skills. (For example Ms. Uduak.) He even asked me to introduce him to her because he loves conversioning with great writers. I'm jealous! (crossing my arms and pouting mouth) But he is right, she's got talent.

New Year comes early this year because I have commandment to make. From now on I will stop expressing my admiration for black men (or at least I will try to minimize the amount of time I spend on that subject). I don't want people to think I am this playgirl who is into every black guy. There is more to a guy than just the looks, even though we all love watching! Right girls?! But what we really want is a guy that has the intelligence, that is outspoken, educated, well mannered, funny and carrying! Heck you can even look like Quasimodo, we don't care.

Today was a quiet day. Mom kicked me out of bed at noon, but even the smallest sound sounded like a flock of elephants running around! So after dinner I went back to bed and slept for 3 more hours. I woke up when my dad threw my new sheets over my head with the announcement that my mom wanted to wash the ones I had on my bed. So I had to get my ass up from bed and change the sheets. After that I checked who was online. I met one of Sheriff's friends. He submitted me to a test "how well do I know my boyfriend" when he told me Sheriff was praying. We all know that it is impossible to find anyone who believes even less than non-believer Wreckx! I knew he was pulling my legs so I didn't really react on it. Afterwards I opened photoshop to fight boredom. I made this amazing wallpaper which can be found on the GreatOld forum. Don't want to drag, but it really a piece of art! And yes Sheriff, Antwerp is a soccer club. Once it was great (Wembley 1993), but now it is in a spiral downwards...

Today South-African president Thabo Mbeki announced he will retire on request of his own party, this after a judge concluded that Mbeki interfered in a case against chairman Jacob Zuma. Mbeki was only the second black president, after Nelson Mandela who "retired" in 1999. There are mixed emotions about Mbeki's legacy.
During the white minority regime, Thabo Mbeki was one of the youngest members of the African National Congress, which was still a resistance movement back then. He lived n exile for 28 years and returned to SA after the release of Nelson Mandela. Mbeki was vice president under Mandela and succeeded the popular president in 1999. At that moment he was considered the man who would put the new multiracial South Africa definitively on the world map. He tried to profile himself as a man of the African Renaissance. The dependence of foreign aid is, according to him, a large handicap for the credibility of the African continent. Organizations like the African Union have to change that.
Under Mbeki South Africa developed into an important regional economic power, as a result of which he could lay some weight in the scale at solving a number of conflicts. Thus he played a not unimportant role at in the peace agreements in Burundi, Congo and Ivory Coast. He also mediated in the conflict between the Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, but according to critics, he remained too long too pleasant for Mugabe. It is, as a matter of fact, not clear if the reached agreement in Zimbabwe will persist.
As the ANC of Mandela and Mbeki remained in charge, it became clear that the party could not redeem the high expectations which she had created at abolishing apartheid. An important part of the economic power is still in the hands of the white minority and a large part of the black population still lives in miserable circumstances in the townships around the cities. The government has made a lot of efforts to improve the standard of living of the population, but is stipulated by the economic crisis of the last years and the high oil prices. Moreover the crime in the country has increased terrifying. Thus the city Johannesburg is also called the assassination capital of the world.
The AIDS policy of Mbeki is quite controversial. In 2000, he received sharp criticism because he maintained contacts with scientists who claimed that AIDS was not caused by the HIV-virus. An estimated 20-30% of the South-African population is infected with the HIV-virus. Mbeki and its government were blamed that they did not do enough to fight the AIDS-epidemic. Initially, the president called AIDS a poor sickness. According to Mbeki, more attention had to go out to poverty bay tidings instead of AIDS suppression. He has been criticized often for that. But he has also been praised for setting up a law who made it possible to buy cheap AIDS medicines. His attitude on AIDS is, according to some, caused by a fundamental mistrust towards the west. “The west is convinced that we are damned continent due to our insatiable inclination up to a physical like and natural construction up to the promiscuous distribution of sicknesses”, he said in 2001.

I am sure that some of you might have a different opinion, I will not mention names (*cough* Sheriff *couch*), so feel free to share your opinion.

I'm so happy my girl Lolu is back from concentration camp. Welcome back girl, we missed you! But climbing without a safety cord doesn't require guts, it only requires you to be nuts! You don't need the balls for it, only thing you need is craziness. And we all know you are crazy, but hey that's why we love you so much!

PS: Do not mind the spelling and grammar mistakes because it seems that my spelling check is on strike today... So abeg, bear with me!

Don't mistake love

For a short while, I've been having deep feelings for someone. I never thought I could ever care that much for a person as I care about him. I keep thinking about him and even though he is far away, I love him to death and no one can ever change that.

When I read an article about him, my whole life turned upside down. I think I already told you about that in one of my previous posts. At that moment I realised how much I cared about him already. It was creepy but yet I refused to fight it because I knew that it felt right. That this was meant to happen.

Today he read my blog for the first time and he asked me a question that frightened me. He asked me if I fell in love with every black man. He concluded that after reading my blog. I am just shocked and scared! Is that really the impression people have? So all I want to say to Sheriff, that's his name, is this: I don't fall in love easily. I never did. There have been few people in my life that I really loved. Peter for instance was one. The second one was you. I don't care about how you look. There is a difference between looking at guys and falling in love with them. All those models and athletes I talked about don't do anything to me. They really don't and for one simple reason, personality. When I fall in love, I want a guy who has a wonderful personality, something you have. You are extremely smart and well spoken. You can cheer my up when I am down, your blundness makes you special. You are open minded and that is what I like about you most of all. There is no time to be bored while talking to you because you surprise me second after second. You are the type of guy I always been looking for. You know everything and we can talk about everything. Doesn't matter how handsome a guy may be, I have found a personality I really admire. Even if you had a serious accident and you would be paralyzed or mutilated, I would still be there by your side because you would still be there. You are not your looks, you are your inner beauty and that one will always be there.

So this is the first time I can't agree with you. More so, you are extremely wrong! I did fall in love with Sheriff, not with every black man. This is no longer about colours, this is about you. This is about the connection we have while we are talking. I hope that you can see that too. It hurts and I never wanted to give you that impression. I swear, never in my life did I want to make you feel that way, because I love you for who you are. I hope you can see I'm opening my heart to you and everyone else who reads this. I love you and screw everyone else. I don't fall in love easily, but when I do, I commit myself totally. I have to fight back tears while writing this because damn I love you. I just hope you see it too.

Aeqvam memento rebvs in ardvis servare mentem

Oh boy, I will have serious problems when school stars again. My whole system is used to live at night and sleep during the day. Today I had an appointment at the hairdresser around 9 am, so I had to wake up around 8. I logged of around midnight and I was still turning around at 4am. I think it was 4.30 I finally fell asleep. So of course I was still exhausted when my alarm went off. After my mom left to work, I switched on my laptop, but I was barely logged on when I fell asleep. My dad woke me up for dinner at 5pm, and when I got back to bed, I fell asleep again until around 10pm. So now it's almost 1am and I am alive and kicking! What will become of me next week when I need to get up at 6am, take the train at 7am and not return before 7pm?! I think I will just fall asleep in class! For real.

Today on the news I read that for the first time ever, the Rwandan ladies will be the majority in the Parliament. This is also the first time it occurs world wide! Good news right? It shows that us females get a hold of every aspect in life, even politics which was seen as a men's world.

I was talking to a friend today, a white friend, and joked that he would buy a big bottle of shoe polish because I said I had a weak spot for dark skins. But he also made me think why I always go for the dark types. When you say you prefer dark skinned guys, you always got the same answer. They all refer to the length myth. But that is all it is: a myth. This is not the reason I am into the dark types. Far from! It's just that I find dark toned skins so beautiful. Yes I mean in. Black people are so much prettier. They have a deep tone, beautifully shaped lips, the afro hair... Plus I like their cultures. They are all very diverse, but they have one thing in common: they are so open, so alive! You are always invited to join them and they don't prejudice you. Sometimes their interpretation of time and how they use their time drives me nuts though. As a Western girl, I am used to the saying "time is money". This means I am always in a hurry and I will always try to do things as soon as I get them (except studying), but a lot of Africans live by the philosophy "tomorrow, there is always a next day". They are great in postponing things. If they can't do it today, there is always a tomorrow. Sometimes it's a good way to live (would prevent a lot of people from stress, burn outs and heart attacks), but it can also be annoying when you want to get something done and for that, you rely on other people... Which way of life is better? No one will tell and we can both learn from each other.

Great news

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I JUST RECEIVED MY EXAM RESULTS AND I GOT A SCORE OF 77%! BITE THAT BITCHES. THIS LIL LADEE IS CRUISIN' ON! GOTTA GET THAT DEGREE SO I CAN BECOME THE JUGDE'S WORST NIGHTMARE.

I was so happy when I received the letter with the results. I was still in my bed when my mom came upstairs. From the moment I heard her footsteps, I knew the results arrived. My heart skipped a beat and I felt like I had to throw up. She said "if I looked correctly, you passed". I couldn't believe my ears so I had to see it for myself. I looked at the paper and saw the 77% and I just fell in my moms arms and started crying. I think at that moment all my emotions I kept oppressed for so long came out. It was really a relief, but it frightens me too. What if I fail next year? It was a close call this year because I scored 77%, which is only 2% more than the required 75%. I have no other option but to give it all. I need to give myself for more than 100%. So wish me luck!

Men are so obvious. Yes they really are. Yesterday morning I received a TXT MSG from someone I haven't spoken in a while and he was extremely friendly so I immediately knew what was up. My first thoughts were "screw him" and I went back to sleep. 5 minutes later I got another TXT from him. I just replied that I had my time of the month and all of the sudden, no more TXT MSGs. Pretty clear what he was after right? It's no lie because I do have my time of the month but I just don't want to do certain things with him. I got this guy that I care about a lot and even though he is "over there", I want to stay faithful to him cause I love him to death. Why is that so hard to understand for most people? Out of sight, out of mind (heart)? Distance shouldn't stop you from loving someone. You can be close in distance but life next to each other instead of with each other, but you can be far away in distance but close in mind and heart. You just get to know each other better because there is no possibility to do other things but talk. I am not going to minimize the physical part in a relationship (because it is important too), but communication is and must remain the essence in a relationship.

Been listening to some old CDs I had over here and I bumped into Chapitre 7 by MC Solaar. Many of you may or may not know who MC Solaar is. For those who do not know, he is like a God the French hip hip scene. He is without any doubt the best French rapper. This album is so-so. Not really mind blowing like his previous ones. But one song gave my goosebumps in a not so positive way. There is a song that is called Impact avec le diable ("working with the devil") and it contained a speech of Hitler that went seamless into I have a dream by dr. Martin L. King. There is probably some hidden meaning behind it that is yet to be discovered by myself, but it is still strange that the famous dr. King quote is used in connotation with the devil and Hitler.

Random post

I was reading one of my favorite blogs today when I bumped into a picture of Nigerian model Kwame. It were actually two pictures: one was a shirtless one and the other one was him wearing a suit. I did some more clicking and came on the photographers blog. The pictures were part of a series called "Does a suit make a man?" Well I must say he looks classy in his suit... But on the other hand, the suit is hiding the great body! If I really have to choose, I would go for the suit version because it makes him look really classy and that way you can also let your imagination do some work (you know what I mean).

Sometimes I just wonder if my dad really does it on purpose. He bought some food that everyone knows I don't like for me. It's a nice gesture, but after 20 years, you should expect that a dad knows what his daughter likes and doesn't like... Same thing a couple of months ago. I went to bed with wet hair and he asked me why I didn't dry it first. I was shocked. I stopped drying my hair with a hairdryer when I was 12 because it is bad for your hair... So a little calculation: 20 - 12 = 8. 8 years without drying it and now he notices... Ok fine it runs in the family. Mom had a new painting in the hall and I only noticed after 4 months. It's just that you don't look at it. You know it takes 12 steps to the bathroom door, and when you reach the bathroom door you have to turn right and then again 12 steps until I reach the stairs leading to my bedroom. So you don't look at the walls... Only problem is when someone puts something in the hall (like the vacuum cleaner or the bathroom door half open). I can't count the times I ended up with a bump on my head because I tripped over something or bumped my head to the door. Just because I don't put on the light when it is dark... 12 steps, turn, again 12 steps... It's a routine so you don't need light (at least theoreticaly you don't need it...).

I'm just so tired these last days. It feels like I barely slept while that is not true. I slept at least 8 hours each day. Probably the reaction on the flu from some days ago. Or maybe a lack of sun? Or an upcoming depression because school almost starts again, even though I don't even have my results! Sheriff laughed about it today, but this is not normal anymore. School starts in less than 6 days and yet I have no results! What if I have to register in another school? Registering at my own uni wouldn't be a problem because that just happens through blackboard, but if I have to go to a different school, I have to go to the institution to register and they are only open at certain days/hours. So if they ain't in the mail by tomorrow, I will get a little worried because time is shortening pretty fast.

I wonder what has happened to Lolu. Does Abuja keep her that busy or did she forget about her Belgian friend? So girl if you are reading this, holla at me please. I am getting a little bit worried.

I'm looking forward to Saturday with mixed feelings. Someone (I will not mention his name so I will call him Mr. X) asked me if he could come over to see me on Saturday. I do want to see him for sure because I have a lot of questions to ask him, but I'm also uncertain if I really want my mom to see him because I just don't know how to introduce him. She knows about him and who he is but I don't think I want her to ask questions all over after she saw him. I hope that mom and dad decide to make a day trip so I can talk to him quietly without having to think about other things. Don't want to put this meeting under any pressure or make it "official". But I doubt I will have any luck. The weather is not good enough to make day trips. On the other hand, I'm old enough not to answer the awkward "Who-what-why" questions like a 16 year old, right? I mean at my age you should be able to have some privacy. Oh yes I forgot: as long as I live in the parental house, there will be no privacy.

I don't know if any other bloggers have had any experience with this, but I receive daily dozens of messages asking for a "bootycall". I don't understand it... Do guys really expect an answer, not to talk about a positive answer. Ok, I have had sex with someone I met online, but that was after we knew each other much better. But these guys just send it to a total stranger. I must say it, the one I received today was the "top of the bill". There was this one guy that was into the slave thing. He asked me if I wanted to be his master and do certain things with him. How low can you go? Does those persons have any self respect?

Inner and outer beauty

Why does fashion always want to portray their models as being perfect? I mean most of us ain't perfect and a lot of young girls suffer from anorexic because they want to look like the models running the catwalk. It really bothers me because it is the imperfection that makes someone beautiful. For example this model called Oraine Barrett. He is really gorgeous, but then this stupid photoshop is used and ruined it all. Ok, not really ruining it, but they turn a real looking person into this perfect looking creature. His imperfections made him look even more stunning than the flawless version. I think it becomes time the media realises that too...

So Antwerp got this new striker... Coulibaly or something... Damn baby, u is a hottie lol. Together with Manu, we got the most handsome strikers duo of the whole second division. Probably not the best one when it comes to talent and goals, but hands down the best one when it comes to looks! The female eye wants something too you know...

The sky looks strange. It is 3:20 am and it has a sandy light grey color, while normally, it is totally black outside. The weather has been strange all summer long so this awkward sky color is normal I guess... Oh yes weather man, I am still mad at you for giving me false hopes back in May when you predicted it would be an extremely long and hot summer! Summer is almost over and this has been one of the worst summers ever. Temperature barely went over 30°C (heck 30°, make that 20°!) and I saw more rain than the Atlantic's has water!

Must go to bed (said on the E.T-"Must phone home"-tone lol)

Nite nite y'all

Accusations

It's 1.30 am and here I am again, suffering from insomnia. Maybe I should just get up a bit earlier instead of sleeping till noon? Hmm... Overruled! I love sleeping till late in the afternoon.

So today I read an interview with Carl Lewis (ex-WR holder on the 200m, 9 times Olympic medalist) in Sports Illustrated. One of the athletes he talked about was Usain Bolt (3 gold medals at Beijing 2008, WR's on the 100, 200 and 4x100m).

SI.com: It's been few weeks since the Games; what do you think of Usain Bolt?

Lewis: I'm still working with the fact that he dropped from 10-flat to 9.6 in one year. I think there are some issues. I'm proud of America right now because we have the best random and most comprehensive drug testing program. Countries like Jamaica do not have a random program, so they can go months without being tested. I'm not saying anyone is on anything, but everyone needs to be on a level playing field.

SI.com: I don't want to put words in your mouth, but are you accusing Bolt of possibly doing something illegal in order to gain an advantage?

Lewis: No one is accusing anyone. But don't live by a different rule and expect the same kind of respect. They say, "Oh, we've been great for the sport." No, you have not. No country has had that kind of dominance. I'm not saying they've done anything for certain. I don't know. But how dare anybody feel that there shouldn't be scrutiny, especially in our sport?

The reality is that if I were running now, and had the performances I had in my past, I would expect them to say something. I wouldn't even be offended at the question. So when people ask me about Bolt, I say he could be the greatest athlete of all-time. But for someone to run 10.03 one year and 9.69 the next, if you don't question that in a sport that has the reputation it has right now, you're a fool. Period.

SI.com: So when Bolt broke three world records and did it as easily as he seemed to, does that tip you off?

Lewis: Let's be real. Let me go through the list: Ben Johnson, Justin Gatlin, Tim Montgomery, Tyson Gay and the two Jamaicans [Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt]. Six people have run under 9.80 legally, three have tested positive, and one had a year out. Not to say [Bolt] is doing anything, but he's not going to have me saying he's great and then two years later he gets popped. If I don't trust it, what does the public think?

SI.com: To be fair, you reportedly tested positive three times before the 1988 Olympics for banned substances, a ruling that was overturned by the USOC due to inadvertent use.

Lewis: That was an issue where people tried to make something out of nothing. It got thrown out. I didn't lash out. They said I tested for stimulants found in over-the-counter cold medications. That's it. I did nothing wrong.

Ok, It is true that Jamaica does not have a proper drug system like Europe and the United States. Does this automatically mean their athletes are doing doping? No. Does it raise questions? Yes.
On the other hand, the times Lewis is talking about are not so accurate because if you followed Usain when he was younger, you already saw he had the potential. Before the Olympics, Bolt was the 5th fastest man on the 200m, plus he was the world junior and world youth record holder on the 200m. Moreso, he is the only junior to run under 20s, something he did at age 17.
Powell and Bolt both been tested a lot at the Olympics and never tested negative. So these alligations Lewis makes can't be prouven. Maybe someone is getting jealous? I mean for so long the States ruled the sprint. Now that they lost that hegemony to a small country, it might be hard to bite the bullet?

Another thing I read was about Sarah Palin (McCain's running mate). So she wants to go to war against Russia, doesn't know the Bush Doctrine[1] and she wants to overrule Roe vs. Wade [2].

[1] The Bush Doctrine is a term used to describe the foreign policy doctrine of United States president George W. Bush, enunciated in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. It may be viewed as a set of several related foreign policy principles, including stress on ending terrorism, spreading democracy, increased unilateralism in foreign policy and an expanded view of American national security interests.
[2] Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) is a controversial United States Supreme Court case that resulted in a landmark decision regarding abortion. According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision overturned all state and federal laws outlawing or restricting abortion that were inconsistent with its holdings. Roe v. Wade is one of the most controversial and politically significant cases in U.S. Supreme Court history. Its lesser-known companion case, Doe v. Bolton, was decided at the same time.

Did McCain pick Palin to get the Clinton votes? I don't see how someone who voted for Clinton in the preliminary elections. Those two women stand for the complete oposite. If McCain ever becomes president (let's pray he doesn't), then I hope he never gets sick because I don't have a good eye in it when this woman becomes president. Maybe she could prove me wrong, but I have serious doubts. I really hope Obama wins. I'm sure he will not be the Messais everyone hopes he will be, but he will surely bring fresh air after 8 years of Republican hegemony.

Ok, back to myself. I still refuse to look at my results. I'm almost fearing they indeed got lost in the mail. But to quote my hubbie: "You wish lol". It's just delay of execution. I'm sure the bad news letter will be in our mailbox by Monday morning. I think I already prepared myself on it (and accepted my failure), but still it will hurt when I see it black on white. No one likes to fail...

Lets end with a positive note shall we? Lately I've been listening to an artist called Keziah Jones. Jones is a Lagos born singer-songwriter whos style can be described as a mixture of raw blues elements and hard funky rhythms. You can also hear his African roots and soul influences in his music. His latest album is called Nigerian Wood and his body is quit nice for a 40 y.o.

9/11 - 7 years later

Having a fight with my Windows Live Messenger. It just refuses to sign on. Gon bitch slap the cry-cry if it keeps bugging and showing an attitude. I was planning to reset the whole system but then I found out that the new FF beta doesn't seem to have an export and I so not want to copy all my bookmarks one by one! Then I will still be busy next year. Abeg, how is it possible that they didn't make an export function!!! How dare they! Such a crime.

So yesterday the Large Hadron Collider aka "Big Bang machine" was switched on and I still don't get it! I confess, I always slept during physics in high school. All I understand it that it sends molecules and that when those molucules collide with other ones, they imitate the "big bang" or something like that... Right? Or totally wrong? But what disturbed me was the report that an Indian girl commited suicide because she heard about the Doomsday scenario where it would be possible that when the LHC was put to work, it would created a black hole and the earth would destructed. And do you know how much it costs? 8 billion euro! Shocked? So was I... Wouldn't it be much more useful to fight poverty with that money than finding out about molecules? I mean, sure it can be the beginning of a new area, but is this more important then human aid?

Last Tuesday, the Belgian research team from the Catholic University of Leuven, has found a gen that is reponsible for transferring the hiv-1-virus into the heart of the cells. If they can find a way to eliminate this gen, the virus will not be able to enter the cells anymore and possibly slow down the breakout of AIDS. There is still a long way to go but this is positive news I think. But what is not possitive is that their is still a lot of sexual crime against women, lots of homophobia, more than 1 million Russians are infected (also many children),... It worries me.

9/11 - Where were you? That's the question everyone asks. Myself, I was still at school, so I didn't hear about the tragic event until I was having dinner at my grandparents house that evening. When I came home, I switched on CNN and you saw the burning flames and horrible images. I can't believe it has been 7 years already. It seems like it was only yesterday. I can still see the towers, burt on my retina. Even after all those years, I still have shivers running down my spine when I see those images again. It's so tragic...

Flu alert

This night I woke up due to a sore throat and now it's even worse. I can't walk straight! I'm just like a duck: waggling from one side to the other and I'm dizzy. Not a surprise though if you saw the weather lately. Extremely cold and raining. Ideal moment to get sick! My only two weeks of vacation this year and here I am!

Ok, let's go back to last week. Exams: don't even ask. I think I may be lucky if I passed one out of five! Nothing went the way I wanted it to go. It was just the biggest nightmare of the year. Almost... but not good enough. All you want to do on moments like that is bitch-slap your own head! It is really frustrating. I hope my results get lost in the mail so I don't have to face them any time soon because I am so sure they are horrible.

Last Friday it was the Memorial Ivo Van Damme, one of the best athletic meetings of the year. Too bad I could not make it to the stadium on time because I had my last exam that day, but I saw it on television and it was amazing. Normally the men's 100m was supposed to be a clash between Bolt, Powell and Gay, but Gay didn't participate due to mental and physical exhaustion. So it race for victory was between the two Jamaican sprint sensations. And boy, they did not let us down. Powell had a super start and it looked like he was going to win the race, but Bolt came back and the last 15 meter, he ran past Powell. The time was under the 10sec and unfortualely the weather conditions were so bad, otherwise this would have been a new WR. But Powell, what a body! Work it baby! lOl

Would love to blame it on the flu, but yesterday someone very dear to me had me crying. It all started Sunday night when I was bored as hell and couldn't sleep. I switched on my lappie and decided to go on book review hunt written by "someone special". So I did find some but oh boy I found other rhings that scared the hell out of me! When I asked that person about it the next day, I heard a very creepy, disturbing but most of all sad story. I felt so bad that I reminded him of it because you could feel the pain in his words. Thinking back of that conversation, I get tears in my eyes again...

NWLY S (you know who you are)

Howdy?

I'm death tired. 4 exams in less than 1 week. Luckily my last one is on Friday. After that I can have a well deserved rest. But I don't feel this law thing anymore. I so want to do the sports management course. Doubt my parents will let me because that means their little girl has to move out of the house. So I have another option: journalism. I do like creative writing (don't know if I am good at it though, that's up to you to judge) and it would be the ideal job because that way I could travel all around the world and make documentaries about this foreign places no one heard from... But (a serious but) on the other hand, my Dutch ain't that great (d/t/dt-rule causes spontaneous stomach aches) and French/German never been my favorite languages in high school.

So this Friday is the Memorial Van Damme (one of the best Golden League meetings) and everyone expects a clash between the three fastest men alive: Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay. I was so hoping to be there at the stadium myself but due to my exam earlier in the evening I won't make it on time. So I will have to set my VCR and see it afterwards (and put off the car radio so I don't hear any spoilers on the news flashes like "new WR").

Installed the latest version of PhotoShop (CS3) today. The interface changed a bit so it was searching and trying out at first. It's easy that you don't have to switch between PhotoShop and ImageReady anymore to animate your GIFs, but this version crashes a lot. In less than 1 hour, it crashed 3 times and each time I forgot to save my work. Don't know if this is common or just my laptop who causes it but it wasn't funny at all so I think I will stick to my CS2.

I'm still in my Nigerian R&B phase! Been listening to P-Square over and over. My favorite tracks are Game Over, More Than A Friend, Miss U Die and Say Your Love. Ibeji (Peter and Paul), E be fine boy connection!

Been some tense days in New Orleans with hurricane Gustav nearing. Luckily it wasn't as serious as Katrina 3 years ago. But it destroyed a lot on its way (mostly Haiti) and around 10 people found death. R.I.P to them.

Staying over the Atlantic's, McCain has chosen his running mate and she has caused a lot of commotion so far. Mrs. Palin is governor of Alaska and the latest rumor about her is that her husband was supporter of a political party supporting the independence of the state Alaska. Being a republican, she is also conservative. She is pro-life and against sex pre-marital sex and against sex education. Also, she slached funds to support programs for teen mothers some time ago and now her own 17 y.o. daughter is pregnant. It's called Karma...
Obama reacted on this with the words that the personal life of the candidate and his family are not relevant and that his own mother had him when she was only 18. I just hope this guy wins the elections. It's time for a change. No more concervative republicans but power to the democrates.