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Kunle o L'ambition, Suegbe Na Pako, and Adanrin Kogba, Kogba Oko Iya Alamala***
Kunle o l'ambition! Kunle o l'ambition! O ti sun mi o! F'ori tii! F'ori tii! Ijo wo ni ma f'ori ti eleyi da? (Kunle has no ambition. Kunle has no ambition. I am tired. Persevere! Persevere! How long shall I persevere?) That was my friend Derin yesterday morning. Na so she call me at work begin hala o. Who is Kunle? Who else? Her husband now. You see, people should check themselves well. This marriage thing is not to be entered lightly. Do you people remember one time like this that I posted one article by Femi Awodele on Aggressive women and Passive men? I posted it in the Women-2-Women section. When I read it, I thought of Derin and Kunle immediately. Derin is my friend, the gyne. Derin is one of the most aggressive go getters that I know. But, Kunle, what can I say? The man is very passive. I cannot lie about it. Description no be curse. It is where you put him that you will find him. You know those kind of lethargic characters? But, he is a very, very good father and a nice guy. I pointed those good points out to her. I mean, Kunle is a good father. You should see him with his kids. They are very well rounded kids because their father is fully involved with them. Very pleasant kids, not like some of my friends that you wonder how far with this ill mannered little twerp that you claim to be raising? But, you know as per pe ah no get my own now, so I never too talk for some of those spoilt kids. But, I have suffered in silence sha!
So, no o, the man is good. Even Derin cannot lie about that lest God punishes her. Good fathers are not two for one Kobo on the street. You have a good father for your boy and girl. Don't throw your marriage away because of ambition. It is not as if the man has ever demonstrated much ambition. Did you not know the man was not ambitious when you married him? No one is perfect; you work with what you have. But, of late, Derin has become more and more frustrated with being the lead character in their marriage. In fact, when I went home, I suspected that she was having an affair. And, she did not disabuse my mind of my suspicision. Anyway, they met when we were in university in Naija and they dated all through and got married. Derin read biology as her first degree then she read medicine. Kunle read agricultural science. For years, Derin pushed him to get an MBA or to do professional exams like ICAN or the banking exams, you know, just build on his first degree. Iro! (lie) Kunle was not interested. He works in a one of these multi nationals and he is content to get his decent salary every month. End of story. Derin on the other hand, apart from working with a really good private hospital in Lagos, she is hustler. If Derin is not going to Italy to buy gold to sell, she is supplying toiletries to government guest houses or going to Dubai to import electrical fittings, or consulting on the side for an international organization on women's health issues. She is just a hustler. And, basically, she brings in the bacon.
The major problem is that she is very concerned about the opportunities for their children. Kunle thinks well, he and Derin did okay from middle class parents so their kids will be fine. Derin thinks no because there is no middle class anymore so they have to buckle up. And, she feels that Kunle is not pulling his weight financially. She wants him to hustle as well for the sake of their children. Get out of his comfort zone. As she said on the phone, it is not only playing football with your son that is important. Shay football ni awon omo mi ma je ni? (Is it football that my kids will eat?) Their older child, Kunle Jnr. is 10 and he just entered one of these heavy hitter private secondary schools in Lagos. His education is going to cost them a lot of money and their daughter is closely following behind at 8. Left to Kunle, the son would have gone to a federal government college like he and Derin did, but Derin was having none of that. And, given the recent multi-week strike by staff of the federal government colleges, she feels vindicated. It is not that Derin wants luxuries for her kids. She just wants a good life and to give them a leg up to succeed, like her parents did in better economic times. So, they have been having these issues back and forth, but the last straw that caused her to call yesterday was the fact that she has telling Kunle that since he has the agric science background, they should set up a fish farm or a poultry, or breed goats, rabbits, i.e., just a farm sha since he has the technical know how.
Kunle is having none of it. She is quite pissed about that because she thinks, if she, a doctor, is willing to move out of her comfort zone into buying and selling, going into an agricultural venture for an agric graduate should not be too much of a hassle. It makes Derin mad. I just listened to her and I told her that the bottom line is that she cannot force him, a grown man, to do what he does not want to do. That seemed to piss her off because she made some comments about how it is rich of me to give her that advice when I am in America living well at Boo's expense. Derin knows that I work so I know she was just bitter and striking out but, was that really necessary? Anyway, I told her that children who don't have fathers do well too. Abi I lied? So, if their father is not ready to pull his weight more than he is currently doing, she should do her own best and live the rest to prayer. Abi, I warned her not to kill herself with hustle o! Because if she kills herself in hustling up and down, the material suffering of her children will just begin. Abi? She kept on referring to other men that we know and what they are doing and why can't Kunle be like this one's husband or that one's brother. How woe is her to be landed with such an ambitionless man. In the end sha, the phone cut off. Wo, abi, what advice was I to give her. No marriage is perfect. And, I may be crazy but I will not advice you to leave a man who treats you well, does not stand in the way of your ambition even if he has none himself, is a good father and does his duties at home as far as he is able. And, it is not as if the man deceived you. I know it is not easy but, after a while, you have to get a grip on your situation. Change what you can and the one you cannot change, pray to God to deal with it. In a decent country, a man like Kunle would be fine. It is not everyone that has to hustle. But, in Naija, a decent hard working man has a problem; because a hard day's work is not enough. It is just not enough anymore. So many marriages are facing stress because of the economy. The whole thing reminded me of the interview with Chief Akinjide that I also posted in Women-2-Women a couple of weeks back. Here is an excerpt:
QUOTE
You certainly have enjoyed a successful marriage. But marriages seem not to be working out nowadays, what do you think is the problem? It has to do with the economy. Economy has collapsed and likewise morals. And many parents don't have time for their children anymore. Many leave home as early as 6. o clock in the morning and by the time they come back the children would have gone to bed. They now become weekend parents. This is not good enough because what is the essence of having the money without having good children. It is not the number of cars and the number of houses that you have that matter. By and large there are no bad children but bad parents. Marriage can work if the economy improves.
Don’t you think career is contributing to the collapse of marriages nowadays? Everything still revolves around the collapse of the economy. Career women have to fend for themselves. When myself and my wife were growing up as a young couple, the first house we built was 3, 600 pounds. And as soon as we finished, an European company begged us to let it out for them. They offered us 600 pounds per year and they were ready to pay for three years. That property was built in my name. With that offer we continued staying in a rented apartment. We got another plot of land again and started building that one, and this time around in my wife's name. And as soon as we finished, the West African Company, which was in the UAC group offered another 800 pounds. The second property cost only 5,000 pounds. The economy was good and it helped us to manage ourselves and the home.
UNQUOTE
Boo has been jamming some serious Fela music over the last couple of days. I had not heard Fela's "Suegbe na Pako" for a long time prior to this his "we can only play Fela in my house phase," so it set me thinking: who is a suegbe? Abi u don't know what suegbe means? If una no know, dat wan be say na you suegbe pass! He, he, he!!! Suegbe na dunce. Yeye dey smell!! You no know suegbe again? Suegbe na person wey my Aunt Ayoka go talk say dem use im head to collect "paro" (paro = exchange for nonsense). Suegbe na real yab o! You should be very offended if somebody calls you suegbe. You supoz land one hot slap on anybody face wey call you suegbe. But, as ah no dey in your before now, ah fit talk am say you be suegbe! Wetin you wan do? Suegbe!!!! Na Pako!!! Na you!!! He, he, he. Hey, stop dat! Only same sex slaps. Ah see as one my sista one slap wan broda. He, he. Sista, na u wound pass, no talk say na Soul Sista send u. When you carry your hand go slap man. BTW, wetin dey possess woman to tink say she fit beat man? Dat na anoda tin wey ah ponder as Boo dey play Fela's "Lady" di oda night. More on dat later.
Back to suegbe. Hold on, hold on, and before you start chopping chin begin abuse Soul Sista. Actually, abuse now, no be your head di abuse dey go? Yeye! Okay, no be only u be suegbe now. Make ah explain. Many people are suegbe, but they like to think they are sharp. Okay, between the six-at-six and Peter Obi, na who suegbe pass now? Na Alami suegbe pass or di people wey dey fight am, now? What of Rosie and Donald, na who suegbe pass? Na who send Rosie message? She and Miss America na friend? Just dey open her mouth like say na running tap! I don't think that there is anyone who is sharp all di time, so you must be have been somebody's suegbe at some point in time. Come on! Stop dat nonsense. You want to lie. Search your inside, inside, i.e., "Akinyemi ara" -- your inside, inside. You don suegbe before my friend. Okay, please, I am trying to be down with you, but you are fronting. Why now? Why front? Ewu like you, you don suegbe for one manpikin before jo. Don't come and start fronting over here. And, stop looking over your shoulder, I am talking to you. Yes, no be u suegbe when dat woman dat you thought you were leading on drained your pocket? Na who suegbe pass den? Yes, I bring back a bad memory ehen? Okay no vex, na Christmas. Forgive in the spirit of the season. But, my sister, you sef you suegbe, when you were donating like say your name na Donatus thinking dat you were going to hook dat bobo. No be invite dem invite u come im wedding? Okay, bad memory, but you suegbe bi dat. What of u, wey work sotay on top promise dat dem go promote u! No be dia u don dey since? No be say ah laff u, o! Me sef ah suegbe before now. See dat my first boyfriend, Mide, a suegbe for am now? Real, original suegbe. But wetin ah wan do? Abi, even sef, be like say ah suegbe for Tolani because can u imagine dat she is coming to our house for new year? No be suegbe be dat after all the katakata wey she cause earlier in the year? But, wetin ah wan do? Na my Boo cousin so make her cup runneth over. Abeg, leave dat side, all us don suegbe for sometin or someone before.
Now, make ah move the second base of the underground spiritual movement to " Lady. " Abami eda spirit catch you? Abi you no recognize. You yab, abeg! Yes, you, you wey be lady. Na sometin ah see dis Christmas make me tink about di tin wey woman dey do. So, shay Efun turned 21 on Christmas day. Na so, she talk say she wan do party for our house. No yah wah now. Efun na my sista. Even though na Boo sista, be like she is my sista because na me and her dey relate pass. And, as ah no get small sista now, ah dey always tell am say she bi my experiment. But Efun vex me small sha. No be say ah vex gidi gan, but she vex me small. Okay, you know I was supposed to be in Naija for Christmas. I was supposed to have left since the first week in December. But, I put if off for work and because of my Boo. Now, I am leaving in the first week of January. So, Efun no tell me say she wan do party for our house. She don tell her broda. Okay, now wey you know say your broda wife go dey around, why una no tell me now? Shay you wan do party for my house without my knowledge? Na your broda go cook? Yeye; your broda even know where party plate and cup dey before e begin do party? Ah just no like dat kind tin. Give me my due respect in my house. Not because na your broda house, therefore? So, ah called her and told her. Efun, why now? Efun, you vex me o. You be my aburo, you come dey do me like iyawo? No oh, as my sista why did you not tell me you wanted to have your party in our house? She had no answer. It just skipped her mind. As I big reach, a full bodied grown ass woman, e skip her mind to tell me say she wan do party for my house? May be ah mix invisible oil inside the shea butter wey ah dey use rub body! She come talk say she sorry, she no know. But, na small gal so ah no vex. If to say na Tolani do dat kind tin, na me and her go enter di same trousa. Because ah know say na message she dey send me be dat, no be mistake or forget.
Anyway, so we had open house on Christmas day o, with Efun's friends dropping in all through the day. And some of our own friends too, they came. R was there in full force with his fiancée, the intern, and his son. His son is so adorable. In fact, Ngo and I are taking R's son, Tolani's daughter, Imole, and Ngo's son who is our Godson, Kosi, to the Big Apple Circus on Saturday. http://www.bigapplecircus.org/Home/ Me sef, e bin tey since ah wan go watch the circus. But, as ah no get any pikin to use as excuse ah no wan go. So, this is a wonderful opportunity to go and satisfy myself while pretending to be taking the kids. So, Efun's party was nice, sha. But come and see the younger generation? All sorts of clothes. Why do girls these days dress as if they are street walkers? Leave a little something to the imagination! Aha! And, you know I am no prude. By the time that I start complaining, it is no doubt bad. Because, you know, dressing is a form of expression, so I think fine. You know, I may not do it but, I can understand why younger people may choose to push the envelope a bit. And, you know a lot of the time, no real harm occurs. But, come on, come and see breasts of all shapes and sizes popping out. There was one girl that I just wanted to give her a scarf because I was tired of her chest assaulting my eyes. And, my dears, you know my eyes are not that innocent now. But why? Why? All sorts of G-Strings announcing their wretched appearances! Kilode? Woman pikin don suffer. Come and see like meat. At the same time, there were decently dressed and still funky girls that came too. So, it is possible to look hot, no matter what. I don't understand this "culture of undress." But, in the long run, I am not one to spend time moralizing the younger ones. It is like I did my own too. Do you remember those long ankle length skirts with the long slits that were in the early nineties ? I remember my mumsie throwing a fit once when I wore one slinky hot number one day. She was not at home when I left the house. Come and see lecture when she saw me? But, I just don't remember it being as bad as this. These low rise jeans are not made for the African arse. They are not! You can be sexy, desirable and hot without looking like a retired two-bit 'ho. But, what do I know? As Efun has taken to reminding me, I am segueing to forty!
Whatever, I think Efun had a great day. She woke Boo and I up early the next morning to say thank you. Plus, she made out like a bandit as far as presents were concerned so she cannot complain. Her ex-boyfriend, Lance dropped by too. He came with two of his friends. I am pleased that he and Efun are friendly again. She is healing. Like I told her, life is too short to keep a grudge. Bitterness only makes you bitter. Plus, you cannot carry that bitterness in your heart and let it affect your dealings with other guys. You just cannot do that. And, it is not like the guy was mean or anything. Like many young guys, he just freaked in the aftermath of the abortion. But, he was man enough to do the right thing when she needed him most. Even some grown ass men can't do that. As I always tell her, a woman has got to take responsibility for her body and what she allows to happen to it. So, in the end, it is not what Lance did or did not do. What did you do? Trace your steps to where you surrendered your body to Lance and see what you learn from that experience because, in the end, it is your own body. I think she is growing up. My little Efun; soon now she sef go talk say she wan marry! Yes, o, make my own pikin too do ring bearer, Amen!! You are laughing? Na di one wey do me ah talk jo :-).
So, back to “Lady” now. Na so one of Efun's friends, Pearl slapped her boyfriend at the party o! I am telling you! Wetin go possess woman to slap man? Please help me to understand. May be it is me o. Because you know I have mouth? But, the one thing I do not have is high threshold for physical pain. Did I not gist you about how I handled Emefa's issue. I don't do physical pain. I love my body too much. And, I don't have scars, I am not about to start scarring at this age. Hell, no! So, ah no dey look for trouble after one point. Na so dis girl slap her boyfriend outside our house o. Till as I am writing now, ah no know wetin she talk say di boy do. I just hear commotion when ah dey for kitchen, comot see as some people dey hold the boy as he want to retaliate. And Pearl was shouting on top of her head that there is nothing the guy can do, that they should leave him let him touch her if he is man enough. I tell you. Now, let me make it clear that I abhor any form of violence. It is just wrong. When one is not an animal, you just have to be able to keep it in check. The issue of man hitting woman, you guys already know what I think of that courtesy of my many gossip sessions with you; yes you, about Folarin, the wife beater. Don’t even lie! You listened and urged me on as a poured my venom on Folarin so don’t be trying to exclude yourself. But, woman hitting man? First, what will possess you a woman, to hit a man? If the man should retaliate, no be immense physical pain be dat? I have told you, I don't do physical pain. I just don't. So, even if you say, okay, you are very annoyed so feel that you should hit a man, has it occurred to you that he may not turn the Biblical other cheek? Has it occurred to you that he may deal you one slap that will help to straighten the teeth that years of wearing braces did not straighten? He! Chai, chai, chai!! For me, dat na serious inhibiting factor. But, this Pearl girl, na God save her on that day. Na God really save her because that bobo look like say if no body hol' am, e for crush the girl. Na she be Efun's friend so the guy left the party.
So, later on in the day, I now called her. And I said, Pearl, why did you hit your boyfriend? Why were you violent? This girl could not give a coherent answer of what the bobo did. So, I said, whatever he did, why physical violence? Na so she come talk say she get hot temper and sometimes she just cannot control herself. I said, o yeah? Small, Chinese girl like this o! And if you see the boyfriend, tall brother black man. So, I said, Pearl, okay, let us leave the guy to one side, what if he hit you back and really hurt you, what would you do? So, she started laughing that he cannot. I said, Pearl, he cannot? Ehen, he cannot? But did you not see them holding him? She said, na lie, that na like dat dem dey always hold am. I said, Lord have mercy. So, I said, you have slapped him before? She said, yes. That she knows she has a problem but sometimes, she just has to hit her man because she gets so mad. Honestly, na so I dey look am like Aramonda (magical being). I was just looking at her. I could not believe it. She showed no remorse. Na she dance pass for the party. Na she take foto pass. She just do like say na normal tin. Truly, life is something. What do you think?
I remember my mother always warning my sister and I that a man that hits you is not worthy of you. Right from the time that we were very young, mumsie drummed that into our heads. But, she always balanced her message with the fact that when a man is angry, move out of his way. She would constantly say that a woman that follows a man around the house shouting and cursing from room to room is looking for trouble. And, I think I agree with her. I don't think violence is ever justified because in the end, we are all responsible for our own actions. But, I have always known that there is no way I am wagging my finger into my Boo's face when he is annoyed. Or shouting and rolling my head when he is annoyed. No following him from room to room, shouting and screaming taunting him and daring him to do his worst. It just seems like a no brainer to me that one should know not to do that. To me, it is just second nature. I am not justifying violence in any way. But, just talking to Pearl, I was just thought this is such a silly girl. And, one day, she is going to be with some guy who is going to get into trouble for hitting her. But, before that, he would have done some serious quack surgery on her body. And, I told her. But she was just laughing. What do you think? Honestly, I am kind of conflicted because as a younger woman, I wanted to make sure that I did not leave her with a message that male on female violence was okay. But, at the same time, I wanted her to know that female on male violence was bad. I also want her, going forward, to take responsibility for her actions. And realize that her actions can be the catalyst to a lot of things. Look, this big sister thing is hard. But, I am still very bothered by those images of her and her boyfriend and how normal that was to her. And, I tried to talk to Efun about it. But, it looks like this is standard fare for Pearl and her boyfriend so Efun is numb to it. She just kept saying that is how Pearl is. It is crazy. So, I said, Efun, you do know that that is not normal, right. She said yes. She does not believe in violence. I told her I was just making sure. Abi, I did my big sista duty. What can I say? I am not with her 24-7-365. But, I sure hope that she does not exhibit behavior like Pearl's.
So, I gave Boo a Christmas present that he has been waiting for for a long time. I cut my hair. Yes, I did. It is a skin cut, very well shaped around the edges too. It has taken years off my face. I feel super sexy. I miss my hair, but the look of pure lust and joy on Boo's face is priceless. Let me explain. When Boo met me, I had natural hair. I was in school. I sure was not going to be spending my money on having my hair done professionally. And, some of my friends were too much drama to beg them to help. Then, I discovered that in America it was okay to have a natural "mad-woman" style. And, boy, did I rock it? What do I mean mad-woman style. Well, my hair was like a short afro and I would wash/wet it every night, put in loads of leave-in conditioner, coconut milk, and some shea butter, make it into rough corn rows and tie up. Wake up in the morning, loosen the corn rows, use some Paul Mitchell foaming pomade or some other curl rejuvenating and just use my hands to run through it. It was so cool. My mother used to have a fit anytime she came to visit because she would say I looked like were (mad person) but it got me through school. When I went for interviews, of course, I made sure my hair was normal and presentable. But for the most part, I had the were look. And, Boo met me with the were look. And, he loved it. He said it was fun loving and free and sexy. And, I guess it was. But, when I started working, I was not going to try that look in corporate America. Okay, I am a chicken. I should have blazed the trail. I hear you! I went dead straight normal Black woman in corporate America look, complete with the weaves. I admit, I rocked the weaves. Boo was okay with it, but he would always talk about those days with my natural hair. Those days when the spontaneity of a shower together was not a major event because I was not complaining about my shower cap or my hair. But, this year, I started wearing a shorter style after my operation. And, now, this. I was not sure that he would like the almost no hair look. But, I wanted something to surprise him. Well, surprised he is. He keeps running is one free hand across my head. I like that. I think it looks very smart, no nonsense, professional and sexy at the same time. And, as I said, it makes me look younger, which is always a nice thing.
For Christmas, he got me a ring that I have always wanted. It is a cylindrical white gold ring by Bvlgari. I am not that tripped by the fact that it is Bvlgari. What I like is the cylindrical shape and the way the wedges are between the two ends of the cylinder. It is beautiful, excuse me for saying so myself. But, it is my diary now. You know how it is? I can afford to be a bit annoying :-). Okay, more than a bit. It was a real surprise because you know, after all the fighting a couple of months ago and his pointed allegations that me, his wife, I am a "gold digger," I was just like whatever. In fact, if I no get present sef, you will not hear pim from me. Honestly! I was like, fine. I have been kind of looking at him as far as money is concerned since then. It hurts to have my husband say some of the things he said to me. Well, whatever! I will get over it. I have to; I love the man and he is not getting off that easy :-). I got him a watch. It is a black leather strap Longines. His parents gave him a black leather strap Longines for his twenty-first birthday. He had worn it since that day. He has other watches but he says this one is his good luck watch. But, between you and me, it needed to be retired. So, I got him a new one. I am not sure whether he is going to retire his parents' own gracefully, time will tell. My Boo can be really funny at times about stuff like that. I also got him a CD by Abdullah Ibrahim. We went to watch Abdullah Ibrahim and Hugh Masekhala at the Carnegie Hall last month. It was fantastic. Boo wanted to buy some CDs but they were not selling so, I thought it would be a nice surprise for him. He liked it.
Sasu is pregnant. She just found out. She told me on Christmas day. Funny, it was exactly about a year after she told me that that Kefe asked her to marry him. It is so interesting all that can happen within one year. They have gotten married, set up home, and are about to be parents. Can I be honest? I am kind of jealous of the fact that Sasu is pregnant. Okay, look I am just being honest. I don't hate her. I love her and Kefe. But, I am just saying, God, what are you doing? How come everyone around me can get pregnant just like that and you just don't do it for me? Why? I know you can do it. So, why not? But, you know, I am just dealing with it. I am going home next week. I will be with my baby. So, I will be fine. No, can I be honest? Actually, I am crying now. I am not fine. Not really crying. I just have tears rolling down my cheeks. And, I feel bad about that. Because Sasu is my friend. And, I just want to be happy for her. At our ages, we are not exactly prime fertility level. Can I be honest, we are called "elderly tertiary" in fertility parlance! Can you believe that? So, it is a thing of joy that she can get pregnant as soon as she did. So, I am happy. May be if I write it often enough, I will believe it. Well, I better believe it before I see her in Naija. My life long friendship with her is heavily dependent on me believing it and showing it. Okay, you know I want to delete this, right? But, I promised myself that you will see the real me in my diary. So, I am not going to delete this part. What you see is what you get in this diary. So, hate me. I am a terrible person because I am jealous of Sasu. You have never been jealous of your friend before? Come on, now! Stop fronting. It is me, talk to me. You have! Whatever, okay, keep lying to yourself there. Do whatever makes you feel good.
Okay, I am going to move on to something more pleasant for me now. Boo and I went to the 40th birthday party of one of his friend's wives on the 24th. The friend is American and his wife is Zairevois (father)/Belgian (mother). It was a fantastic party, with the appropriate Zairevois African influence. It was a 70s theme so we all were dressed like in the 70s. I had on an afro wig, which fitted very nicely on my newly shaved head. I had on some flower power tight pants and a fitted jeans shirt with some boots. Boo had on a danshiki and a turtle neck under the danshiki with a pair of jeans. The music was the bomb. You know all the 70s hits like: Stepping out to my music, Brown girl in the ring, Freak out, She used to be my girl by the Ojays, various Jackson Five songs, and Ring my bell. Also, the 80s like: Evelyn Champagne King's O you make my love come down, A number of Boy George oldies, Illusion, Kool and the Gang, Madonna hits etc etc. You should have seen all of us, the golden oldies moving on the dance floor. We had a lot of fun. Then, the celebrants' brothers and sisters came from Belgium and, of course, they played all the Congolese music as well: Koffi Olomide and Papa Wemba. Come and see me rocking to Olomide's hit tracks: Loi and Noblese Oblige. Abeg, aiye dun je ju iya lo jo (Life sweet to chop more than to suffer). Don't joke. I can do a mean Dombolo dance. But, I have to tell you, I had to bow for the dancing of the Zairevois at the party. Dat Congo music is in their blood. Don't joke when those women get on the dance floor to dance their dance, just comot for there. Don't do shant gree, because they know what they are doing. There was a lot to eat and drink. It was just nice to see some of our friends that we have not seen in a while there. Another day, another year, life goes on. Folarin was there. I don't think they invited Bassey. Ehen! Na wah. They always say that after a divorce, the friends of the couple tend to go with the husband. True or false? This one divorce never even get anywhere, dem don fashee the wife? Na wah! R and his fiancée too were there. I got talking to her. The more I get to know her, the more I like her. She is a nice lady. I still think she is a bit young for him but, hey, no be me go follow dem dey house. I am glad that R is finally settling down. It is about time too. Jamil, too was there with some woman that I had never met. Boo seemed to know her but he would not say much about her when I asked. That Boo!! Jamil went through an extremely acrimonious divorce a while back and he was kind of laying low on the ladies so forgive my interest in this woman, tatafo like you! The woman was nice. A bit too clingy in my estimation but wetin concern me? I am just an observer. No be me she cling to.
We went to watch Borat on the 23rd. It was so funny. I think you can wait for it to come out on video but, whatever you do, watch it. You will be in stitches. Honestly. At some point, I had to stop laughing because I laughed so much my chest was hurting. I come look myself say if ah die for theatre, dem go talk say na Borat kill am. Which kind yeye death be dat? Na so, ah hold body. But, it was not easy. I want to watch The Pursuit of Happiness. Boo watched it with his mentee and he said it is a very good film. Any good film ideas? If ah no watch am here, I go go watch am for Silverbird Galleria for Giddy.
Here are two recipes that I tried out for Efun's party. Even if I say so myself, they turned out very well. Both dishes are from a Caribbean recipe book written by a woman known as Dr. Betty K.
Fish in Beer
Ingredients 2lbs of fish of your choice (I used red snapper)
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tbsp. chopped parsley
¼ tsp. thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup beer (I used Heineken)
2 bay leaves
Directions
1. Clean fish, cut in serving pieces. Arrange in a greased baking dish.
2. Season with garlic, celery, parsley, thyme, salt, peppers, hot pepper sauce, and lemon juice. Let stand for 15 minutes.
3. Add beer and bay leaves. Cover with foil and bake at 350F (180C) for about 30 minutes.
Mango Mousse
Ingredients
1 tbsp gelatin
1/4 cup water
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar (I used Splenda sweetner)
2 cups mango puree
6 tbsp. lime juice
1 cup whipped cream
2 tbsp Curacao liquor
Whipped cream for garnish
Directions
1. Sprinkle gelatin over ¼ cup of water and set aside to soften.
2. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in salt and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin mixture. Cool.
3. In a large bowl, combine mango puree, lime juice and gelatin mixture. Blend thoroughly and refrigerate until partially set.
4. Whip cream until stiff. Beat in Curacao and fold cream into chilled mango mixture. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
5. Garnish with whipped cream.
* To make mango puree, lay mango flat, cut a thick slice off the top and then turn mango over and repeat. Scoop pulp out of slices with a spoon. Cut remaining mango pulp away from stones and puree pulp in a blender or food processor.
And, now, I have discovered a new passion, photoblogs. These are my two favorite by Etomi and Atunbi. These guys have got some mean talent. Enjoy!
http://etomi.shutterchance.com/archive.php
http://atunbi.shutterchance.com/archive.php
Okay, I am done. Happy New Year in advance.
***Adanrin Kogba, Kogba Oko Iya Alamala is a joking reference to me and my shaved head. It means the man with the totally shaved "gorimpa" style head who is the husband or lover of the woman who sells amala
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Posted by Robot| 29.12.2006 18:12