Corporate espionage and things! Okay, I'm somewhat exaggerating...

Hey blog, it's been ages, but I won't bore you with excuses. Let's just crack on with it.

I started writing this post on the 1st of September- yeah September- and although I didn't finish writing it then, stuff has reared up its head, and I feel now will be a good time to talk about it. The beginning is all fun stuff, but it'll eventually get to the point. So here we go.

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Yes, I know I haven't finished my last post, and neither have I mentioned birthday runs, but I will get back to it, I promise.

So the last couple of weeks at work have been pretty easy. I could have done it all in my sleep! No stress whatsoever, no late nights- very welcome reprieve from the usual. The reason for this is that we're running a course at the Hilton Hotel - "Southampton Short Course"- for 3 weeks with delegates from all over the world, and majority of the lecturers I work with are involved with that, so they're busy with it. Also, the majority of my work is done before the course, so I've done my part, all that's left being minor things that can be done easily.

So I've been taking things easy at work. 3 weeks is a long time to be cooped up in a hotel studying, so the Institute organises events for them to attend, for a small fee. The good thing about this is that we that work at the Institute have the option to attend these events, but free of charge! Good times!

The first event I went for was just dinner at the Hilton- a British themed dinner- the whole point being to mingle with the delegates and show our support. When I first heard that the dinner was British-themed, my immediate thoughts was fish and chips! There actually was the option for fish and chips, but most people went for Roast Beef, and it was quite good. We had some soup for appetisers- pea soup I think- and it was quite nice! Couldn't stay for pudding though, but if I did, it would have been bread and butter pudding. No real loss I guess. But anyways, glad I went, becuase well, that was dinner sorted! That was last week Wednesday.

The next event I went for was definitely the best. It was the next day, and we went to Chichester Festival Theatre to see Singin' in the Rain, with dinner afterwards at the Brasserie in the Park there. It was absolutely brilliant! The show, that is. The food was good too, but the show was incredible!

I'd been saying I hadn't been to the theatre until Thursday, but I realised the other day that I actually had been. That was at Uni, in my first year, when there was an adaptation of "The Country Wife" in the Weston auditorium. I'd been so excited! I'd read the book at A' Levels and loved it, so was over the moon that it was being shown as a play. I remember going alone, because no one I knew could be bothered. But I was too excited to care! I even remember sneaking in my own microwave popcorn! Haha.

Weston Auditorium, UH- outside

Weston Auditorium- inside

But anyways, glad I had forgotten, because it was nothing compared to this. I hadn't actually seen Gene Kelly's Singin' in the Rain, so had no idea what to expect, but it totally blew my mind! Saw the movie post-theatre, and it wouldn't surprise you to learn that I preferred the theatre production. It was simply brilliant. The stage was fabulous, the acting on point, and they even had real rain! On stage! I was captivated.

I've just 'stolen' some pictures from Google. Million miles away from the Weston auditorium. One of the bosses hadn't seen the film either, and he was as excited as me, too! The Singin' in the Rain song performance was just before the interval, and he was like saying how we wishes he could go on stage and play about on the water that was on the stage! I won't obviously spoil the show for you, although I checked, the last showing is on the 10th, and it's all sold out! :'( Yes, I wanted to go again! But I heard a rumour that the show- same cast, I think- might be returning next year, in London! I'm so there! [I've just done a quick google search just now, and it seems it's is coming to London in February! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!!!!! I really am so there! "I'm singing in the rain! I'm singing in the rain! What a glorious feeling I'm happy again! Hey Joel, We are so going to see this, just so you know! :-*]

The stage

The star of the show, Adam Cooper, 'singin' in the rain'!

You really need to see it! Okay, I'll stop banging on about it now. :'(

We didn't get back to the hotel until really late, as we then had dinner at the Brassiere in the Park at the theatre. Nice touch from the skies, as it was raining outside when the show finished! It was raining even harder when we got back to the Hilton. Torrential rain, even! Got a lift from a work colleague, and I think I got home about 1am or something, but I don't remember. Glad it was a work-do, so need to rush in to work the next day! Awesome.

That was the height of the work perks, but I got to go on other not-as-cool-but-cool-enough events. The next event I went for was a boat trip on the next Tuesday, a cruise around the Southampton docks. I've been on it in the past, as every year Maritime Law LLMs get to go on the trip, as it's quite educative, and I went when I did mine. It was good fun though, and as it started at about 2pm, didn't have to go back to work. The funniest bit of the trip was towards the end, when we got chatting to the delegates. There were some Nigerians, and as me and one other colleague are Nigerian, they started teasing us about finding us rich husbands in Nigeria, and arranging a wedding, and all we need do is turn up! I was laughing/smiling so hard, my cheeks hurt. They were like they'd charter a private plane too, to transport our other colleagues if they wanted to attend to! Hilarious.

It really is a small world though, because a few days before the course started, one of my Nigerian friends from Southampton had to move back to Nig, as she couldn't find a job, and shortly after the course, I find out she's gotten a job in Nigeria, so I send her a congratulatory message. She then replies saying, that "Oh, my boss said he met you guys at the Short Course in Southampton!" Turns out her boss was the leader of the Nigerian-wedding chat! He's like a top maritime lawyer in Nigeria. So I guess if I find myself back in Nig looking for a job, I know someone I can turn to!

Some pictures...

We were on the Princess Caroline.  Obviously...

The view from just the docks, before we sailed.

At some point at sea.

Uhh, not sure what this is... Oh yeah, cars are being loaded onto a ship. It was interesting at the time!

Something something.

Good trip!, back to the other trips! The next one was the next day, actually, this time Wine-tasting at a Vineyard in Winchester. Sounds like fun, but most of the time was spent being taught about how wine is made, and we were shown round the vineyard, the wine-presses, etc. It was long! The only thing I really remember from it was the way they plant their grapes, using the "Geneva double curtain".

Can you see it?

Our tour guide, and I think Boss of the Vineyard. I took his picture because he  reminded  me  of one of my former lecturers.

Can you see it? More obvious in the previous picture, I think...

 We eventually got to the wine-tasting, and- if I can say so with my limited knowledge of wine- it was good wine! We tried wine made from just one type of green grape, a combination of two types of green grapes, a combination of red and green which was Rosé, but eugh, he saved the worst for last. Red wine! *puke* Red wine is the most disgusting thing ever!

Wickham Vineyard wine. Notice how there's no Red in the picture. Much better.

Another successful dinner! I only really got to go for one more event, and that was a themed dinner at the hotel, this time Indian. Turned out much better than the British one. This time it was a buffet, and it was really nice food. Lots of it. There was also a 'surprise', which we knew nothing about.

We were all just waiting in the bar area, making small-talk and wondering what the surprise might be, when we heard the loudest noise! It sounded like a massive clatter, like someone dropped a lots of pots and pans in the kitchen, but then the 'noise' settled into music, and it turned out to be two Indian drummers! They were really good. And was it a good surprise? I think so. It fit with the theme, obviously, and other than the fact that we had to suspend conversation while they were drumming, it was a nice surprise. Another successful event!

The main event of the 3 weeks though, was the Gala Course Dinner at Osborne House on (in?)  Isle of Wight, but I didn't get to go, as I had Joel staying round, and it was only for staff and delegates, but it was fine, really, as I can always go next year! And ah, that leads on nicely to the main topic! Apologies it's taken so long to get to it, but you gotta set the scene! ;-)

So the day after Singin' in the Rain, still on a high, and not in a rush to get into a work, I get an email from a work colleague (remember my lecturer-friend from a previous post?), asking if I want to go for coffee. I'm like 'no problem, we'll go as soon as I get in'. So I get in, and we go for coffee. There was me thinking it was just ordinary coffee, but there was more! Ooooo...

She tells me that she's off on maternity leave in January for 6 months (I didn't even think to ask if she was pregnant because well, if she wasn't explicitly volunteering the information, I wouldn't ask, and neither would I assume), and she was going to put me forward to replace her. She pretty much sold it to me there and then, and I was going to consider it. She basically has the same job as me, but I am a Research Assistant, while she's a Research Fellow and a bit more. I work for a number of lecturers, but she pretty much works for just the one- Professor Rob Merkin. He was actually my dissertation supervisor for my LLM, and I actually got him to be one of my referees, when I applied for my current job, so he knows who I am, and Johanna was like Rob's happy for it to be me to replace her for those six months.

But our conversation was off-the-record, she was just informing me, just so it wasn't a shock to me if I was asked about it. She's like my Boss will probably contact me soon to let me know about it, but she kind of warned me that my Boss might not be too keen. As I was (am?) initially on an 11-month contract, which runs out end of January, with the option of a further 11-month extension, and my issue was whether when the 6-month job is over, I'd get to go back to my old job. That'd be the perfect scenario! But my Boss is err, different sha. But anyways, before we get to that, my off-the-record conversation with Johann finished, and I headed to my office.

As soon as I got in, and before I had time to gather my thoughts, I get told that my boss was looking for me, so I pop down to his office, and he starts to tell me about Johanna's job! But the way he's telling me about it, it's like 'err, don't you even consider it!' He pretty much was saying that if you go for those six months, you won't have a job to go back to. Not in those exact same words. Not even in similar words, but that was the vibe I was getting. He's like Johanna's job is a lot of work, and it's not really relevant to you for your future career, it's only 6 months, etc. I asked about the possibility of a job-share, we hiring one more person in our department (it's slightly confusing, but the department I work at- the Institute of Maritime Law- is quite separate from the Uni, who Johanna works for. Although I did find out recently that she's a member of the Institute too, but like I said, it's confusing)- and we covering Johanna's tasks, so I didn't have to leave the Institute, but he wasn't having none of it. Johanna had mentioned that he's very protective of his staff, he likes to keep them to himself, if that makes any sense, that he's rather keep the Institute work separate from the University's work, and he pretty much said the same.

He then says that our conversation is 'strictly confidential', then asks if Johanna had already mentioned the job to me, and I'm like err, no, remembering she said it was an off-the-record conversation. So Filippo is like the next thing that will probably happen is that Johanna or Natalie (the head of school) would contact me about it, but that he'd go about processing the extension of my contract. The same way Johanna had sold the job to me earlier, was the same was Filippo pretty much 'unsold' the job to me. It was funny, because Filippo was like Johanna would probably try to convince me to take on her role, and that she can be quite persuasive! I think they both know each other quite well! Actually they should, seeing as Johanna had my old job!

But anyways, I kind of decided that I wouldn't take the job, what with it only being for 6 months, and Filippo not being too keen. I discussed it with my cousins when I went back home a few days afterwards, and we decided that it'll be a good idea not to take the job. The question then, was what to do next. Johanna was expecting Filippo to talk to me about the job, and Filippo was expecting Johanna to talk to me about the job, but none of them knew that I'd spoken to the other, as both conversations technically did not happen. So I'm like, do I go speak to Johanna, tell her I'm no longer interested in the job, without mentioning that I'd spoken to Filippo, or do I go to Filippo and tell him that I'd subsequently spoken to Johanna, and tell him that I told her I wouldn't be taking it? On like the final day of the Short Course, there was a farewell lunch for the delegates which I went for, and I got a lift from Filippo. He asked me again if I'd heard from Johanna, and I just had to swallow hard and say no! Lies.

It was such a tricky position to be in, and it proper felt like I was somehow involved in some corporate espionage! But obviously, that's over-dramatising! It was a sticky position, but nothing more than that. I was worried one time though, that Filippo would find out that I'd spoken to Johanna already and that I lied to him, and he won't be impressed, so I was careful not to send any emails to Johanna that would give me away as having spoken to her prior to Filippo, just in case my emails were being monitored! Talk about paranoid! Considering that both conversations happened pretty much right after the other, either could have easily come before the other. Amyways, wasn't too comfortable with the situation. I guess that's what happens when you have "confidential" conversations!

I eventually decided to send Johanna a carefully worded email, saying that I wasn't really interested in the job anymore, as it was only for 6 months, and I wouldn't have any job security after that, so I left it at that.

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[today's thoughts, now]

But Filippo was right though, she doesn't take no for an answer, and even though she keeps saying that she's not trying to convince me to take her role, she's *kinda* succeeded.

I've been thinking of late of what direction I want my career to go, and we recently had this event in London, the Donald O'May lecture, an event which has been run by the Institute of Maritime for the past 29 years, and I was involved in setting up for the event, and we displayed a number of recent books that had been published by Informa, but had been written by the members of the Institute. I'd seen most of them before, except one, by Ozlem Gurses, a recent Ph.D student turned lecturer, and I couldn't help feeling that I'd LOVE to have a book published one day. I've had a couple of articles published, but how amazing would it be to have my own name on a book!? Like how cool!

And that's why all of a sudden, Johanna's job looked even more attractive. She has lots of articles published, as well as books, in conjunction with Rob Merkin, who I mentioned earlier. She runs the newsletter, Shipping and Trade Law (which was where I had my two Articles published), so she's responsible for sourcing articles from willing LLM and Ph.D students, as well as other contributors, and if need be, she writes articles for the newsletter, to bulk it up if there aren't enough. She's the editor. She also does other weekly newsletter-y type things. I always get an email once a week from her, and it includes a brief summary of all the maritime law cases that have been decided in the past week. She also runs this book publication, the Ratification of Maritime Conventions. It is an already published book, but it is updated online as soon as a convention is ratified by a member state. So basically, she's on top of all the recent maritime law happenings. And to add to that, she is also Rob's Research Assistant, and Rob is even more busy than she is! Oh, and did I add that she lectures, too?

That seems, and is, a whole lot of work. Can I handle it? Well, maybe. But first things first, I have to apply for the job, if at all I will be. It'd be great if I got it, because I'd get to work for Rob, and actually do full on research work, because at the moment, I don't do strictly research work. I pretty much do the bits the lecturers can't be bothered with. Proof-reading, finding new cases, and the occasional research work. I love researching, and it'd be work-heaven for me, even if it might get overwhelming. But then, it's only 6 months. I'm considering maybe doing a Ph.D afterwards- either after 6 months or 11 months, which ever the case may be- and I'd want Rob to be my supervisor. Working for him now, I'm thinking it'd be a good opportunity to find out possible ideas for a Ph.D, or a research project- something long-term. But then, I'd be nailing myself to the mast for an academic career. Am I ready for that? I don't know.

But the question now though, is what to do next. I really want her job- hmm, am I finally admitting it to myself?- but I don't want to cross my boss, whom it didn't seem, was pleased with the idea. But he did say that if I was interested, I should speak to him about it. 

I guess initially, I wasn't sure whether it was a viable option for me, but now I think it is, and having talked about it with a couple of people, I've decided that the best way to approach things is first of all to speak to Johanna, find out what EXACTLY the job will entail in those 6 months, and if I am convinced that I can handle it, I'll go directly to my Boss and lay my cards on the table, explain why I think it'd be a good option for me, but at the same time make it clear that if at all I do 'leave', I don't want it to be on bad terms. To be honest, if he's going to be very upset, I'd rather just stay where I am! Me I don't like wahala. Obviously he wants me to stay because I do a good job, so I always have that as a bargaining tool, in asking whether there's a possibility of me deferring my extension until after the 6 months. (my contract has currently been renewed until July 31, not December. It was split into two, something about HR wanting contracts to run in line with the financial calendar). It gets slightly confusing when it gets to work permit extensions, but that's a bridge to crossed another day!

You might have wondered why it all kicked off again, as I'd said I wasn't going to bother, but Johanna kept drip-feeding me info, like she's writing up her notes for her replacements; she's found someone for my former boss, Aleka (I saw her at the Donald O'May lecture, and she said she was looking a research assistant, so I told Johanna about it as she knows lots of capable ex-students), and she's also considering him as her replacement, but she thinks I'll be her perfect replacement; etc etc. Then she told me that the job was going to be advertised in the next few days/weeks, and I should have a look when it comes out, see if I'm still not interested, and that's kind of when the cookie crumbled.

I know her job is going to pay a bit more (how much, I don't know, and I'm not too bothered), and it hit me that if I'm going to act on it, I better do it now, before it gets advertised and the salary then gets revealed, because it'll seem (probably) to my boss that I'm only after the job because it pays more! I'm not sure when exactly it'll be advertised, but I need to speak to my boss beforehand, so he doesn't think I'm 'running away' because of the money. He's away now for a week, but I aim to speak to Johanna today, so I know for sure that I'll be applying, then I'll send him an email asap, knowing that I need to speak to him when he gets back, about the conversation we had all those months ago!

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

I planned on finishing this blog last night, but I was still typing it at 1am so had to stop, so here I am, finishing it up at work. It's past 3pm now, and I really ought to head to Johanna's office now and speak to her.

But first though, need to mention other stuff. This story (it's crazy long already, apologies), is far from over, but I'll continue when there are any further developments!

In other news, it's Joel's graduation today, woohoo! Yes, we are in November! University of Hertfordshire are silly like that. Mine too was in November, despite the fact that courses have ended in May/June, and you know already what your results are. Heck, some people have already found jobs and have moved on! But it's November UH graduations traditionally hold, so November it is. It starts at 7pm today (another ridiculousness), so I'll be popping down straight after work today. I'm not actually going for the ceremony itself, because you only get two tickets, so he's going with his mum (who flew down from Georgia just for it) and his Uncle. I'll meet up with them afterwards. Slightly nervous, as I haven't met either before! But it'll be the briefest of meetings though, as it'll be late by the time it's all over, and they have to head all the way to Harrow. I'll just spend the night at my Aunt's because the graduation is in St Albans, and she lives there. Easy for me.

The plan was to head back down to Southampton in the morning- I took tomorrow off- and play football with  my team (yes, I joined the Uni's ladies football team this academic year, like I did when I did my Masters!). We always play Wednesday afternoons, but as I work full-time, I haven't been to any, so the plan was to finally play. But the plan has changed now.

Seeing as Joel's graduation starts at 7pm, all the way in St Albans, there's no scope to actually have a party or celebrate on the actual day, so he's decided to use Wednesday to celebrate somehow. The plan is to go see Wicked! (it might seem like it, but this blog isn't about shows! :p)  in the afternoon, and probably go out to dinner afterwards. So now that I've cancelled football (gutting, but there'll be other Wednesdays), I'll be going with him and a few family members to see Wicked!, not sure yet if I can do dinner afterwards, but we'll see. It'll be another chance to meet his family, as I have only met his sister so far (and well, I'll be meeting his mum and uncle tonight). Should be err, interesting. I better be on my best behaviour!

I'll let you know how it all goes, as well as how it goes with Johanna and my boss. I've got to go now, but I guess you'll be right in saying that this blog is finally back! Again, apologies for the length, but it just had to be written!

See ya! ;-) xxx

The love of my life :) And birthday! :) Warning- LONG post...

So you've probably been wondering about me and Joel, and now seems like the perfect time to tell you about us :), and how we came about.

So, a long time ago, in 1988, on this warm summer's day in August, two different sets of parents were going through the pain and agony of childbirth, and, oh wait, that's not what you wanted to hear about, my bad! ;) We were born the same day though, so I'm sure there's a story along those lines. One I don't know about, for obvious reasons!

So yeah, it's both our birthdays today. We're both old, man. 23. Ouch. But I digress!

Part 1.

I don't actually remember when we first met, actually, but I do know how we met. It was way back in 2007, in my 3rd/final year at Uni. I was a total geek at Uni, it was (un)believable! I was always on StudyNet, the Uni's web portal, either answering law questions other students had posted on the discussion pages, or listening to lectures, but I was almost always on it.

I remember seeing an advert on StudyNet, at the start of 3rd year, looking for people who wanted to join the International Students Association team, either as secretary, president, public relations officer, etc. I don't know why, but after seeing it, emailed the gut placing the advert, Roy Cotton, saying I was interested. If anything, it was the wrongest year to want to get involved in any extra-curricular activities, but for whatever reason, I put myself forward as secretary. It was a very small society, because most people hadn't heard of it before, even me! I got elected as Secretary, because I made a couple of my friends come just to vote for me, and there were only a handful of people there, so that was a smart move!

So yeah, I became Secretary, and this other Nigerian guy, Kennedy, was the Campaign Officer. We used to have meetings in the library every week, and even organise events, mostly serious stuff though, like safety on campus talks with a member of the local police. Numbers were thin, so people used to bring their friends, although none of mine turned up, because it was on the other campus,! Even though it was the main campus, none of my friends ever went there, as we had absolutely no dealings on there. We lived on the other campus, and the law school was even in a different town! So if not for ISA, I probably wouldn't have been anywhere that campus, College Lane. But I digress again. So Kennedy used to come along with his friend, Joel. Those 2 were inseparable. If you saw one, the other one was probably there as well, or round the corner! So that's how we met. It just used to be 'hi' and 'hello' stuff, and we never really saw each other outside ISA gatherings.

I was a year ahead of them, and towards the end of the year, since I was leaving, I had them round for dinner, as well as one of their other friends. Kennedy's very friendly, so we sort of kept in touch. After that year, I left Hertfordshire, and went to Southampton for my Masters. Kennedy and Joel both went on placement that year, Joel to Littlehampton, Ken to somewhere somewhat near Littlehampton, can't really remember where. We all weren't close, per se, the odd text here and there, but I remember they both came to see me in Southampton one time, and it was raining, unfortunately! But we went to KFC first, then the cinema, afterwards. I remember I'd not yet been to the cinema in Southampton before, so it was a bit of an adventure trying to find it in the rain! But we managed it! I think it was Casino Royale we saw, but don't remember clearly. Let me see if I can find any photos... Ah, found some, but only putting up a couple...

Me and Ken... No, the scarf belongs to me, not him. He's a United fan. Meh.

So this was right after the movie, and we umm, won something in some raffle draw thingy, according to Bow Tie man. Riiiight...

Me and Joel. There's just something about this photo...

Me and Joel's glasses...

Anyways, them coming to Southampton was a mini-surprise, but a good one! I see from the date on the photo that it was November, which was close to (UH) graduation. I didn't see Joel then, so not worth talking about! ;)

So again, the odd text here and there. The next time we really talked was sometime in the 2009, towards the end of Joel's Littlehampton placement, about May/June? I remember him calling/texting me, telling me I had to come visit him in Littlehampton, because it was close to Southampton and I'd never been, and it was like his last weekend there soon. I said yes, seeing as there wasn't any reason not to, and I wasn't uncomfortable around him or anything. Got there late on a Friday, and he'd booked a table at this restaurant close to his, but I was too tired, and lazy, so we just chilled, then slept in his room, while he slept in the spare room. We went to Brighton the next day, as his mates, from work I think, were meeting up for a drink. His flat mate, can't remember her name, also worked where he did, and if I remember correctly we all headed down together. It was a fun day. We went to the Red Snapper, had a fabulous meal, then headed back down to Littlehampton. I remember something funny one of the guys did- one of the other guys left the table, either to go to the loo or have a meal, so the other guy says to the waitress, 'It's XYZ's birthday today'. So she said she'd bring a cupcake with a candle when he was back at the table, like a surprise. So he got back to the table, no one said anything, and right on cue, the waitress brings this cupcake on a plate, and places it in front of him, and we all sang happy birthday (including staff and other guests, I think), trying to hold in our laughter! Why? It wasn't his birthday! The guy was as surprised at anything! But at least he didn't blow it and ask who's birthday it was! So so funny! Would be a good thing to try one day... So dinner over, we went to a nearby pub for drinks, and headed back home afterwards.

I was leaving the next day, so Joel had planned for us to see like a carnival thingy in the area? But I was too lazy, and there was cricket AND F1 on (hey, don't judge me! ;)), so we just stayed indoors, played catch with a baseball bat and gloves, and I made him watch F1 and cricket! Sorry! Haha. But yeah, it was a good weekend, and we became a little bit closer. I do not have any Littlehampton photos, unfortunately!

Funniest bit of the weekend, now I look back, was speaking to my friend Oyinda on the Friday, and when I told her I was off to a guy's house for the weekend, and I'm sure you can guess her reaction. But I was like, 'nah, he's just a really good friend, nothing's happening at all'. There was this male friend, Kelvin, who was really close to the girls (another story for another day!), and he was round theirs a lot, them round his, but he wasn't going out with any of them. It was never really going to happen, he was just a god friend. And I remember telling Oyinda that Joel was just like how Kelvin is/was to them. LOL now, right?

We talked more after that, but we pretty much were just friends. He obviously moved back to UH for his 4th year after placement, and I moved back to St Albans after my Masters, although a bit later, as I was in Southampton until September. I kept saying I'd come see Kennedy at him at Uni, but it never happened. Then I found out we were birthday mates! It was the year I had a barbecue for my birthday at my Aunt's, and I told him he had to be there, and he was like it was his birthday as well, but he wouldn't be able to make it, as he was going to America. Disappointing, but you know, I couldn't like tell him not to go to America! At this point, ofcourse, there still wasn't anything there.

The next time we got to hang out was in November (2009), this time in St Albans. There was a fireworks display in town for Guy Fawkes, so Joel, Kennedy, my cousin Derin, and I all went. It was good fun!I took a few photos, mostly of fireworks, though. I found out later on though, that I was a bit anti-social that day, tweeting away and taking photos, not really saying much. Ooops!

Only non-fireworks photo...

We got to hang out not too long afterwards, this time in London. We're both massive tennis fans, and there was the ATP Tour Finals in London. I wasn't expecting there to be tickets available, and was just checking the ticket website and realised there were some available, most likely a Roger Federer match! I was on the phone almost straightaway to Joel asking him if he was interested, and I must have seemed crazy, because I was literally on the moon! He said yes, we bought the tickets, and we went to the O2. It was amazing! Joel was/is such the perfect gentleman! Maybe I should have noticed the signs then, but I was just crazy excited! I remember there was a Champions League match just before the Federer v Murray match was about to start, and as it was Arsenal playing, I HAD to find somewhere in the O2 where the match was showing. And we found somewhere! He bought drinks for both of us, and listened sweetly while I went on about the match. He's not much of a football fan, and he was well within his rights to not be happy about watching football while there was a perfectly good tennis match (doubles) going on before the Federer match, which our tickets were valid for. But he didn't mind at all!

Arsenal match found in a bar, yippee!

Post-match smiles.

Awwww! (If I may say so myself...)

And King Rog, after dispatching Murray in 3 sets!

Loved it. And this time, even though I took loads of photos on my camera, I wasn't as anti-social as last time! Right, Joel? ;)


Part 2

Now it gets interesting! ;)

So we kind of lost touch a bit shortly after the O2. I guess he was busy with Uni work and stuff, I was trying to find a job, etc. And as far as this blog is concerned, we've almost come full circle. This post, which I wrote in early March 2010, was about the day it all started. But before you go running off to read it (but who am I kidding?), it doesn't say anything! I remember when I was writing that post, contemplating whether to mention what I will mention now (haha), but deciding against it! You know, you don't want to be jumping the gun and end up with egg on your face, so I played it coolly.

That post mentions how my friend Esther got me and Chris to go for her cousin's graduation party in Hatfield, but it doesn't mention anything about the party. So I said I hadn't kept in touch with Joel much after tennis at the O2, so I was pleasantly surprised to see him at Esther's cousin's graduation party! He lived closeby, so not too surprising, but totally wasn't expecting it. I hate parties, just in case you don't know, because I hate small chat, because it seems to me to be fake more often that not, and I'd rather do something active (dancing doesn't count!) with strangers than be in a room with loud music and food with strangers. Totally not my comfort zone!

So yeah, I was very happy to see Joel there, and I bored him some more with Arsenal talk, because we (Chris and I) were coming straight from the Emirates. I'd gotten Nikky B's autograph (don't have it anymore, as it was useless- dark background+dark pen=pointless autograph) and was really excited about it and the game itself. I was tired too, so socialising wasn't top of my list. I ended up just sitting on the stairs instead of going into the (unlit) room, but Joel stayed with me. He even got me food and drink, and tried to make me dance with him. I did eventually, but it was horrible as I was so embarrassed, but he says otherwise! As I was spending the night with Esther in another friend's flat, I pretty much couldn't leave until Esther was ready, but I had good company, so wasn't too worried about it. He didn't stay with me all through, because unlike me, he isn't anti-social, but he stayed with me as much as he could. But eventually, it was time to go. He left before me, and just as he was about to leave, he kissed me on the cheek! I was kinda surprised, and almost didn't think much about it, except Esther and Zainab, another friend, were both there, and after he left, Zainab was like, "Is that your boyfriend?" and I was like no. Then Esther was like "You look cute together." and I guess that was pretty much when the wheels started to turn in my head. Oooooooo... ;) It was like a lightbulb moment!

He'd mentioned that night that one of his friends hadn't been to London before, so they were planning on taking her to London sometime, but he wasn't sure when, and would I be interested? I said yes, and he was like he'd let me know when. But anyways, with the wheels turning in my head, I text him the next day, something along the lines of "fancy seeing you yesterday!". But I didn't get a reply or anything, and the wheels pretty much got stuck that day. But I heard from him a few weeks later, about the London trip. Turns out he didn't get the text, or he say it wayyyyy late, one or the other.

I know you'll ask why our meetings seem to have Arsenal connections, because the day of London trip, I had to be at the Emirates, for a match screening. Spurs away. That match brings with it so much hurt, so I'm not even going to go there. But yeah, with both events happening the same day, as contemplated for a long time whether or not to go to London, as I only knew Joel and Kennedy, and there were going to be other people there (obviously), but well, I eventually did. Was late, but it was fine. We met at London Bridge, I think. The one with the London Eye? We had some food, then continued the 'tour' they were on. I've got some photos! :) None of both of us, unfortunately...

Building somewhere I do not remember...

Clocks? Same place as the previous picture...

Kennedy. Oh, and Buckingham Palace gates! ;) Saw the changing of the guards!

Great view!

Can't remember what shop this was!

That's a photo of a bus that had hit the bus stop earlier on. HAD to take a photo. And Joel thought it was funny.

It was a nice day out, and *cheese alert*, I just wanted to be next to Joel all the time. I tried as much as I could, and tried to remain cool, too! Haha. We both aren't much talkers (it's true!) but he kept asking me questions, most of which I had no answers to, but he said he was just trying to know me better! "Favourite food?" "Umm, I dunno." "Favourite colour?" "Umm, I don't have one!", etc. I think it was also because I was trying to suss out whether or not he liked me or not! So many times I thought yes, and so many times I thought no. But that's all part of the whole thing, isn't it? Random, but I remember him buying me waffles, and ice cream, because I wanted some. It's the little things, isn't it?

So yeah, it was time to go :'( I remember there being a problem with the tube, so we had to take the bus for just two stops or so. Packed bus, so we stood instead. Do not laugh, but we were standing kind of next to each other, holding the same pole, and I wanted SO badly to put my hands over his! I almost did it, if not because we were getting off the bus. It was a bit weird, and I think that's where he hit me that I definitely like him. A girl's worst fear, isn't it? Knowing you like a guy, but not being sure whether he likes you or not. Torture. SO much better the other way round...

But I got off the bus, wished I didn't have to, but I had to dash to the Emirates. Awful. Not talking about the Emirates.

So this was April 2010. 14 April to be exact (thanks, camera!) I was off to America the week or so after, and we pretty much text back and forth before I left, while I was away. All. Through. It was awesome! (to be continued...)

Weekend almost over, 3 days to birthday, woohoo!

So the weekend's pretty much done with. It dragged a little, in a good way, because I kept thinking yesterday was Sunday, for whatever reason! Probably also because the weekend *kinda* started for me on Thursday, because Joel came round Thursday evening (even though he was a bit ill, bless him), and didn't leave until Sunday, although I had to go to work on Friday! :'( We didn't really spend that much time together, as he got here Thursday evening, did some food shopping, got back home kinda late and tired, then I had to go to work on Friday. I made sure I left work at 5pm, so we could spend as much time together, as he was leaving early-ish on Saturday for a barbecue. I'd hoped for the weather to be awful so he wouldn't have to leave, but that didn't happen. But yeah, enjoyed the little time we spent together, and he's back on Tuesday evening, so it isn't all too bad.

Finally went to church in Southampton today! We moved to a new building fairly recently over a month ago, while I was away, and I've been back almost a month now, but it's actually the first weekend I'm spending in my flat, so was finally able to go to church here. It used to be somewhere far, and I had to depend on the church bus to get there (cabbing it costs about £15 one way!). But the new place in on my way to work, so it's much easier to get to. It's a nice church and everything, and I was contemplating finding a new church during the service, as I don't really feel 100% at home there. I've been going there a long time, but I don't speak to anyone there. Like today, I just went in, and as soon as the service was over, I disappeared! I think I was even the first person to leave! Obviously it's not the church's fault, I just find it difficult to talk to 'strangers', and when I don't know people somewhere, instead of being friendly, I almost always have this unapproachable look! I do go for the weekly life group on Tuesdays ans speak to people there, so even if I do end up going to another church, I'll probably keep going for it. I might just stick with it, seeing as church isn't about making friends! Anyways, it doesn't matter much, because I'm hardly ever in Southampton weekends, these days!

So got back home after church at about 1pm, and I finally cooked! Was slightly worried that I'd mess it up, seeing as it's been well over a month since I cooked, but I've still got it! It's like riding a bike, isn't it?! I also cooked and cleaned, and add that to laundry yesterday, it's been a productive weekend! I also unpacked my suitcase (yep, same suitcase I took to America),and I even had Joel help me out! I hate unpacking! But it's done now, so yay!

So I've done everything I planned on doing this weekend, all I have left to do is watch tv, but I never need a second invitation for that! Oh, I'm also waiting for my cousin. She's got work experience relatively close by for a couple of weeks, so she'll be staying at mine, which isn't a problem. I hardly ever use my bed, so she can stay in my room. So I now have a legitimate reason for sleeping on my sofa! It's actually a sofa bed, so ideally I should use it as one, but it's just long transforming it into a bed, so I just sleep on it as it is. I probably wouldn't if I was taller, but I'm not, so whatever! :)

Really looking forward to Wednesday! I don't think I've mentioned it yet (ofcourse I haven't! ;)), but it's my birthday on Wednesday! And I've got the day off! Not sure what I'll be doing on the day, but I'll be spending it with Joel, which is more than good enough for me! Then at the weekend, I'm umm, Go Apeing? How does one say it? "I'm doing Go Ape"? "I'm going for Go Ape"? Anyways, so long as you know what I'm on about, it doesn't matter, right? The best way I can describe it, is that it's like NYSC boot camp! Having said that, I haven't actually done NYSC, so I could actually be wrong! Idiot, right? But yeah, it's a physical activity thingy- swinging through trees, zip-wiring, stuff like that. This video's on their website, so it explain it better!



I'm going on Saturday, with a group of 13! Should be fun! I'm looking forward to laughing at people! But I won't be surprised if I'm one of the ones being laughed at! We couldn't get an early slot, so we'll be starting fairly late, at 3pm! I split is into two groups, so 8 people will be starting at 3pm, the remaining 5 starting at 3.30pm. That way it's kinda flexible. the 'slow' ones can start at 3pm, or people who are late can start at 3.30pm, and we'll all finish roughly the same time. It lasts between 2-3 hours, so we'll probably go out for drinks afterwards or getting something to eat, depending what everyone feels like doing. I actually wanted to do this last year, but people chickened out, but they're surprisingly up for it this year! I guess everyone's growing up, haha.

Anyways, that's next weekend sorted. And it's in London, so probably another weekend I won't be spending in Southampton. I'm not sure whether my cousin will be staying at mine over the weekend, but if she is, I'll probably just go for the day on Saturday, but I doubt she'll be. I haven't got any friends in Southampton anyways, so I don't have mind staying in London another weekend, except it's expensive, and I don't have unending pockets. Wish I did...

But umm, not sure there's anything else to report on from the weekend. But my memory 'leaks' sometimes, so I'm probably missing something out! I'll stop typing now, as I'm just rambling! Have a good week, whatever you get up to! I'll be sure to report on my week, and weekend, sometime soon!

Kisses.

Weekend update.

It's quarter to six, I'm awake, I don't need to be up until 8.30am. No better time to blog, I guess!

My last post was about the weekend plans, right? The weekend went pretty much according to plan. Finally dragged myself away from the cricket and went to my Aunt's. Got there about 8.30pm, and basically just chilled with my cousins. Good times. Didn't go to church on Sunday for one reason or the other, so headed for the Emirates, with a brief and pointless detour to Watford. My cousins were going shopping, and the plan as to get there early-ish, so I could get back in time to catch the train I needed, but we left too late, and barely 20 minutes after getting to the mall, I had to leave. Pointless, right? Didn't even get to look properly in any shops!

Anyways, made it to Fiinsbury Park, where I was to meet everyone, in good time. Was meant to get there for 1.30pm, but seeing as F1 started at 1pm, I made SURE I was at Finsbury Park before 1pm, just so I didn't get stuck underground and miss the start, which is like the best part of the race. I did miss it in the end, pesky internet reception. Was in the Arsenal store trying to buy a replica kit, and at the vital moment that I needed the internet on my phone to load really quickly, it just took it's bleeding time, and I missed the first three laps! Annoying, but at least I got to watch it in the end. Didn't watch everything, though, and when we eventually got to the Emirates, they were actually showing it on the screens in the food hall, so I watched the last 10 or so laps there. I was recording it at home, so I just re-watched the whole thing when I got home. Don't judge! ;-)

So yeah, jersey bought, F1 on my phone, all I had to do was wait for the others to turn up. Chris and Ibukun turned up first, then we had to wait for Joel and his sister, but not for too long. I was a little nervous, but really didn't need to be. They turned up, she gave me a hug, I said 'happy birthday', then we headed off to the stadium. She's actually a bit similar to me, in the sense that we're both crazy, I'm talking random dancing and singing on the street! It was funny, and good to see that she was having a good time. It was her first time at the Emirates, and she seemed to have a good time throughout, so I guess it was a good idea, afterall!

Not going to bore you with details of the games. There were two matches, the first one being the irrelevant one, as it didn't involve Arsenal, that's why I was able to watch F1 during the first game. The second one was the good one, and it had Henry playing against us. It was all good fun, and apparently, according to Twitter, there was some booing at the end, because we drew, but I honestly didn't hear it at the time. Oh yeah, probably because I was a bit tipsy! No, I'm not an alchy! But I was forced to down a bottle of Smirnoff Ice! After watching F1, a wanted to get some food, and I noticed they had Smirnoff Ice, so I thought, 'why not?'. Bought it and headed to my seat, but the steward was like 'Sorry, you can't take any alcohol past this point.' Annoying, because I wouldn't have bought it if I realised. So I had to down it, so I could go to my seat, the effect being I was a bit intoxicated, prematurely, the effect being that I was sleepy! But anyways, it was a good day out, and the weather was lovely. Took one or two pictures, but seeing as we were on the upper tier, it's hard to tell who's who! Here are a few of them:

F1 on tv at the Emirates, with fellow losers :) There were quite a few of us, actually, and this was only one tiny section of the Ems.

Oh umm, AC Milan at the Emirates. I think he got confused...

Arsenal players warming up at the top right.

Pre-match line-up.

I think it's Henry just on the edge of centre circle, left side of the photo.

This was after the first goal. Our only goal...

 

Post-match. Podium also being set-up for trophy presentation to Henry's team.

Henry being a sweetheart and doing a lone-man lap of appreciation. We love you too, Titi!

The rest of the photos aren't much better.

So, match over, time to head home. Was so so sleepy on the long train home, it was ridiculous. Kept falling off, but didn’t want to miss my stop! But when I actually got in, about 10pm, I all of a sudden wasn’t tired! I don’t why your body plays these mind tricks on you sometimes.

Oh yeah, so I got my iPad 2 from my Aunt’s house on Saturday, and I’ve been using it a bit since. It’s cool and everything, but so far, it hasn’t added that much to my life. It’s just seems like an overpriced toy, and because I’m not an Apple person, the first couple of days were annoying, as I kept getting stumped as to how to do one or two things. Much better now, but I guess I need to find a good use for it. Bought a book on Amazon for the Kindle app, and I actually started reading it. Girl with the Dragon tattoo. The beginning is a hell of a lot boring, but Janine, Joel’s sister, is a huge fan and she said to keep with it, that it starts off slowly, but gets a whole lot better. I have no idea what the book is about, as I try avoiding reading book covers (not like a got the option this time, seeing as it’s an e-version!), but I even have no idea what genre it is. Guess I’ll find out soon enough. Anyways, I digress!

I mentioned that the iPad had a story, didn’t I? It’s a funny story, but I’ll try to keep it short. A while back, before we went on holiday, my mum was asking me about getting an iPad for herself, and she wanted to know whether to get a 3G one or a Wi-Fi one. I told her 3G was best, especially as she lives in Nig and all. The plan was to get my uncle in America to buy it for her, so she could pick it up when she got there. They all got to America a day before me, and when I got there on Friday, the iPad was bought already, but it was a Wi-Fi one. My mum didn’t want the Wi-Fi one, so she planned on selling it, then buying a 3G one. Not sure who’s idea it was, but we decided to auction it on eBay. My cousin, Tolu, was the one sorting it out. We were sort of impatient, so we only let it run for about 3 days. It was exciting, because I’ve never sold anything on eBay! My mum wanted it to sell for $750, and my cousin kept updating us with bids, when they came in. There was a bit of a mini-drama, like a day before the bid was to end. Scammers kept sending my cousin emails saying, O, it’s my son’s graduation, I’ll pay you a huge amount, but I need you to send it to XYZ address asap, blah, blah blah, and one of them kept bidding, and was the highest bidder at the time. My cousin actually had an encounter with the scammers once, so he’d already learnt his lesson! He tried selling his iPhone one time, and one of the scammers actually had him, and he’d already posted the iPhone, I think to Nigeria or something, when he finally realised it was a scam! Lucky for him, there was like a rain delay, so the postal services people were able to get the iPhone off of the plane before it departed! Talk about lucky escape! So this time around, he was more cautious!

Anyways this was Sunday, and we were at my other Aunt’s house, and Tolu  got my other cousin, Bimbola, to become the highest bidder, just to see it the person wanting him to post it to XYZ address would bid higher or not. But they didn’t, so umm, Bimbola was the highest bidder, with only a few hours to go! Tolu was panicking for a bit, because he hadn’t told anyone else that my cousin was going to bid, so he was hoping and praying that someone else bid higher! Someone else did, phew, so that was Bimbola off the hook! The bid was about five hundred and something dollars at the time.

So yeah, the auction eventually ended, and the highest bid was $635. My mum wasn’t too happy with it, but she was okay with selling it at that price. All that was left was for the winning bidder to pay, and the iPad to be sent to him/her. I think eBay gives you 48 hours or so to contact the seller to arrange payment, but umm, the winning bidder never did! So after all the time and drama, the iPad 2 didn’t even get sold on eBay. Time wasted, but it was good fun monitoring the bid and everything.

We really couldn’t be bothered to go through the whole thing again though, so we had to think of alternatives. My dad eventually decided to “buy” it off my mum, so I thought it was case closed. My mum bought herself a 3G one, which she named “My Beautiful iPad”, which was all so very funny at the time, and it came in handy at one point during the holiday. I still need to blog about this holiday, and I will. Eventually...

So holiday over, went back to England. My parents and brother stayed like a whole week longer than me. Lucky them! Shortly after they got back, a got a call from my dad one evening, asking if I wanted to but the Wi-Fi iPad 2, and how much I'd pay for it. Seeing as I didn't really need it, and didn't really mind having one, and seeing as I would be doing him a favour getting it off him since he obviously didn't want it, I said maybe £300. Not like I could really afford it, but I just said that. He laughed, said he'd think about it and get back to me. He called me the next day, said he'd thought of my offer, but that they decided to give it to me as my birthday present! Totally wasn't expecting it! Was tempted to say no, but you can't really turn down an offer like that, can you!? So yeah, since my Aunt was in Nigeria at the time, it made perfect sense to send it through her, to me.

So yeah, that's the story behind the iPad. Now that I've told it, it doesn't seem as interesting as it was in my head. Oh well! I need to make it worthwhile and find useful apps. I should get back to reading that book, too.

It's quarter to 8 now, I better get my act together and get ready for work. Was extra late yesterday as I woke up at 9.30am! Unbelievable!

Hopefully I get to blog before my birthday on the 10th. Actually, I plan too! ;)

Have a good week!

Hello again!

It's been a busy week! Wait, that should have read 'lazy' week! I've actually left work at about 6.30pm everyday, well, apart from Monday when I left at quarter to 10, but other than that, it's been a relatively stress-free week. But I didn't blog, because I was too lazy to put on my laptop, and was also too engrossed in tv. I just felt like chilling all week. But with football returning for real, well almost, this weekend, WOOOOOHOOOOOO! I just felt like relaxing all week, because it's going to get a whole lot busier!

So I didn't get up to much all week. Wait, what happened last weekend? Oh I remember. I was in London for my friend, Titi's graduation, then went to the hairdresser's, got my eye-brows done, etc. Nothing remarkable. We both went to Oyinda's on Saturday to hang out, Joel met us there, and it was just more chilling, really. Went to Titi's church on Sunday, watched tv, oh wait! I actually watched darts! I remember my cousins always teasing me about my sports obsession, and my excuse was always: "Well, I'm not that bad, I don't watch Darts!". But I guess I can shelve that excuse. Having said that though, it wasn't my choice! I'd forced them to watch F1 earlier (they did enjoy it, however, and what I brilliant win that was for Lewis!), so I couldn't really say "no, can we watch something else?" It wasn't terrible, but I don't really count two fat men playing a pub game as a real sport. Sorry!

Anyways, that was pretty much my weekend, the highlight ofcourse being getting to hang out with Joel. But with another weekend spent away from home, it meant another week of take-out for lunch/dinner. I just cannot cook during the week! Okay, maybe I can, but I refuse to! I don't even have any food in my house to be cooked, so it isn't really an option. Weekend is for food shopping and cooking, weekdays are for going to work and relaxing afterwards. But seeing as I'm away this weekend, it's going to be a question of who bites (harder) first. My pocket or me!?

Enough rambling, I hear you say! And what's happening this weekend? I'm home right now, but as soon as I'm done blabbing on here, I'll be heading to my Aunt's house, to get my iPad 2! Birthday present from my parents! My Aunt was in Nig, and just got back yesterday. It wouldn't surprise you to hear that there's a story to this iPad, one that I'll be telling when I collect it. But more importantly, I'M OFF TO THE EMIRATES TOMORROW! WOOHOO! It's been a long time since I was there last! I feel like I'm the prodigal 'son', and want to say to the Emirates that I'm back! And I'm not going anywhere! (Okay, I'll be going back home after the matches are over, but I'll be back often!) It's the first weekend of games at the Emirates, one being on right now. It's still pre-season, but once the Emirates Cup comes round, it's an indication that the Premier League season is about to start! I honestly really unbelievably indescribably excited about this! Until we lose a match, then I'll be back down to earth, but for now, I'll just get excited about the fact that I'll be seeing my boys tomorrow, woohoo! And also, we'll be playing against Thierry Henry's team, so there's the likelihood that he'll be playing! His team were playing today, but he didn't get to play, meaning that he'll probably play tomorrow! I'll have my camera at the ready!

I'm not sure if you could tell from the last paragraph, but I'm really excited about going to the Emirates tomorrow ;-) But there's more! I'm going with Joel, Chris, Ibukun, and Janine... Joel's sister. I've been to the Emirates with Joel, Chris and Ibukun before, but never with Janine. Not just that, but I've actually never met her before. So not only am I excited about tomorrow, I'm slightly apprehensive. What if she doesn't like me? It's her birthday tomorrow, and I don't know why I suggested it, but when I asked Joel whether he wanted to come to the Emirates with me, and he was like he couldn't, as it was his sister's birthday, I suggested that he ask her if she wanted to come. She's an Arsenal fan, so unsurprisingly, she said yes. I guess I was going to meet her at some point, and meeting her at the Emirates is a good place as any to meet her. I'm a bit nervous, but I guess I really shouldn't be, really.  I bet she doesn't bite! Anyways, the Emirates is my territory, so it should feel as if I was meeting her in my house! I'm sure it'll be alright. I'm just a scaredy-cat! I'll let you know how it goes.

I said I'll be heading off as soon as I'm done writing this blog post, right? I've changed my mind! Watching a briiliant spell of test cricket right now, so I think I'll wait until it's over! Take a bow, Stuart Broad! Hat-trick in test cricket? They don't come round very often! Brilliant stuff! Wish I didn't have to go anywhere, but it takes 3 hours to get to St Albans, so I better not wait to long!

Adios, for now. I think the cricket needs my full attention right now. Have a good weekend! :)