Intellectual Redundancy

Towards the end of last year I was in a place of confusion with regards my career. I was stuck in a rut, I didn't know what I wanted ( maybe I still don't know sef, hence, why I'm writing this) and I was rather confused and unhappy. Scratch that, it wasn't my career per se that was making me unhappy, it was the fact that I needed more money and I wasn't seeing it happen. So I started poring over the Tuesday and Thursday Guardian, searching for anything, any opening, something, one thing, ANYTHING! I was confused the private sector had nothing for me since all I kuku want is money isn't it? I asked around, "what field of the public sector pays well?" I mean i knoew for sure I definately didn't wanna go to the ministry of justice... hell to the nizzle!!! Not after being in an office with airconditioning and fast inernet and working photocopiers and intercom! no no no!! I wasn't willing to go below what I had grown used to professionally. Special shout out to our friends who work in the civil service... May the Lord bless your hustle! Lol

Ok I digress, sorry. So in my quest for a new job or career opportunities, I was told that federal parastatals especially in the finance sector and in the oil and gas sector were the big payers!!! WooHoo!! I applied to NNPC and SEC. Fingers crossed on that! But the issue that arose is this.."INTELLECTUAL REDUNDANCY" These words have been swimming around in my head since January. I love to have money and all, but I also don't want to have spent 30years of my professional lives writing letters to external counsel reminding them to provide me with an update. **gasp** I mean it's all nice and dandy collecting money and all but what happens if I end up being one of those Director Generals with absolutely no clue on how the system works outside. I mean in this my office, bad as e bad reach I learn new things every day. I get exposed to high level international transactions, I may be getting paid peanuts but when I read about some transactions in the news, I have this secret smile inside knowing I worked on it or I heard about it. I asked a friend of mine what he thought about going to work in the public sector and how I was worried that my brain cells would atrophy if I just went to some parastatal to tweedle my thumbs, he said " Ronke, did you say they pay well? Omo, if you have a chance go there, take the money and if you feel your brain is dying out play Sudoku or something" I laughed really hard that day and thought, wow get a rubix cube, play sudoku, crosswords are there and you'd be find doing "availability at Corporate Affairs Commission"

The silent battle between wanting more money and being intellectually redundant. I spoke to my cousin recently about this issue. He works for a multinational investment bank and he has worked there for three years. He's moving to Nigerian Deposit Insurance Company in April. Now NDIC is a government parastatal and everyone I know who works there says "mehn... that place is the ish!! the money there is not small matter!" However, when I ask these guys about the kind of work they do i get a shrug of "you know this and that, a bit of this and a bit of that". This doesn't help someone like me who's already confused. So I asked my cousin the high profile investment banker "S, why aren't you afraid of intellectual redundancy" and he said " omo, na person wey no get sense go reash dat kain place siddon sey he no go study or advance himself. I mean Ronke, there's so much time and there are so many opportunities for scholarships and study leaves in the public sector that only a foolish person would rest on his oars and become intellectually redundant!" This was such a light bulb moment for me. like Selah or Eureka ( i really don't know if I've used those words appropriately but u sha get the general picture *kaching* *bells ringing*lol)

So there you have it, I found how to go chill with the "chillers" in the public sector and at the same time keep my brain working.

Pray with me oh, because the koko of all this is that I WANT MORE MONEY ;)

Know Ya Self

My friend J.D came to the house yesterday and accused me of not updating my blog. She sounded irritated actually, and I sat there laughing because really there's no reason why I haven't posted something new. It's not for lack of having something to talk about or to rant about... it's just........... I don't know! So I apologize. I promise to be more dedicated to the readers of my blog. I mean what's the point of being lazy?

Speaking of laziness, I'd like to tell you guys that two years after I said I was gonna start my piano lessons, I finally started... ( yes let us wave our hands in the air!!!) I have done two lessons and honestly I'm still struggling with my counts but thank God i remember the rudiments from my growing up days The notes on the treble cl eff are "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour", "F.A.C.E" and for the bass clef "Good Boys Deserve Favour Always", "All Cows Eat Grass". You see, it's kinda hard trying to count 1,2,3,4 at the same time trying to determine what line the note is on..**sigh** if only I'd been less playful as a child. Oh well, I'm picking myself up and I hope I'll be able to play something meaningful by September. So y'all should pray with me to overcome the scales on the piano. Alicia Keys wont have no'n on me when I'm done **wide cheesy smile**

Anyway I wanna know your take on something that has been bugging me in recent times. It's the issue of "being comfortable in your skin" "not letting anything be the determinant of your lifestyle". I went for a wedding two Saturdays ago and one of the friends of the bride was wearing a knee length tube dress. The dress wasn't indecently short and her boobs weren't out there on display like that, no... that wasn't the issue. The chic had badly discoloured skin. Like really really!!!. As we danced behind the bride to usher her in, I stood behind the girl in the tube dress, I stared at her back, with all the shades of her skin out there on display. I looked at her legs, same thing... multicoloured. I thought "wow, your skin is so bad, you really shouldn't be wearing stuff that shows so much skin", and as soon as I finished the thought process, I chided myself and said "oh well, she didn't create herself" I couldn't shake off the feeling. Trust me nah, Aproko United, I proceeded to ask my friend (the bride) yesterday. Me:"ah.. why did that your friend XYZ now wear a tube dress?" Bride:"What was wrong with the dress?" Me: "it was a tube dress and her skin is really discoloured. I just feel she should have worn something that covered her back at least" (Like I said... it was the aproko in me that wouldn't let that issue go!!) Bride: " There's nothing wrong with her wearing a tube dress, yes she has discoloured skin but she has not allowed it to deter her or get in the way of her lifestyle. We called her miss Polka in Uni and we've all known she's had that kind of skin" Me: #Pause #Pause #Pause

Now you see, this issue of being comfortable in one's skin and not letting one's 'circumstance' hinder ones lifestyle is all well and good but I believe there's a thin line.... a VERY thing line between this and knowing ones self. Look at me for instance, I'm a round girl, I wont even say "chubby" chubby was nice and cute when I was 8, now I'm just rotund! Lol. I'm quite full figured, now lets take that full figured me and put it in a tube dress, or even a tight top and skinny jeans!!!(X_X) IT IS NOT JUST OK!!!!! Am I supposed to torture everyone who sees me? NO!! I mean people need to dress appropriately. I'm not a prude or anything, I'm all for sexy silhouettes and showing off hot steamy legs and booty but please, let it be something of good aesthetic value abeg!!! and none of that BS of one man's meat is another man's poison. Imagine Precious in a jumpsuit saying she's comfortable in her skin **aghast**

Anyway, lemme know what you think about this, you know we learn everyday.

In other news... So last week I was having lunch in my office with my colleagues and our librarian was there too. I can't rememeber what we were talking about but Lady Librarian decides to chip in "words of wisdom" and she goes "well, when you're in Rome, do like the Romans, and when you're in JEW do like (#pause #pause) the Jew." I can tell you guys rice went from my mouth into my nose. It took all of my restraint and I mean every single muscle of restraint in me not to burst out in laughter... like people what the hell is "When you're in Jew"?? LMAO. My colleague told me later that she stumbled on her words cause she saw the look on my face, that Lady Librarian's lips wereshaped as if she wanted to say "Jewans"..... LMAO

Ladies and gentlemen, let's just say, our motto in this life should be "know ya selfffffff" Lol whether it's in dressing or it's in attempting to drop snippets of wisdom where none is required of you... do what??? Know Ya Seffff