Once upon a JJC

Hiiiiii, 

It's me again, the reluctant Lagosian😊. No, this isn't a “Diary of a New Lagos Wife” entry. Just me, reminiscing

In the spirit of throwback, the JJC has clocked one year in a town she labelled strange. A year in and she can hardly wait to get out. My first time in Lagos wasn't exactly as dramatic as I'd expected it to be. I mean, all my life, I've stayed in the north only visiting some regions which did not cover the western side region. It also didn't help that I didn't exactly have the right notion of Lagos. It was always portrayed in the negative light; "shine your eyes o", "hide your phone o", "don't ask questions, don't ever give yourself away as a JJC". Phew, the cautions were (and still) many. Don't do this, don't do that. Have I mentioned the traffic? Geez, but I won't  go there. It's old news. 

Considering how I'd come from a relatively sane and serene environment, I kept wondering how I'd cope in this jungle. This no man's land. And then one day, it hit me. When the children of Israel left Egypt for the promised land, what was their instruction? Possess it. So I told myself to possess the land and speak into it. Lagos will not give me trouble, I will enjoy myself here and to the fullest. I realized that a whole lot of patience and guidance from the Holy Spirit was gonna be needed to live here in peace and soundness of mind. And gisting about my experiences definitely does help. 

So back to my first visit. It'd been after my dad's burial, I needed to not go to work immediately. So I detoured to Ajah where I hid my face from the world for a while. That first trip was quite uneventful, seeing as I practically went nowhere. But, I was finally in Lagos, that was what counted. . 

As it were, fate had its own plans too and so it was that I landed here, the land of the “buzzites” (busy bees), vampires, night crawlers and face changers. Nah, just messing with you 😀 

And that's that, ciao. 
My diary entries still continue here (Please tap on the link), that's where most of my Lagos living are journalled. 

Be safe, burbye...

How I Sat-Ur(My)-Day: A Train(ed) Story

Who remembers that nursery rhyme of the train waiting at the station? 

Hi guys😁 *waves* lol, just take the virtual wave abeg. It's been so long and I missed you guys, I missed the blog and I did miss writing. Not that I've not been writing, just not been publishing 😁

So, I'm gonna drop this gist that I've baby sat for too long and I had help writing it btw by my co author and partner in the tale. So, here goes nothing.

Who goes on a round-trip via train between Abuja and Kaduna, for no other reason than the sheer novelty of the experience? Meeee. Yes me, I so did. Well, because I caould and because - read up - it was a novel experience and an exciting one at that. 

Sight me? 

The trip involved a four hour train ride,  and a 90-minute layover at the Rigasa terminal in Kaduna. So as I'm sure you can imagine, there was a lot of sitting. The padded train seats were comfortable though and the air-conditioned cabin soothed all other sedentary discomforts. My only complaint would be that I couldn't recline the seats for a more comfortable posture,  and I didn't bring a seat cushion along.

Interior

The waiting stint in the departure lounge at the  Rigasa station was also in an air-conditioned and 'fan-assisted' hall with metal seats. They were suitable but I'm sure they were not designed to encourage long-term sitting.

It was a bright and smiley sunny day

Whatever the case, on both occasions,  l sat until it was a chore, from 10am when the train departed Kubwa, Abuja for Rigasa, Kaduna and back. Including another hour and half wait at the Rigasa terminal. 

But enough of the butt-aching story. The scenery consisted mostly of rocky,  mountainous areas interspersed with wide,  flat grasslands over which one could gaze out for a couple of kilometers. There were intermittent farmlands and drying streams, cattle and their herders and zinc covered sheds and thatched settlements. Over all, it wasn't exactly a scenery per se but it was enough.

My companion spent a better part of the trip trying to get me to sleep when I remarked about how sleep-deprived I felt from a very short night the day before.

All in all, it was a good trip. Not particularly fun as fun might be defined cos we ended up not touring as planned but, it was fun none the less😊

As with all things, I learnt some lessons on the trip which I shall be sharing anytime soon. Bye, have a lovely week ahead 😘 
Peace...