In one short week, this blog (Good Naija Girl or GNG) will celebrate its one year anniversary! The blog orginally started here. I already had another blog, so I wasn’t sure if I would be motivated to maintain two blogs. After about six months I moved it to its current location because I decided that I was fully committed to the (still vague) purpose of the blog and had lots of ideas for it. I had no idea the year would go by so quickly, or that I would meet so many people (through their blogs) — the community of Nigerian and African bloggers is huge! I hope that one day I can meet some bloggers in person. It has been a really great experience so far, and I look forward to continuing the blogging journey through this year and into the future.

There are two things that I would like to do, and if I was better organized I would have planned and announced them sooner. The first is that I’d like to have a giveaway for something (don’t get excited o, as you know GNG is a low budget operation, so there will be no Bentleys being given away, or Rolex watches). I need to figure out what to give away and what sort of contest we could have to go with it. I should announce it by the weekend (I hope).

Secondly, I’d like to give you an opportunity to ask me a question that I will try to answer as honestly as possible in one of a couple of anniversary posts. I have always been scared of doing such a thing so we’ll find out if my fear was justified or not. Please leave your non-threatening and unembarrassing questions in the comments.

Finally, I’ve got a question that has been bugging me since I started this blog: Do you care if I respond to your comments or not? Usually what I try to do (and I’ve been really awful at it lately so I apologize) is when someone comments for the first time on the blog, I reply to their comment by email and thank them for stopping by. Other comments usually get answered by me in the comments like many bloggers do. I want to know if you ever go back to check the comments to see if I’ve responded or if you forget about the blog entry the minute you drop your comment:

And now I’m off to bed to dream of a suitable contest and prize.

Filed under: Blogging by goodnaijagirl | 6 Comments »

Update: a friend who read this asked if I had joined a dating site but no, I haven’t. I think the guy must have gotten my email address from one of those Nigerian forums that I had joined in the past as a way of learning more about Nigeria and Nigerian culture.

If you are going to be emailing prospective women in an effort to get to know them, please send your email to the women individually: it’s a real turnoff to receive an email that is actually addressed to another woman, with you as the cc or bcc.

Filed under: Online dating by goodnaijagirl | 17 Comments »

Happy New Year! Yes I’m a day late but the good news is it’s still the new year! In fact, I think it’s acceptable to call it the new year for at least the rest of this month.

So, new years bring with them reflections and lots of goal setting. I have lots of goals (carried over from previous years because I am so bad at accomplishing them). Really, it’s just shameful the way I say “I will do this” or “I will do that” and then the deadline comes and goes and I haven’t done this or that. Every year I say it’ll be different but it never is. I need a personal trainer for goal setting (and keeping!), not to mention weight loss.

2009 is going to be big for GNG (the blog and the girl) because I intend to really grab my life by the horns and think about an overall PLAN for both my life and the blog and work towards them (may these not be empty words…Amen!). When I started this blog (I’m a blogaholic who has been blogging since 2002), it was because I wanted a separate place to write about being Nigerian and Canadian and having these two parts of me that were kind of disconnected yet also sort of related and blah blah blah. I had planned to keep my other blog as a place for “everything but my Nigerian/North American identity crisis” but as you can imagine, I’m one person who is made up of all these different parts so there will be some overlap and the two cannot be completely separate. I will have to figure out how to handle that between my two blogs.

Anyways, that’s just to give you a hint of what is to come. I hope you’ll be part of the journey and we’ll all end the year feeling great about how far we’ve come.

I mentioned that new years bring reflection, right? Well here’s a little quiz I found that I answered.

1. Where did you begin 2008?
At a friend’s house, with a couple of other friends. I forced them to turn on the television so we could count down to the new year, and we welcomed the New Year the American way.

2. What was your status by Valentine’s Day?
Single…sort of a Valentine’s Day tradition.

3. Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Nope!

4. Did you have to go to the hospital?
No, praise the Lord.

5. Did you have any encounters with the police?
Not that I recall…

6. Where did you go on vacation?
Nigeria!

7. What did you purchase that was over $500?
Well, if a mortgage counts…also a digital camera and a laptop.

8. Did you know anybody who got married?
My darling cousin, Biola, in Nigeria, and a friend Allison in Canada.

9. Did you know anybody who passed away?
Yes, sadly.

10. Did you move anywhere?
No I didn’t, though I was tempted to move to the UK so I could be roughly halfway between Nigeria and Canada, the two countries I love.

11. What sporting events did you attend?
None. I’m not exactly a sports fan.

12. What concerts/shows did you go to?
Hmm, I don’t think I saw any.

13. Where do you live now?
In the capital of Canada, with my parents and my three siblings.

14. What’s the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2008?
Complete a 5K.

15. What has/have been your favorite moment(s)?
Visiting Nigeria again.

16. What’s something you learned about yourself?
That I’m scared of failing…ok, this is something I already knew about myself.

17. Any new additions to your family?
Well…I don’t think so!

18. What was your best month?
No month really stands out…that may mean they were all the best!

19. What music will you remember 2008 by?
Anything by 9ice.

20. Made new friends?
Yes. I actually met her through this blog and we’re now “in person” friends.

21. Favorite Night[s] out?
The last day of the year, New Year’s eve, for sure! I got my hair done, got the cutest dress and just had a great time with my sister and some of my friends.

22. Any regrets?
Of course. One that comes instantly to mind is I wish I had done more to get my body in shape.

23. What do you want to change in 2009?
My body shape, my fear of taking risks, my single status :)

24. Overall, how would you rate this year on a scale of 1-10?
Gosh, that’s hard. I would tend to rate the year high because I’m still alive and honestly, as long as I’m alive I won’t have any big complaints.

25. What would you change about 2008?
Hmm…at the risk of sounding like a broken record, some love would have been dandy!

26. Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?
Work.

27. Have any life changes in 2008?
I don’t think so. There were moments that triggered many emotions while I was in Nigeria though.

28. Change your hairstyle?
Yeah! I rocked braids again after 12 years of relaxing my hair! They were getting ratty looking though and I was determined not to ring in the new year with them so I’m back to (short) relaxed tresses.

29. Get a new job?
No.

30. Do you have a New Year’s resolution?
Always.

31. Did anything embarrassing?
Not really…unless someone wants to remind me :)

32. Buy anything new from eBay?
No.

33. What was/were your favorite purchase[s]?
My digital camera and my laptop.

34. Get married or divorced?
No.

35. Get arrested?
No.

36. Be honest - did you watch American Idol?
I’m sure I saw part of an episode or two.

37. Did you get sick this year?
Nothing serious, thank God.

38. Start a new hobby?
Not really…though I wanted to.

39. Been snowboarding?
Nope.

40. Are you happy to see 2008 go?
Yes and no. Yes because it’s great that life keeps going but no because it means another year is gone…already! Time is moving too bloody fast!

41. Drank Starbucks in 2008?
Sure. I actually went through a phase where I was buying their Mint Mocha Chip Frappucino a few times a week…so delicious yet sooo not worth the cost!

42. What are you wishing for in 2009?
Good health for everyone and love for those of us who are still searching!

Filed under: Blogging, Personal by goodnaijagirl | 12 Comments »

Two songs that I have been hearing a lot of lately, Faze’s Originality and 9ice’s Gongo Aso both have the line “Khaki no be leather” in them.

My guess is the expression means that you can’t compare two things that are so obviously different but I’m wondering if this is a common saying or quote because I had never heard it prior to these songs.

Educate me!

Filed under: Miscellaneous, Naija Music by goodnaijagirl | 14 Comments »

When I first started this blog, I wrote a lot more about the search for a Good Naija Man, a search that I haven’t given up on, but I’ve just decided not to dwell too much on (on this blog sha). I was on a couple of dating websites but I dropped those, with a plan to go back in the new year. Why the new year? Well because I would have slimmed down to a size that would have men foaming at the mouth at my bodacious bod, that’s why!

Um, that didn’t exactly happen so I can either join the sites again anyway or push back my timeline of re-entering the online dating world. I don’t even know if I feel like going back there…it wasn’t actually fun.

In the meantime some people have been working overtime to help me. One friend introduced me to her (sort of) friend via facebook, but that didn’t go anywhere. Her main reason for introducing us to each other was the fact that we both live in the same country, we’re both single and we both seemed to be nice people in her opinion. Lasting relationships have been built on less, right?

While I was in Nigeria, my great aunt tried to work her matchmaking magic, but the guy apparently intended for me (to meet) was not able to come to my great aunt’s daughter’s wedding (he lives in Lagos). I did end up meeting him for 15 minutes in Lagos before we left for Canada and not two minutes after he left, my great aunt was on the phone, asking if he had showed up and how our conversation went. When I told her that he and I were engaged, she made a noise of exasperation and asked me to pass the phone to my mom instead of thanking me for telling her what she wanted to hear! How ungrateful!

Every now and then, I have this wonderful daydream that I’ll find love through my blog. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? He’d read my blog and fall in love with my words, self deprecating yet witty as they are (ahem) and comment occasionally, while spying on getting to know me through the blog. Eventually we’d start emailing each other and he’d reveal to me insights that I didn’t even know about myself that he gleaned from reading. Needless to say his emails would be eloquent and witty and captivate me utterly. (An aside: I am such a sucker for a guy who can write well and amuse via email as well as in person…be still my heart!) We’d meet and get on swimmingly. But in order for this to be a true sappy movie type plot, we’d have to have a misunderstanding that is my fault and will be resolved by me driving across the country at the last minute to stop his wedding to another woman or something like that. Good thing I have my driver’s license!

2009 has a lot of love-related hopes and dreams to live up to, let me tell you!

Filed under: Finding a good Naija man by goodnaijagirl | 14 Comments »

Merry Christmas everyone! It’s Christmas Eve but I still have not finished my shopping, which makes me more last minute than usual. I have a complaint though about fathers: while most (Nigerian) mothers can rattle off an impressive wishlist (or is my mom the only one?), trying to figure out what my father wants each Christmas is an exercise in futility. He’s a very practical man and really has no use for things that don’t have a purpose. Even small gifts like treats are hard: he doesn’t like sweets, doesn’t chew gum or have a favourite snack that we can buy for his stocking. He has far too many ties, socks and other boring things. He has too many watches and colognes. And books! He loves self improvement and inspirational books but at some point I’m sure all the books look the same and have the same message that I really don’t want to buy another book that echoes bits of all the other books he already owns.

I’ll figure something out by tomorrow though — I have no choice!

While I was writing the entry about George, my sister saw it and read a bit of it, but I told her it wasn’t posted yet, that she could read it later after I’d edited it.

Well she’s on holidays and was bored so she went and read that entry…and another entry that concerned her! She told me she had read the blog the moment I got home and that led to us fully discussing the situation. Tears were shed and explanations made and we both left the conversation feeling closer to each other than before. I knew she would feel bad about how I felt about the whole situation (which was why I didn’t think it would be worth getting into) but it was nice to talk about it. I know it isn’t Afrobabe’s style sha, but it worked for us!

Next, I thought I’d put those of you wondering about my Two Truths, One Lie (x 2!) meme out of your misery (the lies are indicated in bold):

GROUP 1

1. I can’t curl my tongue.
2. I have been a bridesmaid three times.
3. I hate green peas.

I have been a bridesmaid three times, and my mother has forbidden me to say yes to another friend. I refuse to listen to her though (I’m looking at you, Oya!). And yes, I hate green peas: I hate how they are a vegetable yet taste sort of sweet…gross!

GROUP 2

1. I do not own a laptop.
2. I can’t cook pepper soup.
3. I had chicken pox twice.

I do not own a laptop, though I hope to fix that situation on Boxing Day! And yes, sadly, I cannot cook pepper soup. Disgraceful, I know! And for those who don’t think you can get chicken pox twice (I’m looking at you, aloted babe): you can! Thank God I did not, but it’s possible!

So clap for yourselves doug, Seye, Lolia, Oya and sting because you got both absolutely correct! You deserve a prize but well, Good Naija Girl is a low budget operation!

Filed under: Miscellaneous, Personal by goodnaijagirl | 10 Comments »