Guilty as charged!

In a rush

Gosh I feel so guilty…two nights ago (I was already dozing off sef) I got a call from my little cousin. “Sister Aloted, you didn’t even call to wish me happy birthday”. Oh my! I completely forgot it was my cousin’s birthday…I feel so so bad. "Aburo, jo ma binu simi jare, na old age cause am!" I feel worse that she actually had to call me at night -all the way from Naija -to remind me of her birthday…cuz on a good day I would have called to wish her happy birthday, so she had to call to find out what happened to her Egbon.

I guess you are wondering what my issue is. You see, I am not one to forget birthdays of my family and friends. This was a habit I picked up from my mother. Kai, my mother knows the birthday of everyone in the world! Ok ok..thats taking it too far, but she knows the birthday of almost everybody she has been in contact with in her lifetime and she makes sure she calls or sms you where ever you are in the world. Sometimes she will sms my siblings & I about so and so’s birthday and tell us to contact the person. Initially I saw it as a burden but now I know better. People are touched when you remember their birthdays (aren’t u happy when people contact you on ur day??). So if I can make someone’s day brighter by hollering on their birthday then so be it. Therefore I decided to emulate my mum and I am glad I did. My friends, all over the world, are almost guaranteed that I will contact them at least once in a year.

Hence the reason why I feel so bad about my cousin….in short this month has been crazy for me, I have not been good with my birthday greetings. I have been so wrapped up in my issues!!!!.. Anyway so before the month ends, I have decided to shout out to all my friends whose birthday falls in August especially: Kunle Duro, Jola Bamgbola, Aj Lawal, Ediri Akpojovwo, Ladi Osibo and of course, my cousin Seun ( I think there is one more person I am missing out...nawa for you Aloted..lol). "Happy Belated Birthday and wishing u many more wonderful years ahead."

Men, I have a busy weekend ahead of me…moving again (to where the job is)…one day I will settle down…lol.

Enjoy your weekend. :0)

I think I am back ;)

Hi guys! Must say I have missed you peeps. I have been away from blog world for sometime but now I think I am back!

The reason why I have been away is because I moved back to the UK (from Naija) and have been job hunting. It was not easy but I thank God for his faithfulness in my life. In anything I do, I want all glory to go to HIM and no man. He is just too much for me.

Anyway coming back to the UK to work seemed like a bad idea to some people. "Ah, it is not easy to get work in the UK o, especially since you don't have any UK experience", said a number of people but i said to everyone of them "My Father in heaven is the owner of all the jobs in the UK and everywhere, and I am sure he has at least one for me". Indeed, he proved it to me that he is able to do much more than I can ever imagine. My hubby 2 be (H2B) was also very very supportive. I remember just before I left Naija early July, H2B and I had a prayer of agreement that before the end of July I would get a job. Somehow, I felt we were not being realistic but God is no respecter of time. He makes all things beautiful in his time.

Ok, let me give you a summary of my job hunting experience-

First week July - I had an interview with a company but the following week I got "rejected". I was disappointed but realised that just because a company rejects me doesn't make me a reject, stupid, or daft. That job just wasn't meant for me!

2nd week July- I sent out my CV to several agents and posted on some job sites. I got a few calls here and there but nothing promising. I was beginning to panic at this point. I had no interviews lined up. God what is happening?? I was not finding this amusing at all. In the midst of my worry, I still tried to pray and even beg God to change my situation!

3rd week July - I edited my CV with the help of two great friends. Both of them felt my CV had a naija look n feel. lol. Anyway I sent out the new versions and decided to get myself ready for any interviews that might come up by reading up on stuff I learnt in undergrad and any material I got on interviewing skills. I had a strong feeling I was going to have interviews the following week.

4th week July- I received calls from 3 different agents to schedule interview dates- Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I was so excited...lol...anyway I went for all three and they all went well. In fact on my way to Friday's interview I got a call from Thursday's agent saying I had been offered the job! On my way back, Wednesday's agent also called to say I got the job. Men, I was on cloud 9, I didn't even know what to say to either of them. I just told them I'll get back to them. Meanwhile, Friday's agent also called that the company wanted to have another interview, that they were impressed...lol...

Most times I hear that people do series of interviews with one company before getting the job or getting rejected but I got two job offers after 1 stage of interview each. I can only say I give all glory to God. Anyway so now I need to decide what the next step as per which job to take.

So my people, that is it o. God indeed is a faithful God. Without him I am nothing. My friends have also been wonderful. You all believed in me even when for a second I stopped believing in myself. God bless you all. For those of you job hunting I pray that God will surprise you beyond your imagination, just trust in HIM.

So now I am back in the rat race, oh mine!... Hopefully not for so long!!! ;)

"Let them say..."

"Don’t take things personally. Most of the time whatever is going on around you and the reactions you encounter have very little to do with you. The response has to do with the accumulation of many experiences that particular person had before he or she even got to you."

- Michelle McKinney Hammond

Sometimes we need to be reminded of some things we already know. I read the above in an article written by Michelle Mckinney (I love her books!) today and I feel like a heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulders (the past week has not exactly been the best of weeks for me). These words have just made me realise again that I will make some decisions and people will get offended, they will misjudge me, they will misconstrue what I say based on their past experiences. This tells me, I cannot be held accountable for people's feelings or reactions towards me. I can only be held responsible for my own actions. God sees and knows my heart and it is to him I am accountable to.

Do you feel bad because others misjudged you? I can imagine how you feel, because I have just been there and it is not a healthy place to be. Lets try not to take it personal. I hope the words above make enough sense to you like it did to me because it is TRUE.

Please feel free to share your experiences. Any words of encouragement for me and others feeling misunderstood will also be appreciated. Thanks!