My thoughts...

For those who read the post, Not that line again , well the clients aren’t paying because they were not satisfied with the job we did. We didn’t do what we said we’d do after all. A pastor we did a job for even gave us a full lecture on integrity!

Anyway, life is a teacher and the only thing I take from the whole thing is experience. I have really learnt a lot. I know how hard it can be sometimes but people should take and appreciate the things they learn after going through bad situations. I would have made a lot in commissions if the work had been done properly but oh well! I have met new people and learnt a lot of things both professionally and personally.

Now, on a lighter note, I am yet to understand what is up with the theatrical eye lashes I see everywhere. I love the ‘kitty cat’ look, you know, batting the eyes and all but hey, you don’t need six foot long eye lashes for that. Those things are for music videos and errm... Halloween?

And it doesn’t exactly look good on small eyes. The eyes look choked and overwhelmed. Whatever works for you girls.

I want to thank you all for the birthday greetings. It rained heavily that day and I considered it as a blessing though I was on my way out when it started and got drenched.


Happy Easter people. Have tons of fun.

Lily Johnson.

My Birthday cometh....

This is just to let my dear readers know that April 17th is my birthday. Oh well! The girl just got a year older and perhaps a lot wiser. I am grateful to God for the good health, wonderful family and friends that HE has given me.

So what am I going to do that day? Ermm... I really don’t know. I work like crazy during the week so maybe I’ll just hang out with my folks at home. Rest, play around and pray. Or go out and have tons of fun with friends. Either way, it’s okay.

Cyber hugs to y’all. You guys are wonderful.

Lily Johnson.

Not that line again!

I have been told that I bother on perfectionism sometimes. By a few people who don’t understand me and are crooked in one or more ways. I believe that a deal is a deal. When you agree to do something, especially in business, do not disappoint. A good name is worth more than the few (yeah I know, sometimes it’s a lot) currency notes that you’d gain. You have to try your best possible to keep your promises or learn not to make any.


My employer thinks I can’t handle it when things don’t go the way they were initially planned. He thinks I don’t believe in ‘plan Bs’. Went ahead to lecture me on how things could go wrong and one would have to crash the first plan and go with another.

Now, I perfectly understand the plan B thing and I understand that we mortals can’t always have things our ways because well, as they say Man proposed, God disposes. What I have an issue with is the planning of the plan A. If plan A was planned to fail, it would fail and switching to plan B which is usually not doing things the way they should, wouldn’t be justified.

Now before you wonder what I am blabbing about, we were supposed to create a product for our clients. Something like a mini directory for a particular area. That was how we convinced people to get their products advertised because they all wanted to be part of it. I went about convincing these people that IT WOULD NOT BE THE SAME WITH OUR NORMAL STUFF. I got to the office and realised that that wasn’t what they did. They had prepared what they normally did and he told me that the plan A had failed and they had to use an alternative. I knew plan A was a terrible plan from the start. Maybe not, but when you come up with a nice plan, you should come up with ways to execute it in line with your budget and your time. The plan B was an ugly and cheap way out and we (I and my colleague) are expected to go out there and convince these people that we had to ‘change plans’. Now tell me how the clients would ever trust us again ever huh? I know we can manage to convince them but they aren’t getting the value for their money anymore. They might not know this but we do and I have a conscience....

So I complained. He knew I would. That’s who I am. It has nothing to do with perfectionism; I just can’t stand when people are ...sort of cheated out of their money or denied their rights because I never want that to happen to me.

Well, life is crazy. And complicated. I think we should just try our very best and when that’s done, we should just...leave the rest. Maybe I should quit tripping. You do know that feeling when you don’t quite feel right about something?

Your very best may not be enough. But you’d know that you gave it your best shot. That in itself is enough.

Lily Johnson.

Pics: Bnet.com

Sights, sounds and the bus!

I just want to talk about some things I saw during the weeks of going to work and preparing for my examinations. All of them got me wondering...


1. I saw a road side food vendor slice an onion, WASHED THE THIN SLICES before she put it in a pot of palm oil. I have never seen this done before in my life! I wash my onions, slice it then use it. I literally stared. I was in a bus and had little to do so I just watched her cut more onions and washed in a bowl of water before adding to her cooking. Ha!

2. A lady approached a man at the bus stop where I stood waiting for a bus or a bike. I noticed she had green eye shadow on one eye and blue on the other. Just looked again to check. Yep! That was what I saw. Don’t know if it’s a trend because I have been living in Books Ville for more than a month. Looked weird. And the lady was wearing a bright yellow blouse. Hmm!

3. A man selling ice cream beside a bus I was in got pissed because no one bought anything from him in the bus and began to insult everyone in the bus. No one answered him. He was talking to a bunch of tired people who couldn’t wait to get home, have their bath and rest. My head was buried in a book but I did give him a stare once in a while. Msheww!

4. A guy in a bus with a bag and really cool magazines, wearing a faux fur coat in the fiercely sunny weather, suddenly turned and asked me to ‘flash’ a number. I was going home after a crazy week of grilling exams. I asked ‘What number?’

He said ‘Can I write the number down for you?’

‘Why?’

‘Because I don’t have a phone with me’

‘How is that supposed to be my business?’

He just turned and shut up. In a bus full of people, he should have thought of a smoother move. And he was sitting right in front of me and got about 15 people starring at us and listening with interest. What on earth was he thinking!?

On another note, for some reason I am yet to understand, I’ve been listening to David Grey’s ‘Babylon’ several times a day. I just love the opening strings. I love the song but listening to it ten times a day!?

I wrote this down in a memo on my phone about three weeks ago. I believe ‘Babylon’ has been replaced by ‘Telephone’ by Lady Gaga and Beyonce.

It’s good to be back!

Lily Johnson.

So so sorry for the M.I.A thingy.

Hello my darling readers, I apologise for being M.I.A for more than a month now. I had to go write my exams and before that, I had to write a bunch of articles for my employer. I needed to pay for my internet subscription but didn’t have the time and the patience you needed to call the network provider and remind them that you had made payment and you still couldn’t go on the internet.


It’s been crazy. I studied hard and worked hard and when it was over, I partied hard. My department governor organised a party to celebrate the end of the session and boy, I danced like I never had in a long, long time. On my way home, it suddenly began to rain and I and my friend were drenched. It was so funny.

I missed you guys. All of you and now that I am less busy, you will see more of me.

Lily Johnson.

Normal people??

It is funny how some people live their lives believing that their stupidity is going to affect the people around them and make them really lose their cool. It is just plain funny to me when you meet a person in a public place and for one misunderstanding or a little mistake; the person just goes ‘gaga’.

A friend of mine was on her way to the market and because a lot was on her mind, she mistakenly stepped on this lady’s toes. She turned back and was in the middle of saying sorry when this lady exploded! She called her all sorts of names and actually created a little scene. My friend just looked at her and told her that she had already started apologising before but she wasn’t going to go through with it and was on her way like nothing happened. This lady began to follow her, abusing her and stuff. She wasn’t like insane or anything because she looked and acted completely normal if you know what I mean. She made sure she was like a few steps behind my friend and kept making crazy remarks. My friend turned and told her to get off her back and get a life and that was when she really lost it! She started calling people to come see that my friend had gone mad! My friend just kept walking until she stopped following her.

I was in a bus one day and just because I told a man to sit well so I could sit well too, he just hissed and started talking about young people not having respect anymore! You would think he would stop at that. No! He went on and on talking about how fashion and music have destroyed the basic morals of young people. This man wasn’t exactly a grandpa! I just sat there and wondered what I had said to get that kind of embarrassment in a bus packed with people.

                                     Seriously why would anyone want to do this??

One man gave a bus conductor a 50 naira note that was torn in several places and when the conductor complained instead of him to say the normal thing we say (Use it at the fuel station), he just started calling the poor man names. He called him illiterate and ignorant. I was just shaking my head throughout that short trip. The man that claimed to be well travelled and well read kept making grammatical blunders that were deafening. The nerve on some people!

I have also seen responsible people being dragged into a fight with this kind of people. A lady I know got into a war of words with one foul mouthed young lady after she had answered her boyfriend’s call. The chick just started making remarks that the lady was showing off and wanted to let people know that she had a boyfriend. Then the lady lost and the war of words began.

I don’t know why some people choose to take out their frustration on other people. And I have always believed that the best way to deal with these people is to completely ignore them. Talking back may not be a good idea as they might just ruin your day for you with their nonsense. Don’t even think about to it, just zone out. They are not even worth the trouble.

Glide through your day and shut out negative people.

Lily Johnson.

Happy Valentine's day!

Valentine's day is here again! Remember, my dear people that it is all about love and sharing it. So give something to someone special and also to someone who doesn't have much.
Last year, I said something about making your own cards. I am all about little things that mean a lot when there is love and mutual respect between a couple.

How about writing him or her a love letter? I think love letters are romantic even though it seems nobody does that anymore. Get a paper and write something that best describes how you feel about the person. If you don't know how or don't have the time, go online and search for a good love poem and write it in your own words using it as a guide because if it is too fancy, your loved one would know just where you got it from.

And do every other thing than you guys normally do and maybe even something new! Check out new places, discover new things about each other and laugh at each other's mistakes and eff ups.

Hold hands, kiss whenever you get the chance to and remind him or her that he/she is loved and cherished.

Happy Valentine's day to y'all. I love you guys.

Lily Johnson

Pics from fotosearch.com

Hmm...Perfume!

I love perfumes. I tell anyone who cares to listen how I adore a good fragrance. I assume everyone does anyway. My romance with Channel No 5 has been as passionate as it has been pocket unfriendly. Someone just gave me a bottle of Lolita Lempicka. I think I like it. I haven’t used it long enough to decide if I love it. I love the bottle though.  I don’t like perfumes that smell too sweet or have vanilla notes that are just too much or smell too strong.

I think it is awesome when people just tell you how good you smell. There is something about it that boosts your confidence.  A dab of perfume on the neck area and on the wrists is just enough to keep you smelling and feeling terrific all day.

Unfortunately, some people just practically ‘bathe’ in perfume and have a cloud around them that does nothing but suffocate everyone else.

On my way to work one day, a woman entered the bus I was in and with her came an over-powering smell that made everyone uncomfortable. I could have sworn I heard an elderly woman in the bus praying that she should get down at the next bus stop. The perfume didn’t even smell nice at all.

I’d once choked and almost hyperventilated when a man came to stand beside me at a bus stop. The awful smelling fragrance he loaded on his coat was strangely forcing itself down my throat. I moved away from him but it seemed like it was following me about. The man just kept on starring at me. I was tempted to tell him to throw his perfume away because it smelt terrible! Maybe he used too much and it just didn't mix well with the smell of sweat.

Someone told me that just because you can't perceive the fragrance doesn’t mean it is not there and in fact, most of the time you wouldn’t! We all are guilty of this kind of over indulgence once in a while. I must have done that with the first bottle of Chanel that I got. Maybe the second one too.  Jeez!

Do tell me that perfume you absolutely adore.

Take care people!

Lily Johnson.