I want it all and i want it now!

Life deals us a lot of cards as our lifetimes pass and we notice that most are unfavourable.Its like having the king ,queen ,judge and a 10  in a card game where the highest number loses.Most of these times really suck because they are usually unexpected; its like:-finally! I got the bag I've saved so long for and then I find out there's a new policy that requires a higher fee for a service that is inevitable. I know they say "you can't have it all" but when I am in a tight corner, I ask myself "Can I not have at least an average amount?why so little?"after that, I wonder why out of 100 I can't have 99. I mean, it's not all it's just most; that doesn't defy the law does it?
         As we advance in life, our definition of having enough is ever so often changing. As a kid, I wanted the other girl's dress or her shoes,perhaps even her ribbon or toy.Sometimes, I went as far as to want her parents and her hair.As a young teenager, I wanted another secondary school,someone else's intelligence to top my class,the beauty,complexion,skin,composure and figure of another .Growing older,I still wanted some of the things I wanted before but you could add the boyfriend,wealth,wardrobe,cars and freedom of another.
        At the onset, it seemed okay and normal for me to always want something different from what I already had;at least to me it did.Growing older I realised that my desires were spiraling out of control.Filled with discontent, I lived each day counting the things I didn't have and damn!did it have an effect on everything around me.I had continuous and constant progressions to higher heights of depression.Every time somebody walked by with something I wanted, I instantly slumped into deep depression counting all the things I didn't have.People in my life noticed my habit of wanting to be anything and everything but myself and usually passed remarks that got me thinking after they reoccurred.Pondering on the matter, I noticed that I had spent more years complaining about who I was,what i had and how i looked than counting my blessings.
1)I don't have an ugly face
2)I have clothes to cover my nakedness
3)I don't suck when it comes to makeup
4)I am surrounded by people who are real and who love me
5)I'm not a dumb skull.
etc
         Those are only a few of the blessings I have but never appreciated. I spent time craving a jet-set lifestyle that I didn't appreciate the fun I was having in my life while it passed me by.The smallest things in life matter the most.My discontentment had to halt for me to see the good things I had in my life already the were worth being grateful for. Now,the things I want are not too far fetched as now I can spend my time accepting the things I can't change and working towards the things I can achieve.Envy and depression won't get you that which you are envious for but will only steal the time to get what you desire.

Astral Dreams

Today so far has been one of those days where my mind behaves like it's separate from my body.I'm sure my face would still have all my expressions but I'm not sure people looking can interpret what I'm thinking. I awoke from this highly strange dream. It was like walking through my own mind and realising what my subconscious thinks. One of the many things I realized is that there are certain places I have tagged to certain people. Revisiting those places in my dreams automatically brings those people to life in those dreams. My thoughts may not be in relation to those people, but somehow their faces and personalities are projected into the dream. Funny thing is most of these people I have left behind in my past. Some of them I still carry along but they are now not what they were to me back then. When I revisit a familiar place in my dreams,for example high school, the dream may simply be about a problem I have in reality,in one way or another, the people in high school who were my friends and those who weren't still seem to play the same roles, even though in reality we may not be friends anymore. This time this dream was a little different. I stepped into my former classroom wearing the same high school uniform and in my mind I expected the people in the classroom to behave a certain way,the usual way it was. One particular person did not conform to my expectations. At first I wasn't sure what was going on. After a few minutes I realized that we don't relate the same way as we used to in high school, so why should this person behave as I expected. My mind brought in the present to that familiar place in the past and applied it. For those few minutes of confusion,I felt like an astral projection of myself watching the past and present merged into one. It was weird. I wasn't sure how to relate to that particular person because I had never met with this alternate reality before and especially not in high school.
Anyway,when I woke up, I started wondering how I would be projected in other people's dreams. Only very few people got to know me intricately and sincerely I have come to understand that doing that is a very difficult thing. So I wonder if anyone has experienced this sort of thing and one with me in it :D. It was like my mind was "editing" or "updating" the present into the past. I find it very fascinating ,a little bizarre at first but fascinating :).  I also wonder what would happen if we were all somehow thrown back into the same old classroom for something close to being a teaching session. I'm almost certain that without realising it we would all take those same roles again. It would take a matured, observing mind to consciously break free from assuming the same roles automatically. It's interesting how strong the mind is and how very little things affect the mind, in turn affecting behavior. Dreams are all a projection of thoughts,experiences and visual stimuli the mind has processed, of course with some exceptions. 

Love or Good Genes?

     I've been thinking about this topic for a while now.Which is the stronger factor in life and in society and which is it for you as a person? Assuming we exclude other factors leaving only love and good genes,I would say if we took a statistics of African marriages a lot of them would have been for the reason of good genes and less about love, at least so it was in the old days. In this new age,surprisingly, I still believe good genes would win over real love. Maybe it’s an African thing that most African parents don’t consider love as a factor for marriage. It’s widespread believe that the future is most important,the life your children will have and yours as a matter of fact. Aside from money, good jobs, reputation and other things on the marriage list I think good genes have a special place as criteria in most African marriages.
When I say good genes I'm referring to great physical attributes as well as good health history (even extended family) with no regard to emotional health or well-being.
     Love on the other hand cannot necessarily be defined objectively,its a subjective issue.Everyone has a definition for what love is and should be.I once read an article on bellanaija.com on what love shouldn’t be (you should check it out http://www.bellanaija.com/2010/09/08/the-5-things-love-is-not/) and I was really impressed by the topics that were focused on. When you think about what was written you may find that even though you do love this person,your love is incomplete because you’re guilty of one of the things that love shouldn't be. So I wonder,how does one qualify love? 
      I asked a few people which they found more important,love or good genes. Funny enough the ladies said good genes and the guys said love. You would usually expect the opposite answers. So I thought a little more about the topic and why those ladies would go with good genes over love. I realized that the ladies have to make the tough decision about where their children’s futures would lie. We have to be the ones looking out for good genes. Bagging love along with good genes is great victory. We have to watch out for our future families,the work load immensely falls on our shoulders. It's also possible that the guys answered love because it seemed like the more appropriate answer. (i don't know,lol)
      Now here’s why I believe some women cheat. After having to make that tough decision about your future and your children’s,life is more or less what you hoped it would be in relation to this future you were seeking. Your relationship with your children is great and your relationship with your husband as well. You probably have almost all the things on that list (we all have those lists) and you believe that you are happy. One cheerful day you meet this amazing guy who seems to understand you effortlessly and everything about him seems to draw you in. You eventually find that you make up silly excuses just to be able to see him because every time you do, there’s just that overwhelming feeling you get that you just can’t ignore. You eventually find yourself in a compromising situation….cheating. It’s not because your unhappy in your marriage or because things are not working out well for you,it’s because of those feelings you have when you're around him. Deep down you know that the life you envisioned as a bright future is one that won’t come out of these feelings and yes,it takes a really strong woman to walk away from these feelings. I don’t mean to justify women cheating,it’s wrong, but how do you walk away from real passionate love? something you eventually realize you were missing out of from the beginning of your marriage. This is a hypothetical situation and is not necessarily realistic.
So Ladies and Gents ,let’s think again excluding other factors, Love or Good genes?

The Miracle Drug :: Jobelyn

To my surprise and yours if you haven't already heard about this drug, it is produced in Nigeria. The discoverer of the drug Mr. Otunba Olajuwon Okubena started out as a school teacher and later became a chartered accountant. He retired and became a farmer, a full time farmer. According to him,he stumbled on this miracle drug which he proposed could manage HIV/AIDS. I'm sure at some point in time in your life you must have heard about the story of the Nigerian man that found the cure to aids and was rejected in Nigeria so he took his cure to the U.S and they actually listened to him. well, that story happens to be true. The drug was tested and proved fit to the International Congress on Military Medicine in Washington, of which there were 110 member countries. If Nigeria had listened to his claims about the drug being able to manage HIV/AIDS and at least tested the drug we wouldn't need to import Antiretroviral drugs (ARDs) that a lot of aids patients cannot even afford.
    It was interesting to read about the clinical research done in Nigerian universities on lab animals in order to analyze the drug. This miracle drug is an abstract of a tropical plant called Sorghum bicolor. A lot of us are familiar with this drug as herbal extracts from its leaves are used to treat a variety of diseases. The interesting part of it all is that even though this herbal drug has existed i really don't think anyone knew how exactly the drug works. Thank God Mr. Okubena decided to pay special attention to that part. He found that just the extract from the leaves prepared as a concoction cured or at least was enough to manage different disease conditions which to him was unbelievable,so he decided to investigate the drug. Along with his cohorts,he tested the drug on lab mice infected with Tripanosoma brucei, a bacteria that infects blood cells and causes other diseases in animals. When the animals were treated with the drug,they recovered within one week! amazing i tell you. They were finally able to launch the drug into the market in 1998. A lot of sickle cell patients  who used the drug happened to get their blood levels normalized and the frequency of their "crisis" decreased significantly.
    It was discovered that Jobelyn managed a lot of conditions besides sickle cell anemia. It was tested on patients with Diabetes with much success, arthritis with 90% success which i think is a very high rate and also on breast cancer patients with good success. Testing on HIV patients was also conducted at the Military hospital in Lagos. Sixty-four patients divided into three groups, those on only ARDs,those on ARDs and Jobelyn and those on only Jobelyn. The results of the tests were generally positive with CD4 cell counts rising in these patients but those with only Jobelyn had up to 60% increase as the highest increase. This was very surprising to me. From the results of the test,they managed to obtain audience with the International Congress on Military Medicines in the United states. Now the most interesting part of the discoveries made is that Jobelyn so far is the strongest natural antioxidant,even stronger than vitamin C! Antioxidants are life extending since they neutralise what is known as free radicals. Free radicals are harmful substances produced in the body as by products of oxygen utilisation and cause damage to the cells of the body.Antioxidants reduce the damage caused by these free radicals and thus propagate long life.
    Jobelyn is a very powerful drug, but as of now there is no proof that it will CURE HIV/AIDS but it will manage the disease well enough to have a healthy and normal lifestyle. A very promising drug we have here. It is presently in capsule form and it is not only for sick people, perfectly health people can take the drug as well.  This drug brings hope for a cure to one of the deadliest diseases known worldwide.
   

Trip to Gyula

So I woke up at  4:30 this morning and shut off my alarm. In my head, I was grumbling about how I needed more sleep and was at that time willing to forfeit my trip to Gyula for more .I had to remind myself of the warm,green,mineral treated water which feels so good when you sit in it.With that thought, I got up and went to brush my teeth and take a shower. While I was brushing my teeth,I was calculating who to wake up first between Ugo and Ameda. I ran the shower till it was hot whilst  thinking of whom to wake up. Ugo was my choice; knowing she would be the one to take more time to shower. I wouldn’t have been surprised also, if she started shaving her legs! And Guess what? she did start shaving her legs;just not when I expected her to.(Lol!) Anyway, we were ready in less time than i expected and took a taxi to the bus station. We got there 15minutes early! Conquered my goal!To my surprise. (Hehehe bus was at 6am). At the station, while we were waiting,Ugo started painting her nails and Ameda was busy fixing her hair. So I took a few pictures of them. The people at the station kept staring at us.I guess they were amused by our lack of concern for the audience while we went about fixing ourselves up. I said to Ameda and Ugo  "These people must think we’re going to France to be dressing up so nicely". Ugo replied me saying “if France was the destination,I would have been set a long time ago”. We all laughed. Right now we’re seatted in the bus and the three hour trip has begun! This has to be fun :D

An hour and half into the journey, i was in desperate need of a bathroom so I started counting the stops.I  went ahead and checked google translate to make sure I had the correct statement to say to the bus driver seeing as he only spoke hungarian. I memorized my sentence and  kept checking the stops for any place that may have a bathroom.Lo and behold I got lucky because when I couldn’t take it anymore I walked up to the driver ,spat out my memorized statement, he smiled and pointed at a bar and told me to go in there. I all but ran into the place. The lady behind the bar smiled at me kindly as I told her I needed to pee and pointed at the bathroom door. I have to say,it’s been a while since I appreciated being able to pee. That was so relieving. This is probably a gross story but I enjoyed telling it. :D

This has been a very fulfilling day.we got to Gyula at 9:30 and had to walk a bit from where the bus stopped into the Varfurdo as it is called in Hungarian.I could already smell the chlorinated water from outside the doors. 

While we were still outside at the ATM,we were contemplating whether to go on the water slides  and it brought back memories of Hajduszoboszlo. At Hajduszoboszlo, Ugo and I went on a water slide but somewhere along the way Ugo got stuck and couldn’t move. It was a very funny experience. Back to Gyula.We got the full day tickets for students at Gyula Varfurdo which gave us access to basically everything except the medicinal section and also to our dismay the saunas were not available due to construction taking place. 

  small tour train that takes you around the city.

We were certainly excited! We changed rather quickly, and hurried on outside to the baths and pools. The best attraction for us was the family pool which was also a wave pool. When the bell rang, kids and adults literally ran into the pool in anticipation of the waves and that was the first thing we did having surveyed the activities taking place around. It was a GREAT load of fun. Considering the fact that Ugo and Ameda don’t swim,the waves were amazing for them,well for me too :)
When the waves came on they made us feel like we were swimming in the sea. We bounced on the waves giggling like little kids.What a nice feeling!

cheeeeeesssseeeee!

Next we wanted  the water slides. May I say this was Ugo’s suggestion before proceeding. I ran back to get my camera while Ugo and Ameda marched on to the slides. When I got back, they were standing at a corner. I asked them who was going to do the slide so I could take pictures but they were both scared and trying to convince each other to go on before the other.(lol). Eventually, I went with Ameda to the bigger slide and when it got to to my turn,man! was i scared too but i just pushed myself onto the slide to maintain face.Ameda somehow found the courage to go on the slide after asking me to catch her once she lands and she liked it. Then it came to Ugo's turn, Ameda even agreed to go with her .Ameda slid down and Ugo put one leg into the water and held the bar,then turned around and ran away.she chickened out of it! Not all that surprising though. She needed someone to literally push her onto the slide lool!

there's Ugo...already planning how to run away lol.

I got hungry and we all decided to eat. We went inside and got some money. We ordered chicken and chips and fish and chips from the small restaurant and bar close to the thermal baths. We sat down  and talked while we waited for the food. Food finally arrived and it smelled good. To be honest,it didn’t taste at all like it smelt. The fish, in my opinion, was okay but it was not to Ugo’s mind and Ameda doesn’t like fish period! The Chips were soggy and the oil didn’t taste right. I took a lot of something that was supposed to be fresh pepper for the fish but it tasted more like fresh salt paste. As uncool as that meal was,we ate it all,more precisely, I ate it all.
Next on the list, the thermal waters. Nnnhhhhmmmm is all I can say! We hopped from one bath to the next which had different temperatures and mineral treatments! Felt great!

At 2pm we were completely exhausted and decided to leave. The warm temperature of the water leaves you feeling sleepy and completely relaxed. This was definitely one hell of an awesome day! Still sleepy.

So we are just sitting and chilling and an old man comes up to take pictures of ducks and Ugo says,”why is he wasting a Canon on ducks when he should have a fuji or something cheaper”.(Lol) He turns to us and asks if he can take a picture of us ,so we smile for the camera! We realised that there weren’t many black people in Gyula ,unlike Debrecen and the people here were really nice to us. Ameda now says “if it were Debrecen, the bus driver will even lock your hand with the door” (LOL) soo hilarious! Man! Good times with these girls! Amazing people I tell you!