things are looking UP!

Through Which Eyes

Yestada i was pretty depressed.
And u know the thing about depressing situations...the more u think about it, the worse things seem to get...and u end up thinking you are in a worse position than u are.

It takes seeing through a different perspective to see the positive....to appreciate how far you have come...to recognize that you are actually blessed beyond doubt...to come to the terms with the fact that you've got an assured future....to cast off the short term circumstantial mess that has dampened your spirit...and yes it takes some almost unexplainable act of God to wake up the next day and find yourself joyful and peaceful and to see your challenges for what they really are....tiny temporary rubbles that seek to blurr your vision.

Thanks for all your comments...i have always believed i had the best friends and family in the world!

2008

its been such a long time since i posted....
Well a lot has happened....
BUt its a new year again..that time when optimism and realism battle it out real hard..
I am glad and really grateful to God for last year..some very trying moments...some very memorable moments...and a lotta friends i appreciate...

the new year has started full swing for me...
I have some major goals this year...
i have also changed church cos i feel its the right thing to do currently...
Lets see whr God takes me...
will be in touch!!

time out 07

This week i was able to take time out to a lotta new stuff.
I went to an art gallery on Tuesday and i was impressed at seeing so many foreigners and students who come to see a picassso painting and immediately begin drawing it in hopes of catching the picasso inspiration/spirit. Some of the students were really young. There were some very contemporary paintings by young africans that spoke volumes about war, tension, modernisation...



Then i went bowling today...dint know i was that good lol... Thoroughly enjoyed myself since bowling was followed by buffet and it was all paid for by a gud fren.
December feels good..december has always felt good as long as i can remember...i can only look back and be extremely grateful at how much God has done this year.

I remember last year, i could only wonder what this year would be like..and i kept thinking, "God pls dun make 2007 like 2006"..in many ways this year i have had to face bigger challenges but i feel i am so much stronger and mature that i have learned to let God deal with the abstract.

American Gangstar

Waited in eager expectation to see this movie and i was delighted when i visited a friend yestada, only to find the dvd was available so i immediately feasted on it and i was not dissappointed.

Even for Denzel Washington, it was always going to be difficult to play Frank Lucas but he did not dissappoint. Very good piece of acting there.
But in truth, this movie was another Blow, Scarface, Godfather if you like.Pity we have to see the same story evolve in diff lives over and over again but hey, if you like those earlier movies, you'd like this epic too.

Popstar

Exams are finished.
I mean finished finished finished! theres only a half done project to go and i've got till march so as u can guess, i am super relieved.

The new Nickelback song, 'Rockstar' has got to be my favourite song for 2007. I think its a perfect satire about the absurdity of today's city life. So i am embedding the original video.



There's a modified version which i like here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uSlqI1AVUk

South African for a day

Rugby is not my sport BUT It was so much fun watching South Africa defeat England in the finals of the Rugby World Cup.
I actually felt like a South African, at least for the 2 hrs or so not least cos of the anthems of "O God bless our native Africa", even the famous Lady Smith Mmambazo did a rendition for the South African national team.

Sports aside, i was thinking a few weeks ago of actually taking stock of this year, to see if i met my goals or if i have made the most of the year (at least in the areas where i din't have any meaningful goals.)

But then i remember how sports matches can change in the last minute because the crucial goal was scored in the dying seconds...so i'll wait till December cos i believe the very best is still ahead. The year seems to have flew on very fast..not that i mind though.

freaked out:

1.what freaks me out: Preachers who claim to be men of God and are leading thousands astray with false teachings.

2. what annoys me: the fact that we christians do not read our bibles, cannot tell left from right and are so easily gullible. Its like we forget to bring our brains to church or something.

3.what scares me: how good this false teachers are. Extremely likeable, very eloquent and use scriptures to back up their heresies.

4.what i am trying to understand? how did it get to this? when did it get so bad? How did we become this gullible?

whats up Michael?

I started the new job officially yestada. Well i must say its much more fun than my previous job (couldn't resist taking a swipe at my old employeres at inti lol).

Will be going for a seminar this weekend...the kind i used to pay for myself except this time, the company is paying. Now i am really enjoying London and will most likely postpone my trip to Nigeria from november to december....funny what a lil bit of money can do to a man huh?

School might suffer a bit but hey....who am i to complain lol? I guess i cannot thank God enough.

I was reading proverbs 31 today about the virtous woman...how she is kind, diligent, makes sure everyone in her home is catered for, her husband and children bless her...how the thrust of her being comes from the fear of the Lord. The bible says women like that are rare so i prayed...."God pls make my wife like that."

Thank you lord!

Its been a while since i updated.
Actually its been ages
Sorry to everyone who came round to read about my birthday over and over again ..dun worry this is one of my longest entires yet lol.
Thanks a lot for all the wishes though..i felt so loved..still feel so

A lots happened since...in my life and in yours so lets cut to the chase
Yay!!!! I got a job
This was God's favour...
If you dun believe in God's favour, lemme tell you what it feels like
On Monday, i was going for a job interview
I was almost as good as dead broke
I had 5 pounds in cash and 1.97 pounds in my bank account (yeah thats one pound, ninety seven pence)
I bought a train ticket for 3.9 pounds, arrived at the penultimate stop and realised that i needed extra 40p cos the next bus was 1.50 pounds.
I cannot withdraw from my acct cos no atm spills out 1.97 pounds lol.
At this stage, i am not even thinking of how i will come back yet.
I said to God, "you gotta help me here.......whats all this about?"
God says, "I jus want you to know the value of a penny so that when the money comes you'll be wise about it."
I'm like.."yeah right, can you at least help me out with the extra 40p?"
I look around the floor, maybe i will see a magical 40p, your guess is as good as mine...nobody leaves a 40p on the floor in london lol.
Eventually i ask a fellow at the bus stop if he can help me with 40p, he's a nice guy but has NO coins...he says. "Tough life"
I walk around again and again, then i go back to the bus stop and ask this dude if he can help me with 40p..turns out he's got loads of coins so he helps me out Yay!!!!!

I arrive at the interview venue laughing at myself as i dun even know how i will go back.
My interviewer says, "Where's you cv?"
(Now i did not bring the cv cos i could not print it out within the short notice)
On realising this, the manager goes, "you wouldn't be having this interview today, how can you come without your cv?"
On hearing this, i am freaking out and thinking, "How can i not have this interview that i just spent my last money on coming here?"
Cut the long story short, miraculously i got the job and i also got some money from the CEO. He asked me to use it for my transport. I later got another money gift that day, i added it to the CEO's gift and i paid rent hahahahaha. So much for transport.

In any case, the job starts officially on Monday and its as an assistant investment analyst. And i am just so grateful to God.
I would have taken a job flipping burgers but i got a dream job by my own standards..its in my field and its what i love to do.

Ts been a pretty fulfilling week...i serve a living God.

This is my now!

There was a time I packed my dreams away.
Living in a shell, hiding from myself.

There was a time when I was so afraid.
I thought I'd reached the end,
But baby that was then
I am made of more than my yesterdays.

This is my now, and I am breathing in the moment.
As I look around
I can't believe the love I see.
My fears behind me, gone are the shadows and doubt
That was then, this is my now.





Ok....its my birthday!!!!...
and i am extremely grateful to God for what has been, what is being and what will be

The way of the planet

Do you ever go through times when you really need someone to talk to but no-one seems to be around? Last weekend was like that for me. I really just felt like talking to someone, talking to a friend, other than pc chatting or internet surfing. I mean i wanted to hear the voice of a living being.
I called my friends in London and for some reason none of them picked up their phones and no returned calls all weekend. I made international calls...even my mum did not pick her phone. The other numbers would not even go thru. All at the same time

Today, a text message from a fren in Malaysia woke me up, btw then and now i have had so many calls from literally everywhere. All those ppl and more all calling within the space of about an hour. Its as if today was my birthday of some sorts. i din't wanna blog but i js got a call few mins ago again. That makes me think...How does this world work? These ppl do not even know each other and it is at worst a pleasant co-incidence and at best God telling me something.

Letting OUT

Well...there's been a lot thats been going on recently...in my mind...in the world and this post is just a major rant on several issues.

1. BLESSED
Well this week is just blessed. i feel like i have risen. I have been recieving practical answers from God on issues that have been bothering me for a while. I believe its God's mercies. I also know its not unconnected to my brothers n sisters al over the world. Lanre sent me the dvd of Dr Jonathan n Pastor Bakare last friday and i have been immersed in that. when i got it, it was in a brown envelope and my name was spelt "Micheal (its supposed to be Michael)" ...and it was put in a batman PS2 casing so i knew it had to be from a NIgerian dude hahax...well i am so grateful. The right word of God is LIFE to me!!!

2. Manchester United Sign 9 yr old wonder boy
Well when i read this i thot...there they go again...public relations campaign and all but after watching the video below, this 9 yr old kid will become a genius soccer player as long he doesnt have any prolonged injuries or attitude crisis. And guess what, this boy's dad send a dvd of his skills to Manchester United, and the club have signed him to their academy. This boy's video has been viewed on youtube close to a million times...i should try posting a video of myself on youtube too, as soon as i can figure out what i am good at doing lol



3. MONEY Still Talks
Now this is about Rupert Murdoch, the much-hated Capitalist who made a fortune on myspace. No, he did not build myspace, be bought it cheap. He also owns most of the newspapers in the world with naked girls on the front page...well, yes He does and thats what we live with over here. We all probably recieve information from Mr Murdoch's empire one way or the other. Either its American idol (fox tv) or the sun or a newspaper in new york or just plain myspace so He's pretty big.
He has been trying to buy Dow-Jones, publisher of Wall Street Journal for about 3 months...he offered 65% premium to shareholders. Majority of Dow Jones is owned by the Bancroft family...a family with a very complex family tree...owners include cousins, brothers, sisters et al. The family at a point vowed not to sell their beloved newspaper with all its legacies to this Capitalist monster, arguing that He would compromise the integrity of the paper. employees, readers, owners...it seemed nobody wanted Mr Murdoch to take over.
i have watched this develoment carefully over the last 3 months and with keen interest been captivated as brothers fought sisters...cousins fought grandparents. Eventually mo than half of the family decided to sell...because at the end of the day..its America and the $$$$ count for more than a dead great granny who left a legacy. Hmmm Interesting.




Mr Murdoch has been married 5 times but i dunno how much that counts for these days..

____________________________________________________________________________________
4. DMX---Lord Give Me A Sign
Well i came across this video by DMX on youtube. Sometime ago, I heard he had become a christian but dint know too much.
I remember in 1999, DMX to me then was the ultimate symbol of a soul that looked God in the eye and said NO. i was crazy at the time too and i loved DMX for it.
Well times change, it seems today He's humble, surrendering and saying YES to God. I am crazier today than i was in 1999 and i love DMX even more for this. cheers Bro


____________________________________________________________________________________

5. The Human Stock Exchange (7 for 1)
I need the help of basketball fans here. Celtic bought Kevin Garnett (10-time NBA all star player) from Minnesota in exchange for 7 players...yes the numbers are real and the figures have not been made up. Pls someone explain this to me in simple english.

What the Bombs could NOt take away

Question: What is it this time...Manchester United?
Answer: No...its he Iraqi National Football Team

Question: So Iraq has a national football team eh?
Answer: Not just that, they won the Asian Cup yestada beating Saudi Arabia 1-0

Question: NO...is it just like a middle east cup or something? Are u sure its soccer you are talking about?
Answer: This was the Asian cup in Jakarta, Indonesia with participants including Japan, Australia, Malaysia etc.

Question: Wow...how did they do it?
Answer: Thats what everybody in the world is wondering. The team included players from Sunni, Shitte and Kurdish tribes. None of the players was untouched by the war. Its the soccer story of the year. Though its not exactly a happy camp going back

Question: Why is it not a happy camp?
Answer: Well there is no camp going back. Mahmoud, who was named best player of the tournament, said one of the tragedies of the war was that the team would not even be able to return to Iraq with the trophy.

'I wish we could go, but you just don't know who will kill you,' he said.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Well...its inspiring to know that these warring tribes can play together in a team and win a major tournament.

2 Ponderables

...Burj Dubai..under construction


...................................


...Taipei 101



................................

Number 1
I remember watching Superman/Smallville...and in one episode Clark's father tells the young superman honestly, "Son, no matter how strong you are, there will always be someone stronger than you."
With the exception of God, and while limiting the context to this world, "there will always be a bigger, better, faster, taller, more beautiful, richer". If you doubt, just ask Bill Gates..now he's no 2 richest. But more interesting is the new world's tallest building...the burj Dubai which is taller than the one in Taiwan, which was taller than the one in China, which was taller than The famous Twin towers in Malaysia, which was taller than the ones Osama blew off in 2001 in New York. Interestingly, after being acclaimed as the new world's tallest, the chairman of the developing company then issues this statement, "Its a fact of life, someone will build something taller than yours at some point". Quite profound.. I doubt if the tower of Babel would have come close to any of these four buildings i have posted.


...Jimao Building, China

................................

...the twin towers in Malaysia...(thats me n Oguchi)

..........................



Number 2
Pls take a very good look at this moron below:



..........................

this criminal was a governor of Taraba state, Nigeria up until a few months ago. Name is Reverend Jolly Nyame. Well on investigations of corruption, His Highness, this so-called reverend actually confesses to looting/stealing over 2.25 billion naira (well over 18.75 million US dollars ) of his people's money. He hopes that by confessing, he may just be forgiven. What did he spend the money on? well just a few aircrafts and other things he cannot remember....maybe we shld play nice and be good christians and forgive our dear Reverend...yeah right!!! No way! This crook should be dealt the highest punishment possible to serve as an example to the others. Yes there are many others, but we are happy to deal with this son of a *** first. Sorry Rev, appeal rejected. Read full story here
Geaorge Bush wouldnt dare go this low, neither would Abdullah Badawai or Tony Blair or GB so u guys (non-Nigerians)...ur leaders could be a lot worse

a sparK of newNess

Breadth of Fresh Air
I feel like i'll be the one throwing some deadly blows pretty soon. Well i am in much better shape.. feel like a breath of fresh air. i am exactly sure why... maybe its cause i spoke to mum this afternoon and we had a couple of really good laughs...or maybe it was the odd call to my broker...or oguchi's call or ..the other calls...or your comments [ayoks, MunK, Princessa, FO, Jeff], sure felt good to hear sheep in a bright mood or maybe it was a lil bit of everything. God knows there are some battles where the strength we draw from others carries us a long way. Thats y He brings those ppl into our lives. Well i feel very close to a million dollars now. Getting close to my contagiously joyful self again


OOps
Well i missed church again today. I really wanted to go especially since i missed it 2 weeks in a row (now 3). Can't remember the last time i went on such a long honeymoon. Its a long story but they are the usual excuses...exams...then woke up late...then met up wif a fren i havent seen for ages...went for dinner, transformers...woke up late or rather went to bed late. I'll be the first on tuesday evening prayer meeting tho...ts my favourite service and i can't wait. Btw i am currently studying 1st Corinthians and i was struck by Paul's humility in Chapter 4 when the man says "my conscience is clear but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me" Its weird cos theres a general feeling that if your conscience is clear, u'r innocent, which is not entirely wrong but the catch here is the man's humility towards the only One who can truly judge.

Transformers vs ShawShank
Well, Transformers was animated, flashy, action packed, full of effects but it din't win me over. Story seemed patchy at best. I enjoyed the comedic parts tho...the indian call center, robotic humour et al.



I did watch ShawShank Redemption this weekend too...bought the DVD. This is an old film, i think early 90's cos i was in high schl when it came out. Its a beautiful story of HOPE and it obviously was the blueprint for Prison Break. if u have not seen this movie, pls watch..its a thrill and it delivers as it voyages round hoping against hope and the human search and ability to deal with freedom.
And while u are at that, the book, "the Burden of Freedom" by Myles Munroe is a good read anyday, in the same line. Its one of those books Myles wrote when he still used to write in simple language. In a scene in Shawshank, Morgan freeman finally lives jail and gets a job. The following dialogue ensues between Morgan Freman and his boss:
Morgan: Boss, can i take a break to piss?
Boss: (waves Morgan to come closer so no-one can hear)"You don't have to take permission from me everytime you wanna take a piss?"
Morgan: (speaks to himself) "For 40 years i have taken permission to piss"

The point is that freedom comes with responsibility, with choice..what we do with our freedom in Christ determines our destiny. Nobody bosses you around anymo or chains you with bondages, depression or whatever issues. But now, we have a responsibility of how to handle the new found freedom...what we do with our lives....

Have a splendid week!!

Fighting Still

Growing up, i loved action movies, loved watching fight scenes, boxing martial art and all those adrenalin pumping rocky, no retreat no surrender, ninjamania and schwarzenger's conan. Funny thing tho i never for one second liked the idea of fighting myself. I was not scared of losing but i always thot of the cost. if i fought a guy and won, he probably would still hit me a few times and i could still be significantly injured. growing up reinforced the idea in me cos boys that couldnt fight would fight dirty. They'd break a bottle on your head.

So why am i talking about fighting. Well this stage of myself can best be summarised as " Fighting ". Its no doubt tough and i have been getting knocked around quite a while in the last few days. Not literally though. i am going through the fights of life that define you. I know i will not lose but i am scared i'll end up really wounded. I need to condition myself, trust His Love more, move in faith, step up one more level but its easier said than done. Just like a boxer, even when i am down, i know its not over yet as long as i get up one more time.

Am i bruised? yes
Am i feeling the pain of the blows? yes
Is my adversary strong? of course
Then why am i not out of the contest? Because i know that defeat comes when i resign and give up. As long as i am hanging in there, there's a chance His Love will bring the victory. I remember friends, brothers, sisters, memories, scriptures, experiences and i try to draw hope against hope that somehow victory will be mine. I sure could use a prayer.


On a Lighter Note
Thankfully i will always have time for a good laugh so here we go:
Mr Al Gore, the US president-reject turned grammy winning environmentalist who preaches the gospel of saving the planet, animals, environment, plants (everything except saving humans) shocked us all yesterday. The man who won a grammy for asking us to eat less, drink less, use smaller cars, dress down, live in darkness, shop and dun take packages, recycle our can drinks, become a vegetarian or just plainly fast as much as possible did not practice what he preached. The lust of the erm..environment we shall call it.
At his daughter's wedding party, the Chilean sea fish was served. This fish is one of the most endangered in the world. So how did Reverend Gore become a carnivore?
Well you can't have them all. The family tried to keep the event green (environmentally friendly) as possible putting non-endangered species on the menu. Somewhere someone overlooked this fish or maybe it was just asking too much of a man's appetite. Read the article here

Here we go

I was tagged by Jeff shortly before my exams ended, now is time to pay it forward.
Here are the rules of the Crazy Eights meme:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.


Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.




8 THINGS YOU Don't Know ABOUT ME (ER..you probably know 1 or 2 lol)

1. My first name really should be Junior by Nigerian standards (thankfully its not)

2. I have seen more cities and towns in Malaysia than Nigeria (even tho i only spent four yrs in Malaysia compared to about twenty in Nigeria)

3. I used to be a chained smoker. I made a deal with God in 2001, "i will quit smoking if you make me pass this terrible PHY101 exam". God kept his part of the bargain and i kept mine lol.

4. I started acting dramas in church at the age of 6

5. Presently, my favourite song is This is my now...by Jordin Sparks.
p.s. its playing now

6. I am a big..big fan of both George Bush and Tony Blair (there have been much worse leaders in history + George has a spine + Tony never loses)

7. i am from a small town in Ogun State, Nigeria called Sagamu and i love it there... (i'll usually listen to Carrie Underwood's "I aint in checotah (sagamu) anymore" to reminisce)

8. I really thot this list of 8 was never gonna end....

_______________________________________________________________________________

Tags: i am tagging a few pple whom i have been reading their blogs silently for a while. Here we go


1. Priscilla

2. Jolyn

3. Chris

4. Princess

5. Funmi

6. Aaron

7. Alvin

8. Valentine

Time to pay it forward

Almost There

Exams have been much better than i expected. That was such a blessing. Considering my Tennis-styled exam preparations, the first 3 papers i took were really good (din't think i was gonna say that hehe).
i have got one more to go tomoro...hope the streak continues

Spoke to parents yestada, turns out dad had to go for surgery on saturday. Mum was tellin me the name of the symptom/condition/case but i frankly have no idea (u know what medical conditions sound like). I was quite pleased to learn that dad's ok now, surgery went well. i spoke to him, his new car is also here. My God knows all and is strong enough to keep my folks hail, healthy and hearty.

I have been thinkin a lot about hope the past 3 days. I remember situations in my life (not too long ago) when i felt hopeless but today its a whole different story. Hopelessness is real, you have to look no further than rates of depression and suicide. You begin to get the feeling that that's it, you can't make it, you'r stuck, dreams are crushed, its like u loose the will to live. But the joy of the Lord can swallow all hopelessness.

With Jesus, there is always always a case for hope. You just have to think about the last time you were in trouble and thought you wouldn't make it through BUT you made it through somehow and today you probably have forgotten the ordeal.

On a lighter note, i got tagged by Jeff whose blog is quite interesting(http://psychosomaticwit.blogspot.com/) so my next post is 8 random habits/facts about myself...and i will be taggin some unfortunate bloogers.

a case for hope

"within each of us lies a storm
Some believe it will never end
But he who has faith in the heavens
will weather any storm".....R. Kelly

How true