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Out here, they say summer lasts one day, and no its not Midsummer’s day. That claim - entirely anecdotal mind you - has been made with surprising regularity by quite a few of the cab drivers I have had the opportunity to chat with while commuting to work. One cab driver even offered a quasi-scientific explanation, the town is surrounded by highlands on one side and the North Sea on the other which explains the bi-polar behaviour of the weather. Yesterday it was a windy 8 degrees, the day before a summery 14 degrees, today its rained bucket loads of water. The locals have quit bothering - they merely shrug and quiescently suggest tomorrow will be a better day. ...

It is the age of the internet - email, Facebook, Twitter, Hi5, MySpace, Instant Messaging and even SMS have contrived to depersonalize our communication. These days, my default mode of communication is electronic. I often reach first to my twitter account to send a direct message (DM) to my closest buddies, or then an email - and shock of all shocks - a phone call as a last resort. Growing up, hand written notes were the apogee of communication, especially between guys and girls. We went to great lengths to procure the right paper, practiced our cursive hand writing and parodied the writings of the likes of Shakespeare to present the right impression. ...

What I need to do to have had a successful year….. Deliver an updated website for the Church Media Team Complete my 2010 reading list Deliver my two ‘main’ work projects for the year Visit my H-town peep.. Not too much to ask I guess!!!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLGlMbi7w3g] via @GoodPlanet

This week I: Learned that I’m still irritated by text speak and mixed up grammar - when I am not the one dishing them out. Having a supposedly ‘serious’ conversation with someone highlighted this very clearly to me. Learned that the expression ‘appearances are deceptive’ may sound cliche but it can be really true. I have just had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine which segued into territory I never knew she had loads of experience in. Finally got to cross out one more book from my reading list. Kite Runner was sad, engaging and provided an insight into the Afghanistan situation - almost Chris Abani-ish. I loved the hint of redemption in the final scenes. Received a non work related handwritten note for the first time in close to six or seven years, on scented paper no less. The hand writing was horrible, but the gesture was well appreciated by me. Became an Uncle, then a God father twice - all within three days of each other. My littlest sister, and two very close friends all conspired to deliver babies within three days of each other, and my birthday. None of them shares the day with me though. Talk about bad timing! Saw new evidence that convinces me I live in my head - which is well insulated from the world. I went another week without getting angry, happy, sad or feeling any other strong emotion.I think I need for someone to get under my skin enough to make me exhibit strong emotions. That would convince me I am still connected to the world and not in my own cocoon. Got assigned a fancy new title at work - its one of those ones that is as long as your arm, but means absolutely nothing to my pay packet. Tsk! Tsk! Watched two interesting TED Talks - Dan Cobley on What physics can teach us about marketing and Ethan Zuckerman on Listening to Global voices. Acted totally out of character and reached out to someone I would never ever have connected with previously - oh and it was truly altruistic.. at least in my head. Averaged three and a half hours of sleep per night all week - so not good! Off to the comfort of my duvet now.. :)

I registered for the City’s Learn to Swim program - today was the D-day, Day One of the training sessions. Considering it was my first time in the pool for a long time, and I retain an almost pathological fear for water, I think I did ok. Granted I swallowed a fear gulps of the pool water, filled my ears with it, and generally made a nuisance of myself. There are positives though- I am certainly not the worst of my batch, there are a few other Nigerians to alleviate any feeling of lostness, and the instructor adds a whole new dimension to the definition of hilarious. The one downside is there are no beautiful women- just flat chested, keg bellied blokes like yours truly. ...

They say life is about simple pleasures - everyday things which we are wont to make light of - which taken together serve to generate an ambience of normalcy around us. Each week, I will attempt to identify one simple thing I have grown to delight in… from my otherwise uninteresting life. When the subject of music, and my taste with regards to it comes up, I always declare unequivocally that my taste is eccletic. In the past week for instance, I have listened to Eminem, Donnie McClurkin, the Backstreet Boys, Kenny G and today Heather Headley. ...

I’m finding myself increasingly enchanted by The Script…. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLJv57zE2To]

To new beginnings… and hope that when tomorrow comes the sun will shine… Selah..

The Script’s Break Even just came on the radio, and as usual it brought back memories. In the main they are somewhat pleasant memories, even though the lyrics to the song are particularly sad. Capital FM played the song ad nauseum last summer, and in a way it became the signature tune for that summer of my life - blighted by so many could haves and would have s. Summer started ok; my days being filled with the boringly mind numbing task of completing my dissertation. In between, I threw in attending a wedding across the Atlantic in Houston, planning my move back to my old Nigerian job and being very good friends with TheB. Capital FM was my constant companion at the time, as I stayed awake into the wee hours of the morning slogging things out. In an uncanny way, it seemed the song became a self fulfilling prophecy - Bisi and I never progressed beyond the friends zone, the Nigerian job fell through, and I missed a first on my degree…. ...