It’s That Most Wonderful Time of the Year…

What’s really good people?

Yes; by now many of you have made quite possibly 6-8 trips to the kitchen stuffing your faces into several servings of turkey, macaroni & cheese, cranberry sauce and some of that good sweet potato pie. Go ahead; loosen up that belt buckle, kick-back and try convincing yourselves of that master plan to burn all the calories you just devoured by starting another failed attempt of the P90X series. LMAO!

Ok people; let me get focused…

So today being Black Friday in America represents the first official day of the Holiday MADNESS. Heading to the gym this morning for a workout, the entire roads and parking lots were jammed packed. All am thinking is people are out in the gym getting their sexy on after experiencing some guilt with their Thanksgiving feast RIGHT? NO! The cars in the full parking lot represented all the holiday shoppers who just swore up & down Xmas was now moved up on the calendar to November and just had to finish their shopping before the department stores run out of goods for consumption. SMH! Now if you are one of these people or know any of these nonsensical humans or camp outside a store overnight just to buy some over publicized “LIMITED” or “EXCLUSIVE” holiday item then yup you guessed it; You are SUPA-STUPID!

Note: My homeboy “T” made a great point today; ever noticed that the department stores or local businesses never have the items you actually want on sale? The BIG Discounts promised are always on products that have little to no importance on the long wish-list you carry around with you leading up to Xmas.  It’s a ploy to get you in there establishment to move out all the dead items on their shelves for months prior to the holidays.

Now for many Nigerians not raised or entrenched by this North American tradition, the first week of December typically represents the time period when chaos and the mad scramble begins in preparing and making arrangements for their much awaited reunion with family and loved ones. Who remembers their first trip back to Nigeria after leaving for many years? It is always a double edge sword somehow; everybody in Nigeria is thrilled and excited awaiting your return while many of the travelers can at times dread the reception to come. This is the bottom line: when it comes to the holidays and traveling; people love to do business with Nigerians and they have no issue with how we make our money. F***kin HYPOCRITES.

Airline Carriers – I would love to see a study conducted on Nigerians that examines how much we spend annually on TRAVEL. Seriously; WE are in every International airport imaginable this time of year with our standard 6 pieces of luggage (a very conservative count), sporting an oversized winter coat for that harsh Nigerian winter to come,  loud as ever and unfortunately some of us carrying around a very bad case of body odor on that long plane ride. The irony of all this is from my vantage point is that the holiday season because of the mega business Nigerians generate for these airline carriers is the only time we are treated with some level of customer service that can be best described as barely passing.

Shopping – Well documented in my forum here on my blogspot (www.myomonaija.blogspot.com) and other outlets is our affinity as Nigerians for aggrandizement and buying without limits. The Nigerian mentality is “the BIGGER the Cost the BIGGER the Statement”. Unfortunately, this is one of the most backwards things about my people that continue to stunt our development not only as a community but as a nation. Forget thought, the pressures of a visit to Nigeria only compounds this issue more as people typically only equate your love and affection towards them by what they deem to be a gift of affluence.

The reality of it all is that by the time a perspective traveler has purchased his/her airfare, spend loads of money on gifts and treats to share with loved ones and escaped the bills and cost of living outside of Nigeria, there is very little left to spend on him/herself during the visit. What is suppose to be a vacation, some quality Rest & Recovery time becomes unbearable and all you can do is just count down the days before your departure. But guess what; NOBODY I know in Nigeria cares nor will they be interested about your efforts and the hard work you put in to ensure that you were thinking of them prior to your arrival.   

Everyday is a Holiday…

GIVING THANKS THIS THANKSGIVING

What’s Really Good People?

You know they say tough times don’t last; only tough people do… So with that in mind I know that the best is yet to come. Am stronger today than I was yesterday and with all the love & support in my corner “I 2 Shall Rise”. It is so fitting that a major holiday has now sprung upon us and what do you know, it’s commonly referred to as THANKSGIVING. You ready? Let's Go!

Ok people; let me get focused…

By far the one and only holiday I care to celebrate every year is THANKSGIVING. Yes; every calendar year on the fourth Thursday in November people all over in the United States are making plans for travel, getting their appetites ready and preparing for an entire day of American football. First; we get it in during pick-up games at a local park or neighboring school and then leave it to the professionals in the National Football League (NFL) to take over starting around 12pm. You know something is a BIG DEAL in America when everything SHUTS-DOWN the day before as government agencies, schools and local businesses start closing or perform their early dismissals.

THANKSGIVING is the closest and next best thing to the annual Eid Muslim Holiday celebrations I grew up on back home in Nigeria with my family and community. I mean as a kid, there was nothing like the anticipation of Eid. The pursuit of securing the toughest Ram that was willing to compete and battle an entire block or neighborhood full of Rams and win the title of last Ram standing always thrilled and won some type of informal honor that many of us looked forward to. Then going to the local salon to get that photo-shoot fresh haircut to go with a brand new outfit as my siblings and I would coordinate everything from shoes, jewelry and accessories always made the kid in you feel like a million bucks. And then came the food, I mean mo food & some mo food… It typically mirrors the festivities many Americans part-take in every spring during EASTER and fall at THANKSGIVING.   

Unlike many of the flippant, commercialized Hallmark holidays created and celebrated in the western world for the sake of CAPITALISM and boosting a dying economy, THANKSGIVING represents the core values and characteristics dear to me such as family, food, entertainment and sleep. And there is not one person alive that can say that they have survived a good THANKSGIVING meal without catching the infamous iDas. Gone is the competition to overspend to prove one’s worth, adults acting like children and fighting over goods at local department stores, people camping outside stores at 5am in order to get their hands on the hot new purchase of the season (iPad, iPhone, iNuffin); a sea of traffic and madness at the local malls, etc... And with THANKSGIVING there is no need to run around for months in advance looking to buy that perfect gift and overspend just to have the recipient look at you like “That’s it”?

So to my immediate family and friends and to my entire “My Omo Naija” family, supporters and viewers I want to wish you all an early HAPPY THANKSGIVING. And for those that may feel that they don’t have very much to be thankful for, I leave you with quote from Winston Churchill that always rings TRUE in my world – “If you going through hell; KEEP GOING”.

I only wish that our THAKSGIVING celebration lasted 3 days like the first one did when the Plymouth Pilgrims first introduced this great tradition to the world. Oh; let’s not forget the Native Americans…

Gobble Gobble!

Why Do People Get Flowers When They Can’t Smell Them?

What’s Really Good People???

Yo; I gotta get this off my chest real quick people…

Your man “P” was minding his bin-ness the other day like I usually do, kicking it with my big homie “Mal” when I came across a Shark aka a Bitin’ a** n***a. I had seen on my twitter feed that someone LITERALLY reposted one of my blogs word for word, verbatim without checking or asking for consent. WTF!!! “I mean where dey do dat @????” For real; I am all about bridging the gap, learning and sharing with others. But as a warning; THE NEXT CAT I SEEN VIOLATING WILL GET VIOLATED”. And I will most certainly Did it On Em’… I do this for you all. This is your blogspot; so now back to what we do best – TRUTH.

Ok people; let me get focused…  

This past week a good friend of mine experienced a horrific tragedy that led to the passing away of two young boys in an automobile accident. Then another three people I grew up watching and listening to in sports and music passed away; RIP to Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes, boxer “Smoking” Joe Frazier and rapper “The Overweight Lover” Heavy D all went on to greener pastures. To me this unfortunately is becoming a reality and a direct consequence as part of aging, as you grow older this becomes more and more common place so no big deal. RIGHT? But I then thought about a great Kanye West line when he said; “people never get the flowers while the can still smell em’. Can I get a Kay Slay aka “Drama King” DAMMMMMN! This indeed is so true.

For the longest time now; death and people passing away have always been a precarious matter for me to tackle. I think I have gotten better over the years but it is still an area that requires a lot of work on my part. But back to discussing the flowers and what they symbolize to people in their time of bereavement or mourning. It is widely accepted and believed that flowers play a functional role during funerals and serve an emotional element that represents LOSS. Some deem it comforting and warmth at this very cold period on the body’s soul. Others look at it as a means to brighten up a somber environment or a temporary diversion from all the grief and suffering.

In putting together this post; I came across in my research that different flowers have different meanings and that there is a Language of Flowers. Basically; flowers and floral arrangements are often used to send hidden messages. Some represent passion, romance, virtue, friendship, respect, purity and hope.

But please be mindful that those same flowers too have a shelf life. Some argue that flowers are not appropriate due to the nature that they too die and that could lead to the bereaved revisiting their personal death all over again. It should and may serve a bigger purpose to a loved one if/when we make the time to commemorate their contributions while still full of life. So however you choose to arrange and handle your affairs at a time of loss; always remember “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

Show Some Love…

YOUR PERCEPTION IS MY REALITY

What’s really good people???

We already into the first week of November? WOW! The weather outside is starting to get colder and colder so almost time to start bringing out my colorful Cosby sweaters. SWAGGIN! By now you all know the trending topic of the week is about a particular “Attention Whore” who filed for divorce and made a sham of what most women consider the single most important experience in their lifetime outside of giving birth. Let me leave that alone and get to something a little more important to talk about, can’t be wasting my energy on things meaningless in my world.

Ok people; Let me get focused…

“Everything you see or hear or experience in any way at all is specific to you. You create a universe by perceiving it, so everything in the universe you perceive is specific to you”… Douglas Adams

Earlier this week, I was heading into the city for work in my car when I came across something that at one point or another many people of color (BLACK MEN), have experienced or will experience in their lifetime. It was a cold, wet and nasty morning commute. So I know for a fact nobody wants to be standing outside all day if he/she can avoid it. In front of me at a traffic light was a taxi unoccupied. How do I know? The light was on and here in America; if the light of a taxi is on, that generally means the driver is looking for a customer. Therefore, it is expected that patrons will try to flag it down or rush to grab it before someone else takes it.  If the light is off, the taxi is not looking for a customer, so you can safely ignore it.

So you all know what happened next RIGHT?

You see what had happened was…… As the traffic light turned green and the taxi proceeded to move forward, an African American male dressed in a heavy black coat in his early to mid 20s right in front of us tried to flag the cab down but to no avail as the driver just sped up with the quickness. More disappointing however; was how the taxi driver within a block’s distance of snubbing the black guy had no problems weaving in and out of traffic to pick up (YOU GUESSED IT) a professionally dressed white female. All I could do at this point after witnessing all this was SMH!

I almost had the urge to speed up and get a closer look at the driver in hopes of me reassuring myself that he was not African but then I thought to myself what difference would that have made and I also did not want to experience the further disappointment in my own people.      

Here is the ugly truth; less than a week ago here in the DMV a cab driver was allegedly shot and killed in a dispute over a 75-cent difference in taxi fare after he repeatedly told his 20 year old assailant that he was transporting he didn’t have any money on him. The murdered taxi driver went as far as taking off his pants to prove that he didn’t have any money on him but was still fired at. This is another PRIME example of Black on Black crime at its worst.

So I didn’t really know who to take issue with on that morning commute. Should I be upset with the taxi driver that deliberately ignored the black male for transport maybe out of fear of his life? Or the black kid who killed the innocent cab driver over a 75-cent dispute and now has messed things up for other Black men who require the use of taxis to get around in the city?

Being a Muslim/Nigerian/African-American/Black male I have always and continue to fight against the perceptions people have against things they are uncomfortable unfamiliar or ignorant to. As I have stated from the very beginning, I only started to blog primarily in part due to all the negativity, stereotypes, images and perceptions I have lived with in my existence and seen in my community. I will not change nor do I expect you to. What I only ask is that you educate yourself and those around you before you pass judgment on to others.  

I have come to understand that life as an African-American/Nigerian male forces you to have thick skin. You are scrutinized, labeled and even dismissed by those who somehow believe they are better than you without conducting a self-inventory of themselves. Yes, the perceptions of others do become who we are if we conform to them. And for those that know me personally, you know I refuse to give into what you want me to be, look like or say. In the words of slim shady;

Cause I am

Whatever you say I am

If I wasn’t, then why would I say I am?

In the papers, the news everyday I am

I don’t know it’s just the way I am (Eminem)

So if you ain’t with me - Then Get from Me…