Doing business is risky, and other random thoughts

Hello everyone, how are we all doing? It's been long I did a set of random posts, and I feel like doing one now. So let's go


I am extremely tired. From Monday till Saturday last week, I was on my feet from morning till night (from 11-12 hours everyday). This week doesn't seem like it will be any different. How does one achieve balance, cos right now, so many parts of my life are out of tune at the moment. By the grace of God, things will get better in a couple of weeks.

I really need a camera. Who loves me, and is willing to get me one? I need it for a banging blog (why rebrand when you are not ready to upload high quality pictures?), I need it for my business (product upload, development, etc), I need it to shoot videos (my spoken word career needs a new life), and so many more reasons. Do I need to tell you more? Oya please get me a camera. I promise to love you forever if you do.

How powerful is African Jazz, really?

Hi everyone? How's life going with all of us? Before we go into today's post, I would like to know what you think about the new look of my blog. Yay or nay? I wanted a whole new look. I felt I had outgrown the straight-faced, very serious Atilola. I wanted to change my brand and aura to something my soothing, welcoming, and flowery hence the smiling pic on the side (I have always preferred my straight-face picture to smiling ones). Anyway, do you think the blog picture does justice to the intent?

So what is your opinion about Jazz? For those of us who might be new to this, I am not talking of Jazz music but Black African Power that is attributed to smaller deities and African gods. I'm sure every African knows these powers exist and are real. So the question here is do you believe in their efficacy?

During our honeymoon in Gambia, we visited to Kachikali Museum, and saw several charms, to be used for different purposes. Although I feel Gambian jazz is a learner where ancient Nigerian Babalowos are (which is understandable, because it is a very small country, it just an experience standing face to face with charms and amulets. See for yourself below.

Destination Wedding Blues - Famzing with Crocodiles and Horses

Hello dears, how is 2017 treating you all so far, and we are all keeping our heads up at the moment.

Confession: I am tired of this wedding series, as I have moved far far away from the wedding phase of my life.

So I will just try to lump everything left in one single post, and resume regular blogging next week.

The next and final day for the wedding retreat was the tour. My newlywed husband said he wasn't going, so I didn't go also. I had to handle logistics of changing rooms from where we wear previously staying to a bigger room, where we would stay together, and spend our honeymoon. So I had to make sure we had a room suited to our taste, then pack luggage, etc.

That night, about 12 midnight, our guests said goodbye to us, and headed back for Nigeria, while we were left alone to face a whole new world we have never experienced.

Destination Wedding Blues - Day 2: Getting the MRS degree

My wedding day started as an ordinary but exciting day. My plan was to have breakfast, and then have my hair styled. By the time I was having breakfast, my pastor's wife 'A', looked at my nails and asked what I was doing to it. I said 'nothing', so she dragged me off to do a manicure and pedicure. Though I didn't fix my nails because it's something I have never done, I got it painted in the french tips style.

This unplanned manicure and pedicure session set me 2 hours behind time. By the time I was ready to take my bath and make my hair, it was already noon, and we were supposed to start taking professional pictures by 4.00pm, since the wedding was to start by 6.00pm.

I wrote my vows during the manicure session (covers face). Let's just say after we read our vows that evening, I wanted to cover my eyes in shame, cos I scored like 2% and by husband (who has been writing the vows for a couple of months) scored like 110%. I also couldn't join the choreography rehearsals that morning

Most of our guests... gathering to pray and rehearse on
the morning of the wedding day

Anyway we rushed off to do my hair, and makeup. We couldn't be ready by 4.00pm, but we were set by around past 5.00pm.

We finally started the photography session, which was supposed to be at the beach, poolside, and garden. As a group, we could only do beach. But we as a couple also did poolside, and just a little garden.

Destination Wedding Blues - Day 1: Dance, decor, food, et al

I had intended to go to Gambia two days before everyone would come to join me so

• I could meet with the vendors
• Run through the whole wedding arrangement with the hotel's management
• Arrange airport pickup for our guests
• Get guests' rooms ready, and put their welcome packs on their beds.

Thanks to Arik, not only did I not get to the venue two days before the wedding retreat, I got there one day after the wedding should have started, so we lost a whole day's activities.

For one reason or the other, we had not concluded on decor, DJ, and makeup artist. The hotel's management was acting as a go between to get all these sorted, but we still had to make sure they delivered what we wanted.

In the plane... enroute Gambia