I'd stick to my dress maker

I gave my fabric to one carpenter tailor that has a shop very close to my house. I had called my own dressmaker earlier but the distance coupled with the fact that I have been lazy of late made me decide to give my fabric to this carpenter that has a tailor's shop. Don't worry, I promise I didn't cry this time around. I know you will be thinking back to this post "Distrated" and how I wept on the street of Lagos like someone bereaved, but I am happy to disappoint you terribly. I didn't cry!!!

 I had to go for Dolapo's wedding. Dolapo is Wura's elder brother, and since Maryland was too far away coupled with my laziness like I said earlier and the fact that I got the Aso-ebi really late, I decided to brave it and go to this woman's shop. Actually I stumbled on the shop when I was taking a walk, so I hurried back home to get the fabric and gave her. I asked to see samples of what she had done previously, she said she didn't have any, I was surprised. What tailor doesn't have one item that has been completely sewn by her? One???  Warning bells went off, but I just ignored it and begged her not to spoil my dress. She promised she wouldn't and I gave it to her, chose a really simple style and left her in God's hands. Thankfully, she did an OK job. The dress didn't turn out too bad, and when I complained about some parts she hurriedly defended herself and tried to blame it on the style. I insisted she make adjustments which she did. I went for the wedding and the dress didn't turn out so bad. It was also at this wedding that I tied my first gele by myself.

Deola and I were supposed to roll together.  I was to go to her house then we were supposed to go to the Busola's house for make up and Gele, then go for the party. That morning, the plan changed. Deola was to pick up her dress from her dressmaker then we would find a solution to our gele's then go for the wedding. Suddenly Deola calls me to say she will pick up her dress herself then pick me up after which we would head over for the reception. As I was considering the information, she called to tell me that her tailor could tie gele and would do so for her. My first thought was "alakoba". How would I do my own gele? I stood up instantly to help myself and after 10 attempts I came up with this. Don't judge me, Its my first attempt. :)

 

Back to the story, lol.

So after her attempt at the dress, I decided to carry my own legs by myself to meet her to sew my lace and velvet for Simi's wedding. By myself again, I chose a style. The usual style you do for the lace blouse and I again left her in God's hands. I went to pick up my dress yesterday and I didn't even have the muscle to cry! She had sewn it like an old woman's blouse. She used nonsense to line the blouse. Its still wearable but far from what I expected. But then again, who throws pearl to swine? I should have known what I would get when I went there and still didn't see any "sample' of what she had done. She gave me a low cut back that is bound to show my bra. The thought of it is repulsive #shudder. The blouse just hung on me. No form of beauty or comliness. chai. Na wa ooo. When I pointed out the bra part to her, she snapped "aunty na you choose style ooo". I knew that indeed na me "waka buy market".

Anyway, I will sit with her and salvage what we can and make sure I carry a brilliant smile on my face when I wear my cloth for the wedding.

In the mean time, I will call Tina my dress maker just to appreciate her. Not many people understand how to make a dress well. I'd surely stick to Tina.

Xoxo

Career: Sending CV's

I apologise for the long silence since my last post seeing that I promised to put up the next post by the next day. Lets just say the "tomorrow" has finally come. I genuinely didn't mean to tarry this long, some circumstance beyond my control "happened".

I promised to put up a post on the best way to send CV's. I partnered with Careers and Beyond to put this together.

The 1st thing to put in mind when sending your CV to an individual is that your CV is probably not the only one the recruiter will take a look at. He/she may spend 5 minutes if you are lucky. To maximize the 5 minutes, you have to make sure your CV captivates him ("him" being generic for male or female) enough in the first 3 minutes to make him go through it. Remember he has other things that he has to do as well as other CV's to look at before settling for the "one".

Don't ever send a blank email or email without content. This speaks volumes of the person sending the CV. The message it is sending is "I can't really be bothered". The recruiter gets the impression that you are not serious and he tends to discard your CV. He may not even open the attachment to discover the treasure hidden in there. A brief introduction is important as well as how you heard about the job opening. Mention that you have attached your CV and close with thanks.

Don't ever send an email without an attachment. Sometimes, when in a hurry to send CV's, applicants tend to send the emails with their beautifully worded cover letters. Without your CV there is no way to determine if you are the right candidate for the job. Remember the recruiter has other CV's to attend to as well. He won't go out of his way to email you back to ask for your CV.

Don't send in an application for a job you know you don't qualify for. Forget it. Its just a waste of your time and hope too if I may add. A recruiter is looking for a Business Development Officer and you send in your CV with the experience of a Front Desk Officer. How on earth do the roles fit? The recruiter won't even bother himself. While others are kept in the "to be considered" pile, yours will most likely be trashed instantly. If you have recently taken a course or certification that qualifies you for the job, make sure you state same in a cover note.

Don't send in your CV with others in one email. If you send a group application to a recruiter, he gets the impression that the people sending the CV are not serious and doesn't even waste his time.

Do send a cover letter always with your CV. It oozes professionalism and gives the recruiter the impression that you know what you want. Make sure it is properly worded and not grandiose. Try as much as possible to avoid typos and other errors.

Do follow instructions always. If a recruiter asks for a particular subject when submitting your CV, make sure you follow it to the letter. 

Do save your CV in a format that all computers can access. Make use of the basic Word Document which is 97/03. No recruiter will go out of his way to open an attachment as he has too many CV's to deal with.

If you have any questions, please send an email to ask4emaATgmail.com.

Career: Job sites and work experience

Have you ever wondered that there are numerous job vacancies announced each day, yet so few successful stories of jobs "obtained"?

Link

Here's a list of a few job sites available in Nigeria.

Linkedin

LinkedIn Jobs

ProfiCV

Insidify

Naija Hot jobs

Jobberman

NGCareers

247Naija

CareerSlip Jobs

Jobs In Nigeria

                                                         Latest Nigerian Job Vacancy

                                                         

The list is unending. I keep getting emails at least 3 from each one. I don't even remember subscribing to most of these now. But I remember when I used to go to the cyber Cafe every evening to "browse"- check my emails (hopefully for job interviews and exams), or to apply to companies or even learn about upcoming exams and try to see which one I could gate crash. Ha, I gate crashed ooo. I was desperate, abeg.

I remember how when I was a rookie just fresh off the NYSC shelf I used to hunt for all these sites. Everyday I would look at the emails eagerly and without fail I  would delete the emails sadly. None ever felt right. I lamented one day to my friend that I wonder who would employ us when they all wanted at least 2-3 years job experience. Its funny how my first real job (real because I was actually on the pay-roll of a company) I got it through "word of mouth. My brother's very tight friend's friend. Funny right? But I did the interview and I passed. I remember thinking wow, just like that? 5 years plus down the line I am still grateful that I work in a decent organization.

Link

The sad thing about it is there are so many vacancies, yet so few people get these jobs. It makes you wonder...We can see the jobs, but we where are the hundreds of seemingly unemployed people? Why can't we find successful applicants. Oh, people apply all right. But they send in wrong applications; their CV's don't meet up with the requirements of the jobs; the applicants are successfully employed but cant hold down the job because they are truly not qualified. The list is endless.

The other day I put up an Ad on this blog requesting for HR Assistants with 2-3 years experience. I put up my email address and I got the shock of my life. Some people just don't know how to apply for jobs. I was irritated at the approach of some people. SOme people just attached their CV's and didn't even say dot (.) in the body of the email. Others just put "attached is my CV" some people sent in CV's for Personal assistant (based on their work experience). How on earth do you want to get a job this way?

I am not saying I am perfect in the job search thingy (If I were, I should be working in the "oyel" (oil) company of my choice where I wont even have to sweat it at all. lol)  but I know that I would promptly delete emails without even looking at the potential of attached CV's if I so much as got a blank email (body) from a prospective applicant.

Having said that, tomorrow by God's grace, I'd put up a post of how to send emails to "head hunters". 

Please add any job search site I may have missed out in the comment section. thank you.

I wish us all luck in our endeavour. (Of course I had to wish me luck too!)

P.S. if you are a grammer police, please ignore any errors or typos. I just couldn't go back to proof read. :)

Eroding morals

Things are so different from how they used to be yesterday.Growing up, my mom always made sure we greeted the "elders" or people older than us no matter who they were. Today, if a child greets you it will make you pause. I wonder what changed all that. Jazz/the fear of jazz? or what really? Have we become so westernised that greeting people is now a chore? Or respecting people?

Yesterday I had to go to and from work by bus. On my way to work, I took a Keke Napep and sat at the edge. An elderly woman got in beside me and I mumbled a good morning to her. She in turn mumbled her reply and that got me grinning. (who says garbage in garbage out doesn't work?). Anyway, a third person got in beside this woman and asked her to move. She didn't want to move so she made me her excuse. Egba mi ke! How my size take konsin the matter? She spoke in yoruba and I got her message loud and clear. She said Orobo n'joko bayi or something like that while pointing by me. I just looked at her and wiggled my butt on the seat, giving them the impression that I had moved. You can't blame me for that. First off, I may be big but I won't take 2 people's butt space, secondly, because she didn't want to move she lied that it was because I was fat. 

Na wa ooo. I didn't know that old people lied like that ooo especially on seemingly innocent angelic shidren like me (Adjusting my halo).

Source

On my way back from work, I was tired and cranky. I got to the part where I had to take another Keke and there was none within sight. I had waited and waited still nothing. then finally, one came. I shouldered my bag properly and gathered my lunch bag firmly for good effect and flexed my leg. As the keke came to a stop I just used my big butt to push the chick beside me and held onto the bar separating the driver from the passengers and had already started entering when I remembered my good manners. I sighed dramatically and gave way to he elderly woman standing beside me. She knew she was no match for the rest of us, but she still tried. She was so shocked that I could give up my seat for how despite my lagos-style-bus-diving antics that she didn't enter at first till I said "mama enter na". Then she entered. What now spoilt everything was instead of the mama to enter and move so I could still enter, she just sat down there. Ha! After I did you a good thing, abi? I asked her to move and she had the mind to tell me that "Ah, why didn't you want to enter? Are you not going again?" I just gritted my teeth and said no. Ah, I just told my self to move as it was paining me gan. Luckily, another one came probably 5 mins after. This time around it was one baba and I that were fighting for the seat. As the baba no gree for me to enter, me sef I no gree for am ooo. I won that battle as I got in before him, but I felt really bad. But not so bad that I would have given up the seat for him sha. At that point, if I were light-skinned I would probably have been red in the face. I could actually hear my mum tsk-tsk-tsking at me for my misconduct.

Source

This brings to mind a convo my friends and I had 2 weeks ago about BRT Buses. At the bus terminals, you will see people queuing in 2 directions. Those who will get seating space and the "standees". What amazes me is that people come late to the line and will go to the "standees" line to queue, even elderly people. When you board the bus and its full, you see the standees entering and they take their place on the isles and just grab the hangers. Then you see elderly people doing same. The 1st time I took BRT to the office, I noticed an elderly woman, I stood up for her. the next day I stood up for a man. By the third day, my heart had been reinforced with concrete. I just carried my face. Theses elderly people do it intentionally. They will join the standees queue knowing that "someone" will stand up for them. I refused to be their "someone". I learned the hard way that they were just being selfish. Its wrong I know, but I just can't deal with it any more. Before elders didn't drag issues with the young ones, now, they don't even see them selves as elders any more. Everyone is "hustling" 

If you greet a stranger now, there must be strings very thick ropes attached. You obviously want something.

You can't carry a random woman's bag to help her with her groceries or shopping bags. They will brand you a thief. (If you are lucky you won't get mobbed)

You don't see someone who needs help and help the person (You will be tagged as someone who uses people for jazz)

A child grabbed my legs the other day as she was playing. I started praying to God to remove her hands ooo. Not because I was afraid, but because I didn't want anyone to brand me as a kidnapper if I happened to hold her hand.

Children don't even play in the streets any more because their parents are afraid, The sit in from of the TV all day (now you know why child obesity is on the rise).

I'd go on and on and still not finish. What exactly is happening today? 

Please use the comment box, it's meant for you. Thank you.

xoxo.

Motivated

Does money motivate you?

No? Seriously?

yes? Ah, we are kindred. Money motivates me well ooo. I won't lie. Of a truth, it's not the only thing that can motivate me. There are plenty of things that can motivate me and at different times too. But money will always be a big part of it.

This morning I was chatting with Sisi Yemmie and we had a really good talk. She doing most of the talking and me listening with rapt attention. I was so focused on what she was saying that I rejected about 6 calls (lol) e remain small make I write down wetin she dey talk self. Well, in everything she called me a lazy blogger (no offence taken) and encouraged me to make use of all I had at my disposal. I admit I have been a lazy blogger, but I will blame it on 2 things. 

One is myself and my "known status". I am not by any means calling my self popular or anything, but there are so many drama's that happen in my life that I really wish I can come here to pour it out. Unfortunately, I cant. Because people read my blog and I'm not sure we will still remain friends when they see that I have put up stuff about them or what they said here. #GrandSigh. 

The other reason is because I have many anon blog visitors. Some people just read and pass by. Ko da ooo. Its not fair. You have to encourage a sister na. So please if you are among those who read a good story ( I like to think that I try) and enjoy it, don't just pass by, please leave a comment and share it on the social networks too. Thanks.

Having said that, I will try my best to put up posts more frequently. I started this blog as an outlet to just put up things that make me think, but with time I got encouragement from you guys and now I can proudly associate myself with the unique blogworld. Its exhilarating, and I am grateful to you. I can't do gossip blogging, but i do have a few interesting things to share and I hope you enjoy it too.

At this point, its best I left because I honestly don't know what I am talking about any more. LOL. But before I go, here's a shout out to Sisi for motivating me. I realize what you said is very true and I will challenge myself to be a better blogger. Thanks a lot sis.

And since I talked about motivation earlier, I will be giving the 1st female (sorry guys, i'd think of something for you later on) to comment on my blog tomorrow a give away sponsored by Leecious Designs. All na motivation. I might as well do this since I want a change on this blog. #rubbingmyhandstogetheringlee. #Watch this space

xoxo. Do have an Emaleecious day!

My Seeing Glasses

The strangest thing happened to me this morning.

Source

I woke up after a really bad night and discovered my “seeing” glasses was not in the usual spot.  I call them seeing because that’s what I use them for not just for reading. Let me give you a little bit of history- If I do not have my glasses (or contacts) on my day will be miserable because I won’t see things or people. I am kinda short-sighted. So it means I get to squint a lot and miss out on activities all around me, not to even talk of people look at me strangely because they will think I am snubbing them.

I remember one incidence way back when me and my sisters stayed  together in Bar Beach Towers. I heard a noise from my sleep and I just scrambled up from the bed without my glasses and tried to dash out of the room. Thankfully, my sister had locked the door and burglary proof if not I would have probably stumbled and fallen down the stairs as I wouldn’t have seen what was in my way. Anyway, I digress. Ok, now back to the story.

I first used my hand to reach out to the usual spot which is the pillow just beside my head. No show. Then I raised the pillow and searched. Nothing. I went to the back of my pillow, Under my pillow. Nothing. I moved myself out of the way, still no show. I got up and searched the bed. Moved over to the Hubz side, ransacked the whole bed, still nothing. I went to the bathroom to ask him if he helped me “put it in a safe place” he said no. So I asked him to please help me look for it as I couldn't see without it. He was forming busy so I calmly told him that if he didn't help me look for it, I wouldn't make his morning toast. Boy, did that motivate him or what? He promptly came over to my side of the bed and started searching. At that time I was asking myself, how a pair of glasses just move away just like that. I went to my bedside drawer to get out my spare so I could save some time. I got the shock of my life. The case was empty. No spare glasses. I started panicking. How on earth was I going to go to work today? I still had my contacts but I really didn't want to use them as I had worn them for over 2 months and really needed my eyes to breathe. I should have been taking them off each day, but my shakara was plenty, so I wore them on and on till I woke up one day and discovered my right eye had a red spot. No one told me before I quickly removed them and wore my “igo” back jare.

Anyway, I was left with no other choice but to make use of the contact lens. And now I know that it will take me seeing another red spot for me to remove them again. I am just vain like that. J

And super wife that I am, I still made hubby his toast and packed his lunch before he left for work. JJJ

I still haven’t found my everyday “seeing” glasses or the spare. I am at work now and thankfully, my spare work glasses are still I my drawer. I hope nothing happens to this one sha.

Have an emaleecious day. Kisses!!!