Hi guys!! I am so excited about December – I can’t even keep calm. It has been a very busy period at work but that has not made my excitement about December wane one bit! But before we get into December matters, let me do a quick recap of my November.
- Going on a digital detox. I took most of the month of November off social media (yup, second digital detox for the year) and it felt so good. On some days, I felt a little left out of whatever was happening on Instagram, especially the celebrity weddings that happened (you know I love LOVE *insert dreamy eyes*) but on most days, I was just content with living the simple life with Whatsapp, lol. The jury is still out on whether Whatsapp should be considered social media but until the jury decides, I will be sitting quietly on my ‘Whatsapp-is-just-SMS-on-steroids’ lane 😊
- Meeting Sir Richard Branson! Yes!!!!! I met The Original Virgin Oga in person and even though I took a picture, it still feels like a dream.
With the Oga himself I was chatting with a friend in the lobby of a hotel and just saw Sir Branson walk past casually. At first, I thought I was ‘seeing double’ because he was alone and I did not see any hefty bodyguards or security personnel hovering around the area. He was just taking a break from his dinner and going to the bathroom – no fanfare, no paparazzi. Although we waved ‘Hello’ to him on his way to the bathroom, we spent some time debating if we should/could ask for a picture with him. We asked nicely and he obliged us!!!!!!!
I wish I had engaged him a bit more in some light conversation (not sure if he would have had my time sef) but it would have been great to just hear him spill wisdom in his British accent, lol.
What makes this interesting is that I had received 2 of his motivational videos via Whatsapp earlier that week and I had spent some time reflecting on the content of the messages so he was in my consciousness. Bumping into him ‘by chance’ that evening did not feel like a random coincidence.
Moral of the story: Be very deliberate about the things you allow into your mind and consciousness. You become what you think. You attract what you think. I don’t know how else to say this but it is so true and it has been proven time and time again.
- Seeing John Legend in concert: Continuing in the theme of seeing famous people, I also got to attend a John Legend concert in Johannesburg. Wow! John Legend is truly amazing. He is a fantastic performer and his voice is rich, silk and goosebumps-inducing. He performed for 2 solid hours and kept the whole crowd engaged. Of course, he did his usual move of getting a girl from the crowd on stage and then serenading her. Oh boy, the girl almost passed out from excitement, hahaha. And to end the show, there was no shame in the game as we all raised our hands/phones while singing ‘All of Me’ like it was a worship song, lol.
Many shades of Legend Officially learning how to edit videos and vlog: On my trip to Zimbabwe a few weekends back (yes, I went to Zimbabwe when Mugabe was still President), I was unable to do my IG stories because of the digital detox so I decided to take short videos of my trip and do a short vlog on the entire experience. Doing the research about what tools/apps to use for my amateur movie launched me into the deep world of multimedia and video editing and honestly, I know this is not my current calling in life. I am happy to be in front of the camera trying to speak phonetics (hahaha) but all the gymnastics that happens in the production, post-production etc are still well above my paygrade for now. I promise to push through and finish this particular ‘vlogpost’ (what is the video equivalent of a blogpost?) which I will share with you all shortly.
Zimbabwe highlights – for more details, wait for the vlog! - Doing my last adrenaline-rush activity for the year (or ever!!): 2017 was definitely the year of adrenaline for me. I went zip-lining in March, skydiving in April and now, I just went gorge-swinging. Up until a month ago, I had never heard of gorge-swinging but it is essentially the older brother of bungee-jumping. There is no need to talk too much about this one. You will see the video on the vlog 😊
My power pose after doing the gorge swing… Don’t be deceived,my knees were still shaking here p.s – the scarf on my head was to make sure the wig didn’t fall off, hahahahaha!
- Finding the ‘30 billion’ that Davido has been singing about. I found it plus some extra change for the road, hahahahaha.
50 Billion in the account! No moral of the story here. I am just excited to announce that I am now a billionaire! Yaaay! Hahahahahaha.
Note: That bill is no longer legal tender in Zimbabwe and was worth only $1. Please o, don’t come looking for me, lol.
Alright now – December is upon us and I am very excited to announce the Kemi’s Christmas giveaway scheduled to run from the 1st – 24th of December.
I announced this on Instagram a few days ago and the comments on that post were HILARIOUS!!! I think the most hilarious response to the giveaway announcement had to be from Mama Kemi. She called me and told me that she is not interested in any of the gifts in the giveaway but she was creating her own gift category and I had to make sure she was the one who won it. I was just weak, hahahahaha.
So why this giveaway? First, we all know that the essence of Christmas is giving – God gave us His Son, Jesus and so the best way to celebrate is by giving. Secondly, in my last post, I told you all how Ofe (my cousin) was such a big giver and since her relocation to heaven, her legacy of giving relentlessly has been top of mind for me. I had been thinking about what/how to give and once I made the decision to spend this Christmas in Lagos, I knew that my December travel fund was to be put to good use.
The original plan for the giveaway was to gift 12 of my favorite things (ranging from boli/grilled plantain & fish to an all-expense paid international trip) to one of my Nigerian Instagram readers/followers, every 2nd day between the 1st and 24th of December. However, since the announcement, a few more people have reached out to me to say they want to donate gifts to the giveaway. Isn’t that just beautiful? Now, we are up to about 18 gifts which will be won EVERY DAY from the 1st of December!!! I am hoping we get to 24/25 gifts and end with a bang on Christmas day! BOOM!!! Or maybe even have gifts every day till the very end of the year – now that would be EPIC!!!!!!
The giveaway is being hosted on Instagram and to participate/qualify to win, you have to follow me (so that you can actually see the different gifts every day), follow the specific vendor for the gift you want to win and like the post announcing the gift you want to win. That’s all. Everyday winners will be randomly selected from the list of folks who like the post and follow the vendor. SIMPLE!
You don’t need to repost, you don’t need to create a hashtag, you don’t need to comment, you don’t need to beg all your friends and family to like your comment (it is not a popularity contest). All you gotta do is, Follow the vendor, Like the post and Pray to God for favour so that your name is randomly selected. I can only imagine how many prayer requests are sent up to heaven now– thank God He has capacity to listen to all of us at the same time, hahahaha.
That’s all for now folks! I encourage you to look for ways to give and be a blessing to people around you, no matter how small, because ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’.
Hugs and Christmas cheers,
Kemi
p.s – Look out for the vlog on my trip to Victoria Falls – coming soon to a YouTube screen near you 😊