Barby's Diary

Truth be told, I had no plans to blog today. 10 days to the new year, and it’s beginning to settle in that 2016 is done and dusted. All I feel now is: AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE. Yes! No better title will do justice to how I really feel. I started this year on a low. Real low. At this time last year, I was fresh outta NYSC with no job or prospects. Even though I wanted the service year to end as quickly as possible, I was not sure what direction my life would take. I went back to my father’s abode with no plans for my life. Don’t get me wrong…I made alternative plans ahead of time. I wrote examinations for my Masters programme whilst I was still serving, I sent out CVs to different law firms and organisations, I wrote several examinations, attended interviews both within and outside my domain, and I spoke to a few persons about helping out with a job. I can say, I did all I could do, but, things didn’t work out as I envisaged. I was downcast, without a job, back at my father’s h

I always thought (erroneously) that I didn't like kids so much. I felt this way because whenever I saw a kid, there was really not so much connection between us. It was either they cried so hard and I thought, maybe I wasn't so friendly, or I looked scary (of course not), or kids weren't just my thing. Then my niece came along, and the story changed. She literally grew on me! I love her with every fibre of my being, and I began to love all kids too. From random kids I met on the road, to kids at her school, to kids in church...you name it. There was this attraction to them, so much that whenever I see a kid, I always remember my niece, and I want to treat them as my own. And that's why, when issues pertaining to kids and their welfare arises, I take it seriously. I have learnt that these kids are little angels. You'll need to live with one to fully understand this. When God said ''I tell you, unless you change and become like little children , you will n

Make a lemonade! Hi beautiful people! Top of the day to you all! Long time no post right??? I feel terrible that it happened too and I sincerely missed you all. Let me tell you a little story... After work yesterday evening, I was in my room reading for my examinations, and my mind wandered...whilst in Law School, I hated Corporate Law. I was a bad-ass criminal litigation person. I loved the course so much and it flowed through seamlessly. But you see, Corporate Law was my Achilles heel. It was unnecessarily complex. Our lecturers (Barr. Osamor and his team, especially Prof. Nwosu: God rest his soul) were the truth! They taught it well, but mehn, corporate law was my bad dream. Anyway, we passed the bar finals and got called to Bar. Fast forward to youth service, and my primary assignment was in the corporate world. Very far from all I envisaged. I thought I was going to be in the courtroom and I knew I was going to be a sought after solicitor (I still think the court room ha

Hi Sweethearts! I bet we have reached an understanding that I cannot post articles as frequently as I used to. (Some people will be like ’’I told you so, the fire has gone’’). But I’m sorry to disappoint these ones, I still got the fire. But unlike when I had less on my plate, now, I have much more. I’m not complaining though. I love this life. I love the busy me. And I still love to blog. On a much happier note, I feel honored to inform you that one of our articles will be publish in a book to be written by someone I hold in high esteem. Yeah, we making it! We are going places! Thanks to all of you for pushing me. Thanks for reading. Thanks for the comments and thanks for your opinions which I totally appreciate. I have learnt from all of you since this blog started last year, and there’s more to learn… I’ll be sharing with you my five worst fears in life…and this is in no particular order.

I'll hate to call this an ''African myth'', even though I know that calling it that will be very convenient and help me find a befitting title for my article. I'm not one for stereotypes, and to generalize will be unfair to all those in Africa who aren't bothered about sexes. You'll also be surprised to find out that some people beyond the shores of Africa also believes that a male child is preferable to a female child...now will you still say this is an African myth? No! I think so too. I'll use myself and my family as an example. I'm sure they know already that their secrets aren't safe with me again (hehehe), I'll just face my computer and write about them and mention their names too! Talk about poetic license...but when I'm serving my punishment for revealing too much family details, you people will not be there oh! Well done BDiarians. Back to my story...I must have mentioned it somewhere on the blog that my parents have fiv

Hi Guys! I'm more than certain that sharing my experience at the just concluded Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference (NBA AGC) Port Harcourt City 2016 will make up for any excuse for my long absence. I had a blast! I'll rewind time just to have the experience again. I'm so spoilt! I was actually getting used to the ''soft'' life that I almost forgot the ''real'' life. LOL. Then again, must life be work, work, work and work? Holidays like this are essential to make you appreciate all the time you put into earning a living, (now, I'm beginning to sound all adult in my head)...yeah right, I'm earning a living. I work so hard for this money mehn. I deserve a spoil like this. I had my reasons for attending this year's lawyers conference. One of the reasons was that I get a whole six working days off work and have bae-time alongside (I love Fin Insurance no doubt though). Another reason was that the Co

Hi B-Diarians! How have y'all been? And how's the weather at your end? It's been raining cats and dogs here. In the past days, I've been drenched on my way to work. It's so bad that I've sometimes gotten to work pretty late or my footwear gets bad...very frustrating situations. I get to the office and all I want to do is take the day off and go buy a posh car in peace, but then again...I am humbled by my account balance jare . I just respect myself, sit in my seat and drink hot tea or coffee! Few nights ago, I was having a conversation and then there was this funny story I was told. Let me try to summarize...a boyfriend and a girlfriend went for a birthday party somewhere, the bf stepped out for a while and came back with a male friend who sat beside him in the front seat. It was time to leave the party and the male friend was in the front seat, the lady insisted she must sit in front while her bf's friend should go to the back seat. The bf felt embarrass

How are you my long distant relationship??? Lol. (Ok, I know this is not funny!) It's been forever yeah? But, if I tell you my story and what I have been up to in the last one month, you will be very happy for me... All I can say is GOD IS TOO GOOD! Just when you feel like everything is going south, God makes a way out of little or nothing. I'm having to keep up with the blog, and I admit. Trust me, you guys are still priority. Top priority actually. And, I missed y'all while I was away. I wasn't so far, I tried to visit the blog, read articles and have a good laugh once in a while. I'm so very engaged now, new responsibilities have been added, new projects are being embarked upon, and others are still in view. You know we have to work, work, work and work. The work don't work itself, we werk it (now, I hope I just made sense).

Since my celebrity birthday, when I was treated like a star by all of you (or some of you), I kinda forgot I own a blog! Like, it took me almost a week to even upload my birthday pictures on my last post…how lazy can one get? I was awoken to reality some days ago, while watching a talk show on TV. Even though I joined them at the tail end of the show, I was able to garner what the day's gist was all about. They were discussing ‘’sacrifices for love’’. Guest speakers on the show were later asked sacrifices they had made for love. Two of the stories struck me. The first lady said when she was younger, she fell in love with a guy, they had something going on for a while, and then the guy had to travel to another country but didn’t have money to foot his ticket. She ran a per time job whilst schooling, so she had a few bucks. She said she withdrew all her savings (about $300) and gave the guy. What she had left was less than $10. Mr. Guy collected the money, travelled to anot

Dear Diary, It’s my birthday!!! Yaaaaaay!!! I’m growing younger and wiser. God has been faithful over the years, and I feel it in my bones that he has only just started with me. The journey between last year and now has been refreshing and enlightening…it’s been blessings upon blessings, favor upon favor and happiness back to back! Everything that has happened has been a formation process, preparing and developing me for a greater tomorrow. If I say I am undeserving of all I’ve gotten, I am just putting things mildly. I have a life, one that I enjoy, one that I am proud of, and one that I know can be better. But I am not scared. Because, I know the One that controls the universe and whose plans for me are of good and not of evil. I am a product of sufficient grace. I’m so emotional already, but I’ll try to contain myself. Let me share my birth story (which I find amusing anyway)… I have two birthdays. June 2nd and June 3rd. Yeah, I said so (who else can be so

Start living your life! That’s why you’re here anyway…you shouldn’t wait for tomorrow. You do not own it. I’m not a Bible scholar, but one story of the Bible always ring in my head…the story of the master who gave his three servants some coins. One servant was given 5, the other; 2, the other; 1 (or so I think). The servant with 5 coins traded with it and made an extra 5. Same with the one with 2 coins…but the servant that was given 1 coin went out to bury it. On the day the Master returned, he demanded to know how his servants dealt with their coins. They all gave account of their coins. The Master was proud of the first servant who made an extra 5 coins and he vehemently rebuked the last servant who got 1 coin but decided to bury it. This story is enlightening on many grounds. And like we know, God is God and we cannot question him. But in my quiet time, whenever I think of this teaching, there are so many questions going through my head. I wonder why each of the servants were

Come wearing your dancing shoes and jerseys! Bringing the Lagos Party to Abuja's Finest. Party like never before this Saturday. ABUJA !!!!! Future music empire and Topj phantom Vip lounge is holding it down on Saturday the 21st of May 2016. You are all invited to one of the Biggest event in Town "NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS " going down @ TOPJ PHANTOM VIP LOUNGE 128 Aminu Kano Crescent , Wuse 2 ..  Dress Code : Jersey       Red Carpet : 8pm . Come and witness Champions Ball and Make it rain with champagne... I hope to see y'all there my Abuja BDiarians!!! Mwah

Hi BDiarians! I was going to rant all over this space today, but I’ve decided to make a Lemonade out of the lemons that were thrown at us these few days, and just…drink and CHILL. The world is hot mehn! The world has no chill again! There’s anger, frustration and depression everywhere. It’s like a time bomb waiting to explode! Everyone just have to be more careful, prayerful and patient, so that we don’t say things we would later regret or say things we can’t take back. I wouldn’t bore you guys with the celebrity couple story that formed the basis of this article. It’s so distasteful and I’ll say, unnecessary to do that. For the benefit of my dear readers outside Nigeria (who don’t already know the story), I’ll say the most important thing you’ll need to take away from this article is the wisdom behind it. You wouldn’t need the foundational story, so you aren’t going to miss anything vital. I read somewhere, that a lot of men cannot handle a woman’s success. I think so

Hello Bloghearts! How have you all been? And how's the world treating you? Thanks so much for your continuous support and love. You know I can't appreciate you enough! Today's topic is another very emotional one for me...I had goose bumps writing this one, because I am guilty of it too (I'll tell my story in the course of this article). So recently, we've been bombarded with one too many sad tales of man's inhumanity towards his fellow man. One too many. The stories are shocking and unbelievable but real. Very real. And to think that all these are perpetuated by humans to their fellow humans, is alarming. God help us all. An example is the recent and incessant attack on Nigerians by the Fulani herdsmen. I really cannot place my mind as to the reasons for these attacks. All I can think of is FALSE ENTITLEMENT. You graze your cattle on people's farms and destroy their produce and means of livelihood, and still kill them when they resist your actions?

Today is one of those rare occasions when I have no idea as to what this article's title should be, even though I have thought it through for a while. No befitting title comes to my head. One of the reason for this is because I'm kinda pissed...Not with you guys, not with myself, but with the story that forms the background of this article. I'm sure some of the media savvy people here might have read it somewhere, or heard about it from someone. I knew there was fire on the mountain somewhere, but I never really took my time to read what the hullabaloo was all about (reading is educating really. Never ignore any piece of information you see, you never know how it will help you, or what information you're missing out on). This story is a crazy one, so I'll try to share as best as I can. Note that it is just going to form a background to the major discussion on commitments (YES! We just found a title. Thank God.) A certain celebrity couple had a major commitmen

Hi Fam! I'm not so happy that nobody got the right answers to the giveaway questions. Like, I cannot believe the questions were that difficult, trust me when I say they were easy, you'll soon figure out why I think the questions were cheap. You guys just read articles and don't take notes??? How can? The answers were written in one of the previous articles! The first two questions have the same answers, so you cannot get the first, and possibly fail the second...yeah, I was playing on your intelligence by making them two separate questions! I must confess, it was fun all the way! We should do this often. I had a swell time reading comments here and on my BBM. You guys really thought I didn't want to give out the 5k with my ''tough'' (in your opinion oh) questions. Why would you even think that? I got calls and chats from friends who thought the 5k was just a scam because the questions were too difficult...well, I cannot convince you to think otherwise

Drum roll people! The blog is 1. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I couldn't have done this without You. Yes, You! No long story today...I just appreciate everyone. I really do. Thanks for urging me on, for reading, for commenting, for liking and sharing my posts, and for the goodwill. I don't take it for granted. I really don't. A quick word of encouragement though, JUST DO IT. Yes, just do it! You never know. I remember I always wanted to write. Not news or celebrity stories, but real life issues, day to day happenings and co. Not because I know so much (I'm pretty young), but because I want to know more, because I want to feel the pulse of other people and learn from them, because sometimes, it is easier to write than to talk, because most secrets live within us or in between the lines, because it is better to pour it out before it kills you or dies inside of you...because I know the world would be better if we all loved and understood each other more. I reme

Ok guys, I admit…this isn’t nice at all. I goofed big time, and I take all the blame. Though, it is partially my fault and the other half is due to circumstances beyond my control, I take responsibility for it all. My biggest, loudest and most sincere SORRY goes to all readers of Barby’s Diary. I’m so so sorry my people for my long absence on the blog. How have you all been? A lot of catching up to do yeah? I feel like saying everything here and now, but it’ll be too much for me to write and work beckons… Yeah, WORK! That’s basically taking 99% of my time now. I got a new job (yaaaaaay!). Not like a new job sha, but let’s say same old job with a new package (lol), and work has been more demanding, tasking but enjoyable. Why wouldn’t it be? The struggle outside is real mehn! Life could have been worse, but it is not, so, I just can’t take this life for granted! Thank you Lord! Even though I still wish I can make money by doing nothing. Is it too much to ask? Is it a possibility

Hi Guys! How have y'all been? Olajumoke: the breadseller. So, the internet was agog a while ago about an event that happened coincidentally. An international Nigerian photographer (TY Bello) was in the middle of a photo shoot for another international star, when an ''Agege'' bread hawker photo-bombed the shoot. While the TY's crew hailed the photobomber to move away from the set of the photoshoot, TY in fact asked permission from the hawker to be featured with her agege bread. Pictures surfaced after the shoot, and people started asking if indeed the bread carrying lady was a model for the photoshoot. To our surprise, the agege bread seller's part was only a coincidence! TY Bello offered the photobomber (Olajumoke) a free photoshoot and makeover and she engaged other big names in the industry to help bring it to life; Bimpe Onakoya for makeup, Zubby Definition for hair and a short documentary on her by @emaedosio. In a week, Olajumoke had been feature

Hello February! Hi Guys, so I’m thinking I can still say ‘’Happy New Month’’ to you even though we are few days into the month already. Pardon my manners…procrastination is a big b**ch . By now, you should know that I’ll never abandoned you beautiful bloghearts. The heart knows where it belongs. This is where my heart belongs, and where my many secrets are safe. I’ll always come back, however far I seem to go. Please don’t get used to not coming on the blog. Never get used to it please. That being said, let’s delve into today’s topic without wasting further time…

My People, my people!!! How have you guys been? How's the new year treating you? Who's been as busy as I've been? It's been a roller coaster twenty days for me...trust me! You don't want to hear all about it. I wish I could let you in on it all, but, as soon as they beginning to take shape, you'll be the first persons to know! One or two of it might be for our benefit here also...With all the wahala, I almost forgot I have a blog! (It wasn't that bad sweethearts, I didn't forget you guys). And I didn't want to start the year on here with all those many many relationship advice. So I've decided that we need more motivation than relationship advice, at least, for now. Though I still strongly believe that better and stronger and sweeter relationships (here I'm using the term "relationships" in its wider context) would improve the society in the long run.

Yaaaaaaaaay! First post of the year. With so much love, happiness and thanksgiving in my heart, I wish everyone A HAPPY NEW YEAR! We made it! It can only be God. All praises to Him. Please make the best use of every opportunity this year. Today is another chance to right the wrongs of yesterday... I pray for an amazing 2016 for us all. Have a wonderful year, and may celebration be ours all year long...Amen With Love; Barby.