Sunday, January 30, 2011

Gift of Expression

Dear Diary,

I am blessed!

I'm so glad right now...and you know how expressive i get when i'm in this mood.

Thank you for the gift of expression. Thank you for being there to listen when i need

to rant, cry or just praise. I always wonder what my life would have been like if i

didnt have an avenue to pen these words...i've now been consistently writing about

my feelings, my thoughts and my dreams for about 4.5 years and i'm awed at how long

i've come.

Friday at work , i caught my colleague staring at me..so intently that i felt the

energy on my skin and it prompted me to look her direction..as soon as i eyes

beheld hers, i knew she meant no harm.

Well, it turns out, she has the ability to read one's personalities by staring right

into your eyes..and she said to me "Ehi, you're very Emotional eh"

Huh? what? i was taken aback for a split second..almost feeling vulnerable..how

could she tell?

And i said (whilst ruffling some papers trying to act busy) yes Naureen, i am.

I waited 3seconds for her to say something else..well...4seconds seemed too long to

me at this point.."erm, Naureen how do you know that"

I read your eyes...*sigh*

Feeling relieved that she had not found out through another method and hoping she doesnt know about bourgybabe.blogspot.com, i enquired more of her.."What else do you know Naureen"

She proceeded on to stare at me for 10 straight seconds and said "You have a very large heart" well, she went on to tell me how i'm very sympathetic and all these other traits and boy was she accurate?

DEAD ON!!

Its interesting how much emotion i display in the span of 24hours, i cry alot..i laugh a lot...i generally always make sure i'm happy as its my number one responsibility as i go through my day and i take my happyness very seriously.

Ever since i started to live consciously i began to see the truth to the fact that what i hold in my mind is what shows up in my life and i take responsibility for that

Well, that is all i wanted to say.

Best Regards,
Bourgy Babe /boo-gyee-beib/

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

...With Purpose and Intention

Dear Diary,

It’s the last week of January 2011 ALREADY!..now I definitely know how 2010 flew by..its the Mondays which become Fridays that become Mondays again only to be Fridays 4 times in a row..on 12 occasions.

As the first month goes by, I’m reminded of those resolutions that i gladly committed myself to..lose 5ibs by January end, Earn this amount by January 31st, Take that exam by January 31st,Fix that issue by January 31ST?!?

Was I crazy? Like what the hell was I thinking? Now, I have all these deadlines , lofty goals and high sounding ambitions to achieve all before January 31st!!! who sent me message? I was really fine the way I was..i mean I’m not fat..by any standard..am not poor in any currency…my job is treating me very well..i mean what issue do you speak of Ehi? Why fix it if it aint broken?

No, do you understand where I’m coming from though? Its friggin January 25th and I’m supposed to space shift you a new job in 5days? Or wave my magic wand to get a J-lo body in a flash?

Ooh what the heck? I’ll still be fine..God is good, All the time!

But NAhhhhh, I cant sit still guyz..i just cant..looking at my Calendar and the little note book where I have my January goals this morning, I just cant bring myself to pretend I do not deserve better .

Yesterday, I got some disappointing news about a huge opportunity I was hinging on however, I have met my weight goals for the month so that piece of accomplishment keeps me going so its all good.

Anyways, I’m currently reading a book on real estate by Gary Keller and its an excellent read so far and something that struck me whilst reading this book is that “Champions take the luck out” .What this means to me is that successful people DO NOT consider luck or even acknowledge it because, lets face it, you may never get lucky but the chances that you will be successful are very high if/when you follow proven strategies and time tested models.

I’m learning that there is always a better way to do everything…change your approach and you ‘ll see a result, change it for the better, and you’ll get an even better result.It might be a little tasking to always utilize a better approach but guess what brings the best result? the best approach! with purpose and intention.


It was very interesting to realize that everything I’m working on and every challenge I’m facing, there’s a person who’s been in my shoes before and succeeded…so my only intention is to find out HOW and the BEST approach to go about it. My question to you is why grope in your darkness and mistakes when someone else has already made the mistake on your behalf?

Look for proven strategies and time tested models...they are in books, they’re online..they work with you..some of them take dance classes with you. ASK them!
Stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before you..its no use re-inventing the wheel.

Achieve the BEST results with Purpose and Intention

Honestly Speaking,
Bourgy Babe /boo-gyee beib/

Friday, January 21, 2011

Good Luck on your Union!

Dear Diary,

I recently read an write-up in the local newspaper that claimed that fewer people where engaging in the act of marriage, more Canadians have chosen to co-exist with their partners, and split responsibilities like make babies and pay the mortgage without opting for the majestic walk down the aisle.

Just incase you were thinking to yourself, well its because they are Canadians and they might not necessarily appreciate the institution of marriage well, I ‘d say to you, say no more.

If ever there was a new fear to be added to the list of Phobias, I think Marriage is due to make the cut. More and more people including people from African Origin are now shying away from the holy epidemic that’s been long known to solve problems of loneliness ,heal wounds and fill a companionship void, is now in fact turning out to be a huge disease that’s cut deep to the very ligament that’s held it for centuries, Religion.

We are living in times where the rate of divorce Is higher than the fluctuation of the Nigerian Naira..its so bad that the business of divorce has moved from dormancy to been very lucrative.

I do not believe in “irreconcilable differences” I think divorce is made up of two partners unwilling to stay together not unable to be together.
And while we’re at the issue of divorce, do you sometimes find yourself in a situation where your friend whom you know and love announces to you that she’s ready to tie the knot with a man whom you know and are sure will definetely bring her tears and unhapppyness?

There’s obviously some people that need to be told “Good luck” when it concerns the issue of marriage and others should definitely be congratulated.

I hope we all get to end up with spouses that we will be congratulated for.
I wanted to share what was on my radar in the past few days.



Yours Truly
Bourgy Babe
/boo-gyee beib/

Monday, January 10, 2011

Judge NOT!

Dear Diary,

I love the convenience of been able to drive in my car and turn up the volume singing loudly to the music whilst reliving the feeling of singing in the shower and taking occasional peek-a-boo’S and quick glances at my rear view mirror to check the state of my lipstick or whatever…

However, the emotions that are brought out of me by the Toronto Transit City(TTC) is just unfathomable and sometimes, I do feel like a voyager sucking up the sights and side conversations amongst friends or strangers on the bus or the mosaic of people speaking various languages in a variety of accents and I just love taking it all in. Every trip tells a different story.

Today, my sense of pride as a black female was slighted. Taking a ride on the bus and a conversation amongst 5 black males encrypted into my radar and it was so obnoxious that one could accurately guess their level of maturity was next to zero! It turns out they are ex-cons and had committed several offenses. One of them spoke about how he presently has 39 charges and they all took turns subtly bragging about the number of criminal charges they had each bagged. As I listened further, they spewed lots of shameful , disgraceful facts about their criminal minds and offenses.

At this point, I’m all ears left with a weird mix of disgust + curiousity, i hope they are not murderers, I thought to myself…whilst I got into my thoughts tweeting about what I’d just heard..one of the young men who had earlier told of his 8 robberies hollered, ”yo, man you didn’t even change your looks, you should or they’ll find you”

10minutes ago when these men got on the bus, I unconsciously scanned them lightly from the face caps to their oversized t-shirts with blinging jewelries and baggy pants starting almost on their thighs with really loud rap music blaring on i-pods that dropped from their sagging pants. my first thought was just what you think but I snapped out of it when I realized I was being judgmental.

So as much as I wouldn’t volunteer to judge anyone, my question for you is how does one manage to avoid making stereotypical assumptions about people (which are sadly always judgmental and almost NEVER positive)? I’d personally hate to be judged on the average black girl basis but it may be the only hint to go by. So is it possible to be aware of a certain stereotype and not be presumptive?

That is my plight.

On the brighter side of things, I’m now on the train westbound and there’s a pan handler (homeless man ) just poking fun at this gentle man for missing the train and seeing that this fellow is in no mood for hanky panky, he turns to him and says, hey, you look like Ray Charles..LOL!!

That just made my day!

Sincerely Yours

Bourgy Babe /boogyee beib/

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Emotional Ying Yang

Dear Diary,

I think I must have said this a gazillion times but I really like where I’m at right now..its a good place.

Let me tell you how I get here…by here I mean “my good place”
This past week has been kinda sorta tedious..first working week after a 10-day break for me.., It didn’t feel so good going back to work and so my week started off very fast and rough…like a bumpy ride on a bad road in Warri,(where i spent my early years in Nigeria) I galloped .Disappointments came, anger lurked, people pissed me off and sorts of worries that come with a new year and making a new start definitely tried but to say they failed will be understating the matter..they flopped horribly.

As I get older year after year, I know for sure that one of the best things I ‘ve learned is the act of consciousness and that just means getting into the habit of self observation. I used to be an expert critic of others and as soon as I flipped that lens on me, it became a moment of illumination for my life and so I look at me from the outside..and I started listening to me speak , watching me, observing me and correcting me and so far, living a life of consciousness is by far the best thing that has happened to my personal life.

I have the litmus test for me..i know when the rage meter is up, I know where my love-ostat is and it helps me stay grounded..so I literally reprimand myself, I praise me…i complement me..i give me high fives..and i scold me...

I have to tell you its working..its my attempt at living an emotionally balanced life and i'm lovin it.

Consciously Speaking,
Bourgy Babe
Translation: /boo gyee beib/

Monday, January 3, 2011

Blossom…Flourish…Shine

Dear Diary,

Hearing the phrase ”Arise and Shine for thy light has come and the glory of God is risen upon you” again from the holy book, something seemed to ring through to me…a little different this time..maybe more compelling and requiring some sort of action on my part...

Haven't I been shining before? Why does it matter that the holy book, which Is one book that holds the most cogent information about my life instructs me to shine?
Just borrowing another scripture again, it even says somewhere that if we don’t praise God, he will command rocks to cry out in our place...

You know what I’m gathering as I prepare for lights out and call it a day? That God makes no apologies for his creation.

If he says to you “Cynthia, Arise and Shine” and you refuse to, he will look for some one else to Shine and give him the glory.

The stars don’t need to beg to shine…they just shine.
Dogs don’t fuss to be Loyal animals..they are just made that way by default.
You don’t need to struggle to succeed, you are already wired to succeed!
You only need to take the necessary steps to succeed.

How did I start thinking along these lines?
Oooh I remember..its now 1:31am Jan 3rd and I’m drawing up my goals for 2011 and I’ve written down A LOT! Some of which frighten me..like where did I get the boldness to think this BIG?

My vision board excites me much! And when I glanced at my goals and a whim of fright came close, I remembered that my only job in 2011 was to shine and I
have the ability to do just that because Ehi=Light and so its redundant to say, Ehi may shine..or Ehi will soon shine..no, because EHi already equals Light..i shine automatically..You too!

What are your goals for the new year? Care to write it out and declare it?

Take it a step further..represent it pictorially…capture it and confess it.

Blossom…Flourish…Shine…Ehi

I wish you all of that and more in 2011

Have a Glorious day/Week

Yours sincerely,

Bourgy Babe

Saturday, January 1, 2011

1-1-11

*Elated*

I haven’t felt this way since last year (I've waited so long to say that)

47…46…45.. the countdown went in the living Arts Centre where I worshipped in the massive auditorium with 1675 other brethren all thrilled and eager to enter the new year with Praise and Thanksgiving.

Its 10:05pm, December 31st and I’m standing shivering and shuddering in the cold as my tights and ‘cute’ mini skirt will not shield me from the fierce wind. Well, thankfully I’m not alone. My friend Uwa and her sister are also with me by the curb of this highway 401 West and the cars are racing swiftly like there’s a hot chase of 2011 down the road.

As they rushed past, car after car. I wondered aloud, “will anyone even stop”, “Does anyone even care to find out why there’s three young ladies stranded and helpless on the highway” So, it was only a few minutes after we set out for new year’s eve service that the car ceased and just refused to move.

Are you serious”? uhmm, the devil is a Liar! My friend exclaimed after a few minutes standing there and feeling sorry for myself that i wont be able to glide into the new year in grand style with other congregants, I began to think of Nigeria and how I would have found a fellow or two to push the car to start…dannng!!!

Next car zooms past, *splashes water* and I snap out of my thought.

11:00pm, so like joke like joke, I wont go to church tonight??

Anyways, after a few calls and distress messages, we finally get help from a friend abandoning the car for tow and off we went, on our merry way to church.


The Living Arts Centre was packed, I was definitely destined to sit in overflow today and watch a screen and so it was..just as predicted and within 3seconds and after a few raps, I was bumped to the front row in a very comfy sit.

its a little past 11pm on the last day of 2010 and despite it all I made it to church and I’m grateful. Its just in time for praise, I asked the greying gentleman behind me who couldn't have been much less than 60 if it was okay for me to get crazy and occupy some of the extra space to dance off 2010. With a sweep of his arms, he said, "Please! Be my guest." So praise and thanksgiving I did….4…3….2…1..HAPPPY TWO THOUSAND AND ELEVEN!!

Its been an amazing last year and I am excited and ready for what 2011 has to offer because I am convinced it will be a memorable year.

Have a good year ahead!

Remember, what it will turn out to be is entirely up to you. Play an active role in your life this year. Take the drivers seat.


Yours Anew

Bourgy Babe