Year of the virus

Some very apt definitions of the year 2020 i saw on my favourite social media Twitter.

"If 2020 was a Nigerian Igbo or Yoruba man it'll be known as Mr. Ë.K Gwuru and Mr. O.T Sumi respectively."

Yes. That's how bad this year has been.

Can't recall a year that has not only started off on a sour/sad note but has gone on to take a real roller-coaster bitch of a dive!

And we're just in June month!!!!

Major personal ish for me is undoubtedly Pop's passing but worldwide, we've all fallen under the "Rona Spell".

When we're hopefully telling our grandkids of this year, we'll all refer to it as the Year of the virus

Mehn...it's been crazy. This Corona Virus of a thing has totally changed the way we know life to be worldwide.
As at time of this post, the whole world is just gradually emerging from months of mandatory lockdown......isolation/quarantine, no movement, no travel, no gatherings, mandatory mask wearing, hand sanitizers, social distancing...the works!.

Don't want to even start with how the Chinese Govt fucked up big time on this shit but suffice to say...it's effects have really been crazy everywhere.

First, and most important for me, at the time of this post,we still haven't buried my Dad. My Beloved Father has been lying in a mortuary for about 4 months now just because there is a ban on all gatherings and inter state travel!!

Also very important, people have died!!. Like it's maaad. So many folks have succumbed to this fucking Wuhan Virus and honestly last count at time of this post, death toll worldwide was about 400,000 plus. Insane. This is just for those who were actually tested and confirmed o..

We've been at home for months now...fortunately for a few of us, business could continue on a Work from Home basis.. thats how i've been stuck at home since March 26th and have only started coming back to the office recently even though salary has been slashed by 50%. Lots of folks have lost their jobs completely so i still consider myself fortunate in that regard.

The economy has tanked. Coupled with horrible governance, Naija wey no even stand well before is virtually in shambles...same with other world economies...

There have been protests all over the world about about racist treatment of blacks, We've had several women raped and killed in Nigeria... Fires and natural disasters in Australia and other places.... the list just goes on and on and on...

To add to the personal list of woes, i've had several people who i knew and loved all pass away this fucking year as well. (Thankfully, not from this fucking Wuhan shit)

• Uncle Goddy Ugorji
• Uncle Tony Agu
• Mr Dan Eromosele
• Nda Kabaka
• Aunty Mercy

Mehn...i'm tired. Real E K Gwuru.

AND IT'S STILL ONLY JUNE!!!!!

Dubai. That's the Place.

Hi everyone...In the midst of all the madness that this year has displayed, there's still been some personal news that hasnt been too gloomy.

I finally got to tick "International travel" off my bucket list.

Nairabet, for all her ups and downs, knows how to appreciate her staff from time to time. It's actually been coming for a while as last year, MD's PA calls and asks me to submit my travel documents because i'm one of the staff who've been approved for a one week,company sponsored, all expense paid trip to Cyprus!!!

Well, well well....i''m very excited and even if i do say so myself...i've fucking deserved it! worked my ass to the bone for the company and yeah...it's about time.

Panic sets in when PA starts talking about needing the documents asap as i recall that my passport has long expired..sharply, i contact Uche and Kathy and get details of someone at the Immigration office who can help speed things up.

PSA: Anything process related with Nigerian government parastatals has been designed from the get go to slowly frustrate the life out of you. Take note.

This process, even with the internal help from the guy there, eventually takes weeks during which i'm worried that the trip window might pass... only for the Cyprus embassy to change a lot of their normal visa requirements and bring in a bunch of new rules, chief of which is a required sum of more than one million naira in your personal account!! Kai!

After all the suffer i went through at the passport office to renew ...thats how the Cyprus trip just went up in smoke like that....

But my personal chi had already decided on the matter so after the "Cyprus affair", MD calls me and laughs at our obvious annoyance. Then she goes ahead to ask that we choose another destination that wouldn't require so much visa restrictions!! Yaay...!!

We (4 of us guys involved) deliberate on a lot of locations and finally settle on Dubai, U.A.E chiefly due to the least cost. Turns out it was an inspired choice.

Preparations for the Dubai trip begin at the start of the year and eventually we get our travel documents and every other thing fixed to go on the 9th of March.

(side note: It was in the midst of all this that Pop passed away in February...sorry, fucking february)

Drama on the morning of our trip as two of our guys get held up in an insane, once in a lifetime traffic on the way to the airport. Thankfully, i had the foresight to sleep over at Namo's place on the mainland and get Chigozie to drive me to the airport on time that day as final check in for the Etihad flight was due to close by 8.30am.

I got to the airport and started waiting for the rest of them to show up...mehn, like play like play...only one guy shows up eventually o and informs me that the other guys are still on their way!!...7am, 7.30, 8am... the two guys hadn't shown up yet!!

By this time, i place calls to them only to hear that they're still stuck in traffic at Ikoyi!!!!!. Most annoying thing is that one of them is in possession of the foreign currency we were supposed to have on us when we get there.
Wow...by 8.20 and being the last passengers who hadn't checked in, we decided to leave without them. Checked in and got ready to board. When we were seated and waiting to take off...thats when they started calling that they were outside the check in counter pleading to board. Long story short, they missed the flight and only two of us...Myself and Dipo got to take the trip that day.

Mahn....Now i fully understand what "International exposure" means..

The Etihad flight was awesome. Everything on board the plane seemed to have been designed with Luxury and comfort in mind. Blankets, in-flight entertainment, food, atmosphere...It was unreal!.

When we started circling down over Abu Dhabi...the sights alone of that country made me hate Naija with a vengeance!. My goodness.

I don't want to start sounding like one star struck backwoods person...but the UAE is stunningly beautiful.

Landed at Abu Dhabi Airport and the sheer size of the airport alone was a marvel. Caught a connecting bus ride to Dubai and ladies and gentlemen....to say Dubai is beautiful will be a gross gross understatement. It is breathtakingly amazing.

We had a little issue with trying to get to the hotel till i remembered that i was with my Mastercard and that changed everything. Got a taxi to the hotel (City Premiere at the Marina) 
and proceeded to have a blast of a week.

Guys...whatever happens in life, try to visit the UAE and Dubai at least once before you die... it's that important.

MY TRIP HIGHLIGHTS:

• All the beautiful Architecture...Sky scrapers, Roads, Underground Train system

• TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:

The Dubai Mall,

•  Fountain of lights, 
• The Burj Khalifa,
• 
•  Burj al Arab,
• 
•  The Palm Islands, Lost City of Atlantis...
•  
• Dubai Museum
• 
• The open air Marina, Cafes, beaches and sidewalks
• The Souk markets at the City center
• EVERYTHING in general

MORE VACAY PICS BELOW

Disclaimer: I didn't have the foresight to take a very good camera along. Pictures are courtesy of my long suffering Tecno POP 3 Pro. Manage them like that biko.