Bienvenido a Barcelona!!

 

Yaay peeps…My International travel bucket list items are gradually getting ticked off.

 

The good folks at Travelperk usually bring newbies for onboarding at HQ and they sent me an invite to come spend a week in the gorgeous city of Barcelona!!

Boy!! I was so excited.

Of course, Naija tried to catch me, but I dodged. Just some crazy things that being Nigerian and having this green passport does. So let me explain. Those of us who resumed together in January formed this really close-knit group of four and we’ve become really good friends. Ethan is British with Jamaican roots; Zain is British with Pakistani roots and Deb is British. All of them have passports which enable them travel anywhere they wish at a moment’s notice. My green Kpali however, needs to go through other processes in order to get a Schengen visa, so I was unable to follow them for the initial onboarding in February. Sigh. I now had to apply for a Schengen visa which had to entail me travelling to London twice for some biometric capturing, and at the end, I wasn’t even sure they’d grant it, However, the company letter and confirmed travel arrangements weighed heavily and I got a visa to Barcelona!

It was a good trip.

Barcelona is such a beautiful city. Even though I didn’t get to spend as much time touring as I would have wanted (it was a working week), it was just amazing to get away from the Birmingham weather and into some sunshine for a change. The Travelperk HQ was absolutely amazing, and I had an awesome time. The whole building was ours and is a really lovely work environment.

 Even though the onboarding had a whole gang of newbies (seems like they just hired a whole bunch of salespeople) there was a group of us (Jeff, Kim and I) from the UK who bonded quite nicely, and we had great fun after work, roaming the streets, exploring different cuisines on different nights, visiting some tourist spots and drinking on the side streets till late at night. We had company approved expenses, so why not?

I’m not exactly a Barca fan but the highlight of the trip was my visit to watch them play at their stadium against Villareal. Such a great atmosphere. I haven’t been to a stadium in ages, but this was different and special.

Bruh..i really need to start taking more pictures and documenting trips. Anyway, make una manage these ones like that. I will do better next time. 

Birmingham beckoned

 Hi fam,

 

Okay, let me get you all up to speed on some life updates.

It’s been a whirlwind couple of months for us. 2024 has been THAT year for us.

I resumed at my new customer service job with Travelperk and it’s been such a great time. Admittedly. I initially felt like I was overqualified for it because I’ve been in CS all my life however, the truth of it is that this is an entirely new industry (Business travel) and I’m a newbie here. It’s strange to be back in that call center setting, handling calls, emails and chats again…but what can I say? This is an entirely different kettle of fish! In hindsight, I realize that my CS days in Nigeria was a poor shadow of what CS should actually be. There’s so much to learn and the people over here have been absolutely amazing. I’ve been blessed to have a great team with a fantastic manager who makes me want to do and be better. It’s great that CS is one of my strong points so it’s mostly been all about getting updated on the product knowledge part and getting used to working from a different perspective when it comes to working with white people. Trust me, I’ve had to do a quick reset when it comes to work cos these lot ain’t fucking around. Fortunately, I’m a quick study and education and exposure have helped me blend in quite nicely (if I say so myself). Plus, the job is helping me finally contribute much more to our financials, so yes, all in all , quite the blessing.

Birmingham beckoned and we had to answer the call.. We’re now officially Brummies and I can tell you it’s a whole lot different from our darling London. First off, it’s much cheaper than living in London!! (The Government didn’t create a separate living wage for Londoners for nothing yunno..) Bham is a relatively big town on its own though and even though life is a bit less fast-paced, it’s still a “happening” place. The weather however, is just downright awful. This is April yet, we still have to use the heaters and duvets most of the time. Cold rain is always one minute away and the winds here can make it pretty uncomfortable.

We got a two-bed apartment in a lovely part of town called Harborne but maybe because we were in such a hurry to get settled back then in January, we didn’t take the time to really scout through houses. This one has some issues which riles both of us whenever we think of it. For such a lovely part of town, this house just reduces the brownie points. There’s a back yard which is supposed to be like your nice outdoor garden, however, our landlady (irony of ironies, she’s Nigerian) has neglected to take care of it and it’s developed into such a messy area that I’ve been forced to complain several times to her (nothing’s changes at time of press), the house EPC rating makes it quite a hassle to warm up and from the little part of the winter weather we experienced here, it can get pretty cold!. Additionally, the wifi setup of the house was such that the living room has the worst reception, which means Chioma had to work mostly from the bedroom and watching live TV was so frustrating. (I sorted it out later sha,). Long and short of it is that we might be moving to another house before the year is up. Will keep you updated.

Side note to thank the Agomos for being such outstanding people. They really helped us settle in and have been such a blessing. God bless you guys.

 

 

 

Blame it on the..

 

Hi guys, I’m just going to try and unlook the fact that I’m just posting something here after months of indecision and procrastination…. I’m gradually coming to the sad conclusion that berating myself, indulging in mental whipping sessions and self-flagellation might not be cutting it anymore, and to be honest, it’s not that deep (Even though the past few months have been chock full of things to update which I shall most certainly try to do ..smh)

HOWEVER, I have decided to put this up as a sort of accountability partner to remind myself of a sad fact which I’m coming to realize about myself. (I’m sure y’all know by now that it’s not always positive)

I make bad financial decisions whenever I’ve had some alcohol in me. Especially, when I’m around family and friends and we’re having a good time.

Mahn, I know it’s a universal thing, of course nobody’s ever woken up the next day after a rave of a night and realize that they’ve bought shares in google or something … but damn, I’ve had some back to back weeks of some financial Ls.

I’m sitting here on a Saturday morning recalling the immortal words of Messrs. Fox and Pain in their seminal collab, “blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol” and feeling a tad annoyed with myself. I acknowledge the fact that It’s not been a bad couple of months for us financially. At least we’ve been blessed to be able to afford the necessaries, and even splurge on other things but I’ve got to try and stop spending money on things which I really don’t have to. Especially when it comes to alcohol and clubbing.

To be fair to myself, I think I’m being a bit harsh because on both occasions which have necessitated this write up, I’ve been in very good company with family and friends and we were really having a good time.

However, this is a memo to self: If you don’t have to…then DON’T!!!

That extra bottle of Hennessy is certainly not necessary and sometimes, if your friends aren’t volunteering to pay for drinks, you don’t have to step up (especially when it’s not all that convenient for you too!!). DO BETTER OKEY!

Anyway, enough of the self lashing…I’m just realizing that this is my first post of 2024!!

Wow! Just WOW (side eyes self).. First post of the year and it’s fuelled by hangover blues, negative bank balance and self-flagellating thoughts…well done Okey.

 

Happy new year to you all