2006 in Passing

Academically

I haven’t really been doing any academic reading. I’ve also developed the extremely bad habit of sleeping through my classes. Somehow, I managed to keep up a 4.0 until last semester when I had a B in Communication. Anyone who knows me knows why — I don’t talk, and doing so in front of a crowd wasn’t very funny.

Spiritually

I’ve been doing some self-examination since I came over here. My idea of God was as some entity who was to be feared, to be groveled after, if only to escape the flames of ‘Hell’ and do some boring harp-playing and singing in ‘Heaven.’ I don’t think I want to go to that Heaven if it does exist and even if I do, I don’t want to go somewhere because I’m afraid. I’m not going into that here — this deserves a separate post.

Mentally

I think I’ve been able to think better on my feet as the year progressed. Analysis of any situation comes rather easily to me — I break even the most mundane things into blocks. I need to explore this part of me better.

Romantically

I’ve been able to plow through the year without declaring my intentions to any of my interests — the Nepalese who always had this mischievous smile and whispered in Nepalese to her friends whenever I was around, darting looks all the while, the Indonesian who’s practically unreadable but took me to task once because she hadn’t seen me in a long while, and finally the high school American student I took a class with in summer who told me my accent was cute and wanted to find out my age and if I had a girlfriend.

Do I have a confidence problem? Not exactly.

I think I’m a very complex individual — at least when I study other people. The only friends I’ve ever had have been those who understand that a lot of the time I need to be alone. I don’t want anyone nagging me that I haven’t called her twice in a day when I think once a week is just fine. I’m not exactly going to ignore, but if she wants me not to have any time for myself, then I’d rather keep to myself. Oh, and I’m not ready to sleep with anyone yet — that seems to be expected.

Physically

I’m taller and rounder than I was before I came over. Every time I send my mom one of my recent pictures she teases me that I shouldn’t be complaining about American food.

I’ve developed very quick reflexes and it’s becoming increasingly hard for the guys at the YMCA to read me when we play table tennis.

The Rest

So far, I’ve been emotionally stable. I think I control the temper tantrums I inherited from my Dad better than he does. On the other hand, I think I’m too emotionally stable. The look I like to call the ‘Azuka look’ stays on my face all the time — there’s hardly any difference between when I’m angry, sad, or extremely happy.

When it comes to conflicts, this year I’ve lived up to what works best for me – I walk away. I’ve come to be known as soft to a lot of people around me but I think it’s better than the alternative. You don’t ever want to see me letting my anger control me — I become a raging volcano, and I’ve been known to make people huger than me cower in fright :-P.

2007

2007 looks good so far. Finances dipped below the optimum level then came back up. I’m going to be more serious about impulsive purchases from Amazon, reading my books, and communicating with my family. Here’s to the slightly new Azuka.

Comments

  1. Afropinay says:

    As regards Public Speaking, we are getting there.. It can only be better in 07′.
    Spiritually..hmmm.. I’ll let you be. Everyone’s got their level of spiritualism.

    Romantically..No comment..:)

    All the best sha in 07′.

  2. Elle says:

    ah.. public speaking, don’t worry about that, u b 9ja boy, it will come soon enough… So keep on trucking and 2007 will be rocking! πŸ˜‰

  3. nilla says:

    I used to be like you in terms of the whole public communincation thing. In school I didn’t take “Speech Communincation” I took “Speech Communication Apprehension”. But with time, after doing lots of presentations, I am now much more confident in giving presentation to a large group of people.

    Raging Volcano….Emmm, I wouldn’t want to make you angry then…lol

  4. chainreader says:

    so, azuka. what would i be joining the harem for if you are not ready for sex? hehehe. just kidding. i can handle that. it’s the once a week phone call that’s got me running!

  5. Not ready for the sexy American ladies yet eh?! No problems sha… It shall be well… it seems you already have every other thing on lockdown and I’m proud of you.. now if you ever wanted any help in the girly department from dates, to fucks, and everything in between.. Don’t hesitate to call on your blog big sister Overwhelmed Naija Babe.. The only Overwhelmed Person in Canada!

  6. and by the way I just wanted to give you a heads up.. raging volcano can sometimes be a good thing.. lol

  7. Azuka says:

    Afropinay
    I think I’ll always hate public speaking. The times I spent in front of the class had more to do with counting off the points each time I made [or thought I made] a mistake.

    Spiritually, you know a certain monk is holier than you are ;-). Romantically, I wanted some people to comment — that’s why I put it up. State your mind!

    Elle
    Unfortunately, I can’t exactly live up to that Naija boy norm. I’ve always been a recluse, and speaking with even one person can be a chore sometimes.

    Nilla
    Aptly put — “Speech Communication Apprehension.” I don’t lose my temper these days. I simply tell the party involved that he/she has made me angry. However, refusing to believe that I’m angry because I have the ‘Azuka look’ on my face cab trigger the eruption.

    Overwhelmed
    Er, from the way things are looking, I won’t be checking out the girl department until ten years from now [I wish!].

    When you experience the raging volcano, you’ll change your mind.

  8. Vera Ezimora says:

    I just like how subtle Overwhelmed was when she said she will give you help with f*cks. Lol. That girl is soooooooo crazy! You need 2 ban her from ur blog. Ca u do that?

    As 4 the look on ur face never changing, perhaps u had some botox?? LOLZ

    lol @ u being rounder. Hehehe. Hey, @ least, you’ve got some shape, right? You’re not some shapeless amoeba….i think.

  9. Keshi says:

    what a great way to self-evaluate!

    Keshi.

  10. Azuka says:

    Vera
    You seem to have read my mind [for once]. For a moment I thought of censoring her comment [yes, I can edit comments here] but I decided against it. No I won’t ban Overwhelmed. I’d rather ban you than her.

    What’s botox? For some reason it sounds like …

    Amoeba? If I put on more weight I’ll look more amoeboid. By the way, if I become amoeboid will your crush on me wear off? If it will, I think I’d like to become like an amoeba. You’ve been disrupting the line lately.

    Keshi
    Thanks.

  11. Azuka says:

    Chainreader
    I’m sorry your comment got marked as spam so it didn’t appear earlier.

    Okay, I was exaggerating about the phone calls, but being on the phone isn’t exactly romance to me. Thanks for the comment. I hope you drop by more often!

  12. Gbenga says:

    I spare you on the spirituality aspect as well.

    Concerning romance, when i was growing up(during my teenage years i mean), i use to have nearly thesame notion as you. I think i got my first kiss when i was 22 or so(phew……….). I guess with time you’ll overcome it. There is absolutely time for everything.
    GO with the flow, remember, the way you can’t learn programming witthout coding applies to relationships. You definitely can’t handle it maturedly without experience.

  13. biodun says:

    Hmm, there is no rush with the whole sex thing really! I am glad ur ranging volcano dayz r behind you, I am dealing with mine @ d moment n I am making progress πŸ™‚
    As for God, I hope u get to see Him in a different light, cos He is much more than ur description of Him. Lol @ ur roundness.

  14. bellanaija says:

    Hey Azuka,

    Happy New Year!
    Congrats on 2006…u acheieved a lot! obviously. I know u mentioned wanting to transfer schools sometime ago. Have u sorted it out?
    Anyway, the ladies will come in due course….just do ur thing..

    Ciao,

    Bella

  15. Azuka says:

    Gbenga
    Thanks for the heads-up, Egbon mi (hope I got it right this time :D)

    Biodun
    That’s not exactly my complete definition of God. I seemed to put only my apparently blasphemous thoughts here. I just can’t get myself around to writing the complete stuff.

    BellaNaija
    Hmmm. Looking at it, I hardly achieved anything last year.

    I’m still trying to deal with the whole transfer wahala. Left to me, I’d love somewhere I can get a full scholarship at without requesting info from my high school back home or filling in endless forms. I was one of the best students, but making my mom travel from Port Harcourt to Niger State to get high school records for MIT’s perusal isn’t exactly pleasing to me.

    I put her through a lot when I was in secondary school and she can’t even rest now I’m out.

  16. mac says:

    ‘zuka

    I understand your perspective. I sometimes tell myself if I grew up in the US I would have been a genius… hehe.. But then I realize there is a reason for where I grew up, and how my dad treated me. You’re a raging volcano, I’m incredible hulk– pleased to meet you.

    About you’re spirituality, we’re on the same page, we’re too logical, that’s the problem. Imagine, my dad’s a pastor.

    About the girls; A few years ago, all I wanted to do was figure out myself first before I got into anything that’d make me worse. You’ll get there, I’m not there yet myself.

    Just keep thinking the way you are, you’ll get a hang of things soon. Pece.

  17. mac says:

    hey dont get me wrong I was just trying to say I understand where you are, not trying to say I’m better.

  18. Jaycee says:

    Hmmm…I kinda like the way u put 2006 into retrospect…

    Academically…ahn ahn, u’re doing us proud o…

    Spiritually…definitely it won’t be wise to go somewhere that will make u afraid…it’s good to be honest abt these things, honesty will eventually bring you closer to the truth…

    Mentally…he he, I think we’re kinda alike in this area…I break everything analytically into blocks…lol.

    Romantically…no comment…

    Physically…ahhh, u’re getting rounder everyday?

    All in all, cheers to a lovely 2007…

  19. Afropinay says:

    Azuka,
    It might be worth it afterall if she needs to travel the distance for those docs. You’ll pay her back in due time.:)(Ofcourse thats what we all want to do)

    Give this school transfer issue a serious thought.MIT (just searched for it) looks like a good school though.

  20. Azuka says:

    Mac
    I understand. I didn’t grow up in the US. I just came here in January.

    Ha ha, you need to upgrade your status to ‘Raging Hulk’ so we’ll have something in common. Seriously, anger hurts.

    Like someone said, knowing the problem is the first step to solving it. Having a Pastor Dad doesn’t necessarily make you ‘godly.’ If anything, you want to look at it from a different angle, and understand things. OF course a lot of people’d say, ‘Look at what this Pastor’s son is doing.’ You cease to be Mac and people only know you as the Pastor’s son.

    Mine is a bit different — I’ve read all kinds of stuff reading parts of the Bhagavad Gita, The 6th and 7th Books of Moses, The Book of Mormon and so on in my quest for spirituality. Gosh, I’m going too far here. Like I said, my spirituality needs a separate post — and that’ll be when I have the nerve to lay it out in the open.

    Jaycee
    Mmm, academically, I could do better — i.e. by reading and understanding. Education as I see it is hardly a measure of intelligence. I go through the semester storing all the information I listen to in class with what I like to call my ‘hard disk.’ At the end of the semester I do a convenient wipe and forget almost everything I learned.

    I can hardly remember what I learned in Astronomy class, and yet I’m sure I made one of the highest scores in my class.

    Cheers, Jaycee.

    Afropinay
    I’m giving the school transfer a good thought. I hope MIT takes me in. They’re one of the best in the country and they don’t marginalize international students, but I guess it comes at a cost — excessive documentation.

  21. unNaked Soul says:

    spiritually I feel you… as per dating, it hurts everytime that I try… my DNA Class lacks some lines of code in the dating() function…

    goodluck in ‘007

    blog on!

  22. taureanminx says:

    Congratulations on your progress. I was terrible at public speaking but the only way to get better is to practice. As for babes, they are not going anywhere so its better you take your time instead of rushing into anything you dont want.

  23. Azuka says:

    unNaked Soul
    You mean

    unNakedSoul::dating();

    throws an exception? πŸ˜‰

    I think your approach is what’s causing it. You need to initialize a new instance of yourself each time you go on a date, and change the name of the function to date i.e.

    unNakedSoul me = new unNakedSoul();
    me.date(her);

    Okay, I’m being crazy :-D.

    Taureanminx
    Thanks for the advice. That’s something I’ve got to keep in mind ;-).

  24. Jem says:

    LMAOOOOOO …. i just took a sneak peak at you “Romantically” paragraph. You are not a certified geek are you ? (just kidding)

    You are perfectly fine, you just need more time until you find out the type of relationship and person that works for you/ fits into your lifestyle.

    Nice work on the 4.0 gpa.

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