Every year, I wonder whether it would be cheating to prepare entries ahead of time and post them on the right day, and every year I decide that it would be. So the best strategy (for me) will be to keep the posts short and write close to midnight so that it’ll post on the right day. Some housekeeping: I updated the last post to provide interested parties information on what NaBloPoMo is and to also share (brag?) that 2009 is my fourth year in a row NaBloPoMo-ing it up. Also, I’ll try to respond to your comments on entries in the comments, so please check back!

Let me tell you how I spent my Halloween night. I didn’t give out candy this year (I know! My first Halloween in my new place and I didn’t stay home!). Instead I volunteered to work at my occasional job since all the other girls who work there are 2/3 of my age or younger, and were eager to go to parties and other events and I not a fan of wearing costumes/dressing up. My excuse is that Halloween is not a Nigerian thing, and even though 27 of my 30 years have been spent in Canada or the USA, and my parents let us participate in this Halloween thing, besides the candy-getting aspect I haven’t ever really been a fan. We were never the family who had an elaborate setup on our lawn or porch; one pumpkin was enough.

After work, I decided to go to club. Earlier in the day I was wringing my hands over the phone with a friend (Hi, Allison!), wondering if I should go out in a public place full of people in close quarters, thereby increasing my chances of H1N1 exposure (more on that later), or if I should head home after work to my lover, the Internet. I picked the former and I had honestly the best time I’ve had in a club in years. The music was SO HOT: a mix of popular stuff and old school stuff and I dance better if I can sing along. So if you ever go to a club and see a Black girl with unfocused eyes (I don’t like to make eye contact with people, even friends when I’m at a club), singing at the ceiling while gyrating wildly and making odd gesticulations, that would be me! I get so into the music and I think that’s why it’s important for me to be able to connect further by singing! I was on fire dancing-wise, breaking into moves that I had never done before. None of it was anything special (just more changes in speed of movement, hand gestures and foot movements), mind you, but I felt so awesome. I guess my body had needed that for a while.

Back to H1N1: are any of you getting the shot? My mom is in one of the groups recommended to get the shot and thank God she got that little task out of the way, after 4-5 hours of waiting. So many waited for that time, only to be turned away. When I didn’t know when my mother would be able to get the shot, I felt I should get it because I’d hate to get the flu and fight it, only to pass it to her and have her suffer more, but now that she’s been vaccinated, I can go back to my obsessive handwashing and alcohol-based hand sanitizer using, and possibly skip the lineups and gripes related to getting the shot. I may still get the shot when the craziness dies down, but I feel fairly confident in my prevention work (though I may not club again until I get the shot).

Filed under: Celebrations, Health, NaBloPoMo by jummy