{"id":1714,"date":"2012-01-08T13:29:42","date_gmt":"2012-01-08T18:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/verastic.com\/?p=1714"},"modified":"2012-10-18T02:25:52","modified_gmt":"2012-10-18T06:25:52","slug":"by-the-way-how-did-you-usher-in-the-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/verastic.com\/site\/vl\/by-the-way-how-did-you-usher-in-the-new-year.html","title":{"rendered":"By The Way, How Did You Usher In The New Year?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have been so occupied with occupying Nigeria that I forgot to ask how you ushered in the new year. Did you go to church? Did you party like it was 99? Did you drink yourself to stupor? Did you get arrested? Did you travel? Did you have a premonition about the impending end of fuel subsidy? Okay, sorry. I promise not to mention fuel subsidy or anything related to it again in this post.<\/p>\n

I usually celebrate New Year’s Day by going to church on New Year’s Eve. At the stroke of midnight, we’ll shout Alleluia or something like that, and then, the Pastor will give us prayer points and tell us that this is our year. That’s what I did for the past few years. This year, however, I decided to do something different.<\/p>\n

I (we) decided to go Downtown Baltimore to watch the fireworks. I have literally spent most of my adult life in the United States, and yet, I had never, ever ushered in the new year with the people whose land I reside on. Culture, tradition, and religion (not spirituality) binds us to a monotonous life, whether or not we like it and whether or not it favors us. I decided that I wanted to do something else this year, so I did.<\/p>\n

On New Year’s Eve, we went Downtown Baltimore. First, we saw the new movie, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo<\/em> at Landmark Theater. I even had a cocktail named after the movie. It was my first time being to that theater. It’s different because you can drink alcohol (the other ones only serve non alcoholic beverages). Plus, you can lift the arm of the chair, which is really cool if you want to cuddle. But Vera Ezimora did no such thing *adjusts halo*<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then we took a walk around Downtown. I felt like a tourist in a City I have lived in for almost twelve years. That’s just shameful. Then we went to a restaurant, can’t remember the name. I was not hungry enough for any major food, so I wanted an appetizer. They didn’t have anything we wanted, so we left. \u00a0We ended up at The Greene Turtle<\/em>, a sports bar on any other day. But on New Year’s Eve, it had turned into some kind of club that even charged a door fee of $3. We ordered chicken wings. Our waitress had a striking resemblance to the girl with the dragon tattoo – without the tattoo and the piercings. I couldn’t stop looking at her. He said I was staring.<\/p>\n

We had very hot chicken wings (and I had a rum and pineapple cocktail with that). Mental note: try the medium chicken wings next time<\/em>. There was a DJ blasting some nice enough songs. No Wizkid or 2Face or anything. I wonder why. The Cupid Shuffle came up and no one jumped up to dance. That’s when I confirmed my suspicion: we were with White! I.E.<\/strong> It was a White club. To further amuse me, about seven white girls got up to dance to the Cupid Shuffle. They shouldn’t have done that. There was no \u00a0order or rhythm whatsoever. \u00a0They bumped into each other and their blood alcohol level did not help the hysterical laughter.<\/p>\n

A random White guy gave me a hug and asked me to dance with him. I declined. Anything can happen when you take a drunk man up on his offer. I think there’s something on my head that welcomes hugs from strangers. Remember I got one on my birthday last year? Oh, well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I didn’t have my camera, so pardon this picture. That’s me at The Greene Turtle (I’m still trying to get used to this not anonymous thing). After that, we walked around some more, and before we knew it, it was almost midnight. We walked to the water place where everyone else was standing. People were screaming, blowing whistles, and — did I mention screaming? \u00a0Midnight came and there were fireworks upon fireworks. I had never been so close to fireworks. The lights were beautiful, and the sounds were explosive. We closed our eyes, held hands, and prayed. Everyone was so excited about the fireworks. God was kind enough to give us a nice temperature. \u00a0It was not freezing at all.<\/p>\n

Oh, and for the first time in my life – EVER<\/em> – I got a kiss at midnight. But it was a holy kiss oh! Vera Ezimora does not indulge in naughty things of this world *readjusts halo again*<\/strong><\/p>\n

How did you usher in 2012?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have been so occupied with occupying Nigeria that I forgot to ask how you ushered in the new year. Did you go to church? Did you party like it was 99? Did you drink yourself to stupor? Did you get arrested? Did you travel? 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