2014
was one heck of a year and I have to say that Lagos for me has been a
cauldron of excitement, ridiculousness and late nights
I am so confused, all this time I
thought that if an event was an exclusive affair, then there should be
at least enough room for me to be able to turn around without totally
invading the space of the nearest unsuspecting socialite! Such was the
case at more than one event I attended. As a media person, you attend
some events on account of what you are there to do; but there was this
one that I was sure was going to be a hassle, so I made sure I had the
organiser’s number on speed dial.
As I suspected, the security guy was
being overzealous so I pulled rank, got in and guess what I found?
Absolutely nothing! It was just a handful of people, this was almost
11pm and you could literally imagine the tumble weed blowing across the
room with reckless abandon. Bottles and bottles of champagne were
already waiting to be served and yet there was nobody.
I set my gear down and resigned myself
to a boring night. I will confess that a small part of me was busy
judging the organisers for over using the term ‘exclusive’ to the point
where nobody showed up. But me and my judgy self were unceremoniously
flung to a corner as exactly 30 minutes later, the room was totally
packed, and the mammoth crowd still waiting to get in was unbelievable
and they were all determined to get in! All that idle champagne was gone
and had been replaced just as quickly! It was like someone had been
holding all the people up, maybe two streets away and then let them go
all at the same time. I have to admit I was overwhelmed, and trust my
Lagos people, whenever the event is tagged as exclusive event; their
level of fronting for the camera is not here. It was a great
night but I had to leave early because I kept falling alseep; I was
already tired from the night before where a music show ended up turning
into a night vigil! December events in Lagos will literally throw your
body clock out of whack if you don’t watch it.
This brings me to the next thing I figured out, YOU WILL GO HOME…EVENTUALLY.
This brings me to the next thing I figured out, YOU WILL GO HOME…EVENTUALLY.
I don’t know about everyone else but
since when has it become a norm to leave home at the modest hour of
10:30pm for an event that starts at 9pm only to return to your house at
nearly 6am! Don’t get me wrong, some of our events end at the latest by
1am, which is not too bad because if I have to write about it, I need at
least an hour to coordinate, so by 2am I’m snoozing. However, me and my
puny 1am routine could have gone to blazes for all the organisers of
this event cared. After arriving late and trying to have a good time, I
realised by 4am that the show was still nowhere near the end! They were
saving the best acts for last and because I was already there, I had to
endure. I looked around and found people dozing off, kids sleeping on
their parents’ laps and it was just a bit unsettling. Is this really a
worthy price to pay for a few laughs and people gyrating
enthusiastically on a stage? I was even more annoyed with myself because
I stick to fashion related events; but this one time, my friends had me
cornered.
Today, as I was grumbling to myself
about what a whirlwind these past few weeks have been, I remembered one
thing; I made it through the year! I actually survived this town! It’s
not always been smooth sailing but I am thankful for grace and most of
all safety because I do get home at some precarious hours and our
neighbours are totally convinced that I am a runz girl (I can see it in
their eyes!). But…have all the late nights, countless images, unsavoury
moments and judgy neighbours been worth it? You bet!
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