The NOVICE MASTER|Welcome to Uncle Che’s NOVICE MASTER. This blog is all about Science and Technology, Business and Economy, Home and Family, Personality and Self Improvement as well as personal opinions, reviews and lifestream

What you started seeing yesterday, is the result of the of a very sweet wordpress theme called iNove.

If you read the post on why I discarded the other theme in preference to this one, then you may understand why i say “iNove Rocks”.

I love this theme very much and I have no plans changing it in the future. I got more confident about this theme when Lainy checked it and said it is cool. I trust her judgment very much. Besides being a sister and a friend, she makes a very good coach for me. .

I have tweaked this theme a little to give it more taste and “compatibility” to this blog. I have tried as much as possible giving it more free space and functionality. I have made it personal, made it “my own”.

If you have any suggestions, please give them to me. Your opinions counts.

Thanks.

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Up there in Bamenda, my home town, it was lots of fun but I still missed Buea so much because of a number of reasons.

First, I don’t have friends in Bamenda as much as I have down here in Buea. I meet lots of old friends here and make new ones. At my job site, I see tens of friends each day and try to meet up with a few online. I really missed communicating with Lainy, Ivy, Allena, Vilma and Kittle.

Secondly, I missed blogging. Since there is no internet in my village, the only time I could blog was in town at a cybercafe. It is very boring blogging that way. Most of the time when I sat in front of the computer, the rampant outages won’t allow me make a single post.

Thirdly, I missed work. My job is very tedious but I still enjoy it. Doing noth8ing but watching TV, partying with friends and sleeping was already getting boring. I am glad I am back to living a “normal” life.

On Wednesday, mum came back from work at about 7pm. Imagine the look on her face when I told her I will be heading for Buea that same like. “You are just like your father”, she said, and my Aunt rounded it up “does anyone not give birth to another person’s child”? . I understood what they were up to, but thank God they allowed me to travel. I had to leave at 8pm so as to be at the park on time but before I looked at the clock, it was almost 9pm so I had to leave in a great rush. I hurried to Edith’s place, took some parcels she prepared for Noela and went straight to the motor park. I was almost late.

When I arrived Buea early (5AM) yesterday morning, I stopped at Noela’s place and spent the whole day with her. I helped her check a few things on her brand new laptop. I also helped type a few paragraphs of her assignments and watched an Indian movie names “Doom”.

Later in the evening, we paid a visit to Rosy where we watched TV and a movie names “Two Week Notice”. It was an interesting day. I spent the night at Noela’s place and here I am, at work, and trying to make some updates on this blog. It is almost 2pm. I guess Lainy should be online now. Let me check…

What’s special about this Wednesday? In case I haven’t told you yet, get it now. I will be traveling by night to Buea and will get to see my love very early in the morning when I reach Buea. But till then….

Yesterday was a very remarkable day. First of all, I went to the hospital very early in the morning for my laboratory test. I was first on the queue so everything was like a breeze. After taking my blood and skin sample, I was told to pass by at 1pm and collect the results from the doctor who carried out the consultation. I left for Edith’s place and though she left at about 10am for work, i was happy spending the day with her little boy and the nanny. I watched a movie, WAR, by Jet Li and Jason Statam and when it ended at a few minutes after 1pm, I left for Simon’s place.

We had a very great time at home listening to Music he and other members of ProFelon Recordz have produced. Then we moved to the studio, where I helped him record some CDs he wanted to share with friends and relatives before traveling. These CDs are the same content as those he distributed on his wedding day. They carry two songs related to the wedding, Bye Bye Bachelor and My Bride. He had about 160 copies more to produce and I don’t even know how many I helped him burn. When it was time for the party, I stopped the burning process and we all left.

It wasn’t much of a party, just something symbolic. We had about 2 dozen guests and lots of drinks and snacks. The most symbolic part of the small event wasn’t the food or drinks but the discussions. It was the very fisrt time that we gathered the most of our intimate friends in one small hall and talked about our similarities and differences, projects and dreams…

The greatest part of of our discussions centered around relationships and music. We exchanged ideas on how to find love, keep it and mature a relationship to the point of marriage and even beyond. We all had bags and bags of advice for Simmy and Liddy. She was the only lady at the occasion. We all congratulated her for being so patient and understanding, tolerating Simon even in times of intense poverty and little hope.

The party ended at a quarter to midnight and we bid each other goodbye. spent the night with the same friend Simon took me to last time and still got up very early in the morning and escaped. Just that this time, with Simon’s permission, I passed by to say goodbye but he wasn’t in. I met Liddy and collected some of my stuff and she promised me would meet Simon on the way if I took a direct course. So I did and I met him.

I will be going back to Buea this night so I must keep up with an fun I have missed since I came to Bamenda. I dedicated myself for some sightseeing and finally visited the main market in our village and also the secondary school I attended for 7 years. My younger brother, Neba Gilbert, accompanied me to the market since he wanted to fetch a new radio for himself. Photos will be made available later.

Now, I am patiently waiting for mum to return from work at 7pm so that I can have a little chat with her before the journey. Can you imagine that up to this moment she doesn’t know I am travelling today? I thought it would be tomorrow but my love insisted it must be today. I guess I have no choice.

Noela thought I would be a bit busy so she called a friend, Rosy, who will be travelling this same night to go to the motor park and pay two tickets for both of us. I am expected to be at the park at 9:00pm. I hope I make it.

I got up very early from Simon’s place yesterday (Sunday 25th) and went back home. I didn’t bother to wake him up because I knew he was very tired from the activities that took place on great Saturday – the wedding. Secondly, I didn’t even tell mum I would be spending the night out so it was a good reason to come home early so that she sees my face before leaving for work. However, I was still late. Mum usually goes to work at 5:30am so she leaves home at 5:00am.

I made a promise to Mrs Muma Edith (Noela’s elder sister) that I would spend the whole day of Sunday at her place. She is very friendly and welcoming and I knew she would be happy having me around but I couldn’t get there very early. I decided to sleep and attended the second mass at Church (10am – noon). After church, I spent about three hours sleeping before going to Edith’s place.

It was fun spending the day with her and her husband. We watched TV, exchanged stories, and I had to play with their little cute and intelligent boy, Neba Magloire. I pent the night there and early this morning, I decided to give Simmon a call. He was surprised that I was still in Bamenda. Though we did not talk much because of poor communication network, I didn’t bother calling again because I decided I will pay him a visit. First and foremost, I had to go to the Bamenda Preventive Hospital for a laboratory test proceeding the consultation i had since December 23rd 2008. The queue was quite a length and I was too impatient to wait so I postponed the task and rescheduled it for Tuesady morning so I could go very early and be the fisrt on the queue. I boarded a taxi to Simon’s place and to the best of surprises, he was organizing a send off Party to take place the next day (Tuesday). He explained to me that Wednesday has been reserved for their honeymoon and the was getting away for the North on Thursday, so Tuesday was the only day possible for a sendoff party. We chatted and spent some time planning the sendoff. We had to carefully make a list of who to invite and what to share. It wasn’t really going to be anything formal. Just calling a few friends and letting them know he would be going back to work in a few days.

I am on my way back home, but first I will stop at Edith’s place again and spend a few hours with her. When I get back to town tomorrow (Tuesday) for Simon’s Sendoff party, I will keep you all posted.

Bye Bye…

There are many times you feel like asking yourself if God actually receives those numerous letters you send, requesting for one thing or the other. Many at times, you see people far “less” than you having “more” than what you have and what you dream of ever having. You may find yourself in some situations where “only the wicked prosper” and that might even push you to do terrible things to meet up with your demands.

Have you ever heard or sung this rhyme?

The hot sun shone down ever day upon the just and the unjust fellow but more upon the unjust just because the unjust had the just’s umbrella.

Sounds so unfair, yeah, but I will like you to look at this in another way.

Here in my inbox features a forwarded mail from a dear friend. You might already have it in your inbox too, but I plead you have a second look at it. I would like to thank the original author of this piece. It is worth silver and gold.

..and now, the story.

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night
In the home of a wealthy family.
The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in
the mansion’s guest room.
Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold
basement..

As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel
saw a hole in the wall and repaired it.

When the younger angel asked why, the older angel
replied,

‘Things aren’t always what they seem.’

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a
very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife.
After sharing what little food they had the couple let the
angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good
night’s rest.
When the sun came up the next morning the angels found
the farmer and his wife in tears.
Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income,
lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel
how could you have let this happen?
The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she
accused.
The second family had little but was willing to share
everything, and you let the cow die.
‘Things aren’t always what they seem,’ the
older angel replied.
‘When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I
Noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall.
Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling
to share his good fortune, I sealed the
Wall so he wouldn’t find it.’

‘Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the
angel of death came for his wife. I gave him
The cow instead.
Things aren’t always what they seem.’
Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things
don’t turn out the way they should. If you have
faith, you just need to trust that every outcome
Is always to your advantage. You just might not know it
until sometime later…
Oooo
Some people ( )
Come into our lives ) /
And quickly go.. (_ /
OooO
( ) Some people
\ ( become friends
\_ ) and
stay awhile….
Leaving beautiful Oooo
Footprints on our ( )
Hearts… ) /
( _/
OooO
( ) and we are
\ ( never
\_ ) quite the same
Because we have
Made a good
Friend!!
Yesterday
is history.
Tomorrow a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That’s why it’s called the present!
I think this is special…live and savor every moment…
This is not a dress rehearsal!
(\ /)
( \ __ / )
( \()/ )
( / \ ) TAKE THIS LITTLE
ANGEL
( / \/ \ ) AND KEEP HER CLOSE TO
YOU
/ \ SHE IS YOUR GUARDIAN
ANGEL
( ) SENT TO WATCH OVER YOU
____
this is a special guardian angel…. you must
passthis on to 5 people within the hour of
receiving her, after you do make a wish….
if you have passed her on, your wish will
be granted and she will watch over you forever…..
if not, her tears will flow and no wishes
will be granted….

Now don’t delete this message, because it comes from
a very special angel.
Right Now -
-somebody is thinking of you.
-somebody is caring about you.
-somebody misses you
-somebody wants to talk to you.
-somebody wants to be with you.
-somebody hopes you aren’t in trouble.
-somebody is thankful for the support you have provided.
-somebody wants to hold your hand.
-somebody hopes everything
turns out all right.
-somebody wants you to be happy.
-somebody wants you to find him/her.
-somebody is celebrating your successes.
-somebody wants to give you a gift.
-somebody thinks that you ARE a gift.
-somebody loves you.
-somebody admires your strength.
-somebody is thinking of you and smiling.
-somebody wants to be your shoulder to cry on.
SOMEBODY NEEDS YOU TO SEND THIS TO THEM

His name is Ambe Simon Numfor, and is spiced up as Simmy, the name he picked up for the game when he started out with his HipHop career. He actually added Daddy to it, making it Daddy Simmy but today, he is popularly known as Survivor, his stage name. After pursuing a degree in Nursing at the University of Buea for 4 years, he worked in the private sector for about 2 years and is currently employed and posted to the Far North Region as a Registered State Nurse (RSN).

Her Name is Lidwina but has been spiced up to sound as Liddy. After signing the papers iun court yesterday, she legally bears Numfor, so I will prefer calling her Mrs. Numfor. She is posted in the Littoral region as a teacher. Trust me she is a very dedicated one.

The wedding proper began Yesterday (Saturday 24th January 2009) in the All Saints Parish (a Catholic Church) at Bayelle, Bamenda. It started at 1pm. I still can’t believe I went there up to 30mins late. I left Bafut and went to town to fetch a wedding present for him. I just too busy on Friday with the Court witnessing and the Bachelor Eve celebrations that I totally forgot about the present. What can I get for him as a present? The whole world could not have been enough, so I just had to get anything, no matter how small, but attached lots of love to it. With Noela’s help, we decided to go for a blender.

If I have to describe the Numfors wedding in one word, that word would be “Wonderful”. Because of the great organization, time and money invested in the event, all went big and timely. I trust Simon’s capabilities when it comes to executing projects, so I didn’t doubt this will be a success.

The blessing in church took place from 1pm to about 3pm, after which some snapshots where taken in front of the church building and everyone proceeded to the reception ground which was a hall within the church premises. The bride and her groom were welcomed into the reception hall with a song “true love” by 2 Face (a Nigerian Singer and rapper). After some speeches by the couple’s parents and some key organizers gifts were presented. One part of the reception that was always on and uninterrupted was the feasting itself. There was more than enough for everyone to eat and drink and all uninvited guests were welcome. No one even had to present an invitation to enter the hall.

By 9pm, everything was over at the hall but close friends and relatives had to escort the couple home. I couldn’t leave at that point, so i had to help with the transportation of the crates and bottles and some other items. We continued the wedding celebrations hi the groom’s home, I spent the night with a close friend of his and left very early this morning.

The snapshots I took from the wedding were too many and to make them easier to view, i will present them as a sideshow. I will create the sideshow this night and I hope by tomorrow, it will be up for viewing.

Continuing from yesterday. I did travel safely and arrived Bamenda at 7am.

The court wedding starts at 8:00am and the location is about 10 miles from my home. Although I am very tired and feeling sleepy, this is not an occasion for me to miss. I couldn’t make it at 8 am so I got there at 9. Lucky enough for me, nothing had started yet and all 12 couples together with their witnesses, parents and some relatives and friends where all there waiting for the mayor. Many people expected that the mayor’s assistance will begin the occasion if the mayor was late, but no way. We all waited for the mayor’s arrival at 10am. The occasion which was expected to end at 11am took us up to 2:15pm. From the courtroom, we proceeded to small hall where we had some prayers, food and drinks and also got to introduce ourselves to each other.

After that, I followed Simon to his place and spent a few minutes there. During that short time, we boith received calls from Noela, asking us if everything went on well.

I  left Simon’s place and went to a cybercafe to talk to Lainy as I promised but it was already late. I was very sure not to meet her and I wasn’t surprised not meeting her online. I decided to switch to plan B, writing this post and immediately I it “publish” I went to see Aunty Manka. I was very suire she would get mad at me for being i Bamenda without calling her but on the contrary, she was very happy seeing me.

After spending some time with Noela’s sister, I left for Simon’s Bach Eve…

As I informed you on this post, Numfor Simon Ambe will be getting married on the 24th. Before the marriage proper is the “court wedding” where vows are being exchanged. I thought that one will be optional since I am too busy but Simon insisted I must be there, so I will be traveling in less than 30 minutes. One thing very marvelous is that the Court wedding and Bach eve are taking place on the 23rd, and that coincides with Simon’s birthday.

I have already booked for my trip and will be traveling at 10:00pm. I am however expected to be at the motor park 30mins before time. I really don’t know when I will get some sleep, but I hope it will be a smooth journey and the following day’s activities will go on smoothly as well. I will keep you updated.

Before I met Lainy, I had a very faint idea about Philippines and Filipinos. All I knew was that the Philippines is a third world country located in Asia, with broad smiling white men and women, and as far as the internet is concerned, they love blogging too much. Ha ha ha…

I am someone who loves making friends. I am very open and positive about friendship, and since I spend some considerate time on the internet, I felt it necessary to have friends online too. Real friends I could talk to, and exchange ideas and help. Social networks are good places where one can find friends, but it is somehow risky. Some people go to such places just to get victims. Yes, you heard me, victims. They claim to be your friend and look for every possible means to exploit you.

Thanks to blogging, I made two fabulous friends online; Sangeeta of World in ur Pocket and Lainy of Lainy’s Musings, Our Journey to Forever and Certified Fashionable Chick. Through Lainy, I have come to know her Mum and two brothers, her officemate Kittle and some Filipino bloggers including Allena, Ivy, Vilma, Bregie, Twerlyn, etc…

Interacting with the Interacting with the Filipino community is the best experience I have ever had on the internet. If you ask me about Filipinos, I have two things to say;

They are the best bloggers the world has: I can’t just believe how many Filipino blogs I meet on the blogosphere.  I feel like asking myself “is it a family or national tradition?”, ha ha ha. The y blog very well in all blogging related topics and their blogs are very well updated with personal information, so you never get bored visiting and reading their content.

They are the most genuine of hearts: What do I call a genuine heart? It is hard to explain, but Lainy challenged me so much that she beats my imagination. What makes her so caring and concerned even just after a few weeks of acquaintance? She is always welcoming, trusting and gladly helping. So are her friends and relatives. I feel like a family member and like living under their roof.

If I would like to go on a long vacation somewhere, I think the Philippines will be the only item on my list. I think I have more friends there than on any other part of this planet. Not just friends, but Lainy is there… :d When can that be? Hmmm she thinks some time after the… you know…

Our secret!

I have always asked someone this question and have never gotten a reply that was different from a broad smile and a couple of fingers ran through my cheeks, but today, I got a shock.

Today, when I asked her “What Would I Be Without You”, she replied;

A free man. One that has the liberty of doing what he likes, when he likes and how he likes it. You will be someone who will not get bored hanging out with the same girl everyday because you will have a whole lots out there to choose from, and certainly change them like a lady changes clothes. You will have less problems to solve and certainly won’t be as poor as you are now. You will be free from heartbreaks and sleepless nights. You won’t spend all your communication credits calling me and won’t run away from work just to come and spend the day with me. You won’t….

Oh enough.
She was already killing me. All what she said was true. In a nutshell, I can say she was just trying to point out the responsibilities that come with love.

However, when you are a lover, you don’t even consider them as sacrifices. Maybe because you were ready for them or maybe because, you know there are many things that make up for the pains…too many.

JAN 18 2009

If I tell you I am not jealous, come on…don’t believe me. I am, but that’s OK. He is my friend. Not just a friend, a very special type. The type you wish could be your brother. He is my brother, anyway. We look very alike and almost the same age and height. The difference is just that h has put on a little more weight than me and is smarter than I would ever be .

His name is Ambe Simon Numfor, a very well respected artist  in the BDA neighborhood. He is into HipHop and has a very large fan base. He has already released two demo albums and a long list of single hits. He sings in both English, pidgin and in our local dialect. He loves and produces music that deals directly with our immediate surroundings and its problems. Music is his life.

He has always been a very bright student at school, obtained a first degree in Medicine in the University of Buea, obtained some working experience and is now on a paid job in one of the loneliest parts of the country However, he is happy with it.  He is open to a whole lot more of opportunities there, especially in his music career.

Just about a week before X-mas, Simon told me;

“Men, soon ur man’s gonna jump 2 another level, he he he. You guyz gonna pay ur respect to a whole different G, a responsible spouse and soon 2 be dad”.

I couldn’t believe it, but it was true. Simon is getting married soon, 24th Jan 2008. That’s a big challenge to me, I must admit. I wish him the best in his love life and marital home.

Loosing concentration on something you like is a very bad experience. You find yourself saying you can’t live without it, and the next day, you say to hell with it. Whether you know it or not, this has very negative impacts on you. It greatly affects your attitude towards other endeavors, even those that are stable and long lasting. What forces us to loose concentration?

I am not a Jack-of-all trade, as I have heard most of my friends tease me, but the fact that I always want to learn a bit of everything still remains concrete. At times, I wish I had a arms, eyes, ears and legs. I feel like pleading that God should extend our normal day to 48hrs and double a week to 14 days. I feel like a month should be 60 days and a year…

They say planning is the key to it all, and with proper planning, one can achieve quite a lot in a limited time space. I have come to see “priorities” to be far more important than planning. My main problem is how to prioritize my goals. As I earlier said, I have too much to learn, much work to do and many places to go (though not really many). Planning the time to spend on each task is very challenging, but I always handle that. However, after the planing, where do I start?

About a year back, I wanted to study web development, sound engineering and creative writing (for movie scripts). When I put one at the top and decide it is the main one and I would start with, looking at the time it would take makes me feel like giving up on the others. Have I stopped looking at any as being important? No. They are all too important for me, but I have just lost the interest to running after them all.

One can’t have them all, but I really wan to have one, and still partake in the others…

Uncle Che is too carefree. This is what most of my friends think about me. What! I can’t imagine he carries on for a whole month without calling me. He walks out late at night, isn’t he scared of danger? Doesn’t life mean a thing to him? Oh, look at the speed at which he does it, isn’t he scared of being late? He takes too much risks, even with his health and feeding. He sleeps very few hours a day and gets up very early in the morning as if on a mission to save the world.

I have some friends who will just round up a thousand things they had to say and present it as “he is not a serious guy”. Ha ha ha. My baby says my problem is that I am just too courageous and fearless, that is why i hardly care about certain things. On the other hand, some place this same as “a courageous fool”.

Well, there are things about humans that you can’t just change. Each human being displays extremes of one or more character types and though not very positive to their living,  they try as hard as possible to keep it in the right direct and minimize the harm inflicted upon others.

Some people who really understand me, like my mum, would just say “Che is the kind of guy who likes doing things his own way”. Yea, mum, you are right. That’s who I am.

Here, we have a popular say in pidgin English that reads “between man and woman, no put ya mop for dey“, meaning never ever come in between a man and a woman. Ha ha ha. It sounds childish and vague but a deeper look into it reveals far more than can be imagine.

Though the say says between “man and woman”, it is not just referring to any man. Neither is it referring to any woman. It is talking about a man and a woman who are in a relationship, a love relationship.

Love comes with everything bad and good. At times everything is haven. All of a sudden, everything turns hell. Lovers who understand each other take this fact into consideration and though expecting the best, they always get ready for the worst.

Not every being on this planet wants the best for a couple. Some are always on the watch, waiting for them to have the slightest of problems so that they can set in between and destroy what they have been building for a very long time. If you are such, beware.

If you wan to stand on the line separating couples and you are so good an opportunist that you won’t take chances, 99% of the time you will get a shock. Do everything to put them asunder. Well, it won’t be long before they realize themselves and continue standing for each other. Then, they will get to know you as an enemy and I promise you, even Lucifer, the agent that sent you, won’t be strong enough to defend you.

What God has put together, let no man put asunder.