Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Upsy Daisy and the carpenter. What would you do?

Hello!!

I'm positively thrilled by the feedback from everyone. Thank you for coming again and again.

I just got a call from my friend. Let's call her Upsy Daisy. I can just picture her going.... what's that, how can you call me Upsy Daisy??!!

Well, while you might not look like Upsy Daisy, you've got her happy, optimistic attitude, so babe, it's a compliment :-) and if you're Upsy daisy, then I'm Iggle piggle hehehehe

Just in case you don't know who Upsy Daisy and Iggle Piggle are, allow me to introduce them to you.

If you're thinking warrisdis??? Like you, I had no idea who they were until Nathan came along, now they are a very significant part of our lives as well as Sponge Bob, Dora, Diego.....I digress..

Ok, so I found like 10 missed calls on my phone after leaving it on my bed while fixing dinner and I was thinking "why does this phone ALWAYS ring when I'm not there??" I returned the call and it was Upsy Daisy. "Which number is this that you used to call me oh, madam" I asked her. She said she had turned off her work phones so her office wouldn't be able to reach her. They had a way of always finding an excuse for her to be at work on public holidays, so she made herself unreachable. Hmmm... You see why I have the phone numbers of spouses, partners, neighbors and sometimes mothers of my staff.... so when any of them wants to be "Upsy Daisy" smart, I'm a step ahead of them... *insert wicked laughter here*. I digress... again...

"So wassup babe" I asked? "I just did something crazy and I'm sure you would be proud of me" she said. "Crazy ke?! me I'm not there oh!" She went on to tell me what happened. Some carpenter guy on her street had taken her 2k and had refused to do the job she paid him for. He started to avoid her and eventually became rude, walking out on her once when she was talking to him. She decided to forget about the guy (and her money) and she paid someone else to do the job.

She didn't go to work today cos of the holiday, so she passed by the guy's place and remembered her money. She first thought that she should free the guy...shebi it's just 2k.... Then she had a lightbulb moment!!! She thought what would Gbemi have done?

Now in 'Gbemi' mode, she was greeted by some guys on her street that helped her when she was moving in. She usually just says hi to them, but it occurred to her that they could be useful. She reported the carpenter to them. She was surprised to see the carpenter come knocking on her door, begging for forgiveness a few hours later, saying he was now ready to do the job. When she told him someone else had done it, he offered to refund her money. She was surprised! Those guys took his phone from him and were only going to return it to him when he refunded the 2k. He offered her 1k, saying that that was all he had and he promised to bring the remaining 1k to her later. She told him to give the money to the guys, making him realize that what she was angry about was that he attempted to rip her off because he felt she couldn't do anything to him. So when he gives the guys 2k, he'll get his phone and the guys get to keep the money.
She's so pleased with herself, her BB status is "I had the last laugh".

Would have done the same thing? YES, cos I really really hate it when someone tries to take advantage of me cos they feel there's nothing I can do. Without a justice system to resolve such issues, people like that carpenter get away with stunts like that all the time. I usually hate to let it slide cos I believe that the reason it has become a part of our culture in Nigeria is because nobody does anything about it. The risk is that I could get hurt (thankfully, I haven't) or misunderstood (that's unavoidable and I really don't mind), but the story of Uzoma Okere comes readily to mind. You probably remember how she was beaten up by some naval officers.



She was awarded 100m in damages in January. The case is still in court though, you can read more here

I'm not sure if I would have had as much guts as Uzoma to stand up to those guys in uniform. I would probably have let it slide as I tend to choose my battles carefully. Unlike Uzoma whose father is a colonel, my parents are singing with the angels in heaven, so I'm not sure there'll be anyone to defend me in a country where the justice system favors only those who 'know' people. Me, I only know God oh! I hope Uzoma remembers to share with me when she gets her money though, because I went to one of the rallies organised in her defense :-)

I got thinking, Shouldn't Upsy Daisy have been thinking "what would Jesus do?" and not "what would Gbemi do". I had no idea I was such an influence on anyone, that they'll think of what I would've done before making a decision. I know I haven't always been a good example, so I hope and pray no one is making any life altering decisions based on my bad precedents.

Have you ever stood up to anyone who tried to take advantage of you? What would you have done in Upsy Daisy's shoes? Please share. Thanks

9 comments:

  1. LOL @'She thought what would Gbemi have done?'
    e be like say you be one-woman mafia abi? LOLLLLL
    Well, in response to your question, I have stood up to people before and it has not always been satisfying.
    In some instances I have felt empowered after confronting the 'irritant'(especially when I have given the person a long rope OR the person has been a pain to others).
    However, the confrontation has been less than satisfying when I ended up feeling like I was 'stooping down to their level'
    This is a tough call. However, ,more often than not, if the person is of a lower economic status than I am; I tend to overlook their 'sharpness' because what goes around, comes around. *smile*
    Have a fab 2011.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, some people mske it a point of duty to take advantage of others with the mindset that they are 'sharper' or smarter. Some of us fall prey more often because we are soft spoken or wouldnt want to create a scene.

    However, as for ur friend, I think she passed the message across nicely, some of these artisans just like to take pple for a ride especially because they feel you cant do the job urself.

    Happy holidays to you dear.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Naijamum
    Lol @ one woman mafia...I find the 'fire' has reduced lately. Maybe signs of old age? *sigh*
    You're right about karma sha.. Payback's a b*tch.
    Thanks for being a part of my journey. May 2011 be a good year for us all. ((((hug))))

    @ P.E.T.
    you're right. most people would rather just walk away. Seems like the 'mature' thing to do, but doesn't that just encourage the offenders to continue behaving badly?
    thanks for coming by. All the best in 2011. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gbemisko, I think I should record this as one of my highest point for 2010..lol
    It felt good to have dealt with that guy, I mean what the h...!!

    Next time I will remember WWJD but for now, WWGD worked fine...and you are a good influence o!

    By the way, thanks for the nickname *wink* Upsy Daisy

    ReplyDelete
  5. HAPPY NEW YEAR SISTER!!!!!...how is family & work?

    As to the question....i HATE being taken advantage of & IF i have the opportunity to deal with the person or stand up to such person, i won't hesitate!

    upsy daisy did RIGHT!

    ReplyDelete
  6. @ Upsy Daisy
    Lots of love from Iggle Piggle xxx

    @Nitty
    HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I really missed you oh! trust your holiday was fun... I trust you joor :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. HAHAHA!!!! Thanks to u and Upsy Daisy, I suddenly have a brainwave, I'm off to get me some justice

    ReplyDelete
  8. I just saw this story about Uzoma for the first time. Are u kidding me? Seriously, why would anyone in their right mind do that to another human in a civilized world? Niajer is not ready for me ohh seriously.. I am just so speechless beyond words.

    This is where I stand on people that do nonsense by taking advantage of people and it seems to feel alright.. like seriously... I hate it (getting boiled up). No one should have the right to do that and think they will get away with it and blame it on the devil or the forces of darkness etc (kmt, it was the devil, so devil took ur hand and made it happen, take responsibility jare, the devil has suffered mehn)

    However, it can get personal and challenging when we involve God in a situation where the person does us wrong without no reasons and they know it.. It can get abit complicated to choose to leave things and suffer in pain because u are trying to be godly.. I cant imagine what JESUS went through.

    I believe in justice and believe people need to have the right to fight for any unfairness done to them. Yeah, fight for it but pray for direction. I guess the story of UZOMO could have been swept under the carpet and proclaim God will deal with it... He will (no doubt, in fact they will suffer it). But in a civilized world where everyone choses who to believe in whatever, i.e atheist, what should they do? Besides, what message is being passed on to our generations?

    Thus, people need to fight, fight for what is right because God has given us the power to.. Through Christ I can do all things... Thus, I will fight even if it means dying@ least i will know I fought dying than just been there(nursing my wounds)... However, I will pray for direction oohh... cos I believe if God is with us who can be against us... All in all, it is to say these things, and assume u will do this and that,but reality begs to differ. I can only pray that God will never stop shielding us from this filthy world.

    In addition, people need to stop hiding behind God and the devil and start taking moral responsibilities.. that carpenter would not have liked it if some1 did that to him or his family? And maybe some1 did, thus he wanted to pay evil.. I dont know but I know this rubbish nonsense of taking advantage of people has to stop, because evil breeds evil... nothing else.... (I could go on, but I rest my case.. it is easy to say God help me avenge but do u live right by God). Maybe what goes around is coming back around... law of karma.... its all weird...

    Finally, in all u do, do good because it is for ur generation, ur life and ur God. After all, he has the hearts of kings in his heart. (anything to do with God can sometimes be contradicting, but that is how it is)....

    ReplyDelete
  9. lol. my daughter is an upsy daisy fan. nice work gurl

    ReplyDelete

Do drop a line. Thanks...