Friday, May 4, 2012

Perk #1 of being a corper... CAN'T TOUCH THIS!

Buon giorno tutti!

I'm sure you read the title of this post, and you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about. Well, I will explain through the telling of a VERY recent event in my life.

It was a Thursday, the day after Wednesday (obviously). I woke up feeling refreshed as the day before was my CD day, which meant no work. I showered (ooooooooooh *wink wink*), got dressed, had morning devotion with my host family, and proceeded to drive to work. I was ready to conquer the day, looking forward to compiling my weekly report - I actually do enjoy it. I got to the office, had a cup of cereal for breakfast, and my usual cuppa coffee... and just when I was ready to face work, I got the phone call.

Aunty: Berry!
Me: Hello. Yes, Aunty?
Aunty: You need to leave the office, go home and pack your bags, you are no longer in the running to become America's next top model... 


Just kidding! The real convo was:

Aunty: Berry!
Me: Hello. Yes, Aunty?
Aunty: You need to leave the office, go home and pack your stuff. 
Me: *silence*
Aunty: When you get there, you'll see.
Me: Erm, ok 

So I say a quick word to my supervisor because I have a feeling I know what's happening, and I get permission to leave the office. I drive home wondering what to expect. I play music on the way home to calm myself. And then I get to the house, and what do I see? Police and a whole bunch of random men in the house. I walk calmly in and ask where my aunt is, and they point me to my uncle, who breaks the news...

We're being EVICTED!

WHAT? WHEN? WHO? WHERE? HOW? WHY?

To cut the long story short, the house had been in dispute between my uncle's former employer and the house owner. The owner was given the go ahead to repossess the house, and we were caught in the middle and had to bounce. Within a couple of hours. With no clear idea where we would go. But at that moment in time, I had to go to my room and pack all my belongings, which I did in about 30/45 minutes. Just as I was getting ready to haul my stuff into the car, one of the court repo men came into my room. Mind you, they'd told my uncle that the normal process is to take EVERYTHING in the house to the court, and then separate personal possessions there. However, they were allowing us to pack our personal effects and would take only the things that belonged to my uncle's former employer. 

*Coming up next - the reason behind this post's title*

So the court repo man came into my room and started coming towards my suitcases, at which point I said,

"I AM A YOUTH CORPER! YOU CANNOT TOUCH ME
OR ANY OF MY PERSONAL BELONGINGS!
TRY IT AND I'LL CALL MY LOCAL GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR
AND HE'LL CALL THE HEAD OF POLICE IMMEDIATELY!"

Yes, my friends, the number one perk of being a youth corper is that you can't get arrested. So basically, I don't allow policemen or soldiers or whatever to harass me. I've been stopped a couple of times on the road at bogus check points, and the first thing I flashed was my NYSC ID card, along with a smile. It always stopped them in their tracks. 

Anyways, the court repo man was physically startled too and apologized, asking God to forgive him... I said I'd pray to God on his behalf too (lol, I can be such a troublemaker sometimes).

So yeah, we got evicted. But thankfully, my aunt/uncle were able to get a new place later that night, and we were generously given hotel accommodation for a few days, while getting the new house in order. 

And the moral of this story is...


I shall take my leave now. I need to relax after the eviction drama. Seeing as I've been through this, and it's my birthday month, I am open to spa day gift certificates in Lagos, PH and/or Atlanta. Thank you in advance.

Smooches!
Berry.

6 comments:

  1. Don't be so sure of that though. Some of these policemen careless of what's written on your ID. But gud stuff you knw hw to use your instinct. And gud luck with the blogging stuff and with ur service year.

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    1. Well, yeah. Being Nigeria, there's almost always a complete disregard for the law, so one still has to be careful.

      Thanks for the well wishes :)

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  2. Lol....i was laffing my head off...but sorry u had to experience that...Kudos to you for making something positive outta dis experience...Wish you luck as you complete ur Service year.

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  3. u r just hilarous.am a may child too.may 12.currently servin in abuja.

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    Replies
    1. Awww. Hope you had a great birthday! Kindly send a piece of your birthday cake to Lagos :)

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