Not Balling

Segun Pryme is a bone in my throat, walahi....Always harassing me about one thing or the other. Yesterday, It was how I haven't responded to the comments on my last post wishing me Happy Birthday. Please take time out and look at those comments to see if he left one. Anyway, thank you to everyone who took the time and effort to leave a comment wishing me a happy birthday. I really appreciate it. It was the best birthday I have had in a long, long, long time because i was able to spend it with family. I ended up having a kids party, because why not?

It really was an excuse to have a party for my nieces and we had a lot of fun. They had the magic candles on my cake to blow out to their heart's content. Every birthday, someone ends up crying because the other blew out their birthday candle. Apparently, there are candles that reignite after they are blown out and it takes multiple attempts to completely blow them out. The kids really had fun with that.It was a hello kitty and dora party AKA I used the decorations they already had at home. I got my favorite cheesecake (because my lazy ass did not order the cake on time), there was a pinata which the kids had fun trying to break open, that thing was hella strong and there was nigerian music of course. It really was a small family thing but everyone was happy and had fun and that made me happy.

Going back to my last post and the bone in my throat called Segun Pryme, I guess saying i'm no longer broke can be interpreted as me saying i'm now a baller. I laugh in Japanese. Abeg, let me clarify.....I'm no longer broke, means exactly what you read. I'm no longer broke. I'm a resident so i'm not making doctor money and rolling in dough. But when you come from having to survive on so little for 6 months at a time to getting paid EVERY MONTH, no matter how small, that's a huge deal. I cannot emphasize how broke i was in med school, but from July 2014 - July 2015 was the worst because I not only got less funds, I had to make it work for not only living expenses but also interviewing cost, hence by brief foray into professional driving (I drove to a lot of my interviews, the longest being 6.5 hours which turned into an 8 hr drive back thanks to being stuck in traffic in a particular city that shall forever remain nameless. Sheesh! ).

The struggle was real sha. Buying groceries stopped being a thing, although my fridge is almost always empty anyway regardless of the state of my wallet. I became very friendly with Great Value Walmart brand,except for their cornflakes. Since i still had use for my teeth, I refrained from buying that again. I'm one of those people who can eat the same thing for a week and be okay. As long as i had some stew, beans and sometimes plantain, I was good to go. I just needed to be able to pay my rent and bills and the rest took care of itself. I ditched my line and joined my sister's phone plan. So i didn't have to pay a phone bill anymore which was so helpful. I had finished paying off my car last year so that was one less major bill to worry about. My credit card debt increased exponentially, the highest it has ever been, because i was spending more and only paying the minimum payment. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. I had some lucky breaks along the way. Getting reimbursed by the state for interviewing at a certain number of programs, my ceiling collapsing and not having to pay rent in June (I could have sued the landlord for a lot more, but I don't go chasing after stress), friends who took me grocery shopping multiple times or who got me stuff whenever they went grocery shopping,  getting some money after my sister got her tax return  etc etc etc etc

My residency program did not help matters. We started orientation June 10th, but did not get paid until July 31st. That was a platinum level of brokeness at that point. It was unbelievable. Thank God for credit cards sha. To go from all of that, to getting paid regularly is simply awesome. So instead of being a "baller", it simply means I no longer have to worry about paying rent, bills or getting groceries. I can now start paying off my credit card debt and not only that, my parents get paid when i get paid. It's really just a small token but it makes me happy to be able to do that.

 I'm completely ignoring my med school loans until next year. Thankfully, I have very good prospects for being able to pay them off.

So no oga Segun, I'm not balling o. I'm just thankful.


When he is not harrassing my life, Oga Segun Pryme is a devoted husband, father, seasoned comedian (not just on IG :) and event MC. Check him out on IG, Youtube and Facebook @segunpryme

He also blogs at Infonubia.com

Come ooooo.....Segun, e be like say you eat small winch, cos when i started this post i had no intention of promoting you like this, but i'm proud of your accomplishments. Let it be known before you become world famous, that i knew you when you had less than 100 IG followers, now you are at almost 8000. Watch out world.......