Out of My Shell - Confessions of an Extreme Introvert

MANY OF THE KIDS NEEDS SOMEONE TO HELP THEM COME OUT OF THIS SHELL

I am an INTJ according to every Meyers Briggs test ever, and an EXTREME introvert on that scale.   I think I've always tended to be introverted.  My mother says my kindergarten wanted to hold me back because I wasn't social enough.  During college I picked out a perfect one bedroom house (I even toured the show house) I intended to be my spinster house.  And I was totally cool with that would-be life.

But now I'm married.  And I have five kids.  I am never really alone.  One side benefit that I hadn't really considered before starting is that I really don't have to interact with many people other than my own family every single day.  Pretty much all my contact with the outside world is really up to me.  No awkward conversations with other parents at pick up/drop off, no drama with teachers and administrative staff and PTA leaders, no having to watch asinine reality TV shows to keep up at the water cooler.  That part is pretty awesome.

But not all my kids are just like me.  In fact, most of them aren't.  Even the ones that tend to be more introverted still need to build relationships.  Introverts require truer, deeper friendships, especially since they generally only maintain one or two of them.

So I have to get out and meet people.  For the good of my children.  It sounds easier than it is.

I wasn't always this way.  Okay, if you take into account my kindergarten assessment, maybe I was.  But I never had a problem making friends or maintaining relationships in school.  I was in lots of clubs in high school and college.

Now, however, the idea of "hanging out" with a group makes me cringe.  I go to events and activities my husband gets involved in, or extracurricular activities for my kids, and I *think* I do a pretty good job of socializing.  I sometimes I even meet people I can have real conversations with.  You know, the kind of conversations about things that actually matter - topics that are considered taboo in most early relationships and group social settings.  Quite frankly, those are the only conversations I want to bother having.  It's actually draining and taxing to talk about things like the weather or current events or what's going on this weekend.

The hardest part of all is simply not ruining things for the rest of my family.  Take yesterday for example.  Last night we had a fundraiser dinner to attend in another town.  If was very family friendly, and all Catholics, so clearly these people are my 'in' crowd, even if I haven't met them yet.  But it's highly unlikely I'll see any of them again.  The number of meaningful conversations?  Zero.  Partly due to my not bothering to strike up a conversation with random people, but mostly because, well, we don't know each other and don't have much in common other than supporting the same organization.

Matt is different.  He's a little more extroverted (although Myers-Briggs always puts him right on the line, so at least he 'gets' me).  He's able to just...start a conversation.  And act like he really cares what the other person is saying.  I think maybe, just maybe, he actually does.  But that idea is so foreign to me, I can't even fathom what that feels like.  He also graciously pulls me into conversations, since I do feel awkward just sitting and not talking to anyone when clearly it's a 'mingling' sort of event.  He's smooth like that.  And then I remember everyone's names, because he certainly won't, no matter how much he enjoyed the conversation.

Anyway, at the climax of the event, when the kids are breakin' it down on the dance floor and Matt's deeply engrossed in a conversation, I get an immediate sense of urgency that it is time to GO.  Because kids all over a dance floor looks like uncontrollable kids to me, mainly.  However, I resisted the urge pull the plug, because I've learned it really spoils everyone else's fun.

It is in this way that it needs to be understood that an introvert in a crowd is a person making a BIG sacrifice for the ones they love.  I would have MUCH rather been at home reading a good book.

FAMILY IS SAID TO BE "THE TRUE SOURCE OF HAPPINESS."

Peter Okoye goes solo with song, “Cool it down”

        
      Peter Okoye, a.k.a Mr. P, a member of the defunct group P-Square, has released his debut song “Cool it down”, with an interesting video.
  Being happy with who you are and what you are doing, brings happiness. Team work/opinon surely holds more water than an individual opinion.

7 Unnegligible facts Entrepreneurs Can Do To Stay Motivated.

Many of the youths hate or don't buy the idea of being an ENTREPRENEUR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making the decision to become an entrepreneur is a fearless step from being an employee of a business to the leader of your own business. One of the first challenges they are likely to face is that they no longer have line managers to set goals and deadlines for them. Therefore, the responsibility of inspiration and motivation becomes their personal task. This is where some entrepreneurs fall short. As such, these insights shared by Naija News, the leading online travel agency, will help them stay motivated.

1.Set goals and values
Entrepreneurs must have personal goals and core values. They must write them down, read them daily and even memorize them. These should serve as a regular reminder about their purpose for becoming entrepreneurs.
2.Have a plan

Running a business without a plan can easily make them lose focus. They should evolve both short-term and long-term plans. This will help them have a clear understanding of what they want to accomplish and how they want to achieve it.

3.Have a ‘me’ time
Entrepreneurs are very busy people. As such, it is possible that they will be consumed by work.  So, they should endeavour to set personal time during which they get out of the rut.
4.Think of themselves as captains
Entrepreneurs are the captains of their ships and nobody will navigate that ship for them except they do. So, they should take solace in the fact that they own the business and they have to make painstaking efforts to run it.
5.Connect with other entrepreneurs
This is not to say that you need to copy what others are doing. Instead, share ideas and get to know what keeps them motivated. This will definitely make them feel like they are on the right track with the support of other like minded entrepreneurs.
6.Reward themselves
Being a business owner does not mean they should not reward themselves. As such, they should be prepared to reward themselves for accomplishing their set goals.
7.Sleep

They should never underestimate the value of a good night sleep for personal motivation. A night of sound rest will re-energize them and significantly boost performance.

Jurgen Klopp: he's the right skipper for Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp isn't interested in Jordan Henderson being England captain.

Reds boss praises midfielder but won't be drawn on Three Lions armband scrap

Jurgen Klopp doesn't care if Jordan Henderson is England captain – but believes the midfielder is the right man to skipper Liverpool.
England boss Gareth Southgate is expected to choose between Henderson and Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane to lead the country in next summer's World Cup finals.
The duo have alternated duties during recent internationals, with Kane having taken the armband for the final two qualifiers against Slovenia and Lithuania.
Henderson and Kane will be in opposition on Sunday afternoon when Liverpool and Tottenham face off at Wembley in the Premier League.

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And Klopp is only interested in praising how Henderson has followed in the footsteps of Steven Gerrard at Anfield.
“I'm not here to make a commercial for Jordan Henderson,” said the Liverpool boss.
“He is the captain here and that says everything about what I think about him.
“Gareth Southgate doesn't need my help. I don't think he wants it. And I don't get any help off him.


         “That's how it is and I'm not interested in England's captain.
“When I came here, Jordan was already the captain and after a few weeks I saw that made more than sense.
“Jordan is a very good guy. He is a serious professional person and he feels responsible for the club and the team.
“He has a lot of qualities and being captain after Steven Gerrard is not an easy job but he dealt with it and that makes him a very skilled guy.”

Suicide: Man along with family perish in inferno

       HUMAN LIFE IS A GIFT FROM GOD.

 

A man who died in a house fire in Northern Italy along with three of his four young daughters is suspected of murder-suicide, news reports said on Friday.

The inferno was suspected to have been perpetrated by the father, because rescuers discovered piled up material at the entrance of the flat, presumably used to start the fire.
The fatal incident occured in Como, a lakeside city about 50 kilometres north of Milan.

The regional health authority, throughits spokesperson told dpa that a 49-year-old man and three girls aged 3, 7 and 11 died in the fire, whereas the fourth child, aged 5 was in critical condition.

Fire safety officials on the scene said the five-year-old survivor was given a heart massage for almost three hours.
The family, citizens of Morocco were being followed by social services, ANSA said.

The mother of the girls was not home during the fire, as she had recently checked into a clinic for mental health problems.

Barcelona Promise Messi They’ll Buy Coutinho in January

 

     Philippe Coutinho won’t be joining Barcelona in January, but don’t tell that to Lionel Messi. Or to Spanish tabloid transfer traders Don Balon, at least, given they’re the ones saying Messi has been promised by the powers that be at Barcelona that Coutinho will be signed in an attempt to keep the star Argentinean happy.

 Photo by kizy herald photoStore

Messi, it’s worth remembering, is in the final year of his current contract and has so far refused to sign an extension that’s been, supposedly, agreed to in principle for quite some time now. So if Messi really were to want Coutinho, it would be in Barcelona’s best interest to get him. Though there’s no real sign he does.

After all, last summer it was the now departed Neymar outlets like Don Balon were saying was demanding Barcelona sign Coutinho—at the time, some even suggested Liverpool’s Brazilian star wasn’t Messi’s first choice and that Neymar’s desire to see the club sign his international bestie was causing tension at the club.

Which, if true, would make it a bit suspicious they’d now be promising Messi a shiny new Coutinho signing to keep him happy. Or, if it’s not true, would probably just mean Don Balon are making shit up, something the Barcelona-obsessed press have proven to be exceptionally good at doing when it comes to Coutinho.

Meanwhile, in the slightly more respectable corners of the Barcelona-obsessed press, the latest Coutinho talk is being met with skepticism, with Mundo Deportivo critical of any suggestion the player could be signed this January and suggesting all it can do is further annoy Liverpool and make any future deal more difficult.

There, lead Barcelona columnist Miguel Rico is categorical stating the club don’t have the funds to offer a fee Liverpool might accept in January, and all any talk of a move can do is make a summer move more difficult—though, really, one imagines Liverpool have long since reached peak annoyance regarding Barcelona.

In the end, though, none of the talk out of Spain especially matters or will change anything—Coutinho won’t be sold in January, and that’s the end of it. As for next summer, well, Coutinho’s international BFF is at Paris Saint-Germain now, and unlike Barcelona they’ve shown they’re willing to splash the cash.

Pure Hero: Mohamed Salah rejects offer of luxury villa after leading Egypt to World Cup qualification

Mohamed Salah celebrates defeating Congo (Picture: Getty)

Mohamed Salah is currently the hero of Egypt after leading them to World Cup qualification, but the Liverpool star has refused to reap the rewards of his efforts.
Arsenal fans aren't giving Olivier Giroud the credit for incredible goal An Egyptian businessman, Mamdouh Abbas, offered Salah a luxury villa as the country continue to celebrate qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in almost 30 years.
Salah scored both goals against Congo, including an injury-time penalty, to send Egypt to the World Cup in Russia next summer.
The result and Salah’s heroics sparked crazy scenes in Egypt and supporters were keen to repay the Liverpool attacker.

(Picture: AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File)

But, Salah has rejected the villa and instead asked Abbas to make a donation to his hometown, the Nagrig village in Gharbiya.
Egyptian publication yallakora.com claim Gharbiya already has a school and youth centre named after their local hero.
It is a classy gesture from a player that has been a massive hit on Merseyside this season.

(Picture: Getty)

Salah arrived from Roma with a big price tag, but sits atop of Liverpool’s goalscoring charts with his latest brace coming against Maribor in a record 7-0 victory on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old is quickly becoming a star at Liverpool and Reds supporters will be hoping he can lead their side to similar heights in the Premier League.

Rohr: I’ll sing both national anthems if Super Eagles face Germany in Russia

-Gernot Rohr says though he is German, his heart will be with Nigeria at the World cup.
-The tactician is German but was born in France.
     Technical adviser of Nigeria’s Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr has said he will sing the national anthems of both Nigeria and Germany should the two countries face each other at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Rohr, however stated that his heart will be with the Super Eagles at the World cup games.

“I played for Germany. I think I will sing the two national Anthems,” Rohr was quoted as saying.

“But my heart is with Nigeria 100 percent. Its going to be very emotional time for me if that happens.

“And it’s going to be a special game of my career.
Rohr also revealed that the Super Eagles have plans to play a friendly match against Germany before the World Cup.

“We have already told Germany that we will like to play them in any of the FIFA International friendly windows between May and June provided we are not in the same World Cup group,” he said.

Questioned about which country he will support if Germany and France play against each other at the World Cup, The German tactician said: “France Vs Germany? I support both countries but if both should face one another in Russia, my heart is Germany but I was born in France.”

I lost my dad when I was 12 – Omotola

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde shares her growing up experiences.-She reveals her education was sponsored by a group of men after her father’s death.

Veteran Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has revealed details of her experiences while growing up as a young girl in Lagos State, Nigeria.
According to her, she was only aged 12 when she lost her father and had to start working at 15 in order to support herself and her family.
She what she shared on her Instagram page:

 

On today’s girl child day I’ll do an unusual post true to me. As a child I lost my father age 12. Sponsored by a great community of Ondo men, the #Ekimogun club, so i could continue my education. At age 15, started struggling to help my widowed mother. I started working in the Entertainment Industry. While going to school, and working, faced many challenges as a female child… talks of being loose, perhaps being a prostitute,lack of freedom to mingle like male counterparts, rumours and fear of slander, sexual harassments… but one of my early dreams was to be great at whatever I chose and be side by side the best in the World. I’m Not totally there yet, … but.. That 12 years old iyanaipaja little girl did take care of her widowed mum till she died, took care of her younger brothers… they are in marriage stages now, taking care of herself and her own family, taking care of a few people she is privileged to be able to. She has worked, spoken on, been awarded on World stages , and has been compared to the people she admired when growing up , from other parts of the World… She’s still a work in progress but… Dont You dare Underestimate the possibilities of a girl Child. #Educationiskey #Educationbreedsconfidence #Ressilience #deligience #Girlchild #internationaldayofgirlchild #impossibleisNothing

The 39 year old veteran actress is married to Captain Matthew Ekeinde.

Who will catch the catchers; Soldiers, others nabbed for stealing in Lagos...

    Three soldiers and a dismissed Air Force officer, Oludayo Odufoye, have been arrested by police for allegedly stealing solar panels and inverter solar batteries installed in some public schools in Lagos state.

 

Lagos State commissioner of Police, Edgar imohimi

 

         The news had it that the soldiers names are: Sunday Olalekan, Suleiman Usman and Olajide Busayo while other suspects are; Samuel Ani, Michael Omoregbe, Efosa Emmanuel, Nwabueze Nnamani, Festus Maduka, John Nwokeoma and Chibuzor Chukwu.

Nwokoema and Chukwu, according to Punch reports, reportedly bought the panels from the gang.

 

It was learnt that the soldiers escorted the gang to steal the items at the Okemagba Senior Secondary School, Epe. Therefore, some people alerted the police and the suspects were arrested.

A truck with number plate, LND 61 XQ, containing the stolen items have been recovered from them, and the soldiers had been taken to the Nigerian Army, 9 Brigade, Ikeja, for court-marshal.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgar, who paraded the suspects on Wednesday at the command’s headquarters in Ikeja, said the gang had vandalised similar equipment owned by the government and private organisations in the Epe, Sangotedo and Badagry areas of the state.

"A mother's loving heart;" Mothers scaling fence to rescue children from Monkey Pox injection.

As a result of the chaos that occurred in Anambra on Wednesday, over news that men of the Nigerian Army was attempting to infect school children in the East with the Monkey Pox virus, parents reactions to the news have surfaced.The news  resulted in parents taking drastic measure to withdraw their wards from the various schools’ premises have been emerged online, with some pictures showing worried parents scaling fences among other actions.
The school management in one of the missionary schools in the state, denied parents access to their children, insisting that they cannot pick them up. The school authority explained that permitting parents could result in some school children going missing in the chaos.

Apprehensive women, scared of the effect of the deadly monkey pox disease hurriedly began to climb the premises of their wards’ schools in order to gain access to them and get them out of the way of the supposed plans of the military.
Meanwhile, the military, has issued a statement, stating that it was a mere, noting that the force was actually delivering free vaccination.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State government has enjoined residents in the state to remain calm, declaring completely false, the viral information that soldiers were injecting children to death.

Amaechi bemoans his Governor's act: "Wike is a cry cry governor afraid of CSP.."

Biting the breast that feeds you is something that warrants questioning..

Former Rivers state Governor and current Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has said incumbent Governor of the State, Nyesom Wike as “cry cry governor.”
Amaechi disclosed that while in office as Governor, the then President assaulted him with military and police men, he however stood his ground and fought for what was right.
The transport minister sternly advised Wike to “Fight for [his] right”.
He gave the admonition during his meeting with members of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Eleme kingdom, Rivers State.
Amaechi maintained that the All Progressives Congress, APC has no plans to rig Rivers state elections, noting that President Muhammadu Buhari will not allow it.

“Fight for your right. I fought for my right (during the Jonathan’s administration) when the President was molesting and harassing me, I got up, mobilized Rivers People and we fought for our right.

“We would not have won Rivers governorship because they rigged everywhere, wrote results and brought army and police to chase us away.

“Now there will be voting. They shouting and crying ‘police o, army o; INEC o just because they ar escared of what they did to us (APC).

“President Buhari will not allow that happen. He will not allow any police man to stop anyone from voting.
“That person is there shouting ‘INEC, police’ while he was inside INEC building the day of election and they were writing results and we didn’t complain. Now he is shouting ‘INEC o, police o’ because he is afraid.
“But we’ll follow the law; we shall vote on that day and get our people to vote for us. If we win, we thank God.
“If he wins, we thank God. It will be free and fair. Let him stop crying because its too early. When a man starts crying, it means he is afraid.
“Did I cry about President Goodluck Jonathan? I didn’t cry, I came out to fight for my right. But this man is crying because of ordinary one police CSP every day.
Amaechi also accused Wike of having sleepless nights over him [Amaechi].
“What do you call him, ‘cry cry governor.’ He is a governor with one agenda, namely ‘Amaechi.’ He sleeps and wakes, he dreams of Amaechi. He has no adviser. He sees me in his dreams. You know I’m a Catholic, there are powers they gave to us to fly at night to go and meet them.”

Sadio Mane injury -How much I hate International Breaks..

Black humour, anger and disbelief summed up the feeling of Reds supporters after news of Mane's hamstring injury

The timing couldn't have been much worse.
A run of one win in seven has left Liverpool needing to kick-start their season with victory over Manchester United on Saturday at Anfield.
But that job just got even harder with news that they will be without the season's star man in Sadio Mane as it was revealed he will miss up to six weeks after injuring his hamstring on international duty with Senegal.

And the flying winger will miss up to nine Reds' games in total - including games with Chelsea, Sevilla and Southampton - before having to try to regain his fitness towards the end of November.
Liverpool fans weren't slow to take to social media to let their feelings known - and international football was not popular.

Monkey Pox: Ten things you need to know about the disease

Monkeypox is a rare viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms in humans similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although less severe. Smallpox was eradicated in 1980.However, monkeypox still occurs sporadically in some parts of Africa.
Monkeypox is a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae.

ORIGIN
    The monkeypox virus was first identified in the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1958 during an investigation into a pox-like disease among monkeys.
But it was first identified in humans in 1970 in Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo) in a 9 year old boy in a region where smallpox had been eliminated in 1968.

WAS DIAGNOSED IN THE US
In the spring of 2003, monkeypox cases were confirmed in the Midwest of the United States of America, marking the first reported occurrence of the disease outside of the African continent.
Most of the patients had had close contact with pet prairie dogs.

INFECTION
Infection results from direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids, or cutaneous or mucosal lesions of infected animals.
Human infections have also been documented through the handling of infected monkeys, rats and squirrels, with rodents being the major reservoir of the virus. Eating inadequately cooked meat of infected animals is a possible risk factor.

TRANSMISSION
Transmission occurs primarily via droplet respiratory particles usually requiring prolonged face-to-face contact, which puts household members of active cases at greater risk of infection.
Transmission can also occur by inoculation or via the placenta (congenital monkeypox). There is no evidence, to date, that person-to-person transmission alone can sustain monkeypox infections in the human population

 Secondary, or human-to-human, transmission can result from close contact with infected respiratory tract secretions, skin lesions (open wounds/injuries) of an infected person or objects recently contaminated by patient fluids or lesion materials.

DURATION
The incubation period (interval from infection to onset of symptoms) of monkeypox is usually from 6 to 16 days but can range from 5 to 21 days.
Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting from 14 to 21 days.

SYMPTOMS 

The infection can be divided into two periods:

The invasion period (0-5 days) characterized by fever, intense headache, lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph node), back pain, myalgia (muscle ache) and an intense asthenia (lack of energy);
The skin eruption period (within 1-3 days after appearance of fever) where the various stages of the rash appears, often beginning on the face and then spreading elsewhere on the body.

       The face (in 95% of cases), and palms of the hands and soles of the feet (75%) are most affected.

RISK FACTOR
People living in or near the forested areas may have indirect or low-level exposure to infected animals, possibly leading to subclinical (asymptomatic) infection.
The case fatality has varied widely between epidemics but has been less than 10% in documented events, mostly among young children. In general, younger age-groups appear to be more susceptible to monkeypox.
DIAGNOSIS
Monkeypox can only be diagnosed definitively in the laboratory where the virus can be identified by a number of different tests.
The differential diagnoses that must be considered include other rash illnesses, such as, smallpox, chickenpox, measles, bacterial skin infections, scabies, syphilis, and medication-associated allergies.
TREATMENT/VACCINE
There are no specific treatments or vaccines available for monkeypox infection, but outbreaks can be controlled.
Vaccination against smallpox has been proven to be 85% effective in preventing monkeypox in the past but the vaccine is no longer available to the general public after it was discontinued following global smallpox eradication.
PREVENTION
In the absence of specific treatment or vaccine, the only way to reduce infection in people is by raising awareness of the risk factors and educating people about the measures they can take to reduce exposure to the virus.
Regular hand washing should be carried out after caring for or visiting sick people.

   Reducing the risk of animal-to-human transmission. Efforts to prevent transmission in endemicregions should focus on thoroughly cooking all animal products (blood, meat) before eating.

Public health educational messages via the media – broadcast, electronic and social – is highly advised.
Healthcare workers and those treating or exposed to patients with monkeypox or their samples should consider being immunized against smallpox via their national health authorities.

AT THE END OF THE STORM, SURELY THERE'S A SILVER LINING.

Give Jurgen Klopp time — he's DEFINITELY the right manager for Liverpool, says Anfield legend Kevin Keegan

The Reds have kept only two clean sheets this season after two years under the German but former star has faith

Kevin Keegan has urged ­Liverpool to give Jurgen Klopp the time to finish the job at Anfield.
The Reds have been haunted by ­defensive frailty but former England manager Keegan claimed all top Premier League teams now struggle defensively because of changes to the laws.
The former Kop star, 66, preferred to go to wine-tasting on Thursday night rather than watch England qualify for the World Cup.
But though Keegan insisted he does not miss football, his world-weariness was replaced by enthusiasm when asked about the German who took over his former club two years ago.

Liverpool can be electric going forward — but the defending's often shocking... (Image: AFP/Getty)

“I enjoy watching Liverpool — I think he’s ­definitely the right guy,” said the ex-­Newcastle and Manchester City boss. “He gets Liverpool, he gets the ­humour. The fans like him. They don’t want a manager with a notepad, they want him kicking every ball.
“I think they like the style of football he plays. Yes, they are conceding goals and they say it’s a bit like my team at Newcastle. But at Liverpool, and at Newcastle really, fans want the same thing.

“They want to see a good game of football and they want the team to have a go.
“The older Liverpool fans were used to that from when Bill Shankly came in right through until the Premier League was formed.
“I think he’s a great manager. He fits Liverpool. You can understand what he is saying, he doesn’t talk in riddles, he says what he thinks.

Keegan even compared Klopp's side to his own swashbuckling Newcastle teams (Image: Action Images via Reuters)

“I don’t think he is going to win the league this season. I don’t think even Jurgen Klopp thinks that or even the most optimistic fan. But top four is ­feasible again. Liverpool are a work in progress.
“I hope they have patience with him if it doesn’t actually go right because he is the right guy.”
Liverpool have kept only two clean sheets in 12 matches this season.

But Keegan, making a rare public ­appearance at the Aspire for Sport ­Congress, said: “There are a lot of teams in the Premier League struggling in defence.
“All the rules have been changed to suit attackers – yellow cards, red cards.
“It’s no fun being a defender. If a defender misses three tackles he’s off, so no wonder they are cautious.”