Non Verbal Communication

Welcome back to another edition of Overseas With A Carry On!

It's been a few weeks since we last spoke, did you miss me? (Don't answer, I know you did!) I've missed out on so much where do I begin???

If you're a sports fanatic, O'dell Beckham Jr. and the New York Giants just dethroned the damn near invincible Cowboys. Klay Thompson had 60 points in 29 minutes, Russell Westbrook has been an automatic triple-double lately and Chris Paul just became the first player to ever record 20 points and 20 assists without a single turnover...let that sink in for a second. A point guard has the ball in his hands the majority of the game and to think he didn't cough it up or make a bad pass once is remarkable.

In non-athletic news, Kanye West suffered a mental breakdown (Let's pray for a safe recovery). Apple just released their newest MacBook Pro that features a new responsive "touchbar" located on the keyboard, meanwhile, I'm still typing away at the one I've had since college! And for my Torontonians, the first snowfall of winter has arrived...congratulations! Enjoy the next 4 months of shovelling snow and being secluded in the warmth of your home.😀

What's going on with me across the water you ask? A whole lot of the usual. The team has kind of hit a rough spot as we've fallen from 2nd to 4th in our conference. Nothing to stress about though, there's still a ton of basketball to be played; a winning streak here and there and we'll be right back in the hunt.

As you know, I'm a proud Canadian but I spent my high school and college years south of the border. I'm a self proclaimed honourary American -  I just need to remember to pronounce the letter "Z" as "zee" as opposed to British way of "zed".

Thanksgiving just passed and a few folks on my social media timelines were not too thrilled with the thought of celebrating Thanksgiving given what's been happening with the whole 'Dakota Pipeline' ordeal.

Nevertheless, that didn't stop many from posting their plates full of turkey and alllll the fixings! I happened to be in Tokyo for a road game and got together with a friend of mine who had a "little" dinner get-together. It was kind of a last minute thing he whipped up but by the looks of it, you would have thought it was a catered event!

Courtesy of my snapchat story you can see we had "turkey, greens, roast beef, fine cheeses, shrimp, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy - YOU NAME IT!!!!" If you have no clue what I'm talking about, you either do not subscribe to social media or you were living under a rock during Thanksgiving. In either case, give that link a click to see where the hoopla originated. It was pretty funny at its inception but we as a culture just know how to over do things and run it into the ground. It seemed like everyone and their momma created a video meme about it.

In the local news, I finally tried ramen noodles! I like Japan and some of their dishes are pretty good but I, unfortunately, can be a bit of a skeptic when it comes to authentic delicacies. For example, I'm sure you would agree with the statement: I like Chinese food. Well, in 2012 I went to China for a 2 week basketball tour and believe me, authentic Chinese IS NOT Panda Express and orange chicken!

We've all had or at least seen the ramen noodle cups; the ones in your pantry that have been there since the beginning of time and seem too outdated to eat. Well, in Japan ramen is quite the opposite. It's a go-to staple! I call it Japans' fast food. My general rule-of-thumb when overseas is if I don't know what's in it, I'm not touching it. (Actually, that's my rule even when I'm back home come to think about it) But sometimes you have to let go of fears and jump in head first...or nah.

Me: Yeah, give it a try. It can't kill you to try something new
Inner Me: If you think for one second I'm touching that, *snaps fingers*,  may thunder fire down upon you!

The language barrier doesn't allow me to even inquire what the ingredients in some dishes are, so I'm left to play the guessing game and roll the dice. I'm not much of a gambling man (although I did win $45 from the slots this summer in Vegas) so I tend to retreat to the 'lakes and rivers that I'm used to.'
But this time I was accompanied by our team translator and he was able to get the inside of scoop and I decided to live on the edge a bit and well...

This is not your top self ramen! Instead of the usual pork based broth, these delicious noodles are sitting in a sea of curry sauce. Curry is pretty big over here and is normally eaten with rice but some chef decided to make a soup broth out of it and I must say, he's a genius. For 150 yen you can add another helping of noodles to your bowl - I had 2 refills proudly. 😌

A question I get a lot is how do I order food at restaurants while not speaking Japanese. In most cases, the menu items are accompanied by pictures of each item. So it's nothing but a finger point and a head nod. They usually spit something back to me in Japanese to which I just pretend to understand in acknowledgement. Although, I'm always left to wonder, "What did I just agree to?"

In other cases, many quick eateries and highway service station restaurants operate with a purchased ticket mechanism. As you see on the left,  menu items are pictured and with a particular number. That number corresponds with the machine on the right.

Simply:

• purchase your desired meal, 
• obtain your ticket 
• hand ticket to store clerk  

And within minutes your order is up.

As I've said to those who have previously inquired, "There are times I go out to eat and I don't utter a word."

Literally, no communication is needed. This is ideal when you're trying to serve many customers at a rapid pace. No small talk with the cashier, just efficiency! In other words, Japan in a microcosm.

I hope you you've enjoyed this entry. I try to keep things relevant so waiting the extra week or two really allowed me to give you authentic content. I appreciate you for staying patient and loyal.  The journey continues. 

If you'd like to follow my snapchat account, the handle is @O_Ash, as is my Instagram.

If you have any questions or topics you'd like me to discuss, do not hesitate to leave a comment!

Until the next time, thanks for embarking on this journey with me. 

#OWACO

Toronto to Tokyo

"Welcome back to Overseas With A Carry On. I'm your host, Olu Ashaolu.

                                              **Applause**

On today's episode we are going to discuss the immaculate #Summer16 and what lies ahead for the basketball journeyman from Toronto."

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That would be the intro if I was a television host like Ellen, Oprah or Dr. Oz.

To those of you reading for the first time, greetings & salutations! I'm glad you took the time to inquire about my livelihood and experiences;and to those routine readers who continue to show support, I thank you.

Earlier this summer I ran into a long time friend of mine who I grew up with back, back in the day. (I'm talking early 90s!) We began chatting about life and hoops and how far we both had come giving the circumstances we rose from. He then asked me what the latest was with my blog and why I stopped writing. I always hate getting that question because, well, I really had nothing substantial to give him as an excuse. I promised him I would get back to it and voila, here I am. Man of my word; master of my domain.

Where should we begin? Last season I played my second consecutive year in Japan which was a first. A first in the sense that, prior to returning to Japan, each of my past experiences of playing overseas were in three different countries. In 2012-13 I was in Spain. In 2013-14 I took my talents to France. Finally, in 2014-15 I made the leap out of Europe and decided to stay put the following year. I felt as if I had found my niche in this league. What more could I ask for? A safe environment, a high level of basketball, professionalism and a secure economy that would ensure my payments would be on time. Needless to say, I'm back for a third go round and have no intentions of leaving any time soon.

Okay, I got sidetracked, back to the summer!

So I arrived home in late May and was ready to hit the ground running! It had been a long and tiring 9 months away and as we all know, there's nothing quite like home. Now if you know me, you know food is the way to my heart. As you may or may not know, Canada as a country does not even compare to the United States when it comes to fast food franchises per capita. And yes, I know, I shouldn't be eating "fast food" (or is it good food, quickly), but after a 9 month bid, I think I'm due for a cheat meal or two...or three...mmmaybe four? Who's really keeping count?

                                                           

So upon my arrival home, my 16 year old niece had an AAU tournament down in Lexington, Kentucky and the thought of seeing her(and fast food) entered my mind. I had yet to see her play live and was extremely looking forward to seeing her in action. One of the major setbacks of living this life overseas is missing out on these priceless moments with family. As I enter my basketball prime and she continues to get older, these precious opportunities to watch her play at the amateur level begin to dwindle. So needless to say,  I decided to shake off the jet lag and drive down with her father, my brother, and take in some high school level hoops.

When we arrived in Lexington, it was like a holy food haven. Whatever I wanted was at my tip of my fingers; I just had to make a selection. Sounds easy enough right? Wrong! I decided to go with these four selections as they each resonated with a certain location and time in my life.

Raising Canes took me back to my college days in Ruston at Louisiana Tech University. It was the first time I discovered these finger-licking-good chicken strips. I opted for "The Box" combo: 4 strips, slaw, fries and Texas toast. I'm not a big guy for fried chicken but when it comes to Canes, count me in!

Chick-Fil-A reminded me of my prep school breakfasts down in Atlanta, Georgia. Back then, 2 dollars could get you a moist chicken breast sandwiched between a country biscuit; I'd top mine with grape jelly and be high off life. I know my Canadian and non-southern American readers are probably throwing up at the combination of fried chicken and fruit preserves but, hey - "It's a southern thang," and when in Rome...well, you know the rest.

Jimmy John's! How could anyone ever go back to Subway after the freshness of JJ's. I first tried Jimmy John's in 2011 when I was out in Indianapolis training for NBA pre draft camps. The #16 Club Lulu is my go-to. I actually had a friend whose nickname for me was 'Lulu.' Thinly sliced turkey, lettuce, bacon, piled high [I always get it] on whole wheat with added banana peppers and cucumbers. Throw in some kettle cooked jalapeño chips and you've got a 5 star meal loaded with spice and kick that's in your hands less than 60 seconds after placing your order!

Last but not least, Sonic. You've always been there for me. Whether it was back in the day playing video games on Sega Genesis (#ThrowbackAlert!) or throughout my prep school days in the south, or even up to my days in college, you never wavered. Be it your Sonic Burger specials, pancake sausages on a stick (they discontinued those), Sonic Blasts on the late night creep or your ice-cold slushies at Happy Hour on a hot summer day, you always had my back. I like that.

I must say, 'twas a great weekend after months of rice bowls and limited American options. For those who actually care about the AAU tournament, my nieces' team did walk away victorious. But prior to leaving the tournament, my Snapchat was hacked by a very outgoing 10 year old who happened to be the younger sister of one my nieces' teammates. Take a look...

I'm not sure if Lebron actually has that type of range though 😏

When not road tripping south of the border you can catch me doing a number of things within the great city I call home. Such as getting word the night before that Maxwell is in town to perform and purchasing tickets 20 hours before showtime.

This was only my second time attending a live concert, the first was Jay-Z & Justin Timberlake a few years back. They opened their concert tour in Toronto and to say it was epic would be an understatement. I was on my feet for two hours straight rapping just about every Jay song and pretending to keep up with JT and his vocals. Those tickets were were also purchased last minute. I guess I've got to get a better pulse of what's going on in my city huh?

If I'm not at a concert you can catch me on Friday nights participating in the Nike Crown League summer pro am. Basically the 'who's who' of pros, high school talent and everyone in between come back and play weekly games. It's one of the only times you can get a quality run of 5-on-5 in the city so it's something we look forward to. If you're lucky, you end up on the custom Nike Snapchat filter with your patented one handed dunks..

Lastly, when I'm sick of being indoors and I just want to get away from the city, I take a 90 minute drive out to the Falls of Niagara and sit back and gaze at the great piece of nature that I'm proud to call Canadian. The United States does have a portion of the Falls that fall (you see what I did there) on their side of the border but, it's nowhere as breathtaking or majestic as the Canadian side. Just a friendly FYI, hehe.

As you can see, the turn-up was very real in the summer of 2016, or was it "lit"? I'm not sure what lingo you young folks denote as cool nowadays. I didn't even mention attending the DVSN concert, our caribbean parade 'Caribana' or all the food festivals that are hosted throughout. When it comes down to it, I've got to make up a 9 months of inactivity and cram it all into 90 days. I've got to build enough memories to last me the grind of a full season so I'm not becoming homesick or selling myself and my team short by not being out-of-it mentally. To be honest, I've never gotten to that point of just absolutely departure, but there have been some close calls over the years. I'm human. Home is where heart is and Toronto is not an easy place to leave. Well, come the summer time. Come winter, you can have it. I want nothing to do with Toronto when snow is involved. Nothing. Rien. Nada!

Well, that's it for walking down memory lane. Now it's back real life, back to "work." I get to play basketball for a living, it's not exactly work if you love it right? Back to not being able to read signs or speak to anyone but my fellow imports. Back to long nights of watching Scandal, Narcos and whatever drama series lands on my Macbook screen. Back to chopsticks and meals for one. All in all, I don't think I'd trade it in for anything!

Thank you for taking time out to read the first post from this 2016-17 campaign. In the following entry I will let you in on where I am in Japan, the team, it's history and so forth.

Oh yeah...

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As a token of my appreciation for tuning into today's episode, everyone in the studio audience is going home with a free video. Check the link below and enjoy!

Olu Ashaolu Highlight Clip

Once again, you are watching Overseas With A Carry On hosted by yours truly.
This is Olu signing off, until next time...

O.W.A.C.O.

P.S. If you are not able to watch the videos within the entry on your device, please open this webpage up on your laptop/desktop.

Damnnnn Daniel..back at it again!

Well, well, well.

Where do I begin..How about with those who don't remember who Daniel is...How could you forget?

In other news, it feels like it was just 2014 and I was back in France eating a croissant (or two..maybe even three), Obama still had a few years left in his presidency and the 'Running Man' dance still had some dignity

Fast forward two years and a lot has changed - for example, I'm no longer playing in Europe, Donald Trump is running for President, hover boards came and went & lastly, if you've watched 'American Crime Story; The People vs OJ Simpson', you can't help but wonder how he got off.

But that's neither here nor there.

As for the 2+ year hiatus? All I can really say is, my baaaaad y'all.

No, really, there isn't a reasonable answer as to why.  Perhaps I got caught up with Hello Kitty and anime over here in Japan and I lost my way. Or maybe it was the struggle to use chopsticks that left my hands in no shape to type. Or quite frankly, it may have been the back-to-back games every weekend over a 52 game schedule that left me utterly fatigued.  Whatever excuse you chose to accept, I humbly accept and am indebted to my readers who questioned the disappearance of the entries. Don't get me wrong; ideas and blog posts filled my brain but I just lacked the thrill to translate those thoughts from my head to the keyboard. It was more a case of 'I didn't want to force the issue.'

I didn't want to force the content.

If I was and am going to deliver an entry, I want it to be original and authentic. Genuine. At the time, I simply didn't feel it, was so I decided to spare you my prattle and wait until the time was right - and as the saying goes, "The time is now."

It's a rainy Wednesday afternoon here in Osaka, Japan. This is where I have called home for the past 8 months and counting. As I sit on my 2 seater couch of my 1 bedroom apartment, I relish in the sound of the rain on my window pane. The bedroom and living are separated by a typical Japanese sliding-door mechanism that I find to be absolutely genius. You can close off and separate each or combine both and have large open space in seconds - flexibility at its best!

As I peak out the window to nothing but grey skies, gloom and the sounds of trickling rain, I think about the past season. The ups, the downs, the highs, and the lows. We finished 6th in the tough Western conference of the Turkish Airlines-sponsored 'Basketball Japan' League. A difference from my 3rd place finish on my former team the previous season, Hamamatsu Phoenix.
That Hamamatsu team featured a great group of both local Japanese talent and imported American (and Canadian, hehe) muscle. That team went on to defeat the #2 ranked team in a best-of-three series on the road to punch our ticket to the final 4 in Ariake. The final 4 was then switched from a series set-up to a 1 game elimination set-up à la the NCAA March Madness tournament. We defeated the #4 ranked team in the west and then went ahead and beat a very good Akita team who were ranked #1 in the East.

And just like that, I became a champion on the big stage. Prior to last season, my previous two seasons as a pro in France and Spain both ended in a semi-final loss. But this time, things would be different. It would be me running through the confetti shower; it would be my teammates and I rejoicing and celebrating unbridledly...and we did just that!

Unfortunately we were unable to duplicate that feeling this time around. We came up a week short of the opportunity to play for the title. 7 days. 168 hours. 10,080 extra minutes in our season and we could have been playing for all the marbles. It hurts when you put it into those kind of terms. Although, there's gratitude in knowing we left it on all on the floor. Listening to motivational speaker and workout junky CT Fletcher speak, he says "there's victory & satisfaction(13:07) in knowing that you gave your absolutely best and falling short." We left nothing in the tank, the opposition was simply better on that day - and I can live with that.

As the summer approaches, the usual schedule entails: rest, rehab, recovery, train, continue to develop and progress, kick back and enjoy the weather, eat as much comfort food as possible and get ready for the grind yet again. The summer is short so I've got to pack in as many moments and memories as possible in a 80-90 period. I've done the math and from my calculations, 3 days overseas is equivalent to 1 day back home. So if you look at it in that light, you've got to make everyday worthwhile and productive. You can always get material possessions back but time, time is of the essence. Spend it wisely.

I hope that you all forgive me for Houdini disappearing act. I will definitely be more consistent in the following season wherever it is I end up.

I may even surprise you with a pop-up summer entry or two! Stay tuned..


P.S.

Kobe we will miss you.
RIP Prince.
Thanks Drake for Views.
Twitter/Instagram contacts are posted in the banner but I've recently joined the Snapchat gang: O_Ash

Thank you all for reading and supporting the journey thus far...I'm merely a kid playing the game he loves who just happens to be 'Overseas With A Carry-On.'

#OWACO

Update: I began this entry about 10 days ago. It has sat here on my laptop waiting to be editted and published. Big shout out to the home team Raptors for beating the Cavs last night. Everyone thought we'd simply cave and be swept but that's not in the cities' DNA. You all need to put some respect on our name!

Oh Canada/Shut up and Drive

Happy Sunday everyone!

I would like to start this weeks' post with a little song I like to call my national anthem.

*Ahem*

"Oh Canada, our home and native land. True patriot love, with all thy sons command..."

You know the rest - or at least you should! Today makes the second time you should have heard it as the men's olympic hockey team took gold over the Swiss in a 3-0 victory. Our women's hockey team also took gold against, our southern neighbours, the United States in a 3-2 victory just days before. Being Canadian, everyone else in the world believes that I play or played hockey and that I should somehow, be immune and enjoy cold weather.  Those are misconceived notions that I will live the rest of my life having to disprove. A little tidbit about todays' early morning gold medal game: the city of Toronto council voted and approved bars to start serving alcohol at 7am in the order for spectators to enjoy the monumental hockey game. Molson Canadian and Labatt Blue beers for breakfast? Don't you wish you were from Toronto?

Downtown Toronto, ON after the Gold medal game

Okay, enough gloating and boasting. Let's look at a few differences in regards to driving overseas and driving back home.  For starters, as mentioned in previous posts, driving a manual car in as opposed to driving an automatic will be an adjustment for many.  Prior to my first contract in Spain, my agent advised me in the months leading up to my departure to practice and at least get comfortable with the basics.  Needless to say, I was TURRIBLE. [Insert Charles Barkley voice.] Getting from stationary to first gear was the most difficult change of gears because it required the most precision, a delicate touch and a keen sense of balance between clutch and gas.  If you do not complete a smooth exchange of releasing the clutch and applying gas, you'll do what I did repeatedly: stall out!  Even worse than stalling out from being parked is stalling out on a inclined road...with angry drivers behind you...hooking their horns and perhaps screaming curse words in their native tongue at you. 

*Deep Sigh*

It happens to the best of us.  Last year in the small town of Càceres, Spain, I would go out in the late night to hone my skills. There weren't many vehicles on the road at that time so it was then where I was able to build my confidence and apply it to day time driving without any pressure. A few times of getting comfortable with the clutch, getting from 1st to 2nd gear on a hill and parallel parking - I think it's safe to say I'm somewhat of a pro these days.

Next on my rant is topic of size! If you think back to any old European film clips you may have caught growing up, I'm quite sure you remember seeing vary narrow lanes and/or vehicles that resembled more of a go-kart rather than a Ford Focus.

Evreux, France

Many roads like this would be an assumed 1-way street in most North American cities, but here this is a 2 lane road with bilateral traffic.  The sole reason why streets like these can allow for the 2-way traffic is thanks largely in part to the vast number of compact and economy sized vehicles.  Below I have gathered a collage of a few smart-car-esque sized cars throughout the city.

With the average price of gas in France being €1.52 per liter, you can see why such smaller vehicles are more common than typical large sedans or SUVs found stateside.  I see a lot of people walking throughout the town (especially the elderly) and many others using other means of transportation such as scooters and motorcycles.

Last but not least, let's discuss location and placement.  At many street lights in my town of  Evreux, street lights are not suspended high above but are placed at eye level on electricity poles. I understand the logic but when you're the first car at the intersection and you're looking up for a green light and the lane beside you begins moving, well you guessed it. You'll hear the sounds of horns behind you and you'll catch a few hostile gestures if you peek in the rear view mirror. You will receive this kind of treatment when 1) driving slow in a unfamiliar city such as Paris and 2) doing so while trying to locate street names.  For the most part, many street signs are not as they are back home and you will not find them attached to a pole. What you will find are signs with street names plastered onto buildings that happen to be on that particular street. Once again, I can kind of understand the logic but I would simply prefer things to be like they are back home in North America. But that's wishful thinking and that's what makes the experience of working overseas such a memorable one. Stepping out of your comfort zone, adapting to a new lifestyle, engaging in a new culture is all apart of the it - you just didn't see it written in the contract. U.N.E.N.O.

Until the next my fellow readers, 

Thank you for the support thus far.  Feedback is always welcome. Please leave any comments or questions below or feel free to contact me at oluash@gmail.com

Olu

#OWACO

P.S. I was dead on with my 2014 All Star Game prediction! The Eastern Conference took that in clean fashion but I did not foresee Kyrie Irving winning the MVP.

The OWACO Show

"Welcome to 'Overseas With A Carry On', where we are always pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm your host Olu Ashaolu. On today's show we're going to discuss the life of an international basketball player."

That would have been a great intro if I was a TV show host; perhaps something to add to my bucket list. Recently, a friend (and now a counterpart since I'm officially a "blogger") of mine better known as Can Ball Ray published a write up that I submitted about the hardship of missing out on family time during the holidays. A well written piece if I do say so myself *smirks*, but I'd like to quickly reiterate that here. Getting enough days off to make a trip back home is nothing more than wishful thinking in this profession, but for those who are blessed to make it back for the holidays, the less fortunate have a message for you: we wish you a Merry Christmas and a lost bag or two.  It's like the younger sibling who gets upset because the oldest gets the last piece of pizza, revenge is imminent!

Speaking of food, I have a passion for it. When hungry, I eat.  When upset, I eat. When food is around, I eat. I call it the Seafood diet.......................For those whose head the joke went over - See. Food. Diet. But to no despair, I do my best Gordon Ramsay impression in the kitchen - minus the Kanye-like rants.  Okay, maybe Robert Irvine is a better icon to emulate. Cooking for one leaves me often times with leftovers or searching a for quick and easy recipe. I follow numerous food-related accounts on Instagram and I stumbled upon a very quick and easy dish that I'd love to share with you all.

This dish was as simple as taking a single serving of either boiled white or brown rice (I prefer brown #healthychoice), frozen or fresh salmon (I used a frozen filet) and a few eggs (whole or whites is totally up to you).  I cooked the the salmon on a skillet until it was about medium to medium-well  while shredding it with my spatula. Once the salmon was cooked, I cracked a few eggs over top of the fish, added some salt & seasonings and cooked the eggs to a scramble. Then simply laid the egg scramble over top of the rice. You may enjoy your eggs a little runnier than I so adjust the cooking time of the eggs to fit your desires. Also, if you do not have salmon, canned tuna can be used as a substitute. Voilà!

In basketball news, did anyone else appreciate the slaughter of the Golden State Warriors that Kevin Durant displayed last week? He recorded a new career high of 54 points with 3, after, 3 after 3. What impresses me the most are the guard like skills he possess with his 6'10"-ish frame.  His right-to-left crossover, his pick-and-roll poise, his mid range pull up and his overall efficiency (54 points on only 28 shots) is staggering.  He is definitely a force to be reckoned with for a long time in the Association. And last but not least, I'd like to give a big shout out to my city of Toronto. Drake has lifted the spirits of Raptors with his recent Drake Night event against the Nets 8 days ago. I don't gamble but I can bet somewhere in Toronto, someone is attributing the Raptors winning 9 of their last 14 to the former Degrassi star.

Photo: E.K. Stoneall/ Lucas Oleniuk

Until next time,

#OWACO

Olu

Introduction To O.W.A.C.O.

Welcome to O.W.A.C.O. 

Thank you for taking your time to visit my blog.  My name is Olu Ashaolu, I am from the great city of Toronto, ON, Canada but thanks to basketball, I have spent the majority of the last 10 years traveling to various other places in the world.  The idea for this blog originated over two years ago throughout my final year at the University of Oregon.  I began to fall victim to the oh-so-modern times and became more and more involved with online social networks.  I gained a bit of 'popularity' thanks to great collegiate student sections and their adoration for dunks. (Poor me).  Twitter is one of my favourite tools due to its simplicity and speed but with a 140 character limit and no longer in school, I was in need of a more spacious and slightly more formal way to express myself.  Blogging seemed like the perfect hybrid between a tweet and college term paper.  And with that, voilà , here I am today proud to present O.W.A.C.O.  From my high school adventures in Hotlanta, Georgia to post-graduate college classes out in rainy Eugene, Oregon to playing professional basketball in Europe, it has been an exciting roller coaster of events.  I plan to bring you not only the basketball experiences, but the social life happenings that my peers and I go through on a regular day-to-day basis.

I titled this blog "Overseas With A Carry On" because, that is exactly what life is for me 9-10 months of the year.  I can remember the very first night I slept in my apartment last year in Spain.  It was my first professional contract and I was playing in a small southern town called Cáceres.  I remember taking a look at the 'Maps' app on my iPhone and pinpointing my location and being in disbelief that I was actually on the other side of the globe.  As far as the 'carry on' part is concerned, you can always find my peers and I with our backpacks/book-bags.  Whether heading to practice, heading to a game, running errands or boarding a flight, it is just something we basketball players always seem to have with us. It's essential and has become apart of the culture - like Nike elite socks.  :-)

As mentioned above, these entries will not be solely basketball-centric, but also personal experiences, thoughts and everyday chit chatter on topics that may be of relevance. Anyone who knows me can tell that I am a huge Seinfeld fan; if you're familiar with the famous American television series from the 90s, you'll understand why perhaps I should subtitle this as, "O.W.A.C.O. - The Blog About Nothing."  All that's missing is a coffee shop, an ex-girlfriend-turned-best-friend like Elaine and an eccentric neighbour a la Cosmo Kramer.  Don't worry, finding a friend like George Costanza will be the least of my worries!

Until next time, 

Olu