Countryism--Nigerians In America.

Before I share part 3 of "Lagos School Daze", I just have to talk about something. Its been a while since I took a stab at dear old Nigeria, so it is about time for another of my "brazenly unpatriotic" blog posts.

Just today P.G announced that he will suspend the Nigerian football team for two years. The team, known worldwide as the Super Chickens/Turkeys/Eaglets/Dreamers/Goodfornothings, barely managed to qualify for the World Cup. Then, after scraping through based on the hard work and prayers of multiple babalawos and dibias, when they got to South Africa they managed to get one whole point and ended up LAST in their group. Apparently the Nigerian Football Federation, the same mfs responsible for the team arriving in SA only 24hrs before their first match, apologized to everyone for the team's horrible performance. The NFF has decided to "embark on a highly rigorous technical process of raising a new team to be dominated by the youth and home-grown talent". That is a direct quote from the NFF. You can read the rest of their announcement here (yes, they have a website).

But let us forget football for a bit and focus on my real reason for this post.

This week, a friend of mine put up a status update on Facebook saying that a Nigerian mother she knew was disappointed/sad that her son would not be marrying a Nigerian. This mother, and I am sure she isn't the only one, was not happy at the prospect of a non-Nigerian becoming part of her family.

I have asked these questions before and I will ask them again. WHY do Nigerian parents immigrate/send their children here if they know they don't want their children to be "exposed" to other cultures? What is the point of spending all that money and time here and then later complaining that western influence is "ruining" their child? Did these parents really expect to move to a new country and live in a self-contained bubble? If they don't want this "influence", then they should never have sent their children here! What is with this ridiculous need to "in-breed" amongst Nigerians?

This friend with the status update did try to show me the Nigerian mother's point of view. She suggested that one of the problems the mother might have is the fact that this non-Nigerian would not have the same "values" as a Nigerian.

Oh really? "Values"? I see.

I have heard this argument before. This argument that America is an immoral place, a sort of modern day Sodom and Gomorrah, where nobody has "values". A place where divorce happens. A place where gays and lesbians are allowed to wander the streets and get married (mostly). A place where nobody has religion (as opposed to Nigeria where there is at least one church per street). A place where all white people hate all black people and eat black babies. A place where toddlers sell drugs on street corners and then throw their well-meaning parents in jail for trying to help them. Etcetera.

This belief that Nigerian "values" are somehow "superior" to American "values" is part of a bigger problem that many Nigerians suffer from. The problem is the delusion that Nigeria is anything more than a struggling West African country with only one useful export, a deplorable government, non-existent infrastructure, high unemployment rates, low literacy, inadequate health-care for its millions of citizens, an overly religious population (to the detriment of common sense), and more recently a terrible football team.

Yet, despite the fact that Nigerians should be concerned with real issues in their country they involve themselves in useless bigotry against the very same people that may be asked to bail out the country one day.

Nigerians love to complain that Americans stereotype them, but then they turn right around and do exactly the same thing. The biggest exposition of Nigerian bigotry against Americans occurs when its time for the exchange of vows. Americans of all types are subject to this; be they black, white, asian, latino, etc.

A side-effect of all this foolishness is the way Nigerian immigrants in America treat themselves. With their desire to avoid the "evil and corrupting influence" of these Americans, you see people bonded in "friendship" not because they have things in common but because they are from the same country. As if being born within the same geographical construct automatically means that two people should trust each other. I have seen and heard so many stories of Nigerians trusting other Nigerians simply because they are from the same country--and then getting screwed over.


I completely understand the need to preserve your culture in a new land. I do. But when this "cultural preservation" becomes bigotry and leads to the exclusion of all other people then it has gone too far. When this preservation means that you would pick one person over another simply because the first person is a Nigerian, then you have gone too far. If you are my future mother-in-law you should accept me (or not) on the basis of me not my nationality.

If I marry a Nigerian man whose mother is one of those mothers, then I feel so bad for her. Why? Because I am probably closer to an American in my "values" than she would like. So, if she likes me simply because her son has brought home a Nigerian then she is in for a huge surprise.

Nigerian immigrants in America need to stop this "country-ism". Nobody asked you to come to America, so adjust, keep an open mind, or GTFO.

After reading this, you may labor under the idea that I think America is "the best". I don't. I get equally upset when I hear Americans tout their "greatness" in a world where many other nations have already caught up with (and even surpassed) America. However, Nigeria is not one of the countries giving America a run for its money. Nigeria is not even close to being a competitor and anybody who tells you otherwise is under the influence of hallucinogens.

Pardonnez Moi

I know I said part 2 of the Lagos School Daze story "Emeka & EDJ" would be published and its coming! I just wanted to share a few things with y'all (because I know you care).

First, I FINALLY FINALLY took my 5 hour pre-licensing class and got the certificate I need to schedule the road test. I have it scheduled for the morning of July 15th so wish me luck. I need to pass that test the first time! I even know the kind of car I want to get, a Nissan is first choice and 2nd is Honda. I wont be buying a new car though. I just don't want to take out that a $20k loan for a car that will be mostly for commuting to work. Also, I need to save my credit worthiness for the gargantuan grad school loans ahead.

In other news, it has come to my attention that the Class of 2010 has graduated. By Class of 2010, I mean the college graduates. High school graduation is not an achievement in my opinion--it is a necessity. I will not tolerate this "American" attitude of celebrating every minor thing from pre-school graduation to high school. I really feel bad for my children because when they graduate from high school I will simply applaud them at the ceremony and then take them home to watch TV. Well, maybe family lunch at Applebees first, THEN TV. The only way any child of mine is getting a "high school graduation celebration" is if they are starting college that fall at some sort of Ivy-league establishment. Otherwise, they will be just fine.

Here is another one of my great letters.

Dear Class of 2010. I know you guys are very excited about graduating and I don't want to burst your bubble. However, unless you already have a job offer or are beginning graduate school in the fall it is time to face facts. I am now loosing patience for those of you who are still uploading your graduation albums and have not yet started looking for jobs. Perhaps you need to get off Facebook and visit CareerBuilder instead? Actually don't visit CareerBuilder or even Monster because those two websites are rubbish for finding jobs. Your best option is your local classifieds, maybe Craigslist, and the websites of whatever company you are interested in. Consider creating a Linkedin profile so you can personally stalk the HR directors at prospective companies.

Class of 2010, considering the current economy, you guys have it slightly better than we did (Class of '09) but you do not have it as good as the Class of 2011 will have it (if all goes well). While you sit there re-hashing the excitement of graduation and uploading multiple graduation albums, your mates are finding jobs. Do you know that there are still people from 2009 without work? Make sure you are on top of things! A word of advice, do not be too proud when it comes to finding a job. I know you went to a great school (most of you) and you now expect to be paid a certain amount and work at a certain place but you must be logical about this. Take the best offer you get even if it isn't what you really want. Work at that position for a while then use it to leverage for a better one at a better company. That's what I did and look how great that turned out. This is not to say you take the first offer (unless you are desperate) but do not keep waiting for your "dream" job when you need "a" job. In fact, you don't even have to work in the field of your degree (unless you are an international student on OPT in which case your choices are limited). If you keep applying for "degree-related" positions and you can't get hired then consider other options. Take a serious look at your resume and see what else you may be suited for aside from your degree. A Bachelor's is great but if you have no "real" experience in that field you will have a hard time finding related work.

I am only trying to help.

 With that said, part 2 of Lagos School Daze--Emeka & EDJ will return shortly! I promise!

C.T.P.G.F.W.S.A.N

I have started a new campaign. This is a very selfless campaign and completely separate from my campaign to be nominated (and win) at least one Category B award at the Nigerian Blog Awards. You really should go over there and once again nominate me for more awards (I'm greedy, I know). Category B nominations opened this Monday and will continue until June 27th. Some hints on what to vote for me for: Favorite New Blogger (since I am awesome, and of course a new blogger).

This campaign is a grassroots effort very similar to #LightUpNigeria in that it has about as much chance of succeeding (very little) but it doesn't stop me from campaigning. My effort is called C.T.P.G.F.W.S.A.N. It is very long I know, but it is a very necessary effort. C.T.P.G.F.W.S.A.N stands for

This is a very terrible problem especially in the Nigerian community. Every time I see pictures from parties there are at least 5 human beings wandering around like blind beggars on Ikorodu road. How the hell can you see with those things? You don't look cool, you look silly! Only celebrities are allowed to wear sunglasses at night.

This campaign is completely selfless and for the betterment of the unfortunate souls who do not realize that SUNglasses are meant for the daytime. Guys, I have news for you, there are very few females who see your "Stevie Wonder" look and think, "wow he is so cool I'd like to hook up with him right now". Here are some of the statements that we make whenever we see men with sunglasses at night (especially in the club)

1. He is blind.
2. He is a douchebag. A conceited douchebag.
3. He has just smoked some weed and is trying to hide his red eyes.
4. He thinks he is a celebrity and he isn't. This makes him a vain douchebag.
5. Are you sure he isn't blind?
6. He is hiding some terrible scarring around his eyes.
7. He is actually here to stare at girls, like a stalker, and is hiding behind his glasses so nobody notices him.

Concerning that last one, if you are going to claim that you are wearing your sunglasses at night so nobody notices you staring at females, then I have news for you. You have failed WOEFULLY. Who do you think is going to stand out more at a party? A guy looking at girls? (a normal occurrence) Or a guy wearing sunglassess (for no apparent reason) looking at girls? Sunglasses at night (S.A.N) make you stand out MORE not less. But then, maybe this is the point.

This disturbing occurrence has even hit close to home for me. There are a few pictures of Alpa Chino floating around on Facebook from a few years ago when he was in college (and pre-EDJ, of course) where he is wearing sunglasses at night along with a group of his friends. Every time I see these pictures, I just start laughing. Thankfully he he has outgrown this silliness, but many people his age (and older) have not.

Guys, please stop this foolishness. I would understand if you were doing this as a joke, but the looks on your faces (or at least what I can see of your faces) suggest that you actually think you look cool. You don't! You just look corny.

In the same vein, this S.A.N problem can be further compounded by the fact that many of the proponents are the same kinds of human beings that love to take pictures with $20 bottles of Nuvo and/or $50 bottles of vodka. I know, I know, even though these bottles are at least 50% cheaper in the real world, you spent all that money to get into the club and paid $300 for a $50 bottle of liquor. Your need to take pictures of yourself holding the bottles must be in remembrance of the colossal waste of money that they turned out to be. Its so annoying seeing somebody wearing sunglasses at night in the club, holding a bottle of Nuvo (or some other relatively popular drink) and posing for the camera. Get a grip!

You know, now that I think about it, I feel bad for these guys. The real reason they do all these things is in an effort to get laid. Seeing as how I know I am not really the type of female they hope to attract i.e. one with a brain of her own, I really should not take offense at their madness.

Unfortunately, my eyes are going to be assaulted by S.A.N as well as "I overpaid for alcohol to look rich and cool", and other forms of silliness at the 2010 Nigerian Reunion. Yeah, I'm going. Did I say that C.T.P.G.F.W.S.A.N was a selfless crusade? I lied. Please spread the word about this campaign and perhaps we can reduce the occurrence of S.A.N by July 4th weekend. This way I am not tempted to trip up one of these human beings at one of the parties and then hide behind Alpa Chino if they come after me.

World Cup Updates

You know I had to talk about the bs that went down on Saturday. I am of course referring to the rubbish football exhibited by the Super Eagles of Nigeria. If it wasn't for the Nigerian goalkeeper I am sure the score would have been 5-0.

Whatever bonus they planned to give to the Nigerian team should be given entirely to the goalkeeper. I cannot believe how LAZY the team played. I know that fans are going to say "oh it was only a loss by one goal", and that is all fine and dandy but the team is now LAST in the group. Didn't I say earlier that the Eagles (henceforth they shall be referred to as "the Eaglets" on this blog) would have to rely on the bad luck of another team to make it out of the group stages?

Well my prediction is about to be proven correct. I know the Eaglets love to play from behind but making it out of the group stages from last position? This Eaglets team is not the one to do it. Ever since the Eaglets qualified (at the very last minute) I have been saying that they should have honorably given up their World Cup slot to Egypt. It would have been the best thing to do since I am sure the Egyptian team would know what to do at the World Cup. Instead, the Eaglets are wasting money and time at the competition.

Also at the World Cup, Team USA. I know I am not the only one who watches ESPN and gets exasperated at the ridiculous exaggeration of the American analysts. It is as if ESPN is deliberately trying to mislead viewers into thinking their football team is better than it is. They had the cajones to say that the USA v. England game was one of the most anticipated matches at the World Cup.

Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but my most anticipated match is Brazil vs. North Korea. Why? Because I am anticipating a massacre and I am a bloodthirsty football fan. I also look forward to Cote d'Ivoire v. Portugal because I anticipate a great match. But Team USA? Well I am not sure that I really care whether they make it out of the group stages or not.

Amazingly, Team USA managed to tie with England in their first game on Saturday. They were only able to do this because the English goalkeeper was a complete idiot. In fact, I will be highly surprised if he didn't get beaten up in the locker room after the match. England was ahead 1-0 and all they had to do was hold on (or score more goals). Then their goalkeeper fumbled the ball (like a fool) and the ball rolled into the net. I can imagine the ball literally strolling into the net while whistling a merry tune and waving at the idiot English goalkeeper as he stared in shock. That USA goal will go down as one of the stupidest goals of the entire World Cup. But, a goal is a goal. 

Another stupid occurrence at the World Cup, handballs. We have already seen our first handball penalty of the competition and it is only day 4. It was Ghana v. Serbia and the handball led to a penalty kick for Ghana. So, Ghana got the penalty shot and that goal was the only goal of the match. This means out of all the African countries that have played so far, Ghana is the only team to actually win their first match. I am so very happy for them because, even though they won with a penalty, it is the general consensus that they would have won that game anyway since they played so well. I hope the Eaglets are taking note.


In other news, Germany beat the living daylight out of Australia with a 4-0 victory on Sunday. It really should have been about 6-0 but a few balls bounced off the poles of the net and didn't make it in. That was a really fun match. It was also slightly painful to watch because at a point the Australian team lost one of their players to a red card and they were already 2-0 down when this happened. Eventually it began to look as if Germany was simply teasing Australia like a cat playing with it's food. One of the German substitute players actually managed to score a goal within 5 minutes of getting on the field. Then, to add insult to injury, the German team began substituting their "star strikers" for the "backups" (one of whom scored a goal) and one of the subs was not even 21 years old yet. You could tell that the game was over way before the 2nd half.

Today, Cameroon played Japan and lost. 1-0. I begin to wonder how they managed to qualify for the World Cup in the first place. In fact, I am totally surprised they didn't kick the ball into their own net for goodness sake. I guess when Shakira sang, "Its time for Africa", she meant its time for Africa to not make it out of the group stages (except Ghana and hopefully Cote d'Ivoire).

Ahh well. Its only the World Cup.

The World Cup, as explained by EDJ.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it is time for the REAL football season to start. Despite my utmost respect for the NFL, and the hard work that each player puts into the sport, I will always be a football (soccer for the rest of you) person.

With that said, I have taken a look at this year's competing countries and after careful analysis I have come to the conclusion that the World Cup finals will be as follows:


Brazil vs. __________ (insert Western European country)

For people who are new to the World Cup let me explain to you how it works.

First, all the continents (minus the polar regions) hold "playoffs" to determine the teams that will be able to represent themselves and their continent at the World Cup. The only continent where the "playoffs" are completely unnecessary (and laughable) is the region referred to as Oceania--where only one team qualifies. Oceania consists of such stellar football teams as: Fiji, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, etc. This year, New Zealand somehow managed to qualify from this tough continent.

Unlike the Olympics, where pretty much any country can show up and compete, the expectation at the World Cup is that only the "best and brightest" from each continent show up to compete. This is not always the case as can be seen in what I call the "Stroke of Luck" Group. This Group is any group where at least 2 of the 4 countries really should NOT have qualified for the World Cup but managed to make it through based on a "stroke of luck". This year the Stroke of Luck Group is Group B consisting of: Argentina, Greece, Korea, and Nigeria.

In opposition to the Stroke of Luck Group, there is the infamous Group of Death. For newbies to football, there are basically 2 rules of thumb for "Group of Death spotting". They are as follows:

1. Any group with Brazil and at least 1 Western European country is a Group of Death.
2. Any group with more than 2 Western European countries is a Group of Death.

Nobody is sure what kind of diabolical genetic experiments the Brazilians have conducted to produce such excellent football players. South America is not an easy continent to qualify from but Brazil has managed to qualify for every single World Cup--ever. Not only have they been at every World Cup they have won the most titles (5). Its not like the Brazilian team really has a choice in these matters. If you think Yankees or Red Sox fans are rabid, then you have never met a true Brazilian football fan. In fact, it is very likely that if this Brazilian team returns without the World Cup they will be publicly flogged by their fans.

Here are the Groups for the 2010 World Cup:

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

FRA

ARG

ALG

AUS

CMR

ITA

BRA

CHI

MEX

GRE

ENG

GER

DEN

NZL

CIV

HON

RSA

KOR

SVN

GHA

JPN

PAR

PRK

ESP

URU

NGA

USA

SRB

NED

SVK

POR

SUI

If you don't understand the abbreviations then too bad for you. I will tell you that RSA in Group A is actually South Africa (the host country). Some people say that there is a 2nd Group of Death, can you guess which one based on my two tips above?

After the "continent playoffs" and the random drawings for the Groups, the World Cup begins. Only 2 teams will make it out of each Group, the rest have to go home and face the depressing fact that they will have to wait another 4 years to have another chance (if they qualify). Once the World Cup begins it is not like the sissy NBA where it can take up to 7 games to decide the winner. You only have 90 minutes (maybe some over-time) to beat the living daylight out of the other team--or in some cases squeak by on blind luck.

In the group stages there are 6 games; this gives every team a chance to play against all the other teams in the group. In the past this has resulted in some massacres on the football field. In fact this is the fun part of the World Cup because it is at the group stage that you are likely to see scoreboards that read 6-0, 5-1, 1000-2. In Group G, for example, I can almost guarantee you that North Korea (PRK) will become everybody else's punching bag.

It is entirely possible to have upsets in the Group stages, but it is very rare for "underdogs" to make it all the way to the finals. In case you are wondering who the "underdogs" are in this competition, let me help you. If the country's name is not Brazil, then it is an underdog. Okay, perhaps I am being overly dramatic. Let me be more specific. You might be an underdog if:

1. You are an African country and your name is NOT Cote D'Ivoire (CIV, Group G) or Ghana (GHA, Group D)
2. You qualified out of the Asian continent.
3. You are Team USA.
4. You are not a Western European country.
5. You qualified out of the Oceanic continent--this means you, New Zealand (NZL, Group F).

After the group stages, the 1st and 2nd place teams from each group pair off against the 1st and 2nd place teams from the group adjacent to theirs. But, in order to truly weed out the weak teams, the teams square off in the following manner:
1st place Group A vs. 2nd place Group B,
2nd place Group A vs. 1st place Group B, etc.
So, usually, it is important to finish first in your group so that you get an "easier" team in the next stage.

At this point the loser of each game goes home and there are no second chances, hence the term "knockout stage". The knockout stages are the stages that cause the most fights, arguments, tears, and cardiac arrests for reasons that should be obvious. This continues until the final two are left standing at the finals.


Concerning Nigeria (NGA, Group B) if they make it out of the group stages I will be very surprised. Why? Because they are a Stroke of Luck team. In fact, I predict Nigeria will need to rely once again on the bad luck of  another team. This time, either Korea or Greece. This has been my problem with this Super Eagles team, it is impossible for them to actually win something in a clear cut, decisive manner. Don't be surprised if you see a whole bunch of Nigerians on June 22nd praying for Greece to beat Argentina or vice-versa in order for the Eagles to make it out of the group stages. Of course, blind luck can only take you so far in this competition. In the event that the Super Eagles make it through to the knockout stages, they still have to beat the winner of Group A which will either be France or Mexico. Do you really see that happening? In my opinion it is best if the Eagles don't make it out of the group stages. Seriously, what would be the point?

In case you haven't guessed yet, I LOVE FOOTBALL. I can't wait for the World Cup to start this Friday!

Thank You All

Ego Du Jour won both categories it was nominated for! Isn't that great? I feel like I have won an MTV award because the winners were selected by popular vote! So, in the spirit of a true award show, here are my thank you speeches for the Nigerian Blog Awards.

The winner for Best Designed Blog is [dramatic pause] Ego Du Jour!:
[Camera pans to EDJ as she walks on stage wearing an award appropriate outfit of lace iro and buba complete with gele and ostentatious jewelry]

Thank you all so much! [glances at award in hand while tearing up a bit] This means so much to me. Thank you to all the fans and everyone who voted. To my fellow nominees [glances at them with hand on her chest] you guys are all great and I think all our blogs looked great. I would also like to thank Adobe Photoshop for existing, thank you Google for helping me learn so much about web design without paying for classes, and thank you Mogaji, Alpa Chino, and The Duchess for giving me feedback on the design and arrangement of the blog. Also a big thank you to Good Naija Girl and everyone who helped her organize the awards. I am so flattered and honored to be here! Thank you!

And the Best New Blog is Ego Du Jour!:
[Camera pans to EDJ who is open mouthed in shock and then grins happily. Then she hugs the people sitting next to her, Mogaji and The Duchess (Alpa Chino couldn't come due to a scheduling conflict aka the NBA finals). Finally EDJ makes her way to the stage]

 [glances at award] Wow! I don't really know what to say. Two awards! This is so amazing. Thank you to everyone who voted. Thank you to the fans and everyone who reads my blog. I couldn't have done this without your support. Ego Du Jour is my first real blog and I am so happy that it is being so well received. Its been a learning process for me with the blog and I thank everyone who has been with me since the beginning or joined along the way. I think what makes these awards so special is that winners are picked by popular vote and I am happy to know that so many of you like my blog! Thank you! [does a few fist pumps and then leaves the stage]

As you can see I have a very active imagination. Thanks to everyone who voted for this blog. Now I know what to put on the sidebar!

Just a little note about the Nigerian Blog Awards. The awards are split into 2 groups--Group A and Group B. Group A winners were announced today. This group is about the blogs themselves so it has categories like Best Designed, Most Controversial, Best Use of Media, etc.

Group B, on the other hand, is about the bloggers behind the blogs and has categories like:

Paparazzi Blogger - Always reading and commenting on blogs, all the time
Fire in my Pants!- Blogger you would hook up with based solely on the content of their blog
Disappearing act award - Blogger disappears for long periods
etc.

All the Group B categories will be listed on June 14th and you can start voting for your favorites then.

To learn more about the Nigerian Blog Awards you can visit their website: www.nigerianblogawards.com


 

Today is the last day!

I'm sure you guys are aware that today is the last day to vote in the Nigerian Blog awards. So go and vote!

The polls close tonight at 11:59pm and winners will be announced tomorrow. Ego Du Jour has been nominated in two categories and I would like to win. You can read my campaign speech here.


So, please vote for this blog and all of your other favorites at the 2010 Nigerian Blog Awards!

We'll find out who wins tomorrow!

Shopping By EDJ

Some of you may read this and say I am cheap, but hey, "waste not, want not". This post will help explain, in part, one of the reasons why I will probably do well on the quantitative section of the GMAT. I may not be studying for the exam yet, but I am surely getting some practice in my day to day activities.

During Memorial Day I did some serious shopping online. It wasn't as if I really needed anything. I got one of those "Memorial Day Sale!" e-mails from a few stores that I normally shop at and I decided to check out their sales. I saw a few things I liked, and then I bought them.

But, it is the way I did my shopping that I am sharing with you. What I am about to describe--I do all the time no matter what I am shopping for be it clothing or computers. I would like to know if I am the only one out there that does this. I am using my Memorial Day shopping as an example.

First, I browsed the website and added items to my cart that I liked without concern for price or number of items. Then, when I was sure I didn't want anything else, I went to my cart and started categorizing items in order of priority i.e. which ones I just had to have and which ones I could wait for (especially when the prices get reduced at a later point). After sorting and "saving" certain items for later, it was time to pay for the items left in the cart. But wait...there's more to this.

Next thing I did was look for coupons. This is one of my favorite things about shopping online and Google is awesomely awesome at helping out with the coupon search. I found quite a few coupons for this store and after comparing coupons the two codes of highest value to me were for 25% off all orders over $100, and 40% off each item. Obviously I couldn't use two coupon codes, and of course I was going to pick the one that would save me the most money. This is where the GMAT quantitative practice comes in.

I actually took a calculator and calculated the difference between using the 25% coupon and the 40% coupon including taxes and shipping fees. Obviously using the 25% coupon option was easy. Simply multiply the total order + shipping by 0.75 and then calculate the sales tax for that amount. No problem.

The 40% option meant that I would have to do the math for each item as individual order. So, for each item, multiply the item price + shipping by 0.60 and then add the sales tax. I had to do this 6 times for all the things I bought.

So which one costs less?
1. (0.75 (order total + shipping amount)) + sales tax
OR
2. ((0.60 (Item 1 + shipping amount)) + sales tax) + (0.60 (Item 2 + shipping amount)) + sales tax) + (0.60 (Item 3 + shipping amount)) + sales tax)...(0.60 (Item 6  + shipping amount)) + sales tax))

 I'll give y'all some time to think about it. If you are familiar with the GMAT then you may be aware the options would look something like:
a) Option 1 costs less
b) Both options have the same value
c) Option 2 costs less
d) There is not enough information to make a decision.

Happy math solving! I'm sure you guys are smart enough to figure it out.

In case you are concerned, my shopping turned out great and I am eagerly looking forward to my purchases arriving!