I am back in Ohio. I am in Twinsburg for one night. Oklahoma was a blast; I went to see a friend of mine, a lady I have known for about 20 years now. She is a beautiful, brilliant, humble, God-fearing lady, and I absolutely adore her and wish her the best. In many ways, she is a lot that I am not: easy-going, patient, etc. I really loved my time there. She and I and her lovely roomate and her roomate's friend, and another friend of theirs went out to several places: dinner on Saturday at a Thai restaurant, a movie on Saturday night (Grown Ups, with Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and the guy from King of Queens - overall a really funny movie, even if a pointless one); We rented 2 movies (The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Maid in Manhattan, which I had seen before, which stars Jennifer Lopez) and then on Sunday we went to church for the church's 4th July celebrations. I met a lot of her friends, all Nigerians: they are a brilliant, dynamic bunch. We talked, we laughed, we argued! It was a typical Naija gathering.
On Sunday, we drove about 70 miles from Stillwater to Tulsa for the Sunday service at 10am. In church, we had a sermon delivered by an energetic Nigerian preacher, who is actually a Schlumberger engineer. He is a very bright man, and his wife, this welcoming, warm and very beautiful lady was just awesome to us. In any case, after church, we went to the Tulsa Zoo ("And Living Museum") where we saw all sorts of animals, took lots of pictures and generally goofed around. I bought some figurines in the zoo, too.
Towards the end, as the zoo was closing, a massive snake crept out of the bush and passed right in front of us. We screamed and ran off in different directions. The snake went back into the bush - it was at least 10 feet long, wide as my knees. I was frightened, and we were all badly shaken. Needless to say, we kept leaping and screaming at every little motion after that. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. On our way out, we saw a man on a golf cart, with 'SECURITY' emblazoned on his shirt. Upon narrating our story of the snake, he assured us that the authorities already know about the snakes; indeed the authorities put the snakes there themselves, to kill rats. He mentioned that they are harmless snakes and "they will not bother you", he finished emphatically. That was precious little comfort. He was very pleasant about the whole thing, and calmed us down as much as he could. After he left, one of us wondered out loud why there had been no warning signs before we entered about wandering (but harmless) snakes. My friend replied that it would probably scare folks away. She was right. I might not have gone in at all if I had seen a sign of that nature. Not after having lived in Ibadan for so long and seeing snakes at a frequency of more than one a week for over 10 years of my life, sometimes finding the snakes upstairs inside the house. A thousand horses would probably not have dragged me inside the zoo.
Sunday night, there was a planned fireworks show, but with the rain relentlessly battering the area, the show was canceled. My friend and I stayed indoors, while her roomate and her roomate's friend went off with their boyfriends. We watched the beginning of Maid in Manhattan and ate Jollof Rice, which she had prepared before I arrived. She is an exquisite cook. We go waay back. Her father taught my eldest sister Chemistry in University. Her father taught my other sister Chemistry in University. Her father taught me Chemistry in University (she and I were in the same class her dad was teaching). Her father and my step-mother were friends before my step-mother passed away. Her father and my father are friends. Her father probably wrote one of the numerous recommendations that my eldest sister required for her application to American universities a decade ago. In other words, we go waaaaay back. She made me feel incredibly welcome - made her home my home; it was tough saying goodbye to her this morning, but somehow I summoned up the courage to do so. She is a true friend, and I am glad that I am in her life and she is in mine.
On the way back, I drove from Stillwater back to Tulsa. I very nearly missed my flight. At the Tulsa airport (which is much bigger than I remembered from 2 days back), there was a long line at the Delta desk - the line had about 35 people, but the line was only moving at a rate of 2 people every 15 minutes. And there was just 1 hour before the flight took off. Do the math. I had arrived so late because a) I had not anticipated that the airport would be so busy - big mistake. The day after a holiday in the USA is always terrible for flying or other public transport, and 2) I had spent quite a bit of time traveling around the city trying to find a gas station that accepted credit cards or cash or didn't require my having to enter the store to find the clerk and pay him for gas and then go back outside to pump gas. Of course, while I was driving around Tulsa looking for a suitable gas station, I was still working on the assumption that Assumption 1 was valid i..e that there would be hardly anybody at the airport, and that the airport was a very tiny one anyway, kinda like New Haven's airport. Big mistake. Upon arrival, there was a) trouble finding the Delta Check-in Kiosk and b) a big crowd of people waiting at said Delta Kiosk, with just a couple of really slow attendants at the Kiosk and no self-service.
Eventually, everyone flying to Memphis (my transit point) was waved to the front of the line and the self-service kiosks were opened up. I made it in time. At Memphis, I had about 30 minutes, so I sat down to a nice meal of fries and crab cakes (which I had never eaten before, but of which I had heard a tremendous amount). And after that, it was mercifully boring - I got to Cleveland, drove to Twinsburg, and voila! here I am: watching youtube clips of Wimbledon, which I completely missed, as I was at work for the first bits of the tournament, and for the weekend matches, I was on the road or in Oklahoma. So I am effectively watching 2 weeks on tennis via highlight reels: of Berdych beating Federer in 4 sets in the Quarter finals, of Murray beating Tsonga and the dramatic point I had read about but had had difficulty envisioning - at 5-5 in the tie-break in the second set, Tsonga let a sitter slide, and the momentum of the tie-break, set and match swung firmly in Murray's direction after that. Of Berdych beating Djokovic in straight sets in the semis, of Nadal beating Murray in straight sets in the semis (some say this was the match of the tournament), of Rafa beating Berdych in straight sets in the finals, and of the comments Federer made about his injury after he was beaten by Berdych. Looks like it was a fun 2 weeks. And of course there is Serena's victory to watch, too: over Sharapova and eventually over Zvonareva.
In other matters, my Ghanaian friend has recommended a good Ghanaian movie to me. It's called Front Door. The recommendation came in response to my unreserved plaudits for Shirley Frimpong Manso and her excellent movies. He tells me that this is the 2nd best Ghanaian movie out there, after Perfect Picture (I don't even agree that Perfect Picture is the best Ghanaian movie, but that is a matter for another day). He also said, however, that it is like the Ghanaian Ocean's 11. I don't know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing, since I found Ocean's 11 unwatchable and stopped after about a half hour of trying and failing to follow the plot.
In any case, we shall see. Still on the subject of movies, my friend and I saw parts of "Why did I get married", by Tyler Perry and it was actually quite nice. We could not watch the whole thing as we did not find a website that would stream it fast enough, and the clips uploaded on Youtube are missing several parts; since I want to watch the rest of the movie (I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw), I think I will go off to rent the movie some time in the near future. Once I figure out what my schedule will be the next few weeks, I'll probably find time to watch the movie.
I am going to Arkansas tomorrow, so I need to hurry up and finish this post, probably watch the movie called Front Door, and write down the list of things I need to pack specially for the trip (work-related items). The good news is that I really don't have to unpack at all, since I just returned from another trip today and my suitcases are sitting in my (very dirty) apartment. I am spending so little time in my apartment these days that I might as well live in a hotel. At least for the next week, I know I'll be away until Friday night, and then possibly I'll sleep over at the airport hotel (instead of driving back here at night - after 11pm), and then go to Columbus on Saturday morning, and return either Saturday evening or Sunday morning. I'm still not sure.
Anyway, I have lots of figurines purchased from the Tulsa zoo, had a great time with my friend and made new friends, too.
Overall, a productive weekend, and it was oodles of fun, too!
Take care,
And have a great week!
Monday, July 5, 2010
En route Oklahoma, by way of Minneapolis
I write from the Cleveland airport, where I just found that my flight is overbooked. Before I checked in, I was offered the chance to give up my ticket. I declined. I am yet to determine whether my flight to Tulsa is a direct flight or not. On the ticket, there were two cities listed: Cleveland (the origin) and Tulsa (the destination), and there were no transit times. But on the screen at the gate, it says Cleveland, then that flashes away and disappears, Minneapolis appears, and then Tulsa. So I'll find out shortly whether or not we'll be stopping over in Minneapolis. It matters little to me. My bag is checked in and my hand luggage is fairly light (one wheeled bag and a very large purse that contains 2 smaller purses). It sounds like a lot, but it really is not. I'm accustomed to carrying lots of weights (as a geeky high school student, I hurled lots of textbooks to school every day). In addition, I have a very large purse (hell, I have 2 large purses, so this is nothing new to me).
09:38pm ET: I am now in Minneapolis, and there is an African-American woman at the terminal, gossiping on the phone. She opened by talking loudly about some friend of hers who wrote a play and is now about to hit the big time. Now she is talking in normal tones, conspiratorial tones, if you please. But I have good ears. She is talking about her job and her company and her boss. Being in Minneapolis brings memories of the trip I took here in February this year, for some personal development session when I was still a (disgruntled) employee of my former company. I can't say I have great memories of the place, since it was bitterly cold when I arrived there, but visiting in transit is a totally differenty experience.
On the plane from Cleveland, there were a number of unusual things. First was the extremely skinny kid who sat next to me, wearing a T-Shirt that read Oklahoma State. Since I will be visiting Oklahoma State, I tried to pick up a conversation with him, but that died a quick death, since this chap appears to be an absolute social failure. More importantly, his mouth reeked of carbide. I think I need to look into the origin of carbide, and the reasons some people have lots of it, and others don't. To make matters worse, he sneezed a lot on the flight. As did the woman in front of me, and the man sitting across the aisle to my left, and the people in the 2 rows behind him. Indeed the man sitting to my SouthWest was coughing so intensely that I was convinced he would expel his lungs right unto the seat in front of him. Furthermore, the couple that sat across the seat from me had a strange condition: the woman had something covering her nose, akin to a surgical mask. When she briefly took it off prior to boarding, I noticed that she has one nostril, with a black hole for the other nostril. Something made me suspect that she has cancer. In addition, there was a smell around this couple: the smell of disease and decay, and (morbid and heartless as this might sound) a smell of impending death. I was frightened and eventually very guilty, especially because I only realized very late in the flight that the odor which I had noticed upon arrival in the plane, was coming from the couple. I thought of the fact that they already have a nasty invader in their lives, in the form of a potentially incurable disease. How dare I complain about the fact that I was inconvenienced for all of 90 minutes?
Anyway, away from that, I spoke extensively with my boss today. He is, like I have mentioned many times before, a very bright man - a very strategic brain. We plotted the path for my plant for the next year. It was great just speaking with him so extensively. Unlike my previous bosses, who were bright eyed and clueless about manufacturing, here is a man who knows exactly what he is talking about. I love that about him! I have learned more from him in 8 weeks than I learned from my bosses at my old company in over a year. That's how awesome this guy is. And the entire plant is full of people like that. I have also found that he is a perfectionist, so I know I have to step up my game.
In other matters, there is a white couple here at the terminal, with a little black baby (very cute baby). Everyone is staring at them, open-mouthed. I love it when people just forget their manners and allow their curiosity to take over. It's hilarious!
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray to reach the Wimbledon Finals. Britain, still reeling from England's pathetic display in South Africa, invested a lot of expectation in this match, and there was the usual shameless hype from the blinkered British Media: endless articles about how this is Murray's time, shows about how Murray has all it takes to beat Nadal, etc. Well, the good news is that Rafa did not read the script. Furthermore, I think the British are probably reluctant to admit that Murray might not yet have what it takes to win a Grand Slam. He has all the shots. He has all the skills, but one thing he does NOT have is the mindset. Tennis is at least 50% mental - I know this despite never having played it professionally. Even when I hit with my sister (who is by no means Steffi Graf), I can tell just how mentally exhausting it is to do well under pressure. That's what matters more than your footwork or the quality of your ground strokes. Plus, Murray relies more than anything else on consistency. Nadal, on the other hand, relies on explosive points - turning defense into offense quicker than possibly any other player on either the WTA or the ATP, and yes, that includes the GOAT.
Another really funny thing, there was some article yesterday on the internet by Nick Bolleteri, who is responsible for producing some of the greatest tennis players of all time i.e. Andre Agassi, Maria Sharapova, etc. Mr. Bolleteri gave a number of reasons why this was Djokovic's year. How the real Djokovic, who had charmed the tennis world with his imitations and his humor, had returned. How Djokovic was free swinging again. How Djokovic's game is dangerous when he is in this sort of mood, and yada yada yada (you get the point). Turns out Berdych did not get the memo. It was apparently a routine straight-sets victory for Berdych, with Djokovic providing little resistance to Berdych's power. I didn't see the match, but that's what I was told. So Bolleteri, the guru of tennis, got it wrong this time.
Edit: This is being posted on Monday 5th July, as I didn't have internet access in Oklahoma.
09:38pm ET: I am now in Minneapolis, and there is an African-American woman at the terminal, gossiping on the phone. She opened by talking loudly about some friend of hers who wrote a play and is now about to hit the big time. Now she is talking in normal tones, conspiratorial tones, if you please. But I have good ears. She is talking about her job and her company and her boss. Being in Minneapolis brings memories of the trip I took here in February this year, for some personal development session when I was still a (disgruntled) employee of my former company. I can't say I have great memories of the place, since it was bitterly cold when I arrived there, but visiting in transit is a totally differenty experience.
On the plane from Cleveland, there were a number of unusual things. First was the extremely skinny kid who sat next to me, wearing a T-Shirt that read Oklahoma State. Since I will be visiting Oklahoma State, I tried to pick up a conversation with him, but that died a quick death, since this chap appears to be an absolute social failure. More importantly, his mouth reeked of carbide. I think I need to look into the origin of carbide, and the reasons some people have lots of it, and others don't. To make matters worse, he sneezed a lot on the flight. As did the woman in front of me, and the man sitting across the aisle to my left, and the people in the 2 rows behind him. Indeed the man sitting to my SouthWest was coughing so intensely that I was convinced he would expel his lungs right unto the seat in front of him. Furthermore, the couple that sat across the seat from me had a strange condition: the woman had something covering her nose, akin to a surgical mask. When she briefly took it off prior to boarding, I noticed that she has one nostril, with a black hole for the other nostril. Something made me suspect that she has cancer. In addition, there was a smell around this couple: the smell of disease and decay, and (morbid and heartless as this might sound) a smell of impending death. I was frightened and eventually very guilty, especially because I only realized very late in the flight that the odor which I had noticed upon arrival in the plane, was coming from the couple. I thought of the fact that they already have a nasty invader in their lives, in the form of a potentially incurable disease. How dare I complain about the fact that I was inconvenienced for all of 90 minutes?
Anyway, away from that, I spoke extensively with my boss today. He is, like I have mentioned many times before, a very bright man - a very strategic brain. We plotted the path for my plant for the next year. It was great just speaking with him so extensively. Unlike my previous bosses, who were bright eyed and clueless about manufacturing, here is a man who knows exactly what he is talking about. I love that about him! I have learned more from him in 8 weeks than I learned from my bosses at my old company in over a year. That's how awesome this guy is. And the entire plant is full of people like that. I have also found that he is a perfectionist, so I know I have to step up my game.
In other matters, there is a white couple here at the terminal, with a little black baby (very cute baby). Everyone is staring at them, open-mouthed. I love it when people just forget their manners and allow their curiosity to take over. It's hilarious!
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray to reach the Wimbledon Finals. Britain, still reeling from England's pathetic display in South Africa, invested a lot of expectation in this match, and there was the usual shameless hype from the blinkered British Media: endless articles about how this is Murray's time, shows about how Murray has all it takes to beat Nadal, etc. Well, the good news is that Rafa did not read the script. Furthermore, I think the British are probably reluctant to admit that Murray might not yet have what it takes to win a Grand Slam. He has all the shots. He has all the skills, but one thing he does NOT have is the mindset. Tennis is at least 50% mental - I know this despite never having played it professionally. Even when I hit with my sister (who is by no means Steffi Graf), I can tell just how mentally exhausting it is to do well under pressure. That's what matters more than your footwork or the quality of your ground strokes. Plus, Murray relies more than anything else on consistency. Nadal, on the other hand, relies on explosive points - turning defense into offense quicker than possibly any other player on either the WTA or the ATP, and yes, that includes the GOAT.
Another really funny thing, there was some article yesterday on the internet by Nick Bolleteri, who is responsible for producing some of the greatest tennis players of all time i.e. Andre Agassi, Maria Sharapova, etc. Mr. Bolleteri gave a number of reasons why this was Djokovic's year. How the real Djokovic, who had charmed the tennis world with his imitations and his humor, had returned. How Djokovic was free swinging again. How Djokovic's game is dangerous when he is in this sort of mood, and yada yada yada (you get the point). Turns out Berdych did not get the memo. It was apparently a routine straight-sets victory for Berdych, with Djokovic providing little resistance to Berdych's power. I didn't see the match, but that's what I was told. So Bolleteri, the guru of tennis, got it wrong this time.
Edit: This is being posted on Monday 5th July, as I didn't have internet access in Oklahoma.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Life - it can be such a heartless bitch
A friend of mine has lung cancer. He is about 40, and yes, he has been smoking for years and years. He is in New Jersey, and I understand that he is receiving chemotherapy. Word on the street is that it has spread to his brain, and that it's not looking good. He was so nice to me at my old plant. When I first arrived, as a kid who was scared out of her mind, I needed some help. He helped me. Took me under his wing. Indeed, he was the one person who told me one day (upon realizing that I was the only Team Leader in the plant, late at night), that if I needed any help anywhere in the plant, even if he didn't know the area well, he'd be there to help. He is that kind of man. Once, a few months ago, I took him to the hospital. He'd cut his hand badly - there was quite a bit of blood. I was frightened. I was nervous because of all the blood and all the pain I imagined he would be in. Turns out he was in very little pain - or at least he didn't show it. Instead, he was laughing: at me for reacting so sheepishly to all the blood. At my relentless fidgeting as the nurses came to examine him. When the doctors finished with him, they slapped a band-aid on his finger and told him to go home and rest. And he put a smile on his face. That's the sort of guy he is - quick to smile, quick to reassure, and, I might add, quick to comfort other people. I hope this ends well. Or at least that it ends quickly and he doesn't have to suffer for a long time.
Still on the subject of the bitch known as cancer, today my plant manager had an emergency meeting. A long-serving member of my plant passed away. She had lung cancer, too. She had only begun chemotherapy really recently. Apparently she got a chance to see her family before she passed away. She didn't wake up this morning, we were told. My plant manager was pretty shaken up by the whole thing. So were the long term employees at the plant, as this lady had been at the plant 30 years.
Life, you see, is short. And too often, it can be a bloody bitch.
Still on the subject of the bitch known as cancer, today my plant manager had an emergency meeting. A long-serving member of my plant passed away. She had lung cancer, too. She had only begun chemotherapy really recently. Apparently she got a chance to see her family before she passed away. She didn't wake up this morning, we were told. My plant manager was pretty shaken up by the whole thing. So were the long term employees at the plant, as this lady had been at the plant 30 years.
Life, you see, is short. And too often, it can be a bloody bitch.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Unease
I cannot help the unease. I am unable to recall a time in my life when things have moved so quickly. The changes that are taking place at work, the fact that I have to lead those changes, the fact that the plant is not moving as quickly as I had expected, the endless traveling, seeing a friend I haven't seen in 6 years again, going to Nigeria in August, the exams I may or may not be taking, the nerves about going to Nigeria, unease about my sister's wedding to her strange fiance - all have added up to make this quite an unsettling time in my life, and I don't like the feeling. It's new territory for me - I'm usually in control, in absolute control of everything around me.
Away from that, my 401k is rolled over; my car is now registered in Ohio. All, it seems, is well with the administrative side of my life. I just need to engage my brain and make it follow suit.
I think I might feel so unsettled because I haven't really had a chance to see the Cleveland area at all. My sister went back to New Haven, to work at some Yale clinic, and so I am alone again in Ohio. Still, I haven't had the chance to see any of the local areas because I have been going to Columbus so often. It appears I will visit Columbus every other Saturday from now until the end of November. That's what I think might happen, although the frequency of the trips might decrease with time (perhaps to just monthly). It's not the end of the world, but it can get really exhausting!
I received my travel plans for the Arkansas trip from my assistant a few days ago - turns out I will be returning to Ohio around midnight on Friday the 9th July. Why she booked a flight for such a time is beyond me, but I didn't make a fuss of things. Indeed I didn't say a word. Sometimes there are battles you just don't want to fight. In the future, of course, if I have a trip, I'll let her know a priori what I need - in this case, it was totally my fault for not speaking to her a priori.
What else is new? Wimbledon is going on. Today, Roger Federer lost to a man named Berdych who is from the Czech Republic. By all accounts, Berdych played well. Andy Murray beat Tsonga, meaning he will next face Rafael Nadal, who defeated Robin Soderling. I quite like Rafa Nadal. Scratch that. He is far and away my favorite tennis player! It is my hope that I can take a weekend to go to the US Open this year and watch him play. Still on tennis, I found this gem of a website online: http://fuldans.se/?v=yuxiylhvsv. The face is Soderling's, the dance moves are hilarious!
The World Cup is still going on. I can barely name the Quarterfinalists (I think they are still in the Quarterfinals). I do know, however, that Ghana has saved Africa's blushes by being the only African team left in the knockout stages of the first World Cup to be staged on African soil. Good on ya, Ghana!
Came across an excellent article about England's trip to South Africa. Here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/index.html
If, like me, you will only read sparingly about this World Cup, make sure that is one article you read. Quite eye-opening.
I am really frightened about visiting Nigeria this year. From what I hear, the country has not changed much in the 4 years since I last visited. It remains a toxic soup of hopelessness and poverty, a steaming cauldron of starvation and backwardness. I recall the abject poverty I witnessed and lived in Nigeria. Days on end without tangible food. Children with kwashiokor, the classic egg-on-sticks appearance, their hair flaming red from malnutrition and what not. It still gives me nightmares. The years of my childhood conjure images of happiness with a family that loves me dearly, but also memories of the agony of living in a wretched state, without access to healthcare, decent clothing, food, etc.
One more thing - Nigeria turns 50 this year. I say it's time for the country to take a long, hard look at its present composition and determine whether we want to redefine our borders. A nation should be composed of a "coalition of the willing". Is this present composition the only solution for Nigeria? Something tells me not.
Away from that, my 401k is rolled over; my car is now registered in Ohio. All, it seems, is well with the administrative side of my life. I just need to engage my brain and make it follow suit.
I think I might feel so unsettled because I haven't really had a chance to see the Cleveland area at all. My sister went back to New Haven, to work at some Yale clinic, and so I am alone again in Ohio. Still, I haven't had the chance to see any of the local areas because I have been going to Columbus so often. It appears I will visit Columbus every other Saturday from now until the end of November. That's what I think might happen, although the frequency of the trips might decrease with time (perhaps to just monthly). It's not the end of the world, but it can get really exhausting!
I received my travel plans for the Arkansas trip from my assistant a few days ago - turns out I will be returning to Ohio around midnight on Friday the 9th July. Why she booked a flight for such a time is beyond me, but I didn't make a fuss of things. Indeed I didn't say a word. Sometimes there are battles you just don't want to fight. In the future, of course, if I have a trip, I'll let her know a priori what I need - in this case, it was totally my fault for not speaking to her a priori.
What else is new? Wimbledon is going on. Today, Roger Federer lost to a man named Berdych who is from the Czech Republic. By all accounts, Berdych played well. Andy Murray beat Tsonga, meaning he will next face Rafael Nadal, who defeated Robin Soderling. I quite like Rafa Nadal. Scratch that. He is far and away my favorite tennis player! It is my hope that I can take a weekend to go to the US Open this year and watch him play. Still on tennis, I found this gem of a website online: http://fuldans.se/?v=yuxiylhvsv. The face is Soderling's, the dance moves are hilarious!
The World Cup is still going on. I can barely name the Quarterfinalists (I think they are still in the Quarterfinals). I do know, however, that Ghana has saved Africa's blushes by being the only African team left in the knockout stages of the first World Cup to be staged on African soil. Good on ya, Ghana!
Came across an excellent article about England's trip to South Africa. Here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/index.html
If, like me, you will only read sparingly about this World Cup, make sure that is one article you read. Quite eye-opening.
I am really frightened about visiting Nigeria this year. From what I hear, the country has not changed much in the 4 years since I last visited. It remains a toxic soup of hopelessness and poverty, a steaming cauldron of starvation and backwardness. I recall the abject poverty I witnessed and lived in Nigeria. Days on end without tangible food. Children with kwashiokor, the classic egg-on-sticks appearance, their hair flaming red from malnutrition and what not. It still gives me nightmares. The years of my childhood conjure images of happiness with a family that loves me dearly, but also memories of the agony of living in a wretched state, without access to healthcare, decent clothing, food, etc.
One more thing - Nigeria turns 50 this year. I say it's time for the country to take a long, hard look at its present composition and determine whether we want to redefine our borders. A nation should be composed of a "coalition of the willing". Is this present composition the only solution for Nigeria? Something tells me not.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Travels
So it's the beginning of a series of trips.
Two Saturdays ago, I drove to Columbus. The trip is 2.5 hours long either way, and I made the to and fro journeys on the same day, spending 6 hours with a lady I know there. I did the same this Saturday. In effect I haven't had a single Saturday off in a long time.
I was so exhausted on my return to Twinsburg each time, that I simply fell on my bed and slept until Sunday afternoon. The Sundays I spent reading or browsing the internet, or cleaning my house (in other words, doing nothing tangible).
To complicate matters, I had a rough day at work yesterday. I had a terrible meeting, and I was woefully underprepared for it. It was a big lesson for me.
As though that's not enough, I am flying out to oklahoma on Friday the 2nd July, returning the 5th July, then flying out to Arkansas on the 6th July, returning on the 9th July and then traveling to Columbus on the 10th July. The good news is that my plant is shut down until the 20th July. That would normally be unqualified good news (stay at home, have time to explore the area, etc). But, I have a class on the 13th July, my birthday, and I have to give a training class on the 15th July. And I might be going back to Columbus on the 17th July. What does this all mean? It means that I substantively have no break from now until the end of the shutdown. Add to that the stress of planning my sister's wedding (from a continent away) and the fact that somewhere amidst all these things I have to travel to Nigeria in late August, and you can imagine how overwhelmed I feel at the moment.
Not to mention that my plant has a massive audit some time in September, and if we fail this audit, it will come right unto my boss and myself. I am really nervous at the moment, but if I have picked up anything over the past few years, it's that everything will even out. I just have to wait.
P.S: I got my hepatitis and HIV results back. Phew. Regardless of how clean you are, you always wonder, no?
Two Saturdays ago, I drove to Columbus. The trip is 2.5 hours long either way, and I made the to and fro journeys on the same day, spending 6 hours with a lady I know there. I did the same this Saturday. In effect I haven't had a single Saturday off in a long time.
I was so exhausted on my return to Twinsburg each time, that I simply fell on my bed and slept until Sunday afternoon. The Sundays I spent reading or browsing the internet, or cleaning my house (in other words, doing nothing tangible).
To complicate matters, I had a rough day at work yesterday. I had a terrible meeting, and I was woefully underprepared for it. It was a big lesson for me.
As though that's not enough, I am flying out to oklahoma on Friday the 2nd July, returning the 5th July, then flying out to Arkansas on the 6th July, returning on the 9th July and then traveling to Columbus on the 10th July. The good news is that my plant is shut down until the 20th July. That would normally be unqualified good news (stay at home, have time to explore the area, etc). But, I have a class on the 13th July, my birthday, and I have to give a training class on the 15th July. And I might be going back to Columbus on the 17th July. What does this all mean? It means that I substantively have no break from now until the end of the shutdown. Add to that the stress of planning my sister's wedding (from a continent away) and the fact that somewhere amidst all these things I have to travel to Nigeria in late August, and you can imagine how overwhelmed I feel at the moment.
Not to mention that my plant has a massive audit some time in September, and if we fail this audit, it will come right unto my boss and myself. I am really nervous at the moment, but if I have picked up anything over the past few years, it's that everything will even out. I just have to wait.
P.S: I got my hepatitis and HIV results back. Phew. Regardless of how clean you are, you always wonder, no?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Pre World-Cup hype...not
1) The World Cup begins tomorrow. I was at work during the opening ceremony. Thus I didn't see the ceremony. I didn't record it on my DVR either. Am I to be concerned that I am not as feverish about this World Cup as I was about the last 4 World Cups? I think not. I suppose it is a part of growing up: letting go of your past, moving on to more exciting hobbies, etc. A decade ago, I would have been able to reel off every team, every player on every team, every group and all the teams in the groups. Hell at the Quarterfinal phase of France 1998, I recall that I knew all the scores of all the matches that had been played in all the groups during the group stages. Now I cannot even name all the teams in Nigeria's group! It is a weird change.
2) I played tennis a few days ago with my sister. It appears watching Nadal on television has helped my forehand. It rocks. Sadly, my backhand needs work. I really need to get a tennis coach as soon as possible.
3) I volunteered to be a mentor to young girls interested in the sciences and engineering. They are in middle school or high school, and all are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Most are probably ethnic minorities.
4) My sister and her fiance speak a lot on Skype. I don't really think there is any chemistry between the two of them, but really, whatever floats their respective boats. The fiance is absolutely insufferable - but outsiders often wonder what makes lovers so engrossed in each other's company. I am absolutely perplexed as to what they see in each other. And how (& why) they don't pull out their own hair as they go over the minutiae of their lives. Their conversation rarely goes beyond "How are you? Where is your sister (i.e. I), etc". I really just don't get it, but I have learned to clamp my mouth tight shut. Now it appears they are fighting. The other day, he called her "bullish", and not in a nice way. Already they do not necessarily appear to be happy with each other. Sometimes, in my more cynical phases, I wonder if they are together because they have been together for so long? Or because they wonder if they will not find anyone else? The whole thing is a mystery to me. Both seem miserable and artificial around one another. I don't understand it, but perhaps in time it will all become clearer to me.
5) I found out that I am fat again. Another time for a great diet and this time I mean a culture and lifestyle that I can support.
6) I really should call my friend Val. I rarely feel guilty about not calling people, but in this case, I do. He is from Bulgaria, and we were great friends in college. I wonder how he is doing now. He is in Grad school. I hope he is healthy and happy.
7) I have been in DMAIC training for the past 2 weeks, with people from all across the world. It has been fun. Today, though, there was a dinner for all the folks in the training - a lakeside buffet on a yacht. I couldn't attend it.
8) I bought an Invicta watch online a few days ago. It arrived today. As part of the perks of working at my awesome job, I got a discount of about 90%. i have a thing for watches, apparently. I can't stop buying them. The Invicta watch cost $40, but when it arrived, it was a little too large, so I might resize it.
9) My awesome job keeps sending me checks instead of depositing my salary in the bank. I really hate having to go to the bank. They tell me it will take a few weeks before my Direct Deposit kicks in. It's really annoying, though...
10) Since I just moved to Ohio and since this is the great USA where every state thinks it's a country, I have to jump through hoops to become a legal driver in Ohio. First I have to change the title on my vehicle to read "Ohio" where I now reside instead of "New Jersey" where I have lived since 2004 and where I bought the car in 2009. This was a long journey. I had to call the bank (which owns the lien on the car) to send the original title to the County Clerk's Office here in Ohio. This alone took about 2 weeks, since everyone at the bank acted like I was speaking Greek the first time I called about this matter. And then the County Clerk, in their infinite wisdom, instead of simply calling me or emailing me to let me know when they received the documents, sent me a letter by post to inform me that they got the documents. I mean, in this age, wouldn't an email suffice? Or a text message? Or a bloody telephone call? Save yourself the 44 cents it takes. Save yourself a trip to the post office or local mailbox. Save yourself the f*cking effort.
As you might rightly deduce, I am not a big fan of governmental agencies. They are some of the most bureaucratic monstrosities around. Indeed, I am not the only person who feels this way. Since I work in Lean Manufacturing, and my job largely revolves around eliminating inefficiencies in manufacturing processes, it is not a surprise that I read this post : http://blogs.reliableplant.com/1158/lean-in-washington/ and agreed with pretty much everything the blogger had to say. Indeed, his experience mirrors mine and that of probably millions of poor Americans at the mercy of fat, lazy, entitled government workers across the length and breadth of this country. And this is not to say that all government workers are entitled and fat and lazy, but in my experience, a good percentage of them are...
In any case, back to the car wahala. After I got the letter from the County of Clerks saying that they had received my title, I was asked to come in to get the title change completed. Once this was done, I saw a notice saying that I could change my driver's license to an Ohio license. I had completely forgotten about this. Upon inquiry, I was informed that I had to take a written test to transfer my driver's license from New Jersey to Ohio. Alas, this written test is conducted at another branch of another office (a half hour away), peopled by - you guessed it - fat, lazy, entitled government workers. In any case, part of the blame is mine. Hell, most of the blame is mine. I should have read all the requirements. I should have gone prepared. I should have known. Indeed I went in to the office only with the intention of changing the title from Ohio to New Jersey. But when I saw that this particular office handled license changes, too, I remembered that I had to change my driver's license and license plates. These all took place before the bombshell that I had to take a new written test and that I had to drive a half hour to take said test, and then return to the original office to complete the license change. What a waste of a 30-minute drive. A simple computer, set up to automatically administer said test, will not cost that much money to run. I mean, what is the magic involved in doing something as simple as this?
In any case, it is late (past 9pm!). And I had a long day at work, only leaving my office at around 06:45pm, more than 2 hours past my regular exit time. So I'd better go to bed!
Good night!
2) I played tennis a few days ago with my sister. It appears watching Nadal on television has helped my forehand. It rocks. Sadly, my backhand needs work. I really need to get a tennis coach as soon as possible.
3) I volunteered to be a mentor to young girls interested in the sciences and engineering. They are in middle school or high school, and all are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Most are probably ethnic minorities.
4) My sister and her fiance speak a lot on Skype. I don't really think there is any chemistry between the two of them, but really, whatever floats their respective boats. The fiance is absolutely insufferable - but outsiders often wonder what makes lovers so engrossed in each other's company. I am absolutely perplexed as to what they see in each other. And how (& why) they don't pull out their own hair as they go over the minutiae of their lives. Their conversation rarely goes beyond "How are you? Where is your sister (i.e. I), etc". I really just don't get it, but I have learned to clamp my mouth tight shut. Now it appears they are fighting. The other day, he called her "bullish", and not in a nice way. Already they do not necessarily appear to be happy with each other. Sometimes, in my more cynical phases, I wonder if they are together because they have been together for so long? Or because they wonder if they will not find anyone else? The whole thing is a mystery to me. Both seem miserable and artificial around one another. I don't understand it, but perhaps in time it will all become clearer to me.
5) I found out that I am fat again. Another time for a great diet and this time I mean a culture and lifestyle that I can support.
6) I really should call my friend Val. I rarely feel guilty about not calling people, but in this case, I do. He is from Bulgaria, and we were great friends in college. I wonder how he is doing now. He is in Grad school. I hope he is healthy and happy.
7) I have been in DMAIC training for the past 2 weeks, with people from all across the world. It has been fun. Today, though, there was a dinner for all the folks in the training - a lakeside buffet on a yacht. I couldn't attend it.
8) I bought an Invicta watch online a few days ago. It arrived today. As part of the perks of working at my awesome job, I got a discount of about 90%. i have a thing for watches, apparently. I can't stop buying them. The Invicta watch cost $40, but when it arrived, it was a little too large, so I might resize it.
9) My awesome job keeps sending me checks instead of depositing my salary in the bank. I really hate having to go to the bank. They tell me it will take a few weeks before my Direct Deposit kicks in. It's really annoying, though...
10) Since I just moved to Ohio and since this is the great USA where every state thinks it's a country, I have to jump through hoops to become a legal driver in Ohio. First I have to change the title on my vehicle to read "Ohio" where I now reside instead of "New Jersey" where I have lived since 2004 and where I bought the car in 2009. This was a long journey. I had to call the bank (which owns the lien on the car) to send the original title to the County Clerk's Office here in Ohio. This alone took about 2 weeks, since everyone at the bank acted like I was speaking Greek the first time I called about this matter. And then the County Clerk, in their infinite wisdom, instead of simply calling me or emailing me to let me know when they received the documents, sent me a letter by post to inform me that they got the documents. I mean, in this age, wouldn't an email suffice? Or a text message? Or a bloody telephone call? Save yourself the 44 cents it takes. Save yourself a trip to the post office or local mailbox. Save yourself the f*cking effort.
As you might rightly deduce, I am not a big fan of governmental agencies. They are some of the most bureaucratic monstrosities around. Indeed, I am not the only person who feels this way. Since I work in Lean Manufacturing, and my job largely revolves around eliminating inefficiencies in manufacturing processes, it is not a surprise that I read this post : http://blogs.reliableplant.com/1158/lean-in-washington/ and agreed with pretty much everything the blogger had to say. Indeed, his experience mirrors mine and that of probably millions of poor Americans at the mercy of fat, lazy, entitled government workers across the length and breadth of this country. And this is not to say that all government workers are entitled and fat and lazy, but in my experience, a good percentage of them are...
In any case, back to the car wahala. After I got the letter from the County of Clerks saying that they had received my title, I was asked to come in to get the title change completed. Once this was done, I saw a notice saying that I could change my driver's license to an Ohio license. I had completely forgotten about this. Upon inquiry, I was informed that I had to take a written test to transfer my driver's license from New Jersey to Ohio. Alas, this written test is conducted at another branch of another office (a half hour away), peopled by - you guessed it - fat, lazy, entitled government workers. In any case, part of the blame is mine. Hell, most of the blame is mine. I should have read all the requirements. I should have gone prepared. I should have known. Indeed I went in to the office only with the intention of changing the title from Ohio to New Jersey. But when I saw that this particular office handled license changes, too, I remembered that I had to change my driver's license and license plates. These all took place before the bombshell that I had to take a new written test and that I had to drive a half hour to take said test, and then return to the original office to complete the license change. What a waste of a 30-minute drive. A simple computer, set up to automatically administer said test, will not cost that much money to run. I mean, what is the magic involved in doing something as simple as this?
In any case, it is late (past 9pm!). And I had a long day at work, only leaving my office at around 06:45pm, more than 2 hours past my regular exit time. So I'd better go to bed!
Good night!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The times, they are a-busy
I am doing quite a bit of traveling and working and ... well, quite a lot of stuff.
I have been in training all week, with lots of lovely coworkers from all around the world: Brazil, the UK, France, Germany and Canada. All really bright and incredibly awesome people!
My sister is here, and she will, Inshallah (no, I'm not a Muslim - not that there's anything wrong with that), spend the entire summer with me in Ohio before her wedding in Nigeria in August, which I plan to attend. We will have a lot of fun, Inshallah. A few nights after she arrived, we went to see Avatar in 3D (yes, I found a gem of a cinema that was still showing it). It was well worth the $20! In any case, my sister is here and we are planning things together. Sometime this week, we will hopefully go watch Prince of Persia, and then this weekend is the World Cup opening weekend (I cannot get myself excited about this World Cup, however hard I try).
I have quite a bit of traveling coming up, though. I'm going to Columbus the weekend of the 19th June and again the weekend of the 26th June. Then the weekend of July 4th, I'm going to Oklahoma to see an old and dear friend, and the weekend after that, I will be in Arkansas (6th-10th July) for a work-fun trip, paid for by the company but without any actual work involved. It's a team-building exercise with some of my other co-workers, so I am really excited about it! The weekend after that, I will likely be back in Columbus. In short, there is quite a bit of traveling and driving around to be done in the near future. Omo, ko easy!
In any case, some time this summer, I plan that my sister and I will go off to Sandusky and see Cedar Point, and if we are really fortunate, we can go off to Put-in-Bay over some weekend.
I'm really excited about all the plans.
Have a great summer!
I have been in training all week, with lots of lovely coworkers from all around the world: Brazil, the UK, France, Germany and Canada. All really bright and incredibly awesome people!
My sister is here, and she will, Inshallah (no, I'm not a Muslim - not that there's anything wrong with that), spend the entire summer with me in Ohio before her wedding in Nigeria in August, which I plan to attend. We will have a lot of fun, Inshallah. A few nights after she arrived, we went to see Avatar in 3D (yes, I found a gem of a cinema that was still showing it). It was well worth the $20! In any case, my sister is here and we are planning things together. Sometime this week, we will hopefully go watch Prince of Persia, and then this weekend is the World Cup opening weekend (I cannot get myself excited about this World Cup, however hard I try).
I have quite a bit of traveling coming up, though. I'm going to Columbus the weekend of the 19th June and again the weekend of the 26th June. Then the weekend of July 4th, I'm going to Oklahoma to see an old and dear friend, and the weekend after that, I will be in Arkansas (6th-10th July) for a work-fun trip, paid for by the company but without any actual work involved. It's a team-building exercise with some of my other co-workers, so I am really excited about it! The weekend after that, I will likely be back in Columbus. In short, there is quite a bit of traveling and driving around to be done in the near future. Omo, ko easy!
In any case, some time this summer, I plan that my sister and I will go off to Sandusky and see Cedar Point, and if we are really fortunate, we can go off to Put-in-Bay over some weekend.
I'm really excited about all the plans.
Have a great summer!
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