Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story November 11, 2009

 

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

Why you should listen to her:

In Nigeria, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Half of a Yellow Sun has helped inspire new, cross-generational communication about the Biafran war. In this and in her other works, she seeks to instill dignity into the finest details of each character, whether poor, middle class or rich, exposing along the way the deep scars of colonialism in the African landscape.

Adichie’s newest book, The Thing Around Your Neck, is a brilliant collection of stories about Nigerians struggling to cope with a corrupted context in their home country, and about the Nigerian immigrant experience.

Adichie builds on the literary tradition of Igbo literary giant Chinua Achebe—and when she found out that Achebe liked Half of a Yellow Sun, she says she cried for a whole day. What he said about her rings true: “We do not usually associate wisdom with beginners, but here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers.”

“When she turned 10 and read Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, about the clash between Igbo tradition and the British colonial way of life, everything changed: ‘I realized that people who looked like me could live in books.’ She has been writing about Africa ever since.”

Washington Post

Chapter Two: Love and Loss- Steve Jobs May 11, 2009

I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation – the Macintosh – a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me – I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

Lonely Seniors in Nursing Homes:Where is the love? April 15, 2009

Does our responsibility to parents and grandparents end after we send them off to a nursing home or some senior living community? When the housing and care is paid for, do we still need to visit, send letters, cards or make phone calls? After we pass up on the burden of care, to whom do we pass on the responsibility of love? The loneliness and abandonment appears to be more painful than the physical pain some of them endure. Shirley, one of the seniors whom I have particularly become close to at the Nursing home I volunteer at, beams with joy whenever she sees me. She waited for a visit from me during Easter but I did not show. I was under the impression that she will be spending this special day with any of her five kids and 23 grandchildren. But she spent Easter like any other day in the nursing home; no calls or visit, just by herself with an old tv. I felt really bad for not showing up, but then again, could not understand why her own family could not give her a simple call.

Most of the seniors at the nursing home hardly receive any visits and look on jealously when others do. It is hard to think these parents neglected their responsibilities to their children and are merely getting a payback. I wonder if the nuclear family has become so rigid that, grandparents are not considered immediate family anymore. What I’ve learned being around elderly people is, when one reaches the advanced stages of aging, more than material things, they value friendship, companionship or any caring relationship that makes them feel wanted and valued human beings; not some used good. There is a reason why we punish criminals by socially isolating them from society. Some seniors who suffer similar fate are hard working people who gave their all to raise their families and deserve the common courtesy of being loved and appreciated!

Duped into an Interview: How my Persistence Failed Me! April 1, 2009

I woke up Sunday morning to a phone call from a lady informing me they were interested in interviewing me for a receptionist weekend position. She gave me a rundown of where the interview was and what the duties entailed.  We settled for Tuesday at 1pm.Little did I know this was going to be the beginning of a ridiculously unproductive Tuesday.

Anyways, like I do every interview day, I got up very early on Tuesday morning and got ready and suited up. My GPS was not working so I copied the directions, kissed my grand mom buy and was out the door. It was quite a beautiful day as drove down the highway with my directions in hand. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until I realized I was going East and not West as the directions dictated. I made a quick exit and got on161 West as was supposed to but then my bad sense of direction took over and before I knew it, I was speeding past dirt roads and lonely highways. But not to bother, I had left the house 1hr early because I always try to prepare for such situations or make room error lol!

Not trusting my own instincts enough, I decided to do the most common thing one in my position would; I stopped at a gas station to get directions. The old man’s words “Get on 270 N, drive until you see the exit into to 161 West!” Easy right, oh well if only it turned out that way. Damn you GPS for not working; now I have to actually think!!  Knowing that my 1hr room for error was soon to be out, I called the office to let them know I was going to be late.  The next time I called them, I was one hour late for the appointment already.  To my surprise they were still interested in seeing me so I continued my quest to the location stopping wherever I could to get directions, mixing them and finding new routes to get lost even more. I left home at 12 but it was 2pm and I was still trying to get to my interview. I was frustrated, hungry and my gas was running out. I called a cousin to help me with directions, but he instead complained about his minutes not being enough for him to give me standby directions. Frustrated even more, I missed more exits. It was 3pm now, and I was still lost and even more bent on getting to the interview. I thought it was extremely gracious of my interviewer to want to see me still, so I persisted with patience.

Finally with the help of my mom, the last person I thought to call because I did not want a lecture on how to read directions before getting the help I needed. Luckily she did both at the same time and I got to my interview at about 4:15. Wheewwwwwwww, finally there! My interviewer walked out to greet me and remarked I was in good spirits despite all. He walked me into a room with about 14 people talking on phones and a couple of empty chairs arranged in a semi-circle facing a projector screen.

My worst nightmare was in front of me. I said loudly to myself “Hellll nooooooo, I did not get lost for about 4hrs to end up at a TELE-MARKETTING INTERVIEW!!  I tried to compose myself an act seemingly pleased to be there despite the burning disdain. This did not look like a receptionist interview and I felt like I had been taken advantage of.  Andrew started out by explaining what that their company was,a fitness company and so on and forth. When I quickly realized he was giving me a power point presentation from his laptop I even grew quite irritated. I interjected after listening for about 16mins of his passive reading. I asked if the company had a website which he quickly brushed aside, choosing to tell me about Trump and the other billionaires who had invested in their company. He told me I could be making a couple of thousands within weeks, so I asked him how. When he mentioned bonuses and commission I knew how bad I really wanted to walk out. But still, I tried to be graceful.  The fact that I was deceived into the interview in the first place made me less receptive of anything being said. Feeling like I was wasting my time and his time, I opted to leave saying I had to get home before it was dark and I got lost again. But no, he just had to keep talking. Salesmen can be irritatingly persistent.

After a while of exchanging meaningless pleasantries, I asked for directions one last time for the day (lol) and left. The road home looked more familiar; I cranked up the volume to 89.5 and there was Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” playing.  Alone in the car without a care of embarrassment  I sang out loud the chorus as I sped home, this time without missing an exit!!

Oufffffffff what a day!!!!!!!!

On Life: Teaching a 40yr Old Iliterate to Read and Write! March 29, 2009

Someone has said that there is no such thing as functional illiteracy; because when a person is illiterate, he is not functional—Theodore Roosevelt

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a woman asking if I would be willing to teach a 40yr friend of her father to read and write.  I had posted my resume on some tutoring websites stating that I would be willing to offer tutoring help for Bio, Chem, Eng, etc. I knew it was possible for me to get emails from parents soliciting help for their kids but I had never anticipated getting one that would require me to actually teach someone how to read and write more or less an adult practically for scratch.

I was a little bit nervous about how to respond to the email. Deep within me I knew there was no question as to whether I would do it. I just had a little self doubt about my own capabilities to achieve this task and what it would mean once I said “yes.”  If there was anything I could be sure of was the fact that by teaching this person to read and write, I would be introducing them to a whole new world. This simple thought pushed me to accept the challenge.

I got a reply shortly after I accepted the tutoring offer, stating that Dan the person I was going to be helping was extremely shy and felt embarrassed about his situation. He was also particular skeptical about learning because he was afraid whoever was going to teach him would think he is stupid.  He had dropped out of high school and got into the work force and never once went back to school. I figured that was a long time ago. Probably before or around the time I was born. I am 21 years old.

Anyways, I would be having my first meeting with Dan in two days. I am very excited about our meeting. I cannot say the same about the help that is being offered to illiterates in the country. According to Chris Hedges, “there are over 42 million American adults, 20 percent of whom hold high school diplomas, who cannot read, as well as the 50 million who read at a fourth- or fifth-grade level. Nearly a third of the nation’s population is illiterate or barely literate. And their numbers are growing by an estimated 2 million a year. But even those who are supposedly literate retreat in huge numbers into this image-based existence. A third of high school graduates, along with 42 percent of college graduates, never read a book after they finish school. Eighty percent of the families in the United States last year did not buy a book.”

Finding the right text and work book to use has been a journey in of itself. I have performed hundreds of searches on the web to get any resources that could be available to no avail. I think there has to be a conscious effort to help people like Dan who are still willing to give themselves a chance to be much more productive in life.  It’s not only important to make sure no child is left behind but also, no adult is forgotten! There ought to be government sponsored programs to help adult illiterates in today’s society. As Timothy Fortune says “men may be spoiled by education, even as they are spoiled by illiteracy. Education is the preparation of the mind for future work; hence men should be educated with special reference to the work.”

On Love: Remembering Grandpa!! March 27, 2009

Every time I think of my grandfather, I feel cheated by “time” for not allowing me more time to enjoy the blessings of his company. My grandfather died eleven years ago today and till this day, I have never ever felt any deeper loss in my life. He had a very kind and loving spirit which people were naturally drawn to. In all the years we spent together, I never once heard him raise his voice at anyone. When he smiled, his dimples radiated so much love and tenderness, his laughter was infectious and brought joy to anyone around. He always concluded everything he said with a proverb which could have you pondering its meaning for days. He treated all his grand children with the kind, gentle and loving tenderness only a grandfather could give. As kids, nothing hurt my cousins and I more than being caught acting mischievous by grandpa; we did not want to upset the nicest person in the world. He loved his grandchildren deeply and showed it through countless acts and we loved him more for that. It did not matter how tall or big you thought of yourself, he would sit you on his lap and rock you back and forth in his old arm chair.

My grandfather was proud of his children and grandchildren. His life had been full of hardships and few opportunities that it pleased him so much that his children and grandchildren were blessed in more ways than one. He grew up in a small village called Lewoh, in West Central Cameroon in Africa. To provide for his four kids and wife, he grew cocoa and coffee in a small piece of land beside a two bedroom mud hut he called home. While struggling to deal with the emerging cultural and political effects of a new post colonial order, he realized education was very necessary for his children. There were many challenges he faced being an illiterate trying to navigate a system whose establishments required knowledge of French and the Queen’s language.

He worked hard to send his children to boarding schools established by catholic and Presbyterian missionaries. Even though he chided his grandchildren for taking many things for granted such as having running water, light at the flip of switch instead of an oil lamp, a comfortable bed instead of floor mat, he was none the less happy that such was not part of our reality. When we had our summer vacations in the village, he would gather us round the fireside in the smoke kitchen every evening, and as we roasted corn, he would tell of stories of the early German encounters with the village. He would tell us about his father fighting the Germans and the beheading of a famous general who dared to underestimate the resistance mounted by the Chief of a nearby village called Fontem. We would be so captured by the stories that sometimes our fresh corn turned into coal under the heat of the fire. Ahhhhhh, the good times!!!

The saddest part about knowing grandpa, and being around him, was to watch his health slowly deteriorate and his memory eroded. In less than no time, a mysterious disease rendered him almost functionally dependent. He grew faint and weak each passing day and then became bed ridden. I started longing for the days when his laugh would overwhelm everybody in the room, when he could lift me up high in the air and place me on his shoulders, when he would give us advice on life etc. Every time I saw him lying on his sick bed, I would sit beside him and place my little head on his chest, hoping by some magic everything would return to the way it used to be.

When he left us that fateful day in August of 1998, I had never lost anyone so dear to me. I cried my first heart torn tears for him and attended my first funeral ever. For the first time, I knew what it meant to lose someone so dear to the heart. I will always miss him!! In loving memory of Talieh Achheanyi, for all the love you gave your children and grandchildren.

Introduction: On Life, Love and Politics March 26, 2009

“Our ability to live in peace with one other depends on our learning to appreciate and respect each other’s differences.” The way forward is not by trying to change your neighbor, but by accepting him and recognizing that we are all looking for the same things in life: bread, water, spirit, respect and love.”- Idan Raichel

Hello, and welcome to my blog. My life lives so much to muse about so I decided to share some of those instances with the world. … Ok, to be honest I am also quite opinionated and I am frankly running out of opinionated people to argue with lol!! I believe in the utter randomness and unpredictability that is life, the abstract and complex emotion that is love, the necessary nuisance that is politics. My life’s journey thus far has been full of color, twists and turns, highs and lows and I have so much to be thankful for. I have traveled so many places, been touched by so many people and stories. My spirit is most at peace in my native Country Cameroon in Africa even though my heart is heavy with condemnation for some of the leaders. I consider myself a global person, a lover of culture, people, and this is my this is my testimony on Life, Love and Politics!!