Interestingly, last Friday, I was thinking about how confusing and complicated 2015 has been for me. Why? Because of one issue with minor related issues. I go to church yesterday, (we had a Thanksgiving Service to celebrate 2015) and the preacher, preaching on the theme: 'The Importance of Thanksgiving', says, "if you have nothing to be thankful for, be thankful you have life". And then I felt like the worst person ever.
During the last week of October, one staff in my office died. I have life.
A couple of weeks ago, this university graduate who has been without a job since he completed university (about 3 years ago) came to my house to check out an almost abandoned taxi. He'd rather be a taxi driver than stay at home with no job. I have a job, and since I completed university, I have never had to worry about being jobless.
These are two reasons for me to be thankful. There are countless others in 2015. The more than 3 times I drove into the cars in front of me, the one time a car run into my car, and all these times I wasn't damaged. My car was also not damaged. How could I forget? When I went on an all expense paid trip to South Africa to just go and have fun and relax. Mind you, this was my 3rd all expense paid trip to South Africa since 2013.
So, because of one incident, which will not mean much in a couple of months, I choose to rate 2015 as confusing and complicated? God please forgive my ungratefulness. Funny this should come from me because I am one person who just cannot stand it when she feels ingratitude coming out of anyone who should be expressing anything but.
Yes, bad things happen all the time, but so do good things. Come to think of it, more good things happen than bad, yet we choose to dwell on the bad. By all means, acknowledge the bad stuff that happen, which you can count, but never forget the good things you can't even count. Remember count your blessings, name them one by one, and see if it's possible to.
We all can't be professional writers; we all can't have our own newspaper columns. This right here is my space. I get to be my own writer and editor and everyone else will just have to settle to be my critic.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Friday, December 11, 2015
Joining in the Chorus!
2003, I'm super excited.
I just made it into the University.
I'm a bit apprehensive.
Time for lectures.
First week of lectures over, not sure what to think. I think my classes were pretty cool and the lecturers generally were alright.
Everyone else is discussing, and the conclusion was, 'as for Prof. Awotwi, his class is difficult'. So, me too I say, 'his class is difficult'.
As one of my course requirements, I had to take Prof. Awotwi's class from the animal science department, Biology of Farm Animals (honestly, what do I care about farm animals aside the taste of their meat?). My first impression of Prof. Awotwi, was, this man is so cool, funny and interesting. But everyone said his class was difficult, so it had to be. Fast forward to the end of semester, I write my exams, results come out the next semester and my worst grade that semester was in Prof. Awotwi's class (it was a very bad grade). Was I surprised? No, because I did not study, his class was difficult.
Second year in the University, and one of my classes was Human Physiology I. This course was also taught by Prof. Awotwi, but at least it was in my department and it wasn't about animals. People had already started grumbling because all of us had taken Prof. Awotwi's first year course. First lecture done and the general consensus was, 'this class is too difficult'. But I did not get it. The thing is, Prof. Awotwi gave us everything we needed to pass his class. He dictated notes, he drew diagrams and made copies for us. One thing he said in first year and again in second year was, he knows how things are at the University. The books are not available in the library, which wasn't our fault, (even if they were, I wonder how many of us would make it to the library), and since he doesn't want anyone to have an excuse to fail, he will give us all we need. We just have to study what he gives us, which is what I did this time round. I studied all the material he gave. It was a lot but it was everything.
Result? I was the best student in that class. I remember we had a mid semester exam, when Prof. Awotwi was done marking, he came to class and expressed his disappointment at the general performance. Then he says, there was however one student who performed extraordinarily. This student surprisingly almost scored the full marks. My heart is pounding, my heart is pounding, and then he calls out my name :D
Second semester of second year, I took Human Physiology II, same story. I was the best student in the class. By this time, I was in love with Prof. Awotwi.
Third year, no Prof. Awotwi in my department. So, I follow him to his department and take a free elective, Anatomy and Digestive Physiology. This was about animals, but I didn't care. As long as it was Prof. Awotwi teaching, one of the best lecturers the University of Ghana ever had (my personal opinion), I knew I would be fine, and I was fine. I was one of the best students in that class. Interestingly enough, some of the students majoring in Animal Science, who had to take that class failed the course, but I came from another department, opted to take that course and aced it.
Hmmmmmm... I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't joined in the 'Prof. Awotwi's class is difficult' chorus in my first year. No, I don't wonder, I know if there'd been a grade better that an A, I would have had it.
- in loving memory of Prof. E. K. Awotwi
I just made it into the University.
I'm a bit apprehensive.
Time for lectures.
First week of lectures over, not sure what to think. I think my classes were pretty cool and the lecturers generally were alright.
Everyone else is discussing, and the conclusion was, 'as for Prof. Awotwi, his class is difficult'. So, me too I say, 'his class is difficult'.
As one of my course requirements, I had to take Prof. Awotwi's class from the animal science department, Biology of Farm Animals (honestly, what do I care about farm animals aside the taste of their meat?). My first impression of Prof. Awotwi, was, this man is so cool, funny and interesting. But everyone said his class was difficult, so it had to be. Fast forward to the end of semester, I write my exams, results come out the next semester and my worst grade that semester was in Prof. Awotwi's class (it was a very bad grade). Was I surprised? No, because I did not study, his class was difficult.
Second year in the University, and one of my classes was Human Physiology I. This course was also taught by Prof. Awotwi, but at least it was in my department and it wasn't about animals. People had already started grumbling because all of us had taken Prof. Awotwi's first year course. First lecture done and the general consensus was, 'this class is too difficult'. But I did not get it. The thing is, Prof. Awotwi gave us everything we needed to pass his class. He dictated notes, he drew diagrams and made copies for us. One thing he said in first year and again in second year was, he knows how things are at the University. The books are not available in the library, which wasn't our fault, (even if they were, I wonder how many of us would make it to the library), and since he doesn't want anyone to have an excuse to fail, he will give us all we need. We just have to study what he gives us, which is what I did this time round. I studied all the material he gave. It was a lot but it was everything.
Result? I was the best student in that class. I remember we had a mid semester exam, when Prof. Awotwi was done marking, he came to class and expressed his disappointment at the general performance. Then he says, there was however one student who performed extraordinarily. This student surprisingly almost scored the full marks. My heart is pounding, my heart is pounding, and then he calls out my name :D
Second semester of second year, I took Human Physiology II, same story. I was the best student in the class. By this time, I was in love with Prof. Awotwi.
Third year, no Prof. Awotwi in my department. So, I follow him to his department and take a free elective, Anatomy and Digestive Physiology. This was about animals, but I didn't care. As long as it was Prof. Awotwi teaching, one of the best lecturers the University of Ghana ever had (my personal opinion), I knew I would be fine, and I was fine. I was one of the best students in that class. Interestingly enough, some of the students majoring in Animal Science, who had to take that class failed the course, but I came from another department, opted to take that course and aced it.
Hmmmmmm... I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't joined in the 'Prof. Awotwi's class is difficult' chorus in my first year. No, I don't wonder, I know if there'd been a grade better that an A, I would have had it.
- in loving memory of Prof. E. K. Awotwi
Friday, November 27, 2015
Puppeteers
Airtel in partnership with Roverman Productions, Joy FM and National Theatre present:
"Puppeteers"
An original play by Uncle Ebo Whyte.
Does someone else control you?
Does someone make you do the things you do?
If yes, that makes you a puppet.
What would you do if faced with a choice to make out of two options? One choice would lead to joy and peace in the short term, but likely lead to turmoil and heartache in the long term. The other would lead to pain and suffering in the short term, but definitely lead to joy, peace and satisfaction in the long term.
Join Judge Moses, find out what he does, find out how he manages a puppet-like situation in "Pupppeteers".
Venue: National Theatre
Date: 28th & 29th November, 5th & 6th December
Time: 1st show 4pm, 2nd show 8pm
Rate: GH¢60.00
Tickets are available at all Airtel Shops; Shell Shops at Tema Community 11, Sakaman, Mallam, Dansoman, Achimota & East Legon; Joy FM; 37 Goil; Baatsona & Haatso Total; Frankies, Osu, Jane-Ann Supermarket and Motorway Supermarket, Tema.
Alternatively, tickets can be paid for via Airtel Money* at a 10% discount.
1. In the Airtel Money menu, select MAKE PAYMENTS/Dial *500#
2. Select PAY BILL/Select BUY GOODS
3. Select OTHER
4. Type ROVERMAN
5. Enter Amount i.e., GH¢54.00 for one ticket
6. Enter your name, show date & time as reference number (e.g. Efua Dentaa, 28th, 4pm)
7. Confirm payment details with your Airtel Money PIN
8. Present the confirmation text that will be sent to you at the gate for entry
*A charge of GH¢0.50 applies
Friday, November 20, 2015
Honking
You are at a traffic light, it's red, you wait for it to turn green. It turns green, and half a second later the car behind you is honking. Sound familiar?
It's funny but, I've seen the same cars I see in Ghana in three different countries, and I can't help but wonder if these cars were made without horns. Why? I never hear anyone honking!
Granted, some motorists in Ghana are just something (for lack of a nice word to describe them, I stick with something), and they just need to be honked at, but really, do we have to honk at everything?
This morning, I'm driving to work. I'm at a traffic light that isn't working because of dumsor, and there isn't a police officer directing. Suffice to say everyone's trying to be smart. Gradually, all the cars ahead of me manage to make the turn safe for the car directly in front of me. This car just wouldn't make an attempt to move. It's getting annoying, I'm getting impatient. Do I honk? No. Obviously this person ahead of me loves their car more than their time, or they just aren't going anywhere that important. So, rather than waste my time and pollute the environment with the sound of my honking, I overtake this car, branch onto the main road, and leave this motorist to wait for all the cars to just stop on their own (like that would ever happen) before moving. Problem solved, without honking.
Fast forward a few minutes later, I am at a roundabout. All the cars ahead of me try to give way to traffic on their left and manage to go their way (without me honking at them). Now, I am the first car. There are so many cars heading towards me from my left. I wait for an opening. Suddenly, the car behind me honks like there's a tornado heading towards them. I just don't get it. Why do motorists in Ghanalike love honking so much? Don't motorists in Ghana get that all that honking is annoying, and chances are they are just going to end up confusing the motorist they are honking at, causing that motorist to make a dumb move, and end up in a rather avoidable accident?
I should add that a lot of the honking is done by taxi drivers and bus (trotro) drivers.
It's funny but, I've seen the same cars I see in Ghana in three different countries, and I can't help but wonder if these cars were made without horns. Why? I never hear anyone honking!
Granted, some motorists in Ghana are just something (for lack of a nice word to describe them, I stick with something), and they just need to be honked at, but really, do we have to honk at everything?
This morning, I'm driving to work. I'm at a traffic light that isn't working because of dumsor, and there isn't a police officer directing. Suffice to say everyone's trying to be smart. Gradually, all the cars ahead of me manage to make the turn safe for the car directly in front of me. This car just wouldn't make an attempt to move. It's getting annoying, I'm getting impatient. Do I honk? No. Obviously this person ahead of me loves their car more than their time, or they just aren't going anywhere that important. So, rather than waste my time and pollute the environment with the sound of my honking, I overtake this car, branch onto the main road, and leave this motorist to wait for all the cars to just stop on their own (like that would ever happen) before moving. Problem solved, without honking.
Fast forward a few minutes later, I am at a roundabout. All the cars ahead of me try to give way to traffic on their left and manage to go their way (without me honking at them). Now, I am the first car. There are so many cars heading towards me from my left. I wait for an opening. Suddenly, the car behind me honks like there's a tornado heading towards them. I just don't get it. Why do motorists in Ghana
I should add that a lot of the honking is done by taxi drivers and bus (trotro) drivers.
Monday, October 26, 2015
The Oxymoron of Our Presidency
An oxymoron is defined as a phrase in which two words of opposite meanings are brought together. Eg.
1. Clearly Misunderstood
2. Exact Estimate
3. Small Crowd
4. Open Secret
5. Happily Married (very debatable)
Writers often use an oxymoron to call attention to an apparent contradiction, and it does cause the reader to pause and think for a bit.
So, I have paused, and I am thinking...
Better Ghana?
I still don't get it. Ghana hasn't been better for me since 2012 (but that is what I was promised). Unless it gets better before the next election.
Has Ghana been better for you?
Now it's,
#TransformingGhana
#ChangingLives
and we haven't yet seen the bettering of Ghana.
But, transforming Ghana from what to what? Who put us here? Changing lives from what to what? Again, who put us here?
Where does the campaign team of President Mahama get all these oxymoron of campaign messages? These are just campaign messages. I don't want to get started on the messages from the government.
Honestly, I'm starting to think of another addition to the definition of an oxymoron (if there isn't already a word for it). A phrase/sentence should be thought of as an oxymoron too, when it is made by a particular person/group of people.
Nope, I am still not into politics.
That just means no one political party has convinced me beyond reasonable doubt that they are ready, able and willing to actually make Ghana a Better Ghana, Transform Ghana and Change Lives.
1. Clearly Misunderstood
2. Exact Estimate
3. Small Crowd
4. Open Secret
5. Happily Married (very debatable)
Writers often use an oxymoron to call attention to an apparent contradiction, and it does cause the reader to pause and think for a bit.
So, I have paused, and I am thinking...
Better Ghana?
I still don't get it. Ghana hasn't been better for me since 2012 (but that is what I was promised). Unless it gets better before the next election.
Has Ghana been better for you?
Now it's,
#TransformingGhana
#ChangingLives
and we haven't yet seen the bettering of Ghana.
But, transforming Ghana from what to what? Who put us here? Changing lives from what to what? Again, who put us here?
Where does the campaign team of President Mahama get all these oxymoron of campaign messages? These are just campaign messages. I don't want to get started on the messages from the government.
Honestly, I'm starting to think of another addition to the definition of an oxymoron (if there isn't already a word for it). A phrase/sentence should be thought of as an oxymoron too, when it is made by a particular person/group of people.
Nope, I am still not into politics.
That just means no one political party has convinced me beyond reasonable doubt that they are ready, able and willing to actually make Ghana a Better Ghana, Transform Ghana and Change Lives.
Wednesday, October 07, 2015
Like A Child
Lately, I spend a lot of time with my 5 year old niece and 2 year old nephew, and I must say, kids are just amazing.
No, I do not want to spend all of my 24 hours in a day with them, regardless of how amazing they are. 1 or 2 hours would be just fine.
Of course kids do say the darnedest things, but that's not what I'm talking about.
Kids can be annoying.
No, kids naturally are annoying and these kids have a way of working my last nerve, so I scream at them, I ignore them, I do everything to get them out of my way including telling them to get lost.
Sometimes, I scream at them so much that I'm sure they'd never speak to me ever again. But guess what? The next minute they are all like "Aunty Dentaa, Aunty Dentaa", like nothing ever happened. They are able to let go. And I don't get it. It's as if they understand I screamed at them just because of that moment, because of what they were doing then, and they understand that it doesn't mean I don't love them.
Wouldn't the world be so much more refreshing if we could all take a scolding like a child, if we could all see this world like a child, if we could all just chill like a child? My 5 year old niece, she's already growing up too fast and sometimes she wants to act like, "Aunty Dentaa screams too much, so let me stay away from her", but even she can't keep that up. As for the 2 year old, sometimes I feel like going like, "why are you still talking to me, why are you still hanging around me? I just screamed at you, remember?"
Is it a wonder then that Jesus said in Matthew 19:14 - "let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these", and in Matthew 18:3-4 - "I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child."
Children do not know how to bear grudges. We were all once children. So why do we grow up and become like this?
Let's just all chill and take things in a childlike way.
Mind you, I said childlike, not childish. There's a huge difference.
P.S. I patiently await the backlash from my big brother and wife, my mum and grandma, about the screaming, but please, please, please, remember I said I love them :D
No, I do not want to spend all of my 24 hours in a day with them, regardless of how amazing they are. 1 or 2 hours would be just fine.
Of course kids do say the darnedest things, but that's not what I'm talking about.
Kids can be annoying.
No, kids naturally are annoying and these kids have a way of working my last nerve, so I scream at them, I ignore them, I do everything to get them out of my way including telling them to get lost.
Sometimes, I scream at them so much that I'm sure they'd never speak to me ever again. But guess what? The next minute they are all like "Aunty Dentaa, Aunty Dentaa", like nothing ever happened. They are able to let go. And I don't get it. It's as if they understand I screamed at them just because of that moment, because of what they were doing then, and they understand that it doesn't mean I don't love them.
Wouldn't the world be so much more refreshing if we could all take a scolding like a child, if we could all see this world like a child, if we could all just chill like a child? My 5 year old niece, she's already growing up too fast and sometimes she wants to act like, "Aunty Dentaa screams too much, so let me stay away from her", but even she can't keep that up. As for the 2 year old, sometimes I feel like going like, "why are you still talking to me, why are you still hanging around me? I just screamed at you, remember?"
Is it a wonder then that Jesus said in Matthew 19:14 - "let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these", and in Matthew 18:3-4 - "I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child."
Children do not know how to bear grudges. We were all once children. So why do we grow up and become like this?
Let's just all chill and take things in a childlike way.
Mind you, I said childlike, not childish. There's a huge difference.
P.S. I patiently await the backlash from my big brother and wife, my mum and grandma, about the screaming, but please, please, please, remember I said I love them :D
Friday, October 02, 2015
The Good, The Bad or The Truth! Celebrity Stories!
Which celebrity story sells?
A good story?
A bad story?
A true story?
Celebrity stories increasingly tend to focus more on the bad, than on the good or true.
The reason?
People just like bad stories?
People just like to write bad stories?
Bad stories sell?
Question is, how are these stories obtained anyways?
I bet half the stories out there about celebs weren't obtained by actually interviewing or observing these celebs, and they were most likely gleaned from interviews done by others, twisted, turned around, until they sound nothing like the truth, and then published.
Why am I on about this?
Well, last week, I am there, I am right there when Ghana Gist interviews Juliet Ibrahim. Juliet talks about 5 things people don't know about her, Ghana Gist publishes a story with a video. Now, I am reading other stories online that are a complete misrepresentation of what she said, and I just don't get it. For one thing, these writers were not there, and they must have watched a different video featuring someone else (that's if they even watched the video at all).
For heaven's sake, THERE'S A VIDEO WITH JULIET IBRAHIM TALKING! WATCH THE VIDEO! If I hadn't been there, me too, I would be believing all these stories?
Eish! It is not easy being a celebrity at all!
Still, I maintain, celebrities really are human! Before you go writing a whole lot of hogwash about them, keep that in mind.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Third Time's a Charm! SA Really is a Beautiful Place!
2013, I could easily have said SA just might be a one trick pony.
2014, I could easily have said SA just got lucky and impressed me a second time.
2015, there's just nothing more to say than what it is, AMAZING!
SA is a BEAUTIFUL place.
My third time, but boy was it loaded with firsts.
My first time being in a hot air balloon,
My first time seeing and touching an elephant and, the king of the jungle (lion)
My first time at a jazz festival (Standard Bank Joy of Jazz 2015)
My first time in any space Nelson Mandela has ever occupied (Mandela House - 8115 Vilakazi St, Orlando West, Johannesburg)
My first time in a mine and on the scariest ride ever (Tower of Terror! and how I cried for my mamma!)
My first time at a movie awards (Africa Movie Academy Awards - AMAA 2015)
My first boat ride
After visiting 3 out of 9 Provinces in South Africa, I am convinced. SA is the place to be!
What else can I say?
Straight Outta South Africa!
Who's up for trip number 4 in 2016 with me?
Thank you South Africa Tourism and Joy 99.7 FM for my best week ever, wining, dining and hanging out with the stars, and an amazing group of people, in a remarkably remarkable country! I felt like Queen Dentaa (Belinda)!
Again, I say, SA is the place to be!
#GhanaMeetSouthAfrica
#NigeriaMeetSouthAfrica
#WestAfricaMeetSouthAfrica
#SBJOJ
#AMAA2015
2014, I could easily have said SA just got lucky and impressed me a second time.
2015, there's just nothing more to say than what it is, AMAZING!
SA is a BEAUTIFUL place.
My third time, but boy was it loaded with firsts.
My first time being in a hot air balloon,
 |
| That's me, the courageous one :D |
My first time seeing and touching an elephant and, the king of the jungle (lion)
 |
| I am not scared, I am not scared, it's only a lion, why should I be scared? |
My first time at a jazz festival (Standard Bank Joy of Jazz 2015)
My first time in any space Nelson Mandela has ever occupied (Mandela House - 8115 Vilakazi St, Orlando West, Johannesburg)
 |
| Great man, and I stand where he once lived (humbled, I am) |
My first time in a mine and on the scariest ride ever (Tower of Terror! and how I cried for my mamma!)
 |
| I honestly felt I would step out of the ride and not find my insides still inside me |
My first time at a movie awards (Africa Movie Academy Awards - AMAA 2015)
 |
| Hanging with the stars (makes me a star too, by association) |
My first boat ride
 |
| Oh how I have stories to tell about this ride (I'll save that for another post) |
After visiting 3 out of 9 Provinces in South Africa, I am convinced. SA is the place to be!
What else can I say?
Straight Outta South Africa!
Who's up for trip number 4 in 2016 with me?
Thank you South Africa Tourism and Joy 99.7 FM for my best week ever, wining, dining and hanging out with the stars, and an amazing group of people, in a remarkably remarkable country! I felt like Queen Dentaa (Belinda)!
Again, I say, SA is the place to be!
#GhanaMeetSouthAfrica
#NigeriaMeetSouthAfrica
#WestAfricaMeetSouthAfrica
#SBJOJ
#AMAA2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Celebrities Really Are Human!
After spending one week with,
Lexis Bill
Juliet Ibrahim
OC Ukeje
in South Africa, that's the conclusion I came to.
No, I didn't cut any of them with a knife (fortunately), but I'm sure if I had, it would have been blood that would have flowed, same kind and colour that flows out of me anytime I get a cut.
When I say I spent one week with them, I mean I lived with them for a whole week. It wasn't about doing a couple of photo shoots, which they are well preped for, or doing a couple of celeb appearances, which are very well controlled, no. It was about me seeing them happy, sad, excited, bored, reassured, scared, brave, cowardly (chicken), and if I just loved them from a distance as celebrities, now, I am in love with them as humans.
Honestly, as a rule, I dislike all celebrities. I feel they are all obnoxious, standoffish, unapproachable and full of themselves. Thing is, I never knew any celebrity personally, but this was the opinion I had formed of all of them. Right now, I have been proven wrong, and I bet so would you, yeah, I know I am not the only one with this opinion.
No, you may not have the opportunity to spend a week with any celebrity, or be at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz with celebrities, or be at the Africa Movie Academy Awards with a celeb or two, but till then, how about you stay away from generalisations and prejudices? How about you keep an open mind until you get to know any of them? How about you judge based on your experiences and not based on the claimed experiences of others?
Me, thanks to South Africa Tourism, and Joy FM, my opinion has changed, and I look forward to meeting countless other celebrities.
As a matter of fact, not only are they human, but they are way too cool!
Lexis Bill
 |
| FNB Stadium - Soccer City, Johannesburg |
Juliet Ibrahim
 |
| Boardwalk Hotel, Port Elizabeth |
OC Ukeje
 |
| AMAA 2015, Boardwalk Hotel, Port Elizabeth |
in South Africa, that's the conclusion I came to.
No, I didn't cut any of them with a knife (fortunately), but I'm sure if I had, it would have been blood that would have flowed, same kind and colour that flows out of me anytime I get a cut.
When I say I spent one week with them, I mean I lived with them for a whole week. It wasn't about doing a couple of photo shoots, which they are well preped for, or doing a couple of celeb appearances, which are very well controlled, no. It was about me seeing them happy, sad, excited, bored, reassured, scared, brave, cowardly (chicken), and if I just loved them from a distance as celebrities, now, I am in love with them as humans.
Honestly, as a rule, I dislike all celebrities. I feel they are all obnoxious, standoffish, unapproachable and full of themselves. Thing is, I never knew any celebrity personally, but this was the opinion I had formed of all of them. Right now, I have been proven wrong, and I bet so would you, yeah, I know I am not the only one with this opinion.
No, you may not have the opportunity to spend a week with any celebrity, or be at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz with celebrities, or be at the Africa Movie Academy Awards with a celeb or two, but till then, how about you stay away from generalisations and prejudices? How about you keep an open mind until you get to know any of them? How about you judge based on your experiences and not based on the claimed experiences of others?
Me, thanks to South Africa Tourism, and Joy FM, my opinion has changed, and I look forward to meeting countless other celebrities.
As a matter of fact, not only are they human, but they are way too cool!
Friday, September 04, 2015
Adventures in a Foreign Land - Ice Skating
Yes, this one too!
How could I be in such a cold climate and not try it at least once?
Besides, at the time, I was watching the Winter Olympics and it was so fascinating watching people glide, twist, twirl, look so graceful on blades and ice. Ice that made me fall when I walked on it.
I loved where I worked. My work colleagues were amazingly amazing and my boss was just the ish! She throws a staff party for us in her home during the Christmas season and then she takes us all ice skating. Yes, finally, I also get to glide, twist, twirl and look so graceful... (or so I thought) until I saw what I would be gliding on.
But me, no, no giving up. I was going to look graceful.
A few times, I managed to stand, by myself. But, just stand. No walking, and definitely no gliding. Nope, no skating.
But most of the time, this happened, and happened, and happened again.
And then I stood up, dusted myself up and improvised.
Bottom line, I had fun! We all had mad fun!
Moral: you fall, you rise, you improvise, adapt and move on...
Moral: we all need each other.
See how I was assisted by Allen in his wheelchair? Who'd have thought that'd be the way it'd be? It usually is supposed to be the other way round.
How could I be in such a cold climate and not try it at least once?
Besides, at the time, I was watching the Winter Olympics and it was so fascinating watching people glide, twist, twirl, look so graceful on blades and ice. Ice that made me fall when I walked on it.
I loved where I worked. My work colleagues were amazingly amazing and my boss was just the ish! She throws a staff party for us in her home during the Christmas season and then she takes us all ice skating. Yes, finally, I also get to glide, twist, twirl and look so graceful... (or so I thought) until I saw what I would be gliding on.
 |
| How does anyone even stand on these, much more glide and twirl in them? |
A few times, I managed to stand, by myself. But, just stand. No walking, and definitely no gliding. Nope, no skating.
 |
| I'm sure I fell right after taking this picture. |
And then I stood up, dusted myself up and improvised.
 |
| Like this, boy did I skate. Loved it! (thanks Allen for the support and for the idea *wink*) |
 |
| Miss you guys! |
Moral: we all need each other.
See how I was assisted by Allen in his wheelchair? Who'd have thought that'd be the way it'd be? It usually is supposed to be the other way round.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Thou Shall Not Judge!
Sunday, I am sitting in church, and that is exactly what I do *bowing my head in shame* :(
A gentleman wearing a very crumpled shirt, carrying a polythene bag fully packed with what looked like clothing (I was curious so I stretched my neck to look) was ushered to sit on the same pew as me yesterday in church. I wasn't so curious about the crumpled shirt (stopped judging based on that since dumsor started), but I really was wondering about the bag he carried. I honestly saw what looked like a towel on top and clothing on the side, and what I so didn't get was, he left the bag a few feet away from himself by one of the pillars in the church (curious, very curious).
I have this thing where when I see someone, I don't know them, something about them piques my interest, and then I try to figure out what their story is, usually not by doing the obvious, asking them, but making one up for them (turns out to be more interesting).
Not only did this gentleman have me interested in the fact that he was carrying a polythene bag with what appeared to me, to be all his earthly possessions, which he had placed a few feet away from where he sat, but he slept throughout the service. Most people would just doze off during the sermon, but he slept, not dozed, slept through it all.
Initially, I concluded he was homeless and just needed a place to rest his tired, and most likely arching body. This conclusion meant I felt sorry for him. But then it didn't quite add up because his clothes (what he had on), though very crumpled, were very clean.
My second conclusion: his behaviour was way too suspicious.
I decided to go with my second conclusion, so I built up on it. Now this gentleman walks in at the start of the service. He recites just about everything we are reciting without reading from the large screens in the church, meaning he is familiar with Anglicanism. He had a polythene bag with what seemed to be all his earthly possessions in it, which he placed a few feet away from him, and slept all through the service. I decide there has to be something else in this bag aside the towel and clothing I saw at the top. I am now looking around the church, focusing more on the courtyard. What am I looking for? His handler.
Yes, I had finally concluded he was a suicide bomber. Can you blame me? With all this talk about Ghanaians being recruited into a terrorist cell, can I be blamed for going there with my imagination? So now I'm adding things up. The device must be buried somewhere in the polythene bag, he wasn't too interested in the service hence he sleeping through it all (probably taking his last nap), but what didn't quite add up was the fact that he seemed to know too much about Anglicanism (did I care, no, besides he might have taken time to study us and our ways so he could fit in). Did I already add that he had a New Testament Bible with him? Well, he did.
And then, I finally, finally concluded (I did have a final final one). He's just a bomber, not a suicide bomber.
I got up when it was time for communion, gentleman was still asleep. I went to the front of the church to receive communion, got back to my pew and gentleman had disappeared. His polythene bag was still where he'd left it, so was his Bible. I could feel hysteria building up inside of me. My mom was seated at the very front of the church. I had to get her out of there. My niece and nephew were in the next building in Sunday school. Since I wasn't sure what the blast radius was, I had to get them out of there too. My friend was seated next to me. My grandma's friend was seated behind my mom. No, I had to get up to the front of the church and just tell everyone. What about my car? Again, blast radius. No, I couldn't be thinking about earthly possessions at this point in time. Human life trumps all earthly possessions. And then I remembered I hadn't prayed. I'd received communion and was too busy getting myself scared to pray. So, I decide. I'm praying, if gentleman is not back after, I'm heading to the front of the church to try to get everyone out before the bomb goes off, and hopefully there wouldn't be a stampede.
I'm done praying and gentleman is back. Turns out, he went to receive communion too (he must have woke up right after I got up). I breathe a sigh of relief (why didn't I even look to the front of the church where I'd have spotted him instead of getting myself to this point), but I'm back to conclusion 2. He could still be a suicide bomber. That conclusion went out the door when the priest asked if there were any first timers worshiping with us, and gentleman stands up, introduces himself, says he's an Anglican who used to worship at a different church and had just been released from prison the previous day. He'd come to his family in the area and had decided to worship with us yesterday.
Ex-con definitely beats suicide bomber. I felt so bad that, after service, I say goodbye to him and tell him I hope to see him next week in church. He must have been sleeping so much because he hasn't had a good night's sleep in ages.
He is after all a freshly free man.
THOU SHALL NOT JUDGE!
(how I know about handlers and blast radii or radiuses, well, we can only blame Jack Bauer and 24).
I still have questions for him though, like, why was he imprisoned? How long had he been in prison? Why does he walk around with a polythene bag with what seems to be all his possessions in it if he has a family around?
But bottom line, THOU SHALL NOT JUDGE! and THOU SHALL NOT JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS!
A gentleman wearing a very crumpled shirt, carrying a polythene bag fully packed with what looked like clothing (I was curious so I stretched my neck to look) was ushered to sit on the same pew as me yesterday in church. I wasn't so curious about the crumpled shirt (stopped judging based on that since dumsor started), but I really was wondering about the bag he carried. I honestly saw what looked like a towel on top and clothing on the side, and what I so didn't get was, he left the bag a few feet away from himself by one of the pillars in the church (curious, very curious).
I have this thing where when I see someone, I don't know them, something about them piques my interest, and then I try to figure out what their story is, usually not by doing the obvious, asking them, but making one up for them (turns out to be more interesting).
Not only did this gentleman have me interested in the fact that he was carrying a polythene bag with what appeared to me, to be all his earthly possessions, which he had placed a few feet away from where he sat, but he slept throughout the service. Most people would just doze off during the sermon, but he slept, not dozed, slept through it all.
Initially, I concluded he was homeless and just needed a place to rest his tired, and most likely arching body. This conclusion meant I felt sorry for him. But then it didn't quite add up because his clothes (what he had on), though very crumpled, were very clean.
My second conclusion: his behaviour was way too suspicious.
I decided to go with my second conclusion, so I built up on it. Now this gentleman walks in at the start of the service. He recites just about everything we are reciting without reading from the large screens in the church, meaning he is familiar with Anglicanism. He had a polythene bag with what seemed to be all his earthly possessions in it, which he placed a few feet away from him, and slept all through the service. I decide there has to be something else in this bag aside the towel and clothing I saw at the top. I am now looking around the church, focusing more on the courtyard. What am I looking for? His handler.
Yes, I had finally concluded he was a suicide bomber. Can you blame me? With all this talk about Ghanaians being recruited into a terrorist cell, can I be blamed for going there with my imagination? So now I'm adding things up. The device must be buried somewhere in the polythene bag, he wasn't too interested in the service hence he sleeping through it all (probably taking his last nap), but what didn't quite add up was the fact that he seemed to know too much about Anglicanism (did I care, no, besides he might have taken time to study us and our ways so he could fit in). Did I already add that he had a New Testament Bible with him? Well, he did.
And then, I finally, finally concluded (I did have a final final one). He's just a bomber, not a suicide bomber.
I got up when it was time for communion, gentleman was still asleep. I went to the front of the church to receive communion, got back to my pew and gentleman had disappeared. His polythene bag was still where he'd left it, so was his Bible. I could feel hysteria building up inside of me. My mom was seated at the very front of the church. I had to get her out of there. My niece and nephew were in the next building in Sunday school. Since I wasn't sure what the blast radius was, I had to get them out of there too. My friend was seated next to me. My grandma's friend was seated behind my mom. No, I had to get up to the front of the church and just tell everyone. What about my car? Again, blast radius. No, I couldn't be thinking about earthly possessions at this point in time. Human life trumps all earthly possessions. And then I remembered I hadn't prayed. I'd received communion and was too busy getting myself scared to pray. So, I decide. I'm praying, if gentleman is not back after, I'm heading to the front of the church to try to get everyone out before the bomb goes off, and hopefully there wouldn't be a stampede.
I'm done praying and gentleman is back. Turns out, he went to receive communion too (he must have woke up right after I got up). I breathe a sigh of relief (why didn't I even look to the front of the church where I'd have spotted him instead of getting myself to this point), but I'm back to conclusion 2. He could still be a suicide bomber. That conclusion went out the door when the priest asked if there were any first timers worshiping with us, and gentleman stands up, introduces himself, says he's an Anglican who used to worship at a different church and had just been released from prison the previous day. He'd come to his family in the area and had decided to worship with us yesterday.
Ex-con definitely beats suicide bomber. I felt so bad that, after service, I say goodbye to him and tell him I hope to see him next week in church. He must have been sleeping so much because he hasn't had a good night's sleep in ages.
He is after all a freshly free man.
THOU SHALL NOT JUDGE!
(how I know about handlers and blast radii or radiuses, well, we can only blame Jack Bauer and 24).
I still have questions for him though, like, why was he imprisoned? How long had he been in prison? Why does he walk around with a polythene bag with what seems to be all his possessions in it if he has a family around?
But bottom line, THOU SHALL NOT JUDGE! and THOU SHALL NOT JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS!
Monday, August 24, 2015
Bananas and Groundnuts!
Airtel Presents:
Roverman Productions in partnership with Joy FM & National Theatre
Roverman Productions in partnership with Joy FM & National Theatre
"Bananas & Groundnuts"
An original play by Uncle Ebo Whyte.
Yesterday, Ade the intelligent lawyer, won a huge case at work.
Tomorrow, Ade the courageous, will have to face death.
But today, it's the birthday of Ade, the beautiful.
After being pampered with an English breakfast and an iphone 6, Ade is definitely looking forward to more. But as she steps out to a lunch, which promises to be that more she looks forward to, she is kidnapped. And all her plans change.
Could the change be what she wants?
Banana's & Groundnuts is a hilarious, rib cracking classic from Roverman Productions.
Want to know what that change is all about? Make a date!
Venue: National Theatre
Date: 28th, 29th & 30th August, 5th & 6th September, 2015
Time: 1st show 4pm, 2nd show 8pm
Rate: GH¢60.00
Tickets are available at all Airtel Shops; Shell Shops at Community 11, Achimota, Sakaman, Dansoman, Mallam & East Legon; Joy FM; Motorway Supermarket; Baatsona & Haatso Total; 37 Goil; Frankies, Osu and Jane-Anne Supermarket.
Alternatively, tickets can be paid for via Airtel Money* at a 10% discount.
1. In the Airtel Money Menu, select MAKE PAYMENTS
2. Select PAY BILL
3. Select OTHER
4. Type ROVERMAN
5. Enter Amount i.e., GH¢54.00 for one ticket
6. Enter your name as reference number (eg. Efua Dentaa)
7. Confirm payment details with your Airtel Money PIN
8. Present the confirmation text that will be sent to you at the gate for entry
*A charge of GH¢0.50 applies
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Adventures in a Foreign Land - Hitch Hiking
I can imagine the look on my face if I wasn't me and I was reading this. The expression that readily comes to mind is, "this one too?"
But I am me so yes, this one too. I just had to try everything (blame it on too much television, curiosity or something like that). But really, it was very necessary (I would like to think).
It's Sunday. I plan going to church. It's a 20 minute walk from where I live to the bus stop (I was 100% sure of that calculation) except that I hadn't factored in snow. That calculation I was 100% sure of was done in the summer and it worked quite well in the fall. It'd just started snowing and I didn't think (I wonder why) I'd need to revise that calculation.
It took me twice as long to get to the bus stop.
It's Sunday morning, the roads had been ploughed but the sidewalks hadn't. Obviously, I missed the bus. Rather than walk back home (forwards ever) I decided to start walking to the bus terminal where I'd still have to catch another bus to church (2 buses I needed to take to get to church). It was quite a long walk, but I'd done it before (in the summer). It still hadn't clicked that walking in summer is totally different from walking in winter. Did I already say it was 15° below 0°C? Guess not. It was 15° below O°C.
I'd been walking less than 5 minutes (after I'd missed the bus) and I was already tired. But there were so many cars bypassing me, if only one would stop and give me a ride just to the bus terminal. And then I remembered I'd seen in movies people walking and lifting a thumb up to vehicles passing by indicating they needed a ride, so I did same (at least I started to until I realised the futility of what I was doing). Needless to say not a single car stopped for me. Occupants of some vehicles looked at me like I wasn't quite okay (more like, like I was crazy), some didn't bother looking at me and others slowed down (mostly ones with nice granny-looking-like occupants) and then they just continued on their way.
After a full minute and a half of trying to hitch hike, I just forgot about that and concentrated on walking. With just about 2 blocks to go to get to the bus terminal, I saw a bus headed there and boy did I stop it and enjoy the warmth of a 2 block ride.
Moral: just because you've seen something being done elsewhere (television) doesn't mean it'll work for you. You don't exactly have to try it.
Yeah, forwards ever, but really it doesn't hurt to turn backwards every now and then (it totally wouldn't kill you neither would it cause the world to end).
Yep, racism exists (of course that thought occurred to me), but really most of the people that sped past me had same skin colour as me. Those that slowed down were so much lighter than me (at least they slowed). Besides, had I been back home, driving, trust me, I wouldn't have stopped to give no stranger a ride just because they look like they need it, even if they were from my hometown (and could prove it).
That said, I reevaluated my calculation and all was right with the world again (meaning, I never had to and I never ever tried to hitch hike again).
But I am me so yes, this one too. I just had to try everything (blame it on too much television, curiosity or something like that). But really, it was very necessary (I would like to think).
It's Sunday. I plan going to church. It's a 20 minute walk from where I live to the bus stop (I was 100% sure of that calculation) except that I hadn't factored in snow. That calculation I was 100% sure of was done in the summer and it worked quite well in the fall. It'd just started snowing and I didn't think (I wonder why) I'd need to revise that calculation.
It took me twice as long to get to the bus stop.
It's Sunday morning, the roads had been ploughed but the sidewalks hadn't. Obviously, I missed the bus. Rather than walk back home (forwards ever) I decided to start walking to the bus terminal where I'd still have to catch another bus to church (2 buses I needed to take to get to church). It was quite a long walk, but I'd done it before (in the summer). It still hadn't clicked that walking in summer is totally different from walking in winter. Did I already say it was 15° below 0°C? Guess not. It was 15° below O°C.
I'd been walking less than 5 minutes (after I'd missed the bus) and I was already tired. But there were so many cars bypassing me, if only one would stop and give me a ride just to the bus terminal. And then I remembered I'd seen in movies people walking and lifting a thumb up to vehicles passing by indicating they needed a ride, so I did same (at least I started to until I realised the futility of what I was doing). Needless to say not a single car stopped for me. Occupants of some vehicles looked at me like I wasn't quite okay (more like, like I was crazy), some didn't bother looking at me and others slowed down (mostly ones with nice granny-looking-like occupants) and then they just continued on their way.
After a full minute and a half of trying to hitch hike, I just forgot about that and concentrated on walking. With just about 2 blocks to go to get to the bus terminal, I saw a bus headed there and boy did I stop it and enjoy the warmth of a 2 block ride.
Moral: just because you've seen something being done elsewhere (television) doesn't mean it'll work for you. You don't exactly have to try it.
Yeah, forwards ever, but really it doesn't hurt to turn backwards every now and then (it totally wouldn't kill you neither would it cause the world to end).
Yep, racism exists (of course that thought occurred to me), but really most of the people that sped past me had same skin colour as me. Those that slowed down were so much lighter than me (at least they slowed). Besides, had I been back home, driving, trust me, I wouldn't have stopped to give no stranger a ride just because they look like they need it, even if they were from my hometown (and could prove it).
That said, I reevaluated my calculation and all was right with the world again (meaning, I never had to and I never ever tried to hitch hike again).
Friday, June 19, 2015
Everything Happens for a Reason
:( I don't do this as much as I would like to (blog).
Sunday, in church, one of the priests in my church who had just been ordained gave the sermon, and boy did she have a remarkable story to tell. It was mostly about how she wanted to grow up and be in a certain profession, but she didn't make it there because she didn't pass an exam she needed to. She was very disappointed, ended up taking certain courses she didn't know why she was taking.
Never did she imagine she'd be ordained as a priest, but there she stood. A priest, and guess what? The course she took which she didn't know why she did has actually come in handy. It was in public speaking (she was training to be a broadcast journalist). Good thing she took that course because how I love it always when she delivers the sermon.
Basically, her sermon for the day was God knows why we have to go through certain things (everything happens for a reason).
All this Reverend had to say last Sunday got me thinking about me and my life, and I agree with her 100%. I said a bit in My Big Day! but, I'll add alittle so much more.
By age 10, I knew I wanted to be a paediatric surgeon when I grow up (very curious since a lot of people understandably don't know what they want to do by 40). At least I thought I knew. That meant I had to study elective science in senior high school. My grades after junior high were good but not good enough to get into an elective science programme in the school I wanted. I ended up in a different school because I wasn't going to kill my dream of becoming a paediatric surgeon just because of a preference in schools.
I was the worst science student ever! I flunked all my electives from day 1. Quite a number of my classmates were in a similar situation, and they advised themselves early. They switched from science to arts or business after the first term of school. But I was stubborn.
Result? I almost didn't make it into the university. Matter of fact, I was so sure I wouldn't make it anywhere with the grades I had that I enrolled in remedial classes to rewrite my elective subjects. And then I got my admission letter from the university. Turns out I was on the late admissions list.
Well, by then I knew I had to give up the paediatric surgeon dream (no one would admit me into medical school with those horrible grades). So, I studied home science for my first degree, mainly because that was one of the few programmes I could make it into the university to study. I was a good home science student. There was one semester where I actually had straight A's. That has never happened to me before (ever). Did I already say that has never happened to me before? Never! I didn't even know that was possible. So I graduated from the university with a Bachelor's Degree in Home Science with a Final Grade Point Average (FGPA) of 3.56.Yeah, I was bummed out, totally. That FGPA meant I graduated with a Second Class Upper. To get a First Class, a graduand should have an FGPA of 3.6 or better. I needed just 0.04 more points to get a First Class (see why I was bummed out, totally?).
I got past that feeling, and then I found out about an educational reality show British Council was organising. What got me interested was that 3 winners would be selected and they each get a scholarship for postgraduate study in the UK. Out of thousands of applicants who were cut down to a couple of hundreds to 25 and then finally to 12, I was one of the 12. I honestly couldn't believe it, but I knew there was something I was good at, but I just hadn't found it yet. At that time I was just about to start my national service in the dietherapy department of a hospital in Ghana, and the plan had been to study dietetics after. That changed just when I got into the reality show. I read on the courses the 3 awarding universities had to offer and settled on communication. That, I decided was what I wanted to do. We were down to 7, and then I was evicted. I was devastated (I must have been cos I got all teary eyed on national TV when I was evicted).
Life goes on. For me, if I couldn't study in the UK, why not study what I wanted to right here in Ghana? I did that. Out of hundreds of applicants into the School of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana, who were cut down to just about a hundred, to a little over 30, 23 of us were admitted into the school into the MA programme. Out of the 23 of us, 5 of us were selected into the MPhil programme and 1 (yours truly) was presented with the Canadian Commonwealth Exchange Program - Africa Award. I got to study at the University of Manitoba in Canada (Yay!).
Yep, eureka! I had found it. I had found what it is that I was good at. Never had I been the best sudent in any class, but here I was. By age 10, I thought I knew what I wanted to do, turns out that wasn't it for me. It wasn't until age 23 that I actually found what it is that I was good at and wanted to do.
Being a paediatric surgeon is a great dream, but I'm sure the fact that I squirm at the sight of my own blood would have been a problem. Being a dietitian is not bad at all, but the fact that I get irritated telling people to do what I figure they should already know would have been a problem (I still don't get why overweight persons don't get that there is a problem with being overweight). Getting that First Class would have been great, but it just might have convinced me to push for that career in dietetics since I would have felt I am that good at the subject. Winning "The Challenge" (the educational reality show I was a part of), would have been awesome, but that would mean I wouldn't have got to live in Canada when I did (I am so not saying living in Canada beats living in the UK). All I'm saying is, no, I didn't get a scholarship to study in the UK, but all was not lost. Another opportunity presented itself and I got a scholarship to study in Canada instead (when one door closes, another one opens).
Even when it seems all is lost and you feel disappointed, even when you feel bummed out, totally, even when you feel devastated, keep your head up! Everything happens for a reason. It might not seem apparent to you at the time, but give it some time, all will work out!
And oh, it really isn't just about finding what it is you want to do, how about finding something you are actually good at and want to do (that I've come to realise helps).
Sunday, in church, one of the priests in my church who had just been ordained gave the sermon, and boy did she have a remarkable story to tell. It was mostly about how she wanted to grow up and be in a certain profession, but she didn't make it there because she didn't pass an exam she needed to. She was very disappointed, ended up taking certain courses she didn't know why she was taking.
Never did she imagine she'd be ordained as a priest, but there she stood. A priest, and guess what? The course she took which she didn't know why she did has actually come in handy. It was in public speaking (she was training to be a broadcast journalist). Good thing she took that course because how I love it always when she delivers the sermon.
Basically, her sermon for the day was God knows why we have to go through certain things (everything happens for a reason).
All this Reverend had to say last Sunday got me thinking about me and my life, and I agree with her 100%. I said a bit in My Big Day! but, I'll add a
By age 10, I knew I wanted to be a paediatric surgeon when I grow up (very curious since a lot of people understandably don't know what they want to do by 40). At least I thought I knew. That meant I had to study elective science in senior high school. My grades after junior high were good but not good enough to get into an elective science programme in the school I wanted. I ended up in a different school because I wasn't going to kill my dream of becoming a paediatric surgeon just because of a preference in schools.
I was the worst science student ever! I flunked all my electives from day 1. Quite a number of my classmates were in a similar situation, and they advised themselves early. They switched from science to arts or business after the first term of school. But I was stubborn.
Result? I almost didn't make it into the university. Matter of fact, I was so sure I wouldn't make it anywhere with the grades I had that I enrolled in remedial classes to rewrite my elective subjects. And then I got my admission letter from the university. Turns out I was on the late admissions list.
Well, by then I knew I had to give up the paediatric surgeon dream (no one would admit me into medical school with those horrible grades). So, I studied home science for my first degree, mainly because that was one of the few programmes I could make it into the university to study. I was a good home science student. There was one semester where I actually had straight A's. That has never happened to me before (ever). Did I already say that has never happened to me before? Never! I didn't even know that was possible. So I graduated from the university with a Bachelor's Degree in Home Science with a Final Grade Point Average (FGPA) of 3.56.Yeah, I was bummed out, totally. That FGPA meant I graduated with a Second Class Upper. To get a First Class, a graduand should have an FGPA of 3.6 or better. I needed just 0.04 more points to get a First Class (see why I was bummed out, totally?).
I got past that feeling, and then I found out about an educational reality show British Council was organising. What got me interested was that 3 winners would be selected and they each get a scholarship for postgraduate study in the UK. Out of thousands of applicants who were cut down to a couple of hundreds to 25 and then finally to 12, I was one of the 12. I honestly couldn't believe it, but I knew there was something I was good at, but I just hadn't found it yet. At that time I was just about to start my national service in the dietherapy department of a hospital in Ghana, and the plan had been to study dietetics after. That changed just when I got into the reality show. I read on the courses the 3 awarding universities had to offer and settled on communication. That, I decided was what I wanted to do. We were down to 7, and then I was evicted. I was devastated (I must have been cos I got all teary eyed on national TV when I was evicted).
Life goes on. For me, if I couldn't study in the UK, why not study what I wanted to right here in Ghana? I did that. Out of hundreds of applicants into the School of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana, who were cut down to just about a hundred, to a little over 30, 23 of us were admitted into the school into the MA programme. Out of the 23 of us, 5 of us were selected into the MPhil programme and 1 (yours truly) was presented with the Canadian Commonwealth Exchange Program - Africa Award. I got to study at the University of Manitoba in Canada (Yay!).
Yep, eureka! I had found it. I had found what it is that I was good at. Never had I been the best sudent in any class, but here I was. By age 10, I thought I knew what I wanted to do, turns out that wasn't it for me. It wasn't until age 23 that I actually found what it is that I was good at and wanted to do.
Being a paediatric surgeon is a great dream, but I'm sure the fact that I squirm at the sight of my own blood would have been a problem. Being a dietitian is not bad at all, but the fact that I get irritated telling people to do what I figure they should already know would have been a problem (I still don't get why overweight persons don't get that there is a problem with being overweight). Getting that First Class would have been great, but it just might have convinced me to push for that career in dietetics since I would have felt I am that good at the subject. Winning "The Challenge" (the educational reality show I was a part of), would have been awesome, but that would mean I wouldn't have got to live in Canada when I did (I am so not saying living in Canada beats living in the UK). All I'm saying is, no, I didn't get a scholarship to study in the UK, but all was not lost. Another opportunity presented itself and I got a scholarship to study in Canada instead (when one door closes, another one opens).
Even when it seems all is lost and you feel disappointed, even when you feel bummed out, totally, even when you feel devastated, keep your head up! Everything happens for a reason. It might not seem apparent to you at the time, but give it some time, all will work out!
And oh, it really isn't just about finding what it is you want to do, how about finding something you are actually good at and want to do (that I've come to realise helps).
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Forbidden
Roverman Productions in Partnership with Joy FM and National Theatre Presents: "Forbidden".
A play written and directed by Uncle Ebo Whyte.
Judges 14:14 - He said, "Out of the eater came something to eat; Out of the strong came something sweet"...
For answers to this and more, catch Forbidden
Venue: National Theatre
Date: 30th & 31st May, 6th & 7th June, 2015
Time: 1st show 4pm, 2nd show 8pm
Rate: GH¢60.00
Not forgetting the human props Uncle Ebo uses in telling an intriguing story, with lots of humour (as always).
Come see chair, dancing chair, and lamps, and flowers! Oooh, you can't miss this! And telephone too!
Tickets are available at all Airtel Shops; Shell Shops at Community 11, Achimota, Sakaman, Dansoman, Mallam & East Legon; Joy FM; Motorway Supermarket; Baatsona & Haatso Total; 37 Goil; Frankies, Osu and Jane-Anne Supermarket.
For ticket orders and enquiries, please call 026 109 4100.
Alternatively, tickets can be paid for via Airtel Money at a 10% discount.
1. In the Airtel Money menu, select MAKE PAYMENTS
2. Select PAY BILL
3. Select OTHER
4. Type ROVERMAN
5. Enter Amount i.e., GH¢54.00 for one ticket
6. Enter your name as reference number (e.g. Efua Dentaa)
7. Confirm payment details with your Airtel Money PIN
8.Present the confirmation text that will be sent to you at the gate for entry
*A charge of GH¢0.50 applies
Judges 14:14 - He said, "Out of the eater came something to eat; Out of the strong came something sweet"...
For answers to this and more, catch Forbidden
Venue: National Theatre
Date: 30th & 31st May, 6th & 7th June, 2015
Time: 1st show 4pm, 2nd show 8pm
Rate: GH¢60.00
Not forgetting the human props Uncle Ebo uses in telling an intriguing story, with lots of humour (as always).
Come see chair, dancing chair, and lamps, and flowers! Oooh, you can't miss this! And telephone too!
Tickets are available at all Airtel Shops; Shell Shops at Community 11, Achimota, Sakaman, Dansoman, Mallam & East Legon; Joy FM; Motorway Supermarket; Baatsona & Haatso Total; 37 Goil; Frankies, Osu and Jane-Anne Supermarket.
For ticket orders and enquiries, please call 026 109 4100.
Alternatively, tickets can be paid for via Airtel Money at a 10% discount.
1. In the Airtel Money menu, select MAKE PAYMENTS
2. Select PAY BILL
3. Select OTHER
4. Type ROVERMAN
5. Enter Amount i.e., GH¢54.00 for one ticket
6. Enter your name as reference number (e.g. Efua Dentaa)
7. Confirm payment details with your Airtel Money PIN
8.Present the confirmation text that will be sent to you at the gate for entry
*A charge of GH¢0.50 applies
Friday, May 15, 2015
Still We Get It Wrong?
Let's say there's a sanitation problem in my city. Before I go making noise about it and complaining that whichever person or body is in charge of ensuring the city is kept clean, isn't doing their job well, wouldn't it make sense to first clean the gutter in front of my house, weed my front lawn, encourage my neighbours to do same, and other neighbourhoods as well, then, I mobilize them all, so we make noise about the general sanitation problem? Or?
It takes about an hour for me to drive from my house to work. I leave home at about 7am and (hopefully) get to work by 8am. By 7am, I'd say day broke about an hour and a half before and the sun's most likely out.
This morning, I set off from my house, drove through my neighbourhood, through quite a number of streets in Accra and I couldn't help but admire the bright lights. Oh no, not from the sun, but from the outside lights of some houses and some shops (which weren't even open). I encountered these bright lights all the way, through where I live to where I work. This happens every morning. The bright lights, I encounter in different areas depending on whether there is a dum or a sor in a particular area.
How about we get our house in order then we make noise? I won't deny that there's a problem in the country now and we (myself inclusive) are really suffering. But has anyone stopped to ask how we got here? Has anyone stopped to ask how they contributed to us getting here? Oh yeah, trust me, we all contributed. Yeah, there's a higher power we can lay all the blame on, but bottom line is, we all had a part to play.
So yeah, #dumsormuststop
Have you played your part to ensure #dumsormuststop?
And yeah, I love my Ghana, that's why I speak out (spare the rod...), but still, we get it wrong! And oh, I didn't even vote in the last elections or the one before. So, suffice to say I have no political inclinations?
It takes about an hour for me to drive from my house to work. I leave home at about 7am and (hopefully) get to work by 8am. By 7am, I'd say day broke about an hour and a half before and the sun's most likely out.
This morning, I set off from my house, drove through my neighbourhood, through quite a number of streets in Accra and I couldn't help but admire the bright lights. Oh no, not from the sun, but from the outside lights of some houses and some shops (which weren't even open). I encountered these bright lights all the way, through where I live to where I work. This happens every morning. The bright lights, I encounter in different areas depending on whether there is a dum or a sor in a particular area.
How about we get our house in order then we make noise? I won't deny that there's a problem in the country now and we (myself inclusive) are really suffering. But has anyone stopped to ask how we got here? Has anyone stopped to ask how they contributed to us getting here? Oh yeah, trust me, we all contributed. Yeah, there's a higher power we can lay all the blame on, but bottom line is, we all had a part to play.
So yeah, #dumsormuststop
Have you played your part to ensure #dumsormuststop?
And yeah, I love my Ghana, that's why I speak out (spare the rod...), but still, we get it wrong! And oh, I didn't even vote in the last elections or the one before. So, suffice to say I have no political inclinations?
Friday, April 17, 2015
How Do We Get It Right?
Certainly not by doing this...
or this...
or this...
or even this...
Driving through my neighbourhood on Sunday morning (heading to church). It's after 7am, it's raining, but day broke over an hour ago and the area is all lighted up by the outside lights of neighbours. Thing is their lights did nothing to illuminate the area (it was already illuminated by natural light).
The current power crisis we experiencing in Ghana has all of us hot (literally) and bothered. Yes, we (myself inclusive) want the government to solve this problem ASAP, but really leaving outside lights on at 7am won't help the situation. I get that we sometimes leave the light switch on, the lights go out, we forget about it and maybe leave home or sleep or something. But let's all do our little bit to help. Let's turn off all switches when leaving home. Makes no sense to have outside lights on for all the 12 hours we get to enjoy electricity (and then 24 hours no electricity) when there's daylight.
There are moments when we experience a problem. It isn't our duty to solve the problem, but we are suffering. How about not compounding the problem? If it's not your duty to solve it, and you cannot solve it even if you wanted to, how do you help by making things worse, especially when you are the one suffering, and the person supposed to fix the problem is not suffering as much as you are?
We get it right by not making it worse!
or this...
or this...
or even this...
Driving through my neighbourhood on Sunday morning (heading to church). It's after 7am, it's raining, but day broke over an hour ago and the area is all lighted up by the outside lights of neighbours. Thing is their lights did nothing to illuminate the area (it was already illuminated by natural light).
The current power crisis we experiencing in Ghana has all of us hot (literally) and bothered. Yes, we (myself inclusive) want the government to solve this problem ASAP, but really leaving outside lights on at 7am won't help the situation. I get that we sometimes leave the light switch on, the lights go out, we forget about it and maybe leave home or sleep or something. But let's all do our little bit to help. Let's turn off all switches when leaving home. Makes no sense to have outside lights on for all the 12 hours we get to enjoy electricity (and then 24 hours no electricity) when there's daylight.
There are moments when we experience a problem. It isn't our duty to solve the problem, but we are suffering. How about not compounding the problem? If it's not your duty to solve it, and you cannot solve it even if you wanted to, how do you help by making things worse, especially when you are the one suffering, and the person supposed to fix the problem is not suffering as much as you are?
We get it right by not making it worse!
Thursday, March 26, 2015
The Smartest Man Alive
Roverman Productions in Partnership with Joy FM and National Theatre Presents: "The Smartest Man Alive".
A play written and directed by Uncle Ebo Whyte.
Venue: National Theatre
Date: 28th & 29th March, 4th & 5th April, 2015
Time: 1st show 4pm, 2nd show 8pm
Rate: GH¢60.00
Hell has no fury like a woman spurned. But hell has no gate stronger than a man gifted with words and wit. So what happens when a woman spurned confronts the smartest man alive?
The play explores the basis of love relationships in Ghana, and challenges us to question if we are using our talents and skills to serve or take advantage of others.
Imagine you could not tell a lie anymore. Don't miss an opportunity to find out how the smartest man alive deals with this.
Tickets are available at all Airtel Shops; Shell Shops at Community 11, Achimota, Sakaman, Dansoman, Mallam and East Legon; Joy FM; Motorway Supermarket; Baatsona and Haatso Total; 37 Goil; Frankies, Osu and Jane-Ann Supermarket.
For ticket orders and enquiries, please call 026 109 4100.
Alternatively, tickets can be paid for via Airtel Money at a 10% discount.
1. In the Airtel Money menu select Make Payments
2. Select Pay Bill
3. Select Other
4. Type ROVERMAN
5. Enter Amount i.e. GH¢54.00 for one ticket
6. Enter your name as reference number (eg. Efua Dentaa)
7.Confirm payment details with your Airtel Money PIN
8. Present the confirmation text that will be sent to you at the gate for entry
*A charge of GH¢0.50 applies.
A play written and directed by Uncle Ebo Whyte.
Venue: National Theatre
Date: 28th & 29th March, 4th & 5th April, 2015
Time: 1st show 4pm, 2nd show 8pm
Rate: GH¢60.00
Hell has no fury like a woman spurned. But hell has no gate stronger than a man gifted with words and wit. So what happens when a woman spurned confronts the smartest man alive?
The play explores the basis of love relationships in Ghana, and challenges us to question if we are using our talents and skills to serve or take advantage of others.
Imagine you could not tell a lie anymore. Don't miss an opportunity to find out how the smartest man alive deals with this.
Tickets are available at all Airtel Shops; Shell Shops at Community 11, Achimota, Sakaman, Dansoman, Mallam and East Legon; Joy FM; Motorway Supermarket; Baatsona and Haatso Total; 37 Goil; Frankies, Osu and Jane-Ann Supermarket.
For ticket orders and enquiries, please call 026 109 4100.
Alternatively, tickets can be paid for via Airtel Money at a 10% discount.
1. In the Airtel Money menu select Make Payments
2. Select Pay Bill
3. Select Other
4. Type ROVERMAN
5. Enter Amount i.e. GH¢54.00 for one ticket
6. Enter your name as reference number (eg. Efua Dentaa)
7.Confirm payment details with your Airtel Money PIN
8. Present the confirmation text that will be sent to you at the gate for entry
*A charge of GH¢0.50 applies.
Friday, March 20, 2015
"Baby on Board." Princess! Really?
I always wonder what I'm to do when I drive behind a car with the sign, "Baby on Board". Finally, (after months of debating with myself), I decide it means I should drive extra careful behind that car and not get annoyed when that car goes too slow (are drivers supposed to be paying attention to babies while driving? just asking), honk unnecessarily etc. (meaning I can do the exact opposite behind a car without that sign). Wonder why they didn't teach me that in driving school (maybe these signs hadn't been invented then).
Sometime last week, I was driving behind a car with this sign:
First time I ever saw one so I took a picture, but forgot about it, until I saw the same car again this morning.
All I can say is REALLY??? (there wasn't even anyone in the car aside the driver, humph!) Totally getting/designing an "Amazing Diva/Superhero in Car" sign (not that I need one though).
Sometime last week, I was driving behind a car with this sign:
 |
| Really? |
All I can say is REALLY??? (there wasn't even anyone in the car aside the driver, humph!) Totally getting/designing an "Amazing Diva/Superhero in Car" sign (not that I need one though).
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Adventures in a Foreign Land - International Money Transfer
The post office was just behind my office. The plan was to stop over there during my lunch break. I learnt I could access the international money transfer service there. Of course I was excited. I wasn't exactly broke, but I could do with the money.
It's lunch time, I head on over to the post office. I tell the guy at the counter that I want to use the international money transfer service. Then he asks if I'm sending or receiving. That question had me mighty confused. Simple enough question, but I didn't get why he was asking me that question. In Ghana, anytime I used the international money service, I just told whoever was in charge I wanted to use the service and then I was handed a form (receiving form) to fill out. No questions were asked. And then it hit me. I am in the developed world. Most of the moneys sent via international money transfers originate from the part of the world I was in, with their final destination being the part of the world Ghana is in. It would make sense to assume everyone using the service in Ghana was receiving. You can however not be too sure about everyone using the service in the developed world. After a whole 30 seconds of me with my blank look, I answer the guy (he was starting to look frustrated). I smile and tell him I'm receiving.
He then tells me if I want cash, I'll need to go down the road (more like take a bus) to the bigger post office, because he can only give me a cheque. Of course I wanted the cash but I had to do this during my lunch break, actually get lunch, and head on back to my office. So I tell him the cheque is just fine. It really wasn't, but my bank was right across the road from the post office, so I figured after getting the cheque, I'd dash on over there, deposit the cheque and hopefully get my money.
I pick up the cheque, head on to the bank, walk to one of the tellers (there wasn't a queue, nice) hand my cheque over to her, she takes a look at it, looks at me, smiles and says, "my dear, why don't you deposit it in the ATM. That way you'll have access to some of the money before the cheque is cleared. If you deposit it with me, it'll take you 3 days to get your money". Must have been a day of blank looks for me, because that's exactly what I gave her for 2 reasons.
1. Why does she think I need the money right away (but really I did)? My skin colour means I desperately need cash, really? Is she racist?
2. What does she mean? Who deposits cheques in an ATM? She's totally messing with me. Yeah, definitely racist!
She smiles at me again and says, "oh dear, you probably don't know how to do that (of course I didn't even know you could do that. totally racist). Come let me show you". She moves from behind the counter and heads on to the ATM machines outside the banking hall with me. Of course I'm grateful this kind lady was being so helpful, but my mind was made up. She was just racist.
She tells me what to do and shows me how to do it, and tells me I can withdraw up to a certain amount of the money before the cheque clears. Then I ask the obvious. "What stops someone from dropping in a blank sheet of paper and withdrawing the accessible amount"? She then tells me that actually does happen, not often, but it does and it's usually a minority group in the country that does that (oh yeah, she just confirmed, she is racist), but they do track some of them down (yeah, the joys of living in a country where streets are named, houses are numbered, and your bank account indicates all of that, and it's easy to track at least your house down).
I deposit the cheque, withdraw the accessible amount and skip (actually, I just walked) on back to the office on an empty stomach. Lunch time was over. Doing the post office, the bank, time spent giving blank looks and the tutorial I got on depositing a cheque in an ATM machine, just took too much time.
Moral: the fact that something is always a certain way where you from doesn't mean it's that way everywhere. Be open to new ideas. The fact that machines where you are from don't perform a certain function doesn't mean they don't do that in another part of the world. Who knows, that function just might be available where you are from sometime, so learn (I hear there are ATMs of some banks in Ghana that have the cheque depositing function now).
The fact that you have heard of racism doesn't mean just because you are a certain colour, you should be looking for racism in your interaction with any and everyone of the group that are usually accused of racism. Come to think of it, I was probably being more prejudiced and racist than this person. She was just a nice sweet lady who wanted to help (I know no teller in any bank in Ghana if they could, would leave their desk to go help me out with anything). Don't go looking for something that isn't there just because you've heard it exists in the part of the world you in. Racism in no way looks like what I experienced that day.
It's lunch time, I head on over to the post office. I tell the guy at the counter that I want to use the international money transfer service. Then he asks if I'm sending or receiving. That question had me mighty confused. Simple enough question, but I didn't get why he was asking me that question. In Ghana, anytime I used the international money service, I just told whoever was in charge I wanted to use the service and then I was handed a form (receiving form) to fill out. No questions were asked. And then it hit me. I am in the developed world. Most of the moneys sent via international money transfers originate from the part of the world I was in, with their final destination being the part of the world Ghana is in. It would make sense to assume everyone using the service in Ghana was receiving. You can however not be too sure about everyone using the service in the developed world. After a whole 30 seconds of me with my blank look, I answer the guy (he was starting to look frustrated). I smile and tell him I'm receiving.
He then tells me if I want cash, I'll need to go down the road (more like take a bus) to the bigger post office, because he can only give me a cheque. Of course I wanted the cash but I had to do this during my lunch break, actually get lunch, and head on back to my office. So I tell him the cheque is just fine. It really wasn't, but my bank was right across the road from the post office, so I figured after getting the cheque, I'd dash on over there, deposit the cheque and hopefully get my money.
I pick up the cheque, head on to the bank, walk to one of the tellers (there wasn't a queue, nice) hand my cheque over to her, she takes a look at it, looks at me, smiles and says, "my dear, why don't you deposit it in the ATM. That way you'll have access to some of the money before the cheque is cleared. If you deposit it with me, it'll take you 3 days to get your money". Must have been a day of blank looks for me, because that's exactly what I gave her for 2 reasons.
1. Why does she think I need the money right away (but really I did)? My skin colour means I desperately need cash, really? Is she racist?
2. What does she mean? Who deposits cheques in an ATM? She's totally messing with me. Yeah, definitely racist!
She smiles at me again and says, "oh dear, you probably don't know how to do that (of course I didn't even know you could do that. totally racist). Come let me show you". She moves from behind the counter and heads on to the ATM machines outside the banking hall with me. Of course I'm grateful this kind lady was being so helpful, but my mind was made up. She was just racist.
She tells me what to do and shows me how to do it, and tells me I can withdraw up to a certain amount of the money before the cheque clears. Then I ask the obvious. "What stops someone from dropping in a blank sheet of paper and withdrawing the accessible amount"? She then tells me that actually does happen, not often, but it does and it's usually a minority group in the country that does that (oh yeah, she just confirmed, she is racist), but they do track some of them down (yeah, the joys of living in a country where streets are named, houses are numbered, and your bank account indicates all of that, and it's easy to track at least your house down).
I deposit the cheque, withdraw the accessible amount and skip (actually, I just walked) on back to the office on an empty stomach. Lunch time was over. Doing the post office, the bank, time spent giving blank looks and the tutorial I got on depositing a cheque in an ATM machine, just took too much time.
Moral: the fact that something is always a certain way where you from doesn't mean it's that way everywhere. Be open to new ideas. The fact that machines where you are from don't perform a certain function doesn't mean they don't do that in another part of the world. Who knows, that function just might be available where you are from sometime, so learn (I hear there are ATMs of some banks in Ghana that have the cheque depositing function now).
The fact that you have heard of racism doesn't mean just because you are a certain colour, you should be looking for racism in your interaction with any and everyone of the group that are usually accused of racism. Come to think of it, I was probably being more prejudiced and racist than this person. She was just a nice sweet lady who wanted to help (I know no teller in any bank in Ghana if they could, would leave their desk to go help me out with anything). Don't go looking for something that isn't there just because you've heard it exists in the part of the world you in. Racism in no way looks like what I experienced that day.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
How Much? Your Life!
It should be GH¢1.50 ($0.44).
Not according to me, but according to one shop owner in Accra.
A bottle of coca cola goes for GH¢1.50. To scrape the crown cork as pictured above rendering the expiry date just about invisible, so as to sell expired coca cola to unsuspecting consumers, really just means you place the value of a human life at the price of the product. Products (consumables) expire because? Expiry dates are quoted on consumables because?
At least with expired goods on sale at Shoprite, seems it's about negligence (someone forgot to remove the expired goods from the shelves because, no attempt is made to conceal the expiry date). But with this, I'd say wickedness (plain and simple).
But really, who's willing to bet that had the shop owner not attempted to be smart, just about no one would have noticed the coca cola was actually expired (quite a bit of attention was drawn to the crown cork by this action).
Regardless of how tedious it makes shopping, I won't purchase a consumable without checking the expiry date. If the date isn't visible, no way am I getting it. There are just too many negligent and "special" people around.
Not according to me, but according to one shop owner in Accra.
 |
| you must be one "special" kind of person to do this |
At least with expired goods on sale at Shoprite, seems it's about negligence (someone forgot to remove the expired goods from the shelves because, no attempt is made to conceal the expiry date). But with this, I'd say wickedness (plain and simple).
But really, who's willing to bet that had the shop owner not attempted to be smart, just about no one would have noticed the coca cola was actually expired (quite a bit of attention was drawn to the crown cork by this action).
Regardless of how tedious it makes shopping, I won't purchase a consumable without checking the expiry date. If the date isn't visible, no way am I getting it. There are just too many negligent and "special" people around.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
The Answer!
In answering the question, most people I know (myself inclusive) had it wrong.
That's not necessarily such a bad thing. Matter of fact, it's a good thing.
Why?
Answer: She was hoping the guy would appear at the funeral again.
If you answered correctly, you think like a psychopath. This was a test by a famous American psychologist used to test if one has the same mentality as a killer. Many serial killers took part in the test and answered the question correctly.
If you didn't answer the question correctly, good for you, neither did I.
If you got the answer correct, kindly let me know and I'll take it from there.
That's not necessarily such a bad thing. Matter of fact, it's a good thing.
Why?
Answer: She was hoping the guy would appear at the funeral again.
If you answered correctly, you think like a psychopath. This was a test by a famous American psychologist used to test if one has the same mentality as a killer. Many serial killers took part in the test and answered the question correctly.
If you didn't answer the question correctly, good for you, neither did I.
If you got the answer correct, kindly let me know and I'll take it from there.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
The Question!
Someone sent this question to me a while back.
I pride myself on being smart, but I actually answered wrong (wonder why since it seemed pretty simple and rather straightforward). I felt almost better when just about everyone I asked got it wrong too, and these are smart people (at least they pride themselves on being smart).
Want to share it (see how many actual smart people are here). Here goes:
A woman, while at the funeral of her own mother, met a guy whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing. She believed him to be her dream guy so much that she fell in love with him right there, but never asked for his number and could not find him. A few days later, she killed her sister.
Question: What is her motive for killing her sister?
If you've already seen this, you know why you shouldn't get it right!
I pride myself on being smart, but I actually answered wrong (wonder why since it seemed pretty simple and rather straightforward). I felt almost better when just about everyone I asked got it wrong too, and these are smart people (at least they pride themselves on being smart).
Want to share it (see how many actual smart people are here). Here goes:
A woman, while at the funeral of her own mother, met a guy whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing. She believed him to be her dream guy so much that she fell in love with him right there, but never asked for his number and could not find him. A few days later, she killed her sister.
Question: What is her motive for killing her sister?
If you've already seen this, you know why you shouldn't get it right!
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Crush?
Nah! Still too early (translates to I'll make another attempt at sharing something inspiring).
For as long as I can remember, I've been trying to read the whole bible. Naturally, I'd start from the beginning (Genesis), by the time I read the story on Cain and Abel or push to Noah, I just go like, "I already knew all of this. Heard stories about all of them in Sunday School". All of them referring to Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel and Noah and the ark. And then I'd quit. Then there was this time I just decided to focus on particular books in the bible. I was more successful with that. At least I can say I've read the whole of the book of Proverbs.
I've always felt I need to seriously spend more time studying the word of God, and stop my halfhearted attempts at doing so. I downloaded a bible app onto my phone (YouVersion) and it really has helped. There are so many resources available on there, from daily bible verses to bible plans. I found I could select bible plans for a couple of days or months. Last year, I picked up a year long bible plan and completed it on December 31, 2014 (felt real good). The bible plans I found were a way for me to spend time on the word of God everyday. From a few days, to a few months and then to a year (baby steps).
At the start of this year, I started a new bible plan, another year long plan. But get this. This plan is "Bible in One Year". That means next year this time, I can say I've read the whole bible. Interesting thing is, there are so many stories in the bible I never heard of (they didn't make children stories of those for Sunday School). The people involved I may have heard of but not some accounts of their lives in the bible, and the thing is, all this is in Genesis. There are actually so many interesting and inspiring stories after Noah and the ark. What I totally love about these plans are the fact that there are daily devotionals included, so after reading the bible passages, I get to read a discussion on it, which give more insight into what I just read.
I find this very helpful for me because Christianity I find is hard today. Why? Because quite a number of people seem to enjoy guilt tripping others into it (how about you let others or lead others to discover the goodness of God without guilting them into it?). It really is so sad. People try to use current stuff e.g. social media to share the word of God and then threaten you. e.g. forward to this number of people or this and that will happen to you. If you love God and hate the devil you will forward to this number of people. If you don't, means you don't love God and you do the devil (totally rolling my eyes right now). I'm sure it's okay to love God and not forward every message you get about Him to a particular number of people (and I'm sure that doesn't mean you have a thing for the devil either).
I remember when the movie "Gravity" come out, there was so much noise made about it. As soon as it was in cinemas in Gh, I went to see it. Who wouldn't want to see a movie with George Clooney and Sandra Bullock in it? But that's just the thing. It really was a movie with just George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. 5 minutes into the movie I caught myself dozing off in the cinema. I couldn't believe it. How? So I stayed wide awake for another 10 minutes and when I realised nothing was happening and George and Sandra were same place they had been when the movie started, I curled up, found a comfy position, and I slept (no way was I letting the air conditioning in the cinema go to waste. I had paid for it. if I couldn't enjoy the movie, I could at least enjoy that). My point? It's very possible to fall asleep while watching a secular movie and not only when listening to the word of God.
Now as a rule, I always get popcorn even when I don't feel like it when I go to the cinema (I have fallen asleep while watching other movies and I find that nibbling on the popcorn gives me at least 20 - 30 minutes before I start lolling away).
Inspiring? Well, I will get to that crush thing in my next post.
And oh, I hear a certain young lady has decided not to pursue the case she has against a Gh celebrity she's accused of allegedly raping her (can't say I'm surprised). Like I wrote in my last post, even if she comes out to say he really didn't rape her, his reputation has already been ruined (but who cares? I'm not talking about this celebrity stuff).
For as long as I can remember, I've been trying to read the whole bible. Naturally, I'd start from the beginning (Genesis), by the time I read the story on Cain and Abel or push to Noah, I just go like, "I already knew all of this. Heard stories about all of them in Sunday School". All of them referring to Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel and Noah and the ark. And then I'd quit. Then there was this time I just decided to focus on particular books in the bible. I was more successful with that. At least I can say I've read the whole of the book of Proverbs.
I've always felt I need to seriously spend more time studying the word of God, and stop my halfhearted attempts at doing so. I downloaded a bible app onto my phone (YouVersion) and it really has helped. There are so many resources available on there, from daily bible verses to bible plans. I found I could select bible plans for a couple of days or months. Last year, I picked up a year long bible plan and completed it on December 31, 2014 (felt real good). The bible plans I found were a way for me to spend time on the word of God everyday. From a few days, to a few months and then to a year (baby steps).
At the start of this year, I started a new bible plan, another year long plan. But get this. This plan is "Bible in One Year". That means next year this time, I can say I've read the whole bible. Interesting thing is, there are so many stories in the bible I never heard of (they didn't make children stories of those for Sunday School). The people involved I may have heard of but not some accounts of their lives in the bible, and the thing is, all this is in Genesis. There are actually so many interesting and inspiring stories after Noah and the ark. What I totally love about these plans are the fact that there are daily devotionals included, so after reading the bible passages, I get to read a discussion on it, which give more insight into what I just read.
I find this very helpful for me because Christianity I find is hard today. Why? Because quite a number of people seem to enjoy guilt tripping others into it (how about you let others or lead others to discover the goodness of God without guilting them into it?). It really is so sad. People try to use current stuff e.g. social media to share the word of God and then threaten you. e.g. forward to this number of people or this and that will happen to you. If you love God and hate the devil you will forward to this number of people. If you don't, means you don't love God and you do the devil (totally rolling my eyes right now). I'm sure it's okay to love God and not forward every message you get about Him to a particular number of people (and I'm sure that doesn't mean you have a thing for the devil either).
I remember when the movie "Gravity" come out, there was so much noise made about it. As soon as it was in cinemas in Gh, I went to see it. Who wouldn't want to see a movie with George Clooney and Sandra Bullock in it? But that's just the thing. It really was a movie with just George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. 5 minutes into the movie I caught myself dozing off in the cinema. I couldn't believe it. How? So I stayed wide awake for another 10 minutes and when I realised nothing was happening and George and Sandra were same place they had been when the movie started, I curled up, found a comfy position, and I slept (no way was I letting the air conditioning in the cinema go to waste. I had paid for it. if I couldn't enjoy the movie, I could at least enjoy that). My point? It's very possible to fall asleep while watching a secular movie and not only when listening to the word of God.
Now as a rule, I always get popcorn even when I don't feel like it when I go to the cinema (I have fallen asleep while watching other movies and I find that nibbling on the popcorn gives me at least 20 - 30 minutes before I start lolling away).
Inspiring? Well, I will get to that crush thing in my next post.
And oh, I hear a certain young lady has decided not to pursue the case she has against a Gh celebrity she's accused of allegedly raping her (can't say I'm surprised). Like I wrote in my last post, even if she comes out to say he really didn't rape her, his reputation has already been ruined (but who cares? I'm not talking about this celebrity stuff).
Friday, January 09, 2015
Crushes!
Ummmmm... a new year just started and this is my first post of 2015? I want to talk about something this insignificant? Yeah, I feel bad. Well, at least I'm not talking about some Gh celebrity being accused of raping a teenager (I'll leave that to the celebrity bloggers to blog about). On that though, seems the problem quite a number of Ghanaians have with it is he had sex with a teenager (he's admitted to that). As to whether it was consensual or not, is not the issue. The problem is he is 49 and she is 19 (his daughter is just about the same age). Whatever happens, even if the girl recants, his reputation really is just ruined (but I really am not talking about this).
Happy 2015, and all the blessings that come with entering a brand new year!
Let me put up something inspirational (I think) then if I haven't put up 2000 words, I'll talk about crushes.
I'm Anglican. I go to church every Sunday (yeah, really). The Gospel is read (bible passage), a hymn is sung, the preacher says a word of prayer, the preacher preaches and at that point I zone out (embarrassing, but it's the truth). Why do I do that? Well, I figure that's less embarrassing than dozing off and have my head lolling backwards (mighty embarrassing). Besides, when I zone out, no one even notices. I come back to earth when the preaching is over and we rise to say/sing the Apostles creed or Nicene creed.
Why not change churches if the preachers in my current church are not exactly interested in keeping me paying attention? Well, I have heard other preachers preach and pretty much the same thing happens. See, there are 3 priests in my church and any of them can preach according to their roster. Sometimes visiting priests come in to preach. Some preachers will start, just when I'm zoning out, they say something interesting or funny, I come back, I'm getting into the preaching, and then in an effort to reach the non-English speakers in the church, they translate what they say into a local language, which I probably don't understand (again, embarrassing), and then I go and come back to earth when they are done. Some preach all through in English with lots of jokes, so I stay with them throughout, laugh, enjoy what they say, but at the end, I don't particularly feel inspired or like I learnt anything. Matter of fact, 10 minutes after the preaching is done, I don't remember what it was about. As for some, as soon as I see them approaching the pulpit while the hymn is being sung, I know it's time to go.
And then last Sunday happened. There was a visiting priest. We are singing the hymn, I'm preparing to go, we done with the hymn, he says a word of prayer, I'm about to go, and then I hear, "start living in 2015". Of course I come back, mainly to say to myself, "we are 4 days into 2015 and now you say I should start living in 2015? What about all the years preceding 2015? What have I been doing? Seriously?" So now he has my attention mainly because I want to argue with him in my head. Then he breaks it down.
S - Stop making excuses
T - Take inventory of your life
A - Act in faith
R - Refocus your thoughts
T - Trust God
Not only did his message make so much sense, he added a whole lot of humour to it, plus there were real life examples, and he kept engaging the congregation, asking us to repeat stuff, asking us questions, etc. Most importantly, I felt inspired. By the time he was done, I literally felt like running up to him and lifting him shoulder high (seriously). But, he was just visiting, now I'm seriously thinking of looking up his parish and joining, all the time hoping he's not a one trick pony. But really, what I find so impressive is today, 5 days after, I can remember the message without looking into a book (I didn't take notes. beats me how I still remember any of it).
Before I start getting judged, I should say, I have received messages on social media talking about how people don't have time for the word of God, how churches are getting empty and clubs getting full, how people fall asleep while being preached to but are able to sit through countless movies. Well, I don't bother zoning out during some movies, I sleep. Not doze, sleep. We all have different gifts/talents (that's in the bible). Not all are meant to be preachers. Much respect to all the preachers out there. If for every 10 people you preach to, there is 1 of me, my utmost respect in trying to reach us (at least you try).
Now, for this priest, not sure I got his name. Hope his parish isn't too far from where I live.
But there goes my post on crushes. Maybe next time.
Happy 2015, and all the blessings that come with entering a brand new year!
Let me put up something inspirational (I think) then if I haven't put up 2000 words, I'll talk about crushes.
I'm Anglican. I go to church every Sunday (yeah, really). The Gospel is read (bible passage), a hymn is sung, the preacher says a word of prayer, the preacher preaches and at that point I zone out (embarrassing, but it's the truth). Why do I do that? Well, I figure that's less embarrassing than dozing off and have my head lolling backwards (mighty embarrassing). Besides, when I zone out, no one even notices. I come back to earth when the preaching is over and we rise to say/sing the Apostles creed or Nicene creed.
Why not change churches if the preachers in my current church are not exactly interested in keeping me paying attention? Well, I have heard other preachers preach and pretty much the same thing happens. See, there are 3 priests in my church and any of them can preach according to their roster. Sometimes visiting priests come in to preach. Some preachers will start, just when I'm zoning out, they say something interesting or funny, I come back, I'm getting into the preaching, and then in an effort to reach the non-English speakers in the church, they translate what they say into a local language, which I probably don't understand (again, embarrassing), and then I go and come back to earth when they are done. Some preach all through in English with lots of jokes, so I stay with them throughout, laugh, enjoy what they say, but at the end, I don't particularly feel inspired or like I learnt anything. Matter of fact, 10 minutes after the preaching is done, I don't remember what it was about. As for some, as soon as I see them approaching the pulpit while the hymn is being sung, I know it's time to go.
And then last Sunday happened. There was a visiting priest. We are singing the hymn, I'm preparing to go, we done with the hymn, he says a word of prayer, I'm about to go, and then I hear, "start living in 2015". Of course I come back, mainly to say to myself, "we are 4 days into 2015 and now you say I should start living in 2015? What about all the years preceding 2015? What have I been doing? Seriously?" So now he has my attention mainly because I want to argue with him in my head. Then he breaks it down.
S - Stop making excuses
T - Take inventory of your life
A - Act in faith
R - Refocus your thoughts
T - Trust God
Not only did his message make so much sense, he added a whole lot of humour to it, plus there were real life examples, and he kept engaging the congregation, asking us to repeat stuff, asking us questions, etc. Most importantly, I felt inspired. By the time he was done, I literally felt like running up to him and lifting him shoulder high (seriously). But, he was just visiting, now I'm seriously thinking of looking up his parish and joining, all the time hoping he's not a one trick pony. But really, what I find so impressive is today, 5 days after, I can remember the message without looking into a book (I didn't take notes. beats me how I still remember any of it).
Before I start getting judged, I should say, I have received messages on social media talking about how people don't have time for the word of God, how churches are getting empty and clubs getting full, how people fall asleep while being preached to but are able to sit through countless movies. Well, I don't bother zoning out during some movies, I sleep. Not doze, sleep. We all have different gifts/talents (that's in the bible). Not all are meant to be preachers. Much respect to all the preachers out there. If for every 10 people you preach to, there is 1 of me, my utmost respect in trying to reach us (at least you try).
Now, for this priest, not sure I got his name. Hope his parish isn't too far from where I live.
But there goes my post on crushes. Maybe next time.
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