by Yours TrulyUp All Night…
01 August, 2014Owl City’s latest song from his Ultraviolet EP has this ‘Surreal’ feel to it… speaks of love lost, dreams rekindled, and ambitions revisited…
Many things…
Anyways, here’s my favorite song of the week:
by Yours TrulyOwl City’s latest song from his Ultraviolet EP has this ‘Surreal’ feel to it… speaks of love lost, dreams rekindled, and ambitions revisited…
Many things…
Anyways, here’s my favorite song of the week:
by Yours TrulyA few days ago, after making a withdrawal at a bank close to the office, I made a detour to a nearby supermarket to see if there was anything interesting I needed to get. As I’m not much of an impulse buyer (last time I checked), I settled on two humble items – a large can of Pringles, and 3 different flavours of air freshener.
Once I got back to the office, I placed the air-fresheners in their regular positions. Once done, I was left with an extra pack – the Rose flavour. So I decided to take it home.
Fast-forward to this evening. 10:42pm. I get home, open the air freshener’s tin foil, put it on top the room cupboard and then leave the room. I haven’t left the room for up to a minute when my brother beckons and tells me something really interesting…
“Papa… do you remember this scent? It’s the same Air Freshener we used for our game center in Magodo…”
And I remembered…
That was 8 years ago. I was 14.
The beginning of my journey. My entrepreneurial journey. And it all started with a PlayStation. A PlayStation 2.
Well, since I have a long day tomorrow, and can’t afford to sleep too late, I’ll finish up the rest of the story when next time I’m relatively free. Please stay tuned. Gracias! 🙂
by Yours Truly“No man is an island…”
Sometimes, I have wondered what would happen if I was the only one on the planet. Yup, just me. In the whole wide gigantic world! Okay, to make it a bit more realistic, let’s add plants and regular animals to the mix. So, yup… me, plants and regular animals in this whole wide ‘humonstrous’ world!
Well, those kinds of things are best left to imagination. But let me turn the tables for a bit – can YOU imagine if you were the only person on Earth?
Hmmm…
Well, hold that thought for a second…
I have a long list of unfinished tasks before I leave work, so I can’t let my mind wander more than it already has. Here’s a song from my favourite band in the world, that sheds a little light on our existence… that little thing that we all need, but so often neglect…
One another.
by Yours TrulyI was recently sitting in a doctors office waiting for an appointment. A man approached the reception desk with no shirt on, using it as a sling around his leg.
He was sweating profusely and he stunk. He was dirty. He looked like a bum. He was pleading with the receptionist to get a doctor to see him because he didnt have any pain pills.
The receptionist and I smirked at eachother and the waiting room all shot eachother a knowing glance.. As if we were all thinking “oh brother”
The receptionist patronizingly explained that he would have to make an appointment and the doctor was too busy to renew his prescription. She refused to ask. I felt like rolling my eyes at this man. I mean HELLO DUDE make an appointment and for god sakes put on a shirt and have some self respect. He disgusted me.
At that moment the man dropped to the floor and looked up at the sky. He started to weep. I mean REALLY WEEP. I will never forget what he said.
He said ” just take everything. I have nothing left. Nothing but pain. Nothing. You’ve taken it all.. Just take me. I’m tired! I’m tired! I’m so tired.. What do I have? Nothing but pain..”
I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I was covered in goosebumps. I felt so much shame.. So much shame in who I was.
I looked at the receptionist as she called security and Turned from him. I looked around as people started snickering and smirking at me .. Disgusted that I had been one of them.
I can’t tell you how I found the courage, but I got up and I went over to him. I got down on the floor and to the shock of everyone, especially myself, I put my arms around his sweaty body and held him close.. And I didn’t let go. I held him and I told him that everything would be alright. I told him that I cared about him and that I was so sorry.
He went limp and cried in my arms in front of everyone until the security guard came.
As he was leaving he looked into my eyes and we connected. It was the most real and deepest compassion I have ever felt for another person.
I knew that that man had not been touched, comforted, or treated with respect for what could have been years. He was living in poverty, with nothing in his life but his addiction to pain pills and his medical problems.
This was a grown man at the end of his pitiful rope. A Person just like me with a heart and a soul. And I judged him. I laughed at him.. In the lowest part of his life.. When he had lost all hope and all self respect.
I learned that day that the measure of a person is not their success or accomplishments.. Not their intelligence or charm or appearance, but how they treat the least of all men.
Source: Quora.
by Yours TrulyTwo days ago, in a knee-jerk decision, I decided to leave work a bit earlier to catch the movie “Transformers: Age of Extinction” along with a friend. It was scheduled for 5:15pm and traffic to the cinema was terrible. So, we decided to trek the whole distance. Well, 30 minutes and one newly purchased but subsequently soaked white handkerchief later, we arrived, got our tickets, skipped the regular snack purchase and rushed in. Luckily, we were only about 15 minutes late.
I was excited. I even had to hold a full bladder for more than 2 hours because of the movie.
Well, here’s why.
I vowed never to watch a Transformers movie on my laptop. It just has to be on the big screen. I don’t know… maybe it’s the thrills of metal flying everywhere… the cinematic slow-motion scenes… the subtle humor… or the 150+ minutes of pure awesomeness that makes me feel like the movie was worth the money spent. No other movie comes that close.
Well, here’s what I learnt from the movie. A bit more specifically but maybe out of context, I admire the director, Michael Bay.
In all the Michael Bay films I’ve seen (see me talking as if it’s a lot… actually, it’s only two – the Transformers Series… and Pain & Gain), I couldn’t doubt the fact that he was involved. I lack most of the technical jargon used by film analysts, but his movies have this ‘thing’ to it. Bright lighting… obviously advanced, from-the-future cameras… particle effects… things flying everywhere… his unapologetic use of jaw-dropping slow-motion scenes (like when the robot cars have to transform and fly over some bridge in a bid to evade an attack while impressively catching and holding on to the humans that were driving in them… or when Mark Wahlberg got hit by a passing car towards the end of Pain & Gain… ouch) and the overall thrill to his movies that literally keep you at the edge of your seat.
In what would appear as serendipity, running a quick search on him earlier today, here’s what I found:
Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and extreme use of special effects.
Michael Bay has a signature. And he’s very unapologetic about it. Here’s what he recently had to say to his critics:
“They love to hate, and I don’t care; let them hate,” Bay said. “They’re still going to see the movie! I think it’s good to get a little tension. Very good.”
Here’s something I also stumbled upon:
If anybody is wondering why the “Transformers” franchise keeps getting louder, longer and less dependent on silly movie cliché’s like character development, it’s because director Michael Bay knows people will see the sequels no matter what he films.
Well, here’s the lesson for today:
Have a signature. Let people know you for something. In so much as it’s something good, be unapologetic about it. But remember to keep getting better with the times. Or you’re gonna end up being laughed at… and if there’s one thing people don’t need a degree to do, it’s laughing.
🙂
P.S: I heard he’s directing the Ninja Turtles movie. When the time comes, Silverbird Cinemas, take my money!
Update: I wasn’t the one that needed to use a handkerchief. My friend was. I can walk for 3 hours without breaking a sweat. *feeling like a proud Kenya… sorry… Nigerian*
by Yours TrulyQuestion: What are the advantages of having a low GPA?
Answer: A GPA of less than 1.00 can be expressed to 2 decimal places with only three keystrokes (e.g. .32), whereas a GPA of 1.00 or higher requires 4 keystrokes. There is also a corresponding savings in ink when the GPA is printed on paper.
Source: Quora.
You guys should check Quora more often. You’d learn a lot. And maybe have a few laughs in-between.
by Yours TrulyI’d be honest. Very honest. Nothing in the world makes me more excited than when I’m listening to a new Owl City song for the first time. To put it into context, My Zune player reads 85 Owl City songs (only Switchfoot holds the same record in my playlist). And I’m always on the prowl for any new content he comes up with. This has been going on for over 5 years now… *covers face*
Well, here’s the 86th addition to my Owl City playlist – Wolf Bite:
by Yours TrulyI happened to stumble across this article by Guy Kawasaki, someone I’ve followed, growing up. To put it into context, my most read book ever is his very own “The Art of the Start”. Coincidentally, I’m still 22, so, sharing this article is a no-brainer, I guess. Here goes:
The instructions for this post suggested including photos of when you were twenty-two. This made me laugh because, in my case, digital cameras weren’t invented yet. But I digress.
As I write this, I’m three months short of the big six O. Here’s some advice based on thirty-eight years of living.
Challenge the known and embrace the unknown: Accepting the known and resisting the unknown is a mistake. You should do exactly the opposite: challenge the known and embrace the unknown. Now is the time to take this kind of risk because you have less to lose and everything to gain. Great things happen to people who question the status quo.
Be brief: Contrary to school, in the work place there are few minimums. In my entire career, I can count on one hand the instances when an email, presentation, or report was too short. The perfect length for everything is when it is “complete”—more is less, and “shock and awe” doesn’t work in business or war. Here are guidelines: email—five sentences; presentations—tens slides and twenty minutes; report—one page.
Tell stories, do demos, and use pictures: The most enchanting people tell stories, do demos, and use pictures to influence and persuade others. They do not belittle or berate. They paint a picture in people’s minds whether the medium is social media, email, in-person presentations, phone calls, or video conferences. There is only one Steve Jobs, but if you want a shot at being the next Steve Jobs, learn to communicate using stories, demos, and pictures.
Don’t sweat your first job(s): Over your lifetime, you’ll probably have five to ten jobs in two to three industries. Your first job is not going to be your last. It’d be great if your first job was to be the fifth employee of the next Google, but the odds of this are small. The only mistake you could make is taking a first job where you couldn’t learn anything, and if you can’t learn anything, it’s probably your fault. Just get in and work hard and stop thinking about finding the perfect first job.
Live in the present, work for the future: The day after you start work, no one is going to care what school you went to, what your grade point average was, if you were captain of the football, robotics, or debate team, or who your parents are. All that matters is whether you deliver results or you don’t, so work hard to make your boss look good (see next).
Make your boss look good: Your job is to make your boss look good. The theory that you should make your boss look bad so that you can advance above him or her is flawed. Trying to do so will probably make you look disloyal to your boss and stupid to the rest of the organization. You want your boss to succeed so that you can draft behind him or her.
Continue to learn: Learning is a process not an event, so you should never stop learning. Indeed, it gets easier to learn once you’re out of school because the relevance of what you need to learn becomes more obvious. Indeed, the day you graduate is when the real learning begins.
Don’t get married too soon: I got married when I was thirty-two. That’s about the right age. Until you’re about that age, you may not know who you are. You also may not know who you’re marrying. I don’t know anyone who got married too late. I know many people who got married too young.
Obey the absolutes: When you were young, it was absolutely wrong to lie, cheat, or steal. When you enter the workforce, you will be tempted to think in relative terms. As you grow older, you will see that right and wrong seems to change from absolute to relative. This is wrong: right is right and wrong is wrong forever.
Enjoy your family and friends before they are gone: Nothing–not money, power, or fame–can replace your family and friends or bring them back once they are gone. You probably have delusions of immortality right now—that’s natural. At least consider that while you may be immortal, those around you are not.
One more thing: When you were a child, you thought your parents were always right. Through high school and college, you thought your parents were always wrong. After college, you’ll realize that your parents were often right. And then, believe it or not, you’ll eventually become your parents. Wrap your young mind around that….
– Guy Kawasaki.
by Yours TrulyWhat our world needs more than business superstars are spiritual statesmen – men and women who rise above the pursuit of their personal agendas to lead people and organizations to please and honor God.
Businesspeople can often do what preachers and missionaries cannot. Isn’t it interesting that when Jesus chose twelve disciples he found them in the marketplace? He chose a dozen businessmen! These men had a lot to learn about the kingdom of God, but they knew the world and how to operate in it.
Today’s businesspeople understand how the world functions – they have to in order to succeed at their jobs. They have contacts throughout the marketplace. Their network among other Christians crosses denominational lines.
If God were to bring sweeping revival today, it might not come through a church. Many denominations are isolated, and a revival in one group of churches might never reach other Christian organizations. Revival could, however, come through the marketplace.
Christian businesspeople are connected through multiple denominations. The business community by nature is oriented towards results. Many Christian businesspeople are weary of theological hairsplitting, and they are bewildered by the adamant refusal of Church leaders to cooperate with one another. In the marketplace, working and pooling resources makes sense.
Christian business leaders must refuse to be self-centered, politicizing profiteers. Instead, they must allow God to elevate their lives and their leadership to that of statespersons. God did that with a handful of fishermen and local business leaders in the first century, and the world continues to feel the impact. God can do it again today. Are you willing to allow Him to make you a statesperson for your generation?
