Thankful-Thursdays on A Geek's Life

Thankful Thursdays 48/2019

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 22:49:31 +0000

Thankful for:

Payday on the 25th, I had come close to scrapping the bottom of the barrel, if I say so myself!
A good return to Instagram, my post got liked a fair bit which is perhaps a tad shallow of me but whatever :)
My Freetrade investment turned into positive territory for the first time ever it seems. Progress.
Have a work-related query which seemed like it would be a hassle to resolve which has now been resolved. Grateful for supportive work mates!

Thankful Thursdays 45/2019

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 03:58:37 +0000

\\\** Thankful for:

Friendly faces: Out and about during my lunch hour, it was a breath of fresh air to run into T around U Square. A friendly face in the midst of the day’s battle is always a welcome sight, dare I say
Came through a difficult presentation to Senior Management at work, it feels like I am settling in more and more to this new role at work. I still want/ wish my next move is wrapped up ASAP though. The future beckons.

Thankful Thursdays 2019 : Week 42

Thu, 17 Oct 2019 03:00:27 +0000

More job opportunities - both abroad and in the UK - which I’m being considered for.
Clear the air talks with S
Friends, who at short notice modified their programs to assist me with signing off on paper work.

Thankful Thursdays 2019: Week 41

Thu, 10 Oct 2019 05:43:45 +0000

Came through what could have been a tricky presentation at work. The reward of good work is more work as they say, so more work is on the horizon.
Great news from an interview I attended in early August, an offer has been extended I now need to make a decision!

Thankful Thursday: 2019 Week 40

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 11:42:51 +0000

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A lot has happened over the last week: travelling for work in West Africa, juggling tight deadlines at work and interviewing for a new role I’d really like to get. All told, it’s a week I have survived, specific things I’m grateful for include:

Returning safely to firm land following my four or so days offshore in the Ivory Coast.
Resolution of a minor snafu at entry in which I failed to turn in my passport for a new visa stamp but managed to do so on my way out without any issues
For pepper, and how it makes everything taste great again, especially fried plantains which are a staple out here.
For friendly faces: people I’ve worked with in a different office who it was great to meet and get help settling in from.
For good early opportunities: I spent a day sat next to a guy who had spent time working in Nigeria as an expat for the company I started off with. Being able to swap stories of that was great!
The opportunity to interview at a much bigger company than mine across town.Apparently mine was one of four CVs selected from 60+ applicants. Good to know my CV was of interest in what was a competitive field. I hope I get the job, but if not some constructive feedback would be great!

Thankful Thursdays: 2019 Week 39

Thu, 26 Sep 2019 20:42:28 +0000

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This week I am thankful for:

The opportunity to travel for work, the starting point of which was a 3.00am wake up, final bag checks and then dragging myself into a taxi by 4.00am. For what it’s worth, taxi’s out here can be a bit hit or miss, thankfully this one was a big hit; a Sri Lankan national who had lived and worked in most of West Africa in the early 2,000s and had an opinion on the Jollof rice wars. All of that made for a very pleasurable, if slightly woozy 20 minute ride to the airport. Bliss.
The flight itself - business class via work - reminded me of all the delights of not travelling cattle class. All told - from leaving my house and arriving at my hotel at the other side - it was the better part of 16 hours, including a lengthy wait in Bamako for the President of Mali to fly off. The relative ease in which I travelled was something to be grateful for, as was what appeared to be a deportation, a reminder that just over 10 years ago, I arrived in my current country as an intrepid student but now have the luxury of belonging to another country.
Friendly faces on one of the assets I stopped over at which made my easing into that work day the easiest it could be, given the circumstances
Although my room on the first FPSO was iffy, I am thankful for the comparatively plush lodgings I ended up in, on day 3.

Thankful Thursdays: 2019 Week 38

Thu, 19 Sep 2019 20:19:11 +0000

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Second week since I’ve restarted these, and the first in which I have been trying to keep a log in my notebook through the week. Here goes:

Several times over the last seven days I’ve managed to bust out several good runs ranging from 5 to 10km. Given a mere three years ago, I could hardly complete 2.5km in a go, going the distances I now can is something to be grateful for.
Meetups with people I have known through work dominated my social life this past week. First off was a catch up with R who I shared an office with when I first joined my current company back in 2011 and who I have stayed friends with. I have him to thank for making the effort to draw me out from the shy, reserved, headphones-in-my-ears-all-the-time guy I was when I joined. The other meetup was with M, at a Nigerian eatery in town. He managed the pepper OK, and we have notionally agreed to do this every quarter, if we can.
The other big catchup was with S, whom I hadn’t spoken to in quite some time. It is always amazing to catch up with someone I haven’t in a while and then the conversation just seems to continue from where it stops. Grateful for friends!
My relationship with my local church (and the big C church to be honest) isn’t the greatest at all. Having managed to drag myself there last Sunday, quite a few things said seem to hit right home and capture the moment where I am at the moment.

Thankful Thursdays: 2019 Week 37

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 04:28:06 +0000

It has been a while I did one of these, life happened I guess, but recently I have come back to a place where mental health has come front and centre in the circles I roll in again. I suspect if you asked S, she would say I have been a terrible old git for most of the past year, which is where actively cultivating an attitude of gratitude comes in. The idea would be to document one thing per day that I am grateful for, and share on here on a Thursday. So here goes:

Thankful Thursday #47

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 19:17:02 +0000

Thankful for:

More progress on Mum’s health - not quite the all clear yet, but she’s strong enough to speak clearly and has been discharged. Chemo continues though. #SmallMercies
More progress on the two main job fronts I am exploring - met the second HR person from the CNRL hiring team, got an email from the Recruiter for the Maersk role giving updates. Big next week coming up for these two roles as it were.
Finding God, or Him finding me, which sounds more like it because I haven’t done anything significantly different. Thankful for the new phase of quiet confidence I am in at the moment. #GodRocks

Song of the week: History - Matthew West.

Thankful Thursdays #46

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:31:43 +0000

Thankful for:

Progress with Mum’s health. Got sucked into an emergency surgery but by all accounts she’s getting close to the all clear.
Progress on two main job chasing fronts - CNRL & Maersk. Fingers crossed!
Finally reaching a place where I am slowly weaning myself off my intense fixation on L.
Three day work weeks, and options aplenty to pick and choose form.

Bring on the harvest dear God!

Thankful Thursdays #43

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 19:59:50 +0000

Thankful for:

Crushes: For the buzzzzzz they bring, the hint of delirious joy, and Everything!
Work mates: And banter laid on a bit too heavy at times, but the sense of being fully integrated gives off a good feel for me.
4 day work weeks: Off to Edinburgh this weekend. Four day week this week and next, #Bliss

Thankful Thursdays #42

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 22:03:04 +0000

Thankful for:

Progress: After moaning on and on about being seemingly at a stand still my grad school applications appear to be moving again - received admission documents to the Welding Engineering program at Kirkland Lake, my Nigerian transcripts and references I’d requested from one of my old mates back in Nigeria.
Timely pick-me-ups: My small circle of friends comes through time and time again. This time I am thankful for the one buddy who responded to my (admittedly attention seeking :p tweet) about hurtling on, my cryptic expression for the phase of life where I feel like I am at a stand still. There was a whole back story to that, but I’m thankful for the listening ear.
Knowledgeable others: That I remain single is not for want of trying on my friends’ parts. Even though it sometimes feels like meddling, I have to admit it gives me a wee boost to know that they feel like I have unique selling points that will improve the lives of their sisters, nieces and best friends. :) That’s my reason and I’m sticking to it.

Thankful Thursdays #21

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:31:57 +0000

Thankful for:

Work mentors, again
For blokes who care enough to stake their reputations on my success.

I wish I could do more to ‘deserve’ these wonderful people in my life.

Thankful Thursdays #20

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:30:34 +0000

Thankful for:

Courteous road users: The final crossing before I make the right turn up the tiny road to my apartment is about as busy as it gets by the time I drag myself home. There are people turning left into the big housing complex just down the road from me, people going to see movies at the beach and all that. I often spend five or more minutes waiting for the traffic to lighten up enough for me to make a dash across the road. This week, I have had the delight of having a couple of drivers stop to allow me cross, even when they have not had to.
Resolution: How I managed to get sucked into a spat at work beats me, but I ended up exchanging almost seven emails trying to defend a technical call I made on a work item. The downside of being the Asset Integrity guy is I often have to insist on cutting back production to allow safe operation of the asset I support, and that doesn’t really sit well with the production guys. Thankfully, I took a break from the to-ing and fro-ing and allowed a day pass before sending my final reply. That and common sense prevailed in allowing us reach a compromise.
Good starts: From time to time opportunities arise at work where I get to demonstrate my technical depth. This week, I had to respond to a technical question from one of the older colleagues. Being able to provide detailed answer made my smile inwardly to myself - thankful for the grounding in Corrosion and Materials I got from my first gig at XOM.

Thankful Thursdays #18

Thu, 03 May 2012 20:10:21 +0000

Thankful for:

Summer Fridays and the chance to focus on some of the more proactive/strategic components of my role at work
Conversations with my Uncle F: Even though I moan about his ‘interference’ at times, the one thing I cannot argue with is he’s walked the self same paths I’m currently walking, and he does have a good head and good intentions.
Improved work relationships: Our shared office space has been seeing a lot more laughter lately. Even though some of it is banter I’m having to lap up, I have to say I’m thoroughly enjoying myself this year from the looks of things.

Thankful Thursdays

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:05:14 +0000

Thankful for:

Work Mentors: I have begun pulling together my chartered engineer application as part of my big push to gain traction on my 12 things in 2012 program for the year. Part of the process requires getting sponsorship from a senior colleague. This week I am thankful for the implicit confidence my work colleagues have in me. As a bonus, the forms have been filled out and are almost good to ship off.
Accountability: I asked one of the lads O to hold me accountable to deliver on a number of tasks over the course of the week, and he duly delivered. This week I am thankful for his interest and willingness to make time out to remind me of the deliverables.
Travel plans: Thankful for reasons to travel to Nigeria and booked holidays.

Thankful Thursdays

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:41:38 +0000

Better late than never, thankfulness was supposed to be one of my 12 focus areas for 2012. Here goes in any case:

New starts, new beginnings and the christening of god daughter number 3
Both bosses concurrently on holiday - doesn’t happen all the time, useful to have a few days where I’m free to set my own agenda
Progress at work - leak in the plant which turned out well given I was on top of the issues right from the get go
Reconnecting with old friends - the beauty of having an oddly spelled surname is it’s instantly recognisable.
Friends who care - who take my singleness as a significant enough concern to try to hook me up

Thankful... for blokes who can relate

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:52:23 +0000

Between my two year itch arriving a couple of months early and a plethora of little niggling issues, I spent the last month battling a feeling of malaise. My default response has been to internalise it, suck it up and put on a brave face, but during a phone call with my friend A over the weekend I broke down and let it all out.

I wish I could say all the issues were resolved, but truth is they are not.. There is though the relief finally un-loading the tangled issues to someone who understands brings, and the improved clarity that has resulted. For that I am thankful for top blokes who are interested enough to dig beneath the façade, and then to listen…. If only they also had a wand to wave it all away… :(

Thankful... the kinda random thursday edition

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:44:34 +0000

Thankful for:

Top blokes: Met up for dinner with a chap I once worked for in Nigeria. He was one of the more senior engineers on my first job, was in town participating in a design review and called me up for dinner. We met up at an Italian place in town. The nachos were delightful, the spaghetti and meat balls were awesome too, plus he paid. Now I know where to take the lasses I am eyeing to for a ‘spoiling’ session. :)
Fortuitous nose bleeds: I haven’t had nosebleeds in a long time, at best they are unnecessary irritations at worst they can spoil a perfectly good day. In a first for me, a nosebleed saved my bum in a meeting just before I was due to get a grilling, talk about unintended consequences…
Milestone birthdays: Someone really close turned fifty (not me). Thankful for the opportunity to have shared their life over the past few years.

Thankful... for unintended meet ups

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:18:41 +0000

Amidst the madness - sometimes controlled but largely tottering on the edge of spontaneous combustion - that has marked the last couple of months, it has become increasingly difficult to meet up with what few friends I have left in town. This week has been typical; planning a plant turnaround, updating the 2012 business plan and hosting a couple of blokes from Corporate HQ concurrently have combined to make this another one of those long arduous weeks. Leaving the office late for the umpteenth time, on a whim I decide to make a pit stop at the Nando’s next door. It appears fairly deserted for a Thursday evening. Usually the family friendly spaces are crowded on a Thursday evening - so it is strange that I find a seat without so much as a wait.

Thankful..... for Nando's

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:21:15 +0000

Between working extra hours on a couple of projects at work - and my natural proclivity to laziness - honing utilising what precious little cooking skills I have has been relegated to the very back of a fully loaded back burner. It hasn’t helped that the main African shop in town is off my route (and involves an extended walk to and fro the nearest bus stop if I were to use it), or indeed that the final surviving African eatery in town closed shop a couple of years ago.

Thankful... for breathers

Thu, 19 May 2011 12:33:51 +0000

The pointlessness of most work is never more obvious than when it is suddenly cut short. Like an unexpected breath of fresh the relentless flow of work in my direction has suddenly stopped, even if only for a day. In it’s stopping it has become clear that a lot of what I had- as a matter of course- sifted through daily was unnecessary.

It is the team day off, and the brilliant sunshine currently bathing the city in its glow makes it seem like a particularly potent rainmaker was contracted to make it a success. Usually by this time, I have been on the phone five or six times to clarify one issue or the other with my offshore counterpart (who I outrank on paper, but earn way much less than), attended a couple of meetings and or have had to respond to a request for information.