The week came and went by very quickly. I provided the author marketing materials to my publisher, I talked to a doctor at Kaiser from home, and generally took care of business. Today I had a serious talk with my mother. She is concerned about my health. I asked my mother to document what led her to conclude I needed care - what she noticed (signs) and why it is a problem. I told her it may assist my doctor. I suspect she takes a nurse's perspective.
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This #Throwback Thursday I remember the cheese Guyana produced when I was a child. The cheese was salty and I didn't like it very much. However, that cheese made really good cheese straw. I loved cheese straw. Sharp cheese makes very good cheese straw.
Now, I prefer to eat other cheeses with my bread or crackers. I like American cheese, Swiss cheese, pepperjack cheese, and so on. Pepperjack cheese is really good. I am not certain where it originated, but the idea to add pepper and other seasonings to cheese was an excellent one!
Caribbean Airlines currently has a sale (special pricing) on flights to Guyana. The timing is perfect. I can fly there very soon. I need to think through accommodation. I need to stay in Georgetown.
Writing prompt: What do you love now, that you hated when you were younger?
I do a lot of the same things I did when I was young. For example, I still wash and take care of my face. I remember I used a lot of Noxzema during high school. I still like to read a lot, and so on. One thing I didn't like when I was young was the potato. Sometimes my father included potatoes with Guyanese "ground provisions" in his metemgee. I didn't like the eddoe or the potato. I went for the sweet potato (which was really sweet) and cassava.* These are like substitutes for the potato. I never had fries (I do recall having fish and chips made from plantain). I now enjoy fries and mashed potatoes.
*I also liked half-ripe plaintains in metemgee. I was known for eating the "duff".
I was able to connect and talk with a doctor on kp.org today. I used new system functionality to speak with someone within five minutes (obtain an immediate appointment). I liked it. The doctor was very helpful and the video was clear. I will use it when I need to.
I like video appointments but I find that in-person appointments are still necessary. I was at appointments a lot over the last year or so. I liked going out. Kaiser facilities are very impressive. I now have fewer appointments. This will assist with my work situation.
My eye is much improved. I currently do not drive because of my eye (I do not feel comfortable driving just yet).
I can't believe I am currently better and looking for a job! I hope to find a suitable job within the next two months or so. I may have to move to another state for employment. I don't mind living by myself again. I lived all alone in the past. I also attended a high school that required living away from home. I will enjoy it. I know how to navigate life by myself.
In the meantime, I am working hard and doing what I can in other areas.
Quick status update: I wanted to be at the library by 1:00pm. There were some issues. Right now, there are carpenters working here. I will stay with my Mom a little bit longer.
I am up early today. I thank God for a new day. I will be going to the library in a few hours.
Two very, very good gospel songs I am listening to:
My God Is Awesome - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YJ4vddbJJo
"Why He is awesome: He's mighty, He's holy, He's great"
He Knows My Name - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXsiWoyjw60
"He knows my name, He knows my every thought ... And He hears me when I call"
I am planning to go to the nearby library tomorrow. I could work on my voice recording (or maybe video) for my book promotion from there. I will use whatever resources are available. It should be interesting.
I created a new tag/label: weird coincidences. https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/search/label/weirdcoincidences.
Do you pay attention to reported weird things or coincidences? Do you think/believe they have deep meaning? Do you believe some are fraud?
I submitted my poem book to two publishing houses. Both responded and I selected what I believed to be the better deal. I paid upfront (with some assistance). At this time, I do not have to pay for marketing and other promotion costs.
I did not think of GoFundMe or other crowdfunding platforms to publish the book. (I am surprised that so many people do - I found the examples: https://www.gofundme.com/f/turning-passion-into-a-published-book, https://www.gofundme.com/f/gumu6m-publish-my-memoir, and https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-to-publish-an-eco-childrens-book). With this approach, you are counting on the kindness of your community.
(I used GoFundMe in the past to raise funds. I know that a lot of people use it to raise funds to cover medical expenses. https://www.gofundme.com/discover/medical-fundraiser. I am not considering GoFundMe at this time.)
I am currently writing about the writing process, influences for my book, and so on for my publisher's publicity/marketing department. It is more involved than I thought. I think it is important and I want to do a good job.
I enjoy playing games on the computer. I once purchased Monopoly on a cd. The purchase allowed me to play Monopoly without other human players - I played with multiple "computer" players (AI). Tetris, Pac-man, and Chinese checkers are other examples of games I play on the computer.
This post reminds me of life in an apartment, my pastorial father ("guidance father") at President's College and related weird coincidences. We called my pastorial father Rambo because he looked like Sylvester Stallone. I hope he is doing well.
Please note that my phone is temporarily not working. The phone (device) has serious issues. I hope I will be able to restore service soon. In times like this, you have to cut back on expenses and do without some things (at least for a while).
Good news! My poem book is scheduled to be published by the end of the month (next week). I am excited! The skinny book will be interesting to read. I hope you enjoy it. A trip to Guyana will likely assist with marketing.
I am writing this over a cup of tea.
Wordpress prompt for today 6/23/2026: What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?
There are lots of advice out there based on good and bad experiences in life (lessons learned). One of the lessons I would like to share is: you can accomplish significant goals (great things) if you take things step by step. This is the same as saying 'Rome wasn't built in a day.' Not so long ago, I decided that a professor/research job would be better for me. I thought through the steps/tasks needed to obtain my desired position ("reach for the stars") and completed task after task in pursuit of the goal.
Hero is a theme today. An inspiring song together with two movies.
Hero (the song)
Good Deeds
The Spy Next Door
Both movies now available 'Free with Ads' on YouTube.
You may also find my playlist 'Difficult Times' useful (Hero is one of the selected songs). The playlist is available at: https://www.youtube.com/@FahmeenaOdettaMoore/playlists).
There are still a lot of information systems professor jobs. I am in the process of applying for positions.
I am willing to bet that I am not a typical candidate. I am starting my professor career with a lot of experience (I worked for years and years before deciding to complete a PhD). I am using a long form resume that provides lots of information on my experience. Some of the old jobs are on the resume. I think they add a lot.
(Curious about my experience? My main LinkedIn profile provides good information. I even mention the experimental work I did at an old job - specifically a special task to work on requirements from the Testing/Quality Assurance Group. It is included in a paper. The training program was experimental but I was given more experimental work than others. Note that I also did well at experimental tasks at another employer.)
I was on a break for quite a while. During my break, I decided to work on publishing some of the papers I prepared while at school. I knew there were new ideas in some of my papers that would be accepted by academic journals. I started working feverishly. I completed quite a lot of papers.
It turns out that I had to make major adjustments to some papers. In some cases, I re-prepared a paper by meeting the guidelines/directions using different selections or topics. Below is an example of a paper that I adjusted. The paper is challenging to publish because of the need to draw interesting conclusions or report something substantial from three articles. The paper was on organizational structure.
Improved version for publishing: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2025/09/past-paper-submitted-to-journal.html
I spent hours looking through journal articles. It was a lot of work and I learned a lot.
I found an interesting writing prompt in X:
If I became invisible for a day, I would first want to ensure/confirm that I am invisible to the average person. That would be interesting to do. I also thought of what I would want to do with the "power." I would want to test the honesty or trustworthiness of people I know. I could invite the carpenter or plumber over to see what they would do. I would leave the door open for the worker to come in to fix a problem/issue. It would be nice to be invisible. I would not have to worry about him or her attacking me.
Photos from the emergency room are included in the Facebook blog.
This FlashbackFriday, I remember an incident at Watooka Day School that resulted in an emergency visit to the hospital. I was playing with swings (in the playground on the school grounds) when one of the swings hit my head. There was blood. I believe the cut required stitches.
When driving around Linden a few years ago, we stopped at the school for a short time. Everything looked different. I didn't see the swings.
I visited the emergency room again. I decided to go because of unpleasant experiences. I wanted the hospital to review my condition (it seemed as though a blockage or obstruction cleared). My emergency room visit went well. The hospital ran tests (including a CT scan) and didn't find major issues. My blood pressure is in the normal range. I believe the blood sugar was normal too. I feel better.
(Photos will be posted later - my phone charger is malfunctioning.)
Here is another weird coincidence:
I was the youngest in my batch at President's College, and so the youngest female for that batch. The oldest female for the batch was Karen Renata Bonnett (now deceased). Karen and I shared a birthday in July (month and day the same).
At some point in my life I didn't want to invest in a PhD. Later, I thought a PhD was not necessary for some things. I had reason to question what jobs and opportunities the PhD provides because of weird coincidences I mentioned before:
Isn't it interesting that there was a guy with a PhD in my master's degree program at GW? And, later, there was a professor in my training program at Fannie Mae?
(From: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/07/commencement-documents.html)
Just another weird coincidence in my life.
I am happy that I invested in a PhD. I am better off because of the degree program (You may know that I wanted to join a program in Florida. I ended up in another). Funding it (tuition, expenses such as food and transportation) was a challenge.
Funding for a PhD and finances during the program is an issue for many. I remember my struggles during my PhD program. I had several "side jobs" but still had issues. I missed my regular paycheck from an IT job. I sought funding from different sources.
There is good information out there on the finances of PhD students. I was piqued by a website on Personal Finance for PhDs. There were different experiences.
My post yesterday mentioned a red and white flutophone. A red and white flutophone is shown in my blog for the Research Methods course (https://fmooresignatureassignment3.blogspot.com/2016/08/work-continues_17.html and https://fmooresignatureassignment3.blogspot.com/2016/08/taking-break.html). The blog shows a lot of my background (There is a lot of ME. Some would say it stinks of Fahmeena Odetta Moore). There is a photo of the dorm at UG (https://fmooresignatureassignment3.blogspot.com/2016/08/rewrite.html), a photo of the presentation on Guyana for my church's International Day (https://fmooresignatureassignment3.blogspot.com/2016/08/working-despite-issues.html), and so on. Incidentally, my Research Methods course includes a lot of economics and IT. I used knowledge gained at UG. That was a good course!! I enjoyed it.
Note: UG refers to the University of Guyana rather than the University of Georgia in the US.
I was young, but I remember quite a lot about Watooka Day School. A post in Facebook made me think of pony combs I wanted when I was a student there. My friend Claudia wore them all the time. I liked her fat ponytails. I remember we wore brown and cream on regular days and white on Fridays. Looking back, I am proud that I qualified for the flutophone band. The school issued a red and white flutophone that I loved. I remember that there were swimming classes. I didn't like swimming very much.
I put that incident behind me. I continue to work on job applications. I am working up a storm. Professor positions request more than a typical position - CV and documents/statements such as a Teaching Statement. I don't mind the extra work. I will be home for a while. I don't mind that either. The last time I dressed up to go out was a few days ago.
I knew it was loud. I didn't expect my mother to react as she did. Our praying hands fell (it looked like the praying hands in the picture below). It was an accident and the praying hands broke into pieces.
I recorded a quick video a short time after the "event." See the home video at: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/14gEjWfXmvh/
When I started contemplating work, I noticed a lot of open IT Professor positions. I continue to be surprised by the number of open IT Professor positions available. [I started looking for positions after the denial of Social Security disability benefits (which means the position of the organization is: I am not disabled but able to work).] I ran an idea by my father for his input - the idea to stop the focus on health for a while (maybe even stop treatments) and get back to work. I am not sure where it will take me. I hope for the best.
I am very happy that I applied for benefits which included providing information on my situation, chores I complete, care at home, and so on. I am also happy that an organization looked into my medical records. It was scattered all over, for starters.
Education....
I was always good at school (received good grades/performed well in school). Education took me places and accounted for all sort of experiences in my life. I would do it again. When it comes to compassion, education that teaches about tragedies, pain and suffering could lead to understanding and compassion. I got some of it from my history lessons. Some came from books.
It is Guyana's Independence Day! Guyana became independent from British rule on May 26, 1966. At that time, the country unveiled the new flag (the Golden Arrowhead), national anthem, and other official "national identity items" for the country. National songs, a new passport, and so on went into effect (my father tells me Guyanese citizens used to have British passports). It was good to read about the original Independence Day celebrations as well as current celebrations in Guyana and abroad.
I did not witness Guyana's independence. My father's generation did.
It is Friday May 22. I feel better today. I didn't make my usual cup of tea this morning. Instead, I am having lemonade.
May 22 is interesting to me. It not only has double deuce and is the third week of Easter, but I discovered that there are a lot of holidays on May 22. I found a website that provided a list of holidays/celebrations on today (see below). Included are National Solitaire Day, Buy A Musical Instrument Day, National Maritime Day, and International Day for Biological Diversity. I also discovered that there were interesting, sometimes sad, events on this day (in the past). See https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/May-22.
So, for your information, I am working on a book on luck and life. I do not plan to include poems. The book contract I signed years ago (for my first book - a poembook) includes a clause requiring use of the same publisher for my second book.
It is Sunday. I will not be going to church (these days I miss church all the time). I enjoy watching the worship services online. A cup of tea will make me feel better.
Some of God's characteristics:
The Lord is holy and perfect. He does what is right and just. He is a God of justice. He rewards the righteous and promises punishment for the wicked. It is interesting that He is slow to anger. This suggests lots of patience.
My phone is working again. I am able to make calls and receive text messages again.
This Thursday, I remember my days as a frequent user of the nearby New Carrollton library. I visited the library quite frequently to complete assignments/work. A lot of times I walked over to the library using a shorter path (shortcut). It was good exercise.
I used the library computers quite a lot to work on school assignments, complete job applications, and update my blog. After a while, I got smart about using the library computers. I ensured that I signed into an account that required entry of a code from my phone (two-factor authentication) for login. My LinkedIn research account is one such account - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fahmeenaodetta/.
I enjoy working at the library. It is good to see that it is now open on Sundays. In the past, I visited other libraries (within the PG County Memorial System) when I wanted to use library services on Sunday.
Today was rather eventful. My mobile services got paused. I used the computer instead of the phone. I usually call about appointments. Today I sent notes/letters. Unfortunately, I missed an appointment today. I spent the time applying for the Adjunct Professor opening. I am sad about missing my appointment but very pleased with my application.
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I was surprised to learn that approximately 62% of initial Social Security disability claims are denied. I guess my denial falls within what is expected. Some appeals result in success.
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It would be good to have an online teaching position. I saw a job posting that has been open and accepting applications for an extended period. Maybe they are having difficulty finding qualified applicants - very good for people in a situation.
Today I found a letter dated 4/30/2026 from the Social Security Administration. My claim for disability benefits was denied. I am so disappointed.
I stayed in again today (yesterday was very interesting - I rescheduled an appointment). I expected to hear from the Social Security Administration by now. I guess my application is complicated.
We were running low on food. A timely delivery to our front steps provided groceries for the household (a big thank you to my sister and Walmart!). Sometimes there are issues with the food included/selected for delivery - freshness and so on. There were no issues. Of course, I expect this from Walmart. I used them in the past. We also get fully prepared food or "hot meals" in this household (My father usually brings fully prepared/cooked food over).
I had apples as a snack today. I made my own apple slices. It was good fruit. I eat apples fairly regularly. I figured out what to do. I like apples in sauce form too.
Wordpress prompt for today 5/6/2026: What super power do you wish you had and why?
I thought this question was very interesting. We are born with talents and need to figure out what we are good at, what work makes us happy, and so on. Some excel at math, some excel at literature, and so on. Most people don't think of their talents as super powers. When we think of super power, we think of super heroes such as Captain America, Superman, and Spiderman. For me, a super power could be some talent or ability that is "out of this world" such as the ability to become invisible, control minds, look like someone else in a flash or cross great distances (get to different places) in a jiffy. These super powers would provide all sort of advantages. They would likely lead to a better life.
I was on a liquid diet during my hospital stay. My lunch tray at the hospital included soup, milk, juice, jello, and ice cream. Everything was good. Unfortunately, I did not stick to liquids only when I got home. Since returning home, I had cereal, milk, tea, and soup.
I have good reason to trust in Almighty God. God is altogether wonderful. I studied and loved his characteristics (what he is about, what he stands for, and so on). Lord, my days are in Your hands.
I am on my way home from the hospital. I was at the hospital's emergency room yesterday to receive medical attention.
Family time is important. I saw lots of family members over the last few days. They made their way over to our place. We had a steady stream of visitors. Their hugs and concern made me feel better. At some point, I would like to visit London to take my half-sister up on her offer.
I am still not feeling well today. There is a lot going on beyond me. It caused me to miss an important family event. I am at home dealing with issues. I wish I had my "own" place. I am enjoying a cup of tea. It is without sugar and still tastes pretty good.
(I was just gifted a box of those packet sugars. I can't find it. I have no idea where it is. Things are weird - reminds me of a previous time: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2023/01/weird-stuff.html).
My Facebook news feed is full of Christian posts recently (maybe because of Easter). I see familiar verses, prayers, and so on. I enjoy.
I am dealing with a lot right now. I am not "busy" a whole lot but it helps to be. I got a new idea for my compensation paper so I got up and went to the computer. I prefer this new and different approach because it will lead to very interesting and useful results/answers. I think I will have a better paper - it will be somewhat similar to a paper I read on strategies employees employ to get ahead. I bring useful ideas/information to the research such as knowledge that sometimes employees are hired as a group with the exact same title and compensation. I am proposing research to determine what worked/clicked for those employees that were compensated higher or promoted faster. It may be that the supervisor rewarded some because of the work they completed (maybe were on high profile projects or completed special work). Or maybe they asked for higher pay. I remember that I asked for a transfer rather than for more compensation. I did not want to ask for a lot (and pretty much have an agreement with the manager) and then leave the department. I wanted to leave my situation. There are all sorts of complications.
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I specialized in finance for many years (held Financial Analyst, Financial Auditor positions). Then I became an IT (information technology) professional. I held several IT/Business/Systems Analyst positions. I worked in Testing/Quality Assurance and on (software) requirements teams. A training program assisted with my transition from business to IT. I later completed a master's degree in information systems. I learned a whole lot. My Modern Systems Analysis and Design course was particularly interesting. I worked on an actual project. It was good team work.
It is Good Friday. Christians think of the crucifixion of Christ especially on this day. I was once told that the most important verse in the Bible is John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. God gave his son Jesus Christ of Nazareth for the benefit of the world - for the atonement of sins. Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the perfect and final sacrifice.
Is God working in my life? Sometimes I am not sure. There are times I can only say things turned out well because of God. Take the papers I worked on when away from school contemplating my future. I cannot believe ambidexterity fits so well. I was able to report cases of ambidexterity not yet known in academia (see screenshot). The marketing paper is another example. The paper came together after careful thinking about my experience (a special assignment) at a previous employer. I was assigned to the Testing/Quality Assurance department with a "special" assignment/task to improve the quality of requirements prepared elsewhere (Testing does not prepare requirements).
I finally completed the Social Security Administration form for further information/detail on my inability to work (disability). It requested information on chores I assist with, hobbies, and so on. That organization seems very thorough. The process is taking longer than I expected. I expected to receive benefits/payments (or a reject decision) by now.
Right now, I am about to enjoy a half-ripe mango. I do not feel my best.
