Update

 I decided to participate in the Global Bible Month. I am using YouTube - a playlist, collection of videos: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMBf9DCUdDmY&si=-4A9fX9chLd3B9KC. I sometimes respond to such public calls. I respond to prompts. A post reminded me that I started this in 2017. (See: https://moorefo1personal77.blogspot.com/2017/06/back-at-school-currently-in-md.html?m=1).

I am also working on spreading the word about my talks and preparing. Making Lemonade from Lemons is related to Overcoming Adversity. I have ideas to add to the sea of information on Overcoming Adversity. I am known as someone who went through a lot.

More: https://www.onlinepsychologydegree.info/15-inspiring-ted-talks-on-overcoming-challenges/

Proud author on National Author's Day

From social media accounts...

It is National Author's Day

Books that reminisce about childhood are very important. My book is one of them. I am beyond excited that I am a published author of a childhood book! Thank you to family members who were supporting me from the inception.

My book:
Growing Up In The Town of Linden
https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Up-Town-Linden-Fahmi/dp/1837948542

Go to https://fahmeenaodetta.com/category/firstpublishedbook/ to view more about the book.

Sunday thought

 I received training on project management at UMBC. The course was very good. It required working on a team to prepare deliverables. My team did good work. I liked how we prepared the deliverables. We split up the work and got things done. There were some issues (with certain MS Project features, someone left for a wedding, and so on) but everything worked out. We all learned a lot. The project management course was similar to my Systems Analysis and Design course in a lot of ways. For the other course, I also worked as part of a team to prepare deliverables. We did really good work. There were all sort of issues during the course. Internet connectivity was an issue. I remember that I left my condo to go to my sister's place so I could have a working internet connection. I just did not want to let my team down. It was good teamwork (also mentioned in this post that provides information on my IT background: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2026/04/it-professional.html). I can't believe I didn't think of how similar the two courses are before.

EXTRA: The email address of a team member caught my eye. It included 'kiki' which reminded me of a friend from high school. That was a weird coincidence.

Necktie

 I found an interesting post on neckties. It made me think of high school.

My status

 I had a productive week. I actually planned to skip a few days, but things worked out differently. I found some interesting things on the internet that led to posts. 

My book on my high school experience is going well. Strategy is important. I am making decisions carefully. I still do believe it was a good decision to focus on my days in Linden prior to PC in a separate book. 

Have a good weekend!

Working

 I am making progress with the book on my high school experience. I worked from my bedroom again today (in bed). I worked on showing how good a fit the school was. It expanded my horizons too, as a school should. When I think of it, it is a weird coincidence that the school was such an incredible match for a student from Watooka Day School.

 

Talks

 I discovered that Richie Etwaru (alum of PC) has a profile on several websites so that people/organizations could find and book him for speaking engagements online. I bet the sites help him to "find work." Quite impressive! I should be doing something similar. I am available as a speaker to talk on special topics such as Making Lemonade from Lemons, Taking on Special Projects, and Finding Your Calling. I am happy that we are not competing in the same categories!

Some of the sites:

https://www.speakerbookingagency.com/talent/richie-etwaru

https://www.allamericanspeakers.com/speakers/421991/Richie-Etwaru

https://www.celebritytalent.net/sampletalent/34767/richie-etwaru/

I was also impressed by some other profiles on those sites. An example:

https://www.allamericanspeakers.com/speakers/446235/Mutale-Nkonde

Guyana, CARICOM

 Guyana is a CARICOM member. Guyana has a lot of things in common with some of the other CARICOM/Caribbean countries. I noted a lot of similarities when working on my Pinterest profile. (I lived in Gainesville, Florida at the time). See:

https://www.pinterest.com/fahmeenaodetta/caricom-caribbean-community-guyana-other-caribbean/

Research idea

 I found an interesting article on what makes life meaningful in certain societies:

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/11/18/what-makes-life-meaningful-views-from-17-advanced-economies/. 

The information is good. I would really like to know what foreigners living in a country would say and how it stacks up against citizens of the country. Certain comparisons would also be interesting. My book provides an interesting view of the life someone would lead in Linden, Guyana, South America also considered part of the Caribbean. A company ran by foreigners was part of the equation.

Calls

 I called 911 several times recently (Posts in this blog mention ambulance rides and health issues. I did not provide sufficient details). Police/fire personnel responded to the calls and did their jobs. I appreciate their professionalism. I don't want to call 911 in the future and I hope I would not have to. It is one of the things that came from being sick.

My interactions with the police in the past were related to health and home security. I hope no one thought I was arrested or taken into custody. My professional background and life require/call for background investigations, including drug tests. I try to be careful.

Further information

 For your information, a few posts (in this blog) on life in Linden. This information supports the prior post on my book.

Memories of Linden

 I was born and raised in ("born and grow in") Linden, Guyana. I have lots of memories of the place. Yesterday, I stumbled upon Psalm 23 in Facebook. I shared that the Psalm 23 song from the radio is mentioned in my book. In my book, I provide information on activities from childhood worth reporting such as kite flying and Christmas preparation. Some things stand out like a big, producing carambola (five finger) tree in our backyard. We used the fruit to make "fruits" (a lot like preserves) for black cake. Black cake is important. I remember a cousin supplied black cake when I visited Linden years ago. It was good. Get a copy at: https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Up-Town-Linden-Fahmi/dp/1837948542.

Hectic

 Today is much like normal. There has been so much activity, so much going on. It felt very hectic.

Remembering a hectic day when I traveled from Guyana (GEO) to Maryland (BWI) via Miami (MIA). I remember that day well. The layover in Miami was way longer than I expected. The flight was good though. There were a lot of free/unoccupied seats. I moved to a better seat during the flight. There was no issue.
(See post: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2025/04/travel-day.html) 

Poe

 I read Poe. It is not my style but it was good. Boy, was I surprised that he wrote a poem on El Dorado. Surprisingly, there is a lot of information on El Dorado.

I am not certain which poems are better - the old poems or newer poems like Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. I enjoy reading. Maybe it depends on the topic.

I now have more ideas on when to write a poem rather than a story or essay. 

(https://www.thereader.org.uk/featured-poem-alone-edgar-allen-poe/)

(https://poemuseum.org/poe-museums-poem-of-the-week-eldorado/)

One day...

 A lot of people have dreams that begin with "one day...". The information would be good as a poem. Here is a poem about a dream career:

See https://www.socialworker.com/extras/social-work-month-2015/my-dream-career-poem-social-work/

(You could also look to other poems titled "One Day" for inspiration)

One day could be a day that changes your life. The poem could be similar to this:

My Book

 #agoodread

https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Up-Town-Linden-Fahmi/dp/1837948542

Another post about my book

 It is 3pm already. A lot is happening all around. What a day. I needed a break.

I still have several copies of my book left. I am still reviewing. I wonder which poem readers would pick as the best. Would it be the summary of lessons? I like that poem a lot. I think others could relate. I did not include the sayings in that poem. For example, Lindeners would say: Dem ol' people know what dey talking bout. Another: Don't mix with the wrong crowd. This could be an essay of course.

Update

 I canceled/cancelled the items (from my Walmart order) for pickup. I told them pickup would not work for me. I really did intend to have a single order for delivery.

It is a good day. I also looked into that particular professor job I applied for months ago. The system provided a high-level update. I wasn't certain whether interview selections were already made. I pretty much asked for additional information.

Walmart order

 I received the first delivery from Walmart not so long ago. I was hoping there was going to be one delivery (of my order). But so be it. I like what I got.

(The were some complications associated with my order. There was separate delivery of an item - shown at the time of order - because speedy delivery was available. In addition, 2 substitutions were necessary. I approved a replacement item for one, but somehow it was not included with other items. I believe they want me to pickup that item. And more)

Update

 This past week I dealt with a lot. There was chaos, some panic. I needed to hold it together (hold onto the reins during a wild ride). I called for assistance. I managed. Things turned out okay. I actually got some things done later. My life is complicated right now and the issues. I am working on it. Sometimes I don't want to believe I am going through all this.

In other news, an email about my book excited me. I will be a part of a Poetry Reading Challenge! The plan is for people to hear about Watooka Day School, my "independent" piano lessons, and more on my life in Linden directly from me. I am so happy I wrote that book. Would you believe I thought of writing a poem about the road in front of my childhood home one day and went from there?

I am feeling better. I am thinking that I need to do more to obtain a regular job (I need stable employment). Maybe I will contact a particular university on Monday for an update on my application.

Screenshot showing the email:

Noxzema

 I remember Noxzema. Sometimes I left it on for a long time. It made my face white so everyone knew I was taking care of my face. I guess that was when I started washing my face. It goes back to my teenage years.

Better

 I really did "reset" things when I returned to school to complete a MS in Information Systems. I took a Systems Analysis and Design course that required contributing to (preparation of deliverables for) a project at an organization. It was good experience. I learned a lot during my program at UMBC.

(More information here: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2026/04/it-professional.html and in other posts)

Coincidences

 As far as I know, there were some but not a lot of weird coincidences during my early childhood, i.e. before President's College, which is the main period for my book Growing Up In The Town Of Linden (you may know that I am known for having a lot of weird coincidences and I would like a movie made of my life). There were quite a few weird coincidences at President's College. The main one has to do with my birthday. I had a lot of weird coincidences later on.

The weirdcoincidences tag/label provides more information.

Interesting question:

How likely are you to believe weird things?

If weird things on a page turn out to be true, it is reasonable to assume everything there is true?

The BA Job

 The BA position is very special. It involves using business knowledge for the benefit of IT projects. I got into this job/career many years ago - I started at the company in a training program. It is a tough job. I remember a lot of the Analysts had short stints on the project I was working on during a job rotation. I was there for months and months, one of the longest Analysts on that project. I believe my background made a difference. Your background really could make a difference on a project - maybe the system will make more sense to you. Your qualifications may not be the only thing that matters. I remember Myers-Briggs results were considered. I did experimental work at some of the jobs. I mention this in one of my papers (my marketing paper).

Story and Poems

 Computer limited, using phone:

I wanted to review information out there (resources) on stories vs. poems. I like that there is more of a connection with poetry sometimes.

(https://writingforrhymes.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/poetry-vs-short-stories/)