Flirting thinz

That awkward moment when a lady refuses to give her name after you both spend time chatting. What I learnt growing up, there’s a good reason why a lady won’t give you her name after spending close an hour seated together and having a fairly descent conversation. Note the emphasis for the sake of clarity. So, a number of options that come to mind are: 

• either your (yes you!) breath stinks, 
• you’re (yes you ooooooo :-)) so damn boring or 
• she has a ring on her finger. 

Pardon me for the limited options but there’s every chance all the answers hold for you. First, she was truly attractive enough for me to break from my routine third-screen fiddling. If any, I was staring at a blank screen the moment she sat beside me. I gave in afterwards trying a move using the same third-screen device; shared a funny re-tweet from Jesse with her but I could have sworn she didn't smile until I asked if she got the joke after which she then gave a wry smile. Bad start!!! Yet, I didn't stop. I got her started on social media before delving into tinybuddha.com, encouraging her to check up the site bla bla bla...rest is history.
Back to dissecting why this damsel refused to give her name. First, option one is out of the question even though I don’t use tic-tacs. Rather, my daily dental exercise is a mix of good ol’ kpako (chewing stick) and new school tooth paste. Now, if a double combo can’t ensure freshness of breath then it’s a clear case of halitosis. Even then, there were moments where she bent her head (ear) close to my mouth (face) to pick out my words :-). Anyways, moving forward. For the second option, I can best say it’s relative. If any, she looked and eventually confided in me that there was something weighing hard on her mind. Something to do with some task she had to do before the start of the day’s work. I asked if it meant a threat to her job to which she said, ‘no’. Hmmm…who knows, there might have been more to the issue. Siju just lost hers not cos of any task she refused to do on her part. Rather, the classic case of many a Nigerian company in the last couple of years: closure. She’s back in Kd praying for our breakthrough while I’m here doing…well, we’re allowed to keep friends of the opposite sex. Anyways, nothing do us.

And so, we alighted at the TBS and went our separate ways. Yet, it doesn’t look like the end in sight as we both board the BRT from Festac town. In order words, she resides in the hood and two, uses the same mode of transportation. And since I’m still either working off 14^th floor, Nitel Building Marina or 6^th floor, Debonair building, Sabo (former ends in a few days *smh*), I’ll still ride the BRT along same route. To add to that, if we’re destined to be like Chelsea were destined for the UCL title then I could be riding the BRT for the next couple of years [...and still have a garagefull of private cars, jet, bikes, amin] like Matt Damon’s character did in the movie “Adjustment Bureau”. Anyways, we’ll see in good time is all I'm tryna say.

Me, I got work to do up here this morning. Bit of update. I’m tryna see out the delay in getting this graphic assets in from Ikenna with some lessons on BB app development. Yeah, there’s a good chance I can sneak the same àsà flagship onto the BB platform. Tell you what, if I can achieve the latter, it’ll be nirvana, believe me in terms of our multi-platform goals even if for an MVP. Anyways, pored through some 90 pages of text this morning and I’m pretty much catching on. I mean, it’s java so it’s made it all the more easier and not greek if you know what I mean. Plus, since I already have the logic of what I want on Android, I’m just going straight for the classes required. Seems I’m a bit late on for the Samsung opening going by the launch of the Samsung pocket phone that’s been all over the blogosphere lately. Anyways, if it so be then it’s back to the original plan. But then, the folks from GTUGs and the CCHub may know something I don’t know in terms of platform support for distribution so I’m keeping my fingers crosses. [sigh]…it’s all for the Greater good, God willing. It’s Friday! Yeah, many say so but Friday’s really no different from even Sunday for me. Yeah, same noni. All I know is I give Glory to God week in week out for the baby steps towards the BIG PICTURE.

Road trip musings

It's 8:05am and I'm already on the Lagos/Abeokuta road out to Lasgidi. It's been a beautiful two nights of escape in a land of sanity, calm and relaxation. What more with a beautiful family as my bro, sis-in-law and of course my dear niece. Great to see the almost 2 month miracle (every birth remains one in my opinion) in a different state of her growth process; all smiles and less cries. She'd been the inspiration for the piece 'Dear Niece' I turned in for the creative writing workshop due in August with a dream meeting with the damsel herself, Chimamanda. Anyways, that's all done and dusted from my end at least for now. Here's where faith and believe take over and rest assured, my affirmations will count. Oh, just struck me that I need to update the String array that holds my affirmations. In order words, update my mobile Affirmations app. Yep, as with everything, these handy words that seek to motivate me have come a long way since its paper days. I'd gone from having my affirmations written out in journals I carry around everywhere to storing them as texts on my mobile phone and now, sits as a mobile app on my Android. As a great man once said, we can connect the dots looking back. God willing, I should be in Lag early and safely, spend some time with Yemi before a likely laundry then drop in on Ikenna evening. Yep, have some unfinished duties to keep track of in respect of the looming deadline. Quietly and in baby steps, things are looking good for us to meet the May deadline even for one platform. Me and bro had some progressive talks about the distribution model I have worked out in my head and it seems Abk represents some likely openings too. Me and Bimbo chatted briefly about the voicing in case Solape's not able to make the session. Hafis is already penned down given how much interest he's shown towards the project generally. That's key for me man. And as I've been thinking lately, there's not going to be any end in sight for asa once I get this flagship out. Not for anything even external investment do I hope to kill this idea. It's just so exciting beyond words here can say. And to add that it's about a subject that has my heart tying my interests and skills further motivates me. I have a grand idea as to its BIG PICTURE but best I can do is take the whole in bits. In a rather funny manner, I've had scenes of the studio session playing out in my head: the fun, joy, poking fun, mistakes and having the director in me or whoever calling for a retry...all those kinda stuffs. And oh, Mrs Lizzie's kept my ref submission on hold till she sees what we have so she can put in some good words about it. So, I have an appointment with her Tuesday where I'll present asa as it is. There'll be plenty of talk on my part given the broader connection to what we started out with at the IVD lab. Good thing is I'm clear about it so no qualms. I'm looking forward to it anyways as I often get some clarity when I share with interested parties. In then end, I expect some great feedback that'll help with where we are going, God willing. With all said and done, the most important component is for me to savour this journey. It's an exciting enough feeling as ever to be creating something of an abstraction. Even more when one considers the confidence boost that comes with living up to one's own words. It's what makes one half a winner; that attitude to attempt something. I draw so much inspiration from my brothers at 'Pledge 51' and 'Ithena'. More from the former cos I've been privileged to see their evolution watching them evolve from the lab to where they are presently. In my mind's eye, there could be some great partnerships for us given their value proposition as a company is one that seeks to serve asa's needs in a sense. Till then, the asa MVP borrows from Zubbie's 'Nigerian Constitution app' and Puddy's 'Danfo app' as a first step in defining some bottom lines. Life's beautiful for me man. Materially, I could always do with more if you know what I mean. But then, I'm pretty confident in the process. One of the biggest realizations that hit me lately is that I don't have to have all the answers to the many questions that surround me today. Nah! If I did then of what essence are faith and belief? Then, there's the 'excitement' factor that comes with living life in its adventurous nature; acting in faith, belief sometimes blindly, lotsa gut feelings or intuition, falling, standing, miracles or shear luck then bingo, arrivedeci! For me I just don't want to miss the moments as they unravel in this journey. Lori's piece on "savouring the moments" (http://tinybuddha.com/quotes/tiny-wisdom-this-moment-is-worth-savoring/) comes to mind.

...and it's touch down gidi right about now 8:49am, thank God. No doubt, I yearn for an escape again when all's kinda settled with what I have going. I miss the Capital city that gave me a good start in this game. Regardless of the bombings and as I hear, strict security measures across the city I once knew for freedom, I still yearn to return. A lot's happened since my last visit which was a few weeks before the UN building was bombed. I miss Joe who's now in Kano? Not sure if Ife misses me as much as I do him :-) but I'd love to see him. Ba Bida, Sadiya, Kusun, Baba Tee, TEAP RCCG, Blakes, Ebiza...I miss them all. Fond memories mehn. And lately, I've yearned to see my Siju (*) from Kd. Last we spoke, says she's back in Kd from Jos after her company closed down. *smh* at the same ol' story of this Nation. Back in Kd with her parents and wading through the waters of seeking yet another opening. Wish there was more I could do beyond empathizing with her. Really wish given my affection but we both know my story too. She'd even gotten bored by it enough for us to go our separate ways some years back. Wish I could just have her down in Lagos but for one who's never been here, where am I gonna keep her? Anyways, I'm anything but daft so the latter's not an option. We plan to meet up in the Capital before the year runs out God willing. There's a slight chance before then if I go to Kd for Sub Lt. Ibrahim's wedding but it's what it is, a slight chance. The security situation up North's not helped matters too.
....oops, time to alight

Àsà: The truth and nothing but the truth

Morning all. It's 9:31AM here on the Island (Marina). Great day God willing. Day's started the routine manner it's been whenever I'm on the Island with an initial check-in at the "Western House" for breakfast. It shouldn't surprise anyone that one literally has to break the banks just to get a good meal on the Island. The obvious reason being it's at best a corporate area with lotsa banks etc. Anyways, I'm in here now, 14th floor all alone until my peops check in few hours from now. Have to hit the ground running with installations on my Dell which is the main reason I'm working off here today. Before then though, this 'monster' has to have its way hence, my doing this :-).

[sigh]...I was thinking through Àsà on my way here. So, it's no longer news that I sleep, dream and wake up to it lately. In fact, as far back as I can remember in recent times, I haven't gone a day without doing something in its respect. Just last night, I worked into the wee hours of today implementing an idea that'd crossed my mind in respect of its "cast" module. Yet, at some point as I had this morning on my way here, "this is all to prove a concept and nothing more"! Believe it or not, "nothing is clear in terms of what it'll readily become". True, I have all these great thoughts, ideas as to multiple possibilities that can come out of it hence, my doing this; in the end, the ultimate truth is there's simply 'no guarantee'. It's that simple. The tweaks and resources spent on the whole will only amount to a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) which in itself may lead to more iterations of the process that may see me back here in my solitude fine-tuning or even working on a different product entirely. Adding to that, it may involve looking to another platform which translates to learning new stuffs or getting more hands. Or even more, settling for a different subject...I could go on and on but I guess the picture becomes clearer as to the reality beyond all my excitement about the present phase. As excited as I've been, my reality check's not been in doubt. It's no wonder that I'm quick to want to leave this phase and move on to the next. Yet, is the next phase itself going to be any easier? There's still a long way to go in relative terms to transforming Àsà into a different form of MVP (Most Valuable Product). Let's put things in proper context here taking the mobile version that's almost cooked as case study. First thing that comes to mind when I'm done with it in about 2 weeks is that I have to promote it. You may wonder why I have to do this for an MVP more so for one that's going to be free. [laughs]...take a look at the mobile app markets peops. You'll find beautiful free apps that only serve to make up the numbers for the platform owners. I can't count how many brilliant apps I've seen that haven't hit the hundred mark in download figures. In order words, these brilliant products are yet to appeal to the users for 'free' let alone appeal to advertisers who represent the least form of sustainability. Get it! While promotion will remain an ongoing process for as long as I can't even tell, another phase to the project is presenting it to likely partners by way of content owners who may be keen on partnering with the brand to deliver on some projects that may bring returns. So, let's in keeping with a positive mindset believe that by the end of the day, Àsà gains traction, is that the end? I wish! See, next stop would likely be acting on the feedback received over the flagship as best as possible cos some may be technically demanding beyond the skill-sets available (enter collaborators *wink*). Then there's the need to sustain the tempo with regular releases in contents else the users find their way to some other competitor(s) who's probably sleeping in God-knows-where (China, Yaba, Yankee, Accra...) as I speak and just waiting for the next big idea to copy and replicate. On and on, it becomes a sorta rat race where even then, you're grappling with how to make money and sustain the cash-flow especially if there's the investor factor to deal with. In the end, it's a cycle that just may never know any end but this here is where it all begins. For me, it's an exciting journey given my passion. But there's just not discounting the reality even as I enjoy the thrill. Even now, there's enormous amount of work still to be done given my multi-platform goals. There's the folks from NICO whom I still have to deliver on my promise in respect of their contents. While I hope I don't spend the rest of the year building from platform to platform and promoting the same thing, I can't but go with what the whole dictates. It's the reason I told "Sholly Pee" that she'd have to be patient for this baby to grow to the point where it can take care of its parents :-). On second thought, Àsà in its present phase seems more to me like a foetus (God, I hope I got this right; been ages I did Biology) that only becomes a baby when it's been certified acceptable by the users. As it is, we're not sure if we have a business yet. That's the simple truth and I can't fool myself into believing otherwise. I'd talked about the bottom-line for this phase as being to determine if the concept is acceptable. If so, by whom (who exactly is the target market). And then, can a business be made out of it? So many questions but then they'll all be put to rest in due time: soon.

To cap this up, I have some excerpts I got off the Twitter page of Entrepreneurial Evangelist (watch out for that soon) Bosun Tijani some days ago. I think it captures this foregoing epistle so here we go.

By the way folks...Start-Ups are businesses seeking a repeatable and scalable business model - IMPLICATION: you need an MVP to qualify
Focus on building a working prototype and a minimum viable product (MVP). Let's not get carried away by the hype around d term "Start-Ups"
Ingredients required to 'Prove a Concept' differs from that to make a successful Start-Up. BUILD - Monetiize - Scale!!!

Swell day all.

Musings

8:41 am it is here in a BRT bus. I'm en route the hub first time this week for obvious reasons. So, u guessed right. I'm serving this straight off my android baby. If you've been following my epistle then you already that this medium offers me not the most convenience. Better a regular 15 or more inch device. Well, my options are pretty limited right now given what I have to contend with in this monster. Monster! Yes o, you read right. How else can I refer to these itchy fingers n heart crying for a voice on paper or whatever means there is to express? Jokes apart, sometimes, this urge to write screams at you so much that you go for the nearest pen and pad. In my case, I have to resort to this device :-). Hey, I'm not complaining peops. I love me this monster :-). So, I was up early today. First, played around with an anime intro idea for asa mobile that crossed my mind a day ago I think. Then, I simply wrote (typed). First from my rejuvenated dell studio then the sony that’s been taking its place. The latter brings to mind the need for me to take my writing seriously. In my personal view, I'm not doing enough to write regularly. I'm not talking about this kinda regular blogs where I care less about dotting Is and crossing Ts. Nah! Rather, about that which serves publications as I hope when I send them in. Right now, I have about two pieces that I marvel at whenever I read through but just making out the hours to properly edit has been a long thing. I'm not going to go back to the usual excuses of spending more time on asa. It holds no substance anymore. Anyways, here's just letting me know that I have to do this! There's no doubt in my heart I have it written somewhere how I'll commit time and effort to making good on it. But with little results so far. If the truth must be told, it's that my writing time is at best spare time. Compared to other interests, I've not really given writing its due place in time and efforts. That should change Bayo. Yes it should. If for nothing, the reality facing me where the monster's becoming aggressive seeking expressions at will. There's little choice here for me and so, I'm on the verge of carving out its own time even if once a week. I recall I'd said something like two write-ups a month so this month's still in place.

7:25 PM
Glory to God man. Fresh from a shower after a 2 hours + nap. Had checked out of the hub a few hours after I settled down at the roof top. The heat sorta drained what was left of my food-starved soul. In the end, I only managed a few android tasks with an addition of a few more characters to the task (an idea that crossed my mind this morning).Next I know, I was feeling a lil tired and just needed to take my leave. Was home in about an hour or two under the heat, managed a few paper works on ideas before hitting the sheets. So, here I am now much rested but with a lot still on my hand. Ironically, none of that translates to revenues at least for now. In fact, I'm looking at some 20g leaving my hands again before the end of the month to service the IxWebhost account renewal for Intentio. Then there's another 20g or so to cap Asa up for its release. Had wanted to hold a brief meeting with Tj today at the hub but hommie was pretty busy. I'd sent in a formal request for an extension in respect of the Samsung submission. I'm asking for no more than the end of this month to tidy up what's left in recording, coding, testing, market registration and other miscellaneous things in its regard. Lai, Tj's assistant spoke of a possibility so I'm pretty optimistic. Besides that, I'd like to hear what they have to say in respect of the terms specifically, the issue of exclusivity to the platform which I pray doesn't hold as I'd like the freedom to make good on my plans to seek multiple avenues in platforms for distribution. Anyways, till we meet. On my part, I just need to keep working. Iyke had the last set of graphic assets turned in today so it's all good. My contingency plan had had me meeting with my boi Ikenna Orji 2 days ago so I'm kinda waiting on him too before I decide on which to go with. In the end, it's all for the good of the pj mehn, no sentiments.
Even with all that's on my plate to deliver on, I still find it easier with taking baby steps that speak of fragmenting. So, with the TechAwards application whose deadline is tomorrow, Mrs Elizabeth's given her word to meet up. Spoke with her yesterday and she was soo full of apologies. She's the only one of my ref left and I trust her to deliver as promised. Thanks to Solape and Sola for their support. Also, not forgetting the Good Dr that initiated the whole. All we have to do is wait in faith and expectancy. Funny though cos' I'm already on to other things. Great feeling it always is to wake sometime in the future to the news that something you'd done and put behind you just came out successful. Well, hope it turns out that way, amen. Then there's the Kachifo Creative Writing Worksop event billed for August with Chimamanda as the highlight for me as I'd always wanted to meet with her. There's the learning experience too and a possible opening for asa to reach more ears. It all sorta ties in if you ask me. Anyways, with still about a month or so left to the deadline for applications, mine's already been submitted. Yes o, went from over-editing to nailing the thing jare.
This weekend, I'm due in Abeokuta to drop off Bro Tj's laptop and some stuffs of Tola. Words can't express how grateful I am for the use of bro's Sony Vaio while my Dell was away. Really helped a lot in ensuring nothing stopped. I remember it's served me right from Tech-In Ed to this moment as I type this on it. I'll work off Marina tomorrow to afford me the luxury of a fast internet and plenty of free space for some installations on my Dell. Need to clean out some old files too then have new ones on it. The programs are equally key as the likes of the BlackBerry tools for which I need to port Asa to the BB Playbook also needs be installed. Eclipse'll be re-installed to provide for more extensions than I presently have on the Dell. In the end, all the tools I need to work.
To cap this up, it's Glory to God for the gift of life such that I'm still fit in every sense to 'do' all that my heart desires. Gracias Lord.

Gidi thinz... Good news palava

It’s a fresh morning peops. I’m live at the roof top here on the Mainland. I’m all alone save for another nerd (sorry, member) I just met by the name of Tunde :-) who’s locked up in a corner doing his thing. But then, it’s not quiet! Yeah, it’s mainland Lagos like I mentioned so I can still hear vividly the honking sounds from vehicles down the road. Anyways, this suffices for me in that I don’t have anyone peering over my shoulders thus distracting me from doing my thing. Today’s pretty much light in terms of work as I intend to continue with my character rig and possibly do a comp or two. Before then though, a bit of what’s been playing out on my mind in terms of my trip down here. First, Lagos never fails to amaze people like me in terms of its many dramas. It’s so much that there just doesn’t seem to be an end in sight to its drama come rain or shine. Interesting in a sense if you ask me given it can serve an open ended flow of contents for daily write-ups if one were to venture for a dedicated column in say a newspaper. I kinda want a piece of the foregoing action but time will tell.

So, you’ve heard it said many times before, “how are the mighty fallen”. Well, what’s hardly ever said (in my view) is “How are the weak oppressed”; ironic maybe. But then, my trip here bore hallmarks of the latter. Sandwiched between two heavy mamas in the popular Keke NAPEP tricycle, I felt oppressed. More so, cos’ the ladies to my left and right seemed to care less about my existence let alone my comfort. Yet, I was paying the same fare as both of them. Guess what, the driver (or rider) also shared his seat with another ‘mama’ all for the sake of the naira. Still on the issue, for a vehicle that’s far from able to withstand too much weight, we were at risk in a sense. Well, the weather was great so we were spared the risk of a real test to say the least. Well, that was one part of the drama that ended in Oyingbo. Next up was the danfo bus to Sabo. First, the lady next to me was reluctant to budge in her seat as she was in communion with God as it turned out when I saw her fiddling with her Rosary (Bless You Lord :-)). She didn’t have to say anything as her attitude already did the talking. “wait make I finish”, it said. As is often the case in such dramas, I retorted mentally, “for your papa car abi?” Well, that was in the abstract so in the physical, I simply asked again gently. The smart she knew enough to budge then knowing full well the naira savvy driver or conductor wouldn’t be anything close to nice if they had to intervene. She was obviously standing in line of the next meal ticket which is punishable by jungle laws as we have in Lagos with insults and rude remarks. Well, minutes later, the bus moved from its spot and the short trip to Sabo began. Hardly had we negotiated the closest bend when a female passenger yelled the popular cliché, “Praise the Lord!” While I don’t remember hearing any response, she called for a short prayer before beginning her sermon. And then the drama...minutes into the Good News that we’re all too familiar with, the driver turned on his stereo with an Islamic Gospel song. Gengen! He turned up the volume so much that it all but drowned off the female evangelist’s voice. Raising hers, the competition heated up with the former vociferously hammering on the need to accept the Good News for a life of eternal bliss somewhere up above. The passenger seated close to the driver called for restraint asking the driver if he meant to start a competition. To that he responded that he was only doing his own thing and not necessarily out to witch-hunt the Christian evangelist. Now, the interesting thing for me was how this would have been perceived if it were an exchange that occurred up North. In fact, relay this event to the average Nigerian down South here and the response would be something close to a blind allusion of the drama to radical Northerners. But right here before our very eyes, elements of religious extremism seemed to be rearing their heads. Okay, so it may seem like I’m making allusions myself but I’ve spent time quite some time here to know what I’m talking about in terms of the people’s mindset.

In the end, whose side was I on? On one hand, I’m usually not won over by the messengers of these cliched mesages partly cos’ I know the long and short of it. Two, I’m not particularly interested in what lies outside of here. Rather, I seek my own heaven in living a fulfilling life here on earth. And guess what, if there so happens to be that life of eternal bliss beyond here then I should qualify given I try as much as possible to live right in moral principles. Anyways, I happened to prefer the Islamic track that was playing as it was one I’d long been seeking. It’s been a hit sort of for some time now (you know it’s one when you hear it across bus garages from Lagos to Ibaban) and I’d long looked for a way of getting the artist/album title. Great voicing with a kinda auto-tune effect made it one I loved. True, I care less about its contents hardly even making out what she sings about even though it’s in Yoruba. The driver was all too glad to hand me the CD jacket when I asked for it. In his mind, he’d won over a disciple I guess. If he only he knew where I stood in respect of such matters. To cap this up, she’s (artist) “Ameerat Ameenat Ajao” by name and the album’s entitled “Obi rere” which translates to Good parents. I’ll get it soon.

Musings: Fear Factor

It's 3:44AM (May 16) here but funny I just looked down at the status bar and it reads 6 hours early (9:44PM, yesterday May 15). Yes, you guessed right, my baby is finally in my hands. I can't exactly tell how long this DELL's been gone (had to go through some repairs at the DELL lab in the States) without checking my journal but it sure looks within the range of 2 months, the 3 weeks delay in clearing at the airport inclusive. Anyways, here's my first blog from this baby in what now seems ages. Thank God for the hommie Bode, truly appreciate his efforts more than words here can say.

So, I was going through a piece on tinybuddha.com (http://tinybuddha.com/blog/start-the-climb-take-one-purposeful-step/) when I felt the urge to put this down. As with most of the write-ups I've come across on the site, I could relate to this too. I know this is not the last time I'll go through this particular piece given how much relation I feel towards it but then, my mind just sorta went into reflection mode after I went through it. Fear's one common thing that the writer tried to communicate and how best to deal with it. In my opinion, it was in summary, "baby steps" as it relates to tackling our fears and following after our hearts. It's interesting really how in some ways I don't think that I have much of a fear factor holding me back. True when it comes to my life generally specifically in the area of my career path. But when I go from the general to compartmentalizing my life then I can see some truths clearly. Even my career path of entrepreneurship where I attribute my greatest feat to in overcoming fear is itself without its own trace of fear today. While it's true that I've since gone past the stage of having to overcome fears or doubts to make real my dreams (still a work in progress), there's still no discounting those fears that still rear their heads even along the journey. As brave as some watchers feel I am to be doing what I do, I best know about what I have to deal with in my own fears. Without mincing words, I don't remember ever being the most 'secure' person. Rather, my insecurities have been all over me for as long as I can ever remember dating back to childhood. True, age and experience have had their own upsides to dealing with those insecurities, I've realized that it's only to the point of scaling down the degree of their sensitivity or gravity. To put it in context, I'm still that shy guy I've always been. And, it's not obvious today to many (except I point it out in which case some still doubt me) having come a long way from the guy that looked down at the ground (looking for God-knows-what!!!) or even at the skies (trying to spot UFOs maybe!!!), anywhere besides looking into the face of people. It's so much that I've stood before audiences of different sizes and stats to make presentations even against my short-comings in verbal communication (wrong mix of words, poor diction, fast talk...in anxiety). Concerning the latter, I've done best in the times I've practiced (lengthy) way ahead of the D-day. In the end, what I'm trying to bring out is the fact that in the journey towards fulfilling my goals, I've dared my own insecurities and gone ahead to do what needed to be done. I'm still that way till date for the simple reason that 'doing' is what helps with building one's self-confidence. It just is in the doing and nothing more. There are a couple of recent pointers that come to mind even as I type this and I'll run through a few as follows. 

There's the "New African Writing" reading session where I recall the presenter (Yona) had mentioned before the reading began if any writer would like to be excused from reading his/her piece before the audience. In another world, my hand woulda gone up first. But then this is a different world for me and so, I rather went up first, sat before the audience of established writers, readers, writers etc and did my thing as best as I could. I didn't die from anxiety neither did I from the harsh critics (in some cases) or even from the highness of the positive feedbacks. There's the pitch before the audience at the Tech-In ed where I even ended up with $2000 which serves Asa's goals even as I speak. There's the pitch before the Tolu Elumelu Foundation (TEF) where though obviously anxious, I still went on till the end. There are dozens more from the IVD where everyday was a pitch. And I can go on and on with the uncountable experiences from running Intentio playing multiple roles as with most founders of start-ups. In all of this, I've left feeling much more confident and better about myself. Going further, the feeling from the preceding is that which I've carried on to others and so, it's been a step-wise accumulative kinda growth process for me. All because I put myself out there regardless of my inner battles.

But away from my perception of my own courage in the area of fear, it's rather ironic that some of my closest peops don't share same. To better put this, it'd have to be in context, more reason I mentioned the compartmentalization earlier. See, it's that on the social front, my bois don't see a courageous guy in me. Not like they see a weakling or some sort. Rather, they see a guy that's a bit too fearful above normal to take do some things deemed normal even in the societal way. It just makes me laugh really when I hear words like, "you too dey fear" cos in my mind's eye, I'm a 'Hercules' given how much I'll break any barrier of insecurity to get what I want. So maybe, it becomes clear if I mention that my fear as they deem it have to do with vices (not the right word but used for lack of a better word) that normal guys engage in. And while this is not a blog that seeks to paint me as a saint, I know that I've lived every stage of my life engaging in most of the things that come with each stage (childhood, teenager, young adulthood). It's rather a case of maturity in my view. You know, that point in your life where some things just don't appeal to you for inexplicable reasons to anyone besides yourself. That point where 'normal' is not as defined by anyone even society but by my your guts - the inner you. That point where emptiness best describes the feeling that others see as nirvana in some acts. A part of me has long accepted me as being abnormal but it's a form of abnormality that I've sorta gracefully embraced given the inner peace it grants me. That's normal if you ask me. a positive diemnsion to these perceived insecurity is itself not missing as in my case. my latter reflections about my fears have had me counting its blessings in how it's helped shape a better me in balance. thus, our fears mat themselves balance us out between making the right or wrong choices. my own experience is such that i have often expressed gratitude for some things i neva manned up to do. for those things though driven by youthful exuberance or societla pressure or peer pressure have become habits for some that they fight till daye. it reps a blip that they struggle with ashamed to reveal in d open. for me, its been a case of not getting away with d consequence. first timers may not be as lucky as regular timers wen it comes to metting out consequences in life. its just not explicable. and becos i have rather lived with d mindset that i may never be able escaape d harsh realities of d consequences if dey wrong, i have at best stayed within d boundary of fear.

Then there's the superstitious fear that is common in our society. It's that kind of fear that has people living secretively afraid to blow their trumpets (even if humbly), make themselves into brands and even serve as inspirations for others. As much as we hate to admit it, many still cower in fear to the point that they can't share ideas, plans, goals etc. The mindset for them is one that speaks of 'things will go wrong if I speak about my plans etc'. And while I clearly understand the foregoing as I myself am not entirely guiltless of it, it still doesn't make it any less than what it is: fear. Fear of some invincible dark forces in bad-belle people working against the fulfillment of our goals. It's funny but that's an obvious truth in our society. Again, I feign no ignorance as to the need for anyone to keep their ideas or plans close to themselves. I'm just saying that to a large extent, the unspoken or less admitted truth is that many are paranoid. I'm not left out too. And believe me, I've heard the argument about how talking too much about your idea or plan sort of drains the energy off it (or you) and has you living up to it. In the end, what I believe as I reflect on it in writing is that it's all up to us. In practical terms, all this noise about Asa have only added fuel to how much I believe in it and want it to succeed. Its pictures that dot my third-screens, journals help cement the whole in my sub-conscious so much that I eat, sleep, dream and live it. I'm not scared of nothing! If any, for any invincible force out to act against it, they'd have to contend with an even greater force in me. But isn't that only true for one given to the fear? For me, I believe in what Brian Tracy (I think) calls an "Inverse Paranoia" - the feeling that the world is in giant conspiracy to work in my favour, for my good. It's thus the reason why for me, this public blog and a whole lot of what I'm about all act to work for my good. That's such a positive mindset I can feel the effect as I type this. There's more I want to write but my back aches so it's bye for now.

Babies, Brandz àtìbébéló

Yep, I'm here! In the place I'd choose over any other place today. "Where's this nirvana-like place"? I can hear the curious murmuring to themselves. It's at the heart of the Mainland overlooking the road that runs right through to my almer-mater. It's the CCHub. Yeah, the place where innovation takes place. And even though my time here is limited - lasting until my venture's mature enough to hit the streetz - this place will remain close to nirvana. Reminds me of the British Council hub back in the Capital city. Somehow, it may seem like I was made for these places :-). And there's the IVD which bears same features to these places. Anyways, 'fore I jump right into today's work, I deem it fit to relieve my content-laden mind of its load. A bit of digression given the drama that played out in the BRT bus I boarded while on my way down. I had a bit of an altercation with the driver which reminded me of yesterday's drama with the okada rider on the Island. So, I'm thinking to myself, "what's with the dramas Bayo?" Yeah, what's it about this Lasgidi life that has one on the edge ready to blow off steam at the slightest *** (can't think of the perfect word to use)? Sure, life in the city is without its temptations, it's no excuse for anyone to loose it. And in a rather ironic manner, there's the occasional scenes of guys exchanging blows across the city that plays out like everyday. And while I'm often amazed as to how adults would stoop so low to settle scores over issues that are almost always trivial (as trivial as 20 naira though relativity's the name of the game), my verbal altercations seem no different. Why? Because the next exchange of blows is only an utterance away. And whoever thinks He can go no longer than exchanging verbose, you may want to rethink that. There's a reason why that Ramsy-Noah looking dude in white TM shirt was serenading the crowd of watchers (only in Lasgidi) with Mohammed-Ali styled steps while exchanging blows with a fellow driver. True man, we are humans with varying degree of sensitivities. One repetitive careless utterance is all it takes to strike the ego of any man.
Enough of the digression. That was my own way of saying to me: Be Careful o!!!
So, I was talking about the hub...I'll have a pic up from the roof-top soon as my phone's fully charged. Work's on ground for the day mehn and yeah, you guessed right, it's everything to do with àsà. And before you whine about my talk-talk about this brand, know that a parent cannot get enough of talking about his baby. Yeah man, for anyone with love for ideas and the creation process, it's like a baby. You ideate, build and nurture. Sad news though is the reality that this baby can die too. Yep. It can die at different phases. For some folks still in the grips of fear, the baby may never even come to life: it simply dies at its abstract stage. For winners who take it all the way from the abstract to reality, death can still come in the lab where over-ideation or over-tweaking in a bid to get out a perfect product translates to never coming up with a product. The latter brings to mind the concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) as I've come to know. Still on the mortality of baby ventures, death can also come in form of the ultimate verdict as delivered by the market. Yes! The "people". The "users" whose attention, loyalty and trust we crave to self-sustain as parents enough to keep growing this baby. Yes o, ultimately, the baby called a brand requires people in loyal customers to live. Where I'm from, they say, "it takes a community to raise a child". Same goes for this baby. The initiator can only do so much especially at the initial stage. You champion from the labs as I'm presently doing here leveraging on the invaluable support of the IVD and the CChub cos it takes great environments to raise a good baby. The time is close though when this baby will hit the street to be validated by the people. I'm unfazed anyways. If I had a soft heart, I wouldn't be in this game. While that's not to say I'm a superman, successive failures mixed with some degree of success have only helped to harden my resolve. Then there's the Army of Happiness (http://tinybuddha.com/blog/build-yourself-an-army-for-happiness/) in writing, reading, B-town, family.. which help to a great extent. In all, it's an exciting experience. Glory to God.

Asa runz

It's 4pm on the dot and I should be getting my a** outta ere if I hope to catch an early (???) BRT bus to festac. Anyways, I've had it in mind to put up some lines here but for my top priority. In fact, my sense of relief right about now is cos I eventually managed to scratch up something of a solution after hours of pain-stacking stares at this monitor. Yeah man, I checked outta home as early as 7am and my destination was obviously Marina as I'd planned yesterday. The reason's not far fetched. I needed a good length of privacy to pore through tons of texts on adding a game module to the mobile version I have for asa. Deadline assumed a new dimension yesterday when the CCHub trio of Tj, Bosun and Femi checked in on my progress. They were impressed with the Android version and dropped a hint as to some possible openings with Samsung phones coming into our market. 'Gen gen'! With all I had remaining in terms of completion having to do with replacing graphics and voice, all I had to do was talk to Iyke about the latest development. I mean, no one's guarantying anything neither is anyone saying we're getting paid for this but for crying out loud, this is a glorious opportunity to distribute this Minimum Viable Product. But then, I also got useful feedback in the areas of additional features which led me here today. It'd crossed my mind about a week ago to add a game module to the app but I changed my mind after thinking through choosing instead to concentrate on optimizing what I heard for as many platforms as I could within what my skillset could deliver on. Besides, I'd thought to myself that there could always be an upgrade in form of versions. Well, now that the trio dropped the hint, I knew I could push it and push I have since 8am this morning. After poring through over 100 pages of a text that touched on the subject before working Google for useful resources, I have something tangible to build on. Programming can be a pain sometimes and as the hours wore on, my sight became cloudy from the lengthy exposure to the monitor light. Anyways, in the end, I held on and got through to a point where I can safely say, I'm 24 hours away from incorporating the game module. The logic's always the most difficult aspect and I just didn't think I had the time to go the usual route of  building a related project in Flash using ActionScript which is relatively easier and more comfy for me before applying same logic in Android. Besides, the logic as applied in Flash doesn't always apply as in this case where I'm working on native Android without the luxury of drag-and -drop components as I have with the former. Well, that's that. Tomorrow, I should be at the hub wrapping up the module. In terms of incorporating with the other module which I already have, I did experiment on Eclipse yesterday and reported no bug. So, it should be a smooth affair as soon as I have the other module done. [sigh]...I'm tired and feeling a bit of aches round my body, probably owing to my posture. I'll just have a shot I took from my view here on the 14th floor up before leaving. Okay, that's it peops, I'm outta here. Gracias Lord.

6 Days after Grandma's post-humous 92nd

Mehn! This is one morning like no other, believe me. I mean it's not every time you hear a track that just sort of blows your mind away. No jokes man! This song (ThankGodIt'sFriday) from Woye (ft Chinedu) is def. If I was anything like Richard Branson back in his Virgin Records days with his crew Ken, Simon etc I'd have this guy on my label. Yeah, Woye; same dude from way back. 2 days ago, I'd blogged about meeting up with the hommie in his studio with regards to àsà's voicing (recording and editing). Finally got to meet with the dude very early this morning; I mean very early like 6am after I got his BB message. He'd worked overnight in the studio that's only a stone-throw from 401 and thought it fit for me to drop in. The hommie is talented to say the least. We hadn't seen in like 12 years and yet it felt like yesterday when we eventually did. After listening to him speak about how he came about his interest and skills, I was impressed to say the least. Here's a hommie I can relate to in every sense. In a society where there jus aren't too many of 'this kind' who follow after their hearts, it's always a great feeling meeting and hanging out with one. There was the usual ingredients: dreams, interests, self-fulfillment. Dude's so talented he even scratched up a beat for me in minutes. There was something about the atmosphere too that had me feeling every song that boomed out of the speakers. Far from the typical studio I'd described yesterday too, there were no weed, groupies or booze. Okay, so maybe it was cos it was 6am...lol. Studio bore every sense of decency. Anyways, away from that. Hommie got the hang of what I want so soon as we're set to go, it's a done deal. I just wanted to meet with him before hand which I did. I have a few pictures I took of him plus a video shoot that I have his consent to upload. Yeah man, required when you're dealing with a guy with so much potentials. It's a great feeling to be working with him even if on a basic level: recording and editing. Next up, the uploads so here we go...

Okay, so now I have the assets up. It's amazing I have this TGIF track on repeat. My volume's at its max and this song's looping. No real distractions cos all I'm practically doing is rigging characters. Yep, I have this set of characters from Iyke for the àsà lingo modules. Just feels good right now. You know, there are times like this when nothing else just matters. It's this moments I like to refer to what I do as 'play' rather than work. Yeah man, it can only be work. Like Woye, the material gratifications count for less. In my words, if I died and came back then it'd still be back to this here man. No kidding. Even more amazing is the fact that I'm doing this write-up even as I have the song booming in my headphone (ear-piece). I know I can't try this for the write-up that's meant for publication I'm working on. On another note, I could risk a trial just to attempt a different route (unlikely though). In the end, this dude right here's just excited. The rationale is kinda inexplicable but I sure do know this song is adding to the whole.

Rumination

Okay, it’s 2 minutes into Tuesday the 8^th of May. Me? One of those nights where sleep refuses to come. Not bad for a guy who prefers the oddity of the hour for working. Only this time, I’m stuck with a notebook whose battery life can go no more than an hour at its very best. Yet, my mind seems like it’s loaded with enough contents to run into hours of typing. So, what about my third screens? Puhleeeze, spare me the pains of having to sweat through those tiny keypads. And here’s where I must restate my allegiance to the laptop despite the widespread adoption of mobile phones. True, I’ve caught up with the fad like every sane being; it still falls short of serving my writing needs when it comes to times like this. Besides, it’s well documented the times I’ve blogged from my phones with the yet-to-be edited typos there for whoever reads my blog (Hello, Myne Withman). So, how’s this one going out? Well, sometimes I do this here then have it bluetoothed to my phone for onward copy-and-paste method on my blog; shikenan.

So, whatever’s brewing on this young adult’s mind? Sigh...rumination to put it in one word. Just random thoughts that stem from a wandering mind. A recap of the day gone by comes to mind so here we go.

On a day where my awards application overshot my set deadline for the 3^rd time, no thanks to the conflicting questions that greeted me contrary to what I’d based my answers on. In quiet frustration, I settled for a forced nap after I’d run out of ideas on how best to tweak my essays to reflect the twisted questions that sat between me and a possible ticket to the ‘Valley’. Well, the nap would turn out to be anything but one except when considered in the vague sense of it. Why? Well, àsà was everywhere haunting me with dreams of what remained undone in front of me. And so, I found myself muttering words of prayers and affirmation in my subconscious; the least I could do in those times. Waking up later, I reached for my BB and navigated to tinybuddha.com to find solace in an article I’d stumbled across some time ago. The article was one I could relate to in my present state. In the midst of my surfing, bell rang and it was good ol’ ma. Minutes later, I’m on Hussein’s bike going off to see his new baby. Still under a week old, I held the princess in my arms for some minutes, greeted the wife but didn’t know what else to say other than ‘congrats’ which seemed on repeat for God knows how long. The few minutes in the female dominated room must have seemed like forever and my stare at the floor half the time. Anyways, I got up to leave and made my material contribution to the newest mother in town. That was it, another action that brought with it great relief at a time when I had my own issue playing out on my mind. That’s been a great antidote to my psychological dramas lately: step back and away from myself to do something great for someone else.

Next couple of hours was spent with my neighbours listening in on superstitious stories. Yeah, the all too familiar cliché of haunting enemies threatening homes and marriages bla bla bla. Least of my concerns, believe me. I got bored from listening and switched to my BB for comfort. Boss B was online live from Texas with the same news: dulling! You would understand if you were in the hommie’s shoes as something close to a JJC in a first world. Well, I was in the house afterwards doing justice to a plate of rice and vegetable soup. “Enjoy it while it lasts”, the other half of my split personality said to me given the luxury ends today as I make my way back to Festac: back to a life of street foods vis-a-vis junks, noise pollution and the madness of the city center.

Fast forward to the night time, where Wigan put to rest any doubts as to where Yakubu Aiyegbeni would be spending his footballing season come next campaign except another struggling club buys into his washing. The same night where an ex broke the news of her finding a new guy (na me ask o) and another who’s been on my radar relayed the news of her job loss. What could I say? The story of my life continues to wear the look of a thriller movie with conflicting situations that I still pray bears some elements of commercialization (still a mystery). Yes o, for all that àsà spells as of now, there’s still no guarantee of a business (iya wouldn’t like this). True, the dreams and role plays before my four walls and shiny mirror help fuel my baby steps - lest I drown in frustration and desperation – in reality, nothing’s guaranteed. The constant factor remains that as someone who’s now become unfazed by failure (a very very very ugly word and experience), I know it won’t kill me. Rather, the sickening feeling is one brought about by the reality of my ageing self and in piecing together the broken parts to start the next iteration. Saturday, I picked up some old journals that date back to 9 years and alas, old dreams that have come true in fulfillment. It's one of the beauties of writing and the reason I dug through my box for those old jourrnals of mine: to reenergise my conviction that dreams in deed come true for many have and going with the trend, more surely will. On a positive note, I can connect the dots of where I stand today to where I was in those 9 years thus spelling a progressive journey. Still, I wonder, for how long before the Grand picture? True, my mind’s accepted (gba kamu)that it’s a lifelong journey, it still craves for those defining anchor points that spell good breaks. Sure, I’ve had some though have had to sit back and reflect deeply on them sometimes when the world seems like it’s sitting on my shoulder so much that I can’t even see my blessings. Anyways, as much as I remain defiant, I’m grateful for the whole.

Lotsa things on my mind but this notebook battery’s saying different: it simply wants to hibernate! Anyways, I woulda loved to edit my Kachifo Creative Writing Workshop application piece plus further refine the “Good News” piece I plan on sending out for publication in The Guardian but for some recent reconsiderations given its 'seeming' anti-religious dimension. Well, all that’s not to be for now so time to have this up on my blog or facebook notes.


Later that day...
Okay, here's where my android powered baby does its thing. First though, a quick check-in..."broadcasting live from the Lagos/Badagry expressway where one hour after we departed B-town, we r still wading tru traffic". No news for anyone familiar with the route. But I'm not sweating it. Probably out of excitement over yet another idea i woke up to just this morning. okay, there's the KWAM1's sempe factor booming out of the bus stereo :-). [Sigh]...it's haaat in here! Thank God for the weather (not expecting otherwise r u? In all things, give thanks *wink*). Anyways, once i touch down :-) at the festival town, i have a few runnings round d hood. Yeah, day's not gone yet n that I'm not sitting in front of a monitor doesn't mean there aren't other equally off-monitor things that can't be done. Yeah, it all ties with the Grand Picture, believe me. Besides some GTB things, I'm thinking dropping in on Woye at the studio. Can only hope the hommie's free. Been going back n forth over this meeting but with asa's present state of completion, now's the time to get Woye involved. Sure, we've talked briefly about what me needs but we r yet to c. So, studio runz definitely looming. Reminds me of this dude who had a studio in Garki. Oh, which brings to mind Yisheng too, the sound engineer that set me up with the GGC job at a time when Intentio had its back against the wall. Wow, what beautiful memories. And then, Yosi comes into the picture for her crib was jus a few meters away from the studio. While i didn't really have much to do with them entertainers, I can still recall the scenery with up-n-coming artists, producers, groupies all piled around d studio burning cigarettes and draining bottles of booze. Yeah, the entertainment world is far from sainthood. rather, a world of lust, materialism and make believe. Life's more like one party after another. Recall way back in 1999/2000 at my hommie's crib with tuface, tetuila, black tribe, blackface n them crew; the house party was dope with jus 4 ladies and over a dozen bois. The nicotine tu baba n his entourage smoked on that night coulda built a factory. Them party ol' days *smiles*. Anyways, back to what's in view. I would be surprised if Woye's studio's devoid of the typical i jus relayed. Booze n smokes definitely characteristic tools like cutting tools to a capenter's workshop. Then there's the tattoo covered, crazy hair-styled, pant sagging artistes whose names you'll only recall when they hit the limelight.

Originally written on May 8

Rumination...Granma's Posthumous 92nd birthday eve

K, it's 5:56pm here in an overloaded commercial vehicle on the island trapped in you-know-what. Work location today was Marina 4 obvious reasons bothering on better privacy than the other side offers me. For the records, I love both sides. Why shouldn't I? These places have significant roles in who I'm becoming, my brand and entrepreneurial exploits. Anyways, needed a quieter space for some paper tinz. Plus I needed to meet with Sola for a one-on then talk about the Tech awards n solicit her as a referee. Well, in the end, we had to go it d e-way as she wasn't on ground for health reasons. Which brings to the table my own health issue. Yeah, been tryna shake off a persistent but light feverish symptoms for some days now. Seems to me like its rooted in the friday night stay at Ejiro's. That night was mad to say d least with mosquitoes running the show. Since this is public space, I'll rather not go length of describing the hygienic state of dat crib on d said night. Anyways, I'm due home for the weekend but that in itself rests with a few things I'd like to get out of d way namely: goods pickup from Moji, tech awards application and lastly, Tola's doc pickup. Oh, there's d ivd meetup in Marina tomorrow too. May seems packed mehn and when it feels this way then it's a breeze with June popping up like flash. More reason everyday counts man. So now, I gotta get asa up to my outlined deliverables. Already, the timeline's already been adjusted to reflect the reality on ground. Even at that, I feel like stealing some time off. PHC comes to mind but it's looking too soon hence, not feasible with the tasks on my hand. Just hit me, intentio's ixweb account is up for renewal in a few weeks time. Even if for the sake of Timsconsult account, I gotta do it. But the underlying fact is it's looking like my last attempt. First, the renewal will run for the next year into 2013 which in itself coincides with the 5 years I set for my entrepreneurial adventure when I made the choice to go with Intentio that fateful day in 2008. How I remember it like it was yesterday: me on the Ogbebor's dining late at night or the wee hours of d morning, pen in hand and journal in front. Well, I'm not looking anywhere else o. It turns out the timing is just perfect given unravelling developments with GF cum asa. Yeah man, it's all for d great.

So, what'd me get done today? Started d rigging of one of the characters Iyke delivered yesterday then moved on to paper works. Had the revised PIP for asa done and emailed to Lai and Tj. Then with the tech awards ref, reached Sola but didn't go on to working the essays as planned. Baby steps maybe but sure counts for something as I've come to accept. There's no discounting what any step however small counts towards the Big Pic. Debola reinforced that when we had a bit of a brief brainstorming session. I was encouraged by some other things he said regarding competition using his brand TopUpGenie as a realistic example. In a simple manner, it just about reinforces my resolve to overlook whatever existing competition and just rather have my product out there.

K, here's where I sheath my bb. Fingers ache.

May Day, May Day

It's 10:25 AM here in what used to be Mama's bedroom. Same desk, same chair probably as old as I am but still in good shape. So, it's May Day but really no more than any regular day to me for obvious reasons. I'm home today though with a slight feeling of unease: light headache.
Was surfing through the net when I cam across the Unreasonable Institute application for an entrepreneurial program. Went through and must confess I was drawn to it but I ditched the application midway. Yeah, I had to be honest with myself. The purpose for which the application is meant really does have little connection to what I'm about now specifically in terms of Asa or Geniuses Factory. If any, there's but a wider connection in terms of what cause we'r seeking to address with our product. True, we're tryna define a new business but it's not so much about addressing burning societal problems at least for now. Rather, our bottomline is to define a business model, acceptability and feedback to further refine our product. In fact, now's not the time for seeking investments beyond what we have courtesy of the CChub. Again, I just want to stick with what's in the works. True, I have some ideas in respect of addressing possible needs in Agriculture using the same underlying technological approach which I'm skilled at. But the way I have it on paper as defined in my journal, even the steps being taken today in view of asa does add up.
Last hour or so has been spent reviewing some news on naijastories which leaves me wondering where I stand in respect of my writing interest. True, I've solely always written for fun (like this blog here) with no real commercial angle defined (at least, not yet). With naijastories, I sought to sample the opinion of a wider audience and it's been helpful for honing my skills. Also, I sought to place myself in a position to keep abreast of opportunities in the literary space which is also being achieved. There wasn't really any attempt at fighting for much given my skills are at best for self-fulfillment as opposed to what I seek out of my other interest particularly IT skills. And so, when I look at naiajstories and see that I haven't put out a piece in the last 4 months or so, it's first a concern that calls for a snappy reflection as to what the rot issue is. Then, as I sit back reflecting, I see it's more to do with my core pursuits. Simply put, writing is not one skill or interest I've taken really seriously. If it was, I'd been on naijastories like everyday reading, commenting, writing, reviewing and putting out regularly to rank up my points. But the reality is that more of my time is spent on other areas of interest with entrepreneurial dimensions to what I can make out of it. And so, it's been asa all the way even without a clear sense of where the money will come from. Rather, I have a number of limitless possibilities that can come out of it which is one of the fuels for my endeavour today. True, there's every room to do as much as I delight in given the freedom that entrepreneurship offers but that being said, the reality is that one has t still prioritize. But looking deeper, that's not to say that I haven't been doing my thing to keep up with my interest. I still maintain a file of random write-ups that I readily look to for submissions in applications as with the ongoing Kachifo Creative Workshop. All I need do if I can't find new inspirations for a new piece is dig up one, edit and submit. It's also the reason I've been a little reluctant with putting up just about all my piece for publication. As I've come to realize, some openings call for original unpublished pieces so the foregoing line serves its purpose. In the end though, there's a need to ensure balance as I can't simply be putting out works only for openings as this especially if I'm to be considered a writer even in the vague sense of it. Well, I have some related ideas to where my writing interest meets my IT computing skills too. Though still a bit vague, there's a connection to asa too in that the ongoing prototype can help answer that question or clarify the vagueness. In all, even as I write this, I see a lot of things tied to asa. Maybe I'm placing too much attention on it or better still, overemphasizing its relevance with connections to just about anything as I have lately but if it helps with providing a basis for motivation then it's a worthy cause.
Financial gratification is kinda off the radar as regards asa at least for now. True, it helps to keep it at bay if I'm to enjoy the motivation to keep doing what I am today. In fact, it's so much that the bottomline for the present phase has little to do with financial gratification. Rather, I say again, it's more to do with defining clarity as to a business model (is there a business to be made out of this?), acceptability (how receptive is the target audience to this? who exactly is the target audience or who ranks high as its target audience?) and lastly, partners (who shares in our idea? who is in the business of making the most of what we have for possible collaboration in business etc?). That's as explicit as I can define the bottomline behind asa's present undertaking but the good news is that I have a clear case as to what I hope to derive from the investment in time, money and efforts. Even at that, baby steps best define the quality of steps we are taking. But still, I'm learning to despise not this baby steps. Also, embracing the steps being taken by others as I see a coupla competitive products hitting the market attesting to the fact that ours is a society of truly smart people who are exploring new ideas and stopping at nothing even with the obvious societal odds. Me, I'm stopping at nothing too o. Screw the competition, it's the least of my concerns. As good a thing it is to be in the know as to what others are doing especially in my space of interest, it means little to me in terms of how it imapcts my present pursuits. Case in point, I'll still put myself and by extension my works out there when its ready. At this point, some words come to mind. One, Zubie mentioned to me how he's been able to make a sugnificant impact on the tech community and beyond even though he's not the best of programmers. Yeah, if you spend time in places like the cchub, you'll agree with the hommie. Loom too much at these nerds around and your confidence may become victim to self-induced psychological intimidation. I say this cos I've been a victim or rather find myself a victim once in a while. But Glory to God for as the winner that I am, I take a step back, crawl into my solitude and rediscover my true self. Just this weekend, it meant getting a new excercise book and writing out pages upon pages of what truly defines me from the bottom of my heart. From my strengths, weaknesses, accomplishments to even asa itself, I wrote in clear terms my honest opinion about them. 
Time to bounce now. Here's to Greatness as is on the way for me. Amen.