Retrospecting

Happy New Year!!

Hope your holidays were great. It feels like just yesterday when it was December 2010 and the year 2011 was about to begin. Now within the twinkle of an eye, the new year 2012 has sprung up with positive prospects.

One of the most intriguing themes which come with a new year are the crafting of new year resolutions, of which some are somewhat difficult to keep. The reflection mostly begins a few nights before New Year’s Eve.

Duties and responsibilities that were ignored or overlooked during the past year are brought to one’s notice so that measures can be taken to rectify them in the coming year. Some goals that we set during the year may be beyond our capacity, however even though it may sound cliche; persistence really does work. If you try something once and it doesn’t work, trying harder the next time always makes a difference.

Even if you try hard and strive to achieve your goals and things don’t work out as planned, just know that your efforts will not go down the drain. Hard work always yields good results which may not necessarily be immediate.

Retrospection is essential in shaping every new year into the ideal season in our lives!

 

Happy Holidays,

from kesewaa.

 

P.S. Alswell, I dedicate this post to you!

G.A.S (Get Atta Sacked?)

I find it hilarious that this acronym G.A.S (Get Atta Sacked) has cropped up because of the shortage of LPG gas (Liquified Petroleum Gas) in the country. I overheard it being mentioned on a radio talk show a few days ago.

LP gas is an essential commodity in every country; it is the source of fuel for cooking and other important activities. It is shocking that there is a downward surge of the supply of it. Angry citizens queue in the streets of Accra everyday in frustration, in their quest to refill their gas cylinders.

Taxi drivers form a great percentage of this crowd; this is because some of them use gas to power their vehicles. If the priorities of the nation are put in the right perspective, I believe that there could be a time when Ghana would use electric and solar-powered vehicles instead of outmoded gas.

Research and experiments should be conducted, so that there would be a paradigm shift in this country. A paradigm shift would however only occur if the nation’s expenditure is centered on pressing needs such as the construction of comfortable educational facilities.

This acronym G.A.S has cropped up to draw the attention of the government to the helplessness of citizens. The question that I would like to ask is that is it the fault of the Ministry of Energy or the President that there is a shortage of gas in the country?  This problem needs to be resolved before it closes in on us. Gas is one of  the most important commodities which are utilized in Ghana. Both public and private entities rely on it for livelihood. It is necessary that an inflow of it is brought into the nation so that things stabilize.

habit of the masses

Check out the text on your phone, the ping on your blackberry, your “whatsapp” message; and I am sure without a doubt that the text which will be displayed is in some short form. Texts , messages, and even emails nowadays are all written in short text.

Everyone is in such a rush that nothing is done to the full any longer. People hurriedly send notes and important information through short texts and words (I’m so guilty of this crime). This habit has become so common that it is becoming the norm. Individuals who refuse to conform to this “fashionable” style of writing become somewhat ostracised and are termed as weird.

The reason why I think this habit is problematic is because we sometimes forget to switch back to regular text even when we are writing formal documents such as job applications, resumes etc. Yes you heard me, resumes, some people forget and write some bits of their resumes in short texts. This is totally unacceptable in the corporate world; no hiring officer will enrol an individual who does not respect formality. So ALWAYS remember to use regular, accepted English text when you are composing an official document.

Some common words that are used are “u”‘, “r”, “lata”, “l8″, “rite” and many other hilarious words. At the beginning of the trend, this form of writing was adopted to save space on mobile phones because longer messages attracted higher rates. However even the shortest forms of text messaging are flooded with irregular words nowadays.

This trend should be minimized before it causes a total evasion of the English language. If this is not controlled, there may come a  time when even the spoken English language is shortened. If this happens, there would be no point in studying English any longer because anyone would be allowed to make up their own vocabulary which is best suited to them.

The next time you decide to use any shortened form of text, please remember to keep it to the minimum.

Hope you had a good read,

pinksugar.

a silent whisper

In these past few weeks, I’ve felt so downtrodden. I lost an important document I was working on. I felt like the whole world had come to an end. I know all you writers who might be reading this would attest to the fact it is difficult to resurface, after your treasured work gets lost.

It was not an easy ride; it was a very important file and I lost it. Even though it’s been weeks I still remember it. However I rejoice in the fact that I have life in abundance. Gloomy thoughts run through my mind in my moments of distress; my passion had been tampered with but I still knew that with God all is well.

This was reiterated this morning at church. The revered minister took his sermon from 1 Kings 19 vrs 10-12. Elijah was faced with trials and didn’t know what to do. The LORD spoke to him in a gentle whisper (vrs 12) and after that he knew that all was well!  I cringed with excitement as the peace of the LORD calmed me down. I knew that in spite of the loss of my important document, it was for my good and the LORD would sort everything out.

I am writing this piece to encourage you. If you’re not Christian, I’m not here to try to change your faith. All I have to send across is that there is absolutely no God like Jehovah Jireh, the “I AM THAT I AM”. He turned my life around and I want to share my joy with the whole world. It would be selfish if I kept such a great thing from you all.

So the next time you are faced with trials and depression, just be still and know that he is God!

The power of the “Benjamins”

It’s amazing the rate at which money has become an essential part of our existence. It has become important to the extent that most people claim that, “money talks”.

Money does talk because it is a key medium of exchange. The absence of money however causes a lot of pain and strife. Many crimes can be attributed to money: murder, robbery, corruption, you name it. The love of money causes a lot of chaos in most societies.

An issue that I find intriguing is the phenomenon of people falling in love because of money. Some women overlook the horrible personality of guys and choose to live with their attitudes because of their money. They siphon stacks of money from the latter with the intent of wanting to live big. Some young men nowadays follow older women (cougars) who provide them with all their needs.

Money is important but all attention should not be given to it. They are just pieces of metal (coins) and refined paper (notes) that are produced in a mint.  There are other important things in our lives that we need  to direct more attention to; family, love and friendships.

I believe that in as much as money plays a role in making our lives better, it could ruin us forever. Only a little fraction of our lives should be dedicated to making money. A greater part of our lives should be geared towards living fulfilled lives.

Send me your thoughts on this issue via comments.

Hope you had a good read,

pinksugar.

pet peeves

 

It is funny how this nation has become a mixed puddle of political propaganda and insults. Day in and day out, politicians and somewhat inexperienced panelists flood the air waves with inappropriate insults and verbal abuse against one another.

Commuters who are privileged to have their own automobiles are faced with uncomfortable radio discussions during the early morning rush. At the onset the political discussions start off smoothly but end up in heated and unhealthy arguments. At such instances, the hosts of the radio shows stand up and struggle to get things under control. The failure to do so could result in the damaging of someone’s reputation or even worse the reputation of the radio station could be put under disrepute.

An unfortunate incident happened some weeks ago; a well known political activist insulted the President on air and got arrested (I will not mention any names because I do not have the permission to do so).

His arrest however did not last for long because he claimed that he did not insult the President but was just expressing his opinion. The basis of the assumption he made were not credible. I believe it was just a ploy to discredit the image of the President.

All these political fiascoes must come to a halt. This nation is made up of citizens with diverse political affiliations and there should be freedom of political association. No one should go on air and say whatever they want without any basis. We should all be each other’s keeper in the fight to eliminate verbal abuse on our radio stations.

networking

It is important to realize that in this era of corporate expansion, networking skills have become essential in the journey to survival. The “survival of the fittest” syndrome has been grounded in the Ghanaian and global markets. This is evident in the fact that great job offers and deals are given to individuals by corporate players whom they are acquainted with and business deals are reached by mutual business partners.

Networking is a necessity because it offers many benefits. For instance, an individual who has a contact in a particular industry has an upper hand in landing a job that has over a thousand other people groping after it.

In a discussion with one of the senior managers of Airtel, he revealed that his success in the corporate sector was greatly influenced by his ability to network efficiently. He mentioned that networking did not only involve the collection of complimentary cards; rather it was the level of professionalism shown in the midst of business players that mattered.

Networking takes various forms: emailing, telephone calls, fax etc. All these become effective only when done regularly. Networking has long-term and short-term benefits. Great jobs and business deals have been obtained through networking. Don’t think twice about it, follow up on the contact you obtained at the career fair, church or even that birthday party you went to last weekend.

wedding fever

“Here comes the bride, here comes the bride…”  You guessed it, it’s the month of July and the wedding fever is on high gear!

Many couples have already tied the knot and many more are on their way to getting married. On the 30th of June, Joy Fm, one of Ghana’s most successful radio stations organised its annual bridal fair. Radio waves were filled with the various seminars and programs that were held during the entire fair. Different themes were displayed on the 4- day event to equip new couples on their exciting journey.

Weddings have always been a joy, especially for most women. Single women attend weddings with high expectations with the intention of landing their prince charming; possibly one on a white horse . At most wedding receptions, tossed bouquets from brides spells chaos. Women of all ages rush and jump high up to catch a bunch of flowers. I believe that this is just a myth. No bunch of flowers will gravitate any lady to a man. It is the realization of oneself and self-actualization that matters.  Ladies, imagine meeting someone at a wedding and realising later on that he wasn’t the one for you. That would be an awful situation.

All the same, weddings bring a diverse number of people together to celebrate the union of a man and a woman who have been brought together by God. So the next time you have an opportunity to attend a wedding, I suggest you do so. 

Ghana’s transport system

Have you ever envisioned an advanced railway system in Ghana? It is about time the nation moved from the use of level crossings that were built decades ago.

Level crossings in Ghana need a revamp. The metals that are a component of the trains are old and rusty. The tooting of  train horns in the city signals nothing but danger. This is as a result of the numerous deaths that have occurred on local train tracks. Some time ago, a woman was killed by a train in the city of Accra. She was standing close to the railway tracks when the train shredded her into pieces. The scene was horrific and the shock still remains. This might not have occurred if the tracks had been channeled out of the main road. Many other deaths such as the one above have occurred; action needs to be taken by all stakeholders especially the Ministry of Roads and Transport to reconstruct the railway system across the nation.

The construction of advanced subways and tube stations would eliminate the piles of traffic all across the urban areas. Citizens who commute to work, school and other important places every morning would have the chance to experience a stress-free day. Stress-levels would decrease because the burden of standing in long queues for public buses (“trotros”) would be no more. Fuel would be saved because private automobiles would be used only when it is very necessary.

Beautiful trains, tube stations and level crossings would increase the aesthetics of the city. These ideas are not far-fetched and can be implemented if only the leadership in this country is determined to make it work. Africa is the next big thing and Ghana is in the centre of it! 

“chopbar”

The rate of motor accidents in Ghana has increased over the past few years. Overloading and improper maintenance of vehicles are some of the factors that affect the increasing number of motor collisions that occur.

The insufficient knowledge about the road signs is an awful contributor to the surge in the number of accidents. This phenomenon occurs because most individuals who get behind the steering wheel obtain their driver’s licenses through corrupt means. They overlook the appropriate examinations that they need to take to certify their driving qualifications. Prior to the license examination, knowledge about the numerous road signs are required. However the individuals who acquire their licenses wrongly have absolutely no clue about the basic signs they need to know before manoeuvring on the road.

On a reality show which was aired on one of the national television stations, about two years ago; a somewhat shocking revelation was made. Drivers of both commercial and private automobiles were interviewed and some basic road signs were shown to them. One of the commercial drivers made a rather funny comment when he was asked what a particular road sign was. Apparently, he thought the cattle crossing  road sign was an indication of a local ”chopbar”. This is rather hilarious!  In as much as this is funny, imagine how this driver will notice that there is danger ahead when he spots the sign in a designated area.

I am convinced that there are many other drivers both literate and illiterate who do not know the most common basic signs. Before anyone is certified as a driver, he/she should make it a point to study all the road signs. This would ensure that the rate of road accidents reduces. Do make it a point to know all the road signs before sitting behind the wheel.  :)