I am a sucker for hope and happy endings. 

This week has been one of such; more good news than sad news. The news coming from the Mid west is very sad and disheartening but what can one do? I pray for the repose of the souls lost and hope their families and the affected states  can rebuild their lives and communities afresh. Apart from that,  the royal wedding (how many guys watched that?) was magnificent and lovely. That Gabby Giffords could attend the Endeavour launch  (though it did not launch as scheduled) almost made me cry! I really do believe that NOTHING is impossible. Finally, watching the White House Correspondence dinner and the president roasting himself and Donald Trump was a good good laugh but Seth Meyers nailed it! I have not laughed so hard in a long time. President Obama is a good sport.. he should do stand up more...

Here's wishing everyone all the best in their finals, projects, and papers.

Cheers

Hi all.
The semester is coming to an end.... where did the weeks go?
I have some finals to finish up this week and work got really busy. Yes, I have been on about how work has been slow.... well I got an answer to my prayers. The four hours was not enough, had so many things on my plate. Thankfully, three new volunteers have joined  Jeffrey (we run the lab together) and I so the situation did not fall apart. The five of us were able to handle ESL, resumes, and food handler's cards for clients
It felt productive and good to be very busy and to know that yes I can handle so many things simultaneously.

LEARNING ENGLISH IS FUN 2

Hi all,
This is the part where I tell you how the new ESL games we got worked out with our clients. One word..-.wait for it- GREAT.

It was awesome and such a hit. The most interesting game was the one clients had to click and match US states. The games killed two birds with one stone; learning how to use the computer and English. I had fun this Monday in class and the fun continues on Monday.

Have a great Easter.

God bless you


P.S. 1: progress report on learning other languages... so far the only one I am making progress with is Swahili.
P.S.2: If you've not heard about Malcolm Gladwell (google him). He is the author of  Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers -excellent books-. He has a not-so-new- book out: What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures. I highly recommend it.

KIPLING

I love literature and sight seeing (especially historical places).  I could read  books (as long as it is not a school text book)  all day and be happy. Kipling, Grisham, Gladwell, Archer, Frost, Shakespeare, and Tennyson among the many authors and poets I follow (Zzz)

Anyways below is one the poems (using Brady's words) that I swear by. A times, I cry reading this poem.
Hope it touches you as it has always touched me.

Deuces.


If- Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

This was another one- of- those-slow-weeks. There were no new clients as such so Tuesday and Wednesday ( days we help clients with job readiness, applications and resumes) was activity free. As one of my colleagues told an employment specialist, we're open for business! So what did we do? This week we searched for schools where clients can take classes and learn new skills - I learned that you can get a degree in carpentry-. Hopefully that pans out well. A few clients also came in for the food handlers card.

Monday was a different story. I requested for some interpreters over the weekend to help with the clients that would come in on Monday. Somehow the request was not processed and so we had no interpreters for some of the clients and these clients came in by 9am. Thankfully, I was able to speak to my colleague who orders the interpreters and she saved the day. Monday's class started late but it went well and I was grateful.

Lesson learned: Follow up on your responsibilities (that's one of the first lessons you learn in school and at work) and why I did not do that last week beats me. I got lucky and I realized that I may not be that lucky next time.

CAREER DECISION MAKING

While it is quite late in the day for me to do so, I attended the webinar on career decision making last week. Sarah was the speaker and she was really good.  She listed resources available to guide career decision making and made a comment about how she changed careers about eight years ago- I was like wow-. We also did a run through of the Meyer-Briggs test on personalities and how this can guide the choice of careers.
When I did my test and got the result I was like emmmmm from what I know of myself the assessment is 6.5/10.

This brings me to an issue that I have thought about as regards assessments, self help books etc. I wonder can anyone really really tell you what what you are good at  and what you are not? Does the fact that you are good in A B C make you right peg for D? -just wondering-. My real takeaway from the webinar was that Sarah changed careers to do something she's been interested in doing.

The webinar was really good and helps streamline ideas for people who are yet to know what they want to do. So if you are still thinking about what to do, there are many online tests you can take for a start and just maybe the assessment may be correct and you are set for a career.

Catch you later.

CHANGE, BENAZIR, POLITICS, COMMUNITY CINEMA

Caveat! I am about to go "political" on you all.

Growing up, I admired/admire Benazir Bhutto and other strong women like her. When she was assassinated in 2007, I blamed her. I was like "why did she go back to Pakistan?" However, I have learned that democracy comes at a price especially in countries like mine and Pakistan. The first leg of elections were held in my country today and even though lives have been lost in process, I am happy because the change we want is happening (whether it is a change that changes nothing is another matter). I am proud that people in my country voted and protected their votes!
I had an intensive class downtown and after the class, I went with my classmates to see the screening of "Bhutto" a documentary on Benazir Bhutto ( activist, two-term prime minister of Pakistan). the documentary was very touching and it highlighted the struggles developing countries face in their bid to become democratic, the politics and pain that comes with freedom; the-success today, failure-tomorrow- aspect of the process. The Bhutto family indeed gave their lives for Pakistan (their father, two brothers and Benazir were all murdered). In developing countries, the fight for democracy is also the fight for basic things like good water, electricity, good education, and infrastructure and as i mentioned earlier, people pay for these things literally with their blood. Cote D'Ivoire held an election in November where they voted out their president and the ousted president has  refused to leave and there is so much violence in that country as I write.

Ok so why am I going off? The US is indeed lucky that as flawed as her systems are, people do not get killed fighting for their rights and that somehow they are able to make things work. It is indeed an attribute I admire in the American people. I really wish the politics of this country is not so acrimonious and uncivil- it takes away from the purpose of governance and is an ill-wind that blows no good. So many issues need to be addressed and so many people are hurting- they do not deserve any more pain-. I was glad there was no shutdown and I hope future discussions do not get down to the wire.

For me , hope springs eternal that we would get there. I'm proud of my country men and I hope the tide of change continues next week.
RIP Benazir, and as the quote on the National Archives building in DC states "eternal vigilance is the price of  liberty". We want freedom, we'll pay the price!

P.S:  Community Cinema screens documentaries on people and issues. It is very educative and informative.
The next screening is "Welcome to Shelbyville" ( a glimpse of America at crossroads) on the 14th of May, 2011 at 5.30 pm. It screens at the Civic Space Park opposite UCENT, downtown.

Have a great week.
Au revoir

FOOD HANDLERS CARD

I had a really great week at work.
On Tuesday some of our clients came in for the food handlers card training. In Arizona and I guess all states, you need a food handlers card to work in a restaurant or food service provider. In Arizona, you can  do the training and take the test at  downtown phoenix ( at the health department) or take it online- there are different certified programs such as servesafe or foodsafety. So you do the training, take the assessment, pass the test, and go downtown to get your card- that is the end of the story.

Now to the beginning. The clients came in and they began their training with an interpreter who translated the course for them and helped them take notes. I learned so much on food safety watching them take the course and I said to myself; "Damola you have been eating germs" and I prayed to God that the places I eat follow these rules. I must say the course is intense and took about three hours. The course has made me VERY aware of the importance of food safety.

Good news is the clients passed the test and hopefully they get jobs soon

Oh by the way, one of my colleagues and I got "promoted" and we were allowed to take a financial literacy class on our own- that felt really great- because usually the class is taken by some volunteers from Bank of America

Kwaheri (Swahili for bye)

Squaw Peak Mountain, Matsuri Festival, Downtown Phoenix

First off, I live in the east valley and before I began my internship, the only time I spend in Phoenix is between 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm. After classes I go home. Please forgive me for missing- in- action
My internship and the fact that most of my classes are now in Phoenix has opened my eyes to the beauty of the West Valley.
Last week I visited the Squaw peak mountain (No I don't hike, just went to sight-see). The feeling was just awesome and the view is just sooooo grand.
Over a month ago, I attended the Matsuri Festival, downtown and the festival was splendid and a wonderful exposure to the Japanese culture;It was just sad to see that the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan two weeks after. In between work and waiting for classes, I have been exploring downtown and all I tell myself is "you-are late and you- have-been-missing-in-action"

Indeed, Phoenix is truly beautiful and I am having a ball.
Next stop, Sedona and Grand Canyon

Learning English is fun and another training...

Hihi,

How is everyone doing?
This week, my supervisor purchased a software that would help clients who are in ESL (English as a second language) classes enjoy learning English. ( I wish I was in elementary school again!). This is how it works, the software has games that help clients learn how to pronounce words in English. I have seen how clients respond positively to lessons that activity/fun related so I'll let you know how well class goes on Monday.

On Tuesday, there was a financial literacy training for new clients. In the class, clients learned about banking; opening and operating a bank account and budgeting.

So that is what happened this week.

See you