An Enquiring Mind

My Goodness! It's been such a long while since I posted hasnt it?

And it is not for a lack of interesting things happening to me. I have gone through what I am sure the hundred (thousands) of other bloggers go through when they go so far as to open the "New Post" window but then just close it. Too lazy, not inspired, just plain cowardice, lack of discipline, call it what you will. Ah Well... now I am posting, let us hope I finish it.

So can you put a price on a human life?

Of course not. We generally put a price on most other things (including other 'lower' animals) but human life is generally seen as being sacroscant and with immeasurable value. Thank Goodness for civilization as we know it now.

But what CAN be measured in monetary terms is the effort that goes towards saving a human life. And if you think I am talking baloney... why do you think doctors are some of the most well paid members of society? (Functioning societies at least)

Anyway... those of you who have been interested in my particular odyssey will know that I had a near miss incident at the end of last year and spent 8 days in hospital. What most of you will not have known is that I got slapped with a twenty thousand dollar hospital bill. US$. ($US20,000.00) And before I go on....

IF YOU DONT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE, GO OUT AND GET ONE RIGHT AWAY!!!

Ok ok ok... my bad! I SHOULD have gotten health insurance as soon as I got into NZ but I didnt, I mean... I have never been majorly sick in my life before and I just kept postponing it! But thats all in the past now. So not only am I stuck on blood thinning tablets for a while but I also had to contend with a crippling interest free payment plan.

I said "had", its not all doom and gloom.

I realized while I was in hospital just how much of an impact I have had at work. My boss and indeed the whole Fonterra management structure were and have been absolutely wonderful. And my boss gave me good news some weeks ago that she (and HR) would be absolutely delighted to offer me a more permanent contract after my traineeship is over! I am one of eight AIESEC interns here and I am the only one who has received this offer.

The original payment plan with the hospital was based on my 18 month contract with Fonterra and was spread across my remaining time in NZ. I would have been paying more than half of my salary from Fonterra (Did I ever mention how GOOD the salary is?) and after my other bills, it would have been a real slog I can tell you. And I would have done this for 12 months! But now with the offer of the contract from my wonderful first class; market leader; progessive and innovative company (just in case my boss is reading) I can spread the payments across a more longer period than 12 months.

I actually made one payment in January and boy... It was worse than when I was living in one of the most expensive cities in the world and earning 350 Euros a month!!!

So now I am in the process of getting things finalized with NZ immigration so I can have something formal to present to the hospital and in the meantime, I still have to make some sort of payment to the hospital, which I am. I have however drastically reduced the amount I am paying .

However... my one and only big brother is getting married in June in Nigeria and I happen to be best man! (More on this later) So in order to make sure I am there to prevent my bro from bailing out on the day... I have had to get a second job!!! (Think Flight ticket, paying for the tuxedo, spending money... and I am soooooo far away)

Yep... I am now working a second job in a really trendy hotel in downtown Auckland city. Its actually less than a hundred meters from Fonterra Center so it works out really good since my place is just 15 mins away as well. Check out the website on The Quadrant and 'we' even have a blog!

So from 1300-2200 NZT, I am a corporate Customer Service Executive with major accounts in the Middle East and moving millions of dollars worth of milk products every week. And from 2230 to 0630 the next day for 4 nights a week, I am a concierge in the Front Desk department of The Quadrant. I make sure Guests get a big welcoming smile when they arrive, help them with their lugagge and generally strive to ensure their every need is met while they are staying with us!

Welcome to the real world.

I called a friend in Nigeria and when I told him, he commented, "You poor lazy mummy's boy, how are you coping?"I work 16 hours a day now and for someone who has been used to sleeping at least 8 hours a day... my poor body found it hard going the first week. This is my second week and I am still adjusting. I leave The Quadrant at 0630 (no exceptions) and I'm in bed by 0700. Get up at 1230 and rush around trying to get ready for Fonterra. I am so thankful that I do not have problems falling asleep.

I am also thankful for a lot of other things.

- For being alive to have these 'challenges' (I could be dead)
- For being blessed with such an optimistic personality
- For the support of my parents who would have sent me financial assistance (but they are not)
- For my siblings with their constant show of love (even if they still treat me like a kid);
- For friends and colleagues;
- I am thankful for AIESEC and the experiences I had there

My dear friend Kene Umeasiegbu it was, who said to me when I was leaving for New Zealand. "Approach each experience with an enquiring mind..." I take this to mean that I should not fall into a 'routine' and closed mindset but constantly seek to learn and truly "live". Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish you might say.

So expect a lot of exciting new stories from my new job, I already have quite a few... "Naked people opening their doors to collect room service; A bewildered elderly guest who thought he wsa in Australia; Nafeez, the ebullient manager I work with..."

Endless, endless journey called Life!

Running of the Bulls...

My company held an event involving all members of staff, jugs of milk, the steepest hill in Auckland and lots of huffing and puffing!!!

It was a relay in which each floor of our 11 floor building had to field a team of four people who would run relay! Each team had to have at least one female.

I was very keen to be a part of the Level 1 team but my boss insisted that a body bag could not be easily allocated to any cost center. Moreso as this was the same hill I had my Pulmonary Embolism!

It was a very nice Kiwi summer day and staff emptied out in their droves to cheer on their teams. Since I was not a member of the relay team, guess which floor had the most colorful and vocal supporters??? It also helped that we have a Latin America team on my floor!

Its events like this (The Running of the Bulls") that let Fonterra be such a nice and fun place to work!
PS
See if you can spot me in the picture above... hint - I am wearing green!

A Huge Load off My Shoulders...

Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step

I took that step, in what is turning into a multi-faceted, action-packed story of life. Of Epic proportions. And I felt like Atlas on a sabbatical from his world-carrying duties!

I am too tired to write more. What a journey though!
PS
That's David, President of AIESEC in Auckland and my host when I first arrived in NZ, in the pic with me!

I Like Birthdays...

Here I am with Rusha who shares my birthday date. Not the actual day. We are seven years apart. (Gosh I am old!)

I had dinner at a really posh Thai restaurant with a bunch of friends to round up a really relaxing birthday for me. I also got phone-calls literally from around the world wishing me a happy birthday.

I like birthdays!

Feb 04 - That Special of Days (I think!)

Yep Its My Birthday Today!

So send in all your best wishes. I expect more than 20 comments on this post by the end of the day. Well...maybe by the end of Feb 05 in the northern hemisphere. Haha

I share my birthday with quite a lot of notable people. Labake Quadri, Rusha, Leah, Natalie Imbruglia, Oscar De La Hoya, Rosa Parks, Sean's mother... (It's amazing the information you can get from the internet, isnt it?)

And here are some interesting facts on me for being born on the exact day I was...

- My date of conception was on or about 14 May 1980 which was a Wednesday
- I was born on a Wednesday
- My birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/16/1980 and ending 2/4/1981. Chinese year of the Monkey Twas the very last day of the Monkey!
- My age is the equivalent of a dog that is 3.71624266144814 years old. (Life's just a big chewy bone for ME!)
- Endless Love by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie was a top song in 1981


If you would like to know when or about your parents conceived you and such other miscellaneous facts, you can visit Paul Sadowski.

Off to the Beach now...

Harry Potter Fever...

And So it begins all over again!

Well actually, it began a little after the first book in the Series was published and Harry Potter and the Philosper's Stone had more or less been transformed by word of mouth and some slick marketing by Bloomsbury's Press into a global phenomenom! Or perhaps... it's not fair to say that. The book ACTUALLY sold itself and opened up a hirtherto unknown world of imagination to kids.

Kids had been having it easy (or hard depending on how you look at it) and not given the opportunity to use their own imagination in the way that books are wont to do to you. Multimedia, Television, Video Games were basically the order of the day (they still are to a large extent) and kids were plugging in to already created worlds and fantasies and not necessarily creating one for themselves!

I remember as an 8 year old kid myself the Enid Blyton books I read. She had the ability to take you away into her world of fairies, golliwogs, elves, kid detectives and once you were there, you just started creating and expanding this world until you made it your very own! Hans Christian Anderson book of fairy tales was also a favorite. And who can forget Archie comics? Tintin? Asterix adventures? Ah! Those were the days!

Joanne Kathleen Rowling has become a force to reckon with as well. Credited with bringing kids back to reading books, having her books translated into various languages and into a hugely successfull movie franchise (you cant avoid it can you?!) and becoming a billonaire in the bargain! This a woman who was once on welfare! (can you imagine?!)

To be honest I wasnt interested in the Harry Potter books when they first came out. They got up to Book 5 before I was snatched bodily and dumped on the bandwagon. I was in a London bookstore buying a book in another long running series (Wheel of Time). I was told I would have to come back the next day to pick up the book. I had been looking forward to reading that book that day and looked round to see if I couldnt pick up something else to occupy my time until the next day. Harry Potter happened to be sitting on a display stand right next to me (the book not the boy). I purchased "The Philospher's Stone" and took it it home with me.
When I went back the next day to pick up my ordered book, I purchased Books 2 - 5!!! Been hooked ever since!

Waiting for Book 6 was such an interesting experience. There is a whole sub-culture of Harry Potter on the internet, I joined internet forums dedicated to discussing plots and snippets of the series. You can sign up to become a student of Hogwarts (the training school for Wizards and Witches), answer questions to determine what house you would be 'sorted' into in Hogwarts and so much more...

When Book 6 was released, I was in Nigeria and it didnt go on sale immediately there. Luckily I was leaving for Sweden via London and Amsterdam and I was sure I would get it in one of those cities. But alas! It was sold out in ALL the London bookstores I went to (it sold 2 million copies in the UK on the day of release) sold out in Amsterdam as well, I had to wait till Stockholm in maybe the 6th bookshop I tried before finding a copy!

And now I know the date for the release of the 7th and final book. Before it was announced, you were able to slip it to the back of your mind. It's coming but you dont know when exactly! Now I know and it ranks right up there with going home to Nigeria in May and my brother's wedding in June! Ok.. maybe not the wedding but still....

Let's see how many records this one will break. Oh Gosh I can hardly wait!!!