Online musings

My last proper career change took place in September 2007. Before that I thought that I would embark on a career in IT but then I discovered that it wasn't for me. Just like I knew that teaching wasn't for me way back in 2001. It started off as a secondment opportunity but I never thought for one second that I would stay in the profession for three years, let alone thirteen.  I never thought much of the profession before I joined it. I thought Human Resources was a department that got involved when an employee was disciplined or dismissed. I had limited knowledge about the functions of HR. The longer I stayed, the more I understood and the more I began to like working in HR. At the end of the day, it would provide me with useful skills and knowledge, as well as experience, to help me in my future career.  But something changed. Although it became clear to me in 2010 that I would never be a great fit for the HR profession if my personality was anything to go by, I resolved to pr

Here is the long awaited update regarding my writing plans. I am way behind schedule at the moment. I have been very busy with work and I have recently gone through a potentially career-changing restructure in my organisation. More on that in my next blog. I have been navigating through these difficult times like a lot of people and was even put off writing. By the time I regained my desire to write, my laptop was out of action due to me being unable to log on. It turned out that my hard drive had failed following six years of use. I am now saving up to get a brand new laptop with a solid state drive which is much longer lasting and more durable than a standard hard drive. The snag is, it has much less storage space, but hey, who needs a lot of it anyway! I started writing the first of the Timespy prequels titled Timespy: Initiation where my protagonist is a novice and is slowly learning the ropes. I will then write the Vendome sequel, followed by two more Timespy prequels, a Bat

This year in 2019, the President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo designated it as the Year of Return. This is to mark 400 years since the Africans arrived at Jamestown, Virginia in the USA as slaves. Ghana is calling on the African Americans descended from the West African country as well as other parts of the Ghanaian diaspora to consider relocating to their homeland. This invitation has been extended to all Africans and their descendants in general. The government has launched a campaign for this purpose and has organised a series of events. This year I have been faced with the question, "Would you consider relocating to Ghana?". Every time I visited the country I didn't want to leave. Ghana to me is my second home. Despite it being a developing country, the atmosphere is lovely. The hot weather is like a much needed balm to me and the scenery is very pleasant. The people are friendly and welcoming. I love it there. Would I move there? Not yet is my answer. Although the ec

Life begins at 40? To me it's more like worrying about life begins at 40. At this age I am forced to reflect and think about what I should do with my life and how I should improve it. I have been having sleepless nights more often than not. At my age I am faced with expectations all round. Two things keep bothering me and I will tell you about them. First I keep getting asked by my African friends, colleagues and relatives the following questions: "Why aren't you married?" "When are you going to get married?" "Do you have a partner?" "Why are you still single?" "Why aren't you looking?" It is like I am disappointing people as African customs dictate that you should get married whether you like it or not. What if I want to stay single? It seems I do not have a choice. I am expected to marry and continue my lineage. Because I am single, people are saying that "It's not good - oooo, it's not good at all!&

I have always liked classical music since I was 11 years old. I remember learning about various instruments of the orchestra and composers such as Handel and Bach. I am also a fan of garage music. I used to listen to DJ EZ on Kiss FM every Friday without fail. My favourite garage DJs are Todd Edwards and Jeremy Sylvester. So when I heard about a show which fused the two genres together I felt that all my Christmasses came at once. Now being a fan of garage music you would expect me to attend the Garage Nation festival but I would much rather prefer going to a jazz festival or an international music festival. I bought a ticket for Garage Classical and to my astonishment it sold out within 52 hours of release! The show is headlined by DJ Spoony, a member of the Dreem Teem. He is one of the pioneers of UK garage and has helped brought it from underground to the mainstream. One day DJ Spoony decided to collaborate with Katie Chatburn, an orchestra conductor. The first show came out i

I have been advised to network. A voice in my head has been telling me that sometimes I cannot go it alone. Although I have family and friends it would be nice to meet new people, especially like-minded ones. As John Donne said, no man is an island. I have applied to join the Black British Bloggers group on Facebook. I realise that it's time to show my blog to a wider audience. That way I get to follow more bloggers and I get more followers in return. As I have blogged since 2014 I now feel it's time to yield my anonymity so here goes. My name is Christopher, or Chris for short. I was born in Liverpool in 1978 to Ghanaian parents. I went to a private secondary school and then went to a state school for my sixth form education. I studied French in Kingston University and after temping for a while I joined a local government authority as a Customer Service Advisor. I am now an HR Officer who plans to go into Learning and Development. I also have plans for the future that you