It’s nearly the end of the day and I haven’t yet managed to write a blog post.
I’m on about 22 posts in my bid for 30 straight. I nearly laughed it off today, but I will be damned if I am going to let this very difficult day get in the way of a good writing streak!
That’s the thing about streaks, once they start you are less likely to quit.
This still counts, and the streak goes on!
Happy Friday night chimps.
It’s nearly the end of the day and I haven’t yet managed to write a blog post.
I’m on about 22 posts in my bid for 30 straight. I nearly laughed it off today, but I will be damned if I am going to let this very difficult day get in the way of a good writing streak!
That’s the thing about streaks, once they start you are less likely to quit.
This still counts, and the streak goes on!
Happy Friday night chimps.
I have lived in Africa for most of my life (9 / 38 years in Australia and Italy – the rest in Kenya and South Africa (SA)). In reading up on trade agreements, I have only just discovered there is a country on the continent called “Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic”. But I digress.
I remember as a kid we would visit my grandmother in SA from Kenya. These trips were really exciting. South African ‘Simba Chips’ and ‘Appletiser’ cool drinks were always the very first thing we bought at the airport as we landed in Johannesburg. In the 80’s and 90’s Kenya was a far more insular country than it is today. Trade was limited and the shops had little in the way of imported goods. In an effort to grow domestic capability, President Moi made my childhood bereft of things like Kelloggs cereals, Mars ice creams, or cool drinks in a can. SA had so much more in the shops. Being oblivious of all the drama related to Apartheid, I always thought SA was the golden land of plenty. To an extent I still feel that way.
Skipping ahead many years, after I finished studying in Australia the first job that became truly available to me was in Johannesburg. I took the consulting gig and found myself in the land of plenty having to work for money. This prospect was daunting, but at least they still made Simba Chips and Appletiser – This was a comfort for me on days when I realised just how little university had prepared me for real life.
Although I found it tough to move to Johannesburg for work and to start a new life, I had a strong belief in the potential and compatibility of Kenyans and South Africans. This was largely down to three things:
That was 13 years ago. As I have understood SA and Kenya a little better over the years, it strikes me that the trade between the two countries could be improved upon. This is an understatement. We are talking about 2 of the most dynamic, important economies in Africa. Two landing pads for international businesses to arrive and work on the continent. There should be Kenyans all over SA and vice versa. We should be the USA and Canada of Africa. The UK and France of Sub-Sahara. Why then is trade so limited? The stats back up my gut feeling on the relationship:
Trade between South Africa and Kenya has been minimal when considering South Africa’s global trade. From a global perspective, Kenya is ranked 27th amongst South Africa’s export destinations accounting for just about 1% of South Africa’s total exports. In terms of imports, Kenya, does not feature even in the top 30 import suppliers to the South African market. However, when considering the African market, the Kenya is ranked 10th export destination for South Africa’s goods and is ranked 22nd most important import source from Africa.
https://www.tralac.org/resources/our-resources/12248-south-africa-s-trade-with-kenya.html
1% of total exports?? 22nd most important source from Africa??
This is bonkers to me. So bonkers that it might become my life’s mission to chart this relationship and develop it where I can. Knowing Kenya and knowing South Africa, they each have SO much to offer each other.
I am off to a good start, having married a South African woman myself. Trade and Diplomacy in action 🙂
In my long quest for productivity, I have downloaded an app called coach.me.
It lets you set goals and then track progress day by day. I set myself the goal of thirty days consecutive writing on this blog.
So far I am on day 9. I have started writing streaks before, and around about day 10 it feels like that Marilyn Monroe movie “The 7 year itch”. The excitement is gone and the grind is real. This app certainly helps, though.
This is nine, tomorrow is ten. And on we go.
Google randomly displays the masters of fine art on my screen, switching every ten seconds or so. A Monet just flashed by, now its someone named Joseph Léon Righini.
All of this is staggeringly good art. None of it is given much attention by me during the day. But it is there for me to see whenever I want it. A mountain peak – an Everest – of fine art to aim for every 10 seconds. This would have been unthinkable a couple of decades ago. I remember growing up we had a massive Encyclopaedia Brittanica in our house for reference.
Why does this matter? I think it matters because it means that the problem of our time – the problem of this revolution we are experiencing – is not one of scarcity or of access to information, or to inspiration. The internet has given us access to more information than we could possibly want – be it art, science, history or cat videos.
Instead the problem is one of contribution. The nagging question in our heads should be “When am I going to show up?”
I don’t mean show up in Google’s algorithm, I mean show up to the party and contribute. Care enough to try, to fail and to show your work.
When I was 11 years old, I changed my handwriting in an effort to be cool. I wanted to be more like my friend. He wrote with far more flair than I did. His pages had words that stood out at you. They were all in in neat rows, but they looked artistic and full of purpose. His paragraphs were all in joined up writing and each word was at an angle. His pages looked like they came from someone interesting. Mine just looked like they came from a bog standard 11 year old kid.
I remember clearly deciding to write an assignment in this new style – with my new found flair. The words were all at a painful angle across the page. It took me ages to finish because I was more interested in how it looked than what was written. I put my name on it and handed it in. I felt satisfied and liberated. My new, cooler, more angular identity was emerging.
When the teacher handed our marked papers back, he stopped when he reached me. I got a poor mark. He was disappointed with me, he said. And what on earth was wrong my handwriting? He could barely read it.
I couldn’t hide my blushes as I mumbled some sort of response. I reverted back to myself the very next class.
Happy Sunday chimps. To thine own self be true!
You need to be careful who you ask. There are all sorts of pitfalls. Some people might not understand the question and give a lazy response to what they thought the question was. Some might get emotional if the question threatens their position. Many people are not used to thinking through their answers.
I believe we humans create easy answers to a lot of the more difficult questions thrown at us, even if they are not true or based on facts. We have to, simply to cope with the harsh reality of life. Placebos can work very well but if someone asks an honest question then you owe them a well thought out answer based on fact, not purely on faith.
Next time someone asks me for advice I will first try and really understand where they are coming from before offering my own point of view on the matter. Then I will try and stick to the facts.
Happy Sunday chimps!
If you follow me on Instagram (@chimpwithcans) then you will have seen I am finalizing the man cave (man-chimp-cave, maybe?) and it is giving me great joy.
A space that is yours alone in a busy family is a wonderful thing. It allows for expression of your interests and your designs without impacting the rest of the family. We are lucky to have the home space for it, and I have big plans to build my chimp empire from this room.
I have no doubt that incorporating your own spaces into your living arrangements is good for your health.
I feel better already.
Today we had sun and swimming and family. A good day.
Happy Saturday chimps.
Movies are given to us in (usually) 2 – 3 hour chunks. Designed to set aside a whole evening for your entertainment. Conversely, Entrepreneurs and influencers on Tiktok or on Instagram have mastered the quick fire clips and video messages.
Even though there are neuro-chemical tricks going on with Instagram, it is interesting to me that social media often feels like the only form of entertainment that fits into my life right now. To read a book I need to wake up at 5am when the house is quiet. The same with movies or albums. These things need concerted effort from me whereas the Instagram account goes with me wherever I go.
I know this is not revelatory in any way. Mobile phones are convenient…..so what? However when I look at these facts I realize two things. Firstly, I need to manage what’s appearing on my Social media feeds so that the messages I am receiving are of value and not just a trick to keep my brain’s attention. Secondly, I need to make time for books, albums and movies that I still want to have in my life while my kids are young and life is so busy.
That will go some way towards escaping the media jungle of life.
Nearly New Years! Happy Monday chimps.
Yesterday my two year old got her first report card from pre-school. A glowing description of her progress made me so happy. She has done so well.
The report makes me think about how we measure progress after school. An obvious metric is money made, but that doesn’t seem enough. My daughter’s report paid attention to aspects such as social cohesion, personality and communication skills development and other “softer” measurement than her grades or her salary. Her earning power is pitiful 😉
If my own schooling was any indication, after kindergarten (which measures very interesting markers for progress) we are pushed down a narrow path towards industry and conformance. We probably need to do better.
Some ideas for metrics other than salary and position to measure progress as humans after school:
Happy Thursday chimps.
Chimpwithcans 