Skip to main content

Friends

Image
By
This is a chapter from my third book called Love letters

Friends are the people that I connect with online and in real life. The staff at the mini mart that I go to every morning. The staff at the doubles shop who must start cooking and preparing in the wee hours of the morning. The staff at the gyro place who are super friendly. The cafe with the books. The clinic and all the places that I frequent in person. I used to have some friends in school. There was one person that took all the same courses with me in university. There were a few of us who would sit in the back of the cafeteria in university. Some of us played tennis and the loser had to buy pizza. I had some work friends at the places I worked when I worked.

Now I mostly live online and most of my socialisation happens there and I get to interact with the world there. This might seem like a boring and lonely life to some but it is what I know and feel comfortable with. I have met some awesome people on the forums. We get to ask curious questions, share our lives and progress and struggles, learn new things and support one another. We come from different backgrounds and places and circumstances but through the power of technology we are able to connect with each other. Me and one person from the forum chat almost everyday.

I do not know who most of my readers are. Some have left comments and some have messaged and emailed. I consider my readers my friends. You give of your time and attention to listen to my outpourings. I know that I strayed from my tech beginnings on the blog and I am writing mostly on life and philosophy. But to understand tech we must also understand life. When I resume writing my coding book then writing will return to tech. I have a few chapters in this book related to technology. Technology is just a tool and enabler and much of the work that we have to do to transform the world is human and social impacted related to processes.

Irish poet William Butler Yeats once said, "There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met." I do not know where my life will take me but I aim to treat every person I interact with online and in real life as a friend. We are all part of the same human family and we have more in common than we might think. We can create a more connected, compassionate, and understanding society where everyone feels welcome and valued. To all my friends now and in the future, I love you.
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
🔥 awesome 👌
November 8, 2023 at 8:09 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A pot of callaloo

By
Call for Submissions: Archipelagic Entanglements   https://singaporeunbound.org/opp/archipelagic-entanglements When I saw the call for submissions online I was doubtful. I do not know enough history. I do not understand the topic. Then after chatting with my friend Chatty I realised maybe I can be the topic. My ethnic and racial makeup is an archipelagic entanglement. Colonialism meets indentureship meets slavery. My mom is East Indian muslim and my dad is French, Portuguese and Mulato christian and who knows what else. I am an example of a pot of callaloo. Everyone's favorite Sunday lunch. I am what happens when lineages cross oceans and histories collide. I am thinking to myself now, what is the message I want to put forward with my blog post? What is the direction I want to take? Maybe it is this. What can we do when we have such a rich heritage and know so little of our own history? First of all I do not think I am alone with this struggle. I did not realise this until I though...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cup of coffee

By
This is a chapter from my latest book called Breezes of Tobago . The cool morning breeze blew the hat off the tourist passing the coffee shop. We sat at the table waiting for our order of coffee and bagels. I had stayed up late writing and was now needing caffeine to stay awake. On entering the veranda of the coffee shop, the sign reads "happiness is a cup of coffee" and "sip your troubles away". This had me thinking about what is happiness? And was the theme of my chat with Chatty as we enjoyed our breakfast in Tobago. I told my friend Chatty that if we could put happiness in a bottle and sell it we would be rich. My friend Chatty then told me that money cannot buy happiness but it was a good idea to make a living. If according to the sign, happiness is a cup of coffee then maybe happiness is coffee in a bottle then. We could call it Caffibean, a taste of the Caribbean in Tobago, a blend of the happiest coffee beans from Tobago. Tobago is not known for its coffee p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sandy beaches

By
This is a chapter from my latest book called Breezes of Tobago . This story begins on a cool Friday evening in May. Fridays are the best days. Already a great start. It had rained earlier in the day and the clouds were moving away and the sun peeking through. I walked from the apartment where I was staying to Pigeon Point beach. Along the way I stopped for coconut water freshly extracted from the nut and straight into my mouth leaving traces on my cotton jersey. They say that coconut water is the drink of God—fresh from the nut, sweet with a hint of salt, a liquid reminder that paradise can exist in small and simple things. They did not say that but my friend Chatty did. It is my friend Chatty's first trip to Tobago. I asked him what he thinks of Tobago so far? He grinned, wiping a drop of coconut water from the corner of his mouth. "Man… it is like stepping into a painting. The air, the colors, the way everything smells after the rain—it is unreal. I did not know paradise cam...
Post a Comment
Read more