to buy must not be the Nigeria-made type. I felt like when will Nigerians start representing ?but that was about to change and so I went and the first trouble I had, was finding out exactly what crisps meant. Don’t blame me, the last time I had seen that must have been up on Kellogg’s Variety pack as an adjective describing those cereals and not as a particular light meal, guess a lot of people don’t know too. Number 2, was that she only wanted Onion flavour! I went and the first trouble I had was the test of discretion and understanding, priority and order of precedence in doing things; the only Onion flavour cThe diary of an IT student.

Now that I've finally got a job, everything is about to change again! You know the wake up very early thing and all, moreso my culture demands that respect is accorded only to a person that contributes to the clean up of the house, so I still try to squeeze out time to do chores before I jet out at 6:20am, but they only help keep me fit.

Thank God for connections!! What are we going to do in Nigeria without connections? My friends and I had waited on more than 3 companies for the whole month of March, with delayed responses, till I buzzed my sister on the last Thursday of march, I forwarded my C V on the Friday and by Monday, as usual I woke up around 9:30 am, switched on the TV, thank God for the new PVR, I had a lot of movies recorded I had to catch up with, then I checked my fone and saw missed calls. I called back and I was asked by a strange voice what I was doing at home “or are you not the new Employee?

When the tempest was up against Job, he said “Behold, what I fear most has happened to me.” I had barely worked for a month (or how do we describe a working month of April, well nourished with public holidays) when I had gotten a call from one of those places I had earlier on applied to, with a more juicy offer; the prospect of a better working condition and bigger pay (above 2 times my present salary!).

The question now is what do I do? I’m so trusted in my incumbent work position, that I have access to classified files and privileges to administrative passwords but a young guy like me, for the love of the cool bucks, what do I do? somebody talk to me.

By the way, it finally happened to me too, my friends have often told me about some errand trips that junior staffs are often made to undergo.Your guess must have been very close by now. I was finally sent a couple of days ago to help get Crisps by a pregnant woman plus a cold bottle of beer for her (sorry Red Bull not beer).I did got it for her anyway, though I was grunting through out the errand so if that happens to you once a while, you should just be cool but if it gets too often, you need to make “some good calls” or call my line for a brief chat (brief but some serious talk man!!!) on what you can do cos I hear a lot of this stuff from friends, so you might learn from someone else’s story.

Uhm.., before much digression, my story that day dint finish there, the woman had earlier warned me that the Crisps (chips) to buy must not be the Nigeria-made type. I felt like when will Nigerians start representing ?but that was about to change and so I went and the first trouble I had, was finding out exactly what crisps meant. Don’t blame me, the last time I had seen that must have been up on Kellogg’s Variety pack as an adjective describing those cereals and not as a particular light meal, guess a lot of people don’t know too. Number 2, was that she only wanted Onion flavour! I went and the first trouble I had was the test of discretion and understanding, priority and order of precedence in doing things; the only Onion flavour cr

march, I forwarded my C V on the Friday and by Monday, as usual I woke up around 9:30 am, switched on the TV, thank God for the new PVR, I had a lot of movies recorded I had to catch up with, then I checked my fone and saw missed calls. I called back and I was asked by a strange voice what I was doing at home “or are you not the new Employee?

When the tempest was up against Job, he said “Behold, what I fear most has happened to me.” I had barely worked for a month (or how do we describe a working month of April, well nourished with public holidays) when I had gotten a call from one of those places I had earlier on applied to, with a more juicy offer; the prospect of a better working condition and bigger pay (above 2 times my present salary!).

The question now is what do I do? I’m so trusted in my incumbent work position, that I have access to classified files and privileges to administrative passwords but a young guy like me, for the love of the cool bucks, what do I do? somebody talk to me.

By the way, it finally happened to me too, my friends have often told me about some errand trips that junior staffs are often made to undergo.Your guess must have been very close by now. I was finally sent a couple of days ago to help get Crisps by a pregnant woman plus a cold bottle of beer for her (sorry Red Bull not beer).I did got it for her anyway, though I was grunting through out the errand so if that happens to you once a while, you should just be cool but if it gets too often, you need to make “some good calls” or call my line for a brief chat (brief but some serious talk man!!!) on what you can do cos I hear a lot of this stuff from friends, so you might learn from someone else’s story.

Uhm.., before much digression, my story that day dint finish there, the woman had earlier warned me that the Crisps (chips) to buy must not be the Nigeria-made type. I felt like when will Nigerians start representing ?but that was about to change and so I went and the first trouble I had, was finding out exactly what crisps meant. Don’t blame me, the last time I had seen that must have been up on Kellogg’s Variety pack as an adjective describing those cereals and not as a particular light meal, guess a lot of people don’t know too. Number 2, was that she only wanted Onion flavour! I went and the first trouble I had was the test of discretion and understanding, priority and order of precedence in doing things; the only Onion flavour c

ier on applied to, with a more juicy offer; the prospect of a better working condition and bigger pay (above 2 times my present salary!).

The question now is what do I do? I’m so trusted in my incumbent work position, that I have access to classified files and privileges to administrative passwords but a young guy like me, for the love of the cool bucks, what do I do? somebody talk to me.

By the way, it finally happened to me too, my friends have often told me about some errand trips that junior staffs are often made to undergo.Your guess must have been very close by now. I was finally sent a couple of days ago to help get Crisps by a pregnant woman plus a cold bottle of beer for her (sorry Red Bull not beer).I did got it for her anyway, though I was grunting through out the errand so if that happens to you once a while, you should just be cool but if it gets too often, you need to make “some good calls” or call my line for a brief chat (brief but some serious talk man!!!) on what you can do cos I hear a lot of this stuff from friends, so you might learn from someone else’s story.

Uhm.., before much digression, my story that day dint finish there, the woman had earlier warned me that the Crisps (chips) to buy must not be the Nigeria-made type. I felt like when will Nigerians start representing ?but that was about to change and so I went and the first trouble I had, was finding out exactly what crisps meant. Don’t blame me, the last time I had seen that must have been up on Kellogg’s Variety pack as an adjective describing those cereals and not as a particular light meal, guess a lot of people don’t know too. Number 2, was that she only wanted Onion flavour! I went and the first trouble I had was the test of discretion and understanding, priority and order of precedence in doing things; the only Onion flavour c

of days ago to help get Crisps by a pregnant woman plus a cold bottle of beer for her (sorry Red Bull not beer).I did got it for her anyway, though I was grunting through out the errand so if that happens to you once a while, you should just be cool but if it gets too often, you need to make “some good calls” or call my line for a brief chat (brief but some serious talk man!!!) on what you can do cos I hear a lot of this stuff from friends, so you might learn from someone else’s story.

Uhm.., before much digression, my story that day dint finish there, the woman had earlier warned me that the Crisps (chips) to buy must not be the Nigeria-made type. I felt like when will Nigerians start representing ?but that was about to change and so I went and the first trouble I had, was finding out exactly what crisps meant. Don’t blame me, the last time I had seen that must have been up on Kellogg’s Variety pack as an adjective describing those cereals and not as a particular light meal, guess a lot of people don’t know too. Number 2, was that she only wanted Onion flavour! I went and the first trouble I had was the test of discretion and understanding, priority and order of precedence in doing things; the only Onion flavour c

to buy must not be the Nigeria-made type. I felt like when will Nigerians start representing ?but that was about to change and so I went and the first trouble I had, was finding out exactly what crisps meant. Don’t blame me, the last time I had seen that must have been up on Kellogg’s Variety pack as an adjective describing those cereals and not as a particular light meal, guess a lot of people don’t know too. Number 2, was that she only wanted Onion flavour! I went and the first trouble I had was the test of discretion and understanding, priority and order of precedence in doing things; the only Onion flavour crisps they had was a Nigerian-made one!!!, as the rest available were vinegar flavour, I wonder what sort of products was all this rubbish! (sorry for that cos one man’s food is ano….). She dint send a proper Nigerian guy like me Plantain chips, Boli, Gala, rat pie (meat pie rather) and all the Naija assorted, Good Lord, what do I do now? I dint have her phone number, so I thought to myself,
1. She wants crisps.
2.Non-Obodo (Nigeria) made.
3.Onion Flavour. So I bought the crisps, though Nigerian made but then Onion flavour.

I had been back to my work barely 20 mins, when I began to hear noise erupting from a section of the department. I dint really understand the cause of the hullabaloo but all of a sudden, I was forced to listen when my name began to resound from the source of noise. “Tobi wants to kill me o! (Don’t forget she is pregnant). He wants to kill me and my baby!” I went there and true to her fears, she gently pulled out an Iron string just like that used to cork the top of a wine bottle from the packet of the crisps! “Shey I have told you not to buy made in Nigeria’s”. I could not refrain from unnumbered counts of apology, the type you would have given the MOPOLs when caught on the road with expired driver’s license and you are in a hurry to catch up with an exam.

Lawretta (Pseudonym) and I later became good friends afterward and I mite work proxy for her when she is about to put to bed! (I hope so, too many company policies!)

Every other moment of the work place, have been interesting and I m sure yet is to come. There is one that had happened but I can always safe it for the next issue (if I gone back to school by then). May we learn to bridle our tongue very well. Out of frustration with a colleague, I had called him an Al-Qaeda!

P S
No one should feel any form of prejudice as this writings are just a piece of everyday me expressing itself in one of my hubbies; writing. I have learnt to always have at least a different thing about each day in life; else you go down the 6-feet-down-the-earth journey like every other person. That’s not me; I want to leave the meaning of my surname!!! Cheers

Tobi Otolorin

tobiotolorin@juno.com