Week 15: Ad Astra
Mercy and I started watching The 100 (yet another post-apocalyptic instalment) which has been interesting so far. We’ve spent most part of the night watching. We both agree that some parts of the series are actually annoying given what the characters are doing. I was personally surprised that, even after a post-apocalyptic event, so much politics was still at large.
I've been onto my university for almost a month trying to get my degree certificate and all the effort hasn't been fruitful. Initially, it was for the fact that the certificate isn't ready (that the VC hasn't signed them off) even after 2 years of graduating. Lately, it's now because the staff in charge of issuing the certificates are now on strike. All the attempts made to find a way around the strike haven’t been successful.
There are a lot of others like me who might need the certificate for one thing or the other. I once spoke to a colleague who was denied an audience for a job because the degree certificate isn't ready yet. Many times I try to imagine the cause of the delays we suffer in the university but I’m sure that many of them could have been worked around in some ways.
So, my Dad finally asked me the big question about when we are expecting our first child. I had to explain to him why we don't want to raise a child yet. I was surprised to see that he was particularly understanding of the reasons I explained to him given the kind of society and culture I came from.
Speaking of routines from my last week's note, one of the things I do daily is to spend some time learning a little more about Astronomy. I've always liked Astronomy since my secondary school days. I remembered using the Astronomy part of Mavis Beacon while I was learning to type back in the days. Back then, there was a lot that I couldn't understand while reading about astronomy stuff as I don't even have enough science background to process many of the things I read.
Years have passed, and now it feels more comfortable as a lot about it makes sense while it's being explained. I decided to learn, even more, hoping some of the questions I have will be answered. Hence the reason for putting it in my daily routine.
This week, I learnt about Standard Candles a part of the understanding of how the universe is sized. How do scientists know how far a star or an object is? How do they even know how big our galaxy or other is? These are some of the questions addressed in understanding how the universe is sized and this is quite fundamental to many things astronomers study.
In the recent courses, I’ve learnt about Atomic Spectra, Matter and Gravity amongst many others. I hope to learn even more as I proceed in the course.
I had the opportunity to speak with another friend who is also a founder to ask about some legal / fundraising questions which I know he already go through while setting up his own startup. What am I going to be able to do if I don't have people like this to ask questions?
I went to Future Labs during the public holiday and had the opportunity to share my thoughts and experiences with some of the people there. It was also a way for me to explore Ikot Ekpene a little bit. All this while, it's either I'm passing through Ikot Ekpene or I was just there for an event.
On another note, I do like the long smooth road from Uyo to Ikot Ekpene. A smooth and long road also means good driving and some speed. I would say the road could be a place to test your car or race another driver. 😂