#Essay
Baking Injera and Breaking Barrier
Stretching her wrinkled hands, my grandma encouraged me, "You can try," as she stepped back and stood to my right, eyes fixed on my hands. I felt the weight of her unspoken expectations; any imperfection would disrupt everything. Fear coursed through my body, causing me to tremble. Carefully, I held the white jug filled with liquid dough over the brownish griddle, trying to intuitively grasp where to start and end. As I began...
Continue reading...
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@ItypeHere
Baking Injera and Breaking Barrier
Stretching her wrinkled hands, my grandma encouraged me, "You can try," as she stepped back and stood to my right, eyes fixed on my hands. I felt the weight of her unspoken expectations; any imperfection would disrupt everything. Fear coursed through my body, causing me to tremble. Carefully, I held the white jug filled with liquid dough over the brownish griddle, trying to intuitively grasp where to start and end. As I began...
Continue reading...
||
@ItypeHere
❤1👍1
#NOtes
'This Service is Not Available in Your Country'
After all the hype I've been hearing, I tried to open ChatGPT & was hit with that 'service not available' message. That immediately pushed me to write a rant about it at 4 a.m.
If you’re in a Third World nation, being unable to access vast swaths of the internet is the norm.
In this piece, I share a few more examples like the ChatGPT one and what effect that sort of digital segregation can have on young folks.
And I hope it nags the right person somewhere.
—winta
https://wintaassefa.medium.com/must-our-digital-spaces-reflect-our-worlds-inequalities-b097c6c5f2d4
||
@ItypeHere
'This Service is Not Available in Your Country'
After all the hype I've been hearing, I tried to open ChatGPT & was hit with that 'service not available' message. That immediately pushed me to write a rant about it at 4 a.m.
If you’re in a Third World nation, being unable to access vast swaths of the internet is the norm.
In this piece, I share a few more examples like the ChatGPT one and what effect that sort of digital segregation can have on young folks.
And I hope it nags the right person somewhere.
—winta
https://wintaassefa.medium.com/must-our-digital-spaces-reflect-our-worlds-inequalities-b097c6c5f2d4
||
@ItypeHere
#NOtes
HABESHA & GRIEF
This might come off as unorthodox to the overly defensive stance we’ve built over the years, but it doesn’t shred anything to question and criticize culture if and when necessary. Perhaps there’s an unwritten rule declaring that however degrading and toxic our culture gets we must never question it.
A community with an authentic and adhesive culture evolving for uncountable years has it’s deficits too. Shocking? No not really.
What are these so called deficits you ask? Quite a good bunch.
Of the number of things I observed, here’s one
, the grieving process and how “we” console those with loss.
Grief is a personal experience and journey, there are no and shouldn’t be objective laws and regulations stating someone should grieve for this long and heal in that year.
In a society where confronting your demons and going through your emotions portrays you as over dramatic, it’s not surprising to be rushed out of your grief and be a normal functioning person in a few days. The paradox here? If you grieve and change your closet into an all black for more than a few months you’re being too much and taking things far and in the same boat if you decide to live your normal life after a week or a month of your loss you’re still being too much. Again grief is a personal experience, you can’t tell what’s going on in the heart and mind of both who grieve for years and those who go about their lives in a short while.
https://romepodcast.wixsite.com/romepodcast/post/habesha-grief
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@ItypeHere
HABESHA & GRIEF
This might come off as unorthodox to the overly defensive stance we’ve built over the years, but it doesn’t shred anything to question and criticize culture if and when necessary. Perhaps there’s an unwritten rule declaring that however degrading and toxic our culture gets we must never question it.
A community with an authentic and adhesive culture evolving for uncountable years has it’s deficits too. Shocking? No not really.
What are these so called deficits you ask? Quite a good bunch.
Of the number of things I observed, here’s one
, the grieving process and how “we” console those with loss.
Grief is a personal experience and journey, there are no and shouldn’t be objective laws and regulations stating someone should grieve for this long and heal in that year.
In a society where confronting your demons and going through your emotions portrays you as over dramatic, it’s not surprising to be rushed out of your grief and be a normal functioning person in a few days. The paradox here? If you grieve and change your closet into an all black for more than a few months you’re being too much and taking things far and in the same boat if you decide to live your normal life after a week or a month of your loss you’re still being too much. Again grief is a personal experience, you can’t tell what’s going on in the heart and mind of both who grieve for years and those who go about their lives in a short while.
https://romepodcast.wixsite.com/romepodcast/post/habesha-grief
||
@ItypeHere
#common_app #Essay
I SHOT MY BROTHER
Here is a secret that no one in my family knows: I shot my brother when I was six. Luckily, it was a BB gun. But to this day, my older brother Jonathan does not know who shot him. And I have finally promised myself to confess this eleven year old secret to him after I write this essay.
continue reading...
I SHOT MY BROTHER
Here is a secret that no one in my family knows: I shot my brother when I was six. Luckily, it was a BB gun. But to this day, my older brother Jonathan does not know who shot him. And I have finally promised myself to confess this eleven year old secret to him after I write this essay.
continue reading...
❤5👍1
#Folks #Amhara
THE CUB AND THE KID
A leopard cub and a goat’s kid were playing together not knowing each other. The leopard’s cub, when she went home in the evening, told her mother, “I was playing with a beautiful creature.
continue reading...
||
@ItypeHere
THE CUB AND THE KID
A leopard cub and a goat’s kid were playing together not knowing each other. The leopard’s cub, when she went home in the evening, told her mother, “I was playing with a beautiful creature.
continue reading...
||
@ItypeHere
👍1
#GeekNOtes
The Color Palette [part 1]
... I rushed to my computer because I had an assignment that needed to be submitted in just an hour. I pressed the power button, and while the Windows screen was loading, I turned my face to TikTok and started scrolling videos. one after another, losing track of time. I watched a lot of them, forgetting that I had an important project to complete.
Finally, my computer was ready for work. The task was to design a user interface for a pretend website. I had no clue how to begin, except I had heard my friends had been working on it for the past two days. Luckily, we live in a time when GPT and YouTube can help us learn almost anything instantly. So, I typed in "Material UI design for beginners" and hit the search button. A list of videos popped up.
I needed to pick the right video giving attention to the time lengths, eye-catching thumbnails, and number of views. I chose one featuring a girl. I'm just an innocent guy, so I hadn't even looked at her face with full confidence.🙃 The video wasn't long, just 21 minutes. As I always do, I sped it up to 1.5 times the normal speed. I started watching to learn about Material UI design – what it means and how it works. The girl in the video talked about color palettes, tones, and tints – all the things needed to make a website look good. I was excited because that's exactly what I needed to know for my own project. I wanted to know how to make my website flow smoothly.
The girl explained how to create a color design system. She said to imagine using 9 boxes and making the middle one our brand color. Then, she talked about HSB – that stands for Hue, Saturation, and Brightness. These are like the ingredients for colors. She told us to fill the other boxes by changing how pure and how bright the colors are, while keeping the main color tone the same. Hue is the specific color, Saturation is about how colorful or gray it is, and Brightness is about how light or dark it is.
....to be continued
@ItypeHere
The Color Palette [part 1]
... I rushed to my computer because I had an assignment that needed to be submitted in just an hour. I pressed the power button, and while the Windows screen was loading, I turned my face to TikTok and started scrolling videos. one after another, losing track of time. I watched a lot of them, forgetting that I had an important project to complete.
Finally, my computer was ready for work. The task was to design a user interface for a pretend website. I had no clue how to begin, except I had heard my friends had been working on it for the past two days. Luckily, we live in a time when GPT and YouTube can help us learn almost anything instantly. So, I typed in "Material UI design for beginners" and hit the search button. A list of videos popped up.
I needed to pick the right video giving attention to the time lengths, eye-catching thumbnails, and number of views. I chose one featuring a girl. I'm just an innocent guy, so I hadn't even looked at her face with full confidence.🙃 The video wasn't long, just 21 minutes. As I always do, I sped it up to 1.5 times the normal speed. I started watching to learn about Material UI design – what it means and how it works. The girl in the video talked about color palettes, tones, and tints – all the things needed to make a website look good. I was excited because that's exactly what I needed to know for my own project. I wanted to know how to make my website flow smoothly.
The girl explained how to create a color design system. She said to imagine using 9 boxes and making the middle one our brand color. Then, she talked about HSB – that stands for Hue, Saturation, and Brightness. These are like the ingredients for colors. She told us to fill the other boxes by changing how pure and how bright the colors are, while keeping the main color tone the same. Hue is the specific color, Saturation is about how colorful or gray it is, and Brightness is about how light or dark it is.
....to be continued
@ItypeHere
👍4
#GeekNOtes
The Color Palette [part 2]
.....
She said that often, Saturation and Brightness change together, just like in real life where one thing might need to change for another thing to get better. Like a deer or a lion – one has to win for the other to keep going. It's like a balance. Life is a bit like the colors on the palette. Someone or something might have to give up for things to work well. Just like that, the video ended with the girl saying, "Thanks for watching. Subscribe to my YouTube channel!" I was surprised – the video was over, but my thoughts were still going.
I was left thinking, "Do I really have to give something up for others to do well?" And guess what? I hadn't even started on my assignment yet. My computer was ready, but I wasn't.
@ItypeHere
The Color Palette [part 2]
.....
She said that often, Saturation and Brightness change together, just like in real life where one thing might need to change for another thing to get better. Like a deer or a lion – one has to win for the other to keep going. It's like a balance. Life is a bit like the colors on the palette. Someone or something might have to give up for things to work well. Just like that, the video ended with the girl saying, "Thanks for watching. Subscribe to my YouTube channel!" I was surprised – the video was over, but my thoughts were still going.
I was left thinking, "Do I really have to give something up for others to do well?" And guess what? I hadn't even started on my assignment yet. My computer was ready, but I wasn't.
@ItypeHere
#GeekNOtes
mInD Your oWn BussINess [ part 1]
...
Amidst the hustle and bustle of a typical Saturday in Mexico, people rushed around, transport queues stretched endlessly, cars filled the streets, and the police chased after street sellers. The sky above darkened, as if it held a secret ready to unfold. Hastening my pace to escape an impending rain shower, I made my way towards the Wabishebelle Hotel, hoping to catch a taxi to Megenagna. However, the long line seemed impossibly distant, so I turned back towards Debrework Tower, looking an alternative route home through Bole to Gerji....
To be continued...
@ItypeHere
mInD Your oWn BussINess [ part 1]
...
Amidst the hustle and bustle of a typical Saturday in Mexico, people rushed around, transport queues stretched endlessly, cars filled the streets, and the police chased after street sellers. The sky above darkened, as if it held a secret ready to unfold. Hastening my pace to escape an impending rain shower, I made my way towards the Wabishebelle Hotel, hoping to catch a taxi to Megenagna. However, the long line seemed impossibly distant, so I turned back towards Debrework Tower, looking an alternative route home through Bole to Gerji....
To be continued...
@ItypeHere
👍2
#GeekNOtes
neWYear
....
Being on the last day of the Ethiopian calendar, vibrant scenes unfold across the land. Crowds bustle with energy, mothers taking chickens to home, fathers guide cattle homeward, and children eagerly seek new clothes. Yet, I hold reservations about this celebration.
Before I share my thoughts, let me acknowledge a common perspective, often echoed by most. I concede that people celebrate the new year to express gratitude, even if I don't fully embrace the manner of celebration. One need not wait a full year to offer praise to their creator. There are 365 other days when you can express your gratitude. Each new day brings you a fresh start. Maybe people are too busy to do it every day, so they save it up for a year.
Days, months, and years, no matter what you call them, are all made up by humans. It may be 1445 in the Hijri calendar, 2023 in the Julian calendar, 5783 in the Hebrew calendar, and, after a day, 2016 in the Ethiopian calendar. The calendar doesn't change who you are. Yet, on days like today, you'll often hear people talking about their plans for the new year. But why tie your plans to the new year? You can make plans in the third, ninth, or twelfth month as long as they don't depend on the season, like farming.
Spending too much money on something unrelated to life, especially when the cost of living is rising, isn't wise. Personally, I'm not a fan of celebrating the new year. If it must be celebrated, it would make more sense to do it on the last day of the old year, not the first. Think of it this way: after a long and mostly boring school day, the closing program is held, and workers celebrate their success at the end of a project, not when they start a new one. Following this logic, if you have to celebrate the new year, it should happen at the end of the old year.
In conclusion, some of our traditions should be questioned so that they make more sense. Regardless of that, I want to send a message to all the people who are busy making plans and inspiring fellow procrastinators like me: "Happy new day!"
@ItypeHere
neWYear
....
Being on the last day of the Ethiopian calendar, vibrant scenes unfold across the land. Crowds bustle with energy, mothers taking chickens to home, fathers guide cattle homeward, and children eagerly seek new clothes. Yet, I hold reservations about this celebration.
Before I share my thoughts, let me acknowledge a common perspective, often echoed by most. I concede that people celebrate the new year to express gratitude, even if I don't fully embrace the manner of celebration. One need not wait a full year to offer praise to their creator. There are 365 other days when you can express your gratitude. Each new day brings you a fresh start. Maybe people are too busy to do it every day, so they save it up for a year.
Days, months, and years, no matter what you call them, are all made up by humans. It may be 1445 in the Hijri calendar, 2023 in the Julian calendar, 5783 in the Hebrew calendar, and, after a day, 2016 in the Ethiopian calendar. The calendar doesn't change who you are. Yet, on days like today, you'll often hear people talking about their plans for the new year. But why tie your plans to the new year? You can make plans in the third, ninth, or twelfth month as long as they don't depend on the season, like farming.
Spending too much money on something unrelated to life, especially when the cost of living is rising, isn't wise. Personally, I'm not a fan of celebrating the new year. If it must be celebrated, it would make more sense to do it on the last day of the old year, not the first. Think of it this way: after a long and mostly boring school day, the closing program is held, and workers celebrate their success at the end of a project, not when they start a new one. Following this logic, if you have to celebrate the new year, it should happen at the end of the old year.
In conclusion, some of our traditions should be questioned so that they make more sense. Regardless of that, I want to send a message to all the people who are busy making plans and inspiring fellow procrastinators like me: "Happy new day!"
@ItypeHere
👍12👎11
#GeekNOtes
mInD Your oWn BussINess [ part 2]
Continued....
...
Luck was on my side as I managed to find a taxi that was just about to fill up. Opting for the back seat, my preferred spot to avoid any potential "move-a-bit" disputes, I sat down beside a teenage guy. As soon as I settled in, a young woman, who appeared to be in her twenties (at least her make up made her look like 20's), took the seat next to me. She hung her purse on her right and placed a book to her left.
Feeling utterly exhausted, I allowed my head to droop, trying to capture a quick nap. When I lifted my head momentarily, my eyes fell on the word "successful" in the girl's book. She had just opened her book to a new chapter in the middle, and I couldn't quite recall what it was about. She read a few lines, then turned her attention to her phone, where she began checking her messages on Telegram.
Being rooted in the typical Ethiopian tradition of making educated guesses from a mere glance, I started piecing together clues. Albendazole, Barmadazole in her conversations, a paper image from Telegram – all of this pointed to a conclusion: she was likely a pharmacist. Well, with a book in hand, let's assume she's a diligent pharmacist working hard to better her life.
.....To be continued
@ItypeHere
mInD Your oWn BussINess [ part 2]
Continued....
...
Luck was on my side as I managed to find a taxi that was just about to fill up. Opting for the back seat, my preferred spot to avoid any potential "move-a-bit" disputes, I sat down beside a teenage guy. As soon as I settled in, a young woman, who appeared to be in her twenties (at least her make up made her look like 20's), took the seat next to me. She hung her purse on her right and placed a book to her left.
Feeling utterly exhausted, I allowed my head to droop, trying to capture a quick nap. When I lifted my head momentarily, my eyes fell on the word "successful" in the girl's book. She had just opened her book to a new chapter in the middle, and I couldn't quite recall what it was about. She read a few lines, then turned her attention to her phone, where she began checking her messages on Telegram.
Being rooted in the typical Ethiopian tradition of making educated guesses from a mere glance, I started piecing together clues. Albendazole, Barmadazole in her conversations, a paper image from Telegram – all of this pointed to a conclusion: she was likely a pharmacist. Well, with a book in hand, let's assume she's a diligent pharmacist working hard to better her life.
.....To be continued
@ItypeHere
👍5
#GeekNOtes
mInD Your oWn BussINess [ Last part]
She completed her phone tasks and returned to her reading, but her concentration wavered after just a minute. She closed the book slightly and drifted into thought. I couldn't help but wonder, "Is she genuinely engrossed in her reading, or is she trying to convince herself that she's not wasting time?" But then again, it occurred to me that she could be a pharmacist who perhaps didn't enjoy reading long notes, given her familiarity with concise prescriptions. Or maybe she's not a pharmacist at all, and reading books is just an occasional interest that fades quickly. It could also be that, like many girls, her mind was racing with thoughts, from the latest gossip about her friend's new heels to concerns about her difficult landlord.
Lost in this pondering, we eventually reached Bole International Airport. The girl prepared to resume reading, and as she was about to turn the page, I glimpsed the title of her book: "How Successful People Think." She had been lost in thought all this time, pondering the very subject of her book.
Yet, as all these moments unfolded before me, a nagging thought crept into my mind: Why couldn't I just close my eyes and sleep? Why did I find myself so invested in the lives of others? It struck me that many of us, perhaps most, unconsciously spend our days entwined in the lives of others. So, I made a silent resolution: Let's mind our own business.
@ItypeHere
mInD Your oWn BussINess [ Last part]
She completed her phone tasks and returned to her reading, but her concentration wavered after just a minute. She closed the book slightly and drifted into thought. I couldn't help but wonder, "Is she genuinely engrossed in her reading, or is she trying to convince herself that she's not wasting time?" But then again, it occurred to me that she could be a pharmacist who perhaps didn't enjoy reading long notes, given her familiarity with concise prescriptions. Or maybe she's not a pharmacist at all, and reading books is just an occasional interest that fades quickly. It could also be that, like many girls, her mind was racing with thoughts, from the latest gossip about her friend's new heels to concerns about her difficult landlord.
Lost in this pondering, we eventually reached Bole International Airport. The girl prepared to resume reading, and as she was about to turn the page, I glimpsed the title of her book: "How Successful People Think." She had been lost in thought all this time, pondering the very subject of her book.
Yet, as all these moments unfolded before me, a nagging thought crept into my mind: Why couldn't I just close my eyes and sleep? Why did I find myself so invested in the lives of others? It struck me that many of us, perhaps most, unconsciously spend our days entwined in the lives of others. So, I made a silent resolution: Let's mind our own business.
@ItypeHere
👍3❤2