Bitterjug’s blog

This is Mr Kioko. Mr Kioko has given me permission to write this entry, and to use his name in full.

I met Mr Kioko just over two years ago when I was working at Holy Rosary College in Kenya. He was part of my wireless router experiment crew, and he makes a mean slingshot.

Every now and then he pops up on google chat and we talk about his on-going effort to find a good job: he has a very clear goal of being a system administrator, and has been focussed on this since I met him. I enjoyed working with him because he had a clear view of how he could profit from my experience and learn what he needed to meet his own ends. He asked me, before I left, to write him a reference letter, I had forgotten about that, he scanned it and sent it back to me to remind me what I wrote because it turns out to have been useful to him. I signed it with all my post-nominal letters and qualifications; it made me laugh to think of it being read aloud in a job interview ..
but I’m getting ahead of myself.

After landing a great new job as Assistant Systems Engineer at CDC/KEMRI, he sent me this email:

DR.
Let me give you a brief story of CDC/Kemri [...] The major reason am picking the job is as you know i like advancing and learning new things, I want to administer an international System and learn as am bulding my carreer, for your suprise the letter you wrote to me was read (LOUDLY) in the panel of the 6 panel guys who where interviewing me and i believe your letter gave me the job for it clearly stated me as an Engineer.

I got a friend and a true one and also a Dad in life. Thanks for being there for me always when i need you. Am greatful and good for you.

I will not fail to metion your comments one time we had a chat over a particular JOB in Greek and you told me, and i quote “we human beings fear to take challenges in life, and often by the time we are ready to pick them it is too late and we get no more chances, when you get a challange go for it if you know it is the right decision you have made”

For your surprise i went to the interview that very day i had [...some problems in the previous job...] and i decided to go to the boss to as him why? we had some conversation and i decided to tell him point blank that that day am supposed to attend an interview in CDC, so am requesting for permission to attend it, Before even considering my options his 1st words were: “if you attend the interview!! getting that job or not getting it am firering you, consider the family thet you support and all sort of things etc etc so before you make a deciscion to proceed consider these issues”

So i was hurt very much and, when the interview was a day away, I went to his office and told him that have made a decision and i have the freedom to choose so have decided that I am going for that interview and I leave the other decision upon him. He just looked at me and told me anyway we don’t know of the future but I do wish you my blessing as you go for the interview [...]
I will keep in touch has have been always and it is proud to be ASSISTANT SYSTEM ENGINEER- NETWORK ENGINEER for I once told you that these is my dream and it has come true.

Am Very Proud DR to be these
rgds

It’s sometimes startling to hear my own advice quoted back to me, and especially so in a context where it has been followed. I once had a fortune cookie that said:

It requires greater wisdom to profit from good advice than to give it

But, then, another fortune cookie I once had said:

Oral sex is more satisfying than a fortune cookie

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 8th, 2007 at 9:51 pm and is filed under Uncategorised. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.