An atypical newsletter, ye shall find.

"And have you seen the water that you drink?"

Hi guys,

Hope you are well. I'm doing okay, Alhamdulillah.

To be honest, I’m sleepyyyy. I write this in bed at 10:16 pm on Sunday night after a weekend full of activities. Yesterday, I did one of the most oyinbo-like things I have ever done, joining some friends on a 4-hour hike. It basically involved climbing seven cliffs in a national park.

Apart from the 7 ish hours I used in transit, it was a very enjoyable experience.

Was I tired? Yes.

Did they sell gala on the road? No.

Do I intend to go hiking again? Yes. 😅

Today was somewhat similar, as a friend and I took a few days off work to travel and destress from the city life. After 9 hours of train ride + station delay + road travel, we arrived at our destination, tired but satisfied.

And now it is time to put out content for this newsletter, which I did not get a chance to think about in the last 48 hours. Instead of attempting to write something or continue an old story, I shall direct you to content I'm enjoying right now.

Okay?

Okay.

What I'm watching

I’m currently watching David Rubenstein’s interview with Bob Dudley, former CEO of British Petroleum. Generally, I love watching the interviews on the Economic Club of Washington YouTube channel.

David Rubenstein is an excellent interviewer, and his experience as a billionaire Private Equity executive means he knows just the right questions to ask other business leaders.

** side note: I watch/listen to many many hours of YouTube every week. It is almost always one of 5 channels. Economic Club of Washington, Stanford GSB, AMAU, Mohamad Hoblos, and Formula 1 - no particular order.

I find this particular interview interesting because:

1. It was held on the day of the Brexit referendum vote in the UK, before anybody knew what the future would be.

2. As at when it was filmed in 2016, BP was arguably as relevant as it would ever be. As the world ever so clearly moves to a post-oil and gas life, we will likely see fewer and fewer oil and gas executives get this much 'air time’ as their popularities continue to wane.

3. Bob Dudley is well-travelled and has diverse experiences. He was an American businessman leading one of the UK’s most important companies, and had spent a lot of time working with Vladimir Putin.

If you are as boring as I am, you will probably find it interesting.

What I’m reading

Thanks to Ajibola, I am currently reading Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. If you do not know what a geisha is, then you are in good company. A few pages into the book, Google let me know a geisha looked something like this.

Image from Listverse

Anyhoo, the historical fiction book tells the story of Sayuri, a young geisha trying to succeed in Japan in the 1930s. It is quite a page-turner, and has kept me company a lot in the past few days.

If you have some downtime or just want to immerse yourself in another world, this is a solid recommendation.

What I'm thinking about

أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ الْمَاء الَّذِي تَشْرَبُونَ

And have you seen the water that you drink?

أَأَنتُمْ أَنزَلْتُمُوهُ مِنَ الْمُزْنِ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنزِلُونَ

Is it you who brought it down from the clouds, or is it We who bring it down?

- Surah Waqiah, verses 68 & 69

It appears that sleep has begun to overpower me. At this point, I am forced to publish this as soon as I can, and then get some well-deserved rest.

O di next time.

** Jara content:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.” - Theodore Roosevelt

Have a great week. 💫