Dear Fellow,
The other day, I almost smashed my phone on the floor. Well, I did one time. How it didn’t seize functioning completely then, still baffles me. But my phone faced the threat of damage and actually suffered injury from me. Those were times before I had my PC. The threats and the slam were some of my reactions when I lost a lengthy piece of writing I thought so hard and spent much time at the keyboard writing. Only to have it at the mercy of an inefficient device. Blame it on my phone; what else do you expect from an outdated device?
Then, I faced a different kind of test with my PC. I hoped that with a PC my sad moments over a piece of writing due to ownership of a bigger and better device were allayed. I came to that point again, where I couldn’t just give in to the idea of knocking the screen of my PC. I didn’t save a lengthy piece of writing—of about 2,500 words or so—all the way from the first word to the last line. I faced the threat of losing all of it because the word processor didn’t have a built-in system to automatically save my writing even if I didn’t manually. The loss with my PC wasn’t due to the inefficiency of the device, but the power supply.
Lately, we have had to deal with an irregular power supply in my residence. I found the same situation at school and learned that folks living miles away from my residency, but within the city of Jos, Plateau State, had to deal with a similar ordeal. The electricity breaks, circuits detach, and your devices go off without your permission! The power returns, stays for a while and then breaks again. When the power returns again, it lasts for ten to fifteen minutes or thereabout, goes away for five to ten minutes, and returns afterwards to last for a while longer, and the cycle goes again. You have a rest period of an hour or more in a twenty-four-hour period—with a blackout, that is. For most Nigerians, this is commonplace as we are already accustomed to hardly—very rarely—having an uninterrupted power supply for two days or more on end.
I have two word processors on my PC—one with a built-in system that automatically saves my writing, and the other which requires a mandatory “ctrl + s” as I type in every fool’s stop (pun intended).
But really, what is the point of this? I had to sort through this question before hitting the first word in this piece. I knew the piece for today is built around the experiences with my writing devices—as the title sits on the timetable. I had just to hit the keyboard, and find out the hidden gems in the piece through the writing. Noteworthy, I entered the title after one of those episodes with my devices and the inconsistent power supply described above. To this point, I am yet to figure out what is the moral of this. Hang on with me.
I was able to learn through those episodes that, I must learn to be a little more patient with the flaws I get to see in my relationships with people. If my phone continues to meet ground when it doesn’t meet my demands, what happens to the face of a loved one when he doesn’t meet my expectations? What if my expectation is for her to do what she isn’t wired to or hasn’t learned to, as in the case of my word processor which doesn’t have the built-in system to automatically save my writings? Will I be patient to deal with the default or wait until when there is an improvement? I no longer bang my desk when the power is out; rather my knuckles lock into my palm before wiping down my face, taking in the fits of rage. I consider that I have the opportunity to rewrite some of the lost pieces of writing over again. At first, it feels like a heavy loss. But time and again, the rewritten paragraphs or the entire pieces turn out better. I have come to make peace with this creative process. It isn’t always an ordeal I have to deal with—loss of drafts—but my coping technique is enlarged and ever-evolving with the demand for it. Am I a lot more like I am in my creative process, in relating with people? Perhaps I am titling closer to understanding what Paul was saying about becoming all things to all people, so he could show them the way, the truth, and the life (see 1 Corinthians 1:19-23). Whichever way it is, the beauty of my evolving character is irresistible. Who would have thought our automated devices hold such potential? I doubt the developers considered the potential of their inventions to instruct in this manner. Well, it is more about the human than it is about the perfection of the devices. In the end, it is the human who must become before the inventions become.
You really do not want a narration of how I had to deal with the threat of yet another outage while at this very piece. One thing is sure, I have learned to say a prayer in my heart while undertaking a mentally dynamic process. The creative process of any craft transforms the artist. I wish you a beautiful evolution.
Your LetterMan,
Tongjal, W. N.
Doesn't your Substack App save all your drafts by the minute like mine does? Don't you have that little icon in the lower left corner that says "view daft history? That's why I prefer writing drafts in Substack. I think this is a cloud thing since my drafts disappear after I publish.
One time, and one time only as I was writing my post it suddenly vanished along with all of the history but I don't think that was Substack but outside interference so I beefed up my Google security and it hasn't happened since.