It challenged, I grew
Not every time does an inspiring story come your way but sometimes, when it surfaces, it’s bound to wow you. Two weeks ago,I got an email inviting me to a hackathon I had earlier applied for — earlier, but so long ago I can’t recall when. Lagos Innovates collaborated with Visa to sponsor a hackathon that’s themed “Cashless Lagos”. Now, I had never attended a hackathon prior that. I didn’t have any experience yet. Of course, I was just hours away from having a memorable one. A memorable one, that is, not without serious hitches.
I got a call. The caller reminded me of the invitation email for the hackathon and wanted to know whether I would be attending. My response? Well, yyyyyeees, I would. Maybe. Before that call, I had not resolved to go. During the call, I was unsure. I mean, the idea of a hackathon sounded interesting but at that time, I had to finish up my boot camp challenges which seemed to lag too far already. After the call, it was, “Well, let’s see how tomorrow turns out. I don’t have t-fare anyway”.
That was two weeks ago, on Thursday. That Friday, I laid my hands on some money and that became my t-fare. Trust me, zoom! Off I went.
The bigger challenge came from navigating to Valinium Valley at Ikeja from Ojota. Okay, Google Maps all the way to the rescue. True, Google Maps had always been of help and this time, it was yet not saying no. At least, until I found myself lost around Murtala Muhammad Airport. I was practically oscillating between Bisam, Airport Road and the Airport itself. Google Maps had done its job. It took me to the vicinity of Valinium Valley. Locating the Valley now was the bane. A hitch more challenging than locating Airport Road. If anyone ever claims that you could get lost in the streets of Lagos, small as it is, don’t stress yourself doubting, it’s a paradox!
I had been on the road for a couple of hours. I remember leaving home immediately after Jumu’ah setting off for a 45-minute journey. Or so I thought. Three hours later, here I was lost in Ikeja, being threatened by the weather and not sure whether to go back home and ditch my very first hackathon or feed my resolve with the crumbs of hope I had left.
Is anyone asking, “Why not just call the organizers who contacted you earlier?”. Well, that was indeed the way out but I didn’t have airtime. Funny, it’s very unusual of me not to have airtime on my phone. I always had surplus — surplus enough to keep chatting an hour and a half on a call. This day had to be different and I had to bear the grunt. “Then buy airtime!”. Yeah yeah… I did. I did buy airtime but not before I walked on my legs to Bisam as there was sparsely any trader on local airport road.
I called the organizers. Since my descriptions where not vivid enough or say, not informed, they could not help the situation. Not until I stopped a bike man with whom they spoke. Even that took like ages to the already stressed out me. Did I remember to tell you that what made my journey more excruciating was the absence of bike men on airport road?
After numerous hours of battling the daunting obstacles that threatened my first hackathon, I got to know that Valinium Valley was where Google Maps stopped me at. Valinium Valley was where I had earlier got to and asked the nearby mechanic who directed me somewhere else far off.
Valinium Valley was where I had earlier got to and asked the nearby mechanic who directed me somewhere else far off.
The start of my throes was, after all, its end.
