Young Kenyan Man's Story

The Other Side

2011-10-17T13:10:00.004+03:00

Well, so much for staying away. I had good reasons, you see 2 weeks ago, in the words of Jaguar, nilivuka border. Who's the lucky lady who managed to bring down a rogue elephant in 2 years? You remember her from http://youngkenyanman.blogspot.com/2009/11/love-new-season.html

So how is the other side? Well you can't comment on performance in a marathon, just after 50 metres. And from the experience suggestion that this is a rigourous race, I will remain bracing myself for the worst. But it is pretty positive, and with lots of positive influencers around me, by God's help we will finish well.

Howevcr, everyone keeps saying I am no longer a young man :-(

It's been a while...

2011-07-05T22:13:00.004+03:00

Hey good people,

Sorry for the many months. Yaani, all those lost ideas!! I will regret. So what have I been up to? Here is in reverse chronological order:

Ruracio - my time:

Finally acquired my beautiful Nandi bride last Friday for the pricey sum of 5 cows and 1 ewe. Pricey coz they quoted for us 120k a piece, while ng'ombe za Mt Kenya ni 35k. They actually made us read Genesis 34:12 in English and Swahili to funga us completely. We finally settled (actually they refused to budge) at 80k - quite a bargain considering she's priceless :-) Wonder if clearing this debt will enhance my credit rating...

Nyumba:

Decided to go the mortgage way, took a 6% company facility on a 2 bdr apartment east of JKIA. Was informed of the legal fees, but when they hit you, they hit you hard. Yaani I pay the bank's lawyers, the vendor's lawyers and my lawyers!! And serikali still takes 4% stamp duty and other charges kama valuation etc. Kweli, building your own house is far more affordable. However, there's better likelihood of future rental income from an apartment...

Masomo:

Year two of MBA. Almost there, however the week shilling (UK degree) is hurting me kabisa...

Biashara:

Registered an ICT company in Kenya. Used a registrar, but still experienced the government bureaucracy. Took over 2 weeks. Clearly ICT needed in serikali...

Witness

2011-02-26T22:20:00.003+03:00

After attending a 4 week church program on fundamentals of the faith, today was the day the rubber met the road. In pairs, we were to go out and tell the good news to a certain location around Nairobi CBD, and report back in 3 hours. I was paired with a young lady and dispatched to university hostels. We picked a particular hostel, went to the top floor and began knocking doors. Outcome?

Most guys actually will listen to the gospel message outlined in a simple, non-offensive and straight forward manner. The four spiritual laws work!
The decision is the tough part for most but in our case, 2 guys actually said the sinner's prayer. Others however retained the booklet to make the choice by themselves on their own time.
Others simply weren't interested. At least no one was rude or unruly. But some just played us, asking that we come back after 10 minutes, when they were nowhere to be seen.
For those who were already believers, it was good to hear about their walk and to pray for any need.

Some highlights from the rest of the pairs:

One team came across a guy in Uhuru Park. He had been brought to Nairobi from Kitale for a job a few days before but was abandoned. So he slept on a bench, then the next day was mugged. He figured all this was God's retribution for not believing. The team took him to OTC and paid fare for him to go home.
One pastor came across a guy who said that God had told him that a pastor would come to see him that day about salvation.
Others got a lot of information about people's view about God, Christianity, our church etc. Guess people do know a lot. And people do not know quite a lot either. And we do not know quite a lot about people either.

Some thoughts:

Truly the harvest is great but the labourers are few.
How will they hear unless someone is sent?
Sharing the gospel should be as easy as telling someone about something you love e.g. Man Utd, fiancee, M-Pesa etc.
Love is the greatest thing one can share. So many are in need of love expressed simply by concern.

Blessings.

Year of the Rabbit?

2011-02-10T12:20:00.004+03:00

Happy New Year Folks!! It's not too late, is it? Well, this is the year I thought would never come. I kept telling her "next year, next year", kumbe I was setting myself up. So this is the series of events that characterized the start of 2K11, the year of the Rabbit :-)

Office:

One sunny morning as I head into jobbo with my workmate, I tell him I'm headed to the cafeteria to grab breakfast. And he retorts, "Bado hujapata mtu wa kukutayarishia breakfast?" I indicate that that was the project for 2011. He, in wisdom and experience, states: If you want a resolution to stick, do it in January...

Home:

I flip open my Bible one evening, hoping to find some soul respite after a hard day's work. My eyes catch a verse I'd never noticed (despite having gone through this whole book twice before).

As a young man marries a woman,
so your children will marry your land.
As a man rejoices over his new wife,
so your God will rejoice over you.
(Isaiah 62:5)

City:

Figuring divine destiny, I decided to scout various outlets around the city that dealt with "facilities that facilitate the facility". Funny enough, I hadn't carried my wits with me at first, because I stood outside the doors and then walked away, struggling to deal with shortness of breath along with other emotional challenges.

Finally, I got the strength (a few days later) to get in and enquire on what I was looking for. The pressure now shifted to choice because of the different shapes and designs. I finally settled on one I hoped would be the right one.

Family:

On the designated day, I received a morning phone call from family abroad with an enquiry as to when the announcement would be made. Of course how this call coincided with the chosen date is beyond me. Another coincidence was my family in the country also asking me about the announcement, on the same day!! The coup de grâce was my own father calling to check up on me and as I spilled the beans on my plan for the day, he goes something like "I thought about it too a few days ago..."

Church:

Seems the entire universe was aligning itself towards/against me. The church service leader, while announcing the start of another pre-marital counseling class, asked dating women to look into the eyes of their gentlemen and ask them "It's of how?" Thank God, she hadn't arrived by then!!! Strangely enough, the preacher's final prayer mentioned something about someone delaying a lady for too long...

Execution:

It was a simple plan really. We went looking for ice-cream at Galleria, and not finding a vendor within, went to the nearby Creamy Inn. I asked her to go find a place to sit while I waited for the ice-cream and as she went outside, I stuck it deep inside her cup. Since the place was quite crowded, I asked that we take a walk back to Galleria. Long story short, she hadn't found it by the time we'd gone round so we sat in the car.

Then she said "Babe, what's this?" And then...

Young Kenyan Man in South Africa

2010-12-11T19:37:00.004+03:00

Kunjani peeps. Yes, YKM finally got the opportunity to visit .za this week. Not pleasure unfortunately but strictly business. My employer sent me + boss down south to fact find on a system our affiliates in Cape Town implemented some 2 years ago, to justify the high cost of implementing it. Our PA happened to book me on flights (night and morning) which did not allow me the chance to visit the region as much (meetings all day) but for the little I got to see, was still memorable.

Highlights:

Cape Town is a very neat and organized city. Very superior road network on the major highways, sad if the rumours that Kenyans built their roads were true.
Got to stay in Century City (our equivalent would be Tatu City). Brilliant concept for work and play, live is limited to hotels and apartments.
Everyone talks to you in their own language expecting you to respond. Was quite a challenge since I figured responding in Zulu would bring about more confusion. My pal who works there advised that I respond in Kikuyu/Kamba so that they switch to English :-)
Post apartheid divide still exists, informally but very significant. Still wondering if economic empowerement can ever override social injustice.
Corporate challenges will always be the same, no matter the country. Was interesting, sharing experiences with our affiliates. Same same technical and political issues affect us all.
The women, mostly blacks, seem quite comfortable to be of large size. Wonder if its culture or food...
Seems the world is ever smaller. Knew six people (church, neighbourhood, work and campus) on the SAA plane back home. Seating next to my boss was not exactly the plan I had in mind but survived the trip anyhow.

Enjoy Jamhuri Day, won't you?

North Eastern Travels

2010-10-31T19:41:00.004+03:00

I recently got the chance to travel beyond Garissa on a job field trip, and got to see a different side of the world. We drove all the way down to Garsen, along the Somali border towns (border like 20 km away for security reasons) and up all the way to Wajir and Garba Tulla for a week, G4S security escort with armed APs ;-) in tow.

Some interesting tit bits about this side of Kenya:
- We arrived just before 6 p.m. only to find a curfew in place due to clan fighting. Not exactly the welcome we were waiting to hear, and we had to search for a hotel room at record pace.
- Garissa is a larger version of Eastleigh, main mode of transport is Toyota DX, Fielder, Probox and Caldina. Useful models for transporting all sorts of things...
- Popular dish of rice, spaghetti and nyama in the down to earth local joints. Was spectacular watching one of the wariahs tackle it kwa mkono, mad skills kama mluhya na ugali!!!!
- Tarmac exists significantly around the main town centre, but there is where it ends. However, there are some road construction projects by NYS (remember the donated Chinese equipment) along the Bura - Garsen road and by the army towards Hulugho.
- Wajir is much smaller but seems to have major strategic importance for some superpower. I recall approaching the airport and it has a fully solid gate (can't see inside) and soldiers with gun detecting equipment (remember some trial in Nairobi) pointing their gadgets at us. Wonder why they can't get one of those for JKIA...
- Still wonder how Garba Tulla was ever ranked as a National School!!! I saw the town and it is so run down. Guess moving the district headquarters to Isiolo town was the death knell for this place.
- Got my first desert experience. So this is how Courage the cowardly dog feels in the middle of nowhere!!!

- Network coverage is scanty for YU and non-existent for Orange beyond Garissa town.
- Despite all this, aspects of rural development can be seen especially from CDF. Revival of TARDA irrigation schemes at Hola and Garsen is quite impressive, as well as rural electrification projects. And some army built suspension bridges are a spectacular sight. Water tanks for the settlements seem to be the most important aspect, as sorry sights of women and children with jerricans begging road users for water were quite frequent.
- Got to see the refugee camps in Hargaderra, Ifo and Dagahaley. NGOs have set up strong bases in these areas, and it was interesting to see local nissan mathrees with Somali number plates.
- Any talk of sending chiefs home should be silenced until counties can set up grassroot administration systems. Clearly rural Kenya is far from accessing basic government services without the provincial administration. And insecurity in that volatile area is more emphasized by that. As for Somalia, only peace will help sort out the refugee situation that has overwhelmed Kenya.

All in all, was a very eye opening trip. Basic needs like water and electricity should never be taken for granted. Guess governors for this side of Kenya will have a great opportunity to lift standards of living in the short term.

PS: On a lighter note, got to check out the famous place along the Machakos - Kangundo road (Lat 1.4263 deg South, Long 37.2401 deg East) that defies gravity. While I'm sure some technical explanation like spartial dispersion might explain it, was the most surreal feeling putting the Patrol on free at the bottom of a hill and it went up hill for like 15 feet!!!

Magical Kenya

2010-10-04T22:19:00.003+03:00

RURACIO

Call it Gaita or any other name, this is one of the most magical Kenyan events any local tourist should check out. I got the priviledge of attending my pal's (campus and now workmate) event. Being a cross-cultural union, the interchanges were mostly in Swahili. And boy were they well choreographed, you'd think these guys have been doing this for ages (actually they have).

After lunch, the guests are welcomed by the lady's family spokesman (let's call him Spokesman L) who asks the visitors to state their intentions. The guy's family spokesman gives thanks for the hearty meal then proceeds to state that their young man has been scouring the land and has seen "good things" in that part of the country, so has brought his kin to see for themselves.

Every exchange is coupled by hearty laughter and sniggles. Spokesman L politely informs the visitors that there are many "good things" in this land and they should identify who their young man is and which "good thing" he has seen. So the young man is called forward (he is wearing a suit - have never seen him in a suit) and points to a corner where the lady is seated. Of course Spokesman L informs him that there are many people in that direction, so he goes and picks her out and brings her to the front. Great cheers from the dude's side!!!

Spokesman L acknowledges the two and proceeds to ask the Lady if she agrees to be identified as a "good thing" which she does. More cheers from the dude's side. Then Spokesman L allows both to sit. He then proceeds to acknowledge that the lady has been identified as a "good thing", and SHOCKINGLY states that if there was nothing else on the agenda, the guests are free to leave.

Ieery silence follows. Spokesman D (for dude) interjects politely. He states that since the crowd is large and there are "children" about, a select few would want to meet with a select few inside for talks. The "selected" went inside for talks and we the "children" were left outside to continue with what it is we were continuing...

We overheard and saw sequences of singing, clapping and outdoor deliberations over certain pieces of paper then much later, crates of sodas were ferried in (something akin to white smoke) by the dude's family. Finally we had votes of thanks from both sides as to a successful event.

Nothing like a Kenyan cultural festival to whet the appetite for a local tourist. Only challenging issue was the miriad questions posed to my girlfriend as to when will people be visiting her home!!!

Heartache Medicine

2010-09-08T11:32:00.004+03:00

Unfortunately sad season is back in my life again. And I realize that my track record in this sector is horrendous, so I'm troubled as to how exactly to go about avoiding the adverse effects. Simply put, I've come to same screeching halt which has coloured my previous escapades, and I still don't know how I ended up in the same mess as before.

Actually, should have read the warning signs. I shouldn't take anyone/thing for granted. I figure I'm not cut out for this game. But at the same time does that sound that I've given up on this type of divine design?

A check from internet research on heartache unfortunately shows a correlation with worse things i.e. chronic diseases such as headaches and heart attacks. No cure is packaged in bottle according to wikiHow.

So YKM will take a break from social scene for a while. Will he be back? I wonder...

MBA Day 1 - The Journey continues

2010-05-06T20:53:00.004+03:00

Hey folks, been a while... I've traded shares, visited Austria by train, stood/knelt in front of church and a few other interesting things. But the highlight that has rejuvenated my blogging mojo is today's experience (actually orientation was on Monday - but today was the real deal): My first day of class in Masters in Business Administration.

Three hours later, I'm thinking this wasn't such a bad idea. Well it was time really that got me bugged, heck I started thinking about it sometime toward my final undergrad years when I read an article from Carnegie Mellon University about the entrepreneurial engineer i.e. need to understand my engineering studies will never help me get to fully understand and prosper in the corporate world. And since I'd set a target of before the big AGE, well here we go...

God's been pretty good to me because I've got a good grasp of work (read good relationship with the boss) to allow me the opportunity to manage my own schedule. The time factor is still an issue but luckily got a college that is conveniently placed near work to skive traffic (unfortunately comes with a hefty cost implication of doing an overseas degree in a local centre), plus a neat schedule of one week evening and one Saturday morning.

So how was class? Well I'm the youngest :-) which is quite an interesting dynamic. Almost 85% of the class is more of senior management and business owners (a few company directors), which I got to find out during orientation. Fact is one of my own employer's senior managers is in our class (desk-mate today), as well as three from one of our competitors. And most of them are scared stiff of finance, LOL! Guess I'm in very good company because last time I studied business was in KCPE...

So here's to the next two years of networks, late night studies, group work and a depressed level of social activity (read lonely girlfriend). I guess we can only hope and pray that the reasons will bear fruit at the very right time.

Eccl 12:12 (NCV) Be careful my son, about other teachings. People are always writing books, and too much study will make you tired.

10 for 10

2010-01-08T12:37:00.005+03:00

Happy New Year people!!! As we are just about to end the first 10 days of the 10th year and the second decade of this century, here is my list of 10 predictions for the coming year/decade, ranging from personal to national to global aspirations. Will they come true? Only time will tell...

1. The world will still not have mass market electric cars by 2019. Sadly, we will remain under the mercy of the oil barons i.e. OPEC etc

2. Kenya will finally have a new constitution. However, the amount of wrangling about power by political factions will not end in this decade, with the next avenue of wrangles being constitutional amendments (I'm betting on even more referendums).

3. Despite a valiant effort, Africa's attempt at lifting the soccer world cup will end in semi-final (brave bet huh?) heartbreak this year. The next two world cups should see inferior performances.

4. The "young" in this blog's title will end up being dropped due to a massive transition in fortunes i.e. senior management, married with children by the end of the decade ;-)

5. Kenya's stock market will hit the magic 6,000 point mark, before falling due to the next cycle of the global financial crisis later in the decade. Unfortunately, lessons learnt from the past crisis will not be able to counter the future causes.

6. Despite further advances in technology bettering the lives of many, the percentage of global poor people will increase and the world will be an increasingly dangerous place to live as solutions to addressing conflicts in Middle East and Africa become harder to achieve.

7. Kenya will retain the steeplechase crown at the Olympics this decade, continuing our domination in this trademark race. We will also get our first non-athletic gold medal since Robert Wangila's boxing heroics through Seven's Rugby (sorry messrs Dunford).

8. Fifty years down the road, no other human will have stepped on the moon's surface, further fueling speculation that the world was hoaxed by camera tricks by the Apollo missions. And this is despite the advances in technology (see 6.)

9. Kenya's rail system will finally get upgraded, and high end estates will develop outside Nairobi since commuting will take 1 hour to cover 150 km. Despite the completion of all the by passes and the much hailed raised highway from Nyayo Stadium to Museum Hill, traffic jams will get worse as more people buy cheaper vehicles.

10. Finally, 10 years after starting his undergraduate studies, the writer of this blog will start his masters studies. He will also spend the decade wondering whether to proceed to PHD in 10 years time...

Have a very ambitious decade!!!

LOVE: New Season

2009-11-15T23:07:00.003+03:00

Hey peeps! Sorry for joining the underground movement, but it seems I've taken my life offline mainly due to work related reasons (read overload) and better still have erased the sad memories of last season to enter into a new exciting relationship with the most wonderful woman. Details will not be shared but I'm in cloud nine. For now, I'll just give you the lyrics to OUR song...

I'm calling his phone up
just to tell him how much
I really love him cause
he's everything I want

He listens to me,
cares for me
so I truly believe

God sent me an angel up from above
Who's gonna love me for life
Might as well be perfect only because
It's the only way I can describe, so

If this isn't love, tell me what it is
Cause I could be dreaming or just plain crazy
If this isn't love, tell me what it is
Cause I never felt like this baby

If this isn't love

L O V E, what is to me?
L O V E, oh, if this isn't love
L O V E, what is to me?
L O V E, oh, if this isn't love

I'm selfish cause I don't
wanna share him with no-
body not even those
people that came before me
But see, I never believed

God send me an angel...

So if you got real love
Lemme see you put your hands up
See you put your hands up
The kind of love that fits
quite like a glove
Lemme see you put your hands up
See you put your hands up
If this isn't love

Cause I know I ain't crazy
I know I ain't tripping
I know I ain't slipping
I know that it's love

You see me with my hands up
If you think I'm dreaming
I know I ain't dreaming
Cause this is the reason I love him because

If this isn't love...

Song: If This Isn't Love
Songwriters: Brian Seals; Terry Thomas; Theron Thomas;
Singer: Jennifer Hudson

PS:Any trained body emerges above a wonder.

Count me in or out

2009-08-23T19:22:00.000+03:00

National Census 20 years ago:

For one reason or another, we were not counted. I still can't remember why, all I know is that our gate didn't have that cryptic code marked in white chalk that all the other gates in the hood had. The stigma of being the only kid who didn't have a story about the people who came to count us was too much to bear. I promised to make amends once the next census came.

National Census 10 years ago:

The long wait was finally over and I wasn't going to miss this opportunity. The thing I remember most about that famous evening was that it was the first time in quite a long while that we had sat together as a family in one room. Guess our lifestyles and tv preferences meant that if you weren't in your room, you were outside. Truth is, we never sat together as a family again, as people moved out soon afterwards.

The exercise itself was not without drama. Me, the rebelious teenager, decided to answer that controversial question by saying that I am a Kenyan, much to the chagrin of my parents. Don't get me wrong, nothing to do with tribalism, rather a statement to my folks that I had no ties to their ethnic origin, having been born and brought up in Eastlands. I spoke fluent sheng and visits to ocha never lasted more a few nights in a year. The ennumerator didn't have a problem with my answer, and I felt relieved I had exorcised the demons of missing this important event 10 years ago.

National Census, tomorrow:

Like every employed soul, every surprise holiday is treated with the same gratitude as an unexpected bonus. Yipee!!! Tuesday is a nice day to sleep in, sadly it's also the day our area undergoes electricity load management exercise. As for the exercise the night before, let's just say not everyone in a red shirt carrying a black bag is automatically guaranteed entry into our flat.

And with regard to that infamous question, I'm thinking of rebelling against the current trend. Maybe it's in honour of my parents (esp my late mum). Or rather in acknowledgment of the fact that knowing my tribe or where the people of my tribe are located isn't in itself a bad thing, the census being useful for planning purposes, as well as a gold mine for research information into human migration, pathology and cultural studies. If someone uses that info for locating potential genocide victims, I don't think I will be held guilty. But that's my 2 cents, I might as well tell them that I'm from Mars...

Psa 125:3 The wicked will not rule over those who do right. If they did, the people who do right might use their power to do evil.

Rest in Peace Mum

2009-06-27T13:41:00.003+03:00

2009-06-10 08:00:00. We got the call, come quick and take her to hospital. On our way we were told, go straight to hospital. And at the hospital we were told, she's left us. And that's when our family's worst ever nightmare began.

The postmortem results showed that she'd had a heart attack (yeah, just like MJ) due to atherosclerosis i.e. the arteries bringing blood to her heart were clogged with cholesterol, hence the heart muscle cells died slowly over the last couple of years due to reduced oxygen supply. Since mum had been quite healthy all her life (and not overweight), it came as a shock for all of us.

Funeral was the other Friday (19th) and it was a really rough ride for the husband, daughters (the one in the US couldn't come however), son and grand daughter left behind. But by God's grace, and the love, support and contributions of relatives, neighbours, friends, workmates and strangers, we are still here, still standing, trying to move on.

So what was mum like? A month shy of her 60th birthday (her birth cert was less 4 years though), she was a retired secretary who took up poultry farming, and had also explored business opportunities in Southern Sudan. She was a strong believer, committed to prayer and counselling the many women she came across in the hood and beyond. She loved to laugh (was the founder chairperson of her chama called 'Mitheko' group) and looked out for the best in everyone.

My best memory of her? When she sided with me and not my high school teachers during Form Four 1st Term open day. I'd performed poorly, mainly because I was more focussed on interschool games. I told her (in my capacity of vice capt) that our hockey team needed to make it to the national finals and that I'd pick up my studies after the ball games. Turns out our team made it to the national final itself, and I got the highest possible grade in high school. And that's what any kid would want in a mum: to believe in his/her dreams.

I'll follow my dreams all the way through, and I know I'll make it. Sadly, she won't be here to share in my success, in as much as she deserved it.

I'll miss you mum. RIP.

Mayday musings

2009-05-02T11:17:00.004+03:00

Like any other employee, 1st of May was waited with eager expectation of an extended weekend, with the key mpango being going to shags. But looking at the critical essence of the Labour Day holiday, and checking out the news in the evening, there is a clear indication that being a labourer is not exactly the best thing in life.

The wisest man said the best thing in life is to eat, drink and enjoy his work. Unfortunately for most Kenyan labourers, they neither enjoy their work nor can they make enough to eat and drink (in the sense of comfort). Sadly the scenes in Uhuru Park yesterday were clear that the labourer is more or less a slave to the masters (the guys in expensive suits seated on the dias). And with the global economic crisis, the demonstrations in other more developed countries were a reflection of the same.

Am I any different? Truth is I'm no better than the labourers. Almost 4 years after campus, I'm still existing on a single source of income (business plans still on soft copy at best) and my sole investments trading at 40% below purchase price (equities were recommended as the best investment when young). And this is despite reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, Richest Man in Babylon and currently Think & Grow Rich.

Sadly I figure that I'm more a contributor than a solution to the unfairly skewed distribution of wealth in the world. Consider, that I'd pay less than minimum wage to any employee who would feature in my biashara for starters, let alone the cash paid to the lady who does our laundry every week. And listening to my colleagues hoping for bonuses and increments, I wonder whether we are trapped in the employment illusion, not aware that we are being played for far less than what we are worth. Maybe there should be a rule that we should all be self employed within time x of clearing campus, get us out of our comfort zones and creating wealth for the country.

Last episode: Ditched not Hitched

2009-03-29T19:10:00.007+03:00

I struggled a bit with this, but here goes. For all of you who diligently followed the social series of my life from Smitten, Saying it like it is, Getting Noticed, Soap Files - Updated and the previous post, I'm afraid the last episode has gone according to what we least expected and feared most, NOT a happy ending.

Guess it's true what they say about two birds in a bush. When they fly away, it's as if you had nothing in the first place. No reasons were given, simply put: "A lot of thought has been put in this past week, and I think we should just be friends". Of course we'd prepared for this statement, having patiently waited 15 months, so we said what naturally comes to mind "Sawa". Unfortunately the attachment developed during this period isn't that easy to get rid off, so I'm at pains, the sharp splinters of my broken heart a daily source of emotional trauma.

Well, what next? We'll go undercover for a few months off the dating scene, till it's safe to bring out this patched up heart. Hopefully, the sun will still shine again :-(

Adventures in Obamaland

2009-03-01T23:33:00.003+03:00

After 4 weeks of a superb holiday, I'm back in the country. Still dealing with jet lag, but feeling very rested. Infact I've added weight, which is a pleasant surprise. I figure it's more to do with the absence of job related stress than the food, considering we were living on a Kenyan diet mostly.

So some highlights from the vacation:
- I didn't see Obama. Or Bush, despite the fact I was in Texas.
- Missed the sevens tournament in San Diego, but still had fun, posed in dream cars at the Dallas Car Show, and caught beads during the Mardi Gras parade. And finally got to figure out American Football, watching the Superbowl is the premier social event!
- You can actually have too many ads on TV. Spoils the watching experience entirely once you've gotten over the creativity bit.
- I've finally figured out the slow internet myth. It's all due to where the server is located. Opening yahoo and facebook is superfast but try nation or stockskenya, so slow!!!
- Recession is a reality. Companies shutting down, mortgage foreclosures, layoffs etc.
- Despite the domes in Runda, our best bet is in roads. I was impressed with the multi lanes (including a dedicated lane for high occupancy vehicles i.e. more than one person), massive interchanges (instead of stifling roundabouts) and general all round organization. Despite this they still have traffic jam especially going to downtown, and taking the train is the more convenient option.
- Telecoms have gone a long way. I was roaming on my local line during that period and 30 minutes talk time and some 60 odd texts cost only 5k.
- Being Kenyan is something good actually, when you are in another country. The community is so vibrant, you can attend a Kenyan church, go to a Kenyan club, and pretty much have your entire social circle being all Kenyan all the time!
- And finally, let's just say I've overcomplicated my social status. Details will not be broadcasted but in short new competition has shaken the incumbent up from their slumber...

So back to work for another 11 gruelling months ahead. With South America, Ocenia and Asia left, I wonder where the next vacation will lead me to.

Young Kenyan Man in the U.S.A.

2009-01-30T20:09:00.005+03:00

A massive 3 months of blogger's block finally comes to an end. I've touched down in Obama's land, Dallas Texas to be exact. The nice people at the US Embassy decided that I've earned the right to visit my sister and in-laws during my annual leave. (Scheduling the visa interview on the day of the inauguration found the people on a good mood). So for the next 4 weeks, it will be all about gaining weight, meeting friends from way back and generally forgetting about unga and other issues back home.

So what has changed?

I have dreadlocks: Finally, parents, teachers, lecturers and management out of the way, I've done one thing that I'd wanted to for a long time. Must admit, the attention is overwhelming, but maintaining the look is demanding. Why do chics go through all that trouble for dudes who most often than not will not notice your new hairdo?
Can you spot the black worms crawling all over my head???

I'm still single: Despite all the hulabaloo of the last post, kimeumana. Nothing happening in that direction. Guess this place will provide some necessary distraction.

I can spend: It seems that my aversion to spending money on myself has been subdued. Paying for an overseas holiday is no small feat, despite booking the cheapest mid-week return flights on BA. And now, trying to figure how to go for San Diego Sevens means that tukirudi nyumbani, we'll be starting from scratch.

But life ni fupi, so let's see how the holiday goes. Anywhere far away from stress of work is good enough for me.

The soap files - updated

2008-10-20T20:08:00.004+03:00

An update since the last full episode:

The Returning
She's back. She said she would. Of course I didn't believe. Some eighteen months ago, our friendship had started blossoming. She went away to do her Masters and as she was leaving, I asked whether I can delete her number (goodbye forever). She was like, no I'll come back for you. The nice guy that I am kept in touch, the occasional phonecall (duly footed by the company postpaid line). Last week, my phone rings, I see her Kenyan number, and she's malizad masomo. She'll holla sometime next week we hook up. What to do?

The Foreign Invasion
We sat next to each other on the flight from Zurich to Dubai. I ignored her, she had small talk with the other lady along the centre isle. Later when the drinks arrived, we started talking. And we couldn't stop, till a couple of hours later when we both fell asleep. One of those "connection" experiences they talk about. We even went for a coffee date in Dubai airport. An Aussie of Italian descent, she was quite knowledgeable on Kenya having friends in Kericho! Lowest point was when it came to revealing our ages, the look on her face showed it when it was evident that I'm much younger than her. Still we keep in touch via mail.

The X-factor
Version 2.0 called the week after the Swiss affair. Wanted to see me pronto! I'm like, niko kazini (after 6 pm). She still shows up, so had to shut down and go for drinks. After small talk, punctuated with long periods of silence, I'm asked why I don't keep in touch. I try answer logically, eeeh we ni ex, kuna vile sisi si mabeshte. Conversation degenerates into tense exchange. I still had to endure long period of silence as I drove her home. Surprisingly, she invites me in! I humbly decline and scatter. I write on her FB wall on her birthday, no communication since.

The Undergrad
We hang out jana. She turns 21 this weekend (her jamaa is also 21). I like her, and will stay friends with her, even though she'll definately pose a threat for the rest of the compe. After all, she knows how to make me laugh, is real + down to earth about everything, and we always have a great time when we hang out. Sadly, she affected the way I related with her elder sis, who was my classmate in primo, and was the reason I got to know her.

The Smitter
We are just friends, 10 months after here. Better friends but sijui niseme...

Young Kenyan Man in Switzerland

2008-09-25T23:34:00.005+03:00

After a 6 month hiatus I'm back to my globe trotting ways. This time it was a conference for users of some equipment that we use at work. The company is based in Switzerland, so they chose somewhere in the Alps for purposes of making their customers feel special. I now realize why managers go for conferences, they hold the purse strings. Being a techie, I went there simply because I use the equipment more than anyone else.

The highlight of course was a glacier walk in the Alps. Being a Kenyan born and bred in Nairobi, snow is something I'd only seen up Mt Kenya from far far away. The Eastern European guys had a field day taunting me that I'd freeze to death. Then they pelted me with snow and made me eat it!!! But it was so much fun, at -7 degrees.

Nyahururu eat your heart out!!!

One thing about this beautiful country is that it comes with a hefty price tag. Everything is priced over the moon, and being in a tourist town, it was insane even for the other Europeans in our group. Guess I'd better look but no touching...

Drink at your own peril

2008-09-02T22:17:00.004+03:00

Sent on a work assignment at the Maasai Mara last weekend, I encountered a scene that will forever haunt me regarding drinking with pals. I never knew it was such a hazard when I saw the danger of hanging out at the water hole even when your mates are around you...

Sad fact was that the rest of the crew continued drinking like nothing had happened. Please drink responsibly and stay safe ;-)

Olympic Records

2008-08-17T19:26:00.003+03:00

Achana na Phelps ama Bolt (OK Usain was something special), jana was at my pal's wedding and having been part of the committee, I'm couldn't recall any show of affection between them, even a hug. But when the pastor gave the green light, it seemed that in the spirit of Olympics, they had planned to go long distance (Kenyan speciality) on the kissing thing.

Second by Second analysis:

1-2 And they're off, no hesitation or fumbling, smooth take off.
3-4 The crowd erupts with screams and ululations.
5-6 The screams hit the peak and they are still at it.
7-8 The ululations rival the NSE in hitting rock bottom.
9-10 Discomfort settles in, engaging your neighbour in small talk about the weather seems like a good idea, or for the parents to engage their children in any form of conversation to distract them from the unfolding drama.
11-12 The pastor attempts to play down the issue by remarking "It's their day, they should enjoy it."
13-14 Eish, hawajamaliza?? Time to fish out your cellphone and check your balance, just find something to fiddle with.
15-16 And they are done, with huge grins on their faces:-)

All in all, it was an interesting experience, you should have seen the look on the older folks faces! But what better way to celebrate the bond of marriage?

ruracio: IPO comes home

2008-07-21T20:45:00.004+03:00

With the eldest daughter a certified spinster and having a last born son clearly unable to figure out this love thing, my parents decided to cash in on the only remaining asset, my second born sis, a true measure of the benefits of diversified investment options. Of course, the eldest sibling and myself (being born and bred in the city) voiced our reservations regarding the disposal (considering that we had to raise additional capital to fund the process) but clearly no spoilt urban brats would stand in the way of the biggest payday for the folks.

As the happy couple are away in Obama land, the onus was on the dude's parents to visit our residence and clear the air on what happened to our daughter. So this past Saturday, we hosted an entourage of "Libyan investors" bearing gifts from afar (actually a supermarket along Jogoo Road). In preparation, my mom had lined up a first XV complete with the same number of subs, and the scrum (negotiatiators) had meet long in advance outlining their list of shareholder demands.

Saturday's affair went as follows: All were treated to a sumptous feast, an invited preacher delivered a long sermon, the families were introduced by name, the negotiation teams went into the living room to thrash out the details, sodas were then produced, and final prayers sent the guests home at night.

Now due to the afore mentioned reasons, I was not allowed anywhere near the consensus talks. But intimate sources reveal that the visitors had expressed gratitude on the warm reception, and after outlining their motives which did not raise opposition, proceeded to leave a 'female goat' behind as a sign of their commitment. A initial listing price was then agreed regarding the number of shares (goats), and the visitors also took a list drawn up of other 'licence requirements' necessary for completion of the deal, to be paid during the next meeting.

So is going public a viable option? Of course the advantages are numerous. The two families stand to gain in terms of social status and networks (I definately think our family will gain more than our fair share) and there's also the circulation of capital in the local economy (we gave our hard earned money, which fed the guests, who had carried gifts, which were shared out among my mom's friends who had worked hard to prepare for the day, and in the local where my dad and his friends would reflect on the new venture). Sadly though, I'm yet to see how I'll be compensated for the emotional trauma of losing a sister :-(

Birthday Reds

2008-07-09T22:40:00.006+03:00

It's another birthday, and boy do they come and go so fast. I'm still in my twenties, but they are running out. For the birthday, it's bila hugs and kisses, cake or gifts for me, but I'm thankful for life and the fact that God's been too good to me.

So what am I doing during this auspicious occasion? Well, the company sent me on a 13 day excursion to the coast to check on the quality of the products it sells. So from Lungalunga & Shimoni in the south to Lamu & Garsen in the north, it's one long road trip. Must admit that we have one beautiful country.

Latest picture of me today morning, spent the night at Leopard Beach Resort on the South Coast. Very nice place, complete with the classic elderly mzungu and her young maasai catch. This evening I'm in the Italian town of Malindi, where majority of the locals are either spectators, employees or 'service providers'.

Here's to another year of blogging and fun times, whatever your weather.

Interviews: Opinion of one of the panelists

2008-06-14T14:57:00.003+03:00

As part of my 'acting' manger stint, I've had the priviledge to interview some 20 odd job seekers in the last couple of weeks. Now, I haven't been in a job interview in 3 years, so some insights were gathered even as I had the pleasure of deciding the destiny of many (sounds powerful), while being on the other side of the table.

The typical interview involves the cusory introduction, you give us a brief of your educational and career background, we attack you with questions based on your c.v., we then shift to questions about the job, and finally throw in a couple of puzzles to see your analytical skills. Then we give you the chance to ask one or two questions, before the HR representative closes with the usual 'We'll get back to you in a few weeks'.

Here are some insights:

1. Don't put anything on your c.v. if you can't defend it. The fun one is putting French, we'll start the interview in that language! Usually, the jamaa is caught flat footed. You say you are IT, we'll give you an IT problem.

2. The shorter and more precise the c.v. is the better. Focus on job skills and exposure. Anything else such as dining hall prefect is a waste of paper. Save the trees, stick to 2 pages max.

NB: We sifted 100+ cv's to get the 20 interviewees so I cannot over-emphasize this point.

3. Make sure you know what the job is about even if it's just general knowledge. Use google or human networks to know. And don't use one of your 2 questions to ask directly, it's a minus. If necessary, ask tactfully e.g. what are the day to day activities of the job like?

4. Identify an ally in the panel and flow with them. Most of the decisions made were based on a general concensus with one direct supporter (usually the big boss). I'm not sure how someone becomes likeable but guess if we like you, odds are in your favour. I saw a guy with double masters being snubbed for a fresh undergrad. Life ain't fair, but remember we'll be working with you for years to come so we need to choose the right person to flow with the crew (race, tribe, religion have nothing to do with this, just personality - emotional quotient).

5. Be confident, but not cocky. If you don't know the answer, say so, confidently. Arrogance will get your cv blacklisted for the next million years.

6. Finally, if you've sold spinach for the last 3 years, attempts to convince us that you can switch to repairing kitchenware will most likely fall on deaf years. We turned away good guys even if they'd done their research and got most answers correct, so long as their career trend didn't fit with our objectives. They'd probably use us as a stepping stone to get to the spinach selling department.

"The fastest runner does not always win the race, the strongest soldier does not always win the battle, the wisest does not always have food, the smartest does not always become wealthy, and the talented one does not always recieve praise. TIME and CHANCE happen to everyone" Ecclesiastes 10:11

Happy Hunting!

They see me rolling... Season II

2008-06-02T20:44:00.003+03:00

An update since Season I:

1. In our zeal at enjoying the company fleet for our own pleasures, one of my colleagues went on an upcountry (really far) road trip without telling the boss. Twas the same weekend unfortunately that mkubwa got vehicle monitoring software installed on his PC and tried it out. We all got banned from using the cars except on company business. Back to square one!

2. I had my first serious accident early last month. Was driving back from Matuu (ndalas) to office around 8 p.m. Decided to overlap coz of a slow truck holding up traffic, only to find a car turning right, into a junction I hadn't noticed in Thika. Braked and skidded but still hit her (it was a lady) door and crossed with the side mirror. Graciously, no one was hurt. Ended up footing for the repairs undercover, didn't want to involve boss (had already gotten into trouble before over the cars, when a dent appeared and no one took responsibility).
Lesson: Don't overlap, just don't.

3. Finally got my first own ride following a nice deal that came by which I was compelled to take up. Had to sell most of my prime shares come everything, but hey, isn't it why we buy shares? The effect:

- At just the same time, my neighbour who had a Starlet, upgrades to a Corona, while the other neighbour unleashes an Xtrail and 4X4. Seems I'm still a very small rat in a big race...
- Workmates now consider me a hero. Eish, it's just a car.
- Fly neighbour invites me for sister's wedding, then gets me to carry her fly friends to reception and insists that I show up for dinner usiku. Food, Alvaro and dancing, my social status is on the up.
- Fuel is expensive, adjusting from busfare to ngata is a big leap. New hobby is being on the look out for sub 98 bob petrol stations.
- Despite 4 years of power mechanics in high school, the mechanic makes you feel like a bumbling fool.
- The convenience is too mzuri, unfortunately it comes with responsibilities i.e. errands and favours for family and friends.

Hope season III has better things in the offing. Enjoy the next 4 months bila public holiday :-(

I should have gone out partying

2008-04-26T13:16:00.005+03:00

In what can only be described as an amazing turnaround of events, my boss, who last week absolutely rubbished my performance for the last 6 months, decided to UPGRADE my performance ratings!!!

He stated that though I clearly didn't meet my objectives, the effort and work I'd put in all round couldn't be reflected in the poor scores I'd given myself. So he was upgrading them from poor to fair (which is what most jamaas score, guaranteeing a pay hike), but expects me to do better come 6 months time.

Now ain't that a corporate miracle or what? Halleluyah!!!!

I should be out drinking

2008-04-18T23:17:00.004+03:00

I've had a performance appraisal this afternoon covering the last 6 months. The period in question has been challenging to say the least. We started as a team of 3, one guy quit, we had to do a work around. Then after coming back on leave, the lead consultant (the other guy) had visa issues and had to go back to his home country, leaving me and another guy moved from another section to hold fort. Then another manager went on leave, and I've also covered for him.

In the midst of all the changes, I have yet to get a grip on my work and of course the boss picked out all the objectives that were expected of me and there was nothing to say in my defence. I think I wore black for a good reason coz he nuked me pretty bad. Missed targets, hiding behind the consultant instead of taking the lead, not being worth management material despite being given the responsibilities (designate not actual - i.e. salo ni ya mwananchi bado), unresolved customer issues, poor follow up and resolution of technical issues and so on and so forth.

Usually appraisal is two way (in theory?), but in my case, with no defence to speak of, I could only agree that yes I have failed. Sad but true. So now I'm just stressed and depressed. Hope the weekend will be too much fun to make me forget coz I don't want Monday morning to come, we are yet to conclude the appraisal.

My hope for the coming 6 months? Psalms 18:29 With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

Muthurwa L.O.V.E.

2008-03-23T18:34:00.006+03:00

Muthurwa is marked RED!

I took a trip to Eastlands last week to chec on my folks. Of course I'd been following the news about the 'Walking' Nation scenario ever since the Local Government minister decided to take a shot at solving the traffic and hawker situation in one stroke, by making all Eastlands public transport stop at the new stage opposite Country bus station, and having the commuters walk through the hawkers market on their way into the CBD.

I decided to go on a Sunday afternoon, figuring that it was the period with least traffic, and I'd heard nightmare stories from workmates about the great trek especially during rush hour. Walking through Tom Mboya Street, it hit me that something was different, almost not right. Turns out I'm walking on the sidewalk without issues, and the road is devoid of much traffic. With the hawkers gone and the matatus relocated, the space is refreshing. However, the human traffic seems to have increased in size.

I slowly made my way across town to the entrance of the new Muthurwa market (eeh this isn't a short walk). Evidently, the place is far from completion, with work on going, and the makeshift entrance being too small and therefore very crowded. Hawkers of course consider this a good location, and many of them have etched their names on floor and wall spaces to stake their claim despite the fact that no one is meant to have a permanent place.

One has to walk through the market to find the vehicles and of course this for a first timer is a bit tricky. Once on board, I got to see why there is a bottleneck. The three lane Jogoo road rush hour traffic is forced into a two then one lane entrance, with no option of overtaking or exiting till the end. Woe to any vehicle that stalls in between! As of last week, a new exit was opened but still hasn't gotten things to flow freely. A plan to bring shuttle buses from there into town is in the offing but isn't this just increasing the same traffic we are trying to reduce?

Clearly, this discongestion issue is going to take a while to effect, with talk of bus lanes, by passes and raised highways among other solutions mentioned. In the meantime, the bodabodas (and whoever gets that shuttle contract)will make their killing, while the rest of Nairobi waits to find out where their PSVs will be made to stop outside town. With parking fees set to rise, telecommuting or working outside the CBD is the best escape route for wasee wa Eastlands.

Keep walking ;-)

Getting noticed

2008-03-01T15:36:00.003+03:00

Case 1:

I got a mail from the CEO of a startup called VerveEarth. In short the jamaa says that they were looking for the best blogs in the world by geography, and they found mine for Kenya. (Alright you can stop applauding now, the sarcasm is killing me).
So they are inviting me to sign in with their site which plots the content of the internet on an interactive map of the world. Of course being chosen as Kenyan ambassador gives me great pride and I will serve my country online with distinction ;-)

Case 2:

Someone wrote a comment in my blog 2 weeks ago. It was for a post I'd done mid last year. I only noticed it from the email alerts from blogger. I'm surprised that probably it came up on a google search for someone looking for Kenyans in Germany. Talk about being relevant way into the future!!

Case 3:

She sent me an email. She says that she was spending time checking out facebook and decided to go through my profile. She discovered the link to my blog and says that it was really cool. She also read EVERYTHING! Who is the person in question? The 'she' being referred to in the Smitten and Saying It Like It Is posts!!!! I could only reply back "oops..."

Death, death and near death

2008-02-06T13:55:00.000+03:00

Death

Unfortunately the reality of the violence in Kenya has hit closer to home. Last week, a campus classmate was going to his hometown in Kisii on leave and was attacked somewhere on the road. I've been informed that his body was later found in Sotik, he'd been shot dead by arrows.

Death

My last remaining grandparent passed on last week. Almost 90 years old and with several great grand children, I believe he lived a full life. He was an inspiration and constantly encouraged me to work hard and be a success. The funeral is tomorrow.

Near Death

The highlight of my holiday in Uganda involved a 44m bungee jump into the Nile. Standing on top of the platform gives you a fright of a lifetime, and the adrenaline rush when stepping off the top lasts for several hours!!! That was the most exhilarating experience of my short life.

Young Kenyan Man in Uganda

2008-01-21T14:22:00.000+03:00

That's right, I'm refugeeing in UG. My 24 days leave will expire on the end of March and after been held hostage indoors for the better part of the last couple of weeks, I had to come to a decision to flee the country yet be in a position to be in touch with loved ones in case of anything (read One Network/Kama Kawaida).

Took a flight via Air Uganda and since these guys are making a comeback, it means first class treatment for economy class guys. Of course, it's not cheap compared to road, but considering what happened to my cousin this past friday, I'm glad I took the upstairs route.

He informed me that between Kisumu and Busia, the road is blocked by gangs of youth and the local cops are overwhelmed by the situation, such that these guys in their Akamba bus didn't get police escort automatically but had to go searching for it. Apparently even the cops are somewhat influenced by the tribal issues and only when they got a Kikuyu OCS somewhere in Luanda, were they able to travel safely to Busia.

They got stopped by a gang who demanded money to let them pass, and just after they'd done a mini harambee and the road cleared, another gang showed up with a tractor tyre and kerosene. They wanted to burn the bus and demanded for Kikuyus in it. Fortunately the driver had his wits with him and drove off, under a hail of stones.

Otherwise Kampala is ok, save for the heat and it was refreshing to attend a catholic mass on Sunday because the prayers for peace centered on Kenya. Guys here are quite concerned about the happenings back home, especially because of its effect on prices such as fuel.

I'll try enjoy the holiday, but thoughts go out to back home and that a peaceful resolution can be found soon.

Red in the colour of our flag...

2008-01-03T17:49:00.000+03:00

The title of my blog ensures that I'm very much part and parcel of what is going on in my country. And I share in the sadness and agony that the rest of the blogsphere is experiencing regarding Kenya at this difficult time. Riots, violence, chaos, bloodshed, ethnic cleansing and many other words struggle to describe the state of affairs. Friends stranded upcountry, unable to travel back. House arrest as wars between cops and protesters take place outside our estate. And the worst ever holiday season in everyone's life.

Having been brought up in a cosmopolitan manner (middle class, urban mixed estate, excellent sheng, halting mother tongue), I'm lucky not to have serious tribal biases, apart from the usual stereotyping e.g. kyuks love money, kaos are colour blind etc.

So for me it's difficult to comprehend what's happening. And unfortunately I'm struggling with my conscience as to my role in the cause (and solution) to the mess we are in.

- Did I vote wisely?
- Why am I in the offfice instead of being in the streets protesting for justice?
- Am I praying hard enough for peace (and is that enough)?
- Will I give enough for the humanitarian aid causes (and is that enough)?
- Have I put any pressure on those 2 individuals holding our country hostage to come out of their posh offices/homes and go out into the country and see the effect of their actions/words?

Too much vibe, we can only hope that things return to normal (if that is ever possible when life and livelihood is lost). God have mercy on us, we were foolish 5 years ago to sing 'Yote yawezekana...'

Saying it like it is

2007-12-15T15:21:00.000+03:00

After taking into account the advice of mafans, I told her how I felt jana evening.

Now we wait...

Point to reflect:
As I fikad digs that evening, I noticed the moon has a big grin...

Smitten

2007-12-08T16:48:00.001+03:00

It's been quite a LONG while since I felt like this in my left side of my chest. And since this feeling isn't going away, I've had to disclose the condition to my close circle with a view of getting their thoughts on what I should do about it.

We met last year at the Village Market bowling alley, taking part in a CSR event. For both of us, it was our first time to attempt the sport. But since I've watched too much tv from childhood, it was easier for me to catch the ropes and then show her from very close proximity on how it's done.

This year, we worked on the same CSR project and that meant a lot of time together particularly in the last 3 months when the project needed the most attention. Of course this brought opportunity to know each other better since conversation drifts from the project to work, life and personal opinions.

And then the feeling started...

Sikuli, silali etc etc

Consultations are currently on going with the advisory circle in my life as to how you tell someone that you are attracted to them and you want them to become more than just a colleague in a CSR project. My pals say I should just say it (whatever comes out) ASAP and get it over and done with. I ask how (never good at this thing) and then what? But can't win the lottery unless I buy a ticket ama?

2nd Anniversary

2007-11-16T18:23:00.000+03:00

Two years down the line since I first arrived here. Clean shaven & in a tie. How things have changed, I wear more jeans than semi-formal and my hair is prime for short locks (coming soon). Then I was polite and formal and green. Now I'm a mix of easy going and well known. (I could run for councillor...)

Highlight
Completed the management training program and got posted to entry level techie. Good since it gives me mileage for future career moves. But I'm left behind by the guys who went technical straight. I'll need a few years before I'm up to scratch, but at that time will I still be management oriented? I actually like the technical path - more flexible, new things to learn, more stability, less stress (but less pay?) etc.

Lessons learned:
From last time's anniversary, it seems I got the email thing down, but clashed with my current boss yesterday. We haven't been on friendly terms since (formal emails and requests) but this too will pass.
More guys have moved on, and new ones come in, which is a friendly reminder that I should plan my exit (advice from a HR Manager - always have your exit date in your head; what do I need to have attained by then?) A bright note was that I sent to a colleague a job application for an international posting I came across in the East African and she got it!!! That was just way too cool!

Current situation
MT was a dream job. Tech is a bit different. It started out polite, went crazy. But in the past month, it's mellowed out as the new guys got the hang of things and my weekends became free once again. Not much outlook on promotion, it's just gonna be 2 more years of sloughing it out to be the best. That is quite a journey. But I'm grateful to be here, and wouldn't want to change it for now, despite the usual feelings when things go haywire.

Parting shot:
"The crowning fortune of a man is to be born to some pursuit which finds him employment and happiness, whether it be to make baskets, or broad swords, or canals, or statues, or songs" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Random thoughts

2007-11-09T18:44:00.000+03:00

If I went ALL the way to Kisumu City,
Up to the shores of Lake Victoria,
To gaze at the beauty of the sunset,
That reminded me of you

And happened to see in the vicinity,
A bunch of hyacinth for your aquaria,
So fresh and green and wet,
I picked them just for you
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
What would you say to me?

Kazi mingi

2007-10-07T14:09:00.000+03:00

You know I'm overworked when:

- By mid morning, my hair is a shaggy mess.
- I only know my sis is still existing coz I see her car parked at night as I get home.
- My workmates keep telling me I look stressed, like every other day.
- I've recently updated my music collection on my work laptop, but I feel like I've heard the songs too many times already.
- The senior colleagues tell me to get married so that I have an excuse to leave work before sunset.
- I've cash lying around coz I don't have time to go to the stock broker.
- I went for lunch at 5 pm last Friday.
- I've no clue what movies are showing currently.
- I respond to the question "How's work?" with "Mob sana" or "Crazy!"
- I have two lane highways for myself on my way home from work.
- I step in for a colleague so that he can simamia his pal's wedding on a sato.
- I missed my pal's wedding jana coz I was at work, arriving at 6.30 pm to find guys harakishad the reception coz of rain.
- I'm updating my blog on a sunday afternoon after completing some work.
- I already know where I'll be on Moi Day morning and next Sato morning, and almost definately next Sunday morning.

Despite all this, I'm actually getting to like my job. Give thanks for what you do, and how you are doing it (or how it's doing you) whatever the weather...

They see me rolling...

2007-09-12T19:11:00.000+03:00

It's been three weeks since I've had the priveledge of enjoying company resources i.e. mobility. And it was only by a stroke of luck that some jamaa was moved to our dept and since he had a ride from there, took one of our new rides and so I ended up hopping between some of the vehicles in the fleet.

Reactions:

1. The watchmen
At digs, they stopped calling me 'ndugu', they call me 'bwana mkubwa'. Sad to say but they now expect bigger handouts from me, which is a surprise coz I wasn't giving out any when I was javing.

2. The big sister
Now with smaller car, she's resorted to using me as the full time errand boy. I've done everything from chauffering her daughter, drycleaning, meat etc. Is this love, is this love that I'm feeling?

3. The relaz
They are in awe. I'm trying to tell them, "Hii ni gari ya kampuni!" But it doesn't count in their books, all they know is that I've hit the big league.

4. The honeyz
a. Fly chic leaving estate in the morning:
Me: (Stopping the car a few metres after passing her) Where are you headed?
Her: Kenyatta (which is totally in the opposite direction from where I'm headed)
Me: (After a few seconds of logic vs emotional war) Hop in.
Turns out she's a pal of a pal. Which should make us?

b. Other fly chic neighbour
We got to know each other due to javving together, then she bought her own ride and I was reduced to nothing. Now she recognizes the brother, which is good for temporary ego boosting.

c. The occasional hook ups
People have to be dropped home after coffee. Which is sawa in terms of knowing where they actually live. But maybe expectations are becoming too high?

5. My mind
After what happened to Odegle a while ago, it is now a constant that my level of worrying has gone up a notch higher. When you are parked in town or church and your mind starts thinking 'Did I lock the car?' 'Has it been stolen/towed/vandalized/crashed into?', then for certain, I'm not at peace with this nice thing I have been entrusted with. I wonder whether all car owners/drivers feel the same way at the beginning?

All in all, it makes moving around a whole lot easier, so I'll be thankful and enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Point of concern:
A pal's dad, a workmate and a pal's new born kid have passed away in the last couple of weeks. It been difficult dealing with it. Appreciate life, won't you?

Bloodbath

2007-08-25T16:39:00.000+03:00

Blood, blood and more blood. It's one big mess and I haven't got the guts, time and means to clean it up. Dead bodies splattered everywhere, but then it's all their fault. They should never have moved in the first place. Sure we are all different, and we have different needs. But when it comes to what I have and what I am, that's another story altogether.

Peaceful coexistence? I doubt it. Why couldn't they have stayed in their own land, instead of coming to mine? Fine, I could share my space with them, but they took it to a whole new level by going after me, disrupting my quiet time which has a negative effect on how I look, how I work and how I relate to people on a day to day basis.

Sadly, this was the last straw. Sure, there is talk about accepting others despite their differences, but truth be told, these invaders should never be left alive! We cannot and will not allow them the opportunity to take over what is ours, and especially thinking that our bodies are to be treated as their playgrounds.

I've left my bloodied weapon in plain sight that others will know that I'm not about to surrender my independence for the sake of others' enjoyment. I will fight for my right to be free, to be at peace and to be with my own. Even if it means that the state of my surroundings will be covered with their remains.

"This is where I fight! This is where they die!"

(The following was a description of the state of my bedroom after a rolled up Friday Nation newspaper collided with mosquitoes. All references to murder, genocide and the like should be considered as untrue and misplaced.)

TAGGED

2007-07-30T18:43:00.000+03:00

Due to public demand (read K.I.P.U.S.A. and Jadekitten), I've finally been caught up by the tag. It kinda reminds me of that 'monitor' thing that guys used to be branded with for speaking any other language other than the Queen's english or Swahili sanifu. Should I feel good that the blogsphere feminine species recognizes my existence, or bad that I have to expose MORE stuff about me?

The Rules are:
1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Here we go:

1. The guy who sits in the next desk to mine at work was my room mate in 2nd year campus. Surprisingly, this is the second year since we cleared campus, same class. We however went to rival high schools (Bush vs Mangu) so have this love/hate thing for the last mingi years!

2. I'm a sucker for nice perfume, and will complement any lady (except strangers - don't want to be known as a psycho) for the scent. I keep tabs on what perfumes the chics in my life wear, and they are pleasantly surprised that I do that.

3. My ringtone is called "My phone is alive". You can listen to it (and download it) here. It's to die for, especially in a serious meeting.

4. I've been seriously under stress coz of job. Yaani, too many things to learn and do, but no enough time. And after reading several articles about quiting work to start a business, this is at the front of my mind as of now.

5. Many people have been asking about when I'm getting married. I keep telling them that I'm single and happy, which they (and me sometimes) think is a big joke. Turns out most folks are of the opinion that once you have a stable (is there anything like that) job, next thing is a wedding.

6. I finally have the guts to shuka short locks. The hair is still short, so we are keeping it until Dec. I figure that being a techie nowadays, (nobody cares about a techie's looks), that it's my last chance to do something crazy with my hair (after matuta and corn rows earlier in life).

7. One of my biggest failings is mood swings. Maybe it's coz I have two elder sisters and no brothers, plus my mom is by far more influential in my personal life than my pops. Somedays, I just don't feel like talking to most people and prefer to be alone. Other times, I go through pains when I'm alone. (KIPUSA, that's 7 so you can stop reading now).

8. I'm a nice guy deep inside, even though I cover it with a bad boy attitude. It started in high school, when I realized that being nice can't get you any girl's attention, so had to cover it up to get noticed. It actually works.

Enough said. I can't tag eight guys, so I'll settle for three:
Odegle
Hwambuig
Majonzi

The Earthquake Journals

2007-07-19T17:44:00.000+03:00

Juzi 5.00 pm
I'm at the IT Help area sorting out a virus issue on my laptop. The chair starts shaking, then the walls. I look around and everyone is agitated. While no one dives under chairs, guys are a bit tense and when it ends, we all look outside, make phone calls and vibe. Turns out most guys in the other wing left the building in a hurry once the tremors ensued.

Jana 6.15 am
I'm woken up by a text message from a good pal. She states that someone has sent her a text saying that CNN has announced that a major earthquake will hit Nairobi in the next hour. I continue sleeping.

Jana 6.30 am
A neighbour (one of the estate committee members) knocks on our door. He says that he's been contacted by a pal that there's gonna be an earthquake within the hour. He wants us to warn our upstairs neighbours. I'm not moved but my sis being the kind neighbour insists that we promised the jamaa. It's not the best sight seeing your neighbours in their sleep clothes, but we do the necessary. Hard questions such as "What is the Govt doing about this?" and "You've seen it on CNN?" are asked and ambitious guesses given in return.

Jana 7.30 am
Leave for work. Have scrolled through BBC, CNN, SKY, Euronews and Al Jazeera. Nothing on earthquake, rather aircrash in Sau Paulo. Many neighbours (still in night gear) are still outside the apartment blocks, WAITING!!!!

Since then:
1. Numerous emails and forwards on quakes.
2. Neighbourhood committee pastes on eastate walls disaster guide on quakes
3. All conversations eventually have something to do with quakes
4. First 15 minutes of news is all about quakes

CONCLUSION:
1. It seems I'm not so afraid of dying at the moment.
2. Many people are.

Am I getting younger?

2007-07-10T17:21:00.002+03:00

Once again it's that time of the year when that hard question arises: should the title of this blog continue to be YOUNG Kenyan Man's Story? That's right folks, it's my birthday today. How old? Let's just say that I'll still be in my 20's for a few more years (very few to be exact).

Make sure you leave some for the rest!!!

The day, nothing to write home about. Apart from the many texts & chat messages, and couple of phone calls (which are much appreciated) from family and friends, a pizza (Terrific Tuesday) lunch plot backfired as colleagues were either out of office or held up in meetings! Presents? LOL! Haven't seen any in a bit. Treated myself to chicken for lunch as compensation.

Obviously the turn of events the last couple of weeks means I have a lot to be thankful for. Following the successful completion of the 19 month management trainee thing (the technical training was the last bit), I've been posted to work as a quality analyst for data services. Dream job? I can't tell but so far prospects look good. Plus, it comes with a nice payhike, of which most of it should see more frequent visits to the stock broker.

Half year financials: offloaded Rea Vipingo & Eveready, increased Scangroup and added KCB and ICDC to my portfolio, which includes Mumias. Targets for 2nd half will obviously involve taking advantage of the IPOs. Also, I plan to get a new stream of income, by registering and starting a small business venture I've identified (details on success) as viable. Also, the x-campus chama has kicked off and we open the account this week. This could also translate to big things in the future.

Thank you Lord for life, help me make it worth Your investment.

Vioja Ujerumani

2007-07-02T15:22:00.000+03:00

After 4 weeks of European adventure (read technical training) I'm back on home soil. 1 month bila ugali na chapati was bearable considering that it was a first time trip, so sampling sights and sounds of majuu was definately worth it.

After Brussels came 2 weeks in Munich, Germany. While the sight weren't as picturesque as Brussels and Paris, the infrastructure and the cars were something else. Seems that German engineering is all that and more. We used the train system and it is absolutely reliable. The roads are partitioned for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles, and alot of times, we were found on the cyclist lane, quite embarrassing!! The beer glasses were humongous, and also I found the closest picture of home i.e. Hakuna Matata pub. Cost of living is slightly lower than Brussels, and there are good prices for electronic equipment. I came into JKIA lugging a whole CPU, and went straight to customs just as formality, since computer equipment is tax free.

Interestingly, this was one place where the small world theory was proven kabisa. First I had the opportunity to hook up with several Kenyan chiles who went there under the banner of ‘Language Students’ i.e. Aupairs. It was interesting hearing their vibe on their mboch lives, and the search of a hook up that will get them papers (they call them Makara - short for makaratasi). The bottom line is that Aupair is just an entry point and the marriage (or kid) is the passport to full status change. So sad, coz these chics say they don't have any job opportunities back home so this is the only way for them to make a life and care for the folks and siblings.

The other thing is the 'solidarity' thing that black Africans (not from North Africa and Nigeria – they have their own mingi crew) have, that you acknowledge one another on the streets. Guess when you are few in number, seeing 'one of your own' makes you feel at least welcome. There's no open discrimination, but the atmosphere just isn't welcoming, and especially when you don't know the language.

East or West, Home is best. Isn't it?

Chronicles of Belgium (& a bit of France)

2007-06-16T01:41:00.000+03:00

So sad but my 2 weeks in Belgium will be over in 6 hours time. But, due to public demand, here is a bit more on maisha in Ubelgiji. For starters, it is quite a lovely place, as I'd said earlier. Due to the well organized infrastructure, and being the capital of the EU, Brussels is a classy place. Here are some of the sights i.e. Grand Place and the Atomium (a must visit - awesome).

Brussels isn't the cleanest of places (lots of cigarette butts dropped in every street), but I finally understood what's all the hullabaloo about road reserves, bypasses and overpasses. When you see them in good use, especially with the well organized bus and tram services, then it makes sense for Nairobi city to get a master plan ASAP.

Another nice thing about Brussels is that it's just 300 km from Paris. 4 of us coughed 100 Euros each to have the cab driver drive us there and take us round the major sites. I'm sure that Ksh 9300 will never in a lifetime deliver the whole day experience that is Paris. Travelling by road (at 150 kph) isn't that fast, but when you are in a Peugeot 807, confort is far better than economy class flight. And since there are no border checks on the roads, no meetings with nasty immigration officials. Here are a few sights:

Disclaimer: Yes she's happily married. No, I'm not running towards her. Wait, Maybe, I think...

Surprisingly, a few guys mistook me for a local both in Brussels and Paris. This evening, met two women looking for an African restaurant that happened to be across the road from my hotel. As I showed them the place, I asked them whether they were Africans, and they replied yes. Then one of them asked me my country of origin. When I said Kenya, she switched to Coast swahili! Apparently she used to work at KPA kitambo before immigrating these sides with the husband. Yaani, this world is quite small...

Young Kenyan Man in Belgium

2007-06-04T00:11:00.000+03:00

Nilipanda ndege, nikaenda majuu!!!

Hi good people. This is what happens when a Kenyan is translated to the first world. The same short I was randarandaring with all over Nairobi on Saturday, is the same one doing rounds in Brussels on Sunday. I'm here for 2 weeks, technical training (that's what the company sent me for) and hoping to get the most out of the experience.

Apparently this flying out thing isn't everything they say about it. Of course the numerous passport checks (4 in Kenya, 2 in Belgium) were a bit too much. The flight on SN Brussels was quite smooth, considering everyone has been a bit touchy about flying lately. The stewardesses however were not the kindest (is it coz we were in economy or coz we are black?) and the food was not the best.

Brussels is a beautiful city (as the picture outside our Hotel clearly shows) and we've spent the whole day roaming the city, visiting some of the major sites such as the Grand Place. My colleagues are wholly dependent on me, being the only chap in this group of 5 who can vibe french (Thank you Lord for the strength to skuma 4 years of KCSE French) and I actually have a good command of it, or is it the pressure coz guys don't vibe english alot. Surprisingly, we overheard a group of black jamaas vibing Kiswahili, the Nairobi dialect kabisa!

It's actually quite easy to visit and the street signs and maps guarantee that getting around is a piece of cake. The prices on the other hand are another thing, especially if you keep automatically converting everything to Kenya shillings and gasping in despair! At least it's the company footing the bill...

It's the beginning of summer and the sun set after 10 p.m. which was amazing to behold (despite learning all about it in school, looking at your watch is so surreal!). My first experience with a chic hasn't gone down well, jungu chile asks me if I wanted to use the net (computer at the hotel lobby) after her, and my high school french + all the english potead!!!! Let's hope that the rest of the 2 weeks brings better tales. A bientot!!!

Book Update

2007-05-22T17:20:00.000+03:00

Hi good people. After the shocking revelations about the social scene have rocked the hallowed view that my pals have had, time to switch to a more polite view. My yearly target of 12 books in a year is progressing vizuri. I'm at number 4 currently and so far it's timamu.

Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey was the 2nd book, and it's a fantastic novel for guys who feel like the Christian religion is full of hypocrites and so they are less likely to join the band wagon. Actually, it chronicles this guy's journey of faith by looking at people who are actually living out their faith, with the struggles that goes with it and being real all the way. It includes looking at Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky among others. With a title like "How my faith survived the church" no words needed...

The 5 People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom was my next book and it is a wonderful story. Yaani, if you want a creative thought on afterlife, this book is just for you. The concept is so sawa, that you'll meet 5 guys from your past life who will explain stuff that happened to you so that you can see the big picture (which is hard from down here). Being just an imagination (and the writer emphasizes that), the book is quite stirring, and makes for a better appreciation of some of life's happenings.

I'm currently reading The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch, and it is quite challenging since it questions the need to waste resources on anything. Already I'm starting to analyze the things I do in life with a view of getting the maximum of outputs from the minimum of inputs. How practicable the concept is subject to question, but the stats show that it is real. I highly recommend for anyone seeking to make headway in the corporate arena (I know I am).

Be intelectually stimulated this week...

The soap of my life

2007-05-02T16:27:00.000+03:00

The Clande

We kissed. It was totally out of the blue and uncalled for. We'd met only 2 times before, and that was like a total period of 10 minutes! Now, here's the problem, just coz we got momentary body chemistry (of the highly reactive kind) doesn't mean that there are grounds for going forward. Plus, as I explained afterwards, I'm not looking to get into a relationship with her (or any other girl for that matter) in the near term. This is because I've issues to deal with, plus she's ok but not my type exactly.

Sadly, she's on my case with incessant phonecalls, and I'm hard pressed to snub her (which is difficult for a neighbour). Don't get me wrong, she's really a sawa chic (for someone who's just cleared high school) and I feel rotten for that one moment of stuff, now trying to reconstruct a potential friendship is proving difficult. It's one of those situations, when explained will come up with the all to famous statement " Men are just *****!"

The Mystery

I started recieving text messages from a weird (not Kenyan or any easily recognizable international) phone number. Initial investigations proved that it was a Rwandan mobile number. This was some chic (had to be a girl) who says that she knows me and we've met at Java like twice, she knows me from my campus days. I try figure out this vibe but no clue as to who this person is. I even talked to a few pals, but none was able to identify the name given. My best pal gave me an idea as to who it was but it didn't add up.

Then to kill this whole story, I get credit and make the big international call, and guess what? It was the chic my best pal thought of. She's doing some audit in Rwanda and thought up a plan to apparently play with my emotions. Sasa, hii ni shida gani???

The X-Files

I've had the 'priveledge' of coming across ex versions 1.0 and 2.0 in the last 2 months. Both seem to have come across good tidings with regard to corporate life. The former left a legal position in a top bank for NGO high life, while the latter is disecting sorgum DNA as part of some international bio chemistry research. This is a far cry from campus days, when they were interested (for a very short time) in some broke jamaa struggling with engineering studies, but with great potential.

I wonder whether there's enough evidence for reopening the files...

Technology dependence

2007-04-19T16:23:00.000+03:00

Most of us know that feeling, you've lost your phone (actually you've handed it over to someone else unwillingly or unknowingly). Usually in this day and age, sim replacement is free and a low end phone can be acquired as fast as your dependence on a mobile device. The issue now comes as to how to recover and input your lost phone contacts. For me, I've like 3 sim cards, all of which have most of my important contacts. But all of them aren't updated and there are some pretty important contacts which I've recently updated. But for others, it's usually starting from scratch, using family, workmates and friends to get the regular contacts. But what about the clandes, chance meetings and unique people/business partners?

Now, I came across an interesting website. It's called mobical.net. For those of you with middle - high end handsets and GPRS set up, this site enables you to back up your phonebook, calendar, notes and even sms.

The set up is pretty simple, the system works by synchronizing the data from your phone with than on an online server. The handset should have some form of synchronization system, and it's a breeze setting up from this site. The only shida comes in restoring contacts, because one has to log in to the web account, back up the saved phone book and then synchronize again.

Other sites that offer a similar service include zyb and gsmsync. Tried them out, some a bit difficult to configure, but all in all a pretty decent way to save your phone book contacts on the net, that way you can recover them wherever in the world there is internet access.

Easter - Life & Death

2007-04-05T09:23:00.000+03:00

The following chain of events took place 2 nights ago, and they have left me quite pensive as to whether it was just a weird case of coincidence.

1. I attended an ekklesia meeting, and the study was about the women in Jesus geneaology i.e. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary, five women whose strange and dodgy background, reputation, actions and/or circumstances experienced were somehow key in bearing of children whose lineage directly influenced the birth of the Christ child.
2. After the meeting, two of us are at a stage in Kilimani, picking a mat to head to town, when we come across a guy and two ladies. The guy was carrying a baby and the ladies were crying. The guy and one of the ladies crossed the road while one lady stayed on the side we were. I figured we go ask her what the problem was. She tells us that it's her baby. We ask what is the problem in particular. In the midst of tears she tells us that the baby is dead. Apparently, they were on their way to hospital and the baby died in the mat on the way. So they'd alighted and were going back home, seeing no point in going to hospital. I had no words to say, could only mumble pole.

3. The book I'd borrowed from the host of the meeting that evening, whose title blazed in my face while I was heading home is titled "The Five People You Meet in Heaven." I'd asked my pal as we headed to town 'where do babies go when they die? even Bathsheba's baby who was 7 days old?'

I'm still very much shaken after that sequence of events, still wondering what the full implication is. As for now, I'm more keen to appreciate all the people in my life.You give and take away, blessed be Your name. I also came across this blog which coincidentally has something to do with this.

Happy Easter

Celebration time, c'mon

2007-03-21T13:32:00.000+03:00

Hi good people,

I'm back to work, following 24 days leave and obviously there's some difficulty involved in adjusting to the job environment as my body is having a hard time responding to early morning hours. Job is a bit interesting with some research project that involves surfing all day and playing with high end mobile handsets, so it's not all gloom.

Here's a peak at the highlight of an eventful break from kazi. Now with the increased crime rate, this isn't a topic to be handled lightly. I went for a 3 day retreat in Rongai and there's a place called Ongata Rongai Polo Club (a few km after Africa Nazarene University) that has paintball. For those unfamiliar with this game, it's simply air pressured guns firing balls of paint, loads of fun. Kitted with P.I. Crew uniforms, Darth Vader masks and Tommy guns, we were set to get it on. Unfortunately, there's some serious disclaimer one has to sign beforehand saying death or injury will be on one's head.

The pictures tell it all...

I'm 3rd left, this is the 'Peaches' team. We were competing with 2 other teams.
Planning time: The objective, capture a red flag positioned by the ref in the middle of the bush, and dump it in the opponents base.

If shot, one is expected to leave the pitch with hands up, touch a fence on one side at the middle of the pitch then head back to your own base before resuming the game.
That winning feeling...

The charges are 1k per person (kit, gun and 100 rounds of paintballs). It's a fantastic team sport, adrenaline kicks so much (psychology of a thug maybe?). Save for the sweaty mask (which must always stay on for safety), this is something every Kenyan fun lover must do in this lifetime.

Apart from this, the rest of the leave was expended in dates, sleep, tv and generally chilling out. On a business perspective, the chama for my classmates took off (I'm chairman) but the registration process with the ministry of social services is a hassle. I also assisted a friend write a business plan, which I hope if it works out, can become some consultant of sorts.

Finally, this is the 1st anniversary of youngkenyanman.blogspot.com. I wish to thank all those who've read and especially left comments on this site.

Accolades in no particular order:

1. KBW: You saw that it was not good for a blog to be alone...
2. Nick: You were the first to mention my blog in your blog, and the first to comment...
3. Pesatu: You put me in your list of favourite blog sites, I'm truly honoured
4. Mushenzi: Small world, we work for the same company, I tracked you down commenting on my blog!!!
5. Hwambuig: You were inspired by me to start your own blog, I'm humbled.
6. Everyone else (anon or unanon - hakuna space ya majina zote) who've taken their time to visit, and especially comment on this blog. Without you, blogging makes no sense. I appreciate you all.
7. All the KBW bloggers who've allowed me to comment on your hallowed sites. I'm a simple person, it is an honour.

Hope the next 12 months will see/read better things. Cheers!!!

Post Valentine stress disorder

2007-02-24T08:32:00.000+03:00

Hi good people,

I'm currently on leave (day 10 of a whooping 24 working days) and have discovered that internet out there is pretty slow. Actually it's just that internet at work is super fast so I'm having trouble adjusting back to normal. That's why I've popped back in the office kidogo.

Let's just say the last week was anything to write home about. It started the previous Sunday, when a kawaida visit to the doc for flu turned nasty when results indicate that my blood pressure has been rising and had just exceeded the safe level. I'm not under stress (I think) so has to be down to sedentary lifestyle... The doc put me on exercise as well as less salt, less animal proteins diet. Exercise bit is cool coz I've started jogging during leave, less salt can be done, as for animal proteins, we have adjusted with Rift Valley Feaver and all...

Then there was Vals, first 48 hours before, chic 1 cancels. She actually adhered to the rules of engagement, that we had actually agreed, being single n all. So why does my heart still hurt? Then next day, set up date with chic 2, and she was a no show on V-day. Yaani total disaster, my worst vals in years!!

Surprisingly, I went on two more dates the next few days, but I still feel rotten about the whole deal. I can't understand why...

The Philosophy of the Stock Market

2007-02-09T15:10:00.000+03:00

Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared who announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for Ksh 10. The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys, went out in the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at Ksh 10 and as supply started to diminish and villagers started to stop their effort, he announced that now he would buy at Ksh 20.

This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching moneys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to Ksh 25 and the supply of monkeys became scarce such that that it was an effort to even see a monkey let alone catch it. The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at Ksh 50!

However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on behalf of the man. In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers, "Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at Ksh 35 and when the man comes back, you can sell it to him for Ksh 50." The villagers queued up with ALL their savings to buy the monkeys.

After that, nobody found that man and that assistant, only monkeys and monkeys and monkeys…

Happy Valentines week, you monkeys!!!!

Shifting house

2007-01-31T17:52:00.000+03:00

The highlight of an eventful week ended with us (Me + part of the family I live with) moving out from the upmarket side of town that I'd called home for the last 3 years to middle class side (with up market finishing). The fact that my sis is owning rather than renting means that the change is definately better for all, most of all me who is free loading, since it means I do it with a clearer conscience. I'm definately looking forward to meeting a few beautiful neighbours...

Of course the subject of my own moving out has come up in discussion severally. My opinion is that I still don't see the need, and being single, there's virtually no pressure (or is that the reason why...). The cash for rent can be used elsewhere (read spoilt kid) and I'm sort of useful to my sis (a few errands here and there). So for now, I'll stick it out and make the most of it. Speaking of which, it seems we've been eating only chicken and surprisingly fish the last week or so, and it's not only us but even workmates. Makes you wonder if we are all paranoid or just making sure that we are safe.

This week saw an interesting scene in my life. A pal of old times contacted me about needing help writing a business plan for an idea she has. I was meant to meet her in her office in town. Turns out the 'office' is a VCT centre (I never saw that one coming)!! Of course, this accorded me the opportunity to ask the kind of questions one always wanted to know from these guys i.e. is AIDS real, does donor support pay well, what is the reaction when the people coming in are jamaas you know (especially teenagers) as well as the reaction when you meet the clients in the streets? One interesting thing she told me was that usually for couples who want to take the AIDS test, the individuals go separately first to check their status, then come as couple, denying vehemently that they have been there before! Talk about trust!!!

Spare time

2007-01-15T18:22:00.000+03:00

Nice (but seemingly short) weekend saw me spend most of it watching Prison Break. Took me from 31st Dec to last saturday to finish season 1, and I'm now midway season 2. I must admit that guys said it was good and I wasn't too enthusiastic but when I got to sit down and watch the whole season through, it's a killer.

Update on the book scene, I finished Men are like Waffles - Women are like Spaghetti and the essence of the book is that jamaas keep their stuff separate i.e. work, family, relationships, money etc while chics integrate (engineering speak) kila kitu so you can't affect one without the others. This apparently shows why jamaas can't keep up with a chic's conversation, since he's unable to jump in between boxes at the speed the chic keeps switching. A summary of the book is that women seek security (yaani it's true) while men seek simplicity. As always, there's debate as to the validity of the findings, but I'll take what I like and leave the rest.

My next read is How to Grow Leaders, an interesting book by one of the top gurus in leadership, John Adair. Useful for organizations seeking to grow leaders. Interestingly, as part of the trainee program I'm in, my first assignment was to write a report on the difference between managers and leaders. The person who gave this assignment wanted to ingrain in us the fact that leaders are needed more than managers in the corporate world, since staff need people who'll get them to do what
is difficult, without being pushed and actually delight in it, stuff to do with vision and purpose as opposed to process and function. Guess no better foundation with which to start one's career ama?

That, coupled with a visit to the latest addition to my collection of nieces (welcome to the world GNW) and helping a pal to carry a water container from town to her digs, is a peek of one of my interesting weekends. How was yours???

Taking stock and plotting strategy

2007-01-04T17:27:00.000+03:00

Good bye 2006!
A stock take on maisha back then:

Financial: Kengen, HFCK are my key highlights, not so good with Mumias, Scangroup but since I'm in it for long term, I'm sure things will turn positive sometime. Opportunities missed (no free cash available) included BBK (twice!) & EAC.

Also, invested in wheat (20% profit on investment due to rain during harvest) and maize (during short rains, harvest expected early 07).

Career: Good progress on the trainee thing, few hiccups but mostly pluses on the management presentations. The team is fantastic and all is set for the coming year.

Social: Unfortunately despite the mingi hook ups, stats reveal that only 1 new number & subsequent date (Braces chic) obtained from outside my normal social circles (x-campus, work, church). All in all, good year coz still single and lots of fun. Memorable highlight: 2 Australian friends coming to digs at 3 am just to watch the Ashes cricket match vs England!!! Outrageous!!

Spiritual: Hooked up with 2 ekklesiae, so not too bad. But not much progress with the God relationship, if human success markers are used...

Enter 2007
Financial: Still expect NSE to be the place to be for good gains. However, set up of an investment group with former campusmates, and buying a plot of land on the outskirts of the city are my new targets.

Career: Expect to finish the trainee programme before end of year. Where I'll be posted remains a mystery, but expect to build a professional plan once that bridge is crossed. Enrolling in college to further education with a few professional courses in technology/business might be explored.

Social: Definate expansion in the pool of people. It started today morning. I met someone in an office where I needed to get info on nse research, and in less than 10 min had asked if she was single (she replied 'sort of') and then got her to give me her number, I'll take her for coffee to discuss financial investments (of course) and she agreed!!!

Spiritual: Put in significant effort to better relations with God by a lot more service and vibe on my part.

Political: Vote!!! My stats read won 2 (presidential and civic 2002), lost 2 (parliamentary 2002 and constitution referendum 2005).

Last Year's resolution: Read 1 book a month. Results: Did 10, since Capitalist Nigger was 5th, then Walk On - the spiritual journey of U2, The Richest Man in Babylon (fantastic), Hand of God, Affluenza, and finally Men are like Waffles - Women are like Spaghetti - which I'm still reading. 83% achievement is enough (in my view) to make the resolution achieved (sort of)...

This Year's resolution: Climb Mount Kenya. My best pal who runs such trips has told me to set a tentative date for August. The trip is 10k, and snow plus fly chic included (subject to terms and conditions). Will definately help in expanding the social scene, as well as touch Kenyan snow before global warming has something else to say about it.

To all who visit the blogsphere, have a fab 2007. Keep your resolutions simple and achievable. God's favour in everything.

DIE-VORCE!!!

2006-12-18T15:00:00.000+03:00

Props to my big sis (congrats for turning 32 last week) who sent me this mail:

A married couple is driving along a highway doing a steady 40 miles per hour. The wife is behind the wheel. Her husband suddenly looks across at her and speaks in a clear voice. "I know we've been married for twenty years, but I want a divorce."

The wife says nothing, keeps looking at the road ahead but slowly increases her speed to 45 mph.

The husband speaks again. "I don't want you to try and talk me out of it," he says, because I've been having an affair with your best friend.
And she's a far better lover than you are."

Again the wife stays quiet, but grips the steering wheel more tightly and slowly increases the speed to 55
He pushes his luck. "I want the house," he says insistently...

Up to 60. "I want the car, too," he continues.
65 mph.
"And," he says, "I'll have the bank accounts, all the credit cards and the boat!"

The car slowly starts veering towards a massive concrete bridge.
This makes him nervous, so he asks her, "Isn't there anything you want?"

The wife at last replies in a quiet and controlled voice.
"No, I've got everything I need," she says.
"Oh, really," he inquires, "so what have you got?"

Just before they slam into the wall at 65 mph, the wife turns to him and smiles.
"The airbag."

Moral of the Story : Women are clever!!! Don't mess with them!!

Aids day post

2006-12-01T12:50:00.000+03:00

Jana, as part of our department's CSR/Christmas cheer, we linked up with 2 other small depts to visit St Teresa House of Hope Children's home off Gilgil - Nakuru Highway. It's a magnificent facility built by Italians for the Catholic church. Yaani, when we got there, all were in agreement that the needy ones weren't the kids, who were all girls, save for 1 boy, but it was us!!!!

The facilities were state of the art, DSTV, solar water heaters, washing machine, fully loaded kitchen and the finishing was top quality, puts even a digs in Kileleshwa to shame. But that's where the story gets interesting. The home was open in July, and caters for 19 kids (between the ages of 3 - 13) currently but with capacity for 100. It has 19 workers in total i.e. 3 sisters, cook, tailor, gardener, house mothers, teacher, and general workers. So the Italians set up this nice facility but there's no sustainable way of keeping the home running. So for all the fancy set up, food is in short supply!

Our boss who comes from Eldoret, came across the home on one of his trips and found out their situation. He organized for the visit, and set up a plan where the department christmas cheer fund would be used to provide food for the home for the entire year, split in 2 lots where the next load will be delivered sometime after march. I gained new found respect for the man! We also held an impromptu harambee and raised 14k to buy uniforms for all the kids, once again down to the boss.

All the kids in this home are HIV + and are under anti-retrovirals. Some are orphaned while others are brought by parents/social workers who are unable to provide for them. It was interesting hanging out with them and playing and just spreading the season's cheer around. Makes you realize the value of life.

Today, for the aids day celebrations, we had a one hour aids awareness session at work for 1.5 hours where professionals gave talks on living with the disease, treatments and demystify issues. Guess AIDS is real and we all have a duty to protect ourselves as well as one another.

One year of employment

2006-11-20T19:03:00.000+03:00

Time surely passes fast. Last week marked one calendar year of formal employment. It's been an interesting period, marked with lots of learning about the corporate world. For a guy who'd just finished his undergraduate studies, these are some of the highlights of the employment world that I've encountered:

1. The 'reply to all' and 'cc' buttons: Two obscure yet dangerous elements of the email world. So much drama when the wrong mail ends up in the wrong hands or a jamaa intentionally cc's the management to get you on the firing line... The interesting one is usually the rookie employees (I'm already a pro after 1 year) who send mails to a whole department asking obscure questions LOL!

2. Making your boss look good: This is an unwritten law that serves the interests of all parties. Any attempt to undercut one's boss results in serious repercussions. It's the same guy who'll sign your performance audit so you'd rather play safe and only shine when they get the gloss and not the shame. Apparently management is 90% political and 10% technical, so getting to grips with culture is a prerequisite. I got the experience of working a couple of weeks under a female boss who's rule is her way or no way...

3. This isn't home: The work place has a way of making itself entrenched into your entire life's being. However, the reality is that this place is temporal. Guys get fired, departments get 'right sized' and blunders, 'domes' or missed targets end up messing people's careers. Playing it safe doesn't work in this setting and it's better for one to invest in diverse sources so that the salo doesn't end up being the only bread winner month in month out.

4. The sky is as high as you set it: Opportunity exists everywhere, the most important thing is to be keen enough to smell it out. Someone said something like "Opportunity doesn't knock on the door, it stands silently outside. The key is knowing and opening the door at the right time!" I've seen guys who figured out that contractors were being paid outrageous sums of cash for work they could do in their sleep, so they quit and became contractors themselves. Others were offered international opportunities by colleagues they befriended while working on joint projects. Others got opportunities by virtue of volunteering in CSR activities. The list is endless, it's just the eyes and the mind to see...
5. Lose yourself: It's hard to maintain integrity especially when colleagues all around look for every opportunity to fleece the organization. Choices are tough to make plus lifestyles are so diverse, especially when guys are out of the office mould. I guess it's all about identity, who you are, whether or not guys are watching. I still haven't found a reason to drop the faith though.

All in all, it's been fun and enjoying every moment of it. How long will I be here, the contract says 3 more years, guess better make the most of every day. At least I get something to blog about...

the single rose theory

2006-11-02T18:24:00.000+03:00

Over the last one month, I've had two interesting experience that has got me perturbed. It was coincidental, I got a yellow rose from someone who was setting up decor in church one sato afte and was told to give it to someone special. The other time, was last sato when I attended a pal's wedding and picked up a pink rose from the decor on my way to hook up with my advocate pal (refer to last post), to verify if the effect of the first rose was the same.

The reason I say this was that the kind of looks I got from ladies. Now I'm not the entire TDH package (T - not short but not tall either, D - I'm chocolate so that's halfway, H - Relative, depends if I shave and get the clad combination right else I'm ok) so ladies don't pay attention when I'm on show, but the effect of a single rose is amazing!!! The first one I was actually in shorts and open sandals, strolling through town and almost all the ladies looked at the rose, looked at me, back at the rose, and looked away when I looked at their eyes.

Both ladies who got the roses were plesantly surprised (these are pals, period) and especially for the latter who helped me with the 'experiment'. We'd analyze the looks, this time lady looks at the rose, my pal, me, then looks away. I wonder, what exactly goes on through their minds when a guy is carring a single rose? What if I saw them staring and decided to make conversation. Would they talk to a stranger because of a single rose that intrigues them? Agur wrote that: "There are three things which are too amazing for me, four which I don't understand: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent on a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maiden." A site here has a take on the single rose.

Wedding season is alive and kicking and my week is sandwitched between 2, last sato a pal, and this sato a workmate. The pal is son to a family friend, so my mom made me attend. It came as a great surprise that my mom's pals are of the opinion that I should be on the way now that ' nani amefungua njia.' (These words unfortunately return to haunt me when I quoted them when asked to speak on behalf of 'watu kutoka nairobi' earlier in the year when my former campus mate had her traditional Kalenjin bride price paying ceremony - which is actually bigger than the actual wedding that took place later). In defence, I started counting for them the years that I still need i.e. 3 for the job trainee contract to isha, 2 for Masters abroad, 1 to settle back, 1 to look...) = 10!! They were not amused...

2 Bashes and a Funeral

2006-10-26T19:16:00.000+03:00

Don't look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly. In the end, it bites like a snake, and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will imagine confusing things. Yes, you will be as he who lies down in the midst of the sea, or as he who lies on top of the rigging: "They hit me, and I was not hurt! They beat me, and I don't feel it! When will I wake up? I can do it again. I can find another."

I think the above statement defines bash no 1, which was kind of interesting to see the true picture of my workmates under the influence. Male and female, young and old, senior and junior, the great equalizer of rank and creed was evident. It makes sense not to allow oneself to be carried away by festivities (especially a company bash), but honestly control is hard to find when tokens abound for free liquor.

Am I innocent of the charges? Hardly. I guess I understand why some workmates gave it a miss. While not taking such an opportunity to meet and interact with staff from different sections would be considered foolhardy, the other extreme does not paint a pretty picture. I won't go into details (such as clandestine operations between my pal and a certain Kenyan musician, or the husband coming to track down the high wife at 3 a.m.) but lessons are learnt.

Bash 2 was the nyamchom plot with the former campusmates. As usual, the dominant feature was the fight for bragging rights (more like insider info swap) between personnel from the two mobile companies. A surprise attendant was a former highschool mate who formed his own IT firm and had his new 3 series on show. Makes me wonder how high my horizon is set and how fast can I get to it. I still agree enterpreneurship is the way to the gold, but the path is laden with many shidas (which he confesses to), therefore must not set my sights on the flashy life. My plan to get the crew to form a consortium didn't materialize at the table (too busy doing the math as to how many kgs and who's paying for what) but I got to sell the pitch to 2 of them and they like the idea. I'll pull up my socks to get the rest of the crew on board before the year's end.

One of the guys floated an idea that involves a certain stockbroker trading 100k for someone and he gets 10% of profit that he'll generate on your account. I'm not sure how legal that is... Meanwhile a certain lady from Old Mutual has been on my case to invest in the Kenya Stable Fund, a unit trust that needs some 10k a month for 10 years to pay off mzuri. The figures are good (the fund has increased in value 3 fold since inception in Oct 04) but the charges are too much. The fund invests in 60% equity, 20% money market and 20% property. I'm still figuring I can make much more by investing in equities on my own, though I can't pull off big moves yet. I'm smarting from the BBK rise which I proposed to my sis before it happened, but couldn't come up with the cash on time!!!

The funeral was for a pal's dad. My pal was my greatest academic rival in primary. No 1 always (almost always - he stumbled at the finish line) and I've had great respect for him and got to meet his dad who was an engineer (just like me). He had great words of wisdom, the few times we interacted and it was a priveledge to know him. Sad that he died of illness long before his time.

The interesting thing was that the guy was a saint! I'd never been to a funeral service where all adjectives that equate to goodness were used on 1 guy. I mean the service went on and on with people saying stuff of how he inspired them, set up welfare and investment schemes for family, friends and church members, and executed dreams into reality (someone had given a dream to the choir he ran about singing in the Holy Land, and he made it happen, organizing the whole trip). I got all the encouragement I need to make sure that my life will emulate his efforts in making the lives of people around me better. That's what true wealth is all about. Rest in peace, Joe.

PS: Kudos to Braces who turned 19 jana (no longer my under 18) and LW who got admitted to the bar today. Madam Wakili, we'll celebrate in style this weekend.

One year after graduation...

2006-10-19T12:43:00.000+03:00

Hey good people,

It's exactly 6 years since I joined campus and exactly 1 year since graduation. 2 very different yet incredible days. One full of uncertainity as to what lies ahead, one full of joy of conquering what seemed to be an insurmountable mountain. One year down the line, I'm taking stock of what it is I intended to achieve after campus:

Save 100k in my first year of employment: Reality check, some financial difficulties came my family's way so I had to cover big time. The benchmark is even higher for the next 12 months, 25ok. Tutaweza kweli???
Invest: Thank God for Kengen IPO and a personal finance seminar conducted by my employer that gave me the push to go forward. Not to be forgotten are 2 pals who have shambas at home but didn't have enough capital.
Get my dream job (and keep it): Call it luck, grace or favour, I don't know how many can say that they have their dream job, but to get it within a month of graduation, especially after recieving a regret email along the recruitment stage, is anything but a miracle. I enjoy everyday of it!!!

This Sato I'm linking up with my former campus mates for our quarterly nyam chom plot. As the group's moderator (Yahoo! groups thing), I'm of the opinion that we pool our resources (most of us have landed positions in key sectors of the economy - ICT, manufacturing, government, auditing and service industries) and form a research/consultancy/contractor group that can morph into a powerful industry player worldwide in the next 20 years. Call it a dream, but hey, I'm a visionary by nature. It's getting people on board the dream that is the hard part.

An update on the social scene. Braces chic is up and walking. Ex version 2.0's birthday was last week. I sent a cursory text, the reply went something like, "I thot by the time I reach 2* you would propose, but I should forget about it by now". Professionalism calls for fighting all urges to reply such a text, which I survived. We bumped into each other jana usiku, as always I play dumb... (I don't really have a choice, do I???)

Last weekend was special in a way. 2 dates, both of which the ladies paid for. I mean, both asked me out so I was the willing guest. I know it's the 21st century and women are more empowered, but it's still considered rude for a jamaa to skive paying the bill. I guess I'm the spoilt type, makes up for the many others where I have to fork out everytime.

It boils down to benefits of singledom, enjoy life without much stress. Lonely periods can be occupied by TV (champions league and premiership), books (I'm currently reading Walk On - The Spiritual Journey of U2) and friends. But it's a crazy world out there...

Thanks to one Jomo Kenyatta, we have a 3 day weekend. Plans? I'm at Carni this evening, company anniversary bash, kesho chill with pals having a rock gig at Ufungamano 6 pm, Sato nyam chom as earlier said, Sunday catch Heartstring play (with whom is yet to be decided). Jienjoy!!!!

Cons and Pros

2006-10-11T14:53:00.000+03:00

Solomon wrote that when times are good, be happy but when they are bad, consider that God made both. Here's a take on the few days that I've encountered:

CON: My Junior Achievement high school team had to go on a head to head with the other team to determine which would represent the school at the annual expo. I'd put all the plans in place the last two weeks, then a couple of minutes before the presentation, I get a call from them. They hadn't prepared at all. I had to dash there and create an annual company report and presentation in record time, while the other team had already got their game plan set. We were soundly thrashed, a whole 26 weeks down the drain!!!!

PRO: Despite my team losing out, a colleague forced me to attend the expo. We got the job of organizing the stand for the other team while they made their presentation to the judges in a closed room. Guess what? They won the prize for best stand, courtesy of us!!!! Plus, my company won the prize for best volunteers. Guess the 26 weeks weren't in vain after all... During the expo, got to hang out with high schoolers, seems that I can catch the attention of a few under 18's (vibe only, nothing further - you should have seen the looks from my female workmates!!!) Prize winning dinner is on 29th Nov, and one of the fly chic volunteers has said I'm her date, just gets better and better...

CON: At the expo, which was at USIU, got to hang out with the fresher chic (braces - previous post). I wanted to delete my numbers from her fone, jokingly of course. She flashes me as I head home from the expo, I snob. Finally after persistence, I check my fone to see a foreign number calling, turns out she'd been hit by a car on her way home!!!!

PRO: My sis drives me to the hospital, turns out she was lucky. A guy was teaching his daughter how to drive and she ended up ploughing through a lady plus this chic. The lady had one rib broken and bruised all over, while the fresher chic had her foot mowed by one of the wheels but no broken bones. Ended up being her hero for rushing over to see her at her time of need (her mum concurred), though I'm not sure how her sis (no. 1 contender - to be reviewed) feels about all this...

CON: Got into my first accident since getting a driving licence over 5 years ago (had 2 accidents before that, nothing major - was learning and scratched both a neighbour's and a cousin's cars). Had come from Kiambu, doing errands for my sis, and was returning her car when I hit a guy's Rav 4 at the back. This was at the junction of Moi Avenue joined from Tom Mboya street, late afternoon and there was jam already. Worse still, my best pal was driving a nearby car and saw the whole thing!!!

PRO: Turns out the guy's car wasn't damaged at all. As for my sis' car, no scratches, just the bonnet bent up slightly on one side. Also, I'm still being allowed to drive by my sis, which is quite surprising coz I thought I'd lost the priviledges for good! But my best pal is dissing me seriously about it...

CON: My finances are not in good stead AGAIN! My stock portfolio (HFCK, Mumias and Scangroup) are down and I've met a workmate who cleared like 3 years before me, but now has a car and 3 plots of land. Yaani, what have I been doing with my income over the last 12 months of working life? Attempts to account have proved to be an exercise in futility. Need to style up...

PRO: I've recently read 'The Richest Man in Babylon' and 'Capitalist Nigger' both an inspiration towards wealth and financial independence. Putting the advice in practice is the next step. I'm not for engaging in the money rat race but it beats sense not to enhance my investments by expanding into property development.

CON: I've been feeling far from God (and He's not the one who's been moving away) the last couple of weeks. Missed out on AFLEWO, plus spiritual psyche has been seriously low.I figure I don't hang out more with Him on a one-on-one basis plus haven't been 'making the grade' so to speak. I got to watch the Jesus film (for the umpteenth time) at my Ekklesia last week and confirmed that most of the time I don't do what He says...

PRO: Got this feel that He's still got me covered, was nice last Sunday after church service. Just sat alone after guys had left, and felt at peace, like He's there with me, covering my back as always. Visited another Ekklesia jana jioni and they vibed about jamaas who are poor in spirit. There's hope I tell you...

Sights and sounds

2006-09-26T18:58:00.001+03:00

Hi wananchi. I was on leave for the last week, spent the days sleeping, tv, and a couple of hours daily working on a report that's due. Wanted to try a different line to the blogs so here goes:

This is Kigen, son of my female workmate. I was holding him a couple of hours after his birth. His name means "He who was eagerly awaited for". He'd taken his sweet time, 10 days, before coming out of the comfort zone. I vibed his dad and asked how he was feeling that he had a first born son. He said the feeling is too deadly such that he can't explain. I figure I'll give the same answer in AD 2015.

This one is in honour of the slightly "under 18" chile in my life with pink braces. The small sis of number one contender, and a fresher at USIU. After two dates and lots of phone calls, I declare her a sawa chic. A lot of interesting vibe (I'm a good listener) makes her a friend to keep if possible for a lifetime.

The picture is naan bread. My date this weekend, lawyer friend from campus, just hanging out and catching up. We went to the Indian food joint at Prestige plaza, totally spontaneous (we just shukad a no 4 bus after passing prestige, ati let's try there). She ordered buttered chicken, I had 'methil' chicken. Too deadly. I accept that we only live once, so make the most of it and do such stuff. It hurts the wallet, but has a nice feeling esp when being appreciated by the chic!!!!

This is the book that I've just finished reading. Very deep, the main lesson I got was about finishing well in this life. The key elements are:

- They had perspective in everything which helped them focus
- They enjoyed intimacy with Christ, and experienced repeated times of inner renewal
- They are disciplined in the important areas of life
- They maintained a positive learning attitude all their life
- They had a network of meaningful relationships & several important mentors in their lifetime.

Now I've started reading Capitalist Nigger (my 5th book of the year) - inspiration to all blacks to rise from mediocrity. So far, it's deadly.

See you at AFLEWO this Friday!

5 dates in 10 days

2006-09-04T13:47:00.001+03:00

Well the title speaks for itself, considering it was with different chics. And with 3 more lined up in the next 2 weekends, plus others still pending, one might feel obliged to state that their social life is on the up and up. Truth be told, while the stats are impressive, one question keeps popping up, 'how come you are still single?' It seems I'm bila feelings, or playing hard to get. I kinda like my freedom, makes me open to making more friendships bila pressure. How long will this last? Typical jamaa like me should get married in their early 30's, having settled careerwise, car, house etc. I still have like 7 - 9 years left so enjoy the fun, shall we? Met ex-chic version 2.0 jana in town, who was with her best friend. I was introduced as the jamaa who's tupad the chic, (ok, I think I recall that it was her who...), then asked when I'm taking her out, and reminded of her birthday next month. Handfed me chocolate in the process. You see why freedom is important?

My finances (read what is in my wallet/ATM, coz my stocks are looking good, and the wheat harvest was bumper) are in a mess, considering that it's the fourth day of the month, this is inexcusible. Unfortunately too many people have been on my case asking for help. I'm not the best at saying no to this kind of thing, especially if the reason is legit. Unfortunately, this has left me bone dry and considering dates, birthdays, and one of my colleagues giving birth jana, I'm hard pressed to explain what I do with my money. Statistics indicate that I'm better renumerated than 72% of Kenyan households and majority of world population. The facts on the ground are different, especially that apart from stocks, I don't have furniture, let alone a car under my name. I think I need a refresher on the Personal Finance seminar I went to as part of my introduction here at work. Balance is key but he who lends will be refreshed.

One interesting argument I've been having with a workmate is about taking risks. I believe risks should be calculated (explains somewhat why I'm single) in order to get a best return with minimal cost. Investing in stocks is one of those, it's considered high risk, but people are making a killing! One says, if you don't study the 'rules' of the game, no wonder one gets hurt. For my colleague, he advised me not to apply for an EFT transfer for Scangroup refunds, terming it suicide. Turns out, the refund hit my bank account early last week, but as for him, his stock broker is still giving him the runaround for his cheque. Truth be told, while I applied for the EFT, I did it seriously halfheartedly, but turns out it paid off. Read Paul's tip on the same.

Image matters...

2006-08-22T17:02:00.000+03:00

Well, it seems I've been working here for a bit long. Have started noticing quite a number of staffing changes, people quiting, being fired, or being hired... and I thought this place was cozy! I'd read earlier on corporate culture, and apparently the need to understand a company's 'politics' is crucial in how your existence will be. See an interesting article here. But so far I'm easy, the current dept I'm in doesn't have any hands on work I can do, so I get to surf most of the time other than peruse some of their process documents and ask a couple of questions here and there.

Church has been focussing on arts this month and hosted a jazz fest last sato and a fashion show sunday night. More like revolutionary rather than controversial, but hey, God is the master artist ama? Speaking on the same, the ekklesia is doing well, 3 new persons attended. One was a british lady, who apparently recognized me, ati we sat next to each other in some service months ago. It was one of those, greet your neighbour pr exercises, and shock on me coz I remember her, she was quite enthusiastic about the whole thing! Guess it's a lesson that you don't show attitude to those guys you come across, it's a small world apparently...

Had a date yesterday evening. A pal was celebrating her birthday, (more like going thro the motions) and was bila anyone to take her out. So I pull the superhero thing, call her at 6 in the evening, get her to beg for it, then hook up in town at 8 for a polite coffee date. Was quite nice actually, though had to open up a lot which isn't my style. Might hit 3 other dates by Sunday, one of which is a wedding that I've invited no.1 contender as my bride, sorry I mean escort! But my sis, who is one of the brides maids together with my niece who's a flower girl, wants me to be her driver for the day, and that would coz some logistical issues.

Financially, sold 2 thirds of my HFCK shares at 41.75/- earning a cool 56% capital gain in 3 months. I've invested in Mumias, hoping that the wave of good success goes on. The price dropped when the govt announced that they will release more shares, but signs are the the company is set for good times ahead. Other prospects for me include Standard Newspapers and Unga Group in the short term. All of a sudden, mob people are on my case regarding investment advice. I give hints only as far as what established investors say plus information gathered from blogs (see links on the left), but in the end, everyone makes their own decision and bears the cost! Penny for your thoughts about the money rat race: "Like a rat in a maze, the path before me lies. And the pattern never alters, until the rat dies."

After leave, reality

2006-08-15T18:44:00.000+03:00

I've resumed work today following the four day leave. It was worth it all the way, and wouldn't mind going again (forever, if they maintain the salary + benefits). I still have 29 more days left for leave which have to be taken by end of March. Day 1 of leave, decided to set up a date with the small sis of the no 1 contender chic. We'd only been vibing on fone, so we go to meet, took her out for lunch then took a mat to her digs (where I'd never been) just to surprise the older sis. That was too cool!!! Then took my best friend out for lunch last friday, we got to vibe which was long overdue (work hinders someone from such things). Background is that I taught him everything I knew on hooking up chics in our late teens, and now he's a pro. Apparently, he's got so many chics on his back, loaded ones, international ones, super spiritual ones etc. Yaani, I'm jealous. But fact is he's open to all while I invest in a firewall to keep them far. I love my space, yet they still keep on coming... Did I mention ex chic version 2.0 sent me a mail today detailing the key points to identifying the right marriage partner? Go figure!!!!

Financially, though I'm kinda broke, good news is that HFCK broke the 40 bob mark yesterday and is going higher, so my capital gain is over 50%. My colleague at work, who stood by me when they fell to 19, is insisting I sell, but I 'm struggling with greed. I want to wait till it levels out but have already made the killing I wanted. Scangroup was oversubscribed 5 times. Since I bought 2k shares for a pal of my sis in SA, I'm waiting for the allocation results to act accordingly. Too bad they aren't my own!! As for East African Cables, they are too much to bear, closing at 581. I noted them last year but was not in a position to trade, with the share split coming, might go for it.

Apparently the Kenyan Blogging Community has taken me to heart a bit, I got a few comments plus a mention in another guy's blog. Aint that cool or what? Must keep tabs on pple and establish good contacts.

Came back to work today, only to find that the team building had been postponed to next month. I was so psyched but well have to bear. I reported to the Risk Management division, will be there for a month. It's quite chilled out as compared to Finance. On that note, I missed out on presenting my report, since it was late in the day. As a result, I got a suicide presentation for the other Friday, was dressed in jeans and a summer t-shirt. Add to that, the harshest managers were in attendance. I got more damage than Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon under Israeli fire. Yaani, pure disaster! I'm sure that's my worst presentation result ever. Wondering how the results will be...

The bosses come back this week after heading to recruit guys for this program in US & UK. Apparently one of the successful applicants tracked me down on graduates.com. He's just texted me, called, and we've just been chatting on yahoo messenger. I figure the guy is a genius to have surfed the net looking for info on the program. (Or I'm genius to have updated my profile on graduates.com, second hit already!). I've given him 411 on the program and he looks set to join. Interesting enough, another applicant I assisted during the process made it all the way. How I met him, we were in the same campus, but his girlfriend's dad and my mom are cousins. That link is crazy but apparently if you follow your roots, i.e. attend funerals & weddings and network like it's a business function, you could strike gold! I'm sure both will pay off in the long run...

The ekklesia kicked off and is getting on well, though I got an offer from a rival one that is composed of younger pple and has one of a former high school (sister school) chic who had a crush on me (she's the one inviting). The american couple who host make nice chocolate chip cookies, and I unashamedly carry a bunch of them home with me. Bila pice. Interesting spiritual lesson learnt in the past week. Life is like a piece of glass. The more silver you have, the more you see yourself only (mirror). Wealth is good, but I'm a steward (everything belongs to God), and should use it to benefit others (who I see through the glass) not myself (mirror).

Community awareness

2006-08-01T18:30:00.001+03:00

I recently joined the Kenyan community of bloggers. This has opened my eyes to other bloggers and it's an interesting bunch of people. You get to see that people are so different yet are brought together by strange things in life. Will I plug in and be part of the crew, which is a tight knit community that loves drinks and hang out? Time will tell.

We got our payslips which came together with results from our annual appraisal. Since this was my first time, I didn't put too much maana into the whole thing, as in appraisal reminds me of assessment in campus (i don't like rules). The process is usually a self appraisal, then discuss it with your boss, who gives his views and you ammend according to how you agree. Apparently, I self appraised myself lower than my colleagues, and guess what, I got the lowest pay rise in the gang, and now I'm the least paid in our crew. That isn't amusing at all!!!! I'm kicking myself inside while putting a brave face outside, coz hey after tax, the jamaas I joined with only earn a couple of reds higher than me every month. But still it hurts (how could you be so stupid?).

On a better note, last week, the Finance Division celebrated the monthly birthdays, and one of my colleagues had slipped my name in. It was nice seeing it imprinted on a humongous chocolate cake, and have guys singing 'Happy Birthday colleagues'. That was fun. Then, I got selected to go for the next team building exercise for technical division which will be at Simba Lodge, Lake Naivasha in 2 weeks time. Considering the fun I had last time, I'm definately looking forward to this one. As for work, we are currently working on our individual projects to finish the Finance Division rotation, whose presentations will be tomorrow afternoon. Our boss is out of the country but apparently the chief finance officer will be in attendance, so I look forward to making a good impression. Then my first experience of leave, next Monday to Friday, 5 days of chilling out.

Spiritual, finally got hooked up to an ekklesia. Which actually stands for a small fellowship or home group organized by the church I attend (though the internet has different outlook, see here and here). We had a meeting to plan who would lead the group plus hosting. All the people in attendance (5) had their own cars, save for me. And since the host lives far from digs, I'll be hitching a ride throughout back home, which isn't jazzing at first but what to do. Our first meeting in the host's place will be this Thursday, which I hope will be the start of another opportunity to grow and mature in the Christian faith.

Financially, I'd invested 10k in a wheat project some months back, and when I met my pal who was running the thing, she told me that the stuff had just been harvested, bumper harvest, so I should set up a meeting. I can't wait, hoping that the returns are substantial. HFCK stock is stable at 30 bob and I'm resisting attempts to cash in on a 15% capital gain. I couldn't invest in Scangroup coz of some family issues. Oh the joys of being a grown up! My mom finally got in touch, thank God. She toured all over South Sudan, sold most of the stuff they'd carried, but she says business is too much stress so she's gonna look for employment which is easier. She's back in Kenya, but will only stay a bit. I get to redo her CV and hope for the best.

Social is quiet but alive. I'm resisting attempts to go all out (no hands policy - refer to picture), but I keep straying kidogo. Recently pecked another pal of mine goodnight, she did the same next time, and now I'm worried that I may have opened a Pandora's box. I wanna stay single and enjoy maisha much to the chagrin of the prospectives. And since I'm extremely broke this month (family issues), I want to keep a low profile. Though I met someone during a prayer meeting, then we bumped into each other in town (between that period I'd shaved all my hair and beards), but she still recognized me and intro'd me to her pal. That is something I hope has a happy ending... I'm actually chatting with my ex from 1st year of campus, she's now doing corporate law at Citibank. Life is interesting, 2 months ago, I turned down the chance to work there. I had been contacted by the dean of students at campus, but since I have a 4 year bond at my current place of work, turned it down. Would be crazy if that had checked in...

Oh yes, and the chic from states who said we hook up, STOOD ME UP! Yaani, sad. Ati she'd forgotten about it and was going ocha, then flying back the same night. Of all the luck!!!!

exploiting potential

2006-07-26T13:29:00.000+03:00

I was going through graduates.com website and on the primary school section, came across the picture of one of the chics I had a crush on. Apparently she's in the States, still in campo. Looking at the picture makes me wonder what might have been. Wait, I still wonder about what might have been with too many chics who've traversed my inner space.

I was at French cultural centre last Saturday, went to watch a play by Heartstring Ensemble titled ' How the other half lives'. As always, Heartstring delivered with the play, sold out, which was a jaw splitting comedy of 3 couples and issues of infidelity and sorting out other people's domestics highlighted. It was interesting that I went for this play alone. It seems the law says that the animals in the ark go in two by two. I met several people and was being introduced to the other half. Walking out of the auditorium alone was especially difficult as everyone can see that you are solo unlike them, and you know that you can't ingilia other couple's vibe, especially at the end of the play (8.30 p.m.). But I'll stay strong, coz singlehood is my style. Can't fall now, can I?

Finally finished my Finance Division rotation at work. There was a stakeholders meeting today to discuss the contents of the project I was working on. No praise headed my way, considering I'd put in nights and weekends (including a Sunday), but actually extra work, which I politely turned down owing to the program timetable.

I'd been a consultant for the last 2 weeks as people tried to figure out how to join the program I'm in. The final interviews were conducted yesterday, with the applicants going through hurdles just to get there. The intake is set for September, hope we pioneers will still retain our aura of importance.

I volunteer for a program called Junior Achievement at Nairobi school, which involves helping the said club to form an actual company, run it profitably and liquidate it. While I was handed 3 lovely ladies from our company to assist, sad to say they have never gotten up to the challenge and more often than not, I've been running the show by myself. This hasn't been so bad since I've gotten to learn a lot in terms of enterpreneurship and last week, a guest speaker invited to address the club was the MD of the CDSC. I got to speak with him at the end of the event, told him of a business idea I had concerning stock trading, he gave me a lift back to work and his business card and told me I could contact him anytime concerning the idea. Now I've set myself a deadline of 3 months to make the idea a reality.

This is totally freaky. I updated my phone number this morning when on my graduates.com profile, then right now 1.55 pm, I get a text from a chic who was in the same primo but moved to states and we'd emailed a bit earlier this year (not the one I had a crush on), saying that she's in the country for 2 weeks on hols. She got my number from the site!!! Call that coincidence, luck or what??? We hook up kesho lunchtime, this will definately be interesting.

HE just keeps on getting better and better

2006-07-18T17:46:00.001+03:00

Hey good people
The sun's out after many days in hiding and the past few days have been rather pleasant. Apparently I came across the Meteorological guys on tv, a couple days ago, saying that the cold weather would end, and as always these people are unbelievable. But funny enough they were kind of right.

Why the title? Consider this, I thought I bought HFCK shares at 33/- (refer to some previous post). When I sold my Kengen shares at 39/- (327% increase), I got my shares statement. Apparently, the HFCK shares were bought for 26.50/- meaning that since they have closed today at 30/- I'm no longer in the red ( the fly chic was actually right!!!). HFCK are announcing their half year results 2 fridays from now, and have stated that they expect good results (consider they made profit of 300 mil in the 1st quarter). I plan to sell them just as they announce which should be a good peak. For now, I'm looking at the ScanGroup IPO plus also Sameer Africa which is quite low at 17/- but I bet prospects are good for capital gains even as we enter earnings season. Then, I usually hang out with a crew called The Journey, who run a rock gig every Friday at Ufungamano auditorium. The group targets campuserians, with nice music and interactive discussions. Friday, they set up a surprise birthday bash for me, cake and song. I was too jazzed. Yaani, after a less than eventful birthday, that was really special. Yaani maisha is too cool considering the wealth (money + friends), but I always figure God likes me too much. I don't deserve His goodness, but when stuff is sawa, it is SAWA. One love for life, Lord.

Social, well I accepted an ice cream date with ex version 2.0 (1st time in 2yrs since she left me) on Sunday but this didn't go well. Considering we didn't have closure following the fallout, vibe was mzuri when we talked about corporate stuff, but when the social vibe came, I clamped shut. I couldn't get myself to open up, having buried all the hurt and pain inside. So we ended up in a stalemate. I haven't replied her text or email sent soon after. I can't say I feel good about it, but considering what I went through, I feel separation is probably the safest mode of contact for now...

Jana I made up with this chic who we hadn't been seeing eye to eye on stuff. It had been bugging me for a while, then we got a lift home pamoja, so sitting at the back seat, we got to vibe and I got to apologize (obviously it was me on the wrong with my attitude issues), and that felt really good. I wish that could be the same with all the chics in my life...

My mom finally departed for Sudan, a 3 day journey by road. I got to know she's going to a town called Torit (just north of the Kenya & Uganda border & gratefully far from Darfur - see it in a map here) with her niece (who I got to meet that night with her family - what a close bunch of relatives we are) to set up hair products business + look for other opportunities. After saying goodbyes (and parting with my Kengen returns as investment in her business venture), I'm now saddled with the house responsibilities, ensuring that the bills are covered and groceries are in stock. My life as a kid is fast on its way to the finish line!!!!

26 and counting

2006-07-11T17:22:00.000+03:00

Yesterday was the day I turned 26 (unlucky 13 * 2). No significance in terms of anything I should have achieved by then, but all the same giving thanks to God for another year, especially considering 1 year ago I was in campus in the middle of my final year exams, now I'm in my dream job in one of the top companies in the country. The day consisted of work, work and more work. At lunchtime, went to see my stock broker about the sale of my Kengen shares, and was told the cheque will be out on thursday. But my mom travels to Sudan on friday, so I had to organize a loan from a colleague. Left the office at 7.15, hooked up with a former campus mate in town for pizza. Reaching home, found out that my niece & sister had forgotten about the day!!! They'd confused it with my mom's birthday, which is today, and called her. This actually helped my mom remember that it was my birthday. If it wasn't for the many friends, including my other sis in SA, who remembered, it could have been nasty!!

Social scene is a bit crazy. Took out no 1 contender to a classy joint near digs for a couple glasses of red wine for birthday celebration(broke my 7 month sober streak in the process), then we hang out at my digs. It seems there might be some serious adjustments to status quo underway. Details at the moment are not available on this site unfortunately...

Financially, got a link to some interesting site called stock-detective.co.ke from ex-girlfriend version 2.0 (details also not available on this site). If you are investing in ScanGroup, it has a nice read here. I had a similar idea about such a site, but it seems someone beat me to it. But I'm not impressed coz it doesn't have any analysis on stock trends, having just pasted figures from the nse site. I put up a post on their public discussion board under the cover mwasjd. (See it here)

As far as work goes, had the annual appraisal with the bo$$, and I hope he $ee$ thing$ my way, come end of next month. The company has put up the ad for our jobs here, and it's kinda sad since I'm in the pioneer program, which got most guys in the company showing you respect. Now with more people on the way, our elite status looks set to be watered down. Well, I enjoyed it while it lasted. The boss gave us the assignment of setting 3 questions for their interview. I went for simple stuff, but my colleagues have gone ballistic, coming up with logic puzzles that would put a nuclear physicist to tears.

Speaking of questions, check out another use for your mobile phone here. I wonder if this will make you reconsider making calls after this.

(UN)Lucky 13

2006-07-01T12:09:00.000+03:00

It's my thirteenth consecutive day at work, still working on some reconciliation project for accounts section of the company. Sadly, I don't feel the appreciation, but company policy is that 'we don't reward effort, only results'. Well the annual appraisal is this coming week and since the boss saw me leaving the office at 7.30 pm a few days ago, hoping that I'll get a raise that reflects the effort. Above all, I love my job and give thanks to God daily for it, it's my dream job.

As for world cup, no much enthusiasm from my side, maybe coz the african teams are out and european teams are winning, but more so coz I lost psyche following end of my campus life, where having a soccer following was primary. Things in the working world are somewhat different, people have other concerns, like money and relationships.

Social scene is awful, I guess if you wish for something, it comes true. How (un)lucky is that. Now, no chics in the scene, the no. 1 contender went silent so the winter weather is not only on the outside but inside as well!!!

Interesting news story I've been following is on one Warren Buffet, the jamaa who made his fortune from stock trading (why do you think I do it?) and has just relinquished his no 2 position as richest man, by donating some $37 billion to the foundation owned by no 1 richest man, Bill Gates. You can read the actual letters he wrote for relinquishing his wealth here. Lunch with Buffet was on offer on Ebay for some $600 k. Check this opinion on Bill Gates foundation. My opinion, the spiritual law of giving is as real as the natural law of gravity. It's proven that if you give, you get. As for motives and use, I guess God will be the judge of that. For all my friends, just make sure you have a foundation in the offing, it could be you who'll share my wealth. I'll sign off with the words of Jesus Christ in Luke 16:9 - Use earthly money to make friends, when it is all gone, you will be welcomed into their eternal homes.

Broken news?

2006-06-20T17:14:00.001+03:00

Hey good people
Sorry for absence but kazi ni nyingi. Recently completed my third book of the year called 'Questions of Life' (www.alpha.or.uk) which gives insight to (obviously) questions of life, directing guys to belief in God of the Bible. A must read for foundation establishment in the Christian walk. My target was a book a month, but have been caught up by events. I've read 'Messy Spirituality' and 'What's So Amazing About Grace' which isn't bad at all. We'll see how the year ends.
As for work, we recently went to Sopa Lodge Lake Naivasha for Technical Division team building. Highlights included touch rugby, where I proceeded to earn a bad rep by body checking the only female Head of Department (she was going to make a try, I had to do something!), dancing some lingala song (we had HomeBoyz) with some chic also on team building from the company that sells Preventor condoms (now this is the part where you say NO to your imagination, only dancing, no names or numbers or any vibe of sorts, just 1 song), cool food and superb atmosphere, made many friends. One competition included a prize for the staff member who'd know most people's names, apparently no one seemed to know my name, which established me as a ghost worker!!
I'm down with the flu, went to Acacia Medical Centre, Kenyatta Avenue, on saturday. I met 3 friends, all with flu. Must be really catching. My mom's planning to go to Sudan, for biashara, so my heart's a bit tense coz yaani you see on tv how stuff is like those sides. Praying for the best of things, though this means I have to liquidate my shares in Kengen to support her.
Social, went for a graduation bash for a pal (I inspired him, and now he's a doctor, yaani I feel humbled), got to vibe a fly chic with a sawa phone. Turns out she's in form 2, which makes her under 18 (sa mi ningejuaje?). Otherwise, the no 1 ranked chic is making serious moves up the ladder (flowing vibe, body chemistry, the works) & competition is distant. I'm quite concerned about this (I believe in fair trade, not monopolies - despite the company I work for) so it's with a heavy heart that I'm looking to even things up by giving the few potential chics in my life extra marks, to try bridge the gap, and cool down things up here. Any ideas???

Of share prices and beautiful women

2006-05-30T13:42:00.000+03:00

I'm recovering from a long weekend spent in Taveta, part of corporate social responsibility. It was a medical camp, so spent Saturday taking blood pressure measurements (see my pic here ). Company CSR is usually a fun filled event coz free food n drinks. Met the local MP, Dr Naomi Shaaban, who is intelligent and well versed in politics and development. Her track record is impressive, considering project works there and sitting down and listening to her proved a worthwhile thing. She is a wonderful host and a party animal.

I got to charm 5 med school grads over there and even got a big hug from one of them, much to the chagrin of my job colleagues. I guess when the stars are in the right place, stuff seems to go right, as in all jokes are funny, vibe flows... wish it could happen always.

The other weekend, also CSR, took part in a walk to end hunger at the UNEP headquaters (www.fighthunger.org). I still wonder how a 5km stroll followed by a sumptuous buffet ends hunger but I guess there's a good cause in all that somewhere.

The HFCK shares (www.nse.co.ke) are improving (currently at 28). I went to see the stock broker beginning of the month, she is a fly chic. I wanted Mumias shares at 45, she suggested HFCK at 33. I fell for her charm, HFCK dropped to 19, Mumias topped 68 in 2 wks! I'm a sucker for fly women, but this has to end or it will be the end of me.

Guess who's back

2006-05-16T17:53:00.000+03:00

Hi friends
Sorry for being lost, yaani work is too much. I joined the Finance dept of our organization and surely discovered the meaning behind 'overworked'. The short of it is that I've been on Excel for the last one week, then ended up messing a lot of my work trying to impress my supervisor on using macros, pysche is at an all time low... It's 5.54 pm and I figure I'll start the recovery process tomorrow morning.

As for the blog, imagine the webmarshal software blocked me from access so you'll excuse me, had to crack it by force leo. Repercussions? We'll wait and see.

Socially, I'm down seriously. Wondering if there's hope. I've just messed up a sawa friendship (again) and the chic I dig, never emails despite us bumping into each other several times in town. I'm going for a Freedom For Hunger walk this Sunday at UN hq in Gigiri, might be lucky. In the meantime, I'll let work dominate my thinking.

Spiritually, I've been thinking a lot about God and relating with Him. Yaani most times I feel like I've let Him down, though grace keeps me going. In the corporate jungle, with stuff like benchmarks, I end up balancing my accounts and they are seriously in the red! As in I spend time (reduced) with Him, serve in 2 diff ministries, try being there for my mates, but still feel extremely inadequate...

Check out the site www.africaopenforbusiness.com, I came across it on the BBC tv channel, extremely inspiring for anyone in africa who psyches to go into business.

Another day, another dollar

2006-03-29T15:18:00.000+03:00

I've no idea why I had this post, but it has something to do with making money. A colleague at work was wondering about whether he is living. Not in terms of breathing, rather as far as life is concerned. I mean, you get into the office, bombarded with mails, meetings and overdue reports and project assignments. At home, you are thinking of work. Out with your friends, whether the rave, pub or after church, you discuss work. Then what?

I figure if you aren't a shareholder in the company you work for, then that kind of effort will send you to the grave faster than a stroll through a lion pride in the Serengeti. My opinion, is get a life. Live for something that's greater than you, find a cause to put your effort in. Maybe serve as a volunteer for an organization, church or otherwise that helps people get by in life, meeting basic needs such as food, shelter, medical care, counselling and the like. You get my drift, sharing in these people's lives reminds you to appreciate the life you have and the job you slave for. It makes life worth living. Check this site out for another opinion.

Life and work without love and concern for others isn't worth it. But it's a conscious decision, because letting life drive you along will end up blinding you from the world that desperately needs you to fulfil your destiny, which is something everyone should know about. Dream big and share it with others that need to know so that they can dream and share, then we can live life that is truly life. No greater love than this; a man lays down his life for his friends - John 15: 13.

Return of the King...

2006-03-28T15:09:00.000+03:00

Lost I am but not forgotten. Moved to Corporate Strategy section of the company, at least these guys give us work to do, so busy working on documents, updating procedures, plus a project for a 3 year projection of the industry. A bit involving, but hey, that's what I'm paid for.

Went out on an improptu ice cream date on Sunday with a girl who I'd known since high school but didn't acquiese to moves then. What a difference 8 years makes! But I'm not into the hook up thing for now, enjoying singlehood especially with very nice friends.

Bought 2 shirts yesterday evening at a supermarket, 3 lady friends helped me choose the colours. Apparently, one of the reasons I invest in chic friends is to help me get my style right, what better way than to have them choose colours for you (most men are colour blind!).

the law and its jargon

2006-03-21T16:32:00.000+03:00

I began my corporate affairs rotation by going through a legal guideline concerning site acquisition, written for laymen. The objective was to examine whether the document was user friendly and easy to understand. Being told of this objective after struggling to comprehend what was going on was more like the cart before the donkey sort of thing. Despite having worked for a law firm several years ago, I still find legal jargon extremely confusing. Our stay here for the next couple of days does not look promising.

I surfed several blog sites containing information on an Afgan man named Abdul Rahman who faces a possible death sentence for converting to Christianity. I even posted my own opinion, see Mwas on http://www.worldmagblog.com/blog/archives/023318.html

I must admit being a Christian in the 21st Century is unnerving. Asked a friend recently whether the faith has been watered down in the years gone by, and he was categorical that the situation might be dire as tolerance levels depreciate. Wonder if it is a case of more grace for more sin?

Monday Blues

2006-03-20T16:22:00.000+03:00

Highlights of the weekend included hanging out with a friend who drove me around town and to my place, then to her place and finally dropped me off on my way back home. Interesting way of knowing someone better by watching their driving habits, she particularly made noise for everyone on the road! Also on sunday, hanged out with friends afternoon in a bachelor pad, then went out with my sis and niece, to hang with a neighbour of long time ago, who'd become Australian, it had been eight years since he'd left.

Monday drag day, nothing much, expecting to report to the corporate affairs dept tomorrow morning, so have spent the day surfing. Need to up productivity. Definately. My american girl hasn't sent mail, so a bit low. But another pal did so maisha not too bad!

The calm after the storm

2006-03-15T16:05:00.000+03:00

turns out the job rotations for the financial department aren't ready. So we get a free day to lounge, what to do. Surfed the net all day mainly news stories and sports with a splash of telecommunication manuals for reading.
then sometime around noon, a girl pal of mine appears online on Yahoo messenger and we chat for 4 hours. we are pals but I tried to push a few buttons further up the scale but ended up back to ground zero. I shouldn't go there but hey, I'm a boy with feelings. save to say our friendship is more spiced up so to speak.
As for yesterday evening, went to a pal's home, one of the kids passed away. Got time to vibe a few friends, expressing feelings about death is a bit difficult, especially trying to get the God factor inside, for comfort.

make or break day

2006-03-14T14:56:00.000+03:00

It's been an important day for me. The chance to impress my superiors by doing a presentation on the handling of technical issues by the Commercial division of the company, by conducting a SWOT analysis on the business support systems currently in use. Having been given 10 days (including the last 2 weekends - which I did nothing), it's been a tight spot getting all the facts from different people across the company, conducting surveys and compiling the report. Now it was D-day, with the chief tech officer, several dept heads and managers present.

I used a management joke about how executives loaded antelope onto a small plane after a hunting expedition in the Masai Mara despite the pilot's warnings, only for the plane to crash land 100 metres from where it had crashlanded the previous year.

With me as the pilot, and the support systems as the plane, they actually laughed! This was good coz I'd tried it out on colleagues who didn't get the joke. So handling the questions was relatively easier (actually evading or going round them). Then my colleagues and I got free buffet lunch at the company cafeteria, where we exchanged info on how the grilling went.

With nothing to do for the remainder of the day, I've started my blog life. I'm heading out in 10 minutes, need to drop a letter for one of my referees to respond, because I'm yet to be confirmed as an employee, 4 months down the line. Until tomorrow, ADIEU!