It's been a while...

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...

Year of the Rabbit?

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...

Magical Kenya

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!!!

Olympic Records

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?