Misri sirudi tena

Yup, we've all sung the song, but have you really been to Egypt? Well, employer sent a group of us to our sister company in Cairo for a few days of knowledge transfer. It's not enough to judge a country or people, but here are a few insights from a week's visit.

Cairo

Imagine Thika Road ploughing right through Githurai or Umoja. That pretty much describes Cairo in a Nairobi perspective. The roads are expansive (single lanes only in down town, rest are multi carriage ways with interchanges), lakini juu ngata ni 30 bob, jam is crazy. Actually, there's been an oil shortage (imagine) over the last 4 days, so long queues at petrol stations.

Due to desert conditions, city is not so clean. Limited housing means lots of highrises within the city, but the outskirts are more scenic, with tonnes of new housing developments transforming the desert landscape. The people are friendly but will do anything to get loot from a tourist.

Smart Village

The equivalent of our soon to be Konza City, Smart Village is a beautiful business park where the major players (international & local) in the ICT sector have set up base. This was the venue of our meetings, and I was very impressed by the setup. All buildings must have white walls and blue glass, but beyond that designs are varied. The Village is on the outskirts of Cairo, and if this is what Konza is about, hope I won't have retired by the time it becomes a reality.

Pyramids

I got to finally see what all the hullabaloo about a pile of rocks in a certain design is about. Breathtaking is the only way to describe the pyramids, whether up close or from a distance. We were fleeced for some very expensive horse ride around the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx but since it's a once in a lifetime experience, will not complain. Hey, Misri sirudi tena :-)

Status Update

Well, I'm still alive, so that's a good start. Guess adjusting to this new phase of life has taken it's toll on my blogging mojo. But we will be back, trust me.

My old man passed away in Dec. Have really struggled dealing with death, don't get me started on the fact that I haven't gotten over my mom's passing. So twin blow is hitting me, wave after wave of sadness and regret. They were both so young, and I totally blew my opportunities to really be a blessing. Life sucks without them!!!

Graciously, God cared enough to ensure I have a loving wife & supportive siblings, relatives and friends to stand by me at this time. Yaani, ningekuwa down mbaya!!!

I've just competed another successful stint as acting manager. This one was particularly enriching because of interacting with heads of departments and the director. Must admit, you can envy their perks, but boy these guys must earn their keep with tonnes of brain sweat. Oh, and I'm heading to Egypt next Sunday for a research trip. I know the song says "sirudi misri tena" but a man finds his destiny in the road he took to avoid it.

Cheers!!

Young Kenyan Man in South Africa

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

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!!!

Young Kenyan Man in Switzerland

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...

They see me rolling... Season II

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 be out drinking

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.

2nd Anniversary

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

Kazi mingi

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...