oh what a cold!

 July 2 2021

So - I have not been well

goodness!

i have had a cold in the past, but never this version

so on sunday i went to church, and once again was not warmly dressed

given that it was 8am mass

after mass, i layered up and stayed put in the house

monday rolled in and i had a meeting from 2pm

sun was out and so i didn't bother with a sweater

and we sat on the terrace

and took in all the cold

Tuesday and Wednesday I was basically curled up in bed

with heavy head

extreme fatigue

and no appetite

funny taste in mouth

thursday i was much better

took a short walk and came back and had to nap

now friday, woke up with a sharp chest pain

still have the funny taste in my mouth

and then my nose started bleeding

but mercifully just stopped

i googled about common cold

typically symptoms should subside after 3 days

could it be??

i dont know

i got better after 8 days

I am not my hair!

 I love this period where I work from home

Means I dont have to worry about my hair

And it also means I can have whichever hairstyle i want

So some months ago

I watched a vlog that said that this lady did normal small matutas

and let them grow out into braids

I decided

mmm

this is about a nice time to have my dreadlocks

CWA...mama wa kanisa

 This year has really flown past

Its already September!

So I registered to join Catholic Women Association

My why is that I have a strong urge to come closer to God 

and be a good example to my children

I have been toying with the idea for some time

challenge is CWA is associated with maShosho

and i dont feel like a granny

so i hesitated

but now that i have gone through formation classes since January 2021

i realise this is just unfortunate PR

any Catholic lady above 18 should consider joining

and make the association more effective

kueneza injili ya Bwana

St Monica, our patron saint, pray for us!!

Amen!

Menstrual Hygiene Day 2021

 So today is all about the menses!

My first time story

So I was in boarding school

deep in western kenya...

(ok thats how i felt..its actually not so far from town)

but i digress

anyways

we had been given this large pads by my mum

and when the menses came

thats what we used

however, the challenge of boarding school

is that the dorms are locked during the day

so if u didn't jipanga

then wololo

you may not have enough pads for the day

mercifully the periods were not painful when they started

i was in class 7 (i think)

when i started my menses

years later in high school

they became more painful

but i had painkillers for that

in campus the pain became UNBEARABLE

i remember rolling on the floor

and 3-4 hours later and am good!!

i think i ovedosed on painkillers

GOSH!!

BUT they were like clockwork...

28 days!

the worst was when doing my MBA

my ps started just before the economics paper

i was not myself!

i was in such pain! because if i dont take painkiller before the pain

then no painkiller would work

I actually just wrote my name

answered one question

and left 

I had to resit that paper!

that was a first in my life! a RESIT!!

waaaaaaa

now the ps come when they want

and am ok with that...

eish...the things women go through!!

Mothers Day!

 i love celebrations!

so mothers day is no exception

love the atmosphere around it

i am proudly Min Krasi

sometimes i look at my mum

and wonder how she kept sane

with my three kids...if i have nephews/nieces over

i have to hide in my room for some period

to keep my head above water

but its all good

this is a God given vocation

and i pray for his mercy and guidance over this vocation!

--end--

Karura!

 Today was a good day to take a walk in Karura

Its been raining in Nairobi

so I knew the walk would be cool

I enlisted my sis and daughter to join me

The walk was relaxing!

we did the 10km

we were alone for considerable stretches of time...

a lone runner passing us

a couple taking a walk

children cycling

the foreigners speaking animatedly in their language

idyllic

we marvelled at the size of the forest

from the number of cars in the parking lot

there should be many more people here!

But

at some point we wondered exactly 

how far we are from the end

can we detour from the blue line???

a lone runner answered our perplexed faces

when we were at a junction

anyhooo

then my sis came up with a brilliant idea!

an app for the forest!!!!!

just like they have in Dubai Mall UAE

so you know where you are

and how far the loos are from where you are

how far the end is from where you are

how far you have walked/run

we even passed by some trees that had interesting bark...

and wondered what kind of tree this was

the app can answer that!

etc etc

am wondering who we can tell this to!

mmmmmhhhhhh

Series of firsts > First time in Uganda

 year is 1982

am in class 2

the family needs to head out to bukoba

my grandfather had passed away

the drive is from nairobi

through to kampala

and then to the border of

kenya and tanzania

all i remember are the number of 

roadblocks

manned by menacing men

hold huge guns

dressed in fatigues

i remember also going over a volkswagen!

years later

i learnt that 

my dad had just gotten his license!

and piled his family into the Audi car

and off we went to Bukoba!!

The Announcement ....!

 Today is March 25

9 months before Christmas

Its the feast of The Annunciation

The Annunciation (from Latin annuntiatio), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Jewish messiah and Son of God, marking His Incarnation.Gabriel told Mary to name her son Jesus, meaning "YHWH is salvation".

I cant help but think that I have heard of someone called ANNUCIATA!

In my primary school, children had the most unique names....well now I know the basis of that kind of name

Happy Feast day!

Series of firsts > First time having dreadlocks

i first had dreadlocks fixed sometime in 2005 I think

it was just on a whim

no actually it wasn't a whim

i remember now

some lady when i was growing up

had a bad reaction to a perm chemical

and so i knew when i wanted to have a baby

that perming my hair would not be possible

plus 

i knew i didn't really like the long hours in the salon

and especially under a drier

anyways, went to some barber in town

and he fixed them

my oh my

the first years are tough

every time back to the barber shop

and the hair is washed

its back to an afro!

anyways, finally the locks locked

and began my journey

i stayed with them till January 2013 and just chopped them off!

the barber was so mad at me

he took my action personally

since i didn't consult him

LOL

anyways, my hair is all natural

i think i will grow locks again!

here is to a new hairstyle for 2021

Series of firsts> The future is female!

 

Excitement!!

WTO is having a new head

and its the indomitable Ngozi

Dr Okonjo-Iweala will become the first woman 

and first African to be chosen as DG

Director General!!

She starts March 1

and people all around were wearing head gear like hers

in honour of this great milestone

Loved this pic from the internet

The future is indeed female!

Series of firsts > First job after campus

 so in 1998

i cleared campus

looked for a job

and got a marketing gig

now now

introvert me....this was such a wrong match

i walked up and down the city

looking for clients

nada!

while colleagues are thriving

payment was made in cash

every friday

round a table!

finally

one colleague took pity on me

told me to set up appointment

and he would close the deal

sure enough!

he did

even if it was for the smallest space in the magazine

i mentally checked out

they asked me for an article

and thats the second and final payment i got 

and stepped out

Oakland Media!

waaaaaaaaaa

Series of firsts > First day at a real job!

september 1998

i have arrived early

ngong road offices

coalition on violence against women

its 9am

i enter and am asked politely, who called you??

am in shock!

anyways, there was a small misunderstanding

and am ushered in and start

first assignment was an audit

my induction was an audit!

and the person was headed back to his station

in Iran or something like that

so he rushed through it

baptism by fire

i got the hang of it

and stayed for 6 years

covaw shaped my view on human rights

on women's rights

on volunteerism

on professionalism

am indebted!

Series of firsts > First day in secondary school

 year is 1989

i have been admitted to chox

the limuru girls high school

am excited

glad that am closer to the city

than in my primary school far away in western

everything needed is brown

even the underpants!!

LOL

we swing into school with my dad

in a london cab no less

its the black new taxis in town

we were shown the rooms

we are 8 in the room

and my roommates have all come

one is from turkana, 

never seen someone from turkana before!

am excited

my dad leaves

and am left to face the next four years

am excited

so help me God!

Series of firsts > First curfew experience

 year is 1982

i was just 8 years old

i remember the low tones

everything seemed darker

the word curfew was all over the news

something bad seemed to have happened

not sure if i saw or heard

that several people were told to lie

on the floor

near the junction of ministry of water

south c

fast forward

to years later

corona has us all curfewed

and its one year since 

so help us God

Series of firsts > First day in Primary school

 so its 1981

probably january 1981

i join class one

with me twin sis

we are in our shiny new uniforms!

with bright red sweaters

my other sis is in class 3

and she is a ball of energy

she drags our reluctant hands

to the class 

saying loudly

hello teacher!

here are my sisters!!

am scared

don't know what to expect

i remember the smell of freshly shaved pencils

and the smell of warm milk

in small colourful mugs

or was this a memory from kindergarten?

oh well

its a long time ago

:)

Series of firsts > First time in the Big Apple!

So...........

i was seated there

in the office

minding my own business

when an email from IEE came through

some forwarded email

for internship grants

am like...oh well....never hurts  to try!

and that's how i found my self

in the Big Apple

year is 2001 (i think)

interning at Equality Now

for 6 weeks!

Imagine that! 

and being summer, with the long days

i wondered around each corner of NYC 

solo traveler

every evening!

not even scared!

took the bus

took the train

went to Staten Island

went to Brooklyn

went to Madison Square Garden

went to Times Square

Sat in central park

went for dinner at the Twin Towers 

heck! i even joined a protest march!

Bliss!

Series of firsts > First time seeing the ocean!

 i love the ocean

endless mass of water

merging with horizon

the calming feeling of just staring

at the wide unknown

first time i saw this wonder

was in dar es salaam

circa 1993

we had gone to visit dad

it was a public beach i think

and he said

wash your face with the water

as a way paying homage

and i looked at it

with utter amazement

and realised why

in olden days

people worshiped the ocean!

 

Series of firsts > First flight

 So this February, I start a short story series on my first

My first flight

This was incidentally on Christmas day

We had gone to Dar es salaam to visit my father and he surprised us with a flight back to Nairobi

I was beside myself

We all wore smart!! since it was Christmas + it was  a big day for all of us using a flight for the first time

Cant even remember the logistics involved

All I can recall is being seated and staring around in wonderment!! (if that is a word!)

Wow...its so nice to enjoy that experience with family members

WFH!

 So a new term has gain traction this past year

WFH

Working from home!

I must say I enjoy it

I had a some 15months stint at WFH some time back and was BORED!

Main reason was because the work was limited and I had to be present and not go about doing my own thing

However, with this one for 2020/2021 I enjoy it immensely

But I always wonder whether a little distraction doesn't make me more effective

Whole of 2020 I was WFH at the same time being Assistant Teacher! 

and I was more effective!

Now that the house is SILENT since kids are back in school

I tend to less efficient

whats that about!!

---

Letter to me

Dear 21 year old me

I see you

I see you standing there my the door of your room...with a poster behind you done by an artist friend

Cant remember who took this photo

and why you removed your specs

Anyways, 25 years later everything is fine

Doubt if you imagined where you would be 25 years from this picture

But its all good

No harm in looking 5 years ahead

or even 5 years behind

and taking in all the lessons

just rise up

and show up

and be Thankful to God always!!

Living in the moment!

 Its nearly one year

Since the world was put on hold

Now more than ever

Just live in the moment