13 People In Every Matatu (Minibus)

Matatus are the most common method of transport in Kenya. Within the matatus there is also a trend in terms of people…

+1 The Complainer

I enter the mat at tired. The day has had me. All I want to do is get home and binge on the latest series of House of Cards. Then they happen…

They seem to comment on every turn the driver is making. How hot it is in the matatu. And shouts over the music of how she knows her ears are now punctured.

When it comes to alighting they remind everyone of how they have been “pitishwad” stage (the minibus has dropped farther than expected).

+2 The Non-payer

You entered with them. They sit conveniently behind the conductor. Silent and busy observing the dusty roads of Nairobi.

Suddenly the conductor, starts poking every one in front of him for the 30/- they deserve. In their nonchalant manner they go unnoticed.

You give your 30/- wondering whether the conductor will also ask them. Upon arrival to his stage, they bravely demand that they be dropped. And from there he is free…

+3 The No Loose Money Guy

They give 1000/- expecting 970/-. The conductor must walk in traffic on the highway to ask for change…

They will definitely get it. But you still wondering why give a crisp note for dirty sweat ridden notes…

+4 The one on the phone

“Yes send him 100k… the rest is to smooth things over!”

In just one phone call I know about your girlfriend, wedding plans, break ups, investments and religion. I don’t know why I listened…

+5 The Hot One

Yes, the one that should be driven to and from work. The one you wondered what she does with her life apart from being gorgeous 24/7…

You might try to get in a word or two… but that’s all it will ever be. A matatu crush… 😀

+6 The Worker

They have a brown envelope filled with office documents. They feel this is the apt time to show your business name, board of trustees’ contacts and sign documents on a shaky under-serviced vehicle.

They are so busy they forget to claim their balance from the conductor… probably paying for +3

+7 The Texter

The whole mat knows you are texting. The whistle notification sounds make it every obvious. You can’t stop giggling can you? Can’t resist flashing your OLED display?

Sometimes I fall in this category. Hehe! Why am I lying… no one remembers me. #jk (This is the vaguest sentence you will ever read).

+8 The Couples

This is the most awkward. Two young couples decided to join me on the backseat. I’m already irritated by +1… now these two feel compelled to showcase their love. As well as discuss their relationship.

To get my mind off what they are doing. I focus my energies on +6…

Via http://aerialarmadillo.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html

+9 The Procurer

“Could you search for me my seat belt?”

Without notice, they have invaded your private space and claimed a few of your valuables. They then alight on the next stop having earned a free phone on a lazy day.

+10 The Marketer

They will sell you their business within the 15 minute ride. You are very tempted to invest and buy. But you just met the guy. So you ask for the card and promise to call when you can.

+11 The Sleeper

The Ongata Rongai fellows know what am talking about. These guys don’t even make an effort to be wake. Once they have paid that is it… they are off. They request to be woken up when the matatu reaches the last stage.

+12 The Conductor

They forgot to collect +3 fare. Probably because they have been ogling at +6 the whole ride. And has deliberately forgotten to return +7’s money.

Poking their head out, They scan for new passengers and police officers. They seem to be enjoying the music more than anyone else on the matatu. And what is that they are chewing?

+13 The driver

Is it me or did the traffic rules change today? Didn’t you see the oncoming car? Who are you racing? And why do you keep jacking the car?

They are very relaxed and constantly begging for a way in… in a 3 way traffic on a one lane road. In traffic, the newspaper serves as their entertainment, as he jokes with the conductor in vernacular.

Much Love,
Steja.

Is the Premier League really premier quality?

The Goal Post

One of the biggest stories in football this year was the announcement of the astronomical TV rights deal signed between sports TV giants Sky Sports & BT Sport and the Premier League, a deal worth 5.14 billion pounds to be exact. This makes an already wealthy league even more filthy rich. And this is only from TV. Adidas famously signed a massive deal with Manchester United to supply kits and equipment, paying the club 75 million pounds per year over 10 years. The result: 8 of the 20 richest football clubs in the world are English. In comparison, 4 are Italian, 3 Spanish, 3 German, and 1 French. All 20 clubs in the BPL are in the top 40. Newcastle and West Ham, in 18th and 19th respectively,  are not participants in European competitions, which are the major source of revenue for the 12 non-English clubs in the top 20…

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SOMNAMBULENCE

Hey guys, It’s been quite a while I know, but life got hectic after the new semester began. It has been 3 months into the semester and everything is becoming a a blurr. I want to just sit and watch a series the whole day but unfortunately, cant, because I’m studding for the next CAT. 😦 I have a friend X, (Mwangi :D) who this post absolutely relates to… (edited version of another article)

What ‘beauty’sleep does

These are the activities that most of us (especially in Medical School) can relate to.

The first three months after the start of the semester.

7.00 am: Alarm Rings. Snoozes for the first time; Snoozes again. (He has mastered the phone’s shortcut button to snooze); the next thing that wakes him up

…The sun.

9.30 am: Calls a friend and asks that he/she signs for him. He then rushes to the bathroom – Often finds no water. Debates whether he will go downstairs to fetch water (depending on the weather).

10.00 am: Having breakfast.

10.30 am: In the lecture hall, no lecturer is present.

He immediately regrets leaving his bed; tries to console himself; “At least I’m in class; it’s better than staying in the room.”

Why did I wake up in the first place!

11.00 am: Decides to go to the library. Signs and takes five minutes to settle down. Five minutes deciding which book to read.

11.15 am: Gets a call that the lecture has arrived. He goes to class.

11.20 am: The lecturer goes through the slides as if they have to take a pee. He could pass for Eminem in a rap contest – in one minute, five slides.

11.25 am: He is called by a friend seated at the back to check how many slides there are for the lecture – 77 slides. Currently, they are in slide no. 9.

Self-explanatory

12.30 pm: The slides are all covered. His notebook has something the struggles to be legible. He can barely read it. He consoles himself that he will get the slides and go through it, and update the notes.

12.45 pm: Next stop; the bus; he’s forced to be a gentleman (he can’t struggle with a lady for a seat in the bus).

2.00 pm: He’s in the lecture hall for the next lecture. He has just wolfed down four pieces of chapatti, a plate of rice and beans, plus a cup of juice/red bull on a lucky day.

2.05 pm: The lecturer starts the presentation.

2.06 pm: The lecturer is barely visible. Vision is blurry

2.07 pm: Loss of awareness; nodding off.

2.09 pm: He is gone.

3.40 pm: He awakes. The lecture gives the five minute break before continuing with the Power Point presentation.

3.47 pm: Some students ask the lecturer questions. He barely knows what how the question relates to the topic of the day.

3.49 pm: The lecturer replies, “That is a very good question! “

3.50 pm: Confusion.

4.30 pm: He has been struggling to wrap his head around what he has been hearing to from the lecturer and what his immediate neighbour has been writing.

4.40 pm: Struggles and finds the signing sheet and signs for seven other friends.

4.55 pm: He waits outside for the bus to come back, while leading most of the conversations.

5.30 pm: He boards the bus.

6.45 pm: He is dropped by the bus at his hostel. Immediately goes for supper.

7.15 pm: “I’m not planning to sleep today, I must study” He informs me,settling at his study table. He preps for it.

7.30 pm: On his bed – Whatsapp.

8.30 pm: “Janey(that’s me),nisambazie bundles ama cred? I need some.”

8.35 pm: He moves next to the switch and charges the phone as he chats.

8.40 pm: Takes the study seat, in an effort to read. “Janey, where’s my pen? I urgently need it. ” Next to him is his pen and phone. Three textbooks are on the table. All of them are open. He still continues to chat.

9.40 pm: Battery 50%.

9.45 pm: Jumps to his bed.

10.00 pm: “Janey, niamshe matimes zetu”. ‘Matimez zetu’ implies that I should wake him up at around 12 at night.

12.00 am: I prod him to wake up. “Wake up. I’m going to bed”. His reply, “Mzzmunyummwwyuiiii”. He switches to the other side of the bed.

Need to catch some sleep

The cycle continues.

He’s up again at 9.30, maybe 8.00 am on a good day.

I Am Sanaa. I Am Culture

Someone once told me that when young people come together something great always results from it. I had the privilege to meet the working and functioning hands behind this story this Saturday. I shock you not they are mere and ordinary students’ hands running the show. These students sat together to come up with the supreme and extra-ordinary idea, hence the birth of the now famous Sanaa culture.

A platform where young people of different race and tribe get to showcase their God-given talent, speak of their values and voice their opinions on the world today . It avails a chance for these young artists to be heard and be seen either through lyrics or just a mere paintbrush.

“This world is but a canvas to our imagination.”
Henry David Thoreau

Their art depicts a peaceful place of no strife but of conquering weaknesses to become better. It is art for change.
Of young talent, authentic art and refreshingly good music is just a mere part of the event that was. It all went down at the Michael Joseph centre where young people met to exhibit talent like never before. From spoken word to live music, you name it.

The room full to the brim and good music seething to the top. Dancing and good conversation ruled the day with graceful entertainment.

One artist was after my own heart. She spoke of women. How we are tired of the image we have been forced to compare ourselves to. “If I wear makeup am to plastic if I wear my hair kinky I’m too unkempt!”. Her name, Faith Shikanga, famously known as ‘shikkiey’. Her poise and structure, her voice and word texture left the crowd yearning for more. She possesses great strength in my books, to stand and set the society straight, to air her views publicly caring not of neither rejection nor subjection to the stereotype of the modern African woman. My hands could not have clapped louder and my voice could not have shouted louder than I did that day.

What is an event without good acoustic music? They grasped my attention with the phrase “Mama Kenya amka. Ni wewe na ni mimi.” (Mother of Kenya arise. It is both you and me). Who can forget the four amazing artists that raised their voice to change. ‘Royalty is Black’ is their name. Using their amazing talents and just two guitars, they passed their message across: It’s time we all rose and acknowledge where we are from. “I am African and I am proud”. These are the words that will ring in my head for a very long time. It touched me to see young people embracing their black skin in a time where culture is uprooted and eroded. To stand up and say that I love Africa, in a time where everybody wants to be assimilated to the western culture turning back not to the rich and authentic culture they leave behind. To say I was impressed will be doing a disservice to my heart.

I was thoroughly amazed and utterly impressed on what young people can do given the chance. Putting their time to great use and utilizing the limited resources available to them .I interacted with these young entrepreneurs and I saw vision in their eyes, fire in their hearts and vehemence for what they do. The stereotype and typical misjudgment of the youth was broken. No more sitting down to wait for mum and dad to provide. I salute the sanaa culture and associates team for their great work this past Saturday. I look forward to see more of them and also more of ‘in the closet’ artists showcasing their talent.
To a great weekend that was. Cheers

Yours truly

An impressed citizen

BLUE DAY

I am absolutely in love with a blogger by the name Sheila. I must say, her articles amaze me at times. Today I was having a blue day and so I decided to revisit my favorite article from her because I feel I can absolutely relate to it, well, most of it 😉 . Now, I’m not excluding other age brackets with this article but those in their twenties will absolutely relate to it or those who want to reminisce about their twenties 😉 She got this from her cousin via text.

Being in your twenties…

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start
realizing that there are many things about yourself that
you didn’t know and may not like.You start feeling
insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two,
but then get scared because you barely know where you
are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that,
maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close
to aren’t exactly the greatest people you have ever met,
and the people you have lost touch with are some of the
most important ones. What you don’t recognize is that
they are realizing that too, and aren’t really cold, catty,
mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job… and it is not even close to what
you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are
looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have
to start at the bottom and that scares you. Your opinions
have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and
find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly
you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life
and are constantly adding things to your list of what is
acceptable and what isn’t. One minute, you are insecure
and then the next, secure.

You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You
feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is
the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear
life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and
further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where
you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you
loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and
wonder why you can’t meet anyone decent enough that
you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love
someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out
why you’re doing this because you know that you aren’t a
bad person. You want to settle down for good because
now all of a sudden that becomes top priority. Getting
wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic.You
begin to think a companion for life is better than a
hundred in the shack and for once you would not mind
standing tall for that special someone which otherwise
you had never thought of until now.

You go through the same emotions and questions over
and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics
because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry
about loans, money, the future and making a life for
yourself… and while winning the race would be great,
right now you’d just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that every one reading this
relates to it.We are in our best of times and our worst of
times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing
out.

We call it the “Quarter-life Crisis”.

Happiness. Success.

   

 

A Tribute To The Strongest Ladies

Single moms tell a story of sacrifice and patience. With more women opting to become single parents of late, it’s about time something was said. Anyone raised by a caring single mum will tell you they know what true love is. She is the person who will patiently listen to you despite her utter exhaustion. She is the gift that keeps on giving.

How are the children of single moms? It is a common belief that children raised in a family with a father and mother has some added advantage. That is the traditional way things appear. Unique situations where the child was raised by a single parent usually led to prejudiced judgments because it was synonymous with “broken” homes or “illegitimate” children

So let’s debunk this a bit.

The level of education of the mother actually influences the level of ambition and determination of the children. The child mirrors the success and efforts of the parents. And sometimes is compelled to do further. This can be driven by the parent(s). It is not based on the relationship status of the parents.

However, not to say single-parenting has no pitfalls, it has several. A single parent with adequate resources may provide a stable, nurturing home in which children thrive just as well as those who have two parents. On the other hand, a single parent who’s just scraping by and has little time, energy or skill for parental duties might have children who are at risk for a variety of problems which are mostly potential psychological effects and most single parents really struggle to steer their children away from these pitfalls.

Let’s face it, it’s a dog eat dog world. We are in a harsh economy where you must keep up to make it. Single moms would do anything to make an extra shilling. For example, in Egypt a woman pretends to be a man for 43 years to make ends meet. Sisa Abu Daooh wore a Taqiyah and went on her way to work. This devotion is not a calling. Her goal was to make sure that her children were fed.

But all in all, at the end of the day, she is both your parents rolled into one and in most cases, your best friend as well and that lady you absolutely love and admire.

It is quite remarkable what single moms do. It is quite encouraging. This was a requested post by one of our awesome followers. And single fathers, we really appreciate you too 😉

Much Love,

Steja.

Stay Motivated

Via http://www.popsugar.com

Globe in a drop

  

Promise me more…

“I, too, have done my damndest
to kiss and touch and bless
and now I, too, am through with it all
and am simply like the rest” – Barry Taylor I, Too

We all have big dreams. We all want to do something about it. We are all probably up to something then stumbled upon this post.

From when I can remember someone has been promising me one thing or the other with a utopian reward.

“The right one has not been born yet…” “Your business will still work after you are done with your course…” “Finish the exam then we can go for ice-cream…”

Apparently, it will all work out if you do as it pleases this guy, these people… for them it is not the perfect time. For you, you just can’t get rid of the itch. It is obvious where am getting to. You choose your path. But wait there is more…

Promises; promises.

There has not been a shortage of free thinkers (shout out Dr. Stockmann). Every day I hear how people want to change the world with this initiative, reform and leadership. They all promise me the perfect world. Where my starving brother in Turkana and uptown sister will talk about their days in paradise. As long as I vote them in or offer them my friendship.

Thomas Moore proposed the utopian idea some time back. His logic seems radical and idealistic at the moment. The ideals will be easily accepted by any person struggling to make ends meet. But what of the rich that have gotten comfortable. We all know that people don’t find it easy to change. It takes time and effort… it’s sticky and messy. So how do we expect them to change?

Well we don’t… that’s the trick.

“Serikali! Serikali!”

We shan’t beg. We shan’t cry. What is our goal? To be comfortable too… you don’t need to own the whole of Central to be happy. All you need is a happy family, with all their basic needs met. It is violent to not do that for your family.

“All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue.” Plato.

Once the goal is set. Be creative. The beauty of a capitalistic economy is that anyone can get themselves out of the mud.

So get your hands in the mud. Get dirty and build something from it. (Guess which movie that is from… 🙂 )

So if they can get to the top; so can you…

I would not wait for promises that are 50/50. I’ll get on my feet; and do it myself because this is the perfect time.

Who is this God in Exodus: Gods and Kings?

If you have not watched the movie, I would warn you to beware of spoilers. But I doubt I will be spoiling anything…

They say you should fear god. This means revering God such that we obey, respect and worship him. But this movie must have taken it a bit far. I was scared of this god.

When Moses goes to plead with him. He just grins as though he has a bigger plan in his mind… and mischievous plan. Even Moses is completely pissed and you couldn’t blame him.

Why does he have to appear as his son? That was scary! I watch horror movies which are much worse. However, this is a movie I was watching with my 10 year old cousin. And my mucho/grown up mojo I’ve been holding up disappeared with that one scene. That was messed up. It was as though that god had possessed the kid. It is not something you would expect.

“I want no part in this”

He is all knowing. And wise. But all the non-Hebrew children, just because… even the messenger was not convincing when he went to plead with Rameses. It is as though he wanted it to happen. Which god would do this?

So now, I wonder why none of the character doubted Moses’ state of mind. In the 21st century, it sounds hilarious to talk to a burning bush. And talking to a stone. He might be the One. But it kind of sounds like a cultish following of Moses in the name of God and salvation.

The god depicted seemed to not always be available. With leaving Moses hanging sometimes, and not coming for some of his unscheduled meeting.

What does it mean when He is portrayed as a child?

Those are just some of my thoughts… what do you think of the movie? What message do you think they were trying to bring out in the movie? Do you believe that it was an accurate depiction of God?