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.

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”.

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.

WIDEN YOUR CIRCLE

‘A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’

John 13:34-35 (NIV)

My sister read this article to me that completely made sense so I thought I would share it. It concerns something called the “Jesus project”. Basic principle of it is, not everyone in life will be ‘your kind of person’.  But, it doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be shown love and treated with respect.

A Jesus project is someone who may get on your nerves, someone who may offend you or someone whom you really wouldn’t choose to spend time with because you’re just complete opposites.

I call them Jesus projects because I believe that God has placed certain people in our lives to challenge us and to make us better people. I don’t know about you but I know that at some point in my life I’ve done something that God wouldn’t approve of; I’ve offended God and I’ve been quite an annoying person to be associated with. And yet, with that being said, he still loves me unconditionally and wants to see me do well.

Wouldn’t it be great if we had the same attitude towards people whom we just don’t get on with, whom we struggle to connect with or who just plain irritate us? It could be that person with the slightly weird sense of humor or that person in your life who always seems to push your buttons.

Why don’t you invite them for lunch, to the cinema or to church and practice being a little more like Jesus in their company?

Step out of your comfort zone and choose to see the best in people because Jesus chooses to see the best in us. In my personal experience I’ve found that the more I focus on the positive characteristics of a person, the less the negative characteristics become.

So point is, It’s great to have a core circle of friends, but it’s probably even better to open it up to include others. Who knows? You might end up with an Antigua-speaking, acrobat artist with a special fondness for rich tea biscuits in your friendship group…!

A Culture Of Lies (Episode 1: I’m On My Way)

If fairy tales still did exist and so our noses grew longer every time we told a lie, I’m pretty sure most of us would put Pinocchio to shame in the lying game.

Today, I was decided to help my little cousin do her homework as a kind gesture but she gets bored so fast so we decided to take a break every few minutes. After a while, she threw in the towel and exclaimed that there was no use to finish it as she could fabricate a story to tell the teacher as to why she could not do the homework. Amused, I asked her an example of such a “story” and she simply said:

“I did it for hours but couldn’t understand anything, so I thought it would be best you teach me first or I lost it on my way to school” And just to think back in my days we struggled with ridiculous excuses like the dog ate my homework 😀 The innocence she said it with would have had me fooled as well if I was the teacher.

We learn how to lie our way through taxing situations from childhood to avoid the discomfort of having to answer to questions. (Though apparently lying in a child sometimes shows high IQ <not to mean you let your child get away with lying>).

Then it graduates to ridiculous lies like lying to your boss that you have taken leave to attend a relative’s burial only for the said, dead relative to arrive in the office a week later frantically looking for you. Or the famous matatu (minibus) lies of where you happen if you are late for something.

Today, I boarded a matatu and sat next to a young man. No sooner had we began the journey than he received a call from a lady and he suddenly became so apologetic promising he would arrive at their meeting venue in a few minutes as he was already at Prestige (while in reality we had just left town) and if she would wait for him just a bit longer, he would cater for their lunch. He travelled the rest of the journey so uptight and kept texting her to reassure her he was just a few minutes away. But when he arrived at his alighting stage, a lady stood up from the back of the matatu before he stood. “Faith!!” he called out shocked, “I thought you said you had already arrived and were waiting for me?” She seemed dumbfounded for a minute before retorting, “I thought you said you were at Prestige when the matatu was in town”. They were both so embarrassed. The whole matatu burst out laughing. But really, we all do this. We lie about where we are most times we are late.

I need to stop using my excuse of “I’m on University way, give me 5 minutes”…

Much love,
Steja.

TWO FOR TANGO

This is basically for smartphones and their wearable.

When it comes to the world of smartphones, a chain of battles exist, dust never settles and phones are churning out every day. So much that it’s enough to feed your ego with a plate of hardware. But as we try to sweat out trying to understand all the tech phrases that the geeky savvy are trying to chunk down our throat, we can’t fail to notice a new set of techy wearable that is pulling up on the stop,. The Smart Watches.

We’ve heard of them, seen them and probably worn them but what do we know of them?

So here are a couple as an introduction to them:

Samsung Galaxy Gear, a.k.a The Maze Runner. Yes it is. This watch can turn your brain into a maze and make your thought hit dead walls before you finally get it right. Needless say, to new enthusiasts, the clueless ones, it may be like trying to solve a Rubic cube.

Pebble Smart Watches a.k.a The Skimmed Milk. This watch can make coffee out of most smartphones. It’s compatibility is of a wider range than that of the usual ones and it’s affordable as it comes at a cheaper price tag.

Nike’s Smart Band a.k.a The Runner. The fit guys, those who hit the gym to burn calories, or even run for miles in that case this might be for you. This is not a casual watch to walk in the office with but it may be suitable if you’re the kind of person who hits 50 words per second on paper. It can literally tell you how much calories you’re burning through your finger.

Apple Smart Watch a.k.a The Show Stopper. The fans who run by this watch, tend to be more of a fuss. You constantly have to remind them that to steer a car you have to be on the inside and not on the bonnet.

Motorola 360 Smart Watch a.k.a The Elegant. This watch looks ridiculously cool. It’s very round, minimalist and shimmers with prestige. You may find it with the business execs, but given a chance to join the club, it can lock and drop it.

The LG Smart Watch a.k.a The Extremist. This watch covers a wide array of applications and it can even navigate you to a destination. It keeps you on track with your schedules, and gives you a smile from the user interface design.

So let’s Tango,..

These phones usually operate from the marriage with their respective smartphones. If you kill the phone sadly you’ll end up having a watch that needs constant charging and since the tango is broken, it will be dancing to the tunes of an alarm.

So how do they work?

Standard Bluetooth connection is the answer.

And how do they come about?

The Galaxy Gear, comes as an accessory if you buy one of the stand alone Galaxy phones ie from the S4 onwards. If you want it solo…Ksh 30,000. Yes that’s what you pay to buy the Galaxy Gear solo. Right, it turns your head around or is it to the side? And furthermore, you need a Galaxy phone to get most of the features activated. What a whack!

The Pebble, this watches are sold without the companion of a phone. It is suitably adjusted to pair with any phone and as such it doesn’t burn your pockets.

The iWatch. Simple and expensive. They’ve even made a Ksh 160,000 watch and am sorry, you’ll only have to use it with an Apple product. They bring merry to the fans and as such, they become a show-off.

The Nike’s Smart Band? Comes as a band, a band that cheers you, final.

The Moto 360 and the LG Smart Watch, you may want to buy this if you want something classy. Both are round, responsive and easy to operate.

So, what need are they to you?

First, it’s a watch, helps you keep track of time. Second, they are a fitness tracker and third, they notify you of any incoming notifications. You can also make calls and quick text replies.

Health-wise, you can track most of your exercise records. Some of it include: mileage tracker, calories count, heart rate and exercise reps. Too bad it can’t count your abs. It’s also a boost of aid to those who need to be conversant with their health incase of any health compliance.

The demerits?

One, talking to your phone is not what you call impressive. You may look mad on a count of three. Second, having a watch that warns you of a high heartbeat when watching a match, isn’t what you call glam. Third, when doing exercises, some have proved to be inaccurate.

Verdict

If you want to play tango, make sure you buy a pair to get the most benefits. Don’t inter marriage them, manufactures have designed them mostly to tune with the phones they make. Otherwise your hand may fall like the leaves in autumn.

Most of all, they’re impressive but I don’t like them. We may have all these smart gadgets, but turning your mind to be dependent on a tech piece, is what may make you intellectually deprived. So let these devices help you but don’t let them determine your life.

Tech Byte

Samsung fans, the Galaxy S6 is finally out and it has come with a new partner, the Galaxy S6 Edge, a smartphone whose screen bends on both sides. We’ll give you a review when we get them hands-on. Cheers!

By Kevin Kamau.

STUCK IN A RUT

Welcome to March guys (the fact that its March already is slightly frightening)…Sad to say, every New Year, I always get so excited and make bucket lists of all the things I want to do when I cross over: so much positivism and letting go of the bad in the ending year. I think if I spent the whole year that way, I would accomplish so much. Sadly, ten days into the New Year and the shine has expired.

So this year, I decided to stick to the simplest of things. I took them out of a blog on Huff post.

1. Get more sleep
2. Watch less, or no, TV
3. Stop eating crap
4. Make time for exercise
5. Stop keeping a spotless house
6. Make love
7. Stop interacting with and worrying about your kids constantly
8. Stop waiting for your spouse to read your mind
9. Stop letting intrusive family members/ in-laws ruin your day/ holiday/life
10. Stop wishing you were different

Well, of course, not all of them apply to me but most more or less do. I also decided to learn a new skill and decided to go old school with crocheting. I started out this new skill with my co-writer. We went out, bought lots of wool and the crocheting sticks. We watched YouTube videos to get the hang of it. He was a natural while I just couldn’t get the hang of it. I couldn’t hold the stick right, the thread always got in a tangle. I was so frustrated, I decided to quit. Recently, I found the wool under my bed and decided to try one last time. These are the results…

That is my first retry. Don’t judge, we all have humble beginnings. But, 5 trials later, this was the result. And may I point out it exactly the same number of stitches as the first photo.

From zero to hero J I am glad I dint give up on it.

You may also have given up on your resolutions and its not even mid-year. The point of making resolutions is to challenge yourself. It doesn’t matter how bad you are at something, with practice, you get better at it gradually. If you have none, you can use the basic ten given above, well, at least the ones that apply to you. Scientifically proven, it takes 20 hours to completely learn a new skill. So if you are complaining and you have not even gotten past 5 hours, you are merely blabbering. After 20 hours, then you may complain.

This post is also to congratulate a friend who has talent in writing but had given up on it and has finally gone back to it after much postponing. Cheers. As my co-writer always reminds me, you are absolutely unique just like everyone else: so do what makes you happy and completes you even if it’s a little resolution. Feel free to give yourself a pat on the back and share your accomplishments or a nudge and share what you need to get done or habits you need to cut off.

Love and light,

Steja.

PS: Let us know what you wanna read about in the comments below.