mashkiz

December 13, 2019January 7, 2020

Have a little heaven down here while experiencing life with a big spoon

Image result for different sized spoon images

I am not counting but we are just about to start hearing about new year resolutions. Late last year I decided to be making mine later in the year around this time so that I have a head-start preparing how I will accomplish them. Fortunately since then, I have always accomplished my year’s bucket list and in some occasions surpassed what I thought was too early to dream of achieving. This coming year, I would like to challenge you to dream big, live large and simply have your little heaven down here .

In this harsh economic times I know this is the last thing on your mind.I hope after my last full stop you will see the need to make it a priority. This year has been awakening for me in different areas of my life. I have come to acknowledge that life will always be complicated, money will always be scarce but we need to make the little we have stretch further.

I came across a quote which befits this space. It stated: the emergency that always gets you in the end is the one you didn’t prepare for. So let’s face it, there is always gonna be another mountain and we’ll always want to make it move( The Climb-Miley Cyrus) and while trying to make it move, we can use some equipment. This equipment is the bigger spoon.

Often we’ve read that the grass is greener where you water it. This big spoon is the sprinkler. Whether kwa ground vitu ni different, it doesn’t hurt to have a little heaven down here. There are some experiences you hear of and marvel at how large people are living this life when will we get to hear about yours? Good thing is, you do not have to break the bank or be part of NYS 4 to have your experience.

Hosea 4: 6 tells us, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. I have been a victim countless times.

Ask!

Seek!

Research!

let this year be the end of your destruction. More so because most answers are within our reach by the click of a button. Kenya has so much to offer that we Kenyans have not realized. For instance, do you know that there is a Bear in Kenya? Yes you read it right, a grown Bear! Now that you know, research to find out where this Bear is located and plan to make a visit sooner rather than later before it becomes extinct like Sudan the white Rhino.

Not once, not twice have I been in a gathering whose audience is mostly whites right here in Kenya and I ask myself why don’t we kenyans show up for such as I believe there are a majority who would enjoy the experience. Later, I get the answer to my question which is always, I did not know about it. Fine, there are things I still do not know but i’m putting my best foot forward and my ears on the ground. Even if I may not partake in each and every activity I will know about it.

Knowledge is power and the more you know, the more you realise how much you do not know. Your big spoon is YOUR big spoon; whether it is a tea spoon, a table spoon, a soup spoon it is YOURS. Don’t hate on another’s table spoon while you are still on your tea spoon perhaps for you its tea time and for the other its simply lunch, or dinner and not their tea spoon moment.

All I am trying to say in these many words is that you need to try out that new restaurant, visit that place your heart longs for, make time for your own happiness. The more we wait on people so that we can do it as friends, or have company the higher the chances we will not accomplish what we long for. I might be on my teaspoon moment but I’m hopeful that lunch is coming and then I will use a bigger spoon to experience all the marvels this life has to offer. Hopefully it will be a table for two as you will be dining along with me.

November 27, 2019December 1, 2019

How saving coins can cost you more

Think of anything, a product or a service. In this instance, we will take books. By virtue that you are reading this, I will undertake that you are one prone to consume literary works. So for instance, you are in need of a book and you already have a title in mind . You could either: Go to a bookstore, get a soft copy online, thrift a second hand copy or borrow from a friend who owns a copy. One in 5 people would go to a book store,two among five people would not mind a soft copy. I am sure we can do the math for the remaining scenarios as obviously one in five would thrift and at least one in 5 would borrow from a friend. These choices made by the different people are inspired by several factors. Each considers the cost, the convenience,the forgone alternative and the urgency.

If I really need to get my hands on a book, the book store would be my first option. Unfortunately, it might be that time of the month my finances do not allow or generally I have other accumulated needs that rank higher in priority. Then, I would consider thrifting but as this heavily relies on luck, I may have to settle on a soft copy. The possibility of finding a friend with the book I want who is willing to lend and we actually meet for the exchange to take place is as rare as public holidays falling on a Monday or Friday.

Last month, experience had the privilege of teaching me how cheap is indeed expensive. I was so hungry at about midday after running errands in town. I had two options; either rush home and fix a quick meal that would go all the way to supper or find an affordable meal that will drown the pangs of hunger. Imagine if I faint on my way to the bus stop to get a matatu! Nitaambia nini watu? With this thought, I convinced myself to find a place to eat before the little energy I had in me lapsed.

I was drawn to this 200 shillings deal that had me served a packet of fries, one piece of chicken and 300ml soda. One bite… maybe it’s my taste buds second bite…. eeeww third bite I should have thought twice with such good a deal. The difference between 200 shillings and the 350 shillings for a proper serving of fries and two pieces of chicken is huge!!! That 150 shillings in between caters for the doubt in each bite as to what exactly you are tasting.

Traveling over the ‘long weekend’ is normally a hustle at Mololine. You are met with a queue and issuing tickets with no vehicles at sight. As usual, the fare has gone up by a hundred shillings or two. This is how I found myself at a random stage in town that had a matatu with a board on it written Nakuru Direct for 200 shillings less than what Mololine was charging. I took my seat and paid some guy who was issuing receipts at the door. Within no time the matatu was filled and off we went.

You know that smirk you have when you’ve got yourself a deal. I felt that I had not only saved time but money as well. I patted myself on the back. Little did I know the trouble that was in store for me. Of course the music was an ear sore but this was not dire as it could be remedied by plugging in earphones. However, I do not understand why people are never willing to open windows even slightly for air circulation. Yes… it was, raining and cold outside but with all windows tightly closed tsk tsk .

The weather was quite a mess. Foggy… which did not stop the driver from speeding and zigzaging on a rather straight road. The matatu I boarded had about 2 babies carried in each row of four seats. Beside me, a woman was sweating, quietly staring at the closed window. From the terrible driving to the suffocation, either could easily kill one before destination. I am normally car sick and these conditions were mercilessly constricting life out of my body. Fortunately for everyone in that matatu, I had pre-medicated for my nausea. I had actually taken the original drug and not the generic ones I usually pick for 10 shillings less because those ones would for sure not have been effective in this environment.

Being a long holiday, everyone was on the road and slow traffic was inevitable. We had approximately 1 hr of a standstill until our driver maneuvered his way out. Relieved that he knew of an alternative route, we remained calm. We later realized no other vehicle was using our route; I mean how novel could this route be? Upon inquiry, the driver declared that he had no intention of being stuck in traffic for a day and therefore had decided to take us back to Nairobi.

What madness is this!!! I literally laughed amidst the angry passengers howlings . At this rate nothing about this matatu could shock me anymore. As much as I really needed to get to my destination, I resigned to fate because all this was my doing in the name of saving 200 shillings! There and then the Mololine matatu that I should have boarded passed us and I thought, that could have been me but now I have a psycho on the wheels and beautiful pine breeze within the matatus tightly shut windows.

The passengers threatened, pleaded,and cajoled the driver till he decided to turn the vehicle around and head to the intended destination. In between, he had 3 more moments of indecision where he kept turning back. Never again!!!! I got to my destination 6 hrs later a route that takes me 2 and a half hours but with the traffic it might have taken me 3 and a half or four hours but 6 hrs just to save 200ksh!!!

Currently, I am seated on a Mololine matatu with plenty circulation of air, good music playing on the radio and I repeat no baby on board!! Even though I forgot to take my motion sickness medication, I am pretty comfortable breathing in sweet fresh air while enjoying the scenic views I missed on my way earlier and now I can take a break writing.

October 23, 2019

Adulting and Why You Shouldn’t Be So Comfortable In Life

Its not yet Halloween but the biggest prank thrown at me is the reality of life. You struggle and once you get the hang of it poof!! Everything disappears and you have to start re building.

It would be fun they said… I want to be a grown up I once wished but I never knew how much my parents were shielding me from. Growing up has always been ask and it shall be given unto you. Ice cream in the fridge, chocolates, books, weekend outings, clothes but as an adult its more of seek but thou shan’t find.

Our lecturers did try prepare us for the reality that would hit us after graduation. We were counselled to lower our salary expectations but no one commented on the pressure that is work and the survival skills needed in the work environment. I have actually skipped a stage; The nightmare that is job hunting!

You wake up, send a couple of emails and each is accompanied by a different cover letter selling yourself as per the requirements of the position you are applying for. You even go ahead and take an online course on Cover Letter writing and the general conduct of interviews because you have to stand out among your peers who are also applying for the same jobs.

Then comes the paranoia of refreshing your mail box at set times during the day hoping for a response. If you are lucky enough, 2 jobs call you for an interview and the research begins. You have to prep for an aptitude test just in case, you look up the right answers concerning who you are, your weaknesses and justify each input in your C.V. After all this, one of the two jobs writes back offering you a position with the most bizarre terms and you’ll take it because beggars can’t be choosers.

You’ll start on your new job thrilled, thanking the heavens, updating your social media and sharing posts on office life before you know it…

Well its not all bad. You’ll make new friends or so you think until the moment of truth comes and their actions will be loud. Just when you begin making adjustments to accommodate and foster good working relations, the boss informs you that he needs to restructure the Office and make changes that may or may not affect you. Aaah here you were picturing yourself lucky and perhaps like your Parents already seeing yourself working there for the next 20 years and going up the ladder because you could not imagine going back to the nightmare.

The pied piper has stopped playing the tune and there’s nothing to dance to. Out in the cold, the rains beating hard you can’t even afford to catch a cold because the dawa from Java has now become a luxury. Here is when friends are calling for those random plots and others want to establish monthly traditions that involve money.

From this short lived experience, you come to acknowledge that Success is not owned, It is rented and rent is due everyday. This mindset will enable you soar to greater heights that even a door closing would not be detrimental to you as you would have accomplished much and have much left to keep you busy. In this same vein, you resolve to have detailed plans that are written down. Intending to make the plans Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. Who knew the talks by Pepe Minambo would ring a bell later in life.

With 2 months to end the year, you know better than when you started. I can’t help but smile as it is Fun and Laughter over Everything. Someday if not today you will laugh about this experience.

September 27, 2019July 13, 2020

Purposeful gifting

Pseudocyesis is a medical condition experienced by women who believe they are expecting a child. The women experience majority if not all the symptoms akin to expectant women. For some reason this fact fascinated me. I mean, I could walk around experiencing everything a pregnant woman experiences yet all I have in me is gas!!!! It is only laughable if it was a pregnancy scare but I can’t imagine how damaging it is for an euphoric woman.

For the past couple of months I have been spotting possible gift items that someone would love, myself included. Maybe it is the thought of receiving a gift that engulfed me till the thought manifests itself in random things I spot. I would literally gift a stranger in my mind or later pair up a possible gift item I spotted to a friend. The other day I talked some girl into buying a jumpsuit I thought would look good on her and we’d just met. She actually got it and I really hope she does not regret that decision.

My favourite pass time as I wait for people i’m meeting in town is window shopping at MRP or visiting the cards section in Supermarkets. I once passed by Nakumatt to asses what remains of it during that period where vast outlets were closing. After getting my hands dusty from the shelves and nearly giving up, I unearthed a cute magnetic card with a picture slot that now graces my mum’s fridge and is the envy of her friends. Some other time still from Nakumatt, I picked a unique graduation card at an affordable price that I later resold to a friend who was in need of one on short notice. This is slowly developing into a habit but one needs to be really savvy.

Gifting has become rare or rather an act reserved for certain people. On valentines, apparently only someone you are seriously dating is the one to gift you. Even the ones you thought are heading somewhere wash their hands off in the name of we haven’t defined the relationship yet. Worse off is birthdays. Back when we were kids it was understandable why gifts only came from parents as they were the ones we perceived to have the means but this I have come to understand that the shying off gifting is an excuse for our selfishness.

Bare minimum you only have to gift once a year. This does not necessarily mean on birthdays. You can choose to be unique and spread your gifting. Give a friend a gift during Mashujaa day just to thank them for being the Shujaa in your life. Another can get one during New Years, just to grace his/ her Njanuary with a smile or pick one of those myriad International days. This kind gesture goes a really long way. Whoever said it is the thought that counts never told us how anyone would know of our thought if we do not manifest it. ( ~~Just thinking out loud~~)

Colleen hoover in two of her books writes about unique gifting in passing. There is a character called Lily who receives anonymous seeds as gifts. The package comes with instructions on how to tender for the seedlings till maturity and only then would she know what she was planting. This I would really love if gardening was my thing. In another book, a certain character by the name Merit buys herself trophies on her awful days. The habit begins when her boyfriend dumps her right when she thinks they are having a moment. The first thing her eyes settles on after the words land on her ears is the boyfriend’s District Championship football trophy which she takes with her on her way out. Her thinking is; if he can ruin such a special moment for her she should at least get a trophy for it. This might seem outlandish but its something I would do just to laugh off eventually.

Having got this far into the reading, the challenge is to adopt a gifting culture for yourself and people around you. The trick is not to expect anything in return because this would break your heart. Just gift to see that reaction on someone’s face as they unwrap or gift to put a smile on someone’s face. These gifts have a special way they get to you without your noticing. Even though the receiving party does not reciprocate, the act does get to them and one way or another and they will in their own way. Since we cannot pour from an empty cup, begin with gifting yourself for absolutely no reason because that is a reason in itself.

August 28, 2019July 13, 2020

I WAIT

Just a few days in and the collection of my stories make my experience sound like a lifetime. I wonder if I’ll still be writing about them 20 years into the work force. Then I’ll hopefully have 7 issues calling no yelling my name in need of attention and bills.

Wednesday afternoons are the slowest. Its midweek and being the end of the month I see that pay check coming already a few debts in. The rains are threatening, the boss is scathing and just when I think I can take no more Lawie! I hear my name, go serve these documents.

I really hate doing this. Walking around, documents at hand. Secretary! The touts call on me as I pass by. These people never ran out of names. To be effective, I have to be in character. Polite or demanding voice I think… depending on the situation I find myself in. A smile, a grin or just sign the damn papers face otherwise known as a scowl. I’ll figure it out in a bit.

Waiting.

This is how the day goes by out of office. At times I take an uber when I have been loaded with large or numerous files. If the Luggage is quite manageable or when I am in need of some coins I ride the bus. This lengthens the wait. I wait for the bus to get full, I wait for passengers to alight, I wait for the conductor to ask for fare, I wait for the conductor to return my change, I wait for that boring song to come to an end I WAIT.

The conductor engages me in the forget game. With everything going on in my mind I could easily forget my change. I pester him change! With my palm out He scowls ngojea. Just before the bus comes to a halt he runs off to confirm parking availability or whatever it is they run off to do. I am already planning my stops as I hold the rail down the stairs. Gudulululu my stomach rumbles. My change I remember. Its like my intestines put an arlam for that. They know if they don’t they’ll have more days to suffer.

I make my first stop then wait as they confirm the documents, wait as they consult whether to receive them or not, wait as they look for the received stamp, wait as they get another pen that actually writes, wait as they flip through the pages as if they had not done that before and still wait for them to give back my received copy.

I know…this wait business is canvassed everywhere but wait, its leading somewhere.

At my last stop I walk in disheveled. I’m done queuing! I’m done waiting for the guards to take my information in every building I go in. I’m done!! I AM DONE!

I am going to the office of the O.R I tell the guard at the entrance. Huyo ni nani ? The official receiver I repeat. Using these short forms make me feel like i’m in a knit circle. One that I have invented or does exist. Unlike the cool kids one back in the day membership in this one is only brains. I get to the office of the O.R and stupidly I ask where is the O.R ? Some gentleman behind huge files replies this is the office of the O.R any of us can attend to you.

This was just not any gentleman in an office. This was HIM!!! The cute guy I have been eyeing in my friend’s snaps yes!! We have two things in common now. Our taste in selection of friends and our career path so we can tango!

I really hope you got the joke if not just wait like those still waiting for this story to lead somewhere.

August 13, 2019August 11, 2020

RED

Today I wanted a piercing. It would help channel my pain elsewhere for the 6 months while it healed. Today I wanted to eat gourmet food to celebrate your life and love for finer things in life. Today I wanted a slice of Chocolate fudge cake because a memory of a birthday we celebrated came to mind. Today I wanted to have your friends over; our mutual friends and just remember you.

All I did today was breathe, hold the tears before they fell on my cheeks and write because I needed an outlet. I will never really mourn you enough, I’ll never get to terms with your death.

I finally get to start the blog and with this, I will get to experience your world of IT just as much as I have embraced football. I do have some traits that were very much your tendency. Your clothes no longer smell like you but they fit me perfectly. Your presence is everywhere and nowhere in particular. I miss you.

August 13, 2019August 26, 2019

About Me

I love a good read. . . I want this space to be a platform for such. Writing that enhances dimples on your face, stories that give you those Aah moments and a bit of migraines because sunshine everyday makes a desert.