Best of 2014 posts

As the year draws to a close, I do find myself looking back on the year and feeling very reflective. So I looked back on this little here blog to see posts that appealed to me for one reason or another. It also just struck me how it really does feel like it was just the other day that I wrote them down. Just the other day.

1. Memories of a favourite teacher.
2. A guiding verse for 2014.
3. Cooking poached pears and a sweet potato casserole.
4. Reviewing a short stories book that I rather enjoyed.
5. Comparing the view of marriage in East and West Africa.
6. Rediscovering Avo and Eggplant.
7. On listening to podcasts at work.
8. My all-time favourite books.
9. Ann Patchet on marriage and relationships
10. Love you Mom and Porridge

I would cherish the feedback though from you guys. What posts did you appreciate the most? What did you enjoy most and would like to see more on the blog? What did you like least and think I should drop?

The four hundred and sixty eighth post

I kind of alluded to it yesterday, about why I blog. However, this post was inspired by a conversation with a friend who said that she is thinking of shutting down her blog because the reason she started it is over and she basically doesn’t have new material.

Why do I blog?

Because I love to write and I love to share and save my thoughts in one place. I have always journalled but that runs into different books while this is a bit more static from year to year.

I think I have an interesting voice to add onto the blogosphere and share with some of my followers and readers.

I also read a lot of blogs and always get inspired from that to do and try and be a better blogger which I then like to try out or respond to on this platform.

More than that, I blog because it makes me happy. Very happy.

Why do you blog?

Source: April 17th Prompt

Happy blogger birthday to me

Yikes, it’s been 7 years since I started this little ol’ blog and I still love it just as much.

Sorry for the silence, I feel like I have forgotten to write and so easing back into work is taking much longer than I thought it would. Will be back soon with interesting posts!

 

On blogging: search terms that led people here

Again, I decided to update this list.

• Whititude – the poem, descriptions about it, the writer that is still the most common search term. Funny-weird not haha because I don’t really read a lot of poetry or any of that.
• Rebecca Nganga – my beloved lecturer.
• josphat nanok bio – can’t imagine why!! But apparently he is a Kenyan parliamentarian
• age of consent south africa – To my shock people search a lot for this term and it leads them here! Horrors of horrors!!But see my position here.
• can i have skhothane punchlines and unknown skhothane CV – because I know so much about urban culture.
• 419 Scam letters – my favourite piece of writing!!
• Karumaindo Nairobi – some well known brothel in the hometown!!
• various variations of good morning couple – because of these beautiful illustrations by Nidhi Chanani
• Everwood and Oakwood – wedding venues.
• For someone that doesn’t write about sex, I do get a lot of sex-related search terms that lead people here.

It always makes me smile to see this so enjoy!!

 

Happy birthday to me

I got a diary that asked me to write a letter to myself on the 1st of January and read it at the end of the year. Well, as I am twenty five days too late. Happy 29th birthday and all the best for this year and always.

I wish for myself this year to keep my sanity and maintain all my close friendships at the same time. Regarding friendships, I wish to have few and dear friends that I can share with and be open to laughter, criticism and everything else in between.

I pray for financial stability. Boy how I do!! I am embarrassed to bring this up again, but I totally need a side-hustle because I really want to travel and I am willing to sacrifice something to do this. I want to use my skills set and the time in the evening I have to make this work. Definitely not those online data entry jobs, nah, something more legit and visible.

I want to work with women this year and empower them in a meaningful and tangible way. I want to grow closer in my walk with God and indeed, this is finally the year that I shall read through the book from Genesis – Revelation!

As usual I want to read great books, eat good food and have a merry old time.

Cheers to a great year and happy birthday to me …

Happy new year to all & 2013 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,800 times in 2013. If it were a cable car, it would take about 30 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Something light hearted on such a difficult day

Please note these are not my cartoons and if circulated please do not pass them off as yours or acknowledge me.

31: Lessons learnt from daily posting

I don’t typically blog daily (sorry new readers/subscribers but do stick around!) but this month, I decided to have my own Daily Post challenge and see how that goes. I also noticed that a lot of bloggers will do that in October and without even planning,  I posted something on the first and the second and then I decided cool, this is what I am going to do. And along the way I picked up a couple of lessons.

1. Its been tough to come up with content that is fresh, inspired and funny/witty at the same time.
2. Having to generate content made me focus more on writing and less on living which then made me sad. I was living through the blog and not really savouring and enjoying the moments as I had planned them.
3. I got lazy, I didn’t think or reflect enough as I would think of something to write and immediately write. So I started cheating and writing shorter paragraphs that weren’t a reflection of me that allowed to check off that particular day.
4. On the more positive, it made me write on a whole lot of other topics than I might typically have considered.
5. I loved and enjoyed the writing daily and wouldn’t mind continuing on condition someone occasionally helped me generate content.

For now, I am off to take a bit of a break and enjoy some time off and when I come back, I might be back to blogging twice or thrice at week. Certainly not at the weekend as I shall be off living my fabulous life 🙂

21: KE vs SA: First impressions

Moving towns is not easy, least of all one that you have lived in 20+ years and love dearly. The following is a list of things I first compared between the new home and old home. Enjoy and take it in the spirit it is intended.

• Being able to read books and newspapers at the bookshop. And not have to pay for them. Oh and no one looks at you funny or tries to intimidate you.
• Funeral cover advertising. Like regular health insurance except they pay for the costs of your burial. Ah, Ok!
• Openly gay people. My sisters and I kept saying there must be a third gender because of these men and women that proudly embrace their “other” sex and take it on full-on. One of the leading local soapies even has an openly gay married couple. Yeah, let’s see that on ANY Kenyan station, public or privately owned!
• Street fashion. It’s interesting to just stop and stare at people’s unique interpretation of fashion. Very colourful and unique.
• Understanding the phenomenon that is “excess”. Why am I paying for insurance if I must cough up the first X thousand of any claim I make????? Just sounds like daylight robbery.
• That motor insurance is optional! In Kenya everyone must have insurance whether comprehensive or third-party. Not so here.
• The prevalence of Afrikaans and Afrikaners. Coming here I knew South Africa has eleven official languages I just didn’t think it had been integrated and people could openly speak of it or that some people were comfortable with and proud to be culturally Afrikaner!
• I liked the fact that many people my age spoke an African language. As we all know that’s one thing I sorely regret not being able to partake in.
• Churches having braais with beer/evening events with sherry and beer! And that after the service you can decide to light up your cigarette and no one will kick you out.
• Leaving handbags on chairs during communion in church and that no one steals the bags.
• How people combine traditional and modern/traditional and religion and they just know when to do so.
• Almost all Black names will have a meaning. Nice!
• The fascination with race – like never knowing I was Black till I came here.
• Being told the scope of an exam. How’s about reading the whole semester work and then being surprised coz it is called an exam, right?
• Calling lecturers by their first name to their face. Yeah!
• Drinking tap water!  In Kenya that’s asking for death right there.
• The number of well-maintained public parks for recreation. I keep expecting someone to grab that land and construct a house or school.
• A public transportation system that actually works and/or cheap cabs.
• I love(d) that any Church service had people from all racial backgrounds.
• The difference in pronunciation between stuff I knew from home: Panado v Panadol, Weetbix v Weetabix.
• Butternut and pumpkins are always sweet. That and the introduction to food stuff like “dombolo” (dumplings) and samp. YUM!

19: Stuff I like (to do)

1. My faith and sometimes looking through my Bible and reading a section that in times past inspired or encouraged me
2. Chatting with my sisters about ALL things under the starts
3. Random Whatsapp/ Gchat conversations with a friend
4. Pilates on Tuesday morning
5. Getting into a book so much that you feel like you and the characters are one
6. A hot cuppa at just the right time
7. Catching up on blogs I love
8. Music and Podcasts
9. Browsing through a bookshop
10. Cooking, baking or trying out a new recipe
11. Yoghurt

What inspires you?

15: Thought for the day

Two thoughts dancing through my brain right now?

You don’t need permission to be you

… For the devil comes to kill, steal and destroy but I have come that you may have life and life in abundance … (John 10.10)

Go forth and release the dreams that you have burning up inside you. You know, the ones that won’t let you rest at night and that you see first thing in the morning when you wake.

How to Bargain with a Kenyan Thief

How to Bargain with a Kenyan Thief.

Read, enjoy and most importantly SHARE widely.

Another summarised entry ..

• I have realised that I can’t hear someone in my proximity sneeze and not say “bless you”. Whether I know them or not.
• I sometimes think that people who know me in real life feel the need to discuss really serious things all the time. Like that’s all I do all day, every day.
• Waiting for the Kenyan election results. Very tense moments.
• We get the leader that God has set aside for us. Got to believe that.
• Self-doubt is a professional killer.
• Feedback is great but its got to have context or it cripples you and makes you feel like the dog chasing its own tail.
• If I had to mentor someone at university again, I would certainly let them in on some of the soft skills required at the office as formal learning absolutely does not prepare you for the real working life.
• I just realised I never speak about what I do for a living. Mhhhh, post?

Election Day

Oh God of all Creation. Bless this our land and nation. Justice be our shield and defender.

May peace be upon the land of Kenya.

Stuff I’ve read this week

This article was Freshly pressed on WordPress and I must say it is well written and got me really thinking. She talks about white privilege and race.

Ever wondered about Scientology?

For the mothers out there!

The university that has not admitted women since 1917! Also here.

Changes to the Obamas.

Why do people still eat white bread?

When did we start rolling our eyes to express contempt?

Talking weight in a relationship?

What did you read recently that made you giddy with joy?

Christmas/ birthday wish list

It’s always nice to have Christmas and then my birthday in the following month. So if someone would like an idea of something to get me …

Ice cream maker ….. this is first for a reason!

Really just want the mixer and the food processor bit

Winter work out gear

Fake polo bag? Check

This is quite the controversial book

Happy shopping and finally December! Hello old friend!

Words we need

I love that language is dynamic and reacts to some of the modern changes and stuff and we now have words from all over the place in the formal dictionary. Safari, anyone? But less formally, we have words like amazeballs that do slip in. I subscribe to Urban Dictionary and get a new word each day; below are some words that I would definitely recommend for general use:

Red Pen Police

People who preoccupy themselves with correcting the spelling and grammar of others – normally out of some self-esteem issue or desire to prove some value from their otherwise useless thirty-grand education.

Walk blocker

A person that suddenly stops when they are walking right in front of another.

Sneeze Freeze

The frozen and contorted, usually mildly retarded looking, facial expression one makes for a few seconds before they let out a sneeze or when experiencing a “Sneezus Interruptus”.

friending spree

Randomly adding anyone you come across on a social network, including complete strangers

Anxiarrhea

The result of anxiety causing you to have crazy amounts of diarrhoea.

kardash

A measurement of time totaling 72 days. Became popular after Kim Kardashian’s highly-publicized marriage, which ended after 72 days. Listed as one of the up-and-coming words of 2012.

totes

(abbreviation) stands for totally.

Moon landing

A moon landing is when two people’s naked butts bump as they bend over.

fomo

“fear of missing out”. The fear that if you miss a party or event you will miss out on something great

fauxpology

When a person makes it sound like they are apologizing when, in fact, they are just shifting the blame or using twisted logic to argue their way out of responsibility for their actions.

And my best:

food baby

when you eat so much, that your stomach looks pregnant

Some of their stuff is rather crude and sometimes irreligious so just be careful if you do venture there.

Shi town stand up

That’s all.

Strength to pick up the broken pieces

We all deal with failure or loss in one way or another. What I have learnt in the last few years. (In no particular order)

1. Acknowledge it. Ride that boat, allow yourself to grieve and mourn and lash out and just acknowledge that its happening to you.
2. Think back to a previous success and recall how you made it through. What lessons did you learn that you can apply now.
3. Make some kind of a plan. With me, it helps to come up with some kind of a plan and to have actual steps to overcoming and getting out of the present darkness.
4. Get on your knees and PRAY. Over the years my Bible has all these different dates against verses that have encouraged me and sustained me through past difficulties and the thing that helps me is the faithfulness of God. In times past, I have been through darker periods and always, without fail, HE has come through for me.
5. Talk to others. It doesn’t have to be the whole village but you have to have some trusted people that you can let your guard down with and draw on their experiences and help yourself.
6. Guard against unhealthy lifestyle practices. I am scared of falling into the “comfort eating” trap and so I closely monitor my eating patterns, opting to drink a lot of water, juice and healthy drinks ; eating fruit and fibre and highly balance meals and just watching on the junk and oily foods.
7. Get active or you won’t sleep at night and will just keep mulling on the upset or set-back. Do something so physically demanding, you will be forced to sleep through the night.

How do you deal with life’s setbacks?