Thoughts and Stuff

Published 11th September 2014

This Is for Girls Who Steal Toilet Paper

You know advertising is powerful when you walk into the ladies and hope there is tissue paper and then when you see it, you think, “Tissue si tissue, tissue ni Hanan.” Epic fail. I hate that advert. Nevertheless it is engrained in my head. In fact, come to think of it, if I was responsible for buying tissue in the house, I’d actually try it out. I will try you out when I move out, Hanan. You can go ahead and thank that guy. What’s his name again? I know it’s not Otoyo. Wait. Think, Shiku, think. Colourful clothes. Luo accent. I give up.

Anyway, who goes into a public facility and makes away with an entire roll of tissue paper?

Kenya

Eldoret Kenyans Moi University Nairobi Public toilet Tissue paper

Almost…

Published 8th September 2014

Almost…

It’s been seven months since my heart was broken into a thousand little pieces. Seven months since I added too much salt to the food because my mind was somewhere else replaying conversations, trying to figure out what I did wrong. My dad did not even think about it as he went on his jokes about how he should have cooked the food himself. He always cracks this joke about me having, perhaps, gone and cooked the food in Lake Magadi.

Love

Fanta Lake Magadi Love Men Nairobi Relationships Shiku

Published 2nd September 2014

Serikali Saidia

The cover of The Economist this week is titled “That Sinking Feeling (Again)”. The article on the European Union notes that the collective GDP in the Euro Zone stagnated in the second quarter: Italy fell back into outright recession, French GDP was flat and even mighty Germany saw an unexpectedly large fall in output. Inflation has been falling steadily, and this August registered lowest in 5 years at 0.3%. Europe may be headed for deflation.

Kenya

Europe European Central Bank European Union GDP Germany Government Gross domestic product Kenya Robert Kiyosaki

Jumping, Waiting, Testing…

Published 1st September 2014

Jumping, Waiting, Testing…

You know how a man seems interested in you and makes conversation then he cannot keep it up when you are already getting interested too? I hate that. I really do. I don’t get why someone would get my interest running then jump off the vehicle and leave it running down the hill. It sucks. It’s unfair. If you know you are going to do that to me, you’d rather just watch me from a distance. Watch me waiting for the next driver. Don’t just jump in because I look like I am desperate enough to let any driver on.

Love

Facebook Men Relationships September Women

More Kikuyu Songs From My Childhood

Published 29th August 2014

More Kikuyu Songs From My Childhood

I am back with some more Kikuyu songs/rhymes from my childhood years. I noticed lots of you loved them and keep searching. Seriously, that was the life. I made mum and dad sing them and they did, joyfully, to the amusement of my baby bro and sis who have never heard most of them before. Needless to say, I had forgotten some words. I am old, people. You should see the white hairs on my head.

Kenya

Children Youth and Family Kenya Kikuyu Kikuyu people Music Najivunia kuwa Mkenya Songs

Of Fountain Pens

Published 26th August 2014

Of Fountain Pens

What can we say about the devices that enable us write? Can they write a story of their own? These are the questions that plagued my 10 year old mind. It was the year 2000. In class 5.

I was in a day primary school where, I presume like in many other schools, progressing in class meant progress in one facet that is king in the world of learning. The white missionaries who harboured selfish and ulterior motives under the guise of spreading the gospel outright proclaimed the 3R’s: Reading, wRiting and Rithmetic. I’m talking about writing. If writing is king, then reading is queen. And rithmetic is the king’s side-dish. Sorry for that inappropriate TMI.

I can’t remember the day I first wrote anything. However, I have parents who filed every exercise book and school report from 1994.

Kenya

Ballpoint pen BIC Bic Cristal Fountain pen Ink Parker Pencil Quill

Pitfalls of a Young Christian

Published 24th August 2014

Pitfalls of a Young Christian

A while ago when I was learning programming with PHP, I came across a section that really intrigued me. This is where your code tests for a certain condition, if the condition is true, performs a certain task if not true, performs another. You can set your code for example to check the time of day and return an appropriate greeting. One of the ways of doing this is using an if/else statement. If the time is 0800-1159, return “have a good morning”, if it is 1200-1800, return “have a good afternoon”, else return “have a great evening” (and if you plan on learning programming, apart from the syntax, the code does read the way the sentence reads).

I said this was intriguing and the reason is because I had come across this thought process elsewhere. I was lucky to have grown in my first job to a level where I participated deeply in budgeting.

Faith

Budget God Gospel of Luke Jesus Luke Matthew 25 Parable PHP

Happily Ever After?

Published 20th August 2014

Happily Ever After?

Remember Lucy, that naïve girl who was always so unlucky in love? I’m talking Lucy of the WhatsApp mishap. Lucy of the wingman drama. Well, here is the sequel…

Lucy had had enough at this juncture. She quit WhatsApp and threw it in the pit of oblivion. She stopped acting out of desperation. After all, she was young and free, right? No more Drew, no more George or Sam.

Love

Facebook Fiction Google Maps Love Lucy Relationships Twitter WhatsApp

Mental Health and Suicide

Published 18th August 2014

Mental Health and Suicide

Last week we marked the International Youth Day, and the theme this year was mental health. Mental health also happens to be one of the issues I really care about (the other being children welfare). The day was marked in a week that, locally, we all (or at least those of us who read the story) had an opinion on Ms. Victoria Muchiri’s suicide, being one of the most commented articles on the Daily Nation. In case you did not read the story, Ms. Muchiri, a 22 year old student at Ohio State University got into the track of an approaching train and made no attempt to escape from being struck. She died on the spot in a grisly scene.

Guests Love

David Foster Wallace International Youth Day Mental disorder Mental health Philistine Robin Williams Suicide

Humans of Nairobi at the ATM

Published 16th August 2014

Humans of Nairobi at the ATM

Early this year I met a lady. A totally random lady. She made me get in touch with the scarce, yet crucial element of simply being human. Are you, or have you met those people who forget that everyone else is human? This city is full of such. This one was and is an exception.

Inhaling the air of Nairobi infuses its dwellers and residents alike with insensitivity to others. Whether the person in need is a friend or a stranger. That had been my notion all along. Until this day when this lady did something I’m yet to hear of.

Kenya

ATM Kenya Nairobi NIC Bank People

Boy Bands Rock

Published 13th August 2014

Boy Bands Rock

Literally and figuratively. For the longest time, I have loved boy bands. Not just any boy bands but Christian boy bands. Think Plus One and Jars of Clay of the 90s to today’s Anthem Lights and Royal Tailor. It then goes without saying that my most played songs are boy band tracks alongside hip hop ones. I work with earphones on the whole time. It’s a reflex; so much so that sometimes, I plug them on and forget to play the music for hours. Yeah, I am crazy, I know.

I will list down my ten best boy band songs of 2014.

Faith

Anthem Lights Bali God iTunes Jesus Freak Music Royal Tailor Sydney Opera House YouTube

Tuesday Torrents

Published 12th August 2014

Tuesday Torrents

You know your Tuesday will suck when you cross from one county to another and find that this county decided to be totally wet this morning. Why is that a problem? Because some of us walk for miles to get to work once we alight from the bus stop. One reason why I should work from home.

This Tuesday morning, I was up at 7 as usual. Yeah, don’t put on that face. You are probably seated in a traffic jam at the time but yeah, some of us wake up that late. 😛 Perks of living along Waiyaki Way and its extensions (read, Upper Westlands a.k.a. Kinoo and its suburbs.) Anyway,

Ideas

Chiromo Google Kenya Nairobi Rain Tuesday Westlands

Weave Become Fake About Fake Hair

Published 3rd August 2014

Weave Become Fake About Fake Hair

So you think weaves are bad? So you sat there typing up yet another article to ruffle feathers for traffic? You sat there while your ‘beautiful head’ was covered in yet another type of braid which is as synthetic as a weave but you claim to be a natural hair crusader? You know what, you are fake. Fake gets you traffic, I know. Fake gets you to put up a show and set tongues wagging.

In fact, I have been meaning to write about weaves for the longest time now. I don’t wear weaves for personal reasons. I tried one last year and regretted it.

Kenya

Afro-textured hair Artificial hair integrations Black people Braid Facebook Facebook News Feed Githunguri Hair

August Awakening

spiral notebooks placed on white cloth with burning candle

Published 1st August 2014

August Awakening

If you keep getting pissed off over tiny things your boss or your workmate does that affect your work, you are most likely to blame too. I came to this realization when I grabbed a copy of X News for the first time and caught an article on X Career titled “You got the job finally, don’t hate it.” I will go ahead and quote it:

“You are the one to create the conditions you want to work in. Deciding this by yourself, other things will fall in place, not even your boss will push you. Being pushed irritates you and makes you hate your job. Create the conditions, enjoy the conditions you create.”

Ideas

Automattic July Larry Page Najivunia kuwa Mkenya Password Twitter

A Happier Samsung Story

Published 27th July 2014

A Happier Samsung Story

Of course the week was not going to end without a post in here. We are all about being disciplined and whatnot. This was going to be another girly post. But one of my Google+ peeps requested me to do a review of my Samsung Galaxy S II Plus. Yes. I know. People are getting Galaxy 5 handsets and I am here with another generation of Galaxy from back in the day. (S II Plus if from January 2013 but you get my drift.) And I love it! The reason the title reads happier is because I wrote a sad Samsung story before and I claimed I’d never buy another Samsung phone in my life.

MarCommsTech

Aldiko Android Google Nokia Samsung Samsung Galaxy Samsung Galaxy II Plus Wi-Fi

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