Making headlines ....Some more great news!

I sit silently with my laptop before me, in the wee hours of the morning. Besides the bed lies a gift – beautifully wrapped in silver paper. Tomorrow is Father’s Day and as a token of my love and appreciation to the special man in my life. I will honor him with it. I carefully picked the gift, an antique clock from a store in town three weeks ago. (here the editor played around with my words)
As i type this piece, my mind wanders. I reflect on the different men in my life who truly deserve a standing ovation. This is not because of the gigantic things that they do, but the little acts of kindness done in love, for that is what really matters.

As a bachelorette who lives on her own, first I salute my taxi driver. He is like my guardian angel particularly on those long nights! He is the one that I trust more than anyone else to make sure that am home safely, many are the nights when his seat becomes a temporary sleeping zone as he drives me home and waits until am safely inside the compound to start off his engine and head his way. He is that special driver who cannot over bill me or take excess change in case my brain’s calculator switches off! He is also the one who doesn’t mind going to the nearest shop to send me airtime when I feel that I just can’t move an inch.

Secondly, the caretaker at home. The man who assists with all the heavy duty tasks around the house. He is the one who I quickly call when I buy something and need help in moving things around. He is the one who sorts my small house repairs and advices on how to nail it and screw it! He is the first person on my doorstep when he hears a scream only to find out that it’s a lizard terrorising me. And he is the one who handle all the excess and left over meals in my house as the guilt of throwing food away consumes me to the spine.

Then there is the watchman. Him I feel that I use him in a selfish way. He is the one to chase away all the unwanted intruders and the un-invited guests. However, he is the first person I see each and every morning as I leave the house and the last person I see when I enter the house save for the TV characters! His smile and salute gears me for the day ahead.

There is also the bus driver. The second man who I interact with in the formative hours of the morning. You’re cautious driving, discipline and the passion at which you do your work amazes me. You strive all you can to make sure that we arrive safely and in good time to work. The same is replicated in the evening.

To all the husbands out there, as Christ loved the church please do the same to your wives, lets not hear any more abuse in the name of taking care of the children, washing dishes, helping with house chores etc! Women are meant to be helpers and not slaves, so kindly quit the whinning and let everyone do their part to bringing up a happy home. We appreciate that you are the heads but appreciate even more when you lead with wisdom.

To all the fathers and men out there we appreciate the love, the support, the sacrifice and the many other things that you do for us. You are a pillar to our lives, a source of strength and we respect, love and appreciate you immensely.

Just like the eyes cannot survive on their own without the head and similarly the rest of the body parts. We are an eco-system and we need each other so much than we imagine. Men are truly a blessing to our lives and we honour this father’s day.

To all the sons and daughters join me in extending A Happy Father’s Day celebration to all the men out there!

counting down

It only a matter of hours now, the three months I had once talked about have come to pass. I will soon be celebrating my birthday, marking the beginning of another new year. It been quite a great year, a year of plenty of developments, a year of making mistakes but all in all one with plenty blessings.

I cannot count them all but some of the lessons that I pray (so help me God) to be carrying forth with me to new year include;

#1 – Never be too quick to judge. Sometimes the people you least expect are the ones who pull through for you.

#2 – If you don’t carry the experiences that you have learnt and put in them into practice then there isn’t any growth.

#3 – Life throws both sweet moment and thorny moments – I choose to embrace them all in a smile and a smile behind the tears.

#4 – I cannot make it on my own, as the famous saying goes ‘If you want to go fast go alone but if you want to go far go with others’

#5 – God’s timing is perfect. He is present in ALL situations.

#6 – In life you cannot afford to give up, and your situation is not unique. Everyone passes through trials and tribulations.

#7 – This is who I am. Either you like me as I am or you don’t I simply cannot change me for u.

#8 – Family comes first. I don’t tell them enough that I love them, but they were the first to wish me a happy one and send me presents.

#9 – There has to be a limit to everything. Never let people push you around, if you can’t do it a simple I would have love to but at the moment I am not in a place to do it will suffice.

#10 – Define the goals, let the expectations be well know in advance and leave nothing to chance else the non-beneficial blame game will use up a lot of your valuable energy and an inevitable failure stares at the face.

#11 – Life is about embracing changes.

#12 - To all my dear friends, i love and appreciate you all.

This simple note written in a 'hand' made card from my kid siz made me shed some tears

Dear Sister, We’ve been together for 17 years. You’ve nurtured me and taken care of me since I was small and you still keep a closer gaze on my teenage life. I love you and treasure you very much.

And i love you too!

Chase the dream and not the money

I couldn’t have a picked a better line than that from the Notorious BIG movie. I think once he internalised it things took a 3600 turn. He started dropping serious lines, reaching out to a wider audience and the rest is all in the movie.

True gratification comes from doing what you love, can you imagine the misery of working only to pay the bills and not enjoying every bit of it well i don’t mean literary everything well we all know being employed has its pains...what a nightmare it would be to wake up every morning!

A few weeks back I meet a lady who had resigned from her job and when I asked her where she was going I got a strange answer. She wasn’t sure, she had no placement yet. What drove her to resign? Boredom, tired of doing the same things over and over and over bottom line there wasn’t anymore fulfilment.

Chasing the dream leads one to a place of calling and instead of work becoming a money making adventure it becomes a place of mission. Somewhere where we feel we are bringing about positive impact to the society, to someone’s life irregardless of the magnitude. Life doesn’t offer free things, everything comes at a price and only those willing to pay the price, take the risk, dream and chase the dream will able to rip of its fruits. The world has abundance for each and every one of us, it’s only us who limit ourselves.

To summarise it, some words from Robin Sharma;
“Stay on purpose, not on outcome. In other words, do the task because it is what you love to do or because it will help someone or is a valuable exercise. Don't do it for the money or the recognition. Those will come naturally. This is the way of the world”.

Rekindling the fire

Am pretty much shocked at myself. I look at my blog with mixed feelings. Only one article last month from an average of 4-3 per month.

Where did the passion go to? Honestly, i think i did it to myself i entertained a lot of negative energy and thought on closing this blog to begin with. I somewhat thought that maybe the blog had fulfilled it mission in my life which i know think its a crazy and really misplaced thought. I thought that i was over sharing the nitty gritty details of my life with everyone. I also gave myself the excuse that am terribly busy nowadays. And also that since it almost a year i thought that perhaps i should let it die a natural death.

Perhaps some of it is true perhaps not. As i write this article am now realising that i had terribly missed writing articles for my blog. Its like embracing an old lover whose been away for months. There is some warmth in my heart that i can't explain.
My perhaps, perhaps, perhaps can be explained, am the kind of person who never likes having loose strings hanging. At times is not always possible to give a proper closure to everything but maybe if i gave this a proper one then my feelings would have definitely been different. So here is a toast to rekindling the fire, to thymoments!

Meaningful flings

I came a cross a very interesting article in my last month’s true love magazine, one that left me thinking the human race can never fail to get justification even for the things that you would normally consider absurd.

The article was talking about meaningful flings, these are relationships or should we say arrangements that are intense and romance less wrenching than a full-blown relationship and less degrading than a one-nighter. A rare hook up that you seriously connect with at a way deep level but pretty seasonal. On the other hand meaningless flings as its well put here are about scratching a persistent itch with little emotional involvement or gratification. Meaningful flings on the other hand are about sharing your dreams, your emotions, your drives and the whack but leaving out the word ‘forever’ in that scenario such that in the morning you can all wake and go your separate ways or decide to end the affair with no hard feelings from either quarters.
How i wonder how many of us can pull those off? Many at time the emotions get the better of us and before long we realise we are nursing an unanticipated heart ache.

There are numerous written and un-written explanations why one-nighters happen and now there is meaningful flings!! In this corrupt world i choose to call it that because there seem to be explanations even to the simple things that just sound morally wrong at least according to me, a guiding mantra for life comes in pretty handy.
Some mission statement that at the end of the day you can go and appraise yourself, something to clearly remind you what you really stand for, what is really important to you and what is not. A constitution, the solid expression of your vision and values, the criteria by which you measure everything else in your life. Because without that we can be sure that we will fall for so many ‘wha-evers’ in this world.

Steps to Un-Stuff Your Schedule and Increase Your Margin

Do you ever get to the end of your day and think, "Did I accomplish anything?"

Where does all the time go?

If you don't master your schedule, it will master you!

Here are three suggestions from the Bible for reducing the stress of your schedule and increasing the margin:

1. Line up your priorities. Obviously, you don't have time to do everything, so you must make choices. You must decide what's really important and what isn't. Take some time to consider the direction of your life. The Bible says, "An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions" (Proverbs 17:24 GNT); "It is stupid to waste time on useless projects" (Proverbs 12:11, GNT); "We should make plans—counting on God to direct us" (Proverbs 16:9 LB).

2. Lighten up your attitude. Do you really have to do everything on your to-do list? No one is holding a gun to your head; a lot of your stress is self-imposed. The Bible says, "Worry weighs us down..." (Proverbs 12:25 MSG); "A relaxed attitude lengthens a man's life" (Proverbs 14:30 LB); "Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time" (Proverbs 17:22 GNT).

3. Look up to God. Stress is always a warning light that you've taken your focus off God and are looking at your problems from your limited viewpoint.

www.purposedrive.com

stealing the show

Can you imagine tripping over the public address system wires in the middle of the ceremony when the MC is making important announcements. Yea that was me on Saturday at a family friends wedding and boy wasnt i embarrassed.

Everything seemed to be going on well, the wedding was beautiful and it was almost time for the newly weds to start receiving gifts from family and friends. My sister and I hurriedly went and gave the couple our gift - obviously at the wrong time coz we wanted to greet her and leave before people started queuing for that and i was now taking her to say hi to some other people before we leave. I saw the wires and thought i had crossed over them just fine only to realise that that wasn't the case, first the MC's mic went dead then the 'mixer' not sure what its called the gadget that controls volume and other things came tumbling down from the table and then stares and other shocked sounds followed. I stood there fixed and confused for a moment, not knowing if i should continue walking or try and help fix the damage but one look at the DJ told me to stay where i was, he came round picked it and after a few minutes the mic was back on and we quickly dashed out of the venue without looking behind.

It seemed i have graduated from being the girl who catches the bridal bouquet to something else. I hope the small drama's that i cause at people's wedding don't haunt me on my own big day else it will be a wedding full of circus.

Many thanks!

Thank you dear blog for giving me a platform of expressing it, thank you friend for telling me that i have to up my game and stop reading 4 books in a year if at all am gonna up my writing skills (those last year words still echo in my mind!), thank you dear big sister for leading the way (i look up to you u know), thank you friends for alerting me and thank you God for keeping me going.

My article on matters affecting the family was published in the daily nation newspaper sometime in March (have your say column), well its not a GRAND article but its a great honor and a somewhat nice feeling as well to see your name in the press!!

Indeed nothing is impossible you only need to dream it to achieve and put some effort in it. Is this an indication of greater things to come? For sure i cannot tell but i hope so.....

I cried my last tears yesterday

Its a high time i put to practice what i wrote about in my last post! I have stopped struggling, pushing it, forcing it.... It aint easy but its something i need to do. Not overnight but gradually as the seeds had already been planted and uprooting them will take a while. it's only with the knowledge and experience of the healing power of time that i can be able to say that yes i will be fine.

The circles are too many, its like being at the stop sign and making turns that take me back to where i started from over and over and over or a boxing match with endless rounds.

I miss the glow and my genuine smile. No amount of facial masking and beauty 'therapyness' can bring back the glow as i have discovered that it comes from within. My eyes are puffy and always watery of late. The power of emotions, we call them hearty matters!

I cant be in both ends of the rope at the same time and seeing as i have pulled and stretched my end of the rope to its limit all i can do now is stop pulling.

I lived it and i loved it. The sun will rise and set and it musn't find me in the same state i was yesterday.

Things always have a way of working out

After much contemplation i decided to choose spaghetti over rice, the reason was still unknown to me upto the point when i saw the flames of the fire dwindling and within a minute the fire had gone out, the gas was over, my spaghetti 30% cooked and no alternatives. Luckily the spinach on the other plate of the gas had kinda steamed and they say that vegetables are best eaten raw - well it was time to put all that healthy eating theory into action.There are some university lesson that become vital survival skill in the present and future days and i had to apply one of those. Without thinking much the spaghetti was poured into the kettle and the rest is history. Thank you God for making me choose spaghetti over rice cause with rice then it would have a been a whole different story.

Some time last year, i couldn't understand why after being the best candidate for the job one where i thought at that moment that i had wahi kuwahi crisis and other things started happening and they had to restructure and i couldn't start working with them as yet. Couple of months down the line i hear that the projects is coming to an unusual closure plus plus.

How i survived my college exams and managed to graduated with my year mates can only be attributed to favour from above. After being at home for almost two years, year one was like being in a fast moving train those math papers looked like Greek writings and the result at the end of the year weren't soo appealing. Year two and three were like discovery and multitasking phases and upon receiving my results i knew that there some subjects that just don't give room for the kind of lifestyle that i was living. The last year was the do or die year, i had to put my act together else there wasn't going to be a graduation party for me at least maybe not with the class of 03. I recall that when i was doing my final papers on my way to the exam room i was crying out to God to give me favour and refresh my memory as need be. I had read for long hours in my past papers to end up with resits and i wasn't ready to see that happen in my last exams. Anyways that was that and when i was called and told that i had passed my exams i couldn't believe it. He had seen me through and He will see you through just don't give up and don't get tired of doing what is right.

Nothing really happens without a reason but in the end things just have a way of working out....story continues

Thanks But No Thanks

I have lots of respect for old people not only do their words carry plenty of wisdom their experiences is life makes them good mentors and I have a couple of them. On the flip side, one of the reasons why they just turn me off is making passes at young girls these breed of people are usually extremely persistent and to them there is nothing like reading in between the lines for hints! Just because you have achieved everything in life, have your dream job as a big boss somewhere, drive a really posh car, have numerous investments and assets n all that doesn’t mean that you must make me part of your ‘achievement’.

So you say you want us to go on a date…. A dancing date? Yet you know very well that you just don’t have the moves for today’s hits!! A dinner date? You have already said it many times that am beautiful, in addition we can hardly sustain an entertaining conversation for more than 5 minutes, there is lust painted all over the picture…… now a whole evening do you want me to die with boredom!

What these men don’t recognize is that there is a new breed of young women nowadays, an evolved species who understand that their digestive system doesn’t different meals from a five star or a fast food, its all either proteins, vitamins and the likes. An evolved species who knows that they have tough legs to ‘drive’ them to all the places they need to go. Girls who know that old married men are only after them just because of their selfish personal motives and refuse to be used as objects of entertainment. Girls who would rather break a back (literally) to make ends meet than go for short cuts with dire consequences and more so girls who love and respect themselves.

Il est nécessaire que vous vous rappeliez ce qui est important dans la vie

'....No one else can dance your dance, no one else can sing your song, no one else can write your story. Who you are, what you do, begins right now!' Lisa Nicholas

From the pit

Today is an extraordinary tough day. Besides the fact that my day started off quite early and i woke up on the right side of the bed things just aren’t turning out as expected.

I first run to town to chase after some business order which up and until now doesn’t look so promising not to mention the fact that I have already incurred operation costs. I make it work at noon and find high priority emails that need to be addressed. Am not in the right frame of mind so I have postponed replying to majority of them until tomorrow. I try to get some work done but things that would normally take 30 mins to complete now take 1 hour.
I get some good news , am to collect my dividend cheque courtesy of sacco savings not bad i think to myself so the sacco has such rewards! but upon receiving my cheque I realise that I have been fined 1/3 of the money for not attending important saccoo member meetings.

Normally I would swim it off but no not today, I have to rush home because I have some repairs that need to be done this evening. Just cant wait to hit my pillows but until then let me see if i can make someone happy.

From mean to upper limits

A couple of years back when I was a small girl, I couldn’t wait for the months and years to pass by for the day when June 16th would reach and I turn 13 (THIRTEEN)! Be teenage, I couldn’t wait for the years to fly by again and again for me to turn 16 yes sweet sixteen we used to call it and later on to finally turn 18, be an adult, get an ID rule the world……or so I thought. Now am not so sure what I feel about my imminent birthday in another 3 or so months. Maybe am scared of entering the phase that will mark the commencement of my late twenties years or perhaps that's the way it always is when one make’s that change from one age bracket to another like turning 21 or 31 (though i cant ever recall having such a feeling). Am not certain which direction the captain is going to steer the ship once it hits 26!!

Back when I was in primary I couldn’t wait for the day when I would go to high school and after that for the time I would join campus and thereafter for when I could start working and be independent. Now that am there I realise that the demands are greater than what I had ever imagine I was only after the golden eggs but now I need to also take care of the goose. I not only want to make it big and rich, I want a job that satisfies one where at the end of the day makes me feel good and one where I cant wait to be at the next day. This leaves with me with even bigger decisions like which direction to further my education and career, appreciating that we are all unique and successful in our own different ways. Its just not what everyone else is doing Is what makes true significance and adds value to an individuals life.

A couple of years back I couldn’t wait for the day when I would get my own place, regardless of the size and what was inside…all I cared about was being able to open my own place and have no one ask me where am from or why does it look so messed up and so on and so forth. Now I ask myself for how long will I keep paying rent, when will I get a place that I can call mine a real home and what do I need to do to get there. The 'old' and 'motherly' duties that I had neglected back at home I now have to embrace with a smile. The free spirit for disappearing from the house for many weekends has been tamed for now I have to be responsible for me.

I have become more aware of time I can feel it passing by day by day, good thing the swimming and the other small time exercises I do make me feel youthful, brisk, full of life, bouncy and all that. Procrastination is killing me now more than it had before. I need to fight the good battle, awaken the giant inside and work for a bright and better tomorrow.
Just as we grow older with the rising sun each and every morning self motivation and personal inspiration is a virtue that has to take a similar course. The changes in life are dynamic one day you feel like everything is going south and the next day you feel like things are advancing northwards. Everyone has a special way of dealing with life’s dynamism's, at times I refer to my mission statement, at times the inspiration books I read help me to forge on and at times I pour it out on my blog.

I pray and hope you have something that helps you to stay afloat, to redefine you north every so often because without that you'd be lost in this jungle.

Charismatic leader

To all the big and mighty blog fans out there i hope you find these 10 qualities of a charismatic leader by Robin Sharma insightful (no.8 has really done it for Obama if the below video is anything to go by)

• Be committed to what you are doing
• Look like a winner and act like one
• Have big dreams, a vision and reach for the sky
• Steadily advance in the direction of your goals
• Prepare and work hard at every task you do
• Build a mystique around yourself
• Be interested in others and show kindness
• Have a strong sense of humour
• Be known for the strength of your character
• Have grace under pressure. (John F. Kennedy said that "the elusive half-step between middle management and true leadership is grace under pressure.")

I hardly do politics in my blog but i think my children might one day enjoy this president Barack history in the making moment!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsWpvkLCvu4&feature=channel