tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52541604367300611912024-03-13T02:32:52.677+03:00The_Doubtful_TamsynFusion of Thoughts, Feelings, Opinions, Beliefs... All things WORDY!Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-59519820300883806642014-12-12T20:07:00.003+03:002014-12-12T20:13:00.009+03:00Letter to my younger self by Guest Blogger<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ola!!! Happy end of year folks :) It's been a fantastic year, hasn't it?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So, I have this loyal follower who, I suppose was too troubled by the fact that I have posted something all year, and therefore wrote this piece and asked me to share it on her behalf. I think she is a great soul and I am only to happy to share her piece with you - mostly because it's something I think most of us should pen down at one point in our lives.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">To today's guest blogger: Thank you for bringing life (and your wisdom) to the blog. Much appreciated</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Enjoy it folks!!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The
thing about life is you really never know how it’s going to unfold. It’s like
walking on a tight rope blindfolded. There could be moments when your balance
is immaculate and just when you think you have a handle on things, suddenly you
are toppling almost crashing down…Oh little princess you will have quite a
ride, there are so many things I wish I could protect you from…fears of your
own inadequacies real or imagined, hurt from people who whispered promises of
how they would never hurt you, the thin line between love and hate, grief,
regret but all these things add onto the wholesomeness of the life that you
will live. I also wish I could show you so many amazing things about yourself,
your kind heart, passion that could cause a movement, a rare kind of
thoughtfulness, loyalty that fiercely protects those you love…I wish you knew
just how special you are. You are far from ordinary and you are not normal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Your
childhood is going to be a strange one there will be moments of happiness but
there is an experience that will change you….you will lose someone who you
dearly love and you will never recover from it, not fully anyway. However when
you let go and you will let go of the sadness, bitterness and questions, you
will be thankful that you have a tiny memory of what it means to have a great
man in your life. Remember how he used to love taking photos of you? Remember
how he used to give you little shiny coins for you to save? Remember how you
both used to enjoy road trips? In those moments you spend together you will
learn kindness, giving without expecting anything in return…Little angel there
will be a void in your life that can’t be filled, many men will try none will
come close. You will yearn for his direction, his wisdom, his embrace, deep
conversations and so many times you will need a man to talk to but in quiet
reflections you will discover you are so much like him resolute, always in
pursuit of happiness, independent, adventurous, passionate, sarcastic, loyal….Oh
my darling you will miss him terribly and sometimes it will hurt almost
physically….but you will remember to smile again so wipe away that tear child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Your
teenage years will be filled with mischief….always getting into trouble maybe that’s
because you have a rebellious streak but it’s born out of curiosity and
remember what I told you before you are not ordinary. Society will try and box
you into this normal space you won’t fit, try all you want sweetheart but it
won’t work, the earlier you understand this the easier your life will be. Boys…It’s
funny how you will relate with boys through the course of your life, you will
go through I don’t give a crap phase, I’m so swooned phase, all I want is to be
friends, why are all the good guys taken, why can’t I love him as much as he
loves me, why can’t he love me as much as I love him….You will go through all
these phases but even in the highs and lows and in moments where you feel broken
and everything around you is crushing you will still believe in love and pray
it finds you because you will get tired of searching for it….Anyway kiddo thing
is you won’t have it together when it comes to boys not for a while. It will
take several heartbreaks, a trash load of mistakes, jokers, good guys, funny
guys, annoying guys, almost perfect guys….for you to realize that you can’t be happy
with an ordinary guy because remember what I keep telling you, you are not
ordinary and that’s not a short term view it’s the long term view of who you
are! Be not yoked with ordinary my child….. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then
you will turn into a beautiful smart young woman….a young woman who enjoys the
taste of fine wine, the luxury of dining and laughing with friends, the
occasional flirting with those who make your heart stir if only for a little
while, more importantly a woman who believes that her Lord brought her to this
earth for a reason, a purpose which you will spend years chasing after,
questioning what I’m I here for? Why have I been so richly blessed? What does
the Lord require of me…You will question God’s plan for your life, always
looking to know the answer but child faith and trust will be your biggest
lessons….Faith, substance of things not seen. You will fight with God endlessly
and you will crawl back to Him because you will also understand that His grace
is sufficient for you because His power is made perfect in weakness....Grace:
Divine resources necessary to bear the weight of your situation....How I wish I
could protect you from lonesomeness, it’s funny how you will ever be surrounded
with many friends but where the truth lies in your soul, you will know that you
are restless, present physically but absent….Don’t give in to too much
solitude, especially the kind that makes you feel like you can’t let people in,
it will cause you unimaginable pain. You will also struggle with forgiveness
but darling sometimes you need to just let it go…</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">sometimes
you will realize you are the cause of your own struggles and you will need to
search your heart to truly understand those things that you struggle with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Travel
will be your greatest joy…You will fall in love with the thrill of flying and
visiting new places. A little part of you will crave to wander out in the
mountains, on the beach side; in the country side, discover new cities,
experience different cultures…You will travel to run away from loneliness as
well as commitment and companionship, you will travel to find yourself and lose
yourself all in the same intensity, to meet new friends and catch up with old
ones, to look for answers….Many times you will go out of your comfort zone to
experience nature because it’s where your soul finds peace. You will enjoy the
company of a good book and quiet reflections on a plane, a train, a bus…..Oh my
child the beauty of this world will engulf you, haunt you and make you question
your ability to happily settle in any one place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You
will have dreams so big that you will want to hand them back to the porter’s
hands, you will also have distaste for mediocrity and you will push yourself
sometimes a bit too much to excel. You will realize that it’s ok to admit that
you are defeated you need not be ever so strong…..and one day if the Lord
blesses you, you shall find a man who is extra ordinary, intrigues every fiber
in you, who loves adventure, who enjoys silent companionship, a good meal and a
perfect glass of wine, one who reads and appreciates music, the kind who will
love your family and make you feel like a part of his and when you start a
family of your own he will remember that his allegiance is to you above all
else, the one who will protect you, challenge you, cherish you, more
importantly who loves God deeply and allows you to be yourself every version
that is and is yet to come. Hopefully one day you will both be blessed and you
will look into your daughter’s eyes and tell her that she is the most perfect thing
in this world and you will hold your son’s hand and tell him that he is worth
more than anything in the world….that you are glad you chose to have them at
that perfect time in your life and you never thought you could ever love another
human being as much as you love them. You will teach them how to be graceful and
fierce, how to walk with their heads up, respect and honour, to take time to
look around to see the beauty in the world but also allow themselves to be
humbled and inspired by the people God has placed along their way, to smile
often and laugh until tears roll down their cheeks, never to be afraid to
follow their passion and to be true to themselves but more importantly to be
true to their maker. They will show you that you are so much more than what you
ever thought; truly multidimensional, rare, sophisticated and only then will
you begin to understand what I have been telling you all along that you are
nothing close to ordinary."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Signed,
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reflective
older you <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-86317046132418083002013-11-19T16:13:00.003+03:002013-11-19T16:52:49.403+03:00Of Conversations & Lessons.<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The truth is most of life is hell. It is filled with failure and loss. People disappoint you. Dreams do not work out and hearts get broken. And, the best moments in life when everything comes together are few and fleeting but you can only get to the next moment if you keep going. ~Political Animals~</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My year would be incomplete without me having dozens of conversations with myself which give me invaluable lessons...My 2013 in lessons.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">P.s. Most of these lessons are conclusions drawn from the conversations I have with myself and my imaginary friends. :-)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>1</b>. <b>Be Grateful.</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This far into the year I have learned that the power of a grateful spirit is enough to stir up miracles in your life and make God bless you more and more... I have learned that just by being grateful for the gift of life, for a sound mind, for a peaceful spirit and good health I can be blessed beyond measure.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. Love</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I honestly do not think there is a year that goes by and I do not learn a lesson on love. This year I have learned three:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">a) I have learned that being in love or in a relationship is like going for a swim. At some point you will need to come out for air. At some point you will need to bask and soak in the warmth of the sun. Love is rare and precious. It is more precious when it is mutual. If you love someone you don't let them go and then pray that fate or is it cupid will guide them back your way. When you find love and you fall in love madly deeply and truly you let someone pull out their head for some air. You do that while still holding their hand under water... Until you can both swim underwater again.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">b) I have learned (from the Bible) that love does not keep a record of wrongs. This year, I have learnt that love does not keep a record of personal "rights" either. It's not a competition. It's not a game. As my friend Adikinyi always says: "Saying to someone I love you is NOT a question. I do not why people always get so upset when they do not get an answer."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">c) I have learned that love is fragile and irrational. If you are making sense of it then you are probably not in love.... </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. Internet</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that Google is a woman... Because Google knows everything and above all remembers EVERYBODY'S birthday. :-)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4. Books</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that books are the very thing that keep me going. I have learned that the words are not just alphabets put together but they are symbolic and I will always draw deeper meaning from what I read. I mean where else would you find such statements: <i>"I fell in love the way you fall asleep; slowly then all of a sudden at once."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5. Tribe</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had a couple horrible experiences this year during the election period where I constantly wondered at what point while in my momma's womb I had asked God to make me a Kikuyu. I have learned that I am not proud to be a Kikuyu and that I always jump at the opportunity to deny that I am Kikuyu. It sucks.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6. Death</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that life is short, death is a b!+{# and it hurts like hell. What sucks the most about death is that it demands to be noticed.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7. Decisions</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that not knowing what you want or where you want to go in life does not make <b>LIMBO </b>your final destination. If you cannot think about your life, what you want out of it and where you want to be then you have no reason to get up in the morning.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">8. Risks</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that sometimes you have to make a decision to take a risk and be brave in life. Take a risk. Jump off the cliff. Say what you feel. Resign if you must. Regret is like a mosquito, unless you kill it, it will keep coming back for more. Sometimes your only available form of transport is a "jump of faith"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">9. Giving Up</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that giving up is really as easy as A-B-C, 1-2-3. What you didn't know and you will know today is this: The crappy feeling that occupies someone after giving up is <b>just not worth it.</b> Keep going.... Always. Keep going and never give up on yourself. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">10. Experiences</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learnt that "out-of-body" experiences are not "out-of-mind" experiences. You <b>will </b>remember stupid decisions.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">11. God</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that God is my closest friend. That He loves me in a way that no (wo)man ever will. That He will always be there for me and will never give me something I cannot handle. He is a miracle-worker. Falling in love with Him has been the most amazing thing this year. </span></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">12. Fear</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My Pastor always says fear is an acronym which in full stands for <b>F</b>alse <b>E</b>vidence <b>A</b>ppearing <b>R</b>eal. I have learnt that the thing about fear is that, just like terrorism, it is faceless. Maybe that is why facing our fears is always such an uphill and almost impossible task...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And the greatest lesson this far has been this: No matter how many conversations I have with myself, how many lecturers I have with my heart and arguments with my mind... Things will always work out how I least expect them to... Which for me is synonymous with "Things work out as they should" because ~> Jeremiah 29:11 is REAL to me. </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>So perhaps, you can call me a mad person for doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results... Le Sigh!</i><br /><br />Happy Ending of 2013! </span></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-55079448698653797502013-10-28T11:45:00.002+03:002013-10-28T11:48:24.038+03:00Guest Post: Growing Up<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Free spirit. Smart (Intelligent). Cavalier. Those are the adjectives that best describe my guest blogger; Mwende. She sent me an email that said: "<strong><em>Incase you ever host pieces on your blog, here goes... I wrote this in the last 10 minutes... just cos I felt like." </em></strong>When I first got this email from her, it took about five seconds to understand what she was on about and then once I figured it out, I was excited - mostly because I didn't know she writes. Still not sure if she does.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I met Mwende through my sister in 2008 at the Red Cross Kenya offices in South C. It was just after the 2007/8 Post-election violence. The organization she and my sister worked for were volunteering at the Red Cross Kenya offices to help load and off load donations intended to assist the victims of the violence and I am sort-of my sisters' hand-bag. I thought she was fun and funny. I got to know her a bit more through social media where I realized how similar we are... She has OCD and cannot step on/outside the line of a box/curb. She counts her steps as she walks. She thinks for a living. She has great taste in music... But, up until she sent me this I didn't know just how similar we are. She recently flew out to pursue her Masters and I highly suspect this post was inspired by this new-chapter of her life. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Enjoy it and comment if you wish (and I hope you do).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">P.s. The only thing I have changed is the Font. I am particular about font type and size.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Growing up means different things to different people….Growing up
for me has meant a lot of things, some significant and some small still and
subtle….I share 10 of my favourite growing up lessons </span></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That God is the center of my life…I
enjoy waking up in the morning, kneeling down in prayer and listening to
worship music. I am not forced by mommy to go to church as it was a few years
back…more often than not I want to go and I want to be on time. I don’t run
away from the Pastor because I think he has psychic power to see my
transgressions, I chat with them, I tell them what is going on in my life and
they pray over me and this has made a huge difference.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Family is a very important element of
my life, don’t get me wrong it always has been….and just because we have our
peculiarities and fights, doesn’t mean you the outsider can contribute to this
madness, be sure I love them all to bits and I will hurt you if you hurt them.
It is true what they say blood is thicker than water.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Friends ….they came and went in my early
20s and the ones who remained are those I am willing to invest to keep for a
long time. Let’s face it friendships are expensive, time consuming and I can’t
be close to everyone so I won’t punish myself for those whom I have not spoken
to for some time…..or the ones who still ask haiya wapi bwana na watoto??
Aaaarggh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This circle of exceptional
people is now my mini-family. It’s also means that don’t <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>need to second guess the people I can go to for
just about anything…It’s not just stories for clubbing and hopping from one
city to another, it’s about happiness, memories, goals, being challenged, holding
each other accountable, praying together and for each other, dreams and
realizing there is only one life to live. Right now is when I am making choices
that will determine my future. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have strong opinions sorry very
strong opinions; you don’t have to agree with and trust me it is okay, despite
what my over piercing eyes may want to communicate….It’s ok, you are entitled
to an opinion too, maybe even a silly one like KDF had a right to loot during
the Westgate operation. I overanalyze a lot of things….that’s just the way I am
and I’m perfectly fine. I guess this means I love me for me.....There is only
one me after all. It’s not about perfection, its acceptance and striving to be
better</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know my limits…..I know the crap I can’t
handle and sometimes it’s important to know what your bottom line is….Just by
knowing my limits, I know I can’t party as hard as I used to and I know when it’s
time to go home, I’m not competing for first one in and last one out of the
club anymore. Knowing my limits also comes with knowing my motivation….and what
I want out of a career and it’s not just a paycheck…..</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I enjoy cooking more….I enjoy trying
out new dishes. Loved baking as a child and the kid in me is back!!! Never let
the kid in you die….</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am fine with my past…..I can bump
into an ex-boyfriend and be cordial. I can say things like congratulations on
the new job and on finally hitting the gym, I wish you a happy marriage and
that fatherhood will be ever so thrilling for you….without thinking to the left
to the left and how irreplaceable I am. It just dint work out and that’s ok,
you live and learn.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Music….it’s become one of my greatest
forms of expression. Sultry, deep, meaningful music.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Health….this should probably be way
up there….I eat my vegetables, I walk, I try and be healthy more importantly I
limit my addictions.</span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have learnt what love is and what
love is not….1 Corinthians 13. That’s love! Be grateful when you find it….I
know I am </span></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-17070915792591322282013-10-14T17:19:00.002+03:002013-10-14T17:19:19.243+03:00Butterfly Explosions<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had a familiar feeling in my belly today</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was the feeling I got when you would randomly hold my hand</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The feeling I got when I was supposed to meet you</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The feeling I got every time you gave me a peck</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was the feeling I got whenever you'd break out in laughter or offer me a smile</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had a familiar feeling in my belly today</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It must be the explosion of ...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Butterflies and love</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Butterflies and expectations</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Butterflies and happiness</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was overwhelmed with a familiar feeling today...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But twas a feeling I felt in my dreams before my alarm snapped me back to reality</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
*Thank you alarm clock*</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sweet dreams are made of familiar tummy feelings. </div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-23249148846881984282013-10-11T00:02:00.001+03:002013-10-11T00:21:16.068+03:0050 Shades of One<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>"Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength. No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful the experience is, if we lose hope that is the real tragedy." ~Dalai Lama~</b></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have restrained myself from writing this post ever since the #WestGateAttack happened. At the time when words flooded my mind, I was too sad to write. Too heart-broken to write. Too overwhelmed by the love and support Kenyans showed each other. The solidarity. I suppose I felt unworthy of penning down my thoughts. I wanted to do more than just write. I wanted to be able to turn back time and prevent it all from happening. For those few days, I wanted to play God and take everybody's pain away.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The #WestGate Attack was a sack-full of disaster. Death. Destruction. Despair. Desperation. Darkness. Heart-ache. Trauma. Shock. Inexpressible grief and sadness. It was really the last thing we needed as a country as we celebrate turning 50. But the #WestGateAttack also revealed our strength as a country. For four days and nights we were one, we were all Kenyans in the face of tragedy and despite the damn terrorists cowardice attempt to divide us along religious lines, we remained one. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then, like the leaves of a tree respond to the wind and sadly, true to the Kenyan form,our 50 shades of our oneness began to appear...<br />
<br />
This is how we are one in this my beloved country</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
#WeAreOne before political talk finds it way in tragic events</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
#WeAreOne before #KOT become political analysts and CSI agents </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
#WeAreOne before the tragic events of West Gate become a class issue</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
#WeAreOne while giving out press statements but not when sharing blame... Hence the NSIS-Police-Army circus of tossing this hot-potato to each other</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
#WeAreOne before a church is torched and a Muslim Cleric is killed by gun-men</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
#WeAreOne if our neighbor is not of Somali origin</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
#WeAreOne before going for elections but 42 when results are counted...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I could go on and on about our various shades of #WeAreOne... Or I could dream of a better country. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is not the country I dream of living in. A country where no matter how tragic events, politics, class and conspiracy theories of individuals with brains the size of a grain of sugar take precedence over the grief that has affected so many of us - directly or indirectly,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I dream of living in a country where political discourse will look beyond our politicians and focus on policies that will solve our problems</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I dream of living in a country where our unity has only on shade. White. Not Grey. Where our unity is as sure as the rising of the sun</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I dream of living in a country where social media will be used to build and not destroy things</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I dream of living in a country where we can be Kenyans all year round... Tragedy or no tragedy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We clearly haven't gotten it right within this first 50 years. I hope and pray that we will get it right for our kids within the next 50 years...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We should remain one because if the tragedy of #WestGate, politics, religion, class and conspiracy theories do anything else rather than unite us, then we will have failed as a country. We will have compounded to the problems facing our country.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>May the departed souls rest peacefully... May their loved ones have a forgiving heart, learn to smile again, learn to laugh again. Learn to be whole again.</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>May the survivors be healed - physically, emotionally and psychologically. May their memories of that day be deleted from their minds.</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>May our heroes find peace. May they be the reason we aspire to be truly a nation. May they always be honored in life and death. </b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>May our nation heal from this pain. May we never forget 21st September 2013. May we never know this grief again. </b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>May we never lose hope... Hope that we will one day be one!</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>May our next 50 years be one shade on one.....</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-1308208583695527182013-07-04T15:40:00.002+03:002013-07-04T15:47:25.472+03:00Of Expectations and Biology<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Expectation is the root of all heartache" ~Shakespeare~</span></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The new VAT Bill, which Parliament is set to discuss (and pass, given that the house now operates according to the Tyranny of Numbers) will make Kenyans pay more for essential basics like: <i>journals, newspapers and periodicals, wheat flour, bread, computers and computer software, processed milk, rice and sanitary towels. </i>These, among others, are some of the products that did not previously attract a VAT fee. Other services and/or commodities that are likely to be affected by the new bill include: domestic electricity consumption <i><b>(By the way, please remember Ruto stopped KPLC from increasing the tariffs Talk about being blind-sided eh?)</b>, water drilling services, parking at airports and hospital consumables e.t.c</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But wait, before we take to the streets - yesterday, our President called all the Jubilee MPs to State House <b>*Enter Tyranny of Numbers, again* </b>and lobbied them to amend the Bill and exclude maize and bread from the list of items that would be taxed. I had a brief blonde moment when my thoughts led me to believe that he would include milk as well... Again, I said it was a blonde moment. It only lasted a minute. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, this post is not about milk. I will also not pretend to be an expert on finance or fiscal policies and analyse the bill, I wouldn't know where to begin. If you are interested though, you can read a Position Paper done by ICPAK on the Bill <a href="http://www.icpak.com/attachments/article/268/ICPAK032012%20-%20POSITION%20PAPER%20ON%20THE%20VAT%20BILL%202012.pdf">here</a>. It is very informative.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This post is about the President not lobbying his team from excluding one item from the bill: <b>Sanitary Towels.</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Perhaps for most of us, we don't appreciate the fact that we can afford and access sanitary towels - it is something we take for granted. It is a habit - going into the supermarket to do monthly shopping and to pick the brand of your choice. It is such a habit that we have never really stopped to think about the flip-side. The reality that in some parts of our country, for four days or more, girls, just like us, like our daughter, mothers, sister and friends have to stop living their lives due to natural biological processes. The reality that some girls have to sit in a hole until the last day, some use cow dung, leaves, rugs and papers as sanitary towels. Cow dung.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You see, what I do not get is how a government that realized that some of the challenges facing the FPE programme is the number of young girls who had to drop out of school once they hit puberty. That government went a step further to allocate 240 Million in the 2011/2012 Financial year to ensure that young girls would not drop out of school. The new cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Education has requested for 2.6 Billion to purchase sanitary towels for 2.6 Million girls. So, there is a section of government that is keen on making the lives of these girls run as smoothly as possible and the other wants to make life more difficult for them by taxing sanitary towels. Riddle me this. Is this a case of the left hand not knowing what the right arm is doing? Because if this be the case, then maybe we should consider chopping off both arms.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If the amended bill does NOT exclude sanitary towels, then what we are saying in essence is that the government will increase its budgetary allocation towards provision of sanitary towels; and not to buy more but because they will be more expensive.<br /><b><i>(Didn't #UhuRuto promise to reduce the current government expenditure? But then again, Ruto wants 100 Million to renovate an eight-month old mansion... Woooosaaa!)</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let me tell you what is even more upsetting and somewhat disgusting... That ALL THOSE female MPs we elected have kept mum. <b>What?!? *Hard Blink*</b> Why haven't they boycotted meetings or something? Is it really too much to ask? That the women, stand up and speak up for young girls!?!?<br /><br />My thoughts on this: We cannot have young girls using cow-dung, leaves, newspapers or living in holes because they are women. Not in this day and age. Not when, we have MDGs to attain and we keep talking about a #Post-2015World. The truth is, girls dropping out of school affects the country's efforts to achieve their MDGs: MDG 2 <i style="font-weight: bold;">(Education for All) </i>and MDG 3 <b><i>(Gender Equity and Equality).</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"When this school girl menstruates she stays home. When she is older, that is all she will be qualified to do" ~Anon~ </span></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Source: </b></i><a href="http://www.sanitarypadsforafrica.org/">http://www.sanitarypadsforafrica.org/</a></span></div>
<div>
<b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div>
<b><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">I think sanitary towels are as necessary as condoms. And condoms are FREE - well, GoK ones. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Sanitary Towels should be <strike>left in the zero-rated bracket</strike> FREE too. That is all I am saying in a nutshell. </span></span></i></b></div>
<div>
<b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lastly, I really should have managed my expectations of #UhuRuto.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bye Folks.</span></span></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-61231133342608676472013-06-24T10:26:00.000+03:002013-06-24T10:39:35.319+03:00Dear Reader<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“More than kisses, letters mingle souls.” </span></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">~John Donne~</span></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If I would write you a letter, </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It certainly would not be a love letter... Well, not by my standards.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It would not be hateful either, hate mail is not my forte.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>If I would dare write you a letter,</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would tell you <strike>how much</strike> that I miss you</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would tell you how much I wish you were animal</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would tell you about my friend who told her boss that her mother, who carried her for 9 months, still said PLEASE whenever she sent her around :-)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would tell you that a simple beat, a simple rhythm - even without words - reminds me of you </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would tell you how much you have been on my mind</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would tell you how proud I am of you</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>If I would dare write you a letter,</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I would tell you that you are broken and need fixing</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would tell you that I too <strike>am broken</strike> was once broken</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would tell you that I have been sad and I have been cuddling my sadness</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would curse at and insult you</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would tell you that I still love the rain</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>If I would dare write you a letter,</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I would tell you what I think about Olivia Pope (and President Fitzgerald)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would once again tell you that I think you should have been a friggin' animal</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would tell you that more than kisses, letters mingle souls.....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But the truth is, I will probably never write you a letter</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then again, maybe this is the letter so...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Dear Reader,</i></b><br />
<b style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></b>
<b style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></b>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b style="text-align: left;"><i>With Love & Pride</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b style="text-align: left;"><i>Ms. Aiyanna.</i></b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-70553150718562872612013-05-28T10:08:00.001+03:002013-05-28T10:08:29.054+03:00In my dreams<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have two memories of you. One is found in a picture (and frankly speaking that doesn't quite count as a memory). The other... Well, it goes something like this. You picked us up from school one day and before we got home you passed by the Shell Petrol Station Shop and asked us to pick anything we wanted, but it had to be one item. I was so overwhelmed with all the "goodies" I could not make a choice. Eventually, I picked a packet of Digestive Biscuits which I never got to eat because I forgot them in your car. I suppose the kids had a field day eating them. I must not have been more than 8 years old - but that is the memory I have carried all these years.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I haven't seen you in forever - slightly over a decade. Soon it will be two decades and then three decades and yet even in your absence you are thought of more and more with each passing day. I often wonder how differently life would have played out if you stuck around. I wonder...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But don't get me wrong, I am not filled with sadness about not seeing you in person; not any more. You have been popping up randomly in my dreams since the beginning of this year. And though some of your appearances have been technical appearances, I am always happy to see you.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Seeing you grips me with fear (and makes me think I am crazy) and excitement in equal measure. The set-up is always the same. In the living room, by the main door. You play peek-a-boo with me and then disappear. But last nights dream was different. You stayed for a chat. You stayed long enough for me to tell my sister "Look, there he is" and her excitement was unbelievable. You stayed long enough for someone else other than I to see you. It was so cool. You were surprised that she is married, that I have finished school and I am now chasing paper and that I have become so tall. *Ahem* That is what happens when people grow up mister, keep up. :-)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You looked different. You were awfully short, nothing like I remember. Heck, you were shorter than my sister and she is the shortest of us all. On the flip-side though, you sounded just like Patrick, had James sense of humor and something about your smile reminded me of Esther.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was ecstatic that we got to talk this time round, that you know how our lives are. I have very few memories of you alive but I suppose I am creating some with you in my dreams. You are dearly missed... But seeing you, albeit for a spilt second as is sometimes the case, makes me believe in heaven, that you are in heaven and God sent you to pay us a visit, in your living room.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You are missed. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rest Peacefully Uncle and see you again.... In my dreams. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">P.s. I wish Becky would get with the programme and make random appearances as you do... I miss her too. </span></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-33840815115875216292013-05-01T06:07:00.002+03:002013-05-01T06:07:44.057+03:00A Tale of Breadcrumbs<div style="text-align: justify;">
A story is told of a boy who met a girl...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Their conversations were perfect; he completed her sentences. She completed his sentences</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Her laughter was contagious and his smile melted her heart</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Telepathy was their new-found super power</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Theirs was a fairy-tale love story that blossomed in the woods and like Hansel and Gretel they dropped some breadcrumbs as they moved along so that one day if they felt like they had lost their way and their love had become rational they would take a few steps back along the same path and remember why they had loved so irrationally and how they had acquired telepathy as a super power. The breadcrumbs would lead them home... Back to where it all began</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I suppose they mustn't have finished reading Hansel and Gretel for if they had, they would have known that the woods have birds and the birds would eat their breadcrumbs. The birds ate their breadcrumbs as they moved along. The more they dropped, the more the birds had to eat. The birds had eaten most of their breadcrumbs but they believed that they had come so far hand-in-hand to dare get lost if they ever needed to go back. Hadn't their walk been perfect - with each of them taking mental photographs of the most memorable tree? Well, it had been perfect. Save for the occasional rain that poured, the sun would always shine again and dry them up. Their walk in the woods had been perfect. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was the perfect love story </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is the perfect love story of a boy who met a girl and the girl met the boy and the rest is history. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is a love story that was lived through in the thick of the woods. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is the perfect love story that eventually led them to different forests when they once tried to find their way back home. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is the perfect love story of how they now rely on the echoes of the words... </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"I love you"</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"I love you too"</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Every so often, they shout the words out a little bit louder than before, this time hoping that the echoes will lead them back to each other... </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lead them back to each others arms. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Back to the simplicity of a hug, </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Back to the simplicity of his hand in hers, </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To the simplicity of his smile and her smile and </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Most importantly, restore back their telepathic powers because their love brought out the best in them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Unfortunately, they seem to forget that the louder they shout, the farther away the echoes will sound and the farther away their paths shall be... Soon, the echoes will lead them out of the woods, their love will be out of the woods and so will their fairy tale</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>*Good-bye my lover, good-bye my friend, you have been the one.. you have been the one for me*</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hopefully, their journey out of the woods will lead them to a t-junction...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/T_Junction_of_Forestry_Roads_-_geograph.org.uk_-_380780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/T_Junction_of_Forestry_Roads_-_geograph.org.uk_-_380780.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And on that day, all they will need to do is whisper</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"I love you"</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"I love you too"</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Because sometimes a whisper is far more clearer than a shout.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
*Whisper*</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"I love thee... always"</div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-23045771768939367002013-04-16T13:33:00.001+03:002013-04-16T13:53:35.282+03:00An Open Letter To Ms/Mr/Mrs Politician<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dear Ms/Mr/Mrs Politician,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is my sincere hope that this letter finds you in good health and that you are keeping well since you were elected by the people of Kenya on the 4th of March 2013. Oh my, forgive my manners... Allow me to congratulate on your election and/or nomination... CONGRATULATIONS! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You have been in the news lately, a bit too much if I may add... and for all the wrong reasons. There is a certain rule about "new kids on the block or new kids in a class." It states that the new kid should not be all up in the faces of other people. The new kid is always expected to sit back and relax; get used to the new environment; learn the ropes first. Survival for the fittest my friend, survival for the fittest.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now that we have that covered, kindly allow me to introduce myself, after all I did line up from 6:05 a.m to 3:00 p.m. waiting to vote for you (and others). My name is Jackie. I am a Kenyan aged (x+y) years old who believes a lady should only reveal her age on a medical form. In 2010, Kenyans passed a new constitution - I am sure you have heard about that document, the one that transferred power to the PEOPLE of KENYA. Under this constitution we the People of Kenya also consented to the formation of independent bodies and institutions. Allow me to digress at this juncture and take you back to class. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The word independent is a word which according to the internet (yes, I am from the digital generation) means <i>not influenced or controlled by others; self governing... </i>Where was I again? Aah, yes, we, the People of Kenya consented to the formation of various independent bodies and that includes the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I hear that you are disgruntled about the salaries the commission proposed for you. Allow me to enlighten you... Did you know the SRC went round the entire country collecting the views of Kenyans on what your new salaries should be? Well, now you know. Did you also know that it is MY taxes that ensure you get paid? Well, now you know.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I understand you find your new salaries shameful and insulting!?! Yes? OK. And you have justified this because of the many responsibilities and obligations that come with SERVING the public. Yes? Well, I do agree, public service can be oh-so-demanding and overwhelming.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Allow me to tell you a short story:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I am an urbanite.... A former ruralite (is there such a word?) turned urbanite. I have a job in Nairobi; the job pays me enough to go to work and buy one or two things for myself and for your information, I literally mean one OR two things. It is NEVER both because if I buy both then I have bought THREE things and I am not paid enough to paid THREE things; just one OR two. Back home, I am the SI unit of success. I am blessed because both my parents are alive, and so are their parents and their parents parents. Also ALL my siblings are alive and so are my aunts and uncles. Yes, my extended family is ALIVE and WELL. Oh my, I forgot, the village that raised me is alive - since I came to Nairobi, only two people have died.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You see back home, they do not care that I pay YOUR salary. Between you and I, I suspect that they do not know, if they knew they would make more demands of me. I would be invited to more funeral meetings, I would contribute a bit more money for school fees for my siblings and my neighbours' grand kids. I would pay my parents gardener more. Thank God they do not know. Ignorance is not so bad after all. Anyway, though they do not care, they are mindful of the reality that I must TRY to feed myself a decent meal daily. Also, they are mindful of the reality that I have bills to pay; especially electricity bills which for unknown reasons go up during the dry season as well as the rainy season... <i><b>That right there is the real kitendawili, don't you think? </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My village, family and friends are also mindful of the fact that I need to get to work by public transport (sadly, I cannot afford a car - yet - plus fuel is so expensive nowadays) and that every so often the tout will increase my fare as and when he pleases. They understand that the tout always steals a little from me... so does <i>mama mboga </i>who increases the price of dhania and onions but never the quantities. This is the story of my life... My everyday life.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But you could not be bothered about my life, my responsibilities and my obligations....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have you ever wondered where the other half of the money (assuming you contribute one half) to foot burial expenses or school fees for the child in your constituency and/or county comes from? Allow me to enlighten you again... It comes from people like me. Ordinary Kenyans who have a sense of community. You Sir and Madam are not the only "burdened" people in Kenya. In fact I suspect you would not be in a position to recognize burden even if it hit you in the face... I am just saying.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Enough with the rhetoric. Let us get some things straight:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1) I HIRED YOU - YOU came to ME and asked ME to vote for YOU. I did not come to YOU. Therefore in essence YOU VOLUNTEERED/OFFERED YOURSELF to serve ME!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2) I PAY YOU</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3) I CAN FIRE YOU</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4) YOU CANNOT DISBAND THE SRC. Read the Constitution. Only KENYANS can do that through a referendum</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5) Ksh. 535,000, Ksh. 640,000 AND Ksh. 740,927 IS ENOUGH to pay back your mortgage and car loan. I am sure you wonder how? Well, for starters, your interest rate is significantly lower than mine and your payback period longer than mine. Secondly, I believe you get a car allowance? Yes? Good.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, please shut the hell up and get to work and while at it you should try something we the Kenyan people do every single time... It is called<b> living within your means.</b> I am sure you are not familiar with that concept so allow me to enlighten you (for the umpteenth time)... Living within your means means living within your means! For example, if your salary can only allow you to buy a 3 bed-room house on a half acre of land then what that means is that you buy a 3 bed-room house on a half acre of land. Living within your means has everything to do with loving what you get if you are not lucky enough to get what you love. OK? Good.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lastly, I heard you saying that SRC released your new salary perks late right? Right. Fair enough. Bottom line here is this... You knew what your salary would be before the elections. You had two choices, to either step down or to step down. Usually that is what ordinary Kenyans do. When they interview for a job and they are unhappy with the pay and all negotiations fail, they turn down the job offer. Life is really that simple. You had your choices but lacked the balls to make them.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I conclude please remember the following:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1) I HIRED YOU... I CAN FIRE YOU</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2) I PAY YOU</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3) TOW THE GODDAMN LINE AND GET TO WORK... My niece needs to visit your office to request for money to attend campus.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4) Stop acting like brats and thank God for your blessings, some of us would have to sell our body parts to make a fraction of your salary.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thank you.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yours Truly,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A Kenyan.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">P.s. Two things:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">a) Riding a bike to work is not only good exercise but also very good for our environment. I believe you are familiar with the concept of climate change, yes? Good.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">b) Please, please, please do NOT attempt to test our (the Kenyan people) patience... It thinned out with the last parliament. Humility is a virtue. Buy some...Rumour has it you earn 535,000!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-83977022266241121132013-02-26T16:25:00.006+03:002013-02-26T16:25:54.312+03:00Daima Mimi Mkenya<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;"><b>HAVE A HAPPY VOTING DAY! </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;"><b>HAVE A PEACEFUL POST-VOTING YEAR!</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/apT8__Wd5A0/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/apT8__Wd5A0&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/apT8__Wd5A0&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
What is your responsibility as a Kenyan?<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>Wajibu wetu</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>Ni Kuishi kwa upendo</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>Kutoka ziwa Mpaka pwani</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>Kaskazini na kusini. ~Eric Wainaina~</b></span></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-29731123907650073792013-01-24T12:40:00.000+03:002013-01-24T12:42:06.558+03:00My Honest Poem<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I saw this on the internet, and I was completely blown away. So, I am doing the right and honourable thing and SHARING IT WITH ALL OF YOU :)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Enjoy*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">I've</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"> been told that I give bad hugs</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">People say it feels like I'm</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"> trying to escape</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>It’s probably because I am</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">Secretly I get really nervous</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"> </span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Every time someone gets close enough to hear me breathe</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>I have an odd fascination with things like sand castles and ice sculptures</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>I assume it’s because I usually find myself dedicating time to things that will only last a few moments</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>I guess that’s why I fall in love with things that will never love me back</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>I know that sounds crazy but it’s easier than it seems and to be honest I think it’s safer that way</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">You see relationships often remind that I'm</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"> not afraid of heights or falling</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;">But I am scared to death of everything that's</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;"> going to happen the very moment that my body hits the ground</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">I'm</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"> clumsy</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Yesterday I tripped over my self-esteem</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Landed on my pride and it shattered like a Iphone with a broken face</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Now I can’t even tell who’s trying to give me a compliment </b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">I've</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"> never been in the military but I have this purple heart</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>I got it from beating myself up over things I can’t fix</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Some days I treat my body like a costume and I feel like a mascot for a school no body wants to go to</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">I know this sounds weird but I wonder what my bed sheets say about me when I'm</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"> not around</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">I wonder what the curtains would do if they found out about all the things I've</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"> done behind their back</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>I have a hamper that’s over flowing with really really loud mistakes</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>And a grave yard in my closet</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>I'm afraid if I let you see my skeletons</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>You’d grind my bones into powder and get high off my fault lines.</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>I often forget my skin is not a panic room</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">I enjoy frozen yoghurt</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">, people watching, and laughing for absolutely no reason</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>But I don’t allow myself to cry as often as I need to</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>I have solar power confidence</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>And a battery operated smile</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>My hobbies include</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Editing my life story</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Hiding behind metaphors </b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>And trying to convince my shadow...</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">That I'm</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"> someone worth following </span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; line-height: 17px;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">~By Rudy Francisco~</span></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><b>Amazing, right? RIGHT! </b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ok then, have an absolutely amazing end to the month of January :)</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Blessings.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-47340157313160800452013-01-07T17:06:00.003+03:002013-01-07T17:16:42.342+03:00I still, (I) never, (I have) learned<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect intended us to forgo their use. ~Galileo Gallilei~</span></i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS!!! (<i>It's not yet 15th so you best wish me a happy one too, in the comment box below... Yes that one. Thank you</i>. :-)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just a small note: My last post for 2012 is not a reflection of how my year ended.... I was so blown away by 2012 and its awesomeness, words failed me. I was as happy as a lark(ess).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So for 2013: Well, here goes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I never thought I'd see the day I loose sleep over a broken nail yet,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I still bite my nails</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I still do not want to get married yet,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I tear up at weddings; regardless of whether or not the bride and groom are known to me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I still haven't figured out this thing called life <i>(which means I am not about to die right?) </i>but,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I FINALLY have a 5-year plan <i>(and I can stop getting creative during job interviews)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I finally have a 5-year plan yet;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wish I could marry sleep and never go hungry and accomplish all my goals... <i>Isn't life cruel?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am my own harshest critic <i>(and fan) </i>but mostly critic yet,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I still think it is never that serious</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have CDO yet,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have learned to accept that people want different things out of life and will do things differently from me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that I do not know where I would be without God, my family and friends (<i>pay attention to the order of appearance</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that God is really the most A.W.E.S.O.M.E. friend I will ever have in the whole wide world... You heard me? In the whooooole wide world. Nothing like having Him on your side.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that prayer and faith actually do move mountains.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that gratitude can leave you speechless and having a grateful heart is by far one of the most amazing feeling I have ever experienced. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have gained a higher appreciation for the <i><a href="http://skdesigns.com/internet/articles/prose/niebuhr/serenity_prayer/">Serenity Prayer</a>. </i>It really is powerful. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lastly, today I learned not to worry about tomorrow because God is already there :) :) :) *Boom*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, be happy, live life, laugh loudly, cry silently, pray passionately, feel and love freely in 2013. God is already way ahead of us into the year. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Happy and blessed blessed blessed new year to each and everyone of you! It's going to be.......... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A.W.E.S.O.M.E</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Happy dance*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BLESSINGS.</span><br />
<br />Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-87512511124266439392012-11-21T00:24:00.000+03:002012-11-21T00:27:59.605+03:00Of Rights and Feelings<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lightning don't strike the same place twice, right? Wrong. Lightning for me is an old feeling that overcame me today... So much to say but my words truly fail me. But as always I am hoping - this time more desperately than the last - that my words will liberate or heal me.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When part of our house was illegally demolished by City Council last September, thanks to one Joseph Macharia Muchiri (<i>I should upload his photo here eh? Just Google him</i>), I got a feeling in my stomach that I cant quite describe in words. I did not want to go home and at the point when I realized that was not an option, I wanted to walk home from Lower Kabete because I thought if I delayed long enough, then maybe , just maybe, someone would snap me out of reality and hastily send me to dream-land. Of course I did none of the above. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today is exactly 14 months since A.N. passed away. Today, the court granted bail to ALL accused suspects. I was not in court so the details are unknown to me. I learnt the news from Mrs. M through a text message... She did not say it explicitly but the minute I read the first two words of her text, that feeling I had 14 months ago arrested my tummy again... But today it was more brutal. It arrested even my heart. I replied momma's message with three words: <i>"You are joking."</i> She didn't reply. Eventually I found someone to spell it out for me. The text read: "... the court allowed bail for all." </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the order of events after reading that message. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had just alighted from a matatu. I was crossing Ng'ong road. I stopped in my tracks. Almost got hit by a <i>bodaboda.</i> By the way, there is a reason City Council bylaws forbid us from using our phones while crossing the road. Anyway, I walked back to the pavement, my hand over my now agape mouth. I called my sister: </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me: Have you heard</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Her: Mmmmm.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Choke on tears*</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I hang up</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Instantly, my mind is filled with flashbacks of all the court hearings, his lawyers, the demolition, the utterances made by Macharia's wife, Ngunjiri's family and the numerous time we had been here before and had always been the favored ones. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tears fill up in my eyes. <i>*Sniff*Sniff*</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mental Conversation 1: Get a grip of yourself, you are in public.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Sniff sniff* <Wipes tears></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mental Conversation 2: How could God let this happen? Surely God, you couldn't even let me sit my exams in peace?</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mental Conversation 3: Cross the road. You have class. Go to class. </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Call Maria(my friend)</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me (Hiding from the office watchie behind a tree): * Amidst sobs* Bail was granted! </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Friend: Ati?</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me: Macharia. They all got bail</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Friend: Oooh no! Unacheka?</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me: *Laughs out loud*</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Friend: Uko wapi nikukujie?</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me: Let's meet on *road X*</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I settle down in class. I swear I have never been so absent from any class in my life. EVER! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I stare at the ground the entire class. Thousands of thoughts cross through my mind. I start to whisper prayers to God.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Tears well up in my eyes* </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Sniff*Sniff*</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My deskmate: Are you ok?</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me: Yeah I am fine</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Deskmate: Are you sure, because you are not writing any notes</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me: Oooh. Ooops. I will start writing. I dont start writing</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*<i>More thoughts*</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*More tears well up in my eyes*</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mental Conversation 4: Stop being silly. You are in class and the lecturer can see you are not OK You'll be kicked out of class. Get a grip of yourself or ask to be excused.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I resolve to get a grip of myself.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me: Whispers prayer of Jabez and declares it upon my family. Also Lord, I would really like daddy to walk me and my sister down the aisle. Please keep him out of harms way.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Tears well up in my eyes*</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BLACKOUT</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mental Conversation 5: Thank God!!!! I can go home.. Crap! Cant go home. Maybe I should walk, so that I can never get there. *Sigh*</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bail is a constitutional right in the 2010 Constitution but is there really no exception to the applicability of this right because everyone seems to be getting bail these days. EVERYONE! Don't I, the girl who has been threatened twice, have a right to feel safe in the house I have called home for 21 years? I haven't broken any law, yet it feels like the law selective. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first time I ever looked over my shoulder when going home was the night A.N. was murdered. It has been instinctive for me to do so ever since that day... Now, well... Now, I guess we take each day as it comes.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On related matters: My heart goes out to A.N's family... This must be so much more harder for them. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hopefully, the final verdict of the case shall deliver justice.</span></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-73210322761029955252012-10-30T10:02:00.000+03:002012-10-30T10:14:27.776+03:00TOA SAUTI<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">I seems to be going through a
phase where I actually find myself worrying about Kenya; getting upset
about the things that are happening and should not be happening. Things I will
not repeat because, well, you live in Kenya and even if you have buried your
head six fit under, the problems of this our beloved country are not unknown to
you.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of all the things that make me
worry and get upset about this country, there is only one thing that irks me
beyond belief – the public transport industry in Kenya. I mean, matatu’s have
got to be God’s way of punishing Kenyans. Especially 44 matatu’s! I honestly
believe the drivers were born with no common sense, no reason and no intellect.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometime last week, Safaricom and
a bunch of other organizations launched a campaign called TOA SAUTI! The
campaign is aimed at reducing the number of road accidents happening on our roads by providing a platform for Kenyans to speak up against reckless driving. Statistics show that 8 people die daily in Kenya from road accidents. I
think this year we have lost more than 8 people daily. Anyway, so if 8 people
die daily and we have 365 days a year then what we are saying is 2920 Kenyans
die each year from road accidents. Those are many people. I saw the campaign in
Friday’s paper and skimmed through it. I suspect there must be a number where passengers
are supposed to SMS to alert cops on reckless driving. I never read the
article comprehensively. I wish I did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The story.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Last week, on Friday I get to
town. Board a 44 mat and sit in front with the driver. For your information,
the reason why I MUST sit in front is because it is the only way I will make
sure the punks use the service lane and drop me off at the stage and not in the
middle of the highway, where I have to jump over rails to get home. This is a
lesson I learnt the hard way – after I lost my balance one night attempting to
jump the rails and almost fell on the road and there was an oncoming car. Yes,
I know… Life is hard when dealing with punks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, since it was a bit late, the
mat took some time (about 30 minutes) to fill up. The following is a conversation
between the driver and the guy seated next to me:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Driver (Holding a bottle of water): Boss, nimekaukiwa jo!<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Random guy (Holding a bottle of coke): Pia mimi jo! Ni kubaya leo<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Driver: Uko na <insert a
sheng word> I do not remember what he
said. I don’t speak Greek.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Random guy: Unaona ata yangu (the bottle of soda) haina kitu.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Driver: Hauna <insert sheng word><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Random guy: Sijafungua bado<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Driver: Wacha ni mwage hii maji uni-sort</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Random guy takes out a bottle of
Johnnie Walker (Black Label) from his bag and opens it*</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Conversation with myself: Aaaah!
That sheng word must have been referring to alcohol*</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Driver empties the bottle of
water*</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Random Guy pours Johnnie Walker
into drivers bottle till it’s three-quarter full*</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Driver: Wazi jo! Umeniokoa sana.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Driver drinks it neat till his
bottle is quarter full*</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">WHAT THE HELL????<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me (to random guy): Excuse me, wacha nishuke tafadhali<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Driver (while pointing at his “water” bottle): Madam unadhani nitalewa
na hii?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Me: Ndio.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Me (to random guy a bit irritated now): Excuse me, I need to alight.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>*Random Guy Ignores Me*<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>*I stretch out to open the door for myself*<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>*Driver locks it from central lock*<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Driver: Mrembo, si endeshi hii gari. Nabaki town. Nitaenda ikirudi.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Me: Then you should have no problem with me alighting. Fungua hi mlango
na uwache ujinga! And </i><i>what the hell is wrong with you? You think in thirty
minutes you will be less drunk. FUNGUA MLANGO!</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Me (to random guy): You must be a murderer. Why would you give someone
driving you alcohol?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Random guy: Jaymo!(that is the drivers name), Fungulia huyu mrembo na
wazimu zake ashuke<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Jaymo opens the door and I
alight*</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">* I walk away pissed as hell and
wondering why the hell random guy gave the driver alcohol*</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Conversation with myself: Crap! What if the mat gets an accident and the guys at the back don’t know the driver
is drunk. You should have told the other people that the
driver is on Johnnie Walker<i>*</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i><It remained a thought></i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Maybe I was acting all crazy and dramatic
but I would rather be crazy than be a statistic than be among the 8! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wished I had read the TOA SAUTI
article thoroughly. Taken down the number and made my voice be heard.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of my daily mantras is:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I do not feel obliged to believe that the
same God who endowed us with sense, reason and intellect intended us to forgo
their use ~Gallileo Gallilei~<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I now know that there is an exception to every rule. Even that one.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Read about TOA SAUTI <a href="http://nikonasafaricom.co.ke/">here</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have a safe week. </span></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-13100999143981942082012-10-08T17:21:00.001+03:002012-10-08T17:48:16.251+03:00Of Coffee Tables<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*SMILE*</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He waves at her. E</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">xcitedly</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. To signal where he is seated. He has been waiting for the last ten minutes… He
also smiles because he cannot for the life of him hide his thrill to see her.
He has never been this happy about seeing a girl in his life. It’s a strange
feeling. One he would not trade for anything. It’s a coffee date at the coffee
house down the street from his house. He hopes that this time the location is
strategic enough… You know, just in case the conversation goes down a certain
road… The kind of road that makes her cheeks turn red and makes him shift in
his seat. The kind of road that it went the last time they met, and the time
before that, and the one before that, and the one before that...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*SMILE*</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She walks towards the table
smiling nervously. Hoping he will notice that 1) she is in a dress and 2) that
it is a short dress. She wore jeans on their first date; jeans and a turtle
neck. She loved the company. So on all the other dates, she made a point to
show more skin; a more revealing top today, shorts tomorrow, a skirt the next time... <i><b>Msichana ni effort</b> </i>she was told. She wonders if he
is smiling because he is happy to see her or because it’s polite. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Mental
Shrug* </span><br />
<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It’s <b>JUST</b> a coffee date. He can’t
be that happy to see you – besides you are ten minutes late </i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-------- </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mental conversation Number 1</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">doesn't</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> care if she was ten minutes late or an hour late but she </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">doesn't</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> know it. </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You are lying to yourself you
know, it is not <b>JUST</b> a coffee date------ Mental Conversation Number 2.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>*HUG*</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>*Peck on the left corner of her lips*</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“You look AMAZING!” He whispers in
her left ear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*MENTAL HI5* He noticed *Leprechaun Jump* ---------- Mental
Conversation Number 3.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Thank you. You look good too”
she responds.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*SMILES* </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Conversation! Conversation! Conversation!</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*RED CHEEKS* </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*SHIFTING IN CHAIR*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Conversation! Conversation! Conversation!</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Her cheeks turn red. Maroon even.
He shifts some more in his seat.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Grab her hand and "read her palm" --------- Mental Conversation Number 4<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He leans across the table and
gently reaches for her hand. She does the shifting this time round. He listens
to the voices in his head and starts to read her palm. She surrenders to his
words, (though she knows he is bluffing), to his eyes and to his touch on the
lines on the palm of her hands…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He finishes bluffing. His eyes
meet her now red eyes...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was never<b> JUST</b> a coffee date
but the table between them made sure it just that.</span></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-15516301868124444322012-09-24T16:50:00.000+03:002012-09-26T16:20:17.233+03:001001 Rules for My Unborn Son - Walker Lamond<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">September is definitely a good month wouldn't you say... This is my THIRD post. That is a record this year... Something I am not particularly proud of but then again, no pressure.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today's post is going to be, errmmm, not-original but only because I stumbled upon this site: <a href="http://rulesformyunbornson.tumblr.com/" style="text-align: center;">http://rulesformyunbornson.tumblr.com/</a><span style="text-align: center;"> and the content thrilled me sooo much I just had to share. Now, before I do share: I am explicitly stating that the content that shall appear here is not my original work but it is by Walker Lamond's the author of the book: 1001 <i>Rules for My Unborn Son. </i>Don't want to get slapped with a plagiarism-suit like Caroline Mutoko. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, I am not a mom, not about to become one but I read nearly all 1001 rules and below are a couple of my favourite (in no particular order) </span></span></div>
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hope you enjoy.</span></i></span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nothing good ever happens after 3:00 a.m.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Offer to carry a woman's bags, especially your mother - she carried you for 9 months</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Never spend too much on a haircut. They don't last. :-)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the end, LOYALTY trumps AMBITION every time.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Be a well-informed voter.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Honking your horn won't make them go faster.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Keep your eye on the ball AND follow through; in sports and in life.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Spend time with your cousins. You are more alike than you think.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. You will be done in half the time.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Never be afraid to ask out the best looking girl in the room. You will be surprised how often it works.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Return a borrowed car with a FULL tank of gas.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You only get ONE chance to notice her new haircut.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">IF THE ENEMY IS WITHIN RANGE, SO ARE YOU.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">SUCK IT UP!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you are good at something, never do it for free.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">DO NOT under-estimate your fertility! <i>Hehehe.</i></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes your best bet is to bet on her.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If she asks for your help opening a jar, you better damn well open it. :)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Never under-estimate the power of taking out the trash without being asked... To put this in the Kenyan context: Never under-estimate the power of doing something without being asked.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have a blessed week. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-90310826195877811172012-09-17T16:00:00.001+03:002012-09-24T15:11:58.964+03:00Mirror Mirror...<div style="text-align: left;">
<i style="line-height: 24px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>*Mirror Mirror on the wall, who the hell is that staring back at me?*</b></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">Have you ever
looked in the mirror and been unable to recognize yourself? What do you do when the person staring back in the mirror is
a familiar stranger? When you have an out of body experience? Do you pinch your
elbow? Try to touch your nose with your tongue? Or try to put your fist in your
mouth? How does one snap out of self-surprising moments?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">In the last
couple of months I have managed, quite successfully and effortlessly,
to literally drop my own jaw leave it on the floor and walk away from it… </span><i style="line-height: 150%;">As one of my sisters would say “I forgot to pick up my jaw.”</i><span style="line-height: 150%;"> The
thing about growing up is that you learn to be less </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">judgemental</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> - and to some extent more accommodating - of other people,
of behaviors you would have thought as absurd in the past, of comments made by people.
Growing up for me is teaching me to be less judgemental… Something about taking
a walk in someone’s shoes blah blah blah…. It’s complicated. Standing on the
outside looking in on your own life is complicated. </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">It’s hard. </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">It’s </span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> foreign. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have managed walked
myself into situations which were just plain silly…Utterly silly infact! Then I have found myself,
while offering my friendship to an unexpected person, between a rock and a
hard place. I have found myself going against almost everything I believe in
because sometimes in life you just have to be a friend, to support someone when they
are going through <strike><i>shit</i></strike> a really rough patch; because sometimes all that is required of you is to
shut up and hold someone’s hand. There are times when your opinion does not
matter. These shoes I find myself walking in are not mine. They feel so big and
are quite uncomfortable; yet you would think if they are big, they should be
easy to slip out of; Right? WRONG! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am in the
habit of saying <i>“It’s never that serious”
</i><b>BUT</b> I am beginning to think that
sometimes it is serious. It gets serious when you are incapable of recognizing
yourself or remembering the things you once stood for. It gets serious when you
do silly things in the name of hope; because hope is a treacherous illusion. It
gets serious when you become numb to the very things that define you as a person… <b>When guilt is no
longer your lover, THEN, you know it is serious.</b> <b>When you detach from your
conscience…It is serious.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s been quite
a couple of months. Maybe I will stop making my own jaw drop, maybe I won’t. It’s
never that serious... Hehehe! :-)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the real though, here are a few of my personal lessons and realizations from
the last couple of weeks:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that you never really know
yourself; self surprise is real. Self awareness can be painfully cruel when it creeps up on you</span></i></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that when you break someone’s
heart – whether a friend, lover or family member, and you want forgiveness, you
have to be patient with them and you have to work at it.</span></i></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned to accept that people will do things
differently for the very simple reason that they want different things out of
life from me. It is really that simple.</span></i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>I have learned… I lie…. I am learning, at such a
slow pace, it’s not even funny, that I should manage my expectations of others
people, especially men. </i>:-)</span><span style="font-style: italic; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"> (In my defense, I already learned how to
manage my expectations of women.)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have learned that I have NEVER learned to be
carefully what I wish for or mumble under my breathe as wishes. Sad truth!</span></i></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">That’s about it
for now. I need to go and meet myself... For the </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">umpteenth</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> this year. </span><i style="line-height: 150%;">*ShakingMyHead*</i></span><br />
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On unrelated
matters, I am beginning to honestly believe that this country will be better
off ruled by a woman… Why? Because I honestly believe if this country was being
ruled by a woman the amount of blood that has been shed in TanaRiver and Isiolo
would not have been as much. Simply put: Because I think women are more rational than men. Thing is, I don’t think the right woman has come
out yet, so if you are reading this and you have political ambition, and you
are a woman… <i>Tokelezea!</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">P.s. If you
tried pinching your elbow or putting your fist in your mouth or touching your
nose with your tongue… Judge yourself harshly. :-)</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Blessed week
folks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-20160934027692873792012-09-06T17:38:00.003+03:002012-09-07T10:42:32.605+03:00One Year Later...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's September... Again. I once told a friend of mine that September was my least favourite month of the year. So much used to happen in September... Most of which I cannot remember now but at the time, I just didn't like the month. It was seldom a happy month. The year I told her that, she told me September was her favourite month.... That changed for her the same year. I suppose my bad streak rubbed off on her. I now know for a fact it is her least favourite month.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It therefore came as no surprise when I had a September from hell, literally speaking, last year. I think it is probably the reason I don't remember what ever happened in the years before. In a couple of days - three to be precise - it will be exactly one year since The M. family i.e. us had their own version of 9/11. Read <a href="http://ladyaiyanna.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-911.html">here</a>.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don't even know why I am blogging about this. Here is the thing... For starters, I cannot believe it has been one year - 365 days - since some sic bastard decided we didn't need our home anymore as we had known it for 23 years. Time really does fly. Time is also grossly overrated when it comes to healing wounds and such stuff. I can tell you that for free. You see, there is not a single day - not a single day - that has ever gone by that I don't think about what happened - yes, I know that is messed up on many levels but its the truth - and though my siblings or folks, especially folks, don't say it I know the same thing applies to them.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think about all the planning that went into making sure that our house was demolished. I think about that sic sic bastard who camouflaged himself as a good neighbor, a man I served breakfast numerous times on Sunday mornings, I think about his evil twisted mind. I think about the cops at Kasarani Police Station and I still want to throw up. I think about City Council and Al-Shabaab like thoughts fill my mind... Literally! I think about that sic bastards crazy wife and I shiver. That lady is the equivalent of King Ahab's wife (read 1Kings 21). I think about my momma's tears and my dad's reaction, my brother's words and the look on my sister's face as we resigned ourselves to fate and to the reality that we would sit through the demolition till 1:00 a.m. I think about the overwhelming support we got from friends and some relatives and the words THANK YOU seem inadequate and gifts of appreciation seem somewhat lacking. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But the thought that inevitably comes to my mind when I think about all this is always Anthony Nahashon(A.N.)Ngunjiri. I think about how he was beaten and eventually murdered in cold blood by someone we had once welcomed into our home... And my heart cries for his family, his daughter especially. I think about his daughter. When I think about A.N. Ngunjiri, I find myself asking God time and time again if this was how he was supposed to die... It is said that when God created us, He already knew how we would die... and I wonder if this is how God saw his death the day he created him. Was this really how it was supposed to happen? He died a brutal death, a painful and undeserving death on 21st September 2011.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The thing about the Macharia's is that they thought money is everything and that it could buy freedom and justice. His wife actually once told us that: <b>"</b><i><b>If you think you have money, or you know people, then we will show you just how much money we have and the powerful people we know.If it means we shed blood for this land, then we shall..." </b>True to her words they did it all. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On September 9th 2011, they showed us they had money and contacts of powerful people... I actually still believe there was no one who could help us. But on the day they murdered Ngunjiri in cold blood, on that day they realized money isn't everything and neither are the telephone numbers they had been flaunting in our faces on 9th. I say this because I know for a fact, Mr. Macharia and his puppet brother never thought they would be in jail (remand) for this long... They knew they would pay their way through the justice system. He once appeared in court on a wheelchair to seek sympathy from the judge so that they could get bail... Disgust doesn't even begin to describe what I felt. It didn't work. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But here is the thing, even if it did work - I know deep down that that man, his wife and the nut-heads attached to her hips, his brother, the police at Kasarani(I wish I could name names) and his workers, will never know peace and they will pay for everything they did - especially killing Ngunjiri. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's been a year of court cases, bail applications from their end which would always send us on our knees for prayer, of constant hurtful memories, of painful conversations and flashbacks, of prayers and mostly of seeing God's favor through the justice system in our country. I said in the last post about this whole drama (read <a href="http://ladyaiyanna.blogspot.com/2011/11/conclusion.html">here</a>) that I hope the justice system will restore my patriotism... Well, its not fully restored, but its not as bad as it was one year ago.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">P.s. Justice delayed is not always justice denied. I can tell you that no matter how long it will take to have Macharia convicted for murder, on the day the ruling will be made(God willing), I know I will cry tears of joy because justice will have been done. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I pray this September will be good to me and my folks and siblings.<br /><br />Have a blessed month y'all.</span></div>
Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-45605457867779021212012-08-01T11:14:00.003+03:002012-08-01T11:24:57.410+03:00For Peace Sake....<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">FOR THE SAKE OF PEACE:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I BEG</b> <b>Mzalendo Kibunjia</b> and his team to do their work thoroughly; without fear or favor. It is hypocritical, dangerous even, to bury their heads in the sand when politicians like Jakayo Midiwo and Cyrus Jirongo make inappropriate remarks to the public. I acknowledge that there is a thin line when it comes to "freedom of speech" however, I wish to point out to the NCIC that the daily sessions/baraza's held outside City Hall are on the thin line and it is up to you Mr. Kibunjia, not to arrest or prosecute them, but RED CARD them and their utterances... They probably don't know better - maybe because you haven't done enough civic education on what amounts too hate speech or inflammatory remarks... I'm just saying!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I BEG ODM, specifically Ababu Namwamba</b> <b>& Otieno Kajwang</b>' to STOP misleading Kenyans. To STOP suggesting/demanding for a manual system to be used during the next elections. I beg them to STOP raising eyebrows. The camera never lies and I'm sure if the media dug deep into their archives they would find something on ODM speaking harshly against the same system they now advocate for - especially in the last elections. The Manual System has been used in Kenya ever since independence and as far back as 1988, the system has failed us (except in 2002). It especially failed us in 2007/8. The country burned down because elections were not (seen to be) free and fair... That is why we had 97% & 100% voter turnouts. I get that the two mentioned above (plus many others who aren't mentioned here from both sides of the political divide) do not know how badly the violence affected <i> Wanjiku</i> and in as much as I respect your freedom of speech I am politely requesting that you SHUT THE HELL UP! Let IEBC do their work... ALONE! They MAY need a watchdog but God knows it's not you!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I BEG the IEBC</b> to settle their differences (preferably away from the eye of the media). I beg them to go to great lengths to re-assure Kenyans that the elections WILL (not MIGHT) be FREE & FAIR! Again, preferably not MANUAL! Peace is expensive - and Kenyans get that. So, please... Go to Naivasha like our MPs do when they need to go all bare knuckles on each other - do what you need to do - just make sure you work together for the good (and peace) of this country. As Eugene Wamalwa put it: <i>You must be </i><i> like Caesar's Wife: B</i><i>eyond Reproach! </i> You have two options: To get it right the first time or get it right the first time!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I BEG Uhuru Kenyatta </b>not to run for president. I know it is your democratic right UK but here is the thing: No Kenyan wants an away president - This is of course assuming you will continue to co-operate with ICC. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As Gado rightfully put it...... This is what an "away president" would look like:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfMnyrtsh0sHxZbkvh79qzEJj1jHE59VzEPyKuK5LCByPCYl6gLdOvYVRMpWPwjUQM6Qwk4aMIysb3SGINv57jeKuGY6J1LfajGM4mFnakuoS3fw6J_vzuVrXJubk36k5kjKYzZCTX8c/s1600/Gado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfMnyrtsh0sHxZbkvh79qzEJj1jHE59VzEPyKuK5LCByPCYl6gLdOvYVRMpWPwjUQM6Qwk4aMIysb3SGINv57jeKuGY6J1LfajGM4mFnakuoS3fw6J_vzuVrXJubk36k5kjKYzZCTX8c/s1600/Gado.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the <strike>likely</strike> event that you have a change of heart and decide not to co-operate (read as refuse to go to Hague), Kenya will go to the dogs... Kenyans will be ripped apart by the dogs UK! We will become a pariah state.. We will sanctioned on just about everything and anything. Our economy will suffer and all the gains your mentor has made will be washed down the drain. YOU will become like Bashir - fortunately for you, your mentor has lobbied African states to support Kenya against the ICC... Lucky for you. Unfortunately, Gadaffi is dead and the United States of Africa dream died with him. Catch-22 eh? Investors will pull out - except China, of course. Development will slow down. It is said, there is no peace without development and no development without peace. No brainer what I'm trying to say. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, Mr. UK for the sake of peace, I BEG you not to run for president, withdraw before the court declares you unfit to run - it may just work in your favour... Let the rumours from the political grapevine be true and support Mudavadi NOW. Then, do us a favour and co-operate with the ICC. Miguna Miguna said <i>There is no absolute defence like the truth</i>... IF you really are innocent you will be just fine. Life is not really as unfair as people think.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I BEG</b> <b>the media</b> to step up their game and give politicians who have nothing constructive, wise, sensible or objective to say a black-out. Believe it or not, Kenyans really do not like listening to or reading about politicians and all their political talk. However, IF you must air their stories, do this country - which by the way, you guys also live in - a favour and give us the facts... You know, the ones which politicians always seem to omit - they suffer from selective amnesia you know... Please don't let that bug (of selective amnesia) bite you guys too! You under estimate the power you have to change the destiny of this country.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kenya is messed up BUT it is my country and I want PEACE... Not just after the next elections but FOREVER! We cannot afford to fight again...We just cannot. So, for those people who think it's an option... Go to Syria!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For the sake of peace!!!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-5866428254964765612012-07-10T10:55:00.001+03:002012-07-10T11:05:36.003+03:00Paper Love<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been, for lack of a better word, struggling with writing in the recent past - "Struggling" because, of late, words come to me suddenly and they fail me just as fast. My phone has about ten drafts - ten incomplete drafts; some make sense, others, not so much. So in short, what I am trying to say is that I have been struggling with blogging. But despite my "struggles" this post has been lingering at the back of my head - itching to get out - for a long time now. You see I have a mild case of <b>CDO</b> <i>(in case you're wondering what that is, it's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder- <b>OCD </b>-in alphabetical order) </i>:-) I love order... Heck! I live for order and perfection. Chaos is... just to chaotic for my liking! :)<br /><br />In the midst of my struggle I found myself wondering why failure to post something every so often actually gives me sleepless nights... So, to cheat myself into sleeping, I began to write<b> <i style="text-decoration: line-through;">lame ass</i></b> poetry... Then I thought about deleting this blog all together... But that seemed far too <span style="background-color: white;">DRAMATIC & </span><span style="background-color: white;">UNCALLED FOR... And here I am... This post is a desperate call to myself for myself... </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I blog because writing means the world to me... My fingers are the most treasured part of my body.... and my mind and my heart. They are my writing. When I write I am in my element... I am drowned by my thoughts, by my emotions and by my words... My words are my release. Its kinda like farting after being bloated for hours... Not that I would know :p </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">I write because; </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><i>My words liberate me (Fungua Roho Yako...Ongea------> True Story)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><i>I often need to communicate things that I cannot otherwise say out aloud.. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Word play is waaay more fun on paper</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Written words, unlike spoken words, can be taken back (read as deleted and/or edited)</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: white;">Writing is escapism for me</i>
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">My words are a fusion of my mind and my heart... and,</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes, I use my words as a silent cry for help...</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But most importantly: </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">I write because </span><span style="background-color: white;">PAPER HAS MORE PATIENCE THAN MOST PEOPLE; b</span><span style="background-color: white;">ecause paper will never tire to hear me out or get lost in my words... </span></i><i style="background-color: white;">And because paper has more patience than people, I will continue to struggle with blogging/writing until I can struggle no more....</i></span></div>Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-41349611303733515262012-06-25T23:25:00.002+03:002012-06-25T23:27:03.836+03:00Lost<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>“...Has two brains; one is lost and the other is out looking for it..."</b></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>~Anon~</b></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I get lost in my own thoughts,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I get lost in my own dreams; confused senseless dreams,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I get lost in my own feelings; happiness, sadness, sorrow, peace, joy...</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I get lost... </i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>In thoughts of you,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>In confused, senseless dreams of you,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>In my meaningless feelings for you,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I get lost...</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In a rush of emotions,</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In a skipped heartbeat,</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In my racing heart,</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In my incoherence,</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In my fingers playing with my hair and</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In my foot drawing maps; Africa to be precise and all her 54 babies,</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My eyes tell of this story,</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The story of how I loose myself in......</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>*MY GUILTY PLEASURE* </b></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">**********THE END**********</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">P.s. The silence is broken Madam Dama :) :*</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-87138222940233281212012-05-15T20:23:00.001+03:002012-05-15T20:23:13.240+03:00In His Likeness<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
Growing up, I was always told that man was created in the likeness (image if you please) of God. That hardly made any sense to me back then. My little mind thought that God looked like all of us. A section of his nose looked like mine, the other like Obama's, the other like Oprah... e.t.c. However, that made sense to me on today. As I spent the afternoon with my mom, I had an epiphany that truly, this is what God must be like. I also thought that this would make for a good post. Celebrating momma.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
But, I was thinking about this post, I had a different mind not to put it for one simple reason. A friend recently lost his mom, and as I crafted this post mentally, I could not help but think how cruel life can sometimes be... To have the world, well at least 74 countries, celebrating mothers at a time when his mom had just passed away........ *Sigh* It's very sad. I had a good mind not to put this up but I remembered that if there is anything the cruel hand of death has taught me is that wisdom is saying the things that matter, like <b><i>I love you</i></b>, to people in your life when they are still alive and so, I intend to give momma a copy of this post. I digress.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
I spent the evening with momma watching reruns of our favorite local show - MALI - and gossiping about my siblings i.e. wondering to each other why in heavens name they are not getting married already! Geez! <b>*HINT*HINT* </b></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
My mother was created in the likeness of God. My mental view of God is that He is BIG. He is not black or white. He has a BEAUTIFUL smile and when He laughs, it is a HEARTY laugh; one that fills the world with joy and makes the hearts of angels warm and glad. In my head, He is a really really good FRIEND and He cares deeply about His own. He is SMART - genius smart - and also very very wise; when He speaks, the words that stem from his mouth and mind-blowing (if you are in doubt His wisdom, read the Bible). To me, God doesn't pry into our lives - when something is wrong, He knows, because He is God and I suppose that He too, like momma, has a strong sixth sense. </div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
In my head, God is BEAUTIFUL... Yes, Beautiful. He spends a lot of time thinking about His children; wondering WHY they behave the way they do. He has a strict face - a serious face, but one that is gentle and warm. He has a sense of humor and is thrilled by sarcasm. He is KIND and when He gets angry, He takes time to cool off and calm down - become rational. I think He is an encourager (again, if in doubt, read the Bible) and is ever helpful. He is super-duper loving - I mean, nothing in this whole wide world can compare to His love. Its literally overwhelming. He wants nothing but the best for His children and for people He loves.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
That is my mental image of God... and today, sitting with momma, I could not help but tear at how much she was created in His likeness... Because she is all that I have described and more. She is my friend, beautiful, smart, wise, kind, sarcastic, funny, strict -with a touch of gentleness..... She is His image, His likeness and I thank God deeply for sending me the best version of Himself. For blessing me with the BEST version of Himself in my life. </div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<b>Mrs. J.M. Mathenge: I love you! :-) :-*</b></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
P.s. Whereas this realization melted my heart, the fondest memory of today was my grandma calling momma just to wish her a Happy Mother's Day... Sweetest thing ever! I hope momma took notes and will call me when I am old and grey with little brats like myself around. Most importantly, I hope the apple didn't fall far from the tree, because if I become half the women momma and her mom (my grandma) are, then I know I will have been truly blessed by the Almighty and I will be the BEST likeness of God to my children.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! :)</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
P.s. Read Proverbs 31: 10-31</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
NB: I wrote this on Sunday, but had not internet, hence the delayed posting. </div>Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-1224078260620578742012-04-25T16:49:00.002+03:002012-04-25T16:49:49.038+03:00Justice Delayed...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I was younger, much much younger, about 8 or 9 years old, my dad and uncle started a newspaper - <i>"STAR".</i> It was a newspaper termed as gutter press by the then Moi regime for the simple reason that the paper was anti-state, anti-government. It would only be a matter of time before the government caught up with them. I remember I was home for the holidays when cartons of paper, cartridges and plates used for printing were brought to our house. My momma called home and told us not to let anyone into our compound or house that day. I was too young to understand it then... You see, as was the trend back then, people who spoke against the government were detained. But I was too young to understand. I learned later that night while watching news that my dad had been arrested and detained at Kasarani Police Station... I'm now glad it wasn't Nyayo House.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He wasn't at Kasarani for long. I went to visit him once. I remember it took long for him to come out and when he did he had a huge smile on his face, similar to the one he wore when I saw him on television the night I learned he had been arrested. Smiling as though nothing had happened. As if he was home... I smiled back, probably because, I was too young to understand. With the innocence of a child, his last born girl, I asked him where he sleeps... On the floor, he responded. - on the mattress momma brought me. I asked him how they shower... With cold water! I was more sorry that he showered with cold water than the fact that he slept on the floor. We had made him breakfast, my sister and I. Toasted egg and tomato sandwich... I don't remember if he ate it.. I didn't care if he did because at that moment: My dad was a HERO! The greatest HERO in this world. He came home a few days later. The <i>"STAR" </i>continued to be published, but not for much longer. I was too young to understand the injustices at the time.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In my post "The Conclusion", I mentioned in passing that lawyer, A.N. Ngunjiri had been murdered in Mr. Joseph Macharia's compound, after he had been beaten into a pulp. Three gunshots emanated from his compound - which led us to conclude that A.N. Ngunjiri had been shot three times.We've been in court... Hence this post "Of fears and love." The case was near conclusion, or so I thought until we resumed and were informed that we have to start all over again... START!!!! I must have zoned out when noticed shit was just about to hit the fan... Why is still a mystery to me. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is the thing, I was too young to understand that it was an injustice for my dad to be arrested for exercising his freedom of expression. I was too young to understand what an injustice is... I am not too young now to smell injustice from miles a way! I never really understood the statement "Justice Delayed is Justice Denied"... Until today! I wonder if the judiciary is aware that cases are not like pens to be shared or moved from one judge to another... Here is my take on it: Cases being moved from one judge to another is like playing broken telephone... At some point, the message, and in this case, the truth will get distorted... and the innocent suffer when justice is delayed.. They are denied justice.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A man's life was cut short by some greedy bastards for crying out loud... That man was working FOR the state! How can the loved ones of this man be failed by the same state through delayed justice????</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I wish the justice system in Kenya would work!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As what is left of my patriotic juices fade away.... I pray for the family of A.N. Ngunjiri and pray that justice prevails and God's favor be with them... be with us through this entire time.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">*Sigh*</span></div>Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254160436730061191.post-24175555647274184442012-04-16T13:56:00.000+03:002012-04-16T13:56:01.790+03:00How Do I Love Thee - Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth B. Barrowing<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Poetry by Elizabeth B. Barrowing gets me... This Sonnet is amazing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am not sufficiently inspired to write this week hence this post. Enjoy it :)</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>How do I love thee? Let me count the ways;</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I love thee to the depth and breadth and height</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>For the ends of being and ideal grace</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I love thee to the level of every day's</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Most quiet need, by sun and candle light</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I love thee freely, as men strive for right</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I love thee purely as they turn from praise</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I love thee with the passion put to use</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>In my old griefs, and with my childhood faith</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I love thee with a love seemed to lose,</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>With my lost saints</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life;</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>And, if God chooses, I shall but love thee better after death!</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">P.s. Are you thinking Valentine's came late for me? Yes? Me too! :))</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Blessed and LOVEly week. :-)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">xoxo</span></div>Lady Aiyannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04038480475252620934noreply@blogger.com0