Friday, May 30, 2008

I want to be busy now!

I like being busy. I like being involved.I..I...I...
Today I read this:
" 'The press of busyness is like a charm....it reaches out seeking always to lay hold of ever younger victims so that childhood or youth are scarcely allowed the quiet and the retirement in which the eternal may unfold a divine growth.' The truth is as much as we complain about it we are drawn to hurry . It makes us feel important . It keeps the adrenalin pumping. It means we don't have to look too closely at the heart or life. It keeps us from feeling our loneliness."

So now thoughts about that as well as thoughts on being a productive member of society and leading a fulfilled life are mish-mashing in my head

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

black cotton!

I have a new hairstyle!and its soooo not me.Its all funky afro diva-ish. Hence the title of my post.Black cotton!Although I like the sound of that title; It would have been my title regardless of whether I was or was not rocking this gadget on my head.Yesterday I happened on a random clip of Beyonce and they were talking about her alter ego Sasha (MPD anyone?). In keeping with my new hair, it may be appropriate to have an alter ego. I would probably name her after some 70s character, nothing like sasha, that just sounds Russian. Russians are great people I think, but its not often that they inspire 70s flava. I think I might have enjoyed living in the 70s- flower child meets funky diva meets Christian...how would that work out;)
Anyway!it has been a most exciting, most frustrating week. Finished my final exams. Encountered the slew of emotions that come with finishing what seems to be such a big part of my life...sadness, fear, elation, freedom...etc. I'm trying to see what I should do with myself, which is not panning out as smoothly as I would like.
In other news, my toothbrushes just don't seem to last! Whats wrong with the stuff they're making nowadays!If I was the afro-funky-diva-queen that my hairstyle portends me to be , I would write to OralB and ask them for a refund. They say you should change your toothbrush every 3 months. Lakini mine look like fluff after 4 weeks! What am I doing wrong?Technique?After this we have to make sure that the teeth are in tip-top condition.
Yesterday I came to a realization, nothing to do with teeth...I suck at dating. In fact I think there's something genetically ingrained(note the emphasis) in my being that is opposed to the whole 2 people sitting on a table asking gentle probing questions to find out where ones interests lie, over icecream or tea or cake . It just makes me tense! i. e unless we're already friends. I'm at ease with my friends, we can talk anywhere! But there's something about prescribed dating that just rubs me the wrong way.It doesn't feel natural. But then there are not many alternatives in the way of two people getting to know one another are there?Especially as you enter the world of work. My ideal date would therefore have to be something similar to a team building project errrm...or something.
I'm a slow burner,bloomer, relationship builder...call it what you may,so give me a break.Maybe I just need to be more comfortable than most around a guy before anything else. Otherwise I'm just awkward. Anyway, on Monday I accidentally ended up on a date...ayayaya!disaster!In that respect I echo my friends sentiments...I should come with a disclaimer...mssch.
Moving on swiftly, I haven't put up a picture in a while after making all those claims in my artsy post. So here is a random abstracty one...A lollipop to anyone who can guess what it is.Shouldn't be too hard, I'm not especially skilled at the whole abstract business.It was inspired by Kibera.
Oh a few reminders: Pray for Africa, especially those places that have been bumped out of the news, I'm not saying forget about SA , pray for them too. Pray for your friends too. It makes a difference.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Just-A-Band....

Just-A-Band ...If you haven't already , then you surely need to check out these guys. Amazing stuff! Kenyans doing their thing!
http://www.just-a-band.com
http://www.just-a-band.com/blog/index.php

They've just come out with an album called Scratch to Reveal ,as you'll see on their site and blog. Buy it, buy it, buy it!
Here is a sample of their work. Enjoy!




Iwinyo Piny-Just-A-Band


Lalalala -Manjeru Produced by Just-A-Band



Fly-Just-A-Band

Maisha-Mena (Remix) Produced by Just-A-Bnad

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Today at church the speaker spoke of a trip she made to the Sinai peninsula last year. Their guide was a man called Howard. 'Oward (as he was known) is a Bedouin. Interesting.How many Bedouins are there ,out there , called Howard? He may have changed his name for their benefit though, for ease of pronunciation(or whatever). In fact quite a large number of Chinese people adopt English names on arrival in Britain, which at first I thought was weird...but thats a post for another day.
So 'Oward it was.
'Oward knew the desert not only like the back of his hand, but like a hungry mono in a kitchen after 3 months of playing beast of burden. (Mono=usually male, Kenyan, Form1 student)
He carried with him a kettle. Just a kettle, no prayer mat, no book of wise sayings, no insence , no trusty goat or stallion. As far as I know, the kettle is all that went with him as he led these people across the space.I could not help but draw on a little African romanticism as I thought of what life was like for 'Oward

...Bedouin, flowing robe, trudging in the distance, his gait strong and sure , the sands rise and fall, cover- uncover his being..here one minute gone the next ...

About a month ago I watched a program basically about a guy who was traveling within the middle east, mostly Israel, sampling their cuisine. He also got to do a little reporting: checked out the orthodox Jews , the eastern European influences, the metropolis of Tel Aviv and the urbane who felt zero for kosher lifestyles ,the Muslim quarter, up and down to hinterlands and remote areas, to rural kibbutz's ,to people suffering the Israeli occupation or the zeal of fundamentalists....and so on it went. At some point in their filming they end up at a Bedouin household.These Bedouins owned a Datsun.
'Oward used his kettle to make infusions of certain weeds he found along the way.
Bearded Bedouin with a kettle.
I'm going to try and make that into a slogan someday.

In other news, whats with being chunky in all the wrong places...hmph!
And in even more threateningly profound news,is the question of love: how to give it, how to receive it? Theres great joy in opening up our lives to others.I know this, I know this.Yet...I tend to have a few issues in this department. Issues that generally grate against my desire to love or be loved. I've got big lessons to learn...but I know where I want to end up:)
on a similar but different note:Im getting the love munchies again...I should probably stay away from Romcom's for a while.