Memories of my 2012

Adios 2012, your memories will last forever

New Year

I am not sure whether I should outline my 2012 happenings chronologically or start with the positives and end with the not so good events, or vice versa. When I was young, not like I am very old now, we used to go herding in the forest with fellow village boys and carried sugarcanes with us to see the long day away sweetly and sometimes use the long canes as herd sticks; boys will be boys! But not the entire sugarcane is sweet, therefore, we used start with the upper side that is not as sweet and end with the root side that has all the sugariness concentration. I am tempted to follow that; start with the negatives as I tend to the positive but the former sounds better.

It is January 1^st 2012, 0000 hrs. I was woken up by the screams, ululations and all kind of horrible noises from drunkards who had reserved their last sobriety to welcome the New Year. There were cheers using bottles of alcohol of all manners and names. I joined in but was so paralyzed I broke mine splashing everyone around with its content. But it was jubilation, “ancestors have blessed your year”, one boozer shouted. There was Nyam Chom on the table; we feasted like it was the last for the whole New Year. The next minute I was being woken up by my friends. It was time to go home just before dawn caught us in the club (the morning light is believed to multiply the intoxication). One of my pals boarded a matatu to the opposite direction. He refused to tell us when he returned and how far he went.  I don’t remember who paid my fare home; all I remember is giving someone my room key to open the door for me. I then slept for more than 30 hours waking up on 2^nd January around 6.00PM with deadly pangs of hunger. I stayed for 8 good months without touching that thing again.

Love

Valentine’s Day, February 14^th. I am very single, lonely but trying. I wasn’t sure whether this lady was into me as I was into her. Talk of receiving mixed signals. But I had to try my luck, I suggested lunch out together. Not taking NO for an answer, I tried dinner but the same “polite” answer came. I was so frustrated. I had not paid rent and it was mid-month, reserving the cash for the day, talk of having priorities right! I went and paid the rent, the fine consumed the last penny I had. That night I slept hungry, wishing the red roses were sukumawiki. The next day I trekked to campus for lack of bus fare, to sit for a CAT I had not revised for! But I had my pockets and wallet full of lessons! There are no mistakes in life, only lessons..

March 24^th, it was a Saturday. This is one day I will never forget. I had not given up on my dream, and I was not about to. Not in the near future. She came visiting, and like any wise “gentleman” would do I took the opportunity. Yes, they say it doesn’t knock twice. But I had to be sure that I wasn’t engaging in a battle of guns armed with sticks; or merely chasing the wind. There is nothing that humiliates me more than rejection, that’s one of my weaknesses. I wasn’t prepared to undergo one at this point, so like an astrologist, I had read the signs. I was almost certain, almost. You know, with ladies you are never fully certain.

When the right time came, that time when I had gathered enough courage, when adrenaline was at its pinnacle, when I knew it would take me 4 miles away running non-stop at 50KPH if I was to be rejected….. I asked! There was a moment of silence, I cannot recall what was happening or what was going through my mind. But the answer I was waiting for came! Thanks Heavens, my heart almost stopped after skipping several beats, my hands were shaking, thanks Lord I didn’t have the glass of juice in my hands, my eyes started sweating (men don’t cry). I was lost of words. All I remember is a big hug that lasted more than 10 minutes and later a kiss that sent paralyzing chills down my spine, formed a chain that bound our hearts synchronizing our heart beats. We were one. It was the beginning of a new life. Nothing I had ever imagined before. Power of love. Thanks Lilian my sweetheart. I love you, I cherish you, always and forever.

Caught of guard

April came knocking, it’s all over the news. They had discovered oil exactly where KICC stands and gold at parliament buildings! Kenya is gonna achieve its vision 2030 by 2017, I whispered to myself. But why at parliament buildings? We have vultures there. But we got the power come next General Election, I assured myself. Then comes twitter, RT “Safaricom shops are selling all iPhones and laptops at only 1000 shillings”. I had 850 shillings. I had to borrow 200 shillings somewhere, anywhere. 150 to make the required 1k, and 50 for fare from KU to town. I didn’t care about fare back, I would walk. But again there was my final year project to defend the same day. What a day full of turns and twists this was. Then from nowhere it hits me it was April 1^st, fool’s day! 

8-4-4 = 0

April 21, I finished my final bachelor’s degree exam paper. 8-4-4 system was over, mathematically I had 0 zero of the system now. It was around 10.00am, I had an interview at 10.30am at Purshottam Place, Westlands road. It could not take me less than one hour to Museum Hills, it wasn’t possible with the Thika road construction underway and the long walk between KU Engineering Building to the gate, a stretch that takes an average of 30 minutes. But all in all I decided to present myself, it is better late than never. I SMSed the interviewer telling her that I would be a little bit late, and the valid reasons. I arrived at 12.05PM, the interview started immediately, I was still panting, had no time to compose myself. The interview was the toughest I had ever been to. I left the place regretting why I had wasted my time and fare. Nkt!

Tarmacking Cut Short

April 23, I am gazing at my phone, waiting for an MPESA message, a friend was to settle some debt he owned me. I would then take some soft loan from another friend add it up to get transport to shagz. It was one year and one month, I had not been home for that entire period. I was packing a few clothes to see me the entire period I would be at home, I had planned to be in the countryside for one and a half month. The phone rung. A new number. It was the Westlands Company, I had been picked and was required to go sign the contract and start work on 1^st of May. What a surprise! It was my first formal job.

Healed

June 8, I wake up with a very bad flu and promise myself that I will find time during the day and visit a clinic. I took a shower as usual in preparations for another day at work. I was getting tired so quickly. After dressing I had to take a rest, my breathing was heavy. I tried to take breakfast but I simply couldn’t. I started sweating, my chest was now paining, and breathing became more and more difficult. I decided to go to hospital first. My chest was almost exploding by the time I was doing the last step of the staircase from my room in first floor. Breathing was so much a task that one breath took almost 30 seconds. I remember saying a short prayer, “Lord, please do not take me away now”. It took me around 45 minutes to walk a distance of about 500 meters to Kahawa Wendani Hospital. I took about 5 rests, one at a shoe-shiner’s stand, who oblivious of my situation went ahead to polish my already shining shoes. I didn’t have the strength to explain to him my problem, I couldn’t utter a word. My mouth was entirely for breathing alone, so I slowly walked away when he was just about to start working on the second shoe. He did not utter a word, whatever went through his mind, I couldn’t guess at that time.

I reached the hospital, extremely exhausted, pale, and sweating profusely; I was emergency look alike by now, the true definition of emergency could be read in my whole body. I couldn’t talk, the nurses sensed it and I was immediately rushed to casualty room where they removed my jacket, shoes and belt. Some very cold mask was put over my nose, I later learned it is called a respirator. Both my arms were injected, I was then put into drip, that bottle that is hang upside down with a pipe and a syringe at the end that is inserted into a patient’s blood vessel somewhere on the wrist.  This was the scariest part of my life, I thought these were my last moments. But our God is a God of second chances. I left the hospital 7 hours later accompanied by my friends. God bless them.

June 10, after church service I pass through the hospital to have my last prescribed injection. The Television set at the receptionist has BREAKING NEWS in bold! A helicopter has crashed in Kibiko Forest Ngong. Professor George Saitoti, Joshua Orwa Ojedeh and five others are feared dead. Oh God! What a tragedy, what a loss to the entire nation. God rest their souls in eternal peace.

Graduation

December 14, 33^rd KU Graduation. I am among the graduands. A happy moment indeed, for me, my family, my friends and the entire village. A time that one of my dreams was coming true. I wish one of my primary school teachers who had one day told me that I would never see the door of a university leave alone enter was here to see me prove him wrong. In my village very few people have gone through campus. I had all reasons to be proud of myself. From a nursery school kid who was always very happy to be position 31 out of 31 when every end term results were read, thinking that since 31 was the largest number then I was the best student, but wondered why the prizes went to those with the least; position 1,2 and 3. I thought maybe this was to encourage them to gain more positions like me.

Thanks be to God, my loving family, friends and HELB for seeing me through campus. And Google, Wikipedia…without them, research would have been very hard. 

Toa Sauti

December 22, along Nairobi-Sagana road. We are taking one of my boys to his in laws “kumenya mucii” to declare interest in their daughter. We are late, we are told that there is usually some fines for such faults like keeping the in laws waiting for long. The dowry can be very high. He is driving, we are trying to beat time, the Toyota Wish is making it at 120-140KPH. We are at Kenol Town in a record 30 minutes from Nairobi. The dual carriage ends and we enter the two way Nyeri road. Gibu is warned by his fiancée to slow down a bit, there was a motorcycle ahead (these guys are always crazy). The next minute I feel the car swerve once, twice, the third time Boom!! We were off the road, in a ditch, beating shrubs at a flying speed, missed an acacia tree by inches, and then came to a stop after almost 300 meters along the ditch. God had saved us. We had cheated death. Nobody was talking, crowd had started gathering. Cate the only lady in the vehicle; whom we were going to visit her parents in Embu was seated at the front. No one was speaking or moving, she couldn’t open her eyes, she thought we were all dead and she was the only survivor. But amazingly, we were all unhurt. Glory be to God. The Lord will protect you from all evil, Psalms 121:7. No one would have thought the vehicle would move again, the front bumper was nowhere to be seen, headlights, side mirrors were all broken, and one wheel was flat and the rim was about 10 inches submerged in the mud. Within 3 hours we were in the same vehicle, passing the scene, headed to Embu to see the in laws but at a very cautious speed.

X-Mas in Nairobi

Christmas, I can’t travel home to join my loved ones because I will be working over the festivity period, but will make it up to them and myself in the near future. In Kiambu County with my usual suspects, making merry, celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, like it’s the birthday of one of us. Eating till the stomachs couldn’t take any more. Dancing the night away. Boxing Day, waking up at 12.00, maybe to avoid a punch on the face from those who take the day literally, feasting on the leftovers.

What a year this has been. With so many ups and downs, so many mistakes made and hopefully many lessons learned from them. Called so many names, including headless chicken, but that did not alter me from the path towards what I believed was right. So many dreams, few achieved and many more in the pipe. I will chase them till I catch up with them!

It’s a year I had high hopes from college, like everyone does. But life out here jerked me to reality, a rude shock. I had a dream to be driving by end of this year, but I was still living in a single room, where if I wanted to turn I had to leave the room first, turn and come back in the new position. At least I am enjoying my new place, where visitors don’t have to see my bed without a valid reason. I wanted to vie for county assembly representative in my village, but logistics could not work out. I wanted to open a business, my plans hit a snag in the last minutes. I thought I had completed my studies and it was time to get that 6 figure dream job, but a degree is like a driving license nowadays, I need to go back to class. I failed, failure is just but success turned inside out. I am ready to fail again till I figure it out and hit all my dreams. I am not giving up. Never!!

31^st December, it is the last day of the year. I want to make a summary of the eventful memories of the year 2012. I sit on my bed, I pour out all I could remember, that ends up in this blog. I thank the Lord for bringing me this far, and thank Him more for the further He is taking me. May His name always be glorified!!

AMEN!!