HOW I HATE Passwords!!!

I want to know.
What drives you?

Its been forever since I blogged, but hey, who is complaining, here is something i found a LOOOONg time ago, its time it went up.
Hellooo World!!!
Greetings from beautiful and wonderful Kenya.
It has been a century since this old dragon found quilt and ink and remembered how to write. Well, thanks to a little get away trip into the city for a meeting. I found a quiet and wonderful hide away (a Baptist guest house- tucked away in a nice residential). Its practically a fully furnished and spacious apartment that costs half the price of a small room in the Methodist guest house. (I think am still dreaming, the deal is too good to be true).
Well I will not keep you guessing on where and what I have been doing?
Having decided to move into charity work from the corporate world I continue learning new things and frankly speaking am much HAPPIER  there I said it , no targets, no cut-throat competition or upset clients. Instead, I keep on wishing my days could be Longer and I had the ability to solve the many problems I come across everyday.
Oops I forgot to mention that I am working as a community educator and development consultant for a private foundation (www.kananamubichifoundation.org).

So in the last 6 months I have gone from an I.T. sales consultant (for Dell) to a jack of all trade. I have written a script for a Christmas play, been a peer counselor for the youth, collected food and clothes for the poor, raised money to build classrooms, put concrete floors in classrooms, learnt sign language, set up a community library (still working on it), put in new flower gardens, baby sat puppies, goats, calves, learnt how to cud (comb) wool, spin wool and make rugs. I think you get the picture now.

So in truth I don’t know who to blame for being a lazy blogger. I know you are sitting there saying, “boy it would be real fun to read on stuff like this as it is happening”
Well, let me give you my many excuses then you can decide if I get off the hook or not.
I work from 7am to 2am sometimes and it can be on any kind of project and most of my work is physical so I am exhausted by night fall. Unlike the US, it takes you 10 times more energy and patience to get stuff done. There is a lot of physical work and everything is slower. People do one task at a time, Multi-tasking is a foreign concept. I sometimes have to explain the same thing 3 times if not everyday. I have learnt that many don’t know how to work without supervision (which drives me crazy- whoever said I like babysitting people to do their work) Which drives me to another point, I have developed a theory that “Leaders, managers, teachers, parents (in short all in leadership positions) in Kenya don’t either comprehend the true meaning of empowerment or intentionally don’t delegate or educate fully so they can retain power”. Someone needs to test this theory and tell me.

Lessons learnt and things to think about
• What does it mean to be POOR? Did you know that even the poorest of the poor have something to give in return. When we were collecting food and clothes we walked though neighborhoods that looked really sorry in our eyes. I remember one home in particular, there was a grandmother with 6 grandkids who were between 2 and 7 yrs. The kids were wearing old and ragged clothes. One of the youth guys I was with quietly said, I think we better get out of here, these are the people who need our food and clothes, I encouraged them to carry out their mission and to our surprice, not only did the old lady know me and the work I was doing but went into her store and brought us about 4 lbs of beans. She asked us to walk down further and see if her sister was in and get her Christmas donation, well we did half hearted, we were feeling like we were pushing it. Well we did find the sister who asked us to wait a little and she went into her one bedroom house and pulled out the cutest looking pink blouse you have ever seen. It looked very new and we suspected she might have worn it just a couple of times. Last week, I picked a group of kids from a children’s home to go out on a home visit. This time we were going to take food and clothes to a family one of them had identified as being needy (As a mentor and educator- I preach active participation). We walked for almost an hour through so many hills and valleys that I lost count. Just when we thought it could not get any worse, we had another steep and dusty hill to go down and to top it all, go through a coffee plantation. As we continued sliding down this hill we came around a little shack in the middle of “no-where”. This was our host. There outside the little wooden structure was a man passed out by the door from a local brew (alcohol) while inside was a mother with two little girls visiting with her sister who had come to visit. We presented them with our gifts and were quickly blessed with an awesome prayer. On the way out, the lady asked us to wait for a minute and she returned with a bag full of mangoes. What a blessing.

The Optimist Hits the Road
The end of yet another interesting chapter in my life is coming to an end while the next one slowly unfolds. I must admit I am more curious than ever to find out where this new road leads. I do have mixed feelings and fears but I know that I am not alone, though I walk a new and challenging road, I have friends and family cheering me on.
For those of you who have watched me "crawl" and now walk thank you for your never ending support.
I know now that it is true that;
- we meet and make friends for a season, a reason or a lifetime and
I think I have understood only but a third of what Aristotle meant when he said, "Let him who would change the world move himself first"

New beginning/ Fantasy

I have always been amazed by the hype and enthusiasm that surrounds the coming of a new year. What makes it sooooo special, simply put we have gone through 12 months, 365 days if not 364.
My Question; "What are you excited over?"

• Is it the joy of seeing a year that was full of doubts, questions and uncertainties come to past;
• is it the joy of seeing a year that has been so successful end well;
• or is it a time of closing a door to ones chapter in life?

I am not big on new year resolutions since I proved as a teenager to break them all within the first one month. However, I have learnt over the many "new years" that the best resolutions are hidden within our dreams and the true conquests are those who dare to explore their dreams.

One of my family's tradition as the year came to an end has been to paint, yes put a fresh coat of paint on all our business premises. Those who have served the family know that everyone must come back on Dec.31st in their old jeans to paint the premises and toast off the new year with a traditional cup of Chai. On asking my father why we always had to do this, he always told us that we should start the year on a clean slate.

We may not be able to rewind or put a fresh coat of paint in our lives to cover the things we didn't like in the previous year but we should remember that we still have "empty walls" that wait for new paint. Least you forget, it takes too much energy and paint to fix a "black wall" (and who said the new coat doesn't stand a chance of pealing off?).

Whether you are a faithful follower of new year resolutions or a renegade like me, I think we should all remember that every new day is as good as a new year. Happiness (in my opinion) is in knowing where you've come from and following your dream, vision or heart into the unknown with optimism, however;

trend carefully and gracefully!

The best dishes are best served cold!

Funny how we take so much in life for granted. Many times I wonder if I am the only one who forgets to look back and appreciate all that is around me, that has been laid out and freely given. Ever sat and sworn to yourself that you would get something done and hours later on you are no where close to get started? Or better yet have you ever left something pending on your work tray and said to yourself you would take care of it come Monday. Ever ask yourself what you would do if you never got there on Monday? Well, I know the answers to all these question, better yet, I know that you live each moment to your fullest because you never know what is going to happen to you (and I know you know it too, just don't ask me why I forget to practice it!). So what happened this weekend? Well lets see, the grins stole my voice but not my spirit! I am still dangerous, tried and tested. However, I have learnt to appreciate my voice more. Talk about a surprise birthday present, I have spent almost 4 days whispering and boy, its been "fun" life is normal till I find myself having to answer a telephone call or talk to someone. What's frustrating, the fact that I can not carry out a conversation, wow I love to talk. So as my good friend would ask me "what have I learnt"? Well, the greatest virtual of them all, Patience. I have learnt not to get frustrated when someone doesn't hear or understand me. That people are always willing to listen if you give them the chance; that those who think they are never given a chance need to take a step back and evaluate their handicap. Bottom line; life is not about how high you jump its that you make the effort.

Come on, don't wait for chilled sushi, Be a kitten

EGYPT
Ever notice that Egypt is at the tip of everyone's tongue. Why do all the good and bad things happen in Egypt. The mystery of human civilization, the exquisite pyramids, desert and history. Egypt plays such a significant role in the bible. I am no theologian but if you have been to church you will understand what I am talking about. Jesus' parents ran to Egypt for their safety, Moses grew up in Egypt as a "prince" and turned to be the deliverer of the Israelites, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers to Egypt and became a governor who saved the people from famine.
Ever watched the "Mummy" or "Mummy returns" if not, make a point. I am curious and mystified by this land and yet amazed by how easily its used in analogies, why do we say, "am parked or live way out in Egypt" and not the north pole? What is it about this country or am I the only one who finds it mystic. I told a girlfriend of mine that if asked to describe Egypt in one word, I would say "Woman".