The day i solved a conflict

B n G wouldnt see eye to eye. This had been building over the past 6months ... suspicion.. each of them trying to win the heart of the team. This day , i said to myself... i had to make us come together and we solve the problem like men. 1st we started by giving our opinions on the situations...each was given his turn. Then came the accusations betwn B and G.

To B.. G was simply trying to compete with him. To G ... B was being too authoritarian .. someone from mars. I couldn't appear to take sides, i accused both of them and sat back. Me and SpO laughed through the whole session.

Good enough by the end of this 5 hour heated session, we all agreed on something...

A manual on how "not" to sleep for a few nights

It all started when we missed the 8pm bus. Alas ! the groom was the late one... i was only an escort waiting early at the bus stage. We waited around town , had a soda and food at ponnus. there was a small scuffle with a passenger who had apparently come from juba in this same bus..... i had taken his sit.. At 1am the red kla coach set off for nai. The last memory i have before we got to the border is of red p ofc. We had a stop in nkru for refreshments and headed 2 nai. At 1pm we got out of the bus and had lunch.The bride came around , we met her bigger sister to took us to a hotel just around the rowdy streets. due to rampant theft, security was tight , we were advised not to leave a single valuable in the room when we left. Late that evening after a little rest, we set out to look for coastal dishes. We went around town to arrive at a place that was just in the backyard of our hotel... It was a period of fasting for the mo's so we were unable to find our much desired delicacy. We settled for gizzards and chicken. Enter the night. i lay on my bed to sleep. But i just couldn't sleep coz of the boom boom boom. till 6:00am when the matatus also begin competing to make the loudest noise. Off we went to kiseria about 60km away. We were told it wouldn't take long as all issues had been discussed prior to our arrival. We had lunch and entered a room for negotiation. truth be told, i understand virtually nothing of what was being discussed as they spoke in swa and kuk ... i was an alien per say.

shida ya majji :D

I would only laugh when i saw others laugh and shook my head when they mentioned the english 10%. we only had 10% of the amount required for dowry. but were able to convince the elders after 4 hours of negotiation on the premise that we would pay the money over a period of time. We left around 9pm after a simple traditional marriage with a ring place holder. we squeezed into a mat... and left for town. This was nite no.2..... boom boom boom ... i hardly slept.

as we walked the streets the next day, i couldn't help but marvel at the new high rise buildings in the city. At least, i thought to myself these people do know how a city should look. i also liked the concept of serving chicken and chips on paper without a plate. i found the people to be quite enterprising.. no wonder they are leaps from where i live. we visited a family friend of the groom.

spent the whole day with the family. discussed about everything and nothing mostly politically inclined. back to the hotel to boom boom boom.

boy was i relieved to enter Dar Express the next morning to leave the noisy city ... We passed through the mara ... it was all dry grass plains........

Namanga

I love this name.. it's just too what can i say ... ummm namanga... Deo keeps mentioning this word. 30minutes later, we entered TZ in the nicest bus i had boarded for the 3 days i was on the road. the road is rough and still under construction.

Arusha

Like a Dream come true. i finally reached the city/town Jo was blowing for. So many whites like he described. We sat at the cafe he often spoke about... no exactly what i pictured ( what he described - --- trust jo 2 hype anyway ) but i know jo. we moved around the city with luggage looking like tourists. We dint get the merchandise. So we headed for Lunch out of the city ... a place called sakina pub. On the menu was roast goat and dried tasteless banana.( which jo liked btw ) I was full of fatigue , asked jo to get us a place to rest.

Goodness "jos Cousin"

Apparently whenever jo wud visit arusha, he would stay at her sisters place. This time, she begged jo to come stay with her. He went about town on his own and left me with the smiling goodness who hardly knew english but was really fun. as she drove me to her house we spoke a few short sentences, i felt like entering the ground.. How cud jo leave me with his cousin who hardly knows me and hardly speaks any english !!! but i was tired. we could to her humble shelter about 10km away from the city. i took a shower came out and watched TV as she cooked me a pure TZ meal... Pullaw... which i would only get a chance to taste 5 hours later !!!

she was kind enough though to give me a meat snack and wine. she was warm and welcoming. Atleast Joe dnt lie about tz''s being warm. Jo came back hours later and we went to bed. (i shared with him - and no i am not a fag and neither is he ! )

Headed to Dar the next morning using the most uncomfortable bus ride on the trip. never b4 had i travelled for over 750KM by road. But i was enthusiastic as i had dreamt about visiting these places.Every time i tried to doze off i almost fell of my seat. We got 2 dar in the eve and got a hotel room. Used a Tz boda to move around the city looking for a Forex B.

Octopus

did you know octopusi's / octopii / octopuses taste like fish ? yes just like fish without bones.. atleast i tested. our hotel charge us double the price coz we were 2 individuals of same sex sharing a bed ! Next day.. we were up early and headed to town. had a nyc breakfast which got me thinking of setting up a similar snack joint over here @home. walked around the city .. its an old city.. not really what i pictured. saw the ports where the ship dock. we headed for the jewelers who opened late due to fasting season. we moved around and came back to the street .. imagine a whole stretch of half a kilometre both sides of jewelery shops.. had never seen anything like it. each has a gate and a guard who signal to the attendants inside whether to allow 2 or one person inside. we were refused entry to 2 of them because they couldn't allow 2 men at the same time. However, we were accepted into one. I saw so much reach 18-22 carat stuff fairly priced. Unfot i couldn't buy for ma coz i dint hav nuf dym. we chose a ring paid and asked em to reduce the size to fit the brides finger. we walked around abit and returned to get the ring.

We rushed to the hotel, picked our luggage and headed for the bus park. We headed back to arusha. it was cold. This lady dint want to close the window.. i was not so amused coz i knew it wud trigger my allergy. when we got out about half way the journey for a rest, guess what ..... she was tiny and short.... my my my i had no other words.

Arusha2

We got back had supper and slept. woke up early the next morning but failed to get transport back hme. we decided to stay the day. Goodness was very happy.. at last she had jo's undivided attention for a FUll day. Had about riots ... b..a.nya..la.. Later that evening we walked to a pub. My allergy was in full gear by this time. i took warm water.

Boogaloo

first of all.. this has nothing todo with booging or for that matter in a LOO... its a name of a hung out joint. This time we were joined by Mr. B..a...r..a.k-a- the man of the house, a mgr in a ta-n=za=ni=te mine and a witty fellow. we had goat and tasteless banana. and headed for

Players

a hungout in an estate. we had a few drinks and laughed a little and went back home .... for "lala" (analala kweli :D ) .. spent the next day talking and had the traditional meal of posho and sukuma then headed for the bus.

RETURN OF THE grum.

our bus delayed by 4 hours.. imagine.. we had no cash and were hungry.. all we had was a few coins that were spent on purchasing space to pee and maize. our uncomfortable bus arrived without shame more over and dragged on bck to namanga.. nai.. then home. it was nyc to be bck home. i rememba sharing a plate of rice with jo in nai on the return journey coz its all we could afford. The bus was soooooooooooooooo cold .. the door couldn't close properly , half of my body practically froze, i couldn't sleep. some chap was using me as a shield to gain warmth !!!! argggghhh .there is nothing i could do about it.. we travelled through the nite.. all i rememba was the sound of the roaring engine as the gears went high and low.

No mans land

did i tell you.. when we got to namanga i felt like squeezing the lemons... it was dark and i thot 2myself... no arrest takes place on NML... i took a leak behind a truck :) who of you my fans has ever committed a felony on NML ?

Somewhere different ( not Lexi :)

where should i start ?

The day is saturday 25th July - 2009 .

Time check 10pm. My lovely sis had earlier invited me to attend an overnight prayer. Apparently, she was handing over as prayer secretary for her Class.

I contemplated calling her, i felt tired and i thought i needed sleep. But i had this strange desire to attend prayers because i felt empty and lost. I postponed the call till i finished De-ja-vu ( movie by denzel ). The movie eventually ended.

I called her around midnight and she asked me to come over. I drove about 15km in the night to a place i had never been to in anticipation of what was to come.

I arrived at the church building entered through a side gate. One of her friends opened the gate for me. We entered the church and the service began. You can guess who took center stage at the pulpit ! Sis herself. Inside me i thought ... wow.. she is an upcoming pastor.

She introduced the quior and left the stage. An hour later 4 men of God are introduced. ( a prophet, Healer, Teacher and pastor )

Little did i know this would be my first real experience of what i always saw on TV. I dont know why but earlier in the week i kept questioning whether God was actually real (yet i know for a fact that he is real )

its as if these men were here to finally remove any doubts i had.

The prophet first walks on stage and with arrogance asks us to respond to his " praise GOD ". it was prolly around 2am by this time. He talks a couple of things and speaks about a lady with some ailments who God was to heal that night. He then introduces the teacher ( a man of God ).

The teacher , a humble fellow i must hasten to add taught for about 1 hour. He then called in the "Fire guys " ( the 3 musketeers ).

The prophet walks on stage and we all start to pray ! Suddenly the place is filled with screams and some are slain. I too join in and pray. The men of God move through the church touching some and praying for them individually. Somehow i was scared about being touched myself. However, inside me i really wanted to experience the holy spirit within.

I shook at some point uncontrollably. I was afraid whenever some fell down as if they were demon possessed. After some time i opened my eyes to find everyone praying while some just kept quiet and continued to stare. ( interesting i thought to myself ). why were they just looking and not praying ?

I cant descern how the holy spirit works so i cant speak with authority on this. I sat down again and looked around while praying in my heart and singing songs of praise. Wow... i thought to myself - this stuff is real.

It all went on till 7:30am the next morning.

Throughout the day, i felt a strange peace and prescence.

Caught by Police

i was caught overtaking on a straight line. Just as i was about to complete my journey. Its absurd. All my pleas for forgiveness fell on deaf ears as the cops were out to prove they had power over me. My cousin ,in  good faith started an argument with the cops which got them mad ! 

Such small events can really dig much into our valuable time. Instead of concentrating on my work this morning, i will have to go and pay the traffic fine in the bank and waste about 1hour which will not be recovered. 

This morning , i cam wearing my uniform, not as bad as i thought it would be.  I was only afraid , it would look like a high school uniform. Saves me from washing too many clothes on friday. 

Over the weekend, i wore my Sherwani as i drove the bridal entourage through Tororo Town. I met a couple of people whom i had last seen a while back. I have a lot of work to do. I think i have to properly plan my days events. 

Many Routes

Sitted in room 116 at infocity on this sunday morning at 10:49am wondering where life is heading for me. So many roads i see but knowing to choose which I do not ! Reflecting on life i am for age is not reducing. Yesterday, the team had a tour of Ahmedabad (Ahmed + prosperity (abad)) . We were guided through the old city where a great king on seeing a rat jump onto a DOG thought the animals ( people ) living in the region must really be courageous. The King setup a walled city and so many temples both Muslim and Hindu. Walking through the streets reminded me of Bond Movies where Bond rides with a bike ontop of a roof of a slum house with narrow streets and full of filth. I came face to face with the poor part of India, dog / cow s**t allover the place & beggers were a common site.

I really admire the dedication and Art the olden day people put into Architecture of buildings. Buildings that stand to this day. Most of the ones we saw were built using Sandstone and Marble. All such buildings looked old but still stood strong. The kings of those days must really have put so much value in buildings and art. How come we no longer have purely stone curved buildings being constructed ? Is it because we want to have buildings finished quickly with the aid of machines ? How come we use weaker building materials ? Is is because we have to have buildings finished quickly ? Our group attracted alot of attention (because of our color maybe). often people asked whether we were from Africa or West Indies. I felt the tallest in town as i could see the map of every ones head around. Our morning walk eventually ended at a mosque where we met Sam who was to be our tour guide for the rest of the day. He led as quietly through the streets of old Ahmedabad for about 500m without any single utterance. He then started by showing us the Old stock exchange building built by the british in the 50's and a certain 3 part city wall entrance. He then proceeded to show as all kinds of Hindu Temples and Mosques paying specific attention to the different Architectural styles used. The last mosque we visited was built by an african using funds he collected from the people of the area. The center piece of this mosque was the stone curving of a palm tree that was really amazing.

We then proceeded to see our last temple of a certain religion (whose name i cant remember ofcourse coz the guide talked too much) who believe in no god but something about mind, body and soul ( bla bla bla namaste bla bla ) I had never seen so many idols in one place in my whole life. These guys had 63 gods caged up which the priests had to bathe every single day ( i wonder why ) yet they were clearly very white and clean. Some of these kings (gods) idols . whatever ..... were gold plated. It was amazing how much this guide new about the history of the area. like he was actually there. I mean, he was a christian after all , how could he possibly know intimate details about all these religions ? ( ofcos its possible ) but sometimes i felt he was lying.( ehe ehe ofcos i am most likely wrong ) . so we entered this temple without our shoes and belts ( something about leather being of living creatures ,,, and them not allowing dead creatures in the temple ) .

Sam takes us through the motions of prayer in the worship place. He actually dances before one of the gods with some broom like thing ( at which point i almost burst into laughter ) but because other people are worshipping i had to keep cool. These people ring a bell step forward to the alter ( i think ) burnt some incense before the white idol sitted in a meditating position while chantting some gibberish. I really saw our guide as a hypocrite... why ? he entered with his hat in his hand and decided to wear it from inside !!!!! Anway he takes us outside as he rants on and on about the architecture ( we are obsviously tired of his arc crap at this point ) but we listen to him as he intimately describes the scenary.

I thing i found striking was the fact that the people in this religion actually beleive in some form of paradise and hell ! This seems to connect all religions somehow.They also believe in re-incarnation. As we left this temple i asked sam what happened to the offspring of the great blackman who supposedly built many temples to which sam answered " he had no children " i really found this hard to believe !! but considering that non of us existed during that time i had to believe him. We had lunch and thereafter drove for about 30minutes to the step wells.

The step wells were a place of rest built by a queen for people to stop and refresh while on long journeys. The arc consisted of steps leading down to a well with a series of platforms above .( i sighed in relief at the sight of a white man - a foreigner at this site ) . At this point we were realy tired of temples, it had become to much . We finally proceeded to Ghandis place. We entered his house , saw the spoons he used entered his bedroom and did all the tourist crap. Sam said he wished he had my height, infact he grabbed my hand for a photo shoot with him. He sang me a song. Seriously, Ghandi was really a greater personality that deserved the recongnition he got. A man to sacrifise 90% of his land to people he hardly knows.. that was truly something. A man who desired no self praise despite his great deeds ! wow.... he was truly amazing. We left the place and proceeded to a jewelery Shop we were later to find out belonged to sam our guide. I bought mom a bed cover and some jewerly i could afford. My friend Kannan who rode with us through the trip was not amused i had spent alot in such a short time, he felt i should have consulted him before !! apparently i spent the amount of cash he spends in a whole month !!!

But that was really my yesterday. Let me continue with my future reflections. I have written down some accounting of my expenditure and my future goals. Its my hope and prayer that i have the answers to all my questions by the time i get home.

GOD BLESS you ALL.

wahad wahad

Gandhinagar is a hot place. i have to sleep with the air conditioning on all night.
 This is a time for me to reflect back on life. When i get back to kla in about 2 weeks i will have to make a choice on whether
or not i should stay in URA. This is going to be a tough choice to make ! as i have learned to work with this team. 

How does one make the choice to move on without causing others to hurt ? how do i tell these people that i now want to leave ? 

will they really understand ? 

We are a team of 15, some of whom had never stepped outta the country before. There are large amounts of MALO to see. 

I have never been this relaxed in ages. Dont have to give thought to any of ug's pressures. only have class to think about. i have swimming pool and gym at my disposal. Life's great. This is the beginning of greater things as i said earlier this year. What remains is for me to strategize and use opportunity. I had a rough time in the loo for the 1st 2 days here as i adjusted to the food. but i think am now used . 

It's amazing how organized this city is. roads are tarmaced , housing if properly planned. Trees all over the place and animals that eat vegetables ( even the dogs ).  i have come to realize how selfish "people" i work with are. i remember when we had these trainers back in kampala virtually no one wanted to take them out ! i took em around and they had fun. 

Guess what !! when we got here suddenly everyone wants to be friends with "my" friends to take em out .. it sucks ! 

The Baby Adult Mix

Ever wondered how a baby is able to tell another baby apart from an adult ? It usual to find a baby in church or in a taxi Gesturing or just staring at another baby . i have always wondered whether there exists some form of baby telepathy !

.. am done with the training. It has been worthwhile as i have learned a lot about OO. something that i have always wanted to be added to my skill set. I feel complete now. i will be leaving for india in 4days to complete the second phase. i have been looking forward to this for the past 5months.. its like a dream come true. I need to see something different , i need to rest from this stressful environment and i need to reload.( i know ur tired of this word )

Turns out this year is surely a year of opportunity as i had predicted. Somewhere, someone wants me to work for em. Am not sure what i should do as i think my job here is not yet done.. i think i still have alot todo. problem is i am not getting a pay that is comensurate with my skill set and i need a new environment. I am not growing any younger ! Am tired of knowing too much (atleast that's the impression iam given here) i am tired of having every solution.

now someone is blackmailing me. i got paid todo some work with this b....h but the client didn't release the info we needed to complete the project. We decided to cancel the deal and retain the cash as it was taking too long. Over 7 months later she comes with a story about the guys wanting their dime back ! This is bad timing. I also feel she is targeting some cash she knows i will surely get. Luckily for me i saw through all her lies from the beginning.

This week, we have the honor and privilege of having Timothy an erp specialist to visit our clients and listen to their issues. This gentleman agreed to fly in and work with us. We are only to cover his living costs. Apparently his major aim is to establish trust so we can do work together in the near future. If we gain his trust, this will most definately be a spring board for fulusi.

hungerntraining

for the past month starting late January i have been attending a training. i am trying to get a new skill in OO. GOD willing, i will be hitting west india ( ahmed .... ) for 15days for additional training starting 21st of this month. It's funny how i have had to close my eyes to everything just to focus my energy on this thing. To avoid disappointments though, i am looking for another place to make a footing. i have to make it .... This year has got to be the beginning of greater things. i seem to have a general feeling of fatigue. My hope is that this trip can relieve me of all this ! I have realised i need to free my mind. i need to kill all these preducial thoughts that have slowly creeped into my mindset. I really look forward to seeing what happens after April, for i think i'll need a new challenge then. I need a house of my own btw. i am seriously giving this consideration. i need a house.

The weather hasn't been friendly lately especially in the morning hours as i come to work. The navy Blue has really helped in this regard.

Whisper In The Dark: Can't Sleep

Whisper In The Dark: Can't Sleep

excuses - mistakes

i hate it that the drive i had 3 yrs ago seems to be weakening. I surely need to turbo charge.
turns out appointments were made this week. Because i saw myself as inadequate, because i saw myself as not deserving, because i saw myself as not possessing the necessary skill, because i felt i was busy doing something else ! i suddenly see a shadow over my 5 year career goal..it hurts.
imagine, the powers that be have faith in me... have faith that i can do it. but i don't have faith in myself ! i have decided to make a change this very day. i know i reloaded sometime back..i am going to recharge. i am not putting my trust in people as i always have. waiting for anyone to show me the light. i will see the light myself. i will look for the opportunity myself.because no one cares anyway.

i will nolonger view myself as inadequate. i will hold my head up high and aim for greater things. I fear for those who will get in the way ! The inevitable is only being delayed a little. Despite all this, there is hope. i realize i made the right choice to put my tentacles all over.... failure,, i promise you there will not be a next time.

the navy blue

2 thousand nine - is a year of things for moi. i can feel it. tomorrow, i hit the border to clear my very first car. Am excited. it's been a stressful week , stress mostly due to uncertainty of the status of my car - and work pressures. I have found myself getting more involved at my employer and somehow loosing time for consultancy. I think i need to plan my days to make time for where i am needed.
the car is navy blue btw. Just a week ago, dan brought his for me to see - it had a cool interior that left me with a bit of nugu.
I have put this on hold for the past 3 years, but after careful consideration of many factors, i have decided i need to make this "unwise investiment"

looks like i wont be able to attend further studies this year as earlier anticipated due to serious financial constraints.

remember Veee ( v2 ). v2 is an interesting, by far the most interesting in her species. i am trying to be objective here - not using any feelings.

two thousand nine

i do not recall a new year when i slept through the midnight hour. this year, i missed the galore of fireworks. I have no regrets though, as i had good "phone" company from a TIGHT buddy v2.

The past 3 months have been filled with laughter and joy.

BE is a thing of the past. Somehow i feel it in my bones that , this year shall be a year of great things.


and suddenly my brain is blank....