Surmountables

A fortnight or so ago, yours truly et al engaged in 'extreme sport'. We embarked on the uphill task of scaling the great Mt. Kilimanjaro!

With our supplies firmly strapped to our backs, we found our way to First Caves... slogged through to the Second Caves before toiling up to the Third Caves... Eventually, we made our way to School Hut, where we launched our final assault on the unforgiving mountain.

At the stroke of mid-night, we embarked on the last leg of our ascent (this is where, as some clever guy put it, team work became an individual sport. For real!).

Up, up & up I laboured! Up past Gillman's Point... dragged my fatigued self through Point Stella... before crawling to, yup, wait for it... Africa's highest peak: point Uhuru.

It took everything I had, and then some! My endurance has not been stretched to such limits in recent memory.

'Why am I here?' my revolting body asked, doing its best to deal with the lower levels of atmospheric oxygen (at that altitude, the air composition does nothing to endear the mountain to the climber)... I tell you the truth, the Kili sights & heights very nearly 'took my breath away', literally.

Anyway, my mute response to the seemingly mindless, self- inflicted toil was turning a deaf ear... (a mind-over-matter moment right there!). ... ignoring the nausea and my aching limbs... & never disregarding the need to pay no heed to the persistent headache that seemed to have 'pitched camp' in my head... (BTW, if you think this sentence is long and winding, try the Zig-Zag section of the Kili-ascent, yo!)... Still, I pressed on.

So, why did I do it?

On one level, I needed time alone with my Maker... time to think things through... On another level, I needed a win, 'motisha' to catapult me to my next challenge!

Thankfully, I managed many wins on this expedition... Now, with my feet firmly 'grounded' in the Plains and with an 'un-clouded' head (pardon the pun), I can safely say that reaching that Pinnacle was well worth the stretch!

unrelenting Caller

2007
the Caller beckoned, gently
gently, i dismissed the Call

2008 – 2009
the Caller beckoned rather loudly
i turned away rather hastily

2010
the Caller would not cease
... mercilessly disturbed the peace

"c'mon, you have the wrong number," i insisted
but alas! my plea went unheeded

in sheer frustration, i turned & fled
... afraid to stop & listen... lest i yield

2011
the Caller’s now relentless
completely suckin’ the air out of my one-time ‘quiet’ existence
consumin' a-good-many of my waking moments

so,
saddled with reluctant submission, i’m
slowly succumbing to this unyielding Caller. i’m
silencing the inner critic & i'm
stealthily steering towards my Call.

... any day now!

A cry for my unborn children

I looked at my aunt’s lifeless body, and wept!
... She’s 'been gone' a couple of days now.
BUT, a fortnight or so ago, I reclined on her couch, wasted!
We'd broken bread together, shared our stories and laughed heartily.
Unbeknownst to me, ‘twas a ‘Last Supper’ of sorts¿
...still, on & on we indulged...
merrily chompin’ away her legendary chapattis,
... down to the last morsel.
Oh how such moments evoke many fond childhood memories!
Yes, tata knew how to fill my life (& platter) with ‘all things nice!’
No, nothing could hold a candle to her delightful company & sunny disposition.

I cry for my unborn children,
They, who’ll never be held in her loving arms,
Nor see her warm smile and loving eyes,
Never-mind hear her hearty and body-shaking laugh – 'twas just spectacular!
It saddens me that they’ll never be touched by a heart so beautiful.

I cry for me too.
... BUT, I know that it is well!
Someday… we’ll see you on the other side.
When that happens, I shall introduce you to my entire tribe.
... THEN, we’ll catch up on lost time...
Till then tata,
R.I.P!

I prayed for rain... but nearly went ballistic when it came pouring!

In an earlier blog-post I had made mention of my interest in "plunging ...(finger-first)" into the caring waters of Customer Service. This was going to happen in the sweet by and by… I must admit that from the comfort of 2010, the year 2012 seemed way out yonder… somehow, somehow, I figured, I still had time to get my act together... but alas!

Fast forward: A really cosy evening in January 2011... I am relaxed, minding my own business, when suddenly... ring, ring... I answer the call, and it is from someone that knows someone I know (... this ‘Small-World’ phenomenon is just plain wonderful, huh?!).

Request: My availability to facilitate Customer Service training.

Response: Let’s just say, the next two days were marked with uber-activity in the name of preparation: net-surfing, info-gathering, fact-finding… then came sorting, reviewing, editing, consulting… Jo!

Lesson: With every rising sun, answers to prayers are that much closer to unfolding... better be chonjo... in season and out of season!

Results: ‘Glory, glory, hallelujah’ was the melody roaring in my heart when my debut, solo-flight touched the ground three days later... the trainees were still on-board... and alive!

... So, if you see me rocking a trench coat, an umbrella and a pair of gum-boots (ok., that’s a bit of an over-kill) in the hot Nairobi sun, don’t worry about me, I haven’t lost touch with myself. I’m only eagerly awaiting ‘the coming rains” … and, staying in tune with my 2011 mantra: “... Any day now!”