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!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
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!
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!
Friday, June 24, 2011
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!
... 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!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
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!”
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!”
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Out and About Namibia
As the aircraft descends at the Hosea Kutako Airport, the huge tracts of land, take me aback... they just lay there, fallow and under-utilized... mmh! I wonder about land ownership here...
The kind Namibian gentleman chauffering me to my new base of operation comes to the rescue. He informs me that rural Namibia is largely communally owned and controlled by the local Councils. For a ‘barely-there’ sum of cash, residents get the right to live in and graze on the land.
However, it is not all 'free-range'. There have been calls for land reforms as most of Namibia's commercial land is still owned by European farmers who make up six percent of the country's population.
Now, Kenya's population is nearly 20 times that of Namibia (2.1 million). History records the tragic genocide (between 1904 - 1907) of nearly 70% of the Namibia's population in German concentration camps built in Africa for Africans.... Behold, the savagery of European colonial ideology!
Back to the land question: If we were to distribute the land equitably, each Namibian citizen would bag 300 sq. meters of land, compared to their Kenyan counterpart, who would have to eke out an existence from the 10 sq. meters. (This translates to an acreage allocation ratio of 30:1).
The abundance of land notwithstanding, Namibia has the most uneven income distribution on the planet. With a Gini co-efficient of 70.7, the gap between the rich and the poor begs for urgent action.
Anyway, 40km later, we get to Windhoek CBD. It has a very European feel to it. Unbeknownst to the 'pedestrian' traveller, poverty lurks in the periphery, meaning that you have to go out of your way to find it.
And find it, I did. It is alive and well in townships such as Katutura and Babylon, only a few minutes from the squeeky clean city. (Ironically, Namibia has been declared a middle income country... the paradox of International Development ratings!)
Later in the afternoon, I make my way past three metal gates and two dogs (I dunno, but this dog-phobia has got to go... cold-turkey!) and prayerfully navigate my adrenaline-pumping self into my new 'home' (or shall we say Fort Knox?), unharmed.
Tootsie (Afrikaans for bye)!
The kind Namibian gentleman chauffering me to my new base of operation comes to the rescue. He informs me that rural Namibia is largely communally owned and controlled by the local Councils. For a ‘barely-there’ sum of cash, residents get the right to live in and graze on the land.
However, it is not all 'free-range'. There have been calls for land reforms as most of Namibia's commercial land is still owned by European farmers who make up six percent of the country's population.
Now, Kenya's population is nearly 20 times that of Namibia (2.1 million). History records the tragic genocide (between 1904 - 1907) of nearly 70% of the Namibia's population in German concentration camps built in Africa for Africans.... Behold, the savagery of European colonial ideology!
Back to the land question: If we were to distribute the land equitably, each Namibian citizen would bag 300 sq. meters of land, compared to their Kenyan counterpart, who would have to eke out an existence from the 10 sq. meters. (This translates to an acreage allocation ratio of 30:1).
The abundance of land notwithstanding, Namibia has the most uneven income distribution on the planet. With a Gini co-efficient of 70.7, the gap between the rich and the poor begs for urgent action.
Anyway, 40km later, we get to Windhoek CBD. It has a very European feel to it. Unbeknownst to the 'pedestrian' traveller, poverty lurks in the periphery, meaning that you have to go out of your way to find it.
And find it, I did. It is alive and well in townships such as Katutura and Babylon, only a few minutes from the squeeky clean city. (Ironically, Namibia has been declared a middle income country... the paradox of International Development ratings!)
Later in the afternoon, I make my way past three metal gates and two dogs (I dunno, but this dog-phobia has got to go... cold-turkey!) and prayerfully navigate my adrenaline-pumping self into my new 'home' (or shall we say Fort Knox?), unharmed.
Tootsie (Afrikaans for bye)!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Witness to History
No amount of dissuasion: possible eruption of violence (courtesy of mama dearest); contraction of contagious diseases that lurk about in crowded places (my own fears); the morning drizzle (nature); not even the possibility of a human stampede (my darlin' brother) was going to keep me away from the historic promulgation of the new Constitution at the crack of dawn on the 27th of August, 2010, that Promulgation Friday.
It was as if the City had thrown up its inhabitants into Uhuru Park. It was raining wananchi. As the seconds rolled into minutes, the Park’s terraces were swollen with humanity, with still a good many others perched on trees and the roofs of the buildings around the Park, we waited with great expectation!
My calf muscles were screaming for relief after a morning of balancing my entire body weight on my toes. My neck muscles were not silent either; having been stretched to the max, craning to catch a glimpse of the day’s events, which went well, for the most part. The new Constitution was signed into law, and we rejoiced... our hearts filled with fresh hope!
However, there were a few flies in the Promulgation ointment:
i) Kamlesh Pattni: When this man (in my eyes, he’s still not managed to shake off his image as the personification of all things corrupt) strolled into the VIP section of the Promulgation arena, the wide grin on his face awakened in me memories of lost billions from our national coiffeurs and disregard for common man which I had buried in a shallow grave. (Oh, Brother Paul, was it absolutely necessary to rub these un-glittering national indiscretions in my face on P-day?)
ii) Omar el Bashir: Yo, enough has been said about this one already! Still, I wondered whether his presence in Kenya was a premonition of things to come. Could we trust our leaders to uphold the spirit of the new Law? Methinks not! But, I earnestly pray for God’s wisdom and political good-will in the process.
iii) The on-again off-again sound system: It stretched my lip-reading skills to the limit.
The side-shows by my fellow country-men included live commentaries, jokes and heart-warming camaraderie, which were a great source of distraction and hilarity. Kenyans have a great sense of humour. It helps ease the pain of our collective existence.
Nature kept smiling upon us. From time to time, a cold breeze would sweep through the Park and refresh the stale, still air... Oh, sweet relief! I pray that the new Constitution will offer Kenyans some relief from some of the man-made (read corruption) pain and poverty that plagues many of our people.
God bless our beloved country!
It was as if the City had thrown up its inhabitants into Uhuru Park. It was raining wananchi. As the seconds rolled into minutes, the Park’s terraces were swollen with humanity, with still a good many others perched on trees and the roofs of the buildings around the Park, we waited with great expectation!
My calf muscles were screaming for relief after a morning of balancing my entire body weight on my toes. My neck muscles were not silent either; having been stretched to the max, craning to catch a glimpse of the day’s events, which went well, for the most part. The new Constitution was signed into law, and we rejoiced... our hearts filled with fresh hope!
However, there were a few flies in the Promulgation ointment:
i) Kamlesh Pattni: When this man (in my eyes, he’s still not managed to shake off his image as the personification of all things corrupt) strolled into the VIP section of the Promulgation arena, the wide grin on his face awakened in me memories of lost billions from our national coiffeurs and disregard for common man which I had buried in a shallow grave. (Oh, Brother Paul, was it absolutely necessary to rub these un-glittering national indiscretions in my face on P-day?)
ii) Omar el Bashir: Yo, enough has been said about this one already! Still, I wondered whether his presence in Kenya was a premonition of things to come. Could we trust our leaders to uphold the spirit of the new Law? Methinks not! But, I earnestly pray for God’s wisdom and political good-will in the process.
iii) The on-again off-again sound system: It stretched my lip-reading skills to the limit.
The side-shows by my fellow country-men included live commentaries, jokes and heart-warming camaraderie, which were a great source of distraction and hilarity. Kenyans have a great sense of humour. It helps ease the pain of our collective existence.
Nature kept smiling upon us. From time to time, a cold breeze would sweep through the Park and refresh the stale, still air... Oh, sweet relief! I pray that the new Constitution will offer Kenyans some relief from some of the man-made (read corruption) pain and poverty that plagues many of our people.
God bless our beloved country!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The paradox of life's journey
"It is only when we realize that life is taking us nowhere that it begins to have meaning."
P.D. Ouspensky
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