The Big Apple

Okay so Adisa got off her lazy behind and decided to send me the pics for the New York so here you have it...We had such a grand time it was so unplanned unexpected ....it was so awesome...April has been terribly hectic what with school exams finals gosh I am literally heaving a sigh of relief...but now guess what I am so free for the next four months no wait one month ..am taking a summer class inJune but hey its summer...think beach cookouts,the mall, spending time with friends,graduations,weddings,hanye...yes I am getting wasted this summer... speking of which I am a maid at a wediing an am so like not looking forward coz everyone is a size four...very depressing coz its only me Betty and Monnie who are size.......but hey will have funall the same...Then I am in the proces sof looking for a car...no fun no fin it is hectic for someone who doesnt know what is sijui a V6 i hear V8 just give me a plain white toyotta that moves!!!!!!!!these are the times I need me a man!!!!lol!!!!so it is one in the morning no school kesho yipee...but have a busy day all the same kesho....oh today was Mothers day called a few special ladies in my life I know that are mothers - I think its take real courage and sacrifice to be a mother so big ups to all mamas...tufungulieni barabara.... There is no way we can pay you back but the plan is to show you that we understand you are much appreciated..-Pac

March Madness from Baltimore to Manhattan with Love....

Okay so March was a very very crazy month......I literally did not have enough time to breathe...things happened oh so quickly and maybe me taking 5 classes and two full time jobs is not helping to the craziness...so yes where do I begin...oh oh oh...I was priveldged to welcome my mom and sister to America - yeah thats how wild things were.Yes they were visitors of the U.N ahem ahem but do we say.This was under Make Roads Safe Campaign - an international NGO that advocates for Raod safety.So there was ova bill that was to be presented to Bun Ki Mun - is that hsi name the sec gen?to make Road Safety a sustainable agenda as part of the U.Ns M.E.DS - wow I said that is one sntence without flinching - my days at EAMUN helped!!!! so Casey Marenge - exec director - chariots of destiny through the petition collection in Nairobi over the past weeks was invited to support the passing of the Bill - which it did!!!You can read more about the whole event on http://www.makeroadssafe.org/ okay so now to the juice...so we were randa randaring in Manhattan we were staying at Melbas - thank you darling!!!It was such an awesome experience - one of those things you would never imagine - strolling down the streets of Broadway..blog I tell you Broadway with the two rocks in my life.Three or four years ago this was just but a dream.....We went to the Appollo theatre - yes home of Chris Rock...in Harlem - yes Harlem!!!There is just something about Harlem it has so much culture and pride you feel so at home.For a moment there I thought I was strolling down Luthuli Ave.Oh then how can I forget my best friend who made it all possible - Denno you know I cant thank you enough but the love is there ile mbaya.Drove me all the way to New York... where others said it was impossible yes Denno said we will find a way so big props halafu took us round to Jersey and statue of Liberty it was just an awesome experience being with the people who matter the most in my life...But all I can say is it took hard work determination and a spirit of perserverance.I remember adi telling me the days they would go and be at the stands alone with madthewaiting for signatures when no volunteers turned up in the hot sun..But you know what...thats what faith is all about...believing in things we cannot see and having that assurance that nothing is ever a waste.For real there are times you think gosh what was all that what a wasted effort...trsut me nothing happens thats not in Gods bigger picture....So yes we had a great great week did so much dollar shopping stuff and Mc.Donalds was our best friend for the week oh oh and how can I forget the yellow Manhattan cabs - rock on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I do not have the pics as Adisa is still in jet lag.....fo rreal....But I do have the one for Baltimore.Oh yes we went to Baltimore and Delaware with Mary the week before...what a drive.....8 freaking hours but the company was fun...not excatly my age but fun all the same.....so here are a few pics of Baltimore with darling Gachenge where we stayed and the Kagwimas etc.....

Babies r us.....

Okay so where do I begin.March was one of those crazy cray months you barely have time to catch a breath or even a heartbeat...as in things happened oh so quickly that I have been overwhelmed so here I am back after a month of ups and more ups...So let me begin with Mary Annes baby shower.So Mercy and I threw Mary Anne a baby shower on what date was that...whatever...so anyway it went well close family and friends were there and by eleven it was done which is what I think real baby showers and weddings should be all about.Not all the media circus and pomp people here have turned them into.Inviting everyone from the chief to the D.C to the cobbler I mean a baby shower or wedding shoud be a time to celebrate with those who are special and dear to you so anyhu.....here are some of the pics from the shower.You can see Mary Anne and her huzzy Josephat.Mercy is the black beauty bald Mnet face of Africa then there is 6ft winnie and of course MC Denno hakosi...enjoy....

Monkey Business

I got back from Springfield today which is like a good two hours drive from mass.I had taken Mary to sit her MTEL exam - her career is in the field of Education so this is the Massachussetes License exam.Some silly exam that Mary told me people have taken even 5 times coz its so damn hard....which got me thinking.... in my Psych class the teacher asked us to each say if we thought we were intelligent...and I told her Everyone is intelligent by their own standards.Just because I did better than you on the SAT does not make me more intelligent than you that is just someone else's idea /standard of intelligence....So now for the MTEL just because I cannot get that 70% that YOU want....who justifies that I am a poor teacher? or the NCLEX exam..I know such brilliant nurses who cannot practice coz they have flanked the exam that totally sucks....yes am getting carried away as usual......so we left on Friday we stayed at her friends place...such an adorable lady - Anne Wachira you are an angel she can cook up a storm ....my goodness Mary and I had started a diet a week ago and we kept consoling ourselves saying...okay we will pick up after the trip coz trust me Anne cannot stand to see you not eating - plantain , pork ,chapatis , fruits,chicken gosh she is awesome in the kitchen...Mary and I were telling her ,"Kuna wenye wa kupika na wenye wa kula," coz we are definately in the latter category...
So anyway after a very long drive back and forth I had to go for a commitee mtg of a wedding that I had promised to make engoho then do an errand for somebody else run late to work in the process... you can tell where am going with this...... its all monkey business!!!!!Am sure you are going like okay hold up back up.....Mary told me of a story once of a white man who tried to carry so many monkeys on his back..or something to that extent but when he treid to hold this one the othe rone on the shoulder fell off and so on and so forth...so yes Monkey business is when you get so caught up trying to be there for people ..i dont think am a people pleaser - or yet I try not to be - but somehow in trying to do favours for people I forget the common adage , "Nice people finish last." So I need to toughen up and learn to say no when it is called for coz at the end of the day I am the looser...So learn from me folks..assess the situation first and ask yourself am I making myself useful or am I being used...
So anyway the week was great..save for Hillary winning Ohio and Texas....hang in there Obama Wama!!!!But the thing thats saddens me about Obamas nomination is the state of this country....Our dear ol Texan has left the country to the dogs...its a shamble that the next person coming in has a plateful of work.From Healthcare to immigration to the economy to mortgage to college education that seems so unnatainable.... to the Chinese and the Japs gaining on the dollar.Obama will have so much to do and the worst is people will be waiting for him to fail in the stereotyped black society that we live and yet the truth of the matter is the country is a rotten apple already....
OKay enuff sad talk then I got a glimpse of Apprentice Africa the first episode was ok though as Anne Andere has said the CEO should try change his tact on firing he looked so rehearsed and very shady..but all in all Go Joyo - thats Joyce Mbaya Kenyan contestestant -we are on first name basis here coz she is a friend of a friend - am trying to get the hook up!!!The other Kenyan guy - Eddie -Mr.Smiley and the other one from Strath...good for you people...young enterprenures....
So yes am on spring break may be going to Baltimore so watch this space I will come back ranting and raving as usual....Borrowed No Reservations which am going to watch now - Catherine Zeta- yeah am still a sucker for love but I know Deno is going to call so thats a one hour break in the movie........as Didge would say....through the window baby..........

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour.Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT’S relativity.
-Albert Einstein

Dunia Wiki Hii

Well from the title you can see that there is nothing of importance or philosophical that I am going to share not that I ever really have anything philosophical to say oh oh oh wait there is a quote that I picked up in my History class from Aristotle, 'Give me a lever long enough and I will move the world.."or something of that extent I think there was something else to add on to it but I have forgotten..but it was an awesome quote..I figured it has to do with just that small opportunity that bright, smart determined people out there need for them to do wonders in their life and the lives of those around them.Okay now I know where am going with this - gosh I love writing I get so carried away - so yes as I was saying..now I have a good dear friend who had such a rough year last year in terms of her relationship - she came to the realization that after 8years of chasing water falls it was just that - a water fall.Now the other day she calls me from an interview that she had been accepted into the nursing programme at our school - Salem State for the Masters programme - she is doing her Masters in Business so she will have a double Masters - and it gets better - the state is paying for it - tuition , books , clinical transportation so she called me the right after she left and she was so ecstatic.I was so happy for her - finally something to make a her happy - its a low down dirty shame what the guy has let go of.So anyway the morale of the story is 'God did not create empty vessels." What happens most of the time is that we loose sight of our hope and dreams coz of our immediate circumstance and yet the opportunity is right around the corner..Everyone has that untapped potential that if given an inch to excel in what they are good at they would go a mile...But its a catch 22...opportunity will not knock at your door you have to go show opportunity you are ready to receive it...Okay so my week was hectic kinda...I switched to the better option - Tmobile am rocking a new green phone nothing fancy I was going to get a complex phone but am just so simple I dont even know how to operate this cheap one I have..yeah they dont call me "Cucu Wa Cura" for nothing lol....haiya at some interview I went a question I was asked was If you were to be born in another lifetime what era would you choose and I said in the 20s before computers and Ipod Nanos and facebook and credit cards when life was "As is!!!!" I am just a country girl by nature or is it nurture???mmmh???My friend and I priscilla were discussing our perfect Sunday afternoon and am like chilling at the golf club by the pool and she is like hell no I would rather be at the mall...but hey thats me...and then what else oh yes they finally signed a coalition deal -Kibaki and Raila - He has always wanted to be Prime minister so there he has it...happy now???(read as blood power) but I think people are really bored of the whole scenario no people got bored long time ago....its like Americans and the Iraq war..people are so tire dof singing the same ol song bring the troops home that its just one of those things that are better left unsaid...
Okay now am off to bed.....its midnight..am too sleepy to catch greys anatomy so zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........................

Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind. Aristotle

AM ALL THE MAN THAT I NEED

Yesterday I came to a point in my life where I know where I am and where I want to be and what kind of a man am looking for to share my life with...Okay we are getting sentimental here....yes so anyway trust me its so good to know who you are as a person what your hearts desires are...am sure your waiting for me to write I have gone gay or something lol!!!!!No what I mean here is that for you to have that satisfying life you need to be sure of who you are... what do you value most... be it education be it family be it integrity whatever it is take it and hold on to it.Because if you do not know who you are and what you stand for people will definately walk over you... say things to you that may be derogatory and Priscilla is always telling me the men at work are so innaproprate and now that I think about it yes they are!!!Especially we women we need to be know how special we are...these men think they can come from their far away planet Mars and come talk whatever they want or treat us like gum - chew and spit us out when done..hell to the no!!!!!I think I have been wasting too much of my time searching for that guy who will see not just the physical but the emotional... the inner me my big big heart and I reached a stage after last week where I said enough is enough whats all this about.....I LOVE ME SOME ME!!!!So yes I have discovered what makes Penny Penny....I know her values I know what she likes and what she wants to hear and what she doesnt want to hear...I know what kind of behaviour ticks her off and yes she loves romance and def jam poetry and Tupac Shakur, Mary J...yes I may at some point need someone to complete me and my life - good hubby,cute kids... but for now I AM ALL THE MAN THAT I NEED!!!!Ladies can we get an Amen

"A true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good" - Ann landers

Its not that serious!!!!!

Yeah this is one of my favourite quotes coined by one of my favourite people in this country - Priscilla....anyone we see acting too serious not smiling or thinking too much we tell them Its not that serious!!!!It was coined at some Mc Donalds we went to the girl who was taking orders was having such an attitude towards the customers so an African American (You know African Americans - you aint showing them attitude - they define attitude) so anyway the lady when it was her turn and the lady was showing her attitude she told her "Wait.... girlfriend you need to chill..its not that serious..(in a base voice rolling her eyes shaking her head with her finger in the air - use your imagination here work with me) and the girl was so perplexed and was like am so sorry and bla bla bla bla...So anyway morale of the story today I came to affirm the fact that Americans take life too serious I was talking to a lady I met through an organization now the phone call was meant to be a short one but trust me she went on and on about her brother and how she is getting ulcers because they are alwasy arguing coz the dad is in jail and its only her brother who can pay the dads expenses (bills - the common term around here) but apparently he has so much hatred in his heart and he has always had it towards her for such a long time ova since high school they are always arguing and the brother is abusive to his wife and kids he has a mean temper - maybe he gets it from the dad - who did I mention is in jail for physically assaulting his wife - as in cops were called ...the full shabang.So anyway today at work the lady I work with - very hardworking and everything but very serious...And the clients we work for are behavioural - you have to be very flexible and paitient.So anyway she told me the whole day before I came in they had had so many behaviours with the clients and I told her one thing.....humans give what they get if you are so serious towards them they will act out.Treat them as normal adults laugh joke take it easy!!!!!!The whole shift she was all over the place... working doing this doing that and am there chilling on the couch with the clients laughing at nothing so am like chill woman..talk to the clients know what your working with....socialize with them be their friends first before anything else....Okay so am drifting what am trying to say is that people around here are so damn serious trust me life is too damn short.People walk around here with so much thoughts in their head...live for the moment folks ...you know there is nothing much you can do about that phone bill due tommorow so you know what smile for today ..... goodness sometimes I think I am too easy going I do not take life seriously at all even when my sister or mom tells me something so pertinent and serious I have to laugh first as I absorb .....as the pastor in church said today - ahem ahem yes I did go to church - Riverside Assemblies of God- which I think is now my permanent church - I have done enough church hopping - from Mattapan to Billerica to Kenyan ushindi and Hosaana aiii I thought they said Mungu is universal....Oh yes so what the pastor said was Let Go and Let God.... Oh yes at church today some Kenyan guy who was beaten up sometime last year - got brain damage kiasi though he is recovering so fast - was there with his mum so they came to say hi to me and Priscilla and he was looking fine...he has changed since the last time we went to see him at the rehab center.He shaved his dreads and was wearing some stylish miwanis and then was wearing those meet Joe Black coats...auwwi then did I mention his smile..mpaka even Prscilla was like He is handsome and trust me coming from Ms Iron Pants that is a compliment right there.So anyway am so glad Njehu is back on his feet and his courageous mother - please can we hear it for the mothers in the house??so yes she was holding his hand when they went to be prayed for haiya kwanza now that I think about it the preaching was on the prodigal son...mmmh....coincidence....I was so happy to see him smiling again though even at the rehab center he was still smiling....but as Adisa says there is nothing as beautiful as smiling through a storm ryt Manditha - are u reading this by the way???
Okay now I am in between watching the Oscars,reading my lit book ,replying my emails,listening to Brian Mc. Knight - yeah am in one of those moods...and writing in my blog - gosh and I thought I would never see the day that I would be a multi tasker.......

I pay no attention to anyones praise or blame - I simply follow my own feelings - Wolfgang Mozart

flu galore........

oh dear dear dear...i have a just contracted the flu that is goin around Mass it is hectic am telling you the full runny nose coughing headache things are thickItell you and I have to drive home I will be staggering on the road....
So anyway this weekend my friend Mercy and I had planned a surprise baby shower for a good friend of ours Mary Anne it was such a splendid time and we had spent the whole like past three weeks fretting over nothing and so scared no one would turn up and trust me we were there till three in the morning maybe thats y I have a flu..i have the pics tho my flash drive is far so I will posst them in the next blog....as you can tell this is by far the most boring blog posting to date I am so out it trust me.when I get sick I go ballistic I need TLC....

"The Only Limitation Is Your Imagination."

random...from Def Jam to Grammies

Yeah this is so random right now...coz its one in the morning and am getting sleepy I should be in bed but its a pity my system is changing I am becoming a night owl.I can stay up till 4 in the morning but by 9a.m I will be blacking out.But no now that I think about it I have always been a night person never a morning person- ask my sister or roomate how grouchy I am.I am listening to Amazing Love- You are My King on You tube its one of those hillsongs that will never die in the leagues of above all power...good stuff when am in the mood for getting in touch with the Jesus in me- which seems to ne happening a lot on Sundays only - not good!!!So anyway yesterday I got derailed by Njeri at work - kawaida yake she hooked me up with Hennesey so we were sipping on Hennesey but the problem was I was staying for the overnight shift so I was staggering around the faccility till 7 in the morning..just a reminder why I stopped srinking.Today I spoke to myfamily my small sister is going to start Aga Khan High school for form one.I am still in shock that she is joining high school..I remember he rin her cradle so well its not even funny....checking up on her after every 5 minutes...Gosh I love kids so much..what I wish for is that I will give my kids 101% of me love them so gently...I am in a poetic mood coz I have just come from watching Shihan on Def Jam Poetry man he is mind blowing...I dont know how to post videos yet but if you get on you tube and type in def jam poetry Shihan.....
So anyway Valentines day is coming up this week and I dont have a valentine kawaida yangu.....I was talking with May the chick I work with and was came to the conclusion that I have the problem in relationships.I remember a quote Terry from Soulfood once asked, 'i wonder why men want me until they have me?" and yes I do wonder the first stages are bliss then suddenly something goes terribly wrong and it takes a down ward plunge.But you know what its a 50-50 situation which I dont realize most of the time - until its too late that is.I always want to be on the receiving end..always getting the phone calls always getting the compliments so I need to be more pro-active in my relationships.....okay this has turned from random to Dear June
Yes so as I was saying - gosh I get carried away so fast - O spoke to my family and I have a project pending over summer that needs their consulation prayers - lets just say its a big risk that I am willing to take - me being the risk taker that I am...So blog please cros syour fingers all goes well...will keep you posted...
Meanwhile tonight was the grammy awards and it fell so short of my expectations....the performances - except for Beyonces kawaida who gives her all in her performances were nothing out of the ordinary.I saw my boo Usher in the audience but his boo was by his side lol!!I think they are getting a baby..What happened to the days Usher , Mary J P Diddy would get on stage grammy night and give us a mind blowing perfomance...mmh I guess they dont make em like they used to!!!!Okay now my eyes weigh a kg......let me hit the sack.....Ciao

The "Pay it Forward" Philosophy

Today on my way back from school I was sooo hungry so I bought Chinese for me and Sue and she was like so grateful and making such a big fuss and was like you dont know how much I appreciate you bringing me and bla bla fishcake so I told her really its no big deal-coz really its not...But you know what I told her Pay it forward and she went like huh???Yes its a simple philosophy that could change the world..the same way I give her a ride someone did the same for me when I just came to the country and needed a ride to school.So you know what that person told me dont pay me back pay it forward.This applies in all aspects of life whatever good someone does in your life I dont want you to hold on to it I want you to give the good to the next person who may need it.Be it a ride be it a favour be it a smile when a stranger smiles at you as you cross the street I urge you to smile back and smile to the next person.If this philosophy was really applied dont you think the world would be so awesome.But the thing is we humans are so selfish we hang to everything instead of sharing...So share that smile let me scratch your back and you scratch the next persons back.....All in all my week has started out two hours late as my boss kept me waiting today but I learnt the gift of paitience - it truly is a virtue - I told my self if I get worked up I will ruin my whole week so let me find something to keep me busy...so I read for the test I had later on in the day and it really heleped.So she didnt really rob me of two hour sof my day she technically mademe not do what I owuld have done in thoise hours..okay gibberish when I start rumbling on please stop me as I am falling asleep...........zzzzzzzzz

Letting go

I have just completed a medical ethics paper - that is due kesho -yes I remain the queen of procrastination and I feel so accomplished..but not really coz I did a little plagiarism - i hope none of my proffessors reads blogs coz I will be in the slammer sooner than I can say plagiarism....so anyhu I have also come from facebook and seen pictures of one of my first loves ahem ahem I will not write names and I was so amazed how much I have grown and let go of that relationship - coz trust me its not a cliche when they say the first cut is the deepest.Yes there were times Mr X would call and I would go balistic when he smiled my heart skipped beats but now that I look at it it was all just puppy love...a phase I am so over trust me he would say jump and I ask how high not literally but you catch my drift....I saw his pic today and I went like huh??what was all that about?But the beauty of every relationship is that you learn a thing or two and with each relationship you get better.....so yes I am still "on the prowl" as Lydia calls it but not really currently I have no social life my books are my life right now but I love them all the same when you start reading you realize how much you do not know and you had rather be quiet - yes let me be a nerd for today.....

You've got to know when it's over. Let me tell you something. I've got the gift of goodbye. It's the tenth spiritual gift, I believe in goodbye. It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me. And if it takes too much sweat I don't need it. Stop begging people to stay. - T.D JAKES

Me Mama Mikes and Kitty

Ha ha ha Yes that is the title of my post today...today i was glad to make my sisters day by sending her a black forest cake a bottle of wine and a Steers voucher through mama mikes...some online whatever they are that you can sambaza whatever it is you want - wine airtime etc to your loved ones back home and put a smile on their face (Let me be their unofficial marketing manager here)You can vsist their website at http://www.mamamikes.com/ and go ahead and make someones day......So anyway back to my sister yes as I have promised for such a long time I will write about her but trust me I cannot even begin to find the right words to describe what she has been through so today I will try as best as I can...I call her Kitty...So 5years ago - Oh my God its been 5years...yes so anyway 5 years ago she was involved in a nasty car accident in which two of her friends passed away and she was sustained a spinal cord injury - paralyzed from the shoulders down.Underwent spinal fusion in Cape town such a brave brave young soul I tell you...From on of the operations she came out smiling or so my dad says - but you know he is a drama king but honestly I believe him coz this girl can smile through a storm which she has and continues to day everyday.With all her ingenuity and confidence she has gone ahead and staarted an NGO called Chariots of Destiny please visit the site http://www.chariotsofdestiny.org/ that champions the need for accesibility options for people in the rural areas living with spinal cord injuries and also advocates for designating a driver through various campaigns e.g the just concluded peition signature for "Make Roads Safe" - Yes Adisa I can be your spokeswoman...Trust me everyone in our family knows for a fact that their is no one who is strong enough to go through what she has gone through with such grace, confidence and determination.In all honesty she has made each and everyone in the Marenge family realize we have inner strength that we did not know we had and most important one big philosophy I have learnt through her experience "DONT SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF!" There are things we choose to take so seriously that are so trivial and we become so rigid in our ways.Trust me life is too short so as per the Chariots of Destiny slogan Take Each Day at a Time!You may not have what you want or be where you want to be but trust you me there is someone somehwere out there who would give anything to be where you are.Goodness I could go on and onforever her story could fill my blog so you can read more below (I tried to paste the link but it refused so here is the pasted version) It was written by a journalist from one of our local dailies..enjoy

Of all the statements that Casey said, one will remain forever engraved in my heart-‘it could have been worse’. It is indeed remarkable that anyone can use those words after becoming paralyzed from the shoulders down, Yet, this is what Casey said and that is what makes her an amazing and inspirational young woman. After completing her O level education at Alliance Girls High School in year 2000, Casey joined the rest of her family in Kampala, Uganda where her father was working. She continued with her education and sat for her A levels in 2002.Upon completion, she decided to pursue her further studies in the UK.
After being accepted by a London university, she decided to travel back to Kenya and begin the process of obtaining the necessary documents needed for her journey. While here, she reacquainted herself with her friends and former schoolmates who were now studying at Daystar University.
On Friday September 26th2003, Casey met with her friends to go out for the night. They had a good time and left for home at about two a.m. The excitement and events of the day finally had their toll on Casey and she dozed off upon entering the car. When she woke up, it was Saturday early morning and she was lying on a bed at the Intensive Care Unit of the M.P. Shah Hospital. Little did she know that she had been in a horrific accident that had stolen away the lives of two of her friends who were passengers in the car and one that would ultimately alter the course of her life forever.
She spent six weeks at the MP Shah hospital in the ICU section. She had no voice, due to the breathing and feeeding tubes inserted down her throat, and all she could do was whisper to family and friends by her bedside. Cold metal tongs of traction were bolted into the sides of her head with eight kilograms of weights suspended on a pulley to keep the pressure off her broken neck. She endured a battery of tests and injections and was all the while fully dependent on the hyper ventilator for breathing. She remembers one incident when she tried to move her hands only for her arms to fail. She did not realize the full implications of this and dozed off considering it an effect of all the drugs that she was taking.
Due to the magnitude of the injury that Casey sustained and also the limitations available here for the treatment of spinal cord injury, the family sought expert medical advice from the Consulting Surgeons who then concurred on the decision to evacuate Casey to a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa for specialized treatment. After critical preparations and fundraisings, through an AMREF air-plane, Casey was then flown to Southern Cross Hospital in Cape Town.
Upon arrival, the head of the Spinal Rehabilitation Centre Dr. Ed Baalbergen began immediate medical care of Casey. Dr. Baalbergen, who was later to bond soclosely with this cheerful Kenyan girl, for the very first time laid out calmly the hard facts to Casey about the extent of the injury to her spine. Once again, it did not sink in due to the effects of the sedatives. When she woke up after a long drug induced sleep, she imagined that the doctor’s words were an unreal dream. She somehow believed that God would take control and make her walk. In fact, she kept telling her physiotherapists and doctors that her God wanted to and would make her walk again.
Soon after, she was on the operating table in a six hour operation to strengthen and stabilize her neck. Bone from her hip was extracted to be used as graft on her neck to aid the stabilization process. To date, Casey recalls the intense pain she was in from the operation. A mix-up of instructions caused Casey to receive a double dose of morphine. This made her delirious and sent her temperatures to the forties. Her mother watched in helpless agony as her first daughter’s body struggled with the pain and suffering. A second operation would follow to correct her respiratory system. She had to go through a number of exercises that would push the diaphragm up in order to revive her collapsed lungs. She started being weaned off the hyper ventilator and all the while having to endure the discomfort of feeding tube through her nose to the stomach.
On 18th December, Casey was finally off the hyper ventilator and a few days after she was moved from the ICU to the general ward. Even then, she could not breathe on her own and had to have an oxygen mask attached to her at all times. Subconsciously, Casey wanted to remain dependent on the machines to breath. This would cause panic attacks where she would demand to be put back on the machine. These attacks lessened when the rest of her family came to visit in mid-December. The first step of the healing miracle in Casey’s condition happened at this time when she was transferred from the ICU after a stay of eleven weeks in both Nairobi and Cape Town and moved to a normal ward room. This was indeed a welcome gift for the family who had just arrived in Cape Town to be together with her. Her younger sister’s Penny and Jessy were a calming influence especially when Casey’s legs would have intense spasms.
She soon began her physiotherapy sessions and through counselling psychology she began accepting her fate. She attributes this to the wonderful and supportive team of nurses and physiotherapists. A major milestone was on January 19th when Casey’s voice came back following a final operation around her throat which enabled the breathing tube removed. Even then pain was never far away. The constant insertion of suction catheters to her lungs to assist in coughing was a painful exercise that she had to withstand time and time again.
Her mother, Lucy meanwhile had undertaken a course in home care nursing at a training institution in Cape Town to equip her with the necessary skills of taking care of her daughter in this new life. And so the preparations to bring Casey home started. Casey did not want to leave the ‘comfort’ zone of hospital. Here everyone knew her as a quadriplegic. She worried about coming home and having to be viewed by friends and family as a helpless invalid. At certain times she felt scared and felt that her fate was far worse than of her friends who had passed on. To some of her friends, she described her condition as death in slow motion.
She found courage and strength in a South African girl who is a midget with no arms. This girl uses her shoulders to drive among other activities, and a few weeks before Casey met this girl, she had just graduated and gotten her Masters degree in psychology. Casey felt challenged to make something out of her situation. She then began lessons teaching her how to use voice activated computer software that enables her to carry out all functions of a computer giving her hope that she could now complete her studies and make something out of her life.

Patrick Njiru.....

Yeah today I honestly feel like Patrick Njiru in his hey days I have been continously driving from 8 in the morning till up about now I got lost as usual in the morning looking for the doctors kiosk so for one hour I was driving around Andover looking for the podiatrist - dont ask....lookingas suspicious as ever like a parol car..lol!!!So anyway after that drove home then drove to Salem and trust me these distances are not ati from mama pimas to baba pimas across the road I am talking a good one to two hours on a highway and the way nowadays I cruise at 80mph - too much Italian job..speaking of which the minnie cars are haunting my existence.I love those minnie cars to death - everyone around me knows that everywhere I look I c those babies they make me weak in my knees...right now my fantasy would be to cruise in a minnie just for ten minutes or half an hour on the 95 interstate thats all I ask Santa pls????I am seriously not a fan of big cars although my sister loves big cars big everything.I guess it says alot about personality...I prefer the simpler things in life just being content and happy inside is all that matters to me....
Okay I am beginning to dribble and drab about nothing yah coz its twelve thirty and oh yah the week did not start out as bad as I was dreading actually I love my classes today my proffesors are ladies..which is ok with me but I think I prefer male proffessors.....I think its the whole Mars Venus attraction that makes me succeed inmy classes when the proffesors are men..ok so yes I have begun to sound like I have taken one to many shots of tequila.so gnite.

tit bits

The fact that you were born,Is proof, God has a plan for you.The path may seem unclear right now,But one day you will see,That all that came before,Was truly meant to be.God wrote the book that is your life,That's all you need to know.Each day that you are living,Was written long ago.God only writes best sellers,So be proud of who you are,Your character is important,In this book you are the Star.Enjoy the novel as it reads,It will stand throughout the ages,Savor each chapter as you go,Taking time to turn the pages.

Monday Blues

It is approximately no it is exactly 1 thirty eight in the morning Monday and am upstairs when I should be downstairs in bed...reason being its a Sunday that I do not want to sleep coz I am dreading tomorrow...this supercedes Monday blues trust me this is a whole new level....The day has been so good went to watch some new dancing step up movie I think its called "the way she moves" - yeah it had no effect on me whatsoever so much so that I cant remember the name one of the cliche dancing movies that are coming up - poor girl wants to make it big gets into a dance group another group steals their moves eventually win...jeez talk about not another teen movie reloaded!!!!..anyhu back to my Monday blues.....oh yes I think I have had a light bulb moment as to the reason I am down...I did not go to church today..Now its atonement time...then another reason I just feel so inept ...unprepared psychologically physically and emotionally for the week..something is bugging me and I need to put my finger on it......and yes I think I have got it....this weekend I realized I have failed my very good friend Deno and myself...I have not been there for him as he has been there for me on so many occasions its countless... I have put my own selfish needs first and now I think the guilt is eating me up....second myself I have failed myself by not being true to my values and what I stand for so I need to go for self evaluation class 101 all over again - Priscilla where ya at???Mmmmh I am heaving a sigh of relief it is off mu chest..now I need to call Deno....yah we are that close I can call him at this time of the morning and he will be ready to listen to me rant and rave about nothing at all........
Okay so let me go and I hope I can find the directions I need for the doctors appointment tommorow - yeah my crazy week begins.....

Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't bysize that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.

New England my foot!!!!

Remind me y I chose to live in Massachussetes again ??oh yah coz it was my safest bet at that time in my life...Save for the best football team - Go Pats!!!!,baseball and almost best basketball team I think this State has the worst weather this side of the Saharra.They do not call it 'New England"for kicks sake...we might as well have been called "New Alaska" coz the winter is here and I can assure you Mother Nature is fast approaching menopause...she has been mean this time round.....I have been shovelling and falling slipping and sliding on the road getting frost bites , freezing... as you can seethe list is endless.....I really do not like the cold weather..I love sunshine it just makes my heart smile from the inside...note to self..should have been a sunflower in another life....so anyhu here are pics of me looking for the car in the snow to drive a good 50 minutes to Salem State College-yeah thats the bargaining chip for wanting to live in "New England"

Need v Long Haul

This is the first article I have come up with the title AFTER I blog my thoughts....
Yesterday I was talking to someone so dear to me ahem ahem you know yourself and she was like she felt fake coz they had just broken up with a certain Mr X he had got what he wanted and now she felt cheap so I told her she shouldnt feel cheap instead look at it in the sense that the romance was cheap and she also got what she wanted.But the whole thing got me thinking hard as it seems to be happening to me too - I tend to call it "The Needy Syndrome."I think we as humans attract people in our lives based on our expression of certain needs.People walk into your life because you have expressed a certan need and hence they try fulfill it.It could be emotional , financial , physical - you know your needs...So anyway I think we need to know the difference when someone is there just to fulfill a need as opposed to when they are there to walk beside us to the bitter end.In so doing we will be able to know when the need has been met and walk away gracefully from the relationship without too many expectations,heartbreak the shoulda coulda wouldas....
So then I ask myself how do you know the difference between a need meeter and a real am-here for-the-long haul kinda person???Oh trust me the signs are all the there from the get go......the need meeters are not interested in you as a person they are interested in what you need and what they need in return for meeting your needs..the word need here is becoming redundant!They will not bother to find out why you like your eggs well done they will want to make your eggs well done and leave...I am talking in 3d perspective here - apply it in all areas...The long haul people will want to find out the finer details that define you as a person - they willl know what your values are and respect them ,they will know when you are upset even in the tone of a text message...bla bla bla I can go on and on but you get the picture right...I know I do...and trust me I have learnt the hard way...so people lets be smart enough and know when the need has been met and walk away...

New Years Resolution

Okay am back..... after a lot of procrastination my last entry was on November the 27th and here I am January the 10th- today is a special day- Muraya Holla!!!I have decided that I will only have one resolution - do everything that I did last year differently and have a passion in everything that I do...I think that sums up all the resolutions that I can come up with..because I can say that I want to loose weight this year but if I have no passion for it then it is pointlesss.I can say that I want to help the less fortunate this year but if I have no passion I will achieve nothing...Christmas came and went thank God I did not spend it at work as I did my first christmas in this country...I chose to spend it with people so dear to me - Winnie , Mercy, Mary in Salem MA.I can describe each and eveyone in detail but that would take up a whole blog coz they are all so special and unique in their own way - love them to bits...We were initially to have a lunch from two but being the Africans that we are ended up eating the nyam chom at 6 but we had a ball all the same...Oh yes and the weekend before I had spent it at the Richardsons - thats my other family - I think I have special angels all over the place we had such a ball went bowling with Debbie - my sweet angel with Multiple sclerosis such a fighter and a diva at that - Debbie has the biggest closet I have seen in MA!!!and her sweet son Peter who has grown so much in the last year and the last day of my viist he was like "Penny no go home today Penny stay with Peter"He makes my heart melt for sure...
Sadly Kenya had her elections on the 27th and it did not turn out so well...there was outwright rigging by the curent president which erupted in violence across the country but being the mature Kenyans we are people rose above that and helped out as much as they could and peace is slowly being established.The sad part however is those whose houses, shops etc were burnt down and what pains the most is that the people most affected are the ones with less resources than your average mwananchi living below the poverty line.So while the well to do in State House are chanting behind their armed guarded mansions that the elections were rigged they watch on their plasma TV their fellow Kenyans in Kibera slain each other - am sure paid a measly sum to do that...we will not name names here...
It is so sad that Kenya has had to begin her year on such a low note -with bloodshed ,people have lost loved ones all in the name of greed. the dollar went up , Safaricons much anticipated IPO had to be put on hold , schools had to be postponed sponsorships from abroad have been withdrawn etc.Watching the drama unfold from the diaspora , we are putting ourselves in the leagues of Sudan , DRC ,Ethiopia who have had no stable government for a very long time...So why are we as humans so greedy for power and prestige that we put our integrity on the line...Honestly speaking who will ever listen to Kibaki anymore ..anything he says will be hogwash - not that we ever fully did listen as all he spoke was gibberish with a looney wife to back him up!People I tell you at the end of the day when everything has been stripped away all that is left is your character.....not what you have done but who you are is what wins the day....So as you go about your day to day activities be men and women of integrity ....untainted, just and honest as possible....
Oh yes then guess where I went to jump the year with my other angel Priscilla - Orlando Florida but I will put that posting with the pics ....watch this space..

Seasons

Mory Mory as Karanja....would say it has been a whole year I am reading my blog and I see the last time I wrote something was last Thanksgiving it is so amazing how a year goes by so fast - esp in this country where somehow the days are either ridiculously short or we somehow have got caught up in this rat race we have forgotten to stop and smell the flowers, watch the susnset, smile at the person in the bus...ok my poetic side is whisking me away....
so as i was saying I am back it has been quite a year I must say .....so much has happened....so many people have walked in and out of my life.....I have fallen in and out of love lust and like all at once....i have learnt so much in this year..I turned the big 21 August 8th but I feel as though I have added 5 years to my age ..Spring came and went Summer came and went the people I knew then I dont know now but you know what has stood the test of time..three things in my life....family, my true friends and God.Somehow in our busy lives running up and down we forget to say hi to the ones we love the most... just a word to show we care and are still there and suddenly the days turn into weeks then months then the years go by and we erase people from our minds but you know what however far we move, however much we change true friends and family will always be the same silent but very alive in our hearts and minds.....
Today I spoke to my sister and I think she is the reason I am back on this blog...everytime I talk to her I just get a surreal sense of motivation to get off my behind and stop whining and start living......when the word survivor was put in the dictionary they should have put my sisters name right beside it...she is my rock my other and better half she is the left leg and I the right...i could go on and on forever .....she has been to hells kitchen and back for real...laughed in the face of death and come out with a million dollar smile on her face.....what she has been through no one in our family or anyone for that matter can accomplish the things she has done the way she has done them and with the spirit that she has done them...her story in the next post.............

The Cable Guy

Today I had quite an interesting morning the Cable Guy from Comcast came to install cable and cracked the hell out of me..He is a Cambodian and was telling me how he had his first joint last week and in a second he says he felt as though he was in heaven..he ended up driving all the way to the Canadian border where he was asked by the officials for identification and where he was going all he answered was "am driving home so let me through"he was whisked off to the cell faster than he could say Jack Robinson..
So anyway I have had quite a tuliad week the weather getting all winterish and grey.... Christmas is round the corner it is looking so beautiful the leaves have fallen off the trees like completely it is totally cool...

Thanksgiving

Okay so last week was Thanksgiving we had a whole week off school to make merry and eat as much turkey and go state hopping looking for where the party at...I was in Beverly Farms with The Richardsons-my American host family I wanted to experience the real Thanksgiving... kwanza I thought thanksgiving is a dinner affair kumbe its a lunch thing but trust me the turkey took 5 hours to cook so we ended up eating at around 4 but it was such a good time.The whole family had come down from all over the States-Tomy from Florida with his amazing angels-Katy and Kevin,Pamela from Rhode Island with her husband Matt and daughter Amy... Peter from Framingham oh my generally we were so many- around 15-20 at the table there was loads and loads of hams a 30 pound turkey corn on the cob duck meat ice creams pies.... generally so much food and laughter and of course we had to go round in turns giving thanks for anything and everything and I was just glad to have made it to the States and be around such warm people....sniff sniff so am I getting emotional here...so we joked and played with the kids till late into the night..the next morning we continued with a huge breakfast-bacon,sausages..gosh am getting hungry..then we went out shopping we took up about 3vans we went to BJs for shopping then for lunch at some restaurant we had like 4 tables i think we got a quantity discount on the total cost..
So I left later on in the evening took a train to Boston with the guys from the family they were going to watch a Celtics game I was coming back to Lowell so generally that was my Thanksgiving day....

Daisy

Right there at the center is my front deskie for KCSE she is called Daisy Kamal-yeah the full Jango shadiness with their Oprah Winfrey Onyango names.But she is such a sweetie.Here she is at a pals place in Canada - a bash or something..oh yeah she is a party animal - was entertainment prefect back in high school with my other very close friend Lydia-we call each other blondie coz jokes used to be cracked and we used to laugh like 5 minutes later....ahhh good times good times....So right now I am at the CALL center all alone Jay-my boss has gone for lunch Kathleen my other boss has gone home-Friday and suddenly when I am left alone is when the place has become so busy someone wants something done, information on a course and am like AAAAAGGGGH!!!!!!!!!!

zzz.......

hi it has been such a long time since i posted anything..mainly coz I had a dull weekend and second I have had a bad flu can you imagine I already have a flu and winter na bado.... my throat has been so soar and my nose looked like Pinnochios but now I am all good.Right now I am in the IT lab in school I have just got here it is approximately 8;30 the weather outside is so dull and grey I am waiting for 9thirty i enter my shift for the CALL center which is where I work in school I am sooooo sleepy trust me I am not a morning person..The whole arise and shine Wakey Wakey...no I dont feel that vibe I am more a work late into the night/early morning hours sleep at 5 in the morning wake up at ten or eleven..okay right now as you can see I am blabbering on and on about alot of nothing...

'What lies behind us & what lies before us are tiny matter compared to what lies within us'
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Election Day

Yesterday was election day though I havent been such a keen follower of whats happening in and around whose voting who which is which all I can say is, where I am right now-Massachussetes the best man won I am totally a democrat and the brilliant Patrick Deval was last night elected as Governor of Mass.I totally admire his approach as he is Putting the needs of immigrants as top prioroty which is a serious issue that needs to be adressed in the U.S.Factors such as citizenship, status etc below is an extract of a part of his speech and a short clip right herehttp://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid86311306/bclid140822102/bctid192880057...Read

Hope, vision and hard work

I can still remember when I first came to Massachusetts. I wasn’t a lawyer then. I wasn’t a business leader or a senior government official. I wasn’t a father or a husband and goodness knows I wasn’t a candidate for governor. I was a 14-year-old boy, starting a new life that was as different from anything I'd experienced in Chicago as I could possibly imagine. And I was scared.
But my grandmother had a saying that fortified me: “Hope for the best – and work for it.”
Hope for the best – and work for it.
That’s what I did. I hoped for the best – I learned how not to accept what is right in front of me, what someone else said were my limits. I learned how to imagine a better life and a better way. And I worked for it.
I learned to listen to common sense and wisdom, to be true to my core values, and to ignore those who called me naïve or told me to accept something less.Standing on the brink of an uncertain future, with all the challenges our state faces today, I hope for the best and am prepared to work for it.
And that is why I am running and why I'm asking you to help me become your next governor. I want you to see what’s possible in Massachusetts – and to help me work for it.

A Fallen Hero

On Friday last week I was humbled to attend one of the most honourable funeral services in my lifetime.It was a send-off fit for a king but thats what Anthony Laban Kimungu deserved for the life he lived and the light he brought to this world.After fighting in the US Army marines for about four years he came home two weeks ago with a vow to look after his mother finally though it was short lived..Generally speaking I am at a loss of words to describe this vibrant character that God had to take home.He has a website set up www.askaboutme.net coz really this blog space is just to small to express the loss of such a great brother,friend,son,hero.....Keep smiling down on us Anthony...
"..A candle that burns twice as bright only has to burn half as long..."

Quincy Fellowship

Every other Tuesday I attend a fellowship in Quincy last night being no exception it is such a blessed time.... here are some pics from the Quincy website Deno right there was my first friend in Salem State College who gave me mawaidtha here and there and introduced me to the fellowship.There he is ati fundishaing pool-yeah right Deno you you just wanted to appear next to the preety mama....
Anyway this was Oktober Fest this coming Sato is the amazing race brainchild of the ever so talented Macha-member of Quincy This guy can piga those drums you are left like sawa!!!Anyway this is the place to be every Tuesday from seven to ten oh and then did I mention after that there is "Kahoa" directly translated to mean coffee we go to Dunkin Donuts and have coffee and steakbombs-(trust me I dint know what those were till I joined) and chat and chat till past midnight ..generally its the place to be if you need refreshing ....

"...The pessimist sees the hole the optimist sees the doghnut...."

Witches and Wizadry

Well readers today is officialy Halloween and you will never believe the city I chose to spend my first Halloween-SALEM!!!For all of you who are going like ummmm and the big deal is.....Well Salem is the home of the witch trials of 1692 where about 16 or so witches- am not sure were burnt at the stake for practising Wicca or Witchcraft..You can click right here if your interested in reading more....
Their graveyard church and houses are located right here in Salem so there are like van loads and van loads of tourists from all over the States in a nutshell the city is crazy traffic is crazy...
So anyway let me go trick or treat I have no costume though but I love candy....

Imagination

I came across the album for "Mercy Me" singers of " I can only imagine." and there was a deep quote one of them put down it goes something like...

Maybe God gave us imaginations because He knew how much we would need them on those difficult days when nothing goes right, on those dark nights when it seems like dawn will never come...being able to imagine better times ahead is a gift.Imagination can make all the difference

Oh I also took the liberty of writing down the chorus of that song yani it is just toooo deep for words..here goes..

Surrounded by your glory what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still?
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing Hallelujah?Will I be able to speak it all?I can only imagine.......

Vuta Pumzi

Yes on Sato night I was so ready to vuta pumzi rumour had it the Longombas were around so like a good number of Kenyans were all set but Lo and behold rumour then had it today that they were denied visas and bla bla bla so with all my miotos for going out I said you know what it aint over till its over so i managed to dandia a last minute plan with some friend Muraya and his cousin Macha we were leaving the digz at twelve..talk of "hakuna kulala nyumbani" we had a good time anyway but would have been better with Lovi and Christian in the mix...
Sunday morning was polite was in church like for most of the day....yeah the full irony from the previous night... after the service there was a pre-wedding harambee for some Kenyan couple getting married in Dec it was quite a success-raised over 20k-dollars!!!!!and am thinking wow that will be quite a dope wedding but am sure they will do investments, shares and bla bla fishcake...and that wrapped up my weekend...was so frustrated had left my charger at Kuis-weh Kui bana wsup with the progressive dinner pics???so I was out of communication with so many people leo I get my fone c i was a ka baller with ten voice messages and 5 txts from my gorgeous sister so anyway I really am blabbering useless info....

.....Something special happens when we close our eyes thats why we close our eyes when we kiss, sleep and dream..........

Kaveza

right there is the name of my younger sister it is Luya-God knows what it means-Lunjes and there jisty names yawa!!!So anyway came across this pic of her and her pals in those dingy brown dresses you should see these girls in their normal clad they look straight out of a teen movie-but I guess uniform has that effect am sure you remember the way your uniform could make you look like a "domestic officer" at times!!!Anyway enough beating about the bush yani I miss this girl like crazy-being younger than me I miss someone to tuma tuma no actually come to think about it.... she is the one who sends me around...so gal whereva ya at..miss ya loads...all flash" (its a personal joke we have)
Oh just for the record Kaveza-my sis is the one on the extreme left next to her is Sunneta-cutest dimples then Winnie-even cuter dimples standing behind is Morena-should go into modelling she is tall like wow down there is Stacey-Ms Goldilocks oh and their dingy bus at the back spoiling the pic.....

"..Never be afraid of loosing sight of the shore coz then you will never discover new waters.."

Progressive Dinner

On Friday evening international students at Salem State College-I included set out from the Center for International Education office at the school. We were loaded into vans and cars to begin an epic night of food food and more food in that order.Dubbed the "Progressive dinner"the theme was to visit approximately 5-6 houses of the host families with which the school has "hooked up" international students with and in each house sampling a different meal..
I cant quite recall what we had at each house but trust me by the end of it all I had added like quite a number of pounds.From turkey to chicken to all forms of salads to samosas meat pies it was divine...
It then culminated at the last house where we had a bonfire....the whole marshmallow thing...yeah it was my first time... being the shady Kenyan I am!At the bonfire we sung songs from our countries it was so dope listening to other languages-Japanese, French, Turkish,German and of course you know I gosta wakilisha with "Ee Mungu nguvu Yetu....."Oh yah then we played broken telephone and trust me with all the accents going on ..only a few words got to make it through!!!
It was such a great time and experience halafu we were dropeed off back at kedo midnight.....an yah that wrapped up my Friday night the pics will come up soon if Kui can get off her lazy bum..... okay i got a pic here we are at the first house having starters... me there having an "intellectual"conversation with Yakimoto-or something close to that-I cant recal his name and me doing the marshmallow thing....

"...Courage doesn't always roar sometimes courage is the silent voice at the end of the day saying I will try again tommorow..."

Banana Boy

This weekend i had the pleasure of spending it with one of the sweetest cuddliest babies in the world-Peter O Brien he was celebrating his 3rd party so he had a lovely party at his place and he invited me as the guest of Honour...awwww shame!!!!!I call him my banana boy coz I always ask him .."Who likes bananas?" and in the sweetest voice he screams "peter!"....he loves bananas..So it was preety cool he got so many toys and bla bla bla and I was like Oh my goodness you mean these things still happen??But anyway I love his family so much they have taken me into their home as one of theirs esp Peters mum-Debbie she is such a sweetheart.I wear her peach mutiple sclerosis band all the time to promote awarness of her condition..she is amazing...
Okay right now I have a class in the next like 15 minutes-ENG 101 and there is a CAT we are going to do and I am staring at the book going like ummm....mmmh....so anyway that was my weekend nothing extraodinary happened..oh oh I got my learners permit and I have been practisiing how to drive...i am adjusting to driving on the right hand side unlike back home we do it the British way on the left....so catch you later...

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

The Reason For the Season

Today I start off on a low note....I was reading the Nation on the web and came across the saddest piece of information..Human Rights Activist ,Director, ABANTU for development Wanjiru Kihoro's time on earth had sadly come to an end.For all who dint get to share in this womans story she was involved in a plane crash about 3 years ago where two Mps passed away she has been in a coma all this time..You can read the story by clicking http://www.iasa-intl.com/folders/belfast/Busla.html....can you imagine hence my title The Reason coz I believe everything happens for a reason and for a season...as it is written "...He sets a time to sow and a time to reap...a time to mourn and a time to rejoice..."So I guess Wanjirus time here was up...I applaud her husband Mr.Kihoro...to find such a man is truly a blessing...staying by her bedside each and every day hoping that she would spring back to life until God finally called her to rest but I guess thats what faith is all about believing in things we cannot see..He even dedicated his Jurist of the Year award to her in 2004...God should send more men like you down here!!!!
Wanjirus story is also dear to me as well coz someone very special to me-my sister went through the same experience....but hers is a story for another day... but all in all lets acknowledge this great womans fighting spirit and know that whatever challenges we face are only for a season....There is a great phrase I picked up somwhere it goes something like...

If you Give up when it is winter
You will miss the joy of your summer
The promise of your spring
Fulfillment of your fall...

Chamchi.....

Chamchi is an Indian phrase to mean............
Today I got to chat with this supulicious mama who enyewe I have mad beef with yani how can you panga with someone vile ati you are going to "live the American dream"pamoja we had even decided ati summer break we are hooking up for a road trip sharing an apartment and bla bla bla then at the last minute the chamchi chomoas for me ati "plans changed" yani Farzana Noorani to the grave I will fuata you ...now I kulad culture shock man solo-lakini its all good aint no shame in my game!!!
Yah oh so this here is Farzana Noorani some crazy ass Arabian Madagscar Indian-really I never gitched where she was from exactly we did internship pamoja at the best place to work-Monier 2000 we had another fabulous time wacha tu...We used to say we were going out to collect "data" for our weekly reports kumbe we chomoka and go to Sarit Village Market you name it oh and kula nyama at Diamond Plaza...lakini it was great....Lakini we had this boss called Rajiv when he was good he was really good and when he was bad he was a beast there was a time we had pangad ati we are chomokaing to watch a movie heh Rajiv kamatad us and told us to clean out some store...yes a store that had not seen a mop in 10 years yani vile we had dressed that day ati "for the movie"-shock! kwanza Farzana had on this white ati silky dress ha at the end of the excersise she looked like she had been swimming in the Saharra si I quacked at her...
Anyway glad I met this mama she is very funny and does not take crap from nobody......yeah that Minnie day...she blasted some mama called Minnie-our other boss who wanted her to beba some things...and here she is graduating looking resplendent.....take care gal and you had better come for my grad-its the least you can do after standing me up like that!!!!

"Chase the Dream Not the Competition........."

I Love you to the moon and back

Yup that was the title on a baby nib at a baby shower I attended with Jessica...We arrived fashionably late like an hour...we had potead and overslept after the previous night wedding and Hennesey...but it was such a sweet baby shower with everyone going oohh ahhh the baby is due in two months exactly from kesho...which made got me thinking how I cant wait to have a few brats of my own ...when the time is right and I can support em and be the second best mama in the world after my dear mommy.....

Here is a story I came across to acknowledge our mamas show some love and read it ...hope it doesnt bore you stiff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why are you crying, a young boy asked his Mom? "Because I'm a woman," she told him. "I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will, but that's O.K."....... Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does Mom seem to cry for no reason?". "All women cry for no reason," was all his Dad could say...... The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry. Finally he put in a call to God and when God got back to him, he asked "God, why do women cry so easily?" GOD answered...... "When I made woman, I decided she had to be special. I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet, made her arms gentle enough to give comfort... I gave her the inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times will come even from her own children. I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going and take care of her family and friends, even when everyone else gives up, through sickness and fatigue without complaining.... I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances. Even when her child has hurt her badly.... She has the very special power to make a child's boo-boo feel better and to quell a teenager's anxieties and fears.... I gave her strength to care for her husband, despite faults and I fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.... I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.... For all of this hard work, I also gave her a tear to shed. It is hers to use whenever needed and ! it is her only weakness.... When you see her cry, tell her how much you love her, and all she does for everyone, and even though she may still cry, you will have made her heart feel good.

Each day is a mountain that must be climbed; with courage each step gets easier.

Love your Mother Always
and keep her Smiling

Cambodian Experience

This weekend I was honoured to attend a friends friends wedding.The chap is from Cambodia so he was marrying a fellow Cambodian mama who I can assure you looked gorgeous..like this tiny preety china doll...It was a glamorous affair yani I thought India has the preetiest mamas but trust me after Sato night I can think twice...just for the record...I am very straight....I dont swing that way.....
So anyway it was an 8 course event food came and came and came all sorts of meats and rices and birds and breads and sweets.....you get the picture..but the most interesting part was the bride and groom and their 8 outfits as well canyou believe they had a dfferent outfit for each event...to welcome the guests,to open the dance floor,to take pics and each time the dresses looked like a million bucks-gold encrusted stuff...man just watch this space for the pics coming up soonest....Oh oh halafu they had to go round each table-the bride and groom saying a Thank You to the guests and on each table they had to take a shot of whatever drink-vodka Hennesey the works and trust me there were like 50tables by the time they finished they were singing a Cambodian version of the Luo ."I am not Sober"............

"..If you love something let it go if it comes back its yours.."

Tutaweza kweli???

Oh here is one more pic from the camp I went to in Maine we were at one of the ropes courses you had to "walk the line" as a team and make sure no one fell off but unfortunately we dint make....but hey look at how thin the ropes are and we had just had a heavy Texan bbq lunch so we had put on a few extra pounds.....I give props to those guys for the circus enyewe you guys are winners!!

"..All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible. .."
T.E. Lawrence

The Camp in Maine

Oh I went for a great camp last week up in Maine we actually passed the real Shawshank Redemption prison on the way there-it was really cool- here are some pics we took.Though it was like sooooo cold but beautiful with the fall season and all the leaves looked amazing but cold....There I am feelangaing "follow the leader leader" and just after this pic we all fell off.........

"Breakfast At Tiffany's"

I have decided I will pick up from wherever I was and skip all the nitty grities...
In a nutshell I have had quite a crazy month-meeting so many people seeing so many new things...
I have grwon so close with the host family-The Richardsons they are absolutely amazing such wonderful people sent to earth..Debbie Bethanie Amy Banana boy-love you loads...
So I managed to enroll for classes and it is going preety great actually have made friends with loads and loads of people but the all time favourite is my Pre Calc class deskie-Adrian tells me he is a pro tennis player but the few times I have passed the tennis court I have never seen that boy so who knows???but hey always have our after class pasta ritual at some Chinese restaurant...
I have also gone for a camp with the church I attend sometimes with my host family-North Shore Baptist.The camp was up in Maine-it was so coooold but beautiful coz it was the fall season so the leaves were all yellow and we were in the cabins oh it was divine...but cooold... actually here are a few pics at the ropes course

Writers Block....

today I think I have writers block I am so totally not up to writing anything much so let me leave it here but will write something tommorrow.... no actually the real reason is I have been typing some long assignment and my fingers feel ike they are going to expold any moment now....
But there is a great book I am reading ...by Maya Angelou-actually her autobiography "I know why the Caged Bird Sings" and her introduction goes something like
"...This is for the black birds of promise who defy the odds and gods and sing their songs.."
I think thats preety deep...so if you have time try pick it up...

Heathrow......

Well dear reader thank you for taking the time to continue with my epic adventure globe trotting....so where was I oh yah so we landed at Heathrow Airport and I was going goo goo ga ga at the size of Heathrow..though it was a week after the bomb scare so security levels were high-critical actually..Oh oh oh there was this poor guy of Arab descent and my my he was being thrown sidelong glances by all the passengers at the waiting area with looks in their eyes like "Hope your not strapped with a bomb" or "Hope your not with Al Qaeda" which is just a shame coz after 9/11 most Arabs are now stereotyped as a whole network of bombists that is just too sad...So anyway the transit time was like for 4 hours I changed 1000kshs to send email and almost rolled over when the lady at the bereau-{have never been able to spell that} gave me like 3 coins I went like Whaaaat?????where is my money??and she is like yup thats all you get.....wait the story gets better so I pop in the coins to send my peeps back home emails and goodness in like 20 minutes the money was done am like your kidding me....1000Kshs would have kept me surfing for a year at home!!!!!!!!so that was mother nature screaming at me "Welcome to the world out here!"...so afterabout 4 hours of ngethiaing at the airport we boarded...another BA flight..yup thanks sis I got an aisle seat again so thanks to you I will never know how Britain or the States looks like from a plane.....so we took off it was a shorter flight this one thank God and landed at Bostons Logan International Airport at around 1:30......the check in lines were so long, the skies were grey it was so chilly I was jetlagged I remember asking myself mmmhhh are you sure about this??...after about 45minutes I manged to get my luggage through customs..which reminds me I need to file a suit of complaint for damages.. one of my tyres on my smaller suitcase was broken the only thing is I wonder where it could have happened,Kenya UK or US...which do you think???
so anyway i check out of customs and see the sign Salem State College with two gleaming faces an elderly jolly looking fellow with what I assumed was his grandadughter and the man asks me are you Peniiinnaa and am like yes I am Peninah..and there begun Chapter 2 of my Boston Experience.......aluta la continua..........

The Boston Experience-Chapter 1

Hi blog or is it hi viewers of the blog..today the 2nd of October marks exactly one month since I landed at Bostons Logan International Airport on a chilly Saturday afternoon.....so here I am brodcasting live from a lab at the school I attend-Salem State College at about 7;55pm waiting for my ride home and I thought hey you know what lemme see what my blog has been upto...
So I think it is unfair to jump the gun and go one month forward so let me tell you how this month has been... I want to make this is brief as possible -being the woman of few words that I am -ahem ahem...
So a month ago on lovely Friday night I left my lovely "Green City in The Sun"- Nairobi in search of "The American dream"-(sic) So it was the usual moans and tears just before the airport with the usual advice "Take Care-this is America", 'Dont move with the wrong people" I dont have pics to put up of that but I can assure it was emotional-I felt like a soldier going to fight in the war-literally!!!
So after a the usual cabin crew announcments "Thank you for flying British Airways" bla bla bla-in essence what they are really saying is"Thank you suckers for spending so much money for a few hours in the air"we jetted off into the horizon and I was cursing my sister for telling me "Nah dont worry you will get a window seat" Thanks alot I got an aisle seat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!So after a few hours of being airbone, sleeping, waking up sleeping some more, watching endless endless replays of Sweet Home Alabama-trust me I know the words to date-Reese Witherspoon I can play your part!!! we landed at Heathrow Airport...and that begins chapter 1 of my "Boston Experience"....enjoy the read...........