Are You The Right Person?

Many a time we set standards in almost all areas of our lives. Standard Setting is very advisable.

Standard setting is the methodology used to define levels of achievement or proficiency and the cut-scores corresponding to those levels. A cut-score is simply the score that serves to classify the candidates whose score is below the cut-score into one level and the candidates whose score is at or above the cut-score into the next and higher level. Clearly, unless the cut-scores are appropriately set, the results of the assessment could come into question. For that reason, standard setting is a critical component of the test development process.

 Take that up there and apply to day to day situations. We set standards for our friends, acquaintances. We selectively decide on who we allow on our friends' lists, even which relatives we visit or grow close to. (yes, there is such a thing as relatives we are not close to and others we don't like at all.)
Thing is, we expect people to level up and live up to the standards we have set. I'd like to think many a person asks themselves a question before they say yes to a friend request.. something like "are they the right person for the job?" Of course there is criterion that we all follow..but have you ever stopped and asked yourself if you are the right person for the job.
Instead of asking, if She is the right person for the job, ask yourself "Am I the right person for the job?"

I am running a fictitious story line about Siko, my Maid. Having a house help is one of the basic form of employer-employee setting. And maybe in my former life I was a worker bee, a house-help or simply someone who was in love with the so called lost causes but I get so unhappy when I see someone being punished or judged for their apparent shortcomings.

Alright, I'll take it a step higher, if someone on the team let's say accounting team does not know how to use a particular software- mark you- one of the latest- he is deemed incompetent. Before you do that, have you tried teaching them? Have you thought about the fact that this particular software was not on the market when they were in school? Or better still, can You, yes You Mr/Miss Judge your friends, can you use it? Or have you just heard about it?

Many times, we are inconsiderate to our employees or prospective employees, friends and other would have been additions to our lives.
Much as I am here advocating for the "Am I the right person for the Job?" phenomenon, I have many a time succumbed to that all human trait of judging others before I get to know them...

So, this my new year which kicked off today, will see me ask myself that question before I judge. However... perverts, porn vendors, outright stalkers, ex-lovers who create fake accounts and all those who assume that I am a nice person so they will take advantage of me- will remain under the judge them and cut them off before you give them a chance regime.

You could do the same thing, next time, you are about to yell at your house-help or your casual laborer, ask yourself that one question. Ask yourself if you have done everything to make this person better at their job. And besides, if this person was not there, would you do their job? Can you wake up at 5 a.m, get 5 children ready for school, get a husband and his wife ready for work, clean their house, do their laundry, make them dinner, go to bed at 1 a.m only to repeat the cycle at 5 a.m? Would you do that, Dear Woman who is claiming maids are bad people?

Do you ever take time to appreciate your casual laborer? Or do you just expect them to deliver all the time without any sort of appreciation or acknowledgement? Because many a human soul thrives on appreciation. Acknowledgement. We are vain like that. Many of us are.

So, that is if folks....but

Are you the right person for the job? Are you the Right friend? are you the Right lover? Are you the Right one?

Until then, thank you for all the birthday love i received today.

Truly,
Village Girl

Breaking out? Breaking Bad?...Breaking

“We are what we repeatedly do.” ~Aristotle

That holds so true. I have become so routine I can go through my day in my sleep. As in, I will wake up uh-hm freshen the kids and I, get breakfast done and served and on.. (you get the drill) And I can do this with a blindfold.
That is just so wrong- It's a small wonder I've not yet grown mold. What with the stagnancy and all.
I officially add another year to my collection in a couple of days. And I got thinking.. you know how one goes down that melancholy road when the year is coming to an end? You get all serious, sentimental and everything bright and futuristic. Well, yes, I am at that place. Reviewed my life as was, is and how I want it to be.

Life has been good to me. Really good. It has placed friends in my life. People I would not replace even though I had all artillery from the Gaza strip pointing at me. People like +Onadit (hey man, sorry but I just can't get over your selflessness). I got quite a list of them great people walking around in my heart, or rather they have me playing resident in their hearts and they've never charged me rent and aren't about to. Well, MOK if you think of asking for rent, Bambi I will report you to that footballer guy and ask him to take his name back. :D

In its goodness however, I have created and thereby settled in some zones. Zones that make life so predictable- so routine and almost so boring. I know routines sometimes breed security. I know that.
However, last night, on impulse I went to a show where my Little Sister was singing and her friends were showcasing their fashion lines. So, I got there, sat down and settled with my phone at a table and chatted away with friends on the phone.. very anti-social right? I had people all around me but I kept talking to people through this small item in hand.

Until my sister walked back to me and introduced herself and I to all the people around us and even the ones on the next table!! You should have seen me! I wanted to die..OK, maybe not die but kind of disappear!
But I lived through it. Managed to make small talk.

Then I shared my experience with 'my chat buddy' and they were like.. true! you should break the routine. Do something different for your new year... This is what they said:

"i don't care if u walk naked steal a car or something like that just break the cycle"

Extreme? huh? Yep. But it got my adrenaline up and doing things.. oh well, in my mind at least. Because when life-time Crush Maurice Kirya

This Guy..hm!

 When that Maurice guy came on stage all I could do was lift my small phone and manage a few shots. Even when my bubbly companion managed to get a pass backstage (OK- she had a pass since she'd performed) and asked me to tag along for a selfie...or something..anything that would lay my life-long crush to rest... I simply cowed further down in my seat!! So much for breaking free!!!! One day though, I will do something crazy. something out of routine.
Got a few thoughts.. and will do them. Give me some ideas of what I could do different. Anything you'd like to see someone else try out for you- apart from committing suicide... Because Suicide hates me.

And then, this morning routine breaks out again. Start the day normally, go through the usual, Mummy can i have more toothpaste and all and then I check my Facebook news-feed. It was a random itch that sent me checking Facebook.

On it was this Chilling  report of Juliana's Son's Demise. No mother...no parent and absolutely no one (apart from the warlords- but those are not people.. they don't count as people in my world)... No one would want to place their little one in a little coffin. When they are oh so little.
And then again, I ask myself why? Why now? Why does this happen? Why do we fall in love only to lose it? I can not begin to imagine what she is going through right now..but I can't help the tears that keep rolling every time I imagine the little coffins floating all over our land.

My prayer this day today, is for every parent, family member and every one who has lost a family member to find strength in the promise that they've gone to a better life. That they are free from the pains and limitations of the physical body. That they have found peace. and that One Day, someday, when we too leave this ugly world, we'll be re-united. 

 May their Little Souls Rest in Peace.

So, my birthday is still on in a couple of days.I have no plans for that day. Might not even make that order for the once a year cake indulgence. All in the spirit of breaking routine. I will not do cake for me this year..come to think of it, no more birthday cakes at my house- We are breaking routine.. (did i get it wrong?)

And no resolutions either. Life is perfect as is. A few ripples here and there. I will not be here longer. Because I ain't growing any younger. so, instead of learning a new sport or spending time making new friends or hanging out at a bar/dance-hall.. I will concentrate on strengthening the relationships I have right now.
If perchance a new person walks into my life right now however, I will not turn them away.

We'll break the routine when it becomes very bad. Or when the routine wants to break up with me.

This week, we'll concentrate on celebrating the ones we have in our lives right now. Grateful for each and every single click i get on my blog. And as I turn yet another year, I will celebrate each and everyone of you.
Readers from where ever you read from. I appreciate you very much.

Thank you for being there. Thank you for standing my Jumbled thoughts and keep coming back for more.

Much Love

Happy birthday to Me.. Happy new year to me.

Village Girl

Mumble Jumble

So I learnt a new word today.. Soliloquy

a noun defined as "an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play."

Away from new words and all, I learnt something new last night (aren't we always?) Well, I learnt that parenting is not so much about the your account balance but rather how much heart balance you have.

Wait, before you tell me about the diapers and medical, school and all those other bills, hear me out.

Parenting weighs more on the soul than it does on the wallet. You know that moment when you hear about the loss of the neighbor's thirteen year old daughter. That moment when you go through a list of apparent lumpens who should have been the ones to die instead (forgive me) but I don't have kind words for That Guy who molested and murdered a 7 year old child and is still roaming the village neighborhood. Atti released on police bond!!!

So, Last night was one of those nights where I found myself huddled in a corner sobbing my heart out. For no particular reason but then again for every reason. This world can be cruel sometimes.

I am no expert on the whole Gaza, Hamas trauma but it seems so unfair for the innocent lives that are lost all in the name of Holy war. I mean what is holy about using Humans as shields!! Since this is so called Holy land, can't they fabricate those metallic shields that the likes of David, Goliath and all their cronies used during wars? Can't they just clear a field and sort it out once and for all... However, the Israeli army has my support on this. It's rather cool to be called by someone to warn you that your apartment is targeted by the 'enemy'. I don't know who is the enemy here. But yeah.

You are probably reading this (i.e. if you've gotten this far) and are thinking, why is this all jumbled up? My dear friend, my mind right now is running in over drive. Any parent (#eye-roll- off with the parenting now!)

But yes, any parent would be at wits' end when they have a brood full of un-well little ones. Picture this, you get home one evening, find one of them seriously ill and you deal with it. Morning comes around and all seems well. So, you set off for your daily money hunt and just as you are about to say yes to a dinner date, the phone rings... Caller ID- Housemate!!! Before you pick up the phone you think about all the things that could have gone wrong but pick up anyway, thinking to yourself that maybe they want to tell you about this exciting recipe they are trying out for dinner tonight.

Well, it's not a recipe but information about how they are taking Child No. Next to the hospital as it is not well!!!! YESSUH!!! sucks, right? Right. It does suck. Things are not made any easier with the fact that it is Mid-month.. (can i hear an amen?) and Mid Week and you have been taken more leaves of absence in the last fifteen days than anyone on your team... #sigh

Then a thought crosses my mind, all I have are un-well children. How about my neighbor who buried her child yesterday? Wouldn't she do anything just to hold her little one for another minute- ill or not. Rowdy or not? 

So, no, I will not complain. in my soliloquy this one (yes, I used that big word!) I will count my blessings. 

1. I am not in Gaza... I just live down the road.
2. I am alive and my ones are still alive. 

And whoever is out there going through one phase or another, take time off to count your blessings. Things could be worse than they are but they are not. You have what you have. Accept what you have, live through it and tell the story to another person. Your experience could save a life someday or encourage another to go through a similar situation.

Someone once told me that life is not long enough for us to learn from our experiences. Sometimes, we learn from other people's experience.

Let us all take a minute to appreciate our bosses who literally give us 'hell' at least you have something coming in for all that hell you are served. 

Appreciate your neighbor. The one upstairs who decides to pour soup water off their balcony at 11 p.m when you are sitting at yours prolly dreaming up fantasies with the full moon. At-least you don't live alone and if push came to shove, maybe that upstairs neighbor would give you a lift on a rainy day.

Appreciate that shop keeper who looks at you and decides you will not afford whatever items they have on display. Has anyone watched Pretty Woman? 

Remember the time Vivian (Julia) went shopping and the ladies literally shooed he? 

Well, walk to the next shop buy what you need and move on. Life is too short to come back and give them that "Big Mistake" notice.

And on and on.. point i am trying to make here is, Appreciate what you have in life. Where you are right now and Who you are. There can never be another you, there will never be another today and there will never be another terrible relationship like the one you are in right now (for all my sisters/brothers who complain about their spouses).. What you have now is what you have. Make the best of it.

Finally, Ella asked me a question about how a girl would have multiple sexual partners. I know, it is still a risky topic that usually ends with the girl being called all names my great grand father would shy away from but I will try to answer it someday. One of these days, I will.

Truly,

:)

Village Girl

I have loved the stars too fondly…

 

Though my soul may set in darkness,

it will rise in perfect light.

I have loved the stars too fondly

to be fearful of the night. –Sarah Williams

Words are our most important discovery. Forget about fire, forget about all the places we’ve been to, and all the places we’ll reach. Words allow us to see farther than any telescope. And, at the same time, words allow us to see inside each and everyone of us, to see every lever and gauge and all the other tiny elements that make us work. So it’s also a microscope.

Sometimes you read something a stranger wrote on a lonely night and you feel less lonely. You feel like you somehow know them, and your only regret in the world is that you haven’t read their words sooner. It doesn't matter that it’s late and you’re tired, it doesn't matter that tomorrow the words will still be there.

Sometimes you read something that’s so good that you want to absorb it all, you want for those words to become you, to express  who you are. Words written by a stranger, describing who you are to a billion other strangers.

And sometimes words are just beautiful. They sing to us in ways that no song ever could, in ways that turn the ordinary into extraordinary.

We didn't invent words. No. The words invented us. They invented this world, and kindly allowed us to create a million more inside our head or on paper. And we use so many words, at strange hours of the night, that sometimes we feel trapped by them. We feel lonely and scared, and we feel as if words can’t really express who we are. That, somehow, all we are doing is diminishing our experiences and feelings by writing them down or saying them out loud.

It’s easy to feel this way, especially if you've been writing for some time. To feel that we haven’t yet discovered the words that could accurately describe the fire that burns inside us.

And what do we do?

We use words to create the future. We use them to write about who we always dreamed of becoming but never had the courage to become, we use them to write about who we’d want to be, who we think we are. We use them to describe a world that was never meant to exist.

We travel this world with our pockets filled with dreams, and we can only make come true a few of them. The rest we write into existence hoping that someone else might want to make them come true…

We live on through our words.... We aim for the stars..our souls float in realms only imagined.

Village Girl

Not Made for Comfort-Typical Wena style

So, here I was blushing and feeling all great and nice because he told me "You were made for comfort,"
Its not wrong. He was not wrong. That is what I am to him. His comfort.

Been called a  'Guardian angel' (aaaaawwwwww.. cute right?) :) :D
) Yes, am all that above and more.
Problem is, all the above does not change the fact that much as I love giving, am seeking a giver.

Just the other day, it hit me after the lights had gone out. And I was in my bed alone, cold and sad. And Alone.
That night, none of my charity runs made sense... all the smiles I'd helped put on so many people's faces earlier that day, and etc. None of them could hold me and tell me all was going to be OK.

None of them was telling me that My Son was just teething and the stomach irritation would pass soon.
I needed someone to address my House Searching issue. That statement "You were made for comfort" did nothing to help. Instead it made think about why I was only remembered when Comfort was needed.

.... (April 27, 2014)


 Months later, (July 8, 2014) on a sleepless 3 a.m stretch I find myself attempting to complete this draft. Why am I wake at this time? Well, because my Tummy is complaining about feeding it roadside chicken. Yes I did. This love for being different will send me places unimaginable. Earlier on (or was it yesterday evening?) my colleague/walk-mate decided to "house us" roadside chicken. It had been a long day and it felt nice trying out the chicken as opposed to the usual popcorn and sumbusa. No, I didn't consume the contents until I got home and had washed my hands.
 Now, its past 3 a.m and my stomach is not very happy with me. I am so sorry stomach...please go back to sleep.
 I am not made for comfort.

 Why on earth would someone think of another like they think.of say their bed (i'd love to assume beds are the most comfortable places in our homes)? But why? Someone please help me understand why the very deliverer of that statement never stayed longer than forever. Did something about my comfort giving trait change? In fact they didn't stay round long enough for me to understand why they thought I was made for comfort. And now, I will never know.
 Another thing that made me scratch at my weave yesterday was the need for someone to hate (strong word, right?) Someone to hate another without really knowing who they are. Reason for the hate, they belonged to a particular community. Stereotyping (not sure what this word really means but it sounds right) is not fair.

Just not fair. So I am a woman...and you, dear gentleman- the current object of my desire- decide to treat me with caution just because my predecessor broke your heart or took off with your earthly possessions. Dude! The only thing I.have in common with her is we have the same physical anatomy and even that may not be true...I.could be your real comfort, your ticket to forever but then again,.you will never know that since i will not sit around and try to convince you that all women are not the same. No sir. The world needs my uniqueness- so imma bounce.
I am not apologetic for my existence. If you had met me 8 years ago...then I would have been. However, a few things changed and now I love the me that I am.

And before i attempt one more hour of sleep, I have this need to send a simple shout out to a coupla acquaintances.

 Dear You,
It is a bit hard to conquer/subdue a loud spirit. She says yes to you but does not really want to say yes. She would want to say no almost all the time. See, this girl likes you but you like very many other girls. Is it hard for you to say you like her too? Do you ever notice how green eyed she gets when you are flirting with her best friend? Do you even care? She is not as strong as that other girl you sometimes hang out with...and all she wants you to do is acknowledge her as your woman. I mean, you have your toothbrush and change of underwear at her house. Tell your friends about her already. If you won't, then stop wasting her heart. ...................................

 Now...you Young girl who is not so young. It is just wrong to be a hypocrite. Stop with the hypocrisy already. See, I see through your act and either i am a bigger hypocrite than you are or I simply don't care much about your things. However, kindly note that these cat and mouse games hurt you more than they do me. I am not made for comfort.

 Good morning,
Village Girl (Wena).

Dancing competitions, Saxfaction and great company

The evening of July 3, 2014 is one  I will not forget anytime soon.

I stood up in a crowd and danced to Ssemusajja it was actually laughable. The whole experience was laughable. Wait, i am working on something serious at an internet cafe, needed to send it yesterday at 6p.m but my phone blacked out at such an inconvenient time, had left my charger at my place of work and I was also in an environment where no one had a charger to lend or even an open socket where I would charge if I had somehow managed to find a charger.

Times like these make me miss my laptop. One of these days, I should close my eyes and just replace the damn thing. I need it more now than I ever needed it before. I wish this money knew just how much I need it. Maybe then it would avail itself with ease.

So, I was telling you about last night. The Sound Cup - honestly, I've been to Tutti Frutti before (the ice-cream is cheaper at the Fruitti place as opposed to The Sound Cup) naye I had never ventured to Maurice Kirya's place. Until last night. Last night was my maiden visit to The Place.

Months ago, i stumbled upon a radio station that was playing a jazz rendition of a folk song. It is a marvelous re-do. The dance inducing drums at the end of the piece send me to heaven and back every time i listen to this Ssemusajja track. Even my 20 month old son now identifies it to dancing time.

There are other songs on this 12 track album. My other favorites are Kampala and Groovers' anthem. Beautiful music I must say.

What started out as a joke got serious, when the people I had invited called me earlier on in the day asking me what time i would be at the venue. Then was not the time to back out. (Lord knows how much of a quitter I am). Much as there was a terror attack alert circulating, I dared to go out and have fun. And i am glad I did. Came home with an autographed CD-.. Michael Kitanda is going places this guy.

Another guy that was at this event last night was Charmant (its pronounced differently with throat sounds-but I can only speak my language). This guy is good. Check out his African Love Project. He does extremely well with his Guitar. My Date last night tried explaining to me the difference between all these guitars- bass guitars, acoustic, electric and am not sure I remember the others. But I remember my date. They were exceptional company. Thank you very much Sir. However Mr. Mushaga is good. Listen to this one with Myko Ouma it is nice.

Wait, all i am saying or trying to say is support African Talent. These guys have lots of potential.

The problem with internet cafes though, is that time somehow runs fast. I have reloaded and reloaded and now am so hungry. A mixture of hangover and real hunger- That story for being hangover is not one I would like to tell right now. But yes, I am hangover. 3 minutes and I gotta run. When I figure out how to re-enable the phone keyboard-my phone is writing Chinese things and i am not sure i want to figure out how to change it right now. Short of just re-setting the damn thing to factory settings- I am at wits' end.


Enjoy these guys' music.


Village Girl.

Special needs, journeys and lots more (..continued)

Little boy of three, 

with cares so free,

aiming for a life up in the tree,

Because I was born to be free.

Young Man of Fifteen,

Not as active as other teens,

See, my voice is locked up in a tin,

I am a child with a Special Need,

Autism is not a disease,

I live inside my mind with ease,

But y'all look at me with unease,

I was not bewitched, I am a Special Person.

Accept me as I am, I have accepted myself.
(c) Okunga July2014

..................................

We continue our Journey to DXB (the free Arab destination). Our boarding call finally came through and  by then I had been feasted on by all manner of mosquitoes, cold and hunger so I was so ready to move. Tried buying a chocolate bar, but I couldn't. The Uganda Shillings I had on me were not enough to be changed to Kenyan currency and oh no, I didn't wanna touch the USD I had on me. There was a long shopping list attached to that currency.

In the wake of terrorist attacks, I was wary of four guys all dressed in Moslem garb and rapping on in Arabic who were walking ahead of me. I have repented and repented some more for the feelings and all the things I thought about these guys. After take off, I wondered if my remains would ever make it to the burial spot next to my Dad's grave site. 

So, we are seated, and the flight captain has welcomed us aboard- Dude had a voice. I have lost counts of the times I have imagined him singing me a lullaby on many a sleepless night (my sleepless nights are very frequent by the way)

The meals were so cartoon, believe me when I say I was hungry. I had last eaten Katogo at 10 a.m!! And now here I was being served tiny things like as if I had written somewhere that I was dieting. Well, I ate everything I was served. 

Then I slept. A great dreamless sleep. Funny, with all the earlier worries about an impending terrorist attack, I didnt dream about anything. I guess flying close to the proverbial heavens had something to do with the no dreams.

Hours later I awoke to a loud announcement calling for us to fasten our seats. Then the Captain's voice came through. That wonderful voice. (enough about the man's voice- i don't even remember his name!)

walking

At that DXB airport, eh!!! Entebbe airport is like a toy house! Man we walked and walked and kept walking with no sign of getting anywhere. Until we got to the immigration desks or whatever they call them.
And this guy asks me to open my eyes for his camera. In my mind am like, 

"Swahba, I just woke up from a 3 hour sleep which 20 minutes of walking had done nothing to clear. It is 4:00 a.m for crying out loud, and you want me to open my eyes!!!"

He eventually figured out that I was not capable of opening my eyes any wider so, he stamped in my small book, took whatever picture he could and waved me on. There I was with my bags, and not sure what to do next. Could not call or text, my phone battery had died and now I was at the mercy of those other powers.

Excuse my malo!! naye Touch to flush? 

In my mind, since I was already delayed. I was sure the person supposed to pick me up had already given up and gone back or found another person to pick and drop off. So I decided to take a trip to the bathrooms!! I swear, I did malo in the bathrooms. Alright, I know a coupla friends who will say I should have swallowed and not even taken a picture of the Flush sign, naye nedda. Me it passed on me. (sic)

"who does that? who takes pictures of toilet flush signs?" Well, I do. and I did.

Walked out to the waiting area and you will never believe it. Someone was standing there holding a placard with my name on it!! Hallelujah of Hallelujah-est!! Did a small dance!! Phew!!! Now, i could happily welcome myself to Dubai. The city of lights.

Meanwhile, this is already Day two of my trip. After that, not much happened. Took a few pictures in the course of my stay..wait, Did I tell you about the sun in that place?

Eeeish!!! the hottest day in Kampala is not hot at all. It is hot and humid in that place (duh!!- it is a desert!!) Yessuh, I am just  a village girl. Excuse my ineptness.

My 3 day stay is shared below.

Yes, I stayed at Jaber Ali Resorts- wali ku Marina

My Room

View of the Marina from my room

 That whole day, I was busy flipping through TV stations until I landed on #breakingnewsalert. Watched the #Kenya #westgatesiege as it happened. At first, I thought it was a different Kenya these Arab TVs were reporting about. Because, my Facebook News-feed had no report of it whatsoever. Called home (i have a sister who lives in Nairobi) and they had not yet heard. 3 minutes later, Facebook started reporting.
Whatever happened to that Mary who was caught in that mall and kept updating her status all day... I hope she made it.
Within those three minutes, i prayed, cried and prayed some more. Hoped it was maybe a sick movie scene being acted out somewhere.
My sister was safe- she was home mothering my little ones (yes, she'd left a day earlier to celebrate her nephew's first birthday)
It was a shortlived celebration though as the gruesome images rolling off the TV screen got messier and messier. My three day stay was spent glued to the TV (the evenings and early mornings, since I was working 8a.m to 3p.m).

My last night however, I managed to step out a bit. Went to the Dubai Mall and very many other places. Nanti, i had shopping to do- which I failed to do anyway. Caught the Dancing fountain- My ka phone is low resolution but yeah, hihihihi, i did those malo things of capturing a video.

And many other pictures. Tried out the KFC, and was given very weird looking chicken- it's no wonder I have not asked anyone to take me to KFC -Uganda yet.

All in all, Dubai is a beautiful City. But I love home. I am in love with my Kampala with all the noise and things that make it Kampala. Things that make it home.

Day 4 saw me pick up my bags and head back to DXB Intl Airport.
Like most before me, I went through the Duty Free Shop.

 And then it was time to come home.

Thank you for travelling with me.
Until next time,
lots of love,
Village Girl

..of month ends, trips, music and rants (Part 1)

Time Check? Way past official working hours.

The office room is deserted, everyone has gone home save for me. One would think I don't have a home to go. When In fact I do have more than enough reason to leave this place and rush home. See, (if you do not know) I have many children who have very many stories but seem to limit their vocabulary to just "Mummy?" when I am in the same building with them.

Someone calls out "Mummy?" and calls again and again. No matter how sweetly, rudely or whatever-ly you respond, they just keep calling. Don't get me wrong, I love being called Mummy, even when am in the bath and have soap all over my body and someone is screaming for Mummy at the bathroom door. Or when I just took my place at the toilet seat............ (you get the picture, right?)

So, I am in the office- Alone. Save for a couple of young men blasting away through my phone headset. There is this Song that I used to love and I think I still do love. Been playing it on repeat for a while this afternoon.

Takes me back to September last year (2013). 

Let me take you to shortly before September, My Boss then decides she wanted me to join her in Dubai for 3 days! In my mind I was like,... "........" Yes. My thinking pad went blank for a minute. A whole sixty seconds. So, I told a few people around me and they got excited enough for me. Relatives got writing shopping lists, friends- well friends cheered me on. So, i started thinking- "Now, three days with my boss...eh!"

So, Yes was not mine to say. It had been decided. 

Missed my piece of cake

Travel Documents processed, suits borrowed, Hair redone- Dude!!! and I was pronounced ready to go to outside Countries and Make 'em proud! :)

It was a five day Journey which by the way saw me miss my Little Boy Cut his first Birthday Cake. 

Day 1: 

I left home in a commuter taxi (am not one to show off) was slated to have breakfast with a very good

Yes, that is a weave. (Facepalm)

friend then at 10 a.m  (Gundi Waddawa?- We should do a katogo for old times' sake one of these days).
Was in my everyday faded jeans and little tee-shirt. To me it was a normal thing- I mean like going to the next town or something. But when I got to town and rested my little travel bag at a friend's shop- she went up in arms as to how I was dressed as compared to where I was heading. (eyeroll? yessuh!)

She bought me a dress!!! and forced me to put it on there and then! So, by the time I met my friend, I had on this un-ironed dress but Friend is a nice person, they didnt mention the state of my dress- well not that day.

Katogo done away with- Time check? 11 a.m. Flight is scheduled for 3p.m. So, that leaves me 3 hours to get to Entebbe airport, check in and etc. I sit in a matatu and it starts raining!!! Time check, 11:45 a.m and we have not set off yet. Well, we did set off a little after 12p.m. By the time we got to Kitooro it was raining!!! Now, there was no airport taxi in sight!! I did a Boda to the Airport!!! YESSUH. BODA BODA with my suitcase!!! 

Got to the the airport a few minutes after 2p.m. Should have checked in by 2pm but i was getting there after 2pm. In my mind i was like.. "My boss is killing me, and imma refund all the money she's spent on me this far"

But Luck was on my side. Trust African Airlines to be late. Our flight was delayed by two hours!!! Yay!! Me. I did the forex things, checked in and sat back to listen to the mixtape my friend had given me. Back to Basics 5 Mixtape. Had on it the likes of Lil Vicious (remember that kid?)  and others. 5p.m and we were called to board. 

The Plane reminded me of those taxis that go to Nsambya Hospital!! Ayi!! If you've been to Nsambya hospital using a Taxi from the Old Taxi Park, you know what I am talking about. Those things can induce a woman whos labor contractions have stopped faster than any drug the mzungu has ever come up with.

Next stop: Jomo Kenyatta International Airport-NBO. Since we had delayed by 2 hours, the flight to DXB had also been pushed two hours ahead. Here, My laptop battery was flat. My phone battery died too, but not before I managed a few texts to Boss, Family and Friend (I think Friend missed out on the NBO txt)

Well, I had thoughts like, What if I never return? What if we crash? What if my luggage disappears? What if, What if and more what ifs?

Tomorrow, please board with me that Kenya Airways Plane. Fly with me for 4 hours and let's stop at the  Dubai International Airport Terminal 1. 

For now though, gotta get home to my little people. One was asking me the other day to get her a new Daddy! She is not too amused by the fact that for a while now, her own Daddy makes promises he never keeps. "Will pick you up for Ice cream on Friday" promises that have refused to mature. 

Oh! The month ended yesterday (duh!! It's July 1st) and payslips were presented. Had the misfortune of peeping at someone's payslip! How on earth does an employer deduct someone's salary just because they lost a very close relative? Whatever happened to leaves of Compassion? So, if an employee is still on probation, do they cease to be human? Are they excused from things like falling ill, losing a loved one, and all the rest? 

That rant against that other boss might take me another hour, because I am so unhappy right now, I wish I would change a few things about certain things. If I could, I would, but I can't. 

I can only rant!!

Tomorrow, we'll board that plane.

till then,