Munene, the journey...

It is that time of the semester when all the decisions of the last 3 months come to bear on a graduate student. 4 papers are due, exams are in 3 weeks, there's internships and jobs to find. It seems as if everything decided to become due at the same time. But that's not quite the case. For me, even getting to write this blog post took a lot of, well, procrastinating. Being in graduate school requires a great deal of what I call sensible procrastination. I am not advocating for leaving only 30 minutes to complete an assignment that requires 10hours, that's stupid. In fact there are things that we cannot procrastinate for too long without seeing some negative side effects. Doctors and other personnel who deal with matters of life and death also, may not have the luxury of procrastination in saving lives. However, even in these extreme scenarios, I think that we might have more leeway on some other matters than we let on. Another thing to consider is that eventually all ...

I do not particularly like networking events. Formal ones such as those organized by schools and are termed "career networking night" or "spring prom", are particularly abhorrent to me. The reason is that the end of the night is supposed to bring us closer to gaining employment, making connections to interesting things happening in our fields and so on. If we are lucky, all we end up with is a bunch of fancy business cards that we dump at the bottom of our drawers, never to see the light of day again, and of course a bloated stomach from all those nachos and chicken wings we consumed. image courtesy of goldenkeyhq.files.wordpress.com My main problem with these events however, is the premise for the event: highly intelligent people, who know themselves to a certain degree, are going to share some close quarters with strangers, in order to knock around ideas, connect and possibly plan some future engagements. What ends up happening, however, is that highly anxio...

Why do I believe what I believe? Why are my values what they are? Where do my thoughts come from? Are my ideals 'mine'? The question of thought, is a complex one, not least because thinking is so difficult. Many of us do not think, we take the thoughts of others and use them as the foundations, walls, or thatching of our mental structures. But we rarely think, and deep enough on important matters anyway. Thinking involves the admission that we do not know, an admission coming from a place of humility that we are ignorant and could do better. It does not, as is usually thought, have to be from a place of knowledge, even though knowledge can inform thoughts. If it was, then we would not necessarily be thinking, but just reorganizing previously known ideas. It begins with asking the question, why. Why do we go to school? Why do we marry and have children? Why do we work to earn money in order to buy things? Why do we elect leaders? Why do we go to places of worship and perfo...

Philosophy comes from the two Greek words philo meaning love and sophia meaning wisdom, ergo a love of wisdom. The famous Greek and Roman philosophers were therefore, in search of the wisdom to all sorts of questions, big and small. This is a good book for a number of reasons. It is a pretty easy and straightforward read. It's free of pompous language that makes people hate philosophy and thinking. De Botton has demystified philosophy to everyday life, making it accessible to us. courtesy of huffingpost.com He presents different philosophical ideas from six of the best thinkers of old: Montaigne, Seneca, Socrates, Nietzsche, Epicurus, and Schopenhauer. Each of these philosophers had unique experiences and different backgrounds that influenced their thought trails. Montaigne inherited an estate from his dead parents; Socrates was poor; Schopenhauer was lonely; Epicurus was full of life; Nietzsche could not find love; Seneca lived during the dangerous times of the murderous E...

Life is a mystery that we must solve with our hands tied at the back, and blindfolded, without sound. We must figure out life from the moment we are born from our own eyes and the eyes of our parents. image courtesy of michaelnewnham.com There will be no good old days that we like to reminisce about. Those days, are gone, forever. They will not come back, and we need to get over them. Yes, recognize that they happened; appreciate the lessons learned from them, and then look ahead, because that's where we are headed. A life lived in order to bring back the good old days is delusional. A government that brings out policies of the good old days will fail; coal jobs are gone from America (at least the vast majority); manufacturing of cars is cheaper in Mexico than in the United States. No amount of pouting will change these things. Things will get worse until we die. We start dying the moment we are conceived. Our days are numbered, literally, and begin to count down, unti...

I was born in Kenya; I even have a birth certificate issued by the government of Kenya. I was raised in Kenya, and my passport says that I am Kenyan. My parents are Kenyan, and my family is Kenyan. Naturally, everyone thought I would become Kenyan, and I must have passed off as one. Well, I think I have managed to fool everyone, because, well I do not think I am Kenyan. What have I become? photo courtesy of kyusho.com I have spent the majority of my last 5 years outside Kenya. I have traveled to various countries on the African continent, worked and lived there. I even passed off as one of the locals, with enough local language to get through daily situations. What I have enjoyed most though, is the diversity in the tastes and sounds: food, drink and music. From amala  in Nigeria to kenkey  in Ghana and sadza  in Zimbabwe, and Carlsberg Chill in Malawi, I have tasted life. But I partook in different cultures long before my traveling days. I listened to Rhumba mus...

So, on Monday my classmates told me that the impending snowstorm could mean that we would not be able to leave our homes for some time, even up to a week. There would be no delivery services for food, or ice cream and other good things. If I wanted to survive the snow storm, I would need to stock up on food and necessities and hope for the best. Needless to say, being the first "snow day" I would experience, I let them scare me. In the Mega Farmers market where I do my grocery shopping, there was a buzz. It was busy, busier than usual. People were moving around with a step of purpose; people were excited. I was taken aback. Because I usually do my shopping on Sundays, doing one on a Monday was a jolt. I did not think so many people shop here. However, I noted that people were a bit more friendly, courteous, patience. Why could this be? Perhaps it was because at that moment, we were all victims of an impending disaster, a snowstorm that would affect us all. We would all sh...

I have been in the US for 8 months now, and not once have I heard anyone fart. You know how you enter a lift (elevator) when someone is leaving it, and they have this embarrassed look because they know what they did? It does not seem to happen here. In my boarding school days, evening study was a time of unusually increased farting especially on days we had meals with beans and/or cabbage for supper. We considered it normal, and it was so common, we could tell by the smell, which of our classmates had farted. I know what you are thinking, "Gross". And I understand that. Farts ahead Apparently, farting is a normal biological function of the human body, just like sweating, salivating etc. In fact, "holding it in" may lead to bloating, discomfort and even abdominal pain. It could also indicate an impending problem with one's gut. Scientists also think that smelling one's fart could be good for your health! Who knew! Bottling up is an issue when it ind...

We are all in a rat race, whose beginning we do not comprehend, and whose end we cannot fathom. Therefore, in typical human fashion, we have invented systems that keep us sane, as we try to figure out what it's all about. We invented religions, economic systems, socio-cultural systems, political systems and so on, all to make meaning out of our lonely and short existence. But all this has fallen short of fulfilling us. We know we are on a journey, but don't know a journey to where. We do not know how we will know once we get there. Is it possible that the destination is behind us, but we have not recognized it? "Preposterous," we think to ourselves. Aren't we higher beings able to shape our own paths? Would we not know where our paths are headed? History does not agree. Every system that has been built seems to have been the ultimate one. Political & economic systems have struggled to lay claim to the title of the "best" and most "sustainabl...

You who have gone before us Reminding us of our own mortality Keeping us on the straight and narrow Reminding us of the ticking clocks of time That our days are in fact numbered and known Our time is coming soon When we will join you We remember you We remember the laughter We remember your faces in the sun We remember the songs we sang together We remember the dances we danced We remember the times together We remember the silence We remember everything we left unsaid We remember the love we did not love We remember the kisses we did not kiss We remember the unspoken words We remember the unlaughed laughter We remember the unsung songs We remember it all We should have told you how we felt How you made us feel What you meant to us But courage failed us We were scared We are scared We are afraid But we trudge on Hoping to meet one day In another world Where we will dance again Where we will smile again Where we will laugh again Where we will sing ag...

There are among the human species, a number of us who have a restless spirit: a spirit of adventure, newness and uneasiness. The characteristics are very obvious. Random quitting of work: without any convincing explanation to the current employer, you quit the job and say you want to find yourself. You say that it's not that employer has done anything wrong. You don't want more money, or new responsibilities or a move.You just want to leave, escape. Running away from relationships: your lovers are left wondering what they did wrong. You leave them hanging, in anguish as you run away, even to a different location. You avoid meeting them, or going to places where you both shared some intimate moments. You become a ghost to those you love and who love you. Seeking the thrill and adventure: you want to do dangerous stuff, a dance with the devil. You seek out pain, the next big thing. You try to numb yourself with excitement: chasing storms, catching a cobra by its tail. W...

Chair: Order! Let's have some order in here! (looking around ) Do we have all the parties in here? ( his assistant looks around, counts the faces, and nods ). Alright, let's get on with it, what are the matters at hand? ( A hand at the far edge of the room shoots up, it's a young man who has been quiet all along) Young man: Mr. Chairman sir, may I... Chair: Please tell us your name, where you come from and why it is you have called for this meeting. Young man: Thank you sir. My name is Ezekiel, and I am a resident of this town. I would like to express my interest in buying a car from your dealership. Chair: ( leaning back in his chair ) Ok, go on... Ezekiel: I have seen a certain model of a car being driven in town and I'm considering buying it from your dealership. However, I am not certain it is the right car for me... Chair: Why not? Ezekiel: Well, for one, I do not know how it drives. I have spoken to three different drivers, and they give contradicti...

When death comes, to someone close, it reminds us of our own mortality; that on this earth, we are but sojourners. And when it came to my cousin, Kimo, it taught me many things. Always bargain for what you want: Kimo loved to bargain on everything. He did not believe in accepting what he did not approve of; he would do everything to strike bargains in all matters, from getting people to do his dishes for him, to wearing their clothes, to getting airtime from them. If you are true to yourself, you cannot be false to anyone else. Kimo was himself, through and through. He knew his strengths and played to them; his "good looks" for instance. He also knew what he did not like, and he got others to do it for him. And thus I accepted him. Do what you love, with your whole heart; Kimo loved football, and the entire world knew. He loved Arsenal FC, and everyone was aware. He loved journalism and we all knew. He loved children, and the children knew it. Life is short; today I am...