Anti-social Networking

Wow, I can't believe February is over - with the luxury of a February 29! March always sneaks up on me. Well, so does July. Been a pretty engaged few weeks here and sorry, I have not updated my blog BECAUSE I have been a little busy with work and you know, life.

So, here I am and having one of those not so outstanding days. I feel like I should write about some two little words that are slowly and surely going unnoticed.

Two little words that represent the common person's effort to behave in a way that is polite and inoffensive to others. Two little words that are very underrated. Two little words that are dangerously close to becoming extinct.

                                                                   Social Niceties

Perhaps it's the simple fact that what one person might consider rude, another could find absolutely acceptable. Maybe it's that people are too hard to please. There are too many ways to offend, irritate, befuddle, or otherwise cause people to react in a negative way. It would be impossible to know who's going to not want you to do what, when, where, and why, etc.

That makes sense. I mean, We all have our small things that get us. Social niceties also means that people who are getting off the elevator, or off the bus, get off first before new entrants force their way on, and that doesn't always happen. But to me, those are little things. Acceptable things. Forgivable things.

BUT PEOPLE, Cell phones and public restrooms just do not mix. I mean, personally I don't care if whoever I'm talking to on the phone uses the restroom while they're talking to me. If you can do it and I don't ever have to know, then hey, you're pretty stealthy, good for ya'. It really only becomes awkward when it's...lets just say 'obvious'. In my (humble) opinion, what's really awkward is when you're in the bathroom, someone else is in there with you, and you hear their phone ring. And they ANSWER it. Mid-whateverthey'redoing.

And they're all like, "Hello? Yeah, hi Joanne. No, I'm not doing anything. I'm just ON the TOILET. And other people can HEAR ME TELLING YOU THIS. Yeah, what's we having for dinner?" They are talking food, WHILE they are PEEING. Because no matter what they say, that is very weird.

I mean, is it just me? Am I the only person perplexed by this? I mean, I'm pretty sure Joanne, or Eric or whoever it is calling will understand if you say, "Hey, sorry I missed your call. I was in the restroom." Or did that become unacceptable at some point? I don't know. Frankly, it doesn't come up much. I'm really more of a texter than I am a caller. And I will say that texting in the bathroom doesn't freak me out. I mean, it's texting. It's kind of funny, but it's no big deal.

AND Y'ALL! Answering your cell phone whilst in a movie theatre. Or really, okay, anything involving a cell phone in a movie theatre. Sort of maybe like checking to see who called/texted you. Because let's face it; no matter how well you angle your phone to direct it's mighty-light-screen at you and not the rest of the theatre, I can SEE it, and no matter how quietly you try to text, I can still hear your fingers on the keys if I'm near you, and so can whoever else is sitting next to you, and even if you have your phone on vibrate, YEAH. I can STILL hear that, Chuck!

Uh, that felt nice to let out so I promise, I won't give more thoughts on this but hey, how antagonising would it be if I was all, "I'm updating my blog while I'm in the bathroom talking on my bluetooth headset."? That would be pretty funny.

But I'm not.

Really...

Grandpa Darly

Seated in the office with nothing much at hand but happy pink thoughts and my mind wonders to a very special person who with his golden heart will not be cracking jokes no more. At least not in a long time.


With a title like Grandpa Darly, you know he must have been a very special person. And he was indeed that. He called me Darly since I was named after his wonderful wife-grandma Anne and he was a trained teacher. I gave him the title too.


Grandpa Darly was a giver. Of many things. To me, he gave love, joy, good advice, lessons on life experience and unforgettable hearty laughs!


To my mum he gave life, love, discipline, understanding, support and, among countless other things, an incredible model of parenthood. And I know when my dad married my mum; he gave him many many of those very same things.


Hearing what had happened was like a slap in the face. It was what Mom and I would call “our worst fear”. I had called him the previous day and even still it seemed like the least likely explanation. Like it was a kind of a joke. Or miscommunication. Still “our worst fear” turned out to be the best for grandpa Darly.


I will always miss Grandpa Darly, but he’s keeping better company now than he could here with us. It’s always hard to remember to celebrate their life rather than dwell on the sadness of the loss. I just try to remember that it’s only a loss for us. For him everything is perfect. Everything is as it should be.


I love you, Grandpa Darly . Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for being absolutely everything a Grandpa Darly should have been. We celebrated Christmas with Grandma Anne and as much as she misses you, she says you left us the love you so generously shared and I have the pictures to prove it!









See all the love around Grandma Anne? She has the kindest heart a person could ever be created with and we appreciate, love and pray for her now, a trillion times more...


                           Rest In Peace Grandpa Darly.

Happy VD!

First of all, I am alive. Not dead, Yet.


Happy Valentine's Day! Or, Happy Singles Awareness Day! Whichever applies to you. As it happens, am celebrating the former. *hi Singles!*

I, sometimes have weird days at work. Because.

My colleague, who we call Colleague1 in this entry, is fond of telling very weird stories, like yesterday, he was telling of how he goes to the bathroom whenever a lady-friend calls and he happens to be in the sitting room with his wife and kids and at this point, we all tried to look busy to not listen to the remaining part but he is not the type to be ignored, so, he calls you by name and insists that you really should hear the end (he is 52!) and now his youngest son, who he suspects knows his game, comes knocking on the door insisting that he urgently needs to pee (I know, I didn't feel like imagining it too) and that he wants to play a certain Snake Game on his daddy's phone and can you even believe this whole paragraph is one sentence? 

So, today, colleague1 swears that he knows fishermen don't possess finger-tips and toes! Please tell me you also think he's weird?

This guy comes to the office, asks colleague2 for a pen, scribbles a message to be passed to another colleague and gives back colleague2's pen. The following conversation is pretty much what ensued.

Colleague2: Where's the lid?
Client: It wasn't there when you gave me the pen.
Colleague2: The lid was there. I can't use a pen without a lid.
Client: Well, you've given me the pen less than two minutes ago and I haven't really moved.
Colleague2: So, you think am lying?
Client: I didn't say that, I just haven't seen your lid!
Colleague2 (to colleague1): I assist people with my pen and this is what they do to me?
Colleague1: Did you say you can't use a pen without a lid?
Colleague2: Yes, and he can take the pen with him too. It's no longer any use to me.
Colleague1: When was the last time you saw your pen?
Colleague2: Are you interrogating me? Or do you also think am lying?
Colleague1: No, am just saying your lid could have been swallowed by the fish that cuts off fingertips!

(very wrong time for that joke and since I have no control over who reads this, I will save the insults that followed, which would have otherwise been directed to the client.)

And, this, is where I come when I say am off to work.

SO, in honor of St. Valentines, the bright, warm theme of the day and the amounts of alcohol patiently awaiting consumption, I wish you a very RED day. Oh, and you really need your fingertips in place.

Hobby number 1

Yes, that's right. I have an amazing new hobby. And I owe it all to my web design lecturer. My company name (as of this post) is Ember Creations and I feel so humbled that am the person getting their business online.


I have been working on a company website for a while now and how happy can one get after successfully completing a project? Feels like I should go grab a pizza.


This new thriller comes in a combination of various, if not all the things I find intriguing: art, design, creativity and not to mention the beauty of it all. I love that I get to chun my mind, play with a number of colours and finally put words together to bring out the message, and give a whole new identity to a product. AND service in this case.

There were times I thought campus was a kind of a fun-pass-time-stage of life but Viola! here we are, and me, such a proud graduate! Thanks JKUAT, am finally getting paid for my certificate.

Here's a page from the site.... 

Well, if u got a minute have a click here see more of what am all grateful for! It's my first and am still planning on getting it a domain name. Hope you like it as much as I do! And as always, thanks for stopping by...

Gamers!

Is the team name.

And that's what I was up to this past weekend. My lill' brother's school was at Mang'u High for a high school tournament and he was playing in the handball team.


Got there ten minutes to his game and I couldn't believe him! He looked so grown in that uniform and honestly, I was proud of him.

I had to capture this team building prayer session before they went in...

At first, the game was so tensed up as we all wanted our team to win and every time the Gamers scored, I was the loudest of the cheering squad.

Should have been there. To me, they played perfectly well but no ten seconds went without a "c'mon! close up that gap Kaume!"

 "Do you not know your position Mwiti?"

 "The ball is your only goal in there, Linus!"

"Munene! can you stop looking around!"

"What's wrong with you Maina! Go get the ball!"

Am pretty sure I knew all their names by half-time and I had to ask why the coach was so harsh. Answer: That's wot they need to keep them alert. And they really were alert.



The coach had more to say at half-time.



Gamers lost narrowly to Aquinus (9-8) but the coach was so happy, I was surprised. He said they did it so well and the Aquinus coach agreed they, too, hadn't been so greatly challenged in a long time.

I was happy for them and I would definitely go to another of their game. GO GAMERS!



oh, I, too, got my seconds of fame with the STAR.



Hi there

I must simply say, this is my first so-called blog. Yes, that's right - a virgin. Who knew?  So, having only recently given up my blog-ginity (Alright, that wasn't funny.) I find myself as of yet unsure of how exactly I intend to use this, what I intend to post, or even if I'll want to tomorrow.
That being said, I'm glad to be here and I look forward to a wonderful relationship. I think it's always courteous to start off with introductions so let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm hoping to come up with atleast 50 things about me so come on, let's blog...

1.     My first name is Annie.

2.     I have two brothers, older and younger.

3.     I can’t blow bubbles with bubble gum.

4.     I have never smoked a cigarette or taken any hallucinogenic drug.

5.     Being a passenger is ok. I still think we’ll crash but it’s not my responsibility.

6.     I have never had any condition where I needed medical attention to survive.

7.     I have a thing for purses; I can never have enough handbags.

8.     My favorite vegetable is avocado, which is technically a fruit.

9.     I find excessive use of exclamation marks annoying.

10.  I have a serious fetish for shoes with extremely  pointy heels.

11.  I currently have 42 pairs of shoes in my closet.

12.  I graduated from Jomo Kenyatta University last year.

13.  I got my current job from the first job interview I attended.

14.  My sign is Scorpio.

15.  I have kind of an obsessive personality. When I like something, I love it.

16.  The smallest number of books I’ve read in a year was 18.

17.  The largest number of books I’ve read in a year was 64.

18.  I take serious issues with people who refuse to read.

19.  My least favorite color is gray – or grey. However you spell it, I find it depressing, but helpful at times.

20.  I’m good at tongue twisters.

21.  The mirror is my weakness.

22.  It drives me crazy when I can’t think of the word or expression to describe how I feel.

23.  I don’t own a white bra.

24.  My dad and mum are both school principals.

25.  I have both ears pierced, once.

26.  I love designing things; I also love games and puzzles.

27.  I’m completely a dog person.

28.  Puppies make my heart smile.

29.  I hope to visit Eiffel towers before I die.

30.  I’m very organized.

31.  I’m actually kind of a neat freak. It just comes and goes. Sometimes I can clean all night, just so I can wake up to a squeaky clean apartment.

32.  I like fragrant flowers, scented perfume and candles.

33.  I believe in God and consider myself a spiritual person.

34.  I love to win.

35.  But hate to see others lose.

36.  My two favorite authors are Stephen King and Sydney Sheldon.

37.  I love movies.

38.  I am kind, smart, funny, imaginative, empathetic, practical, creative, loving, a go-getter, and optimistic.

39.  My mom is my biggest hero; I’m so much like her.

40.  I’m deathly afraid of getting wrinkles.

41.  I love scary movies.

42.  I’m obsessed with web culture and technology.

43.  I have too many interests. I want to take art classes, nutrition classes, dance classes, you name it.

44.  I want to learn French – and that’s another interest.

45.  I’m a poker fanatic and you’ll never beat me at draughts.

46.  I say ‘I love you’ more times than I can count to my boyfriend every day.

47.  I stay up too late almost every night and regret it every morning.

48.  I really do love to cook and experiment with food.

49.  I’m afraid of the dark, especially when I let my imagination run wild.

50.  No matter how much I like talking about myself --- and I DO! --- I found it harder than I expected it to be to come up with 50 things to say about myself.