Providence

The Return of the Rings

2008-03-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

The Return of The Rings

Dedicated to all between 26 and 31 years old..... (and Heath Ledger ...sob....sob....)

THIRTY. The number seems to strike fear, dread and anxiety in most people. Male or female, one should have, must have, done this, bought that, had this, reached here, gone there etc. When the late 20's hit, there is a maniacal assessment of one's social, financial, physical, economic and even spiritual station in life. Watching those in the last quarters of 20-something I look bemusedly and with much sympathy at those who are going through it all. Unlike many of my peers, I am actually looking forward to hitting the Big 3-0 I still have twenty something months to go as i sit and see if i will fall all two's on the other side. Not because I am right on track with everything I want to achieve, but because of a little known planetary pattern that astrologers have come to call "The Saturn Return."

The what? The Saturn Return, and yes I am referring to the original Lord of the Rings (sorry Tolkien) and it's "return." To be more specific, the first time Saturn completes its cycle through your birth chart and returns to the spot it occupied when you were born. Without getting too technical Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in diameter in astronomical terms but is known as "The Great Teacher" in astrological ones. It completes a cycle approximately once every 29 years, and its energies are believed to be the cause of why those years approaching 30 seem so messed up!!

If you are 30 and over, look back at your life between the ages of 27 1/2 to 29 1/2, if you are between 27-30 or are close to someone who is, stop and read this, please. I can assure you that it's not going to be a sermon, and you can of course come to your own conclusions and use this editorial to train your dog. But, if it does spark an "Oh man, so THAT'S why....?!!" reaction, then do more research on The Saturn Return because it doesn't just come once, but even thrice in a lifetime. The last cycle may catch you at 87, and honey, you had better have learned the lessons by then, or you are going to be one cantankerous old goat! (smile) Although a surly 28-year-old or a 58-year-old is still pretty unpleasant.

What exactly happens during the ages of 27-30 (I'm lazy, so let's just round the numbers off)? Hmmm, why don't you tell me? Perhaps you're in a relationship now, everything blissful, perfect...and yet...you just want to be left ALONE, your partner doesn't UNDERSTAND you, you feel like you don't know whether to STAY or LEAVE. How about work? Normally you content, all of a sudden there are other offers or major changes abound. You feel you're being pulled in all directions, the career path you've chosen is unfulfilling, your colleagues or your business partner PISS YOU OFF, or worse, you have just decided that life behind a desk is hell compared to making beaded underwear for a living. But so what? Life is nothing if one is not happy right?
Basically, on a whole you're going nuts. The normal you is almost unrecognizable, your family, your colleagues, your romantic partner and friends see you turning into something different, and they're right. Saturn asks you to "break" old patterns in your life, in order to sit your ass down, look you in the eye and say "Grow up, or get out."

True adulthood and wisdom are obligatory, because Saturn strips away illusions and points out limitations, allowing you to view yourself in a harsh, often unflattering light. At the same time, it endows you with prudence, practicality, and the perseverance to work hard toward achieving your purposes. The people and situations that enter your life in this season are literally being "used" by the Universe to teach YOU a lesson. You may even befriend someone suddenly who has recently passed a Saturn Return, because they know "exactly how you feel" even on a subconscious level.

If you, on the other hand have a friend who is going through his or her return, then you have to be the patient and understanding one, it is not an easy time. They'll be a little psycho, and trust me, so were you (ask your older friends or relatives). Sadly, 27-29 is the age when most suicides occur, because instead of growing up, the individual gives up. (yikes)

There is good news though...this phase is temporary, and it's always for the best, because that is what change is for, the chance to renew, to rediscover and to recreate the path this is meant for your absolute peace of mind and peace of heart.

Saturn brings to your attention what is important to you, to fill a void. Think of Saturn as that teacher you had in school, the one who was super strict, but knew his stuff, so even if the lessons were hard, you learned from him the most. That's what this planet is attempting to do with you, and it is a worthwhile education.

Let me clarify that the life lessons you have to endure are directly correlated to the quality of life you have lived during your 29 years. If you learn the lessons quickly, and take them to heart then the dramas won't be as dramatic. And when you hit your 30s you can, like me, look back, with a smile and say "Phew! Thanks for the lesson!" See you again in 29 years.

Les Catacombes : The Cemetery of the Innocent

2006-04-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

After 2 failed attempts to visit the Paris Catacombes, the famous world of the underground, Jess, Manu, Marius and I finally had our missed shots rewarded. In my mind I had always imagined how scary it was going to be scaling the stairs surrounded by 6 million skeletons in the dark, I had an uneasy feeling at first but managed to cover it up well with my jokes on the never ending rotating stairs down to the Catacombes, we had to go 20 metres underground to access what to me would easily qualify as a world wonder.

It wasnt anything I expected or feared, the whole setting was dark, abit cold and but amazingly serene. The main entrance has a sign "Attention, you are now entering a place of rest, please show respect......." It felt so spiritual, so alive yet dead, so serene..........the beautiful poetry about death on the walls made it even more touching. Alot of thoughts ran through my mind as I looked at the remains of the many previous Parisians. At the end of the day, we will all cross this path, all that you have dreamt of all you have done, all you have not done, all you have acquired, material or not, all comes down to this, yet many of us tend to be afraid.

The Story of the Catacombes in brief: find on Wikipedia
(Heres a great site that takes you through the step by step experience http://triggur.org/cata/entry.html)

The Globe Trots along.....

2006-03-24T13:54:00.000-08:00

Time: 2254 CET
Place: Rue de Courcelles, Paris

Time: Later
Place: Amsterdam?

Im somewhere between Paris and Amsterdam, or living in both cities sort of simultaneously.....its kind of wired to have a double personality like that......my identity is so un-ZEN right now and i cant even tell what i think like nowadays.....its been an adventurous couple of months and for those that understand me "Mercury has been retrogade" which perfectly explains my current state of mind.

Im moving on to the corporate world and NO im not following Annita Roddicks "Body Shop" merge with "L'Oreal" but i bet we are on the same page ! (I wont give details lest i have stones hurled at me) Ive become an expert at dodging them though.....Paris has turned into a not-so summer party of late with thousands of students on street parties daily in the name of the notorius "CPE".... im obliged to believe that it IS french culture to "strike" theres a strike every day for chrissake.......transport, social services, students, religious fronts ....... transport, social services, students, religious fronts.........you catch my drift? To top it all Mr. Chirac stormed out of an EU brussels meeting when his minister addressed a business meeting in English (LOL)......No i dont hate these people.......its just so so wierd. I thought Amsterdam was the maddest city on earth !

I'm soon leaving Amsterdam (leaving party to be confirmed) and moving on to Paris and making some industry adjustments in my career, I'm still green, I will be doing green stuff.......only this time i will be doing it in the ungreen scene..........

Stay tuned for my "once in a while" thoughts

Bon nuit !

There are ways & ways of Change

2005-11-16T05:40:00.000-08:00

Ok, Ok, I know Ive been silent for sometime (as always) - Ive been abit -PC deprived- due to my many movements but hey- im still here......here are a couple of inspirational words I ran into from a random blog that i really liked....

THERE ARE WAYS & WAYS OF CHANGE

I realise that although almost any change is possible given the right conditions, the most possible change is the one that the heart most dreams of and this is because the heart is integrally connected to the universe and to an intelligence that is 'bigger than us' so to listen very carefully to its beat and rhythm and follow this is the key to struggle-free change. If you refuse to fight your own heart, you will be able to follow this rhythm.

One small point

To struggle is not the same as to have a healthy challenge. I refer to struggle as being the negative stress that slowly kills. Positive stress is what is needed to be able to grow. Life gives us positive stress quite naturally and if we are able to tune it to the subtle messages of our body, we can tap into a very natural internally-driven motivational force. Imagine what it would be like for many many more people to be driven from their inner values and principles. Might we return to a planet that is in harmony and driven by the natural life force which we feel and experience in community as well as individuals? Would this be a return, and yet also a progression to a new level of evolution?

I believe that we create our experiences.
I believe that separation is an illusion. I believe that at a deep level there is a web that connects us all.
I believe that this century will be amongst other things, about building bridges that cross divides.
I believe in a natural way of finding inner balance. That this is a journey and we are learning continuously. I believe in working with multiple intelligence, in a holistic way- using left and right brained approaches,
I believe in cultivating a humane lifestyle that honours the different parts in us.
I believe in ‘prosperity for all' as I believe that there is enough for all. The universe provides for us in every way that we ask, whether we ask consciously or unconsciously.
I believe in integrating emotions, mind, body and spirit.
I believe that we have the answer to all that we need inside us and in the moment.
I believe that under the more difficult emotions there is an intelligence waiting to be heard. This will persist and if not heard will develop into a troublesome shadow.
I believe that we create the struggle in our lives, at some level, often unconscious.
I believe there is an easy path of no struggle and that by tuning into the flow of life, we are always given the next step.
I also believe in the intelligence of children as new seeds for the future.

http://www.sofiabustamante.com/aboutSofia.html
--

Scenographically Embarrased

2005-10-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

Ignorance can be very embarrassing - especially if your in the company of people sharing a common interest of which your knowledge is scanty/or - have not bothered to learn more about. My housemate is a German guy (Dirk) in the Urban planning Architecture field of work & at the same time a technology freak, apart from spending some lazy evenings discussing the technical aspects of Nuclear Energy and how much carbon is emitted by all the processes that lead to its production (including figures)- I have learnt how to become a technical map reader - able to separate outlines of random aspects of society simply by looking at the shades and codes of a map, discovered why if you design a parking lot in a particular way next to a supermarket in a space deprived city like Amsterdam - you are bound to have a rebellious community - basically the sociology of architecture (dont know if that terminology exists but atleast it helps define what im trying to say)- Have you heard of the theory behind 6 degrees of separation? well it says we are separated from each other as humans by virtually 6 degrees (long story - u can google for more info) but considering these strange aspects of man made things - Its led me to believe theres 4 degrees of separation between man and the objects/things he creates (notably the parking lot story) Anyway - deviating from my story isnt helping - Dirk has many friends, most of whom are in the several sub fields of Arts and Architecture so you can imagine a room full of artists together with an ignorant ecologist. I got myself an invitation to visit one of Dirks friends (Annabel) Art Exhibition at the old (and ugly) post office building in Amsterdam - I was excited, mostly because i can brag about knowing one of the "stars of the show" so over the weekend I made my way to the "VolumeAmsterdam" curator fair. It was about "Scenography" sce·nog·ra·phy ( P ) Pronunciation Key (s-ngr-f)n.
The art of representing objects in perspective, especially as applied in the design and painting of theatrical scenery.

Ah well, I was expecting some exhibition full of artistic scrolls and backdrops with imaginative and wierd pictures (my belief is that all artists are wierd)so since she was "designing" the art behind the movies or plays - i didnt read much into what all this was about.

All guests were welcomed with a glass of sparkling wine and bitings before entering the main exhibition hall by suprisingly friendly dutch ushers - I was to meet the gang inside the exhibition hall so i walked in slowly looking out and about for them without spotting them, I noticed that we were in some really dodgy looking hall with wierd noises and with no fancy scrolls and backdrops nor people explaining them so i walked back to the ushers and asked them where the exhibition hall "really" was and they pointed back in the direction i came from. I went back and even tried to open some door in the corner hoping thats where it was but nope. For the third time - i impatiently went and made my case to these girls and told them they have been pointing me towards an "empty" welcome hall without any art !! The girl smiled at me and offered to take me in and explain to me what the "ART Exhibition" was all about. I was not prepared for this.

In essence, there were 5 main contributors from different parts of the world to this fair and under the theme of scenography, they had designed various "ambiances" to project their creativity, the first piece was the noise manipulation one done by an American student. He basically placed mobile microphones around different parts of amsterdam close to the exhibition building - he placed them under a bridge, by a canal, by the train station, by a hotel so basically all the sounds were caught at the same time and using some PC manipulation reflect back the sound into the room producing very strange sound effects.

Item no. 2 was Annabels' she had played about with mirrors and foil paper and random bits of wire and batteries - jungled them together so that they had 2 effects in the room we were standing in - first it appeared smaller than it actually was, secondly, it looked like summer daylight in the room (considering the dull amsterdam weather in an autumn evening outside)

The 3rd piece was from China - the curator recorded the tick and gong of the Beijing clock so that ever 20 minutes you could hear the loud speaker outside ticking nervously and "gonging" intermittently giving a communist aura to the whole setting. This one was particularly interesting.

My favourite was the 4th piece which was a dutch guy copying the walls and pillars of the exhibition hall and making the exact wall and pillar effect with cardboard and placing them in the building - there was no way on earth you could notice this - the cardboard walls looked extremely real and the chipped cement effect made them match those of the hall.

Lastly was the "conceptual" piece (to me this was just an excuse from the curator to a job not well done and replacing it under a complicated category name last minute) apparently his piece of art was the fact that he would advertise the very same event, the same day, same newspaper, same ad banner for the next 3 consecutive years. Ah well - these artists are all wierd anyway.

All in all - besides this being one of my most embarrasing moments in my life - I enjoyed myself and learnt a great deal.

Crossroads for Planet Earth

2005-09-29T02:54:00.000-07:00

I accidentally ran into an issue of the Scientific American September issue (never read a copy before...) but couldnt put it down - some really fascinating visionary views on the climax of humanity or to put it in lay language -"The world in 2050" It concludes with a summary that makes me want to ask whether humanity is trying to prove the boiling frog theory - an enlightening issue - hope its still not too late to grab a copy for yourself .... heres their website - www.sciam.com and a quick taste on one of the stories below....The issue closes with some brain spurring arguments for potential action plans...

The Climax of Humanity
Demographically and economically, our era is unique in human history. Depending on how we manage the next few decades, we could usher in environmental sustainability--or collapse
By George Musser

HUMANITY HAS GROWN, gotten richer and transformed the planet. These three great historical trends define the present day. Understanding them provides a framework for dealing with, rather than becoming paralyzed by, the problems of the world.
The 21st century feels like a letdown. We were promised flying cars, space colonies and 15-hour workweeks. Robots were supposed to do our chores, except when they were organizing rebellions; children were supposed to learn about disease from history books; portable fusion reactors were supposed to be on sale at the Home Depot. Even dystopian visions of the future predicted leaps of technology and social organization that leave our era in the dust.
Looking beyond the blinking lights and whirring gizmos, though, the new century is shaping up as one of the most amazing periods in human history. Three great transitions set in motion by the Industrial Revolution are reaching their culmination. After several centuries of faster-than-exponential growth, the world's population is stabilizing. Judging from current trends, it will plateau at around nine billion people toward the middle of this century. Meanwhile extreme poverty is receding both as a percentage of population and in absolute numbers. If China and India continue to follow in the economic footsteps of Japan and South Korea, by 2050 the average Chinese will be as rich as the average Swiss is today; the average Indian, as rich as today's Israeli. As humanity grows in size and wealth, however, it increasingly presses against the limits of the planet. Already we pump out carbon dioxide three times as fast as the oceans and land can absorb it; midcentury is when climatologists think global warming will really begin to bite. At the rate things are going, the world's forests and fisheries will be exhausted even sooner. continue at http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&colID=1&articleID=00031010-F7DA-1304-B72683414B7F0000

The best trained army in the world...

2005-09-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

US FORCED TO IMPORT BULLETS FROM ISRAEL AS TROOPS USE 250,000 FOR EVERY REBEL KILLED

US forces have fired so many bullets in Iraq and Afghanistan - an estimated 250,000 for every insurgent killed - that American ammunition-makers cannot keep up with demand. As a result the US is having to import supplies from Israel.
A government report says that US forces are now using 1.8 billion rounds of small-arms ammunition a year. The total has more than doubled in five years, largely as a result of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as changes in military doctrine..........

Amazing Feature on Nairobi

2005-08-23T04:29:00.000-07:00

For an amazing National Geographic feature on Nairobi look at: http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0509/feature2/index.html

When it becomes necessary to BUM....

2005-08-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

July & August have been a "Living in limbo" duo for me.... changing departments at work, changing day patterns(explains the extra chin developing, thanks to 6 weeks of skyving the gym), adopting a nomad life (Im changing houses so that left me camping at a friends while i add myself on to the list of a million Amsterdam inhabitants/homeless incessantly struggling for space......and being ruthlessly torn apart by the so called housing agents who are out to SQUEEZE me dry.....yaikks!) Apartments are expensive and hard to find in this city and for some reason it seems as though the rest of the world decided to move here......its so CROWDED..... but the best thing so far has been living with my friends as i try to figure myself out......I have been so exhausted with the endless bombardments of workload, backpacking and being in a state of - going with the flow - Its barely been 10 days but i feel resurrected, thanks to Maria and company at the Lazy manor, they had just purchased a hammock by the time i moved in and its been days of watching movies, outdoing myself as the best Kenyan chef in town (i kid not) enjoying the sun when it stealthily slips in (The dutch have an early warning system for detecting the sun) and most importantly, i stopped and became a tourist this summer.......

So let me make you feel kiwaruu (jealous) .... The last 2 weeks i spent my time understanding the gay world by going to the gay pride parade that always leaves amsterdam breathless (Why dont straight men (Side A) try and polish themselves up like their Side B counterparts? Its like walking in a city full of movie stars......sad though that you wont get hit on......but i was wary of the female ones........their stares made me almost sh*t in my pants and want to flee (my mom intends to visit me one of these fine days but hapana......i think i will propose Rome so we can go to St. Pauls and while im at it do some confession......Amsterdam would be sodom and gomorrah in my mums eyes.....im sure of that.....she would have me deported back home if she saw the utterly impossible things you can see and do in this city.....

This past week also happens to be the SAIL festival, imagine 600 ancient sail ships (some are replica´s though) docked at one harbor in amsterdam, wild live music, fireworks and oh my God listening to Enya from the water.....its got to be the greatest thing to see........it happens once every five years and different countries from all over the world are partisan.....check out www.sail.nl/english .... I tells thee.....beautiful...

Yesterday we risked going to a classical music concert that happens every year on one of the famous canals in Amsterdam (Prinsengracht).....thanks to the human skyscrapers (the dutch people are too tall) i was struggling between crowds to catch a glimpse of the artists performing sounds of famous geniuses like Bach.....there were also some exotic sounds from Spain and Arabia...what made the night for me was of course hanging out with Nomads like me Brenda, Zoe, Goncalo, Maria and the only dutch amongst us...Mark.....Despite the great music, i was getting so tired of trying to size my neck to that of a giraffee....i gave up and went behind the crowd....Alas....people had brought ladders, wheelburrows and there was some teenage guy who thought he was spider man hanging from a window.....thats how good it was....worth risking your life for....i stumbled upon a space where i sat down and could peer into an Amsterdammers living room (here they dont funga curtains) so atleast i could watch the concert on live TV yay ! - Oh well, got tired again and couldnt wait to head back to Lazy Manor so by midnight i was in bed.....to nurse all the remaining hangovers that had not dissappeared from the champagne party that my former department threw to kick me out to a new department.........I had sworn never to take more than 2 glasses of alcohol a week but it seems like a struggle argh! i think i will just go with the flow.......for the rest of you not taking time to just kick back and do nothing but being a tourist.....try it......its the best medicine for todays mans soul.........

Its Kermits 50th Anniversary !!

2005-08-12T00:37:00.000-07:00

Dedicated to all you grown up Muppet fans out there.....
I know, I know, im sounding all cheesy & unKenyan about this but if theres something that made my childhood it was the Muppet show......i could watch it over and over again even today.....Kermit is this week marking his 50th anniversary together with Miss Piggy la femme de haute coutoure.....although she IS the Muppets' fashion diva, Miss Piggy will allow Kermit the Frog to join her in two upcoming fashion pubs: Zink magazine and Pop magazine, where the fashionable frog and pig will be dressed in Louis Vuitton. This will mark Piggy's second time to grace the pages of Pop this year, having modeled for a Prada editorial shoot in their spring issue.....YES and Kermit has a TV Star on Hollywood walk of fame (has his name engraved on a star along the Hollywood Boulevard) alongside stars of the past like Martin Scorsese, Kevin Bacon, Susan Sarandon etc etc..........Is it really not easy to be green? :-) i have abit of trouble though with the whole fashionizing of a childhood star - he is just a stuffed toy for chrissake dont ruin him !

Times ARE really changing.....

2005-08-11T01:04:00.000-07:00

I had a lazy evening last night, didnt really feel like doing anything so i started watching TV and switching from channel to channel it was like flipping a coin each time I changed to a new station.......heads (H) would be "wierd stuff".....tails (T) would always be "something to do with the weather"

- (H) Viva La Bam on MTV (who invented this ????)
- (T) Hideous drought and wild fires in Spain and Portugal
- (H) Celebrating the Discoverys' crew safe landing
- (T) Starvation & Drought in Niger & Mali
- (H) Iran going well ahead with its Nuclear programme
- (T) Mega-Monsoons in India & Parts of China
- (H) Google buys shares at Ali-Baba (China, China, China.....)
- (T) Wild torrential rains causing dangerous floods in Lithuania (?????? who would have thought that ???)
- (H) Gold miners on strike in South Africa
- (T) Heavy snow (first time in decades) in southern Australia (East Australia hit by flooding too...)
- (H) An ex-Kenyan Qatarian wins a race in the Finland IAAF championship
- (T) Typhoons, Tornados, Hurricanes around the states & Japan
- (H) NASA launches a space device to investigate the red planet (Mars)
- (T) Thinning Ice in Alaska and Migrating wildlife.........

Despite the scorching heat all over Europe, its raining and quite cold in the Netherlands........!!!!
Im alittle worried at the moment because 3/4 of this little country is below sea level.....since the dutch have been smart about this....(canals, dykes & floating mansions) I wonder if theres an evacuation plan if the floods hit or if the sea decides to highten.......hmmm......would the country float? Random thought....... Most of my dutch friends have boats.....i should think of hooking up with some Expats and buy us a boat....maybe thats the plan.......?*&%#@!

In between all this Irony I figured that the hottest job right now is being a weather man......theres lots to say and guess what ! you can even travel to the disaster areas to report....while people are starting fires in Indonesia, the fires are starting themselves in Spain, while the US is completely agitated with Irans Nuclear plans, they themselves are working hard to enrich their Nuclear power plants ...While Niger & Mali are currently the most popular countries in Africa, they happen to be having quite an amount of Uranium.....cant eat it though.....all in all....isnt it just amazing just how weather news is like watching a thriller nowadays?

Extra-Terrestrial Activism

2005-07-21T02:55:00.000-07:00

Should Man Venture Into Space & Other Planets ?

Leave Mars for the Martians.

There exists just as many disadvantages as advantages associated with "discovering space"; Other than the "usual suspects" such as internally imbeded human habits; mans selfish nature......or State Ego (Some countries Ego's outdo reality....im not going to mention names...and that doesnt mean i like some countries more than others), Fight to remain dominant or gain power & recognition (theres a possibility of discovering resources out there......), display of strength (showing off ........ so human)........Advantages are many (to remain idiot proof, i will refrain from using any scientific language) In Irish; We could discover great resources out there, we could test our abilities and learn from mistakes, who knows we may meet other beings out there and learn from them, it could give us a chance to re-live life one more time on another planet only this time try to do things right....etc etc.....then we have the cobwebs......its so damn expensive; why dont we spare this money to save the poor....why should we explore due to our capitalistic instincts, earth had enough, we wasted it, we pay for it, why do we have to go out there and destroy more, its risky and dangerous, I dont even want to imagine getting stuck somewhere in a space ship, getting blown up and my remains floating around due to lack of gravity, never to be recovered, why do we need to prove a point of superiority? and of course....why do we want to spark a war with the extra terrestrials ??

The image above is thought to have been captured by the greenpeace movement that has outdone its activism skills by getting them to the Martians before anyone else :-) . Speaking about country Ego....if Kenyan politicians are so great.....they should have already thought up a year where Kenya sends its first space ship (I have been inspired by writings from my Ukrainian friend "Volodja": http://volodja.blogspot.com whose country has invested on space industry). Lets take a moment for world peace. I would like to hear your thoughts on if humans should go to space (forget the part about Kenya, thats hallucinating.....but i bet we were the first country to come up with public service vehicles (mathrees/matatus) that move as fast as space ships, have mobile discotheques, police aversion utilities and where theres always space for one more).......and oh for those who were in Nairobi when the IOC (International Olympics Committee) had made its visit; Mr Sports Minister actually proposed Kenya for the 2017 Olympics or was it the 2012 (LOL).

Glow

2005-07-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

Thought of the day
I wish i was a glow worm. A glow worm's never glum; how can you be unhappy when the sun shines out your bum !

My 3 day year in London

2005-07-12T02:28:00.000-07:00

Finally back safe from London; probably the most familiar city to visit for a Kenyan; I couldnt help feeling like I was walking along westlands ....the red telephone booths, hearing people speaking swahili loosely, traditional fish & chips (Kenchick kabisa !), driving on the right side of the road and of course.......all signs were in English !!! I was only there for 3 whole days but it felt like i had been there forever; the commotion from winning the 2012 Olympics hosting, G8 summit, crowds gathering to commemorate WW2, raves with familiar music, Oh....and theres Tusker... and not forgetting my second bomb blast experience, only that the Londoners handled it differently......I just never realised how much Nairobi is a copy-paste of London. I couldnt travel around much of course with limited transport (What are the odds that when you go visit a city bombings will occur anyway....); And oh....Buckhingham Palace is a dissapointment :-[

Back in Amsterdam; the security at the airports much tighter than in London, people looking taller and blonder and communicating in noises that sound like swear words, the signs in a language i cant pronounce, the shop attendants not knowing any form of customer service ..... I grab my bike and join the bike traffic jam along the crowded streets at the center....dodging dog poop, trams and insinuately annoying tourists......I love Amsterdam.

Dessins Julian Beever/ Julian Beever Art

2005-07-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

Julian Beever is an english artist who’s famous for his art on the pavements of Europe. His speciality ? He gives to his drawing an anamorphose (3D illusion), his images are drawn completely in diforms which give a 3D image when viewed on the right angle … !!! .....illusions drawn in a special distortion in order to create an impression of 3 dimensions when seen from one particular viewpoint; isnt this great?

Dear Santa; Can we borrow Gaddafi for President?

2005-07-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

If theres a man whose reputation could never exceed his name (seriously); That would be Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.... Dont you just love the guy? I mean, despite some of his "over the top" actions; he is the one PERFECT president for Kenya. We cant rule ourselves; our greatest enemy is ourselves, and we dont seem to be getting ourselves better....therefore; we need a shrewd no nonsense head master to whip us back in place. I say we borrow him for the next 5 years, whaddaya reckon?

At the just concluded pre-G8 African Union summit of African leaders at Gaddafis' home town of Sirte in Libya, the man uttered the words that no other African leader could even murmur in their day dreams - Stop begging, Africa leaders ... . He told them to "stop begging" for Western charity; "Begging will not make the future of Africa - it creates a greater gap between the great ones and the small ones".His 30-minute speech received muted applause from other African leaders. ( If i was in that summit i would pull off a stunt like the Irish christian fanatic that disrupted the marathon in Athens 2004......); i would first of all be a celeb but above all....i would get to hug Sir Gaddafi.

And with that my dear friends; because he has put me in such a good mood.....all the beer is on me tonight or if you book with me in good time; ....Oh, and if anyone knows how I can apply to be his Lady Body Guard; please let me know - Im looking for a job :-)

Have a Gaddafi day

On Female Circumcision (FGM)

2005-06-29T02:19:00.000-07:00

Is Female Circumcision Right ?

I'm not going to give you an answer to that ; I had my share of bombardment from some Nigerian friends who i tried to reason with on this touchy issue....they definately wanted to throw me out of a moving car. I discussed this with a Brazilian & a Spaniard and regardless of the fact that they both dont come from communities that practice this tradition; their answers were rather compelling.

Should we let these communities carry on with these traditions as part of the way they live," as part of their culture" because of the fear of transforming them into our culture... I guess then the first question we have to make is if this tradition has always been there, or if it was brought to that particular group of people by some emancipated group that believed their traditions were more superior (especially referring to those attached to the ancient Muslim religion).

But even after answering this question then comes the next one, to what extend can anybody say what is right or wrong? ...The only true laws are the natural ones... the one that can not be interpreted or interrupted in any way but they just are... the "laws of life"? the ones about the community of life, diversity... those laws can not be questioned, there is no right or wrong about them, they just are. Any other laws, or traditions, have been made by human beings with the purpose of controlling and surrendering the world to them; Because all those laws and traditions have come from an interpretation that human beings have a role in the world...human beings cannot tamper with the laws of life.Circumcision is not in accordance with those natural laws, so those who follow that tradition are not the original humans but the "modern" humans. Because their culture has already been "corrupted" by the "modern humans", then we need to minimise the mistakes we made and try to abolish that tradition that can only hurt them...

But again, who are we to decide how others should live their lives?

Musicians Without Borders

2005-06-17T04:53:00.000-07:00

Tough Problems - Simple Solutions
Yesterday evening, i went with a couple of friends to the UvA for a mini concert/presentation by the Vrouvolk (some women folk) who work for the NGO "Musicians Without Borders" see www.musicianswithoutborders.nl. Their purpose is to use the power of music to promote respect and tolerance among people and communities and to help create a peaceful, global society (something like using music for conflict resolution) Its roots were in the former ethnic conflicts between Serbs and Albanians. How blinding the world has become to such simple ways to deal with problems. Its Amazing what music can do .... as someone put it once.....if its taken human beings 5000 years to put wheels on their suitcases/luggage......are we really that intelligent?" Or as one of my favourite quotes from Calvin & Hobbes "The only sure way that intelligent life exists in outer space is the fact that none of it has tried to contact us"

Debt Relief For Africa ?

2005-06-13T02:29:00.000-07:00

The past week & weekend has been a mediabuzz of "Africa" &amp; "Debt Relief" ; Alot of people have been asking me my opinion on this; but as always, my opinion is usually a cold and different one. I think only Maria agrees with me on this one, and maybe a couple of you who identify with the views of Daniel Quinn in his books "Ishmael" and "The Story of B"

My 2 cents.....

The whole Blair G8 presidency move to "make poverty history" is a sign that the issue is finally being looked at but its merely just a first and very small step. It sensitizes but does not solve the problem, its a quick fix......quick fixes dont work. The key is to work on the long term solutions like Ignorance (by ignorance i dont mean being educated but by those who are already educated to put to use what they have learnt positively). My arguments may seem fluffy and unrealistic, but just try to look at them for one minute in my way.....

1. Poverty lies in the eyes of the beholder ..... who said that having an education and being "civilised" is being wealthy. My experience in the Togolese border in my 2003 visit to Ghana & 2002 visit to India (somewhere near Jamshedpur) were the clearest answers to my question on whether "civilisation" was the way foward to the world. I got to live in the middle of nowhere with traditional communities whose sense of accomplishment and happiness came from the fact that they lived happily as a community; they worked together, shared the little food they had, welcomed foreigners like me with a smile and brought up their children to have good character. What more could you want ? Dr. Quinn says " The world only wants us to leave it alone" I totally agree and respect the so called "poor" in our societies ....the aborigins, the maasai, the red indians ...etc.... Wealth comes deep down from your heart and not from what the rest of the civilised world sees you as. Even the people plagued by genocide in Rwanda, dont animals fight amongst themselves? arent we part of the animal kingdom? Just try to think about it that way...... Man is a selfish being by nature, and you cant change that. Our civilised lifestyle is evolutionarily unstable and is thus in the process of eliminating itself in the perfectly ordinary way - we cannot alienate ourselves from nature. We are subject to the laws of life......looks like we forgot that.

2. Africa is the continent of the future ....
True.... Singapore & Malaysia are countries that moved from "3rd world" to "1st world" in a record 10 - 20 years ..... Egypt & Ethiopia etc were one of the worlds richest kingdoms....i think the whole development model thing is very specific to country and situation....my advice....stop worrying too much, Africa is the continent of the future.....we have the people and resources .....its only a matter of time that we need to "trim out" the negativities and "grow up" ......and as soon as we stop blaming everyone for our failure....we will start spending more time bettering ourselves......it takes quantam energy to reach the kind of "stability" we require as acontinent, we are big, we have too many resources, and we are far too diverse (over 1500 distinctly different cultures & 50+ countries....).....its going to take TIME.....Further, I feel generally impressed with the kind of crop developing from Africa for now....most of the youth....from business professionals to soccer players are all thinking in terms of moving Africa to the next level. Despite Africa becoming poorer contrary to other continents.....we still made an improvement in economic growth......We are evolving......evolutions are always messy..........our time is coming.......

3. Mikes view on Debt relief......
Why on earth are the rich countries "relieving" us from Debt?? Why dont they "Pay for the Debt??" Sounds like a vicious cycle here...I so totally agree with that statement......relieving the debt does not pay for the vacuum of debt that has been incurred meaning economically, they are simply just sweeping the dust under the carpet...Who will pay for the vaccum?

4. The world can only be changed by people with changed minds
The statement speaks for itself........you cannot change an individual, the individual is the only person who can change himself........when he does he enhances his circle of influence and the positive change spreads like a wave.......change takes time and energy........

‘The message for Africans (of my winning the Nobel Peace Prize) is that the solutions to our problems lie within us. The work we have been doing with the Green Belt Movement is a local response to a local problem’ "What is done for the people without involving them cannot be sustained - Professor Wangari Maathai

To be continued........

An Invitation - Beautiful Words For Great Minds

2005-01-31T06:13:00.000-08:00

The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive. It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!" It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children. It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Amsterdams Newest Tree Hugging Hippie

2005-01-31T06:10:00.000-08:00

Heres some write up i was unable to upload before i left for my December holidays last year.....
A quick description of my time in Amsterdam from End of July to Early November.

It has been A LONG time since i said anything on my weblog; well, i have a good excuse - i was just lazy :-) Where were we last time; i had just gone about some memorable experiences in Belgium and i could go on for ages (memories stored safe in my head in case i decide to write a book). Notably visiting the Hans Sur Lesse, Le Sphinx, The Kings Gardens, Stuck at Liege Guillemans, Hanging around Av. Louise and Place Sablon, Beautiful Brugges and YES i miss the Belgian Fries......I hated the Muzzles (Moules) thoughAnyway; here's introducting Amsterdams Newest Tree Hugging Hippie;

It was the hardest thing to make this decision especially since i had an offer to remain in Belgium but sometimes one has to look ahead and put things in perspective; sometimes as humans we are so caught up in looking around us rather than what is ahead of us; I will be honest (Please forgive me my Dutch friends) I never liked or wished to be in A'dam at all......for the rest of you A'dam is gorgeous; one of the most pretty and organised cities i have seen - believe it or not the system works in A'dam; apart from Switzerland, i havent seen any other place where the system works..... what i was going to do here is somewhat highly linked to what i want to do in my life; i call it "for the love of the job" suddenly here i am again caught up in the whole business of "changing the world" rhetorically put. Yes if you have been doubting it; i am a tree hugging hippie; working with Greenpeace until now was at first confusing but after getting to know lots of different people; lt has so far been a very rewarding expereince, not only in terms of the work, but in terms of the people i have met who believe in the seemingly "Bloody Impossible Mission" of changing the world - I like this quote from one of the Greenpeace founders; "YOU ARE HERE TO GET YOUR CHILDREN INTO THE NEXT CENTURY........TO HELL WITH THE RULES....."

Its now been 3 months since i touched base with Amsterdam and i cant even beging to explain it; at first it was hellish because finding accomodation in an all favourite city like this one is IMPOSSIBLE; I got to stay for 2 months at the greenpeace flat though and this is where my adventures begun; There was Susannah, a photo catalogist, she taught me the cycling traffic rules; then there was Captain Bob; when he left the netherlands his plan was to walk from Europe to New Zealand .... i dont know how far he is right now....sounds strange? well; its no big deal for him, this is a guy who has probably sailed to every country you can think of......witnessed the Kenyan independence in Mombasa, did a road trip from the UK to South Africa......i was humbled. Then there was Meike; very sweet person, she was published last month on a German womens magazine as a "Risk Taker"; Meike has worked with MSF in Congo during the war, lived in possibly every continent; very sporty climber, boat driver, motor biker etc....last but not least Richard; his witchcraft stories about living in west africa used to make my nights nightmarish........there was Ash the pure german shephard too......being an African it was quite strange how i got to bond with the dog. In the office; i am part of a team thats incredible; coming from an AIESEC background i have always had a "corporate" minded way of looking at things but working at GP taught me a few new things; these people are not driven by making money, these people dont waste time in endless meetings, these people believe in what they do....they are willing to risk their lives for the planet, and these people are very intelligent (a stream of engineers, pilots, scientists, innovators etc) all with multi lingual skills......one of my team mates speaks 7 european languages fluently which i have never understood.........but yet; these are also probably the most down to earth people i have ever known.

If you do believe in what you do........if you concieve what you want to do in your mind and work towards it; you can achieve it....money or no money, but the passion and belief.......a lesson that a few corporates may need to learn.

Back by public demand

2004-11-09T03:26:00.000-08:00

Ok ok
Now im all settled and ready to take my blog to the next level....... A quick narration of my life in the past 3 months is underway; I promise to be less procrastinating :-) (Have i said this before, it sounds familiar)

1:9 Rato Theory

2004-07-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

Attitude. (some wise words stolen from a friend)

The instruction to be unhappy, as written by P. Watzlawik, is so amazingly simple, because it just states, that it is us deciding, how we want to live certain moments.
I more than once received the feedback to be an eternally smiling idealist.

Don't be proud of not smiling. Be proud of your attitude, but don't judge others'.

'The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude to me is more important than facts.
It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude.

I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.'

2004-07-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

Very Integrated European Wannabee's (Except for Oli)

2004-07-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

Some good memories of Belgium - EU Enlargement Day on the 1st of May at Cinquantenaire, that must be the biggest flying flag i have seen, The spirit of intergration was in the air with the new 10 countries joining the EU. It was such a special feeling to be there on this day !! Above view me, Tasha and Olivier infront of one of the Directorate Generals of the EU Commission

2004-07-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

Calvin and Hobbes

The Club Of Rome

2004-07-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Dan, Last week I got an invitation to attend the prestigious private event of the inaugration of Prince Phillip as the President of the Club of Rome Brussels Chapter, Talk about being in the right place at the wrong time, there was about 80 people, everyone seemed to have been one of those great achievers and it was alittle embarrasing having to present exactly who i was.... You should have seen the grin on my face when i met the Prince and chatted alittle about AIESEC to him, the beautiful thing about it was the fact that these guys are now tired of old blood and the presence of young blood at this ceremony was really encouraging for them !you can catch up with me later for the "detailed" side of the story but first let me share with you who these guys are and how wonderfully thought their ideas are.

For those of you who dont know, who are "The Club Of Rome ??

They are a global think tank and centre of innovation and initiative.
As a non-profit, non governmental organisation (NGO), they bring together scientists, economists, businessmen, international high civil servants, heads of state and former heads of state from all five continents who are convinced that the future of humankind is not determined once and for all and that each human being can contribute to the improvement of our societies. They aim to work as a global catalyst of change. They do this by taking a global, long term and interdisciplinary perspective aware of the increasing interdependence of nations and the globalisation of problems that pose predicaments beyond the capacity of individual countries. These guys are a bunch of high standing and achieving dons in their field. Brushing shoulders with these guys was one of those AHA ! experiences for me, the need to Master self, the need to use your talent, the need to act and not be acted upon, the need to recognise the power of "interdependence" and the need to understand what truly is self actualisation.

Later, i will share with you thoughts from some great guys i met there !

On What I Agree With Regarding The Soul Of Man

2004-07-07T05:12:00.000-07:00

"The universe is one great kindergarten for man. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson. The mountain teaches stability and grandeur; the ocean immensity and change. Forests, lakes, and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes--every form of animate or inanimate existence, leaves its impress upon the soul of man."
--Orison Swett Marden

Girls Dine Out

2004-07-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Isabelle ! We are all really happy for you.

Yesterday Isabelle, Mukami, Els and I went to eat out at a Thai restaurant amidst my urges to go watch the Czech whipp the Greeks, well tough luck since i had to face the Greeky night all night due to the insatiable noise that was just incredible....Portugal had better get me my mood back. Im still deeply in Pain for France's Loss.

Well, it finally hit me i have just a couple of days remaining for my term to be over in AIESEC in Belgium, Diana and Paola arrived and melancholic waves are beginning to crowd my mind, not just missing the people that i have learnt to love but missing Brussels. Brussels is one of those cities that will go in my "Livre d'Or" Its a mixture of the whole world in one small place, the chaotic lifestyle, the modesty, the full of life city where you can never miss out on a free concert..... but what i will really miss is the Grand Place and the thinking moments, people and feelings it always allowed me. Only if i could carry you with me.

Love, Life and Grand Place
Emily

Finally away with procrastination

2004-07-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

I think it has taken me a year to finally say to myself "I am creating my blog Now !" It took a while ..... but i finally overcame the procrastination, its a pity though because lots of fresh experiences have passed me by and now i can only probably share them vaguely or share what i see today or tomorrow, soon i will hopefully make the presentations more interesting with pics and stuff.....Well, I welcome you all to Providence and enjoy it, but most importantly...... share your thoughts ......Heart, Hands and Soul, Emily

Don't sacrifice your life to work and ideals. The most important things in life are human relations. I found that out too late.

--Katharinde Susannah Prichard Australian Author