...Re-live this
day with me...
I believe I am one of the
best critics of valentines to this point. I am not writing to repeat what has
repeatedly been said over valentines. I am here to expose myself. Again. As
fate would have it, I set myself up for a date unknowingly. On 2nd
of this month, I was chatting with a friend of mine online, and we have never
sat down for a legitimate basis. Just the usual catch up talk three or fewer
times a year when you happen to meet at home over the holidays. I figured I
needed to see her. Here is the point of the conversation at some point.
“So when are you free? For a chat and tea?”
“From Fridays am usually free until Monday morning."
“Okay. Kesho is on short notice; we can plan Sunday
next weekend?” “Been postponing swimming since Friday coz of flights."
“Swimming?”
“But we can do Sunday if it's okay with you.”
“Yeah, it's okay."
“Sawa sawa.”
This was on Tuesday 2nd
February. I only realized that the said Sunday was Valentines on Thursday 11th
as we were leaving Zonk’s office late in the evening. I hated everything to do
with the monkey see monkey do culture that is Valentines day.
D-Day.
I woke up at 7.29 am, of course,
I threw the alarm away after the ring at 4.30. Circadian clock sorcery right
there. Again, I was tired from yesterday’s swim. I surpassed my fitness rating.
I prefer the first mass to the second one. Guess what time the first mass
starts? 7.30 am!!! I did not even struggle. I woke up, reached out for my water
bottle as usual, and took a large swig out if it. I had a paper to hand in by 9
am for an online course I am undertaking. I needed to wake up early, work on
that paper, study and then prepare for service and then I would come back to
wash my uniform. By the time, I was done with the paper it was ten minutes to 9
am. I started working like a mad man. I had the best plans for today regarding
my dressing. Or so I thought. I refilled the steam iron's reservoir. I opened
my suitcase and started removing one shirt after another and trying them. I
already had a trouser in mind. Shoes were unpolished.
About that suitcase.
Sometimes last year…July - August there, I was to attend this short security
course in South Africa. Yes, I am still doing security stuff. But, on a
"boss level,"he. Somehow, that trip backfired. I have never had the
heart to unpack that suitcase because the hopeful and ambitious calf had hopes
that this trip was still going to happen. So days turned into weeks & to
months, cancelled tickets and reservationswere cancelled, and here we are. I
have not been home for a while, and I did not have anything decent to wear and
look the part. Again, considering the weight I have lost. I needed to have a
fitting shirt or else… That is how I tried three shirts, and all were not
fitting. A fourth one was better than all the others. (Nkt! Kumbeata! there has
been a new tube of toothpaste in this suitcase and the way I have hated my salt
water brushes these past few mornings?) By the time I was getting to start the
ironing, I had 5 minutes. At this point, I was already considering changing
churches. St Peter's Clavers, eerrr, Holy Family Basilica… I had several
options, but they all involved matatus, so I eliminated that thought. I had
just done one side of the shirt, and I thought to myself, "Who am I
kidding? I cannot make it." So, I did what we used to call IA in the
military. Immediate Action. Plan B. The whole dress code changed to my now very
common "Straight Outta Nairobi" T-shirt. (This tee and the other one
"Made in Kenya" were for that botched S.A trip. – I had to scream to
the world out there that I was from Kenya!) Brown khaki pants and a pair of
faded loafers I should have dyed to another colour ages ago. At this point, I
had convinced myself that I would do the ironing without rush, after church and
proceed to my date looking like a real gentleman.
I took a quick shower,
salt brush tena! Hit me after it hit my tongue that I had spotted a tube of
toothpaste somewhere. & I rushed outside without breakfast. I walked at the
fastest pace I could and got to the church right before the mass started. But I
did not get a seat, and I had to sit on the floor. (Sort of, looks like stadium
benches and the seats allow enough space for people to squeeze and sit on the
steps. They are very comfortable by the way) The first mass had extended into
the second one’s slot since it was a special Sunday. First Sunday of Lent and
for our particular church, they were redoing the "Day of the Sick"
celebrated on Thursday, and thus anointing of the sick this Sunday. Mass ended
well, and I couldn’t wait to get home.
 |
| Sugarcane Vendor at Work |
I had this idea of eating
like four hot mandazis and the three slices of bread that I had left over from
yesterday. Hot Mandazi has a way of inflating your stomach and getting you to
survive until the next substantial meal. Just after the first corner towards
home, a sugarcane vendor appeared. Delete Mandazi, insert, Sugarcane! One
section was enough for my walk home. By the way, while in the church at some
point, I decided I would not be dressing up for that date after all. I would go
as I was. It was some few minutes past midday already. I always feel like I
waste clothes if worn in the afternoon - white shirts especially. However, in
this scenario, I did not deserve to change my dress at all if I felt comfy the
way I was, considering church was more sensitive I would be okay. I needed a
shave. By the time I got to the barbershop, the cane was done. I beckoned the
standby barber. My Congolese barber who has been shaving me since I moved into
this estate somehow went MIA on this Kinyozi. The other barber who I used to
pass or ignore while I hogged Wi-Fi from Matatus soliciting passengers as I
wait for my "Choice Barber" has been shaving me for the past few
weeks. He always did it in a way to show ‘I am now the king.’ Today he totally
ignored me even after calling him twice. Maybe they thought I was there to wipe
my mouth & cheeks of traces of my sugarcane indulgence. I think I have
officially dumped Sweet Sixteen until
Shabaan is back, and if he moved to another barbershop, I am following him
there. That is how I ended up there in the first place. So after a few minutes,
I walked out.
 |
| Take away Sugarcane |
I got home and tried to
study, but I found myself catching up with discussions that I had missed since
yesterday from a particular group on Twitter. I studied for a while, listened
to T.D Jakes and then realized I have not called my friend to confirm our date.
Apparently, she was waiting for that call and confirmed our plans were still
on. We agreed to meet around half past two onwards. I did not have anything to
do concerning preparations. I washed my shoe, though. The pair was not clean
enough. I do not even know how the time flew I even forgot to cut my nails. I
decided to carry the clipper; I would do it later. It was hot outside! I paid
for my black tee choice.
The Commute
 |
| Unity Primary School's Gate |
I got into the mat and
settled into a window seat. The sunny side at this point of the journey. The
mat was yet to get to capacity, so I started working on my nails. Carefully
cutting away and throwing the pieces outside. The aisle seat was still unoccupied,
and the guys across were looking at me like I was a psycho. Judgement is what
their faces represented. I did not think much about it. They were both cheek
full of Muguka and had this big bag
of nuts in between one of the fellow’s legs. You should have seen how weird it
looked when the other one reached for the friends crotch at random intervals to
refill his mouth. By the time we got to Unity Primary School, I was done with
cutting the nails, and I started filing them. The Unity Primary school new paint
Scheme is awesome by the way. The filing didn’t take a lot of time.
 |
| My tools... |
At the next stage, a lady
walked in. She was around 22 years of age. A light complexion, good looking,
had blue skinny jeans with flats. She had rolled the jeans the right way.
(Having a sister in the fashion industry teaches me many things…) She had short
hair. Well maintained. I say well kept because my afro skipped its weekend wash
& it was all unkempt after yesterday's swim - Chlorine is an enemy. Again,
on two occasions we have discussed the lesser financial responsibility
associated with short haired ladies – with the boys. She looked somehow tense,
on two occasions she looked at her cleavage. But I think that was resultant of
the automatic reaction that would be triggered by the video on the screen. It
was one nasty Jamaican song. At this point, I was watching her from the corner
of my eyes. But I had taken one serious look at her immediately she sat down,
and I had committed that face to memory. I was busy on my phone uploading the Unity
Primary School Gate picture on Twitter. The Matatu had Wi-Fi onboard. Now that
was one phone. After successfully sending the tweet, I switched off the Wi-Fi
and put it in my left pocket. I reached out under my right thigh and unleashed
my second phone. That is my safety spot when I am reading in a matatu, in case
a distracting thing happens outside. Under that thigh, was also a DVD case and
an External Hard disk and my bunch of keys.
I am currently reading “Earning My Wings” by Janine Spendlove.
I continued reading the novel. The music was not too loud, so I did not need to
use my earphones as earplugs today. The screen in between the seats in front
was very distracting because that made the lady look in that direction. She
also had the tendency to look outside, and I was the barrier to her view. It
got awkward to some point, and I was sure she was looking at me at some point.
By this time, she had already told her date that she was in a matatu in
traffic. The conductor was already working. Normally, I usually check out the
note my neighbour is holding. It acts as a potential "Icebreaker". In
the case where lady one has 50/- shillings, and I have 100/- I would give her
the hundred and ask her to give me the 50/- after the conductor had passed I
would thank them for paying the fare for me. If they were having a good day and
they responded in kind, that would start a conversation. At first arguing about
them not paying. At one time, we conspired with a total stranger and argued
against the conductor that we were told the fare was 50/- and not 70/- She gave
me the 50/- she had, and I gave her my 100/- for her to pay because the
conductor would have refused to give me change. It worked. We were on the
second last row and had all the time to plan this. We are friends to this day.
Today, the lady had 200/-, and I had 100/- the conductor pointed at her, and
that meant I should give her the 100/- after which he proceeded to give each of
us our change. This felt okay for a start.
“Hi, you look distracted, are you okay?”
“Niko poa…”
“Okay, ama ni tension ya date?" *giggling
awkwardly* "Ata mimi niko nayo usijali.”
“Nani amekwambia naenda date?”
“Unakaa tu kwenda date. Kujishuku mingi, kuzubaa ovyo,
kuadjust adjust top…”
“Hizo zote uliona saa ngapi?" "una wazimu
wewe"
“Hapa tu, saa hii tu! I am seated right next to you,
what do you expect?" So plans zako za leo?”
“Siwezi kwambia, ata sikujui”
“Okay. Nitajijazia ni date unaenda.”
“Hizo ni nini kwa tee shirt?”
So I looked down and
noticed some nail cuttings I had missed while I was cleaning out my nail work
earlier. I struggled to pick them. They were small, and I had cut my nails
short. So there was no grip, and it took me time long enough for her to smile.
I could tell she was laughing at me inside. After I was done, I reached for my
bunch of keys and showed her the nail cutter.
“See? Didn’t have time to cut my nails in the house,
so I had to do it in the matatu.”
"Is that right?"
“Apana, but I still had to do it some way so nikaona
hapa ndio afadhali bora nazitupa nje, hizo zilipita.”
“But sio poa.”
“Same way madame hujipaka make up kwa mat... Both of
us are grooming but at different levels ama?”
“If you say so…”
“Again, kucha ni eco-friendly kiasi yake so even if I
throw them outside, haina issue. Ziko na issue zikiwa hapa kwa nguo."
*Pointing to my stomach*
“Sawa basi.”
 |
| My Current Read. |
I
realized that this was not the kind of person to try converse with under the
circumstances, so I decided to let it go. She was, or I was distracted. I
wanted to bring up the awkward ‘Do you know your nails continued growing after
you die' story but realized this was not the audience for such insanity. I
swapped phones again for a moment and then got back to my novel. I was
wondering why she kept following my right arm and only realized later that she
was trying to read what was printed on my armband. At some point when she was
not looking, I rotated the band so that the flag side would face her and I
helped her out of her misery. We got to town without any further discussion.
Didn’t even wish her a lovely afternoon.
I had not
narrowed down the location for my date yet. But I had several ideas. I also did
not have money for the date yet. I decided to do a survey lap. I hated
Valentines and knew that the city would be full of couples today. I needed to
get a peaceful location. The good thing is that it was almost 4 pm. After
alighting at Ronald Ngala, I walked along Tom Mboya Street towards Archives. My
idea was to do an external survey of Café Deli on Nkrumah Avenue it is my No 1
restaurant in the City. At the Crossing at The Ambassadeur Hotel, I saw the
lady in the matatu walking along Moi Avenue towards the direction I was
walking. Apparently, she was also headed to Café
Deli. I am sure she spotted me because she reduced her pace. At that
moment, I eliminated Café Deli Nkrumah Avenue as an option. I reduced my pace and
walked along the KenCom building until she was safely inside. I then turned and
walked away along Aga Khan Walk towards City Hall way. I love restaurants with
balconies a lot. Because of various reasons. I had to settle for Kenyatta
Avenue.
Funding My Date.
The
financial commitment of meet ups is among my worst fears. In that list, we also
have embarrassing moments, bad choices et al.
Transport to the venue being among the obvious of responsibilities.
Especially now that I am in some financial hell of my making. Considering I
made this appointment on 2nd of the month and it was now 14th,
I should have made arrangements to sort this out early enough. Miracles just
happen & things just tend to sort themselves out. Somewhere within the
course of last week, someone needed some Softwares which had since ceased
production. The person in question was not tech savvy enough to know that he
could access the Softwares online from the likes of Pirate Bay. Maybe he knew but could not download them for himself.
So here; I was with the prospect of making money. He had told me we meet on
Saturday but I could not. I was not in a position to access the CBD yesterday,
and since he was desperate enough, he asked me to pass by his shop in town,
deliver the package and then he would pay me. I was counting on that money. I
do not even know what would have happened if it did not show up. But I made it
to his office just when my date was asking if I am already in town, and she was
ten minutes away. I confirmed and told her to call me once she was in town. My
hands were already sweating. Something told me this guy would pay me, and so I
was not worried, but something did not just feel right. The biggest fear I have
with dates is that the lady might order something outside my financial league.
The location does not matter much lately, forget the drama those many dates ago… After installation was done, he paid me, and we were both happy. The ten minutes were not ten. She arrived
either way. At some point, Young called me to mock me for being fidgety about
this day.
Of Sundae, Milk Shakes and Iced Coffees
Something
about Café Deli makes it home for me.
This time, it was a bit different because I was in a new environment. I have
never been to the one on Kenyatta Avenue. I love their Oil on Canvas Paintings
at this particular branch. Then there is something about their Barista that
distracted me. Actually, with Baristas, it is always about seeing them work that
makes me enjoy being at some of these coffee shops that have a clear view of
what the barista is doing at the espresso machine, the shakes and all the other
things under their wing.
The date
was remarkable. I was uncomfortable initially because I was worried that the
exit plan for this particular delicatessen was not in line with my
expectations, but I calmed down eventually. We took some time ordering. There
is always that tension that comes with ordering at a new restaurant. That is
why I take time before ordering something I am not used to. I liked that the
valentine fever was not around at this particular moment, and everything was
easy. We discussed career mostly, art, watched people and books. The initial
plan of the meeting was to share books. I had several books that I was to
share. I did not know her reading tastes, so I picked random categories and
loaded them onto my phone, with time I would know. The interesting bit about
this is the mode of transfer that I had in mind was not the one she had in
mind. I am still on Bluetooth technology, and people moved to external storage
for phones a long time ago. The simpleton in me was wondering if she knew what
she was talking about when she asked me if my phone could read her flash disk -
you know in that madharau way you can think of the ineptitude of someone. The
last time I used Bluetooth technology to transfer books we spent like ten
minutes to share just five books. So she asked for my phone.
“Wacha tuone kama itawork..."
 |
| An OTG Flash Drive |
 |
| File Transfer |
I watched
her actions intently as she did her thing. To which I agreed I was the most
outmoded fellow ever. It was actually a shame. I remember seeing that happen in
a clip online sometimes last year, but I never actually thought I would use it
at some point, or it was just around me. The flash worked, and it transferred
over 50 E-books and seven audio books in less than 5 minutes. I have not been
as mind blown in the recent past, as I was at that moment inside Cafe Deli. We
discussed a few of the books and got back to her industry, which was
manufacturing. There is something amazing about ladies in engineering
explaining and telling their stories. Describing their work, the attention to
detail. I did not want this to end because I did not know the next time I would
be sitting with her again. Some of these meetups also end up being inspiring.
Like this one. She had her future figured out. Taking multiple courses and
having charted her way career wise & taking note of the challenges and
fighting them as boldly as it needed. It keeps one on toes and reminds them
that people out there are also working hard to achieve purposes that seem as
difficult to achieve as our own. We got to a point of discussing the best
locations for a Masters in Science (Did I say it right? MSc ama ni MS?) in her field
which is not available locally at the moment. It then occurred to me I am not
the only one who gets ignored by people you would expect to be your automatic
mentors. Life’s lessons. I should not assume, or expect too much from people or
something related.
After we were
done, I walked her to the bus stop. It was almost 8 pm and I still had other
things to do in town before going home. As it turned out, going out on a date
on 14th February is not so bad after all. Maybe the assumption by
those around you that you are a couple would be the only situation creating
awkwardness for you. But I enjoyed the day. & to Young, I am safe, I still
have enough money to pay for my electricity bill, reload basic supplies and a
few other things. My afternoon was excellent. Hope you all enjoyed your Valentines or Marriage Day.
It is a day like any other as it turned out. The only thing society inflates
its essence is the fact that many wait to prove the legitimacy of their
relationships on this day, by the 'presence' of their "partners". But
who am I to discuss Valentines.
The Oil on Canvas work at Café Deli Kenyatta Avenue is on fleek!!!
Hi. Same Old Drama, Different Day. This blog is about me and others, nature, life, blah blah and why everything I like is great even the hurting - still great. If you disagree with anything you find on this page, Well. . . You are probably right..
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