Are you a nurse too?

I just met a Nigerian computer engineer preparing to get into nursing school.Why, you would ask. It is because he is having a very difficult time getting a job in his field he says. He emphatically narrated of the many times he has found himself on second or third interviews with numerous companies in Boston.He said it always ends with him seated next to a young white man who gets this job and he doesn't. Always.

The man from Nigerian tells me that, nursing is the only color-blind career he believes in right now. I believe he is right. It is no wonder then that so many of people from the continent take this easy route. Many people do not have the mileage to fight their way up the corporate ladder, that is in terms of time and resources. These are the people who, forsaking their other hard earned degrees switch to this career that pay three times minimum wage with readily available jobs.

I guess this answers the questions many others ask.

Never judge a book by its cover

So am taking a summer class that is quite the hectic type. Day one i get in there with tons of confidence and my roving eye is out looking for students who have the 'lost' look. I mean I just completed the other school so this is no biggie for me.I zero in on this shabby, stressed looking woman and wonder if she will ever relax and enjoy the knowledge being imparted on us. Rude shock is when our first test papers are returned and she has a 99% and i have a 75%. Humble me, approaches her looking lost and asks for advise on how to study for the next test. Lesson learned never judge a book by its cover.

Stalkers wanted

Hi friends,
Its been a while since I posted. Funny thing is that I think about posting everyday. I almost forgot how to send a new post. whoa!! took me a while to figure it out where "compose" is lol I know!! what kind of a blogger is that? Me!. If you are a blogger confess of the start up glitches .Hey, tell your friends that I am looking for stalkers for my blog. Yeah someone wants to be stalked. Thanks!

Childhood Traits

I am always amazed at how much our childhood experiences seep into our adulthood.  I don't know about you but I have been longing for some things that I had in my childhood much more lately. Its not that I had a great life them. I remember clearly how I felt growing up. I grew up in both central and Rift Valley provinces of Kenya. My family was not wealthy and my eye was always drawn to our well-to-do neighbours' cars, good smelling food, shoes, clothes and style. I coveted their stuff. I could not wait to grow up and buy all the cookies, cakes and pretty cloths and shoes that my family could not afford to get me.

Well, here I am today and trust me, I miss the githeri,(maize and beans) ngima and sukuma wiki (boiled corn meal and kale) more than the cookies and cakes. And to imagine that I was forced to eat these over and over again for dinner and lunch until Christmas day, when the menu would change?! Now that I am grown i know that these two staple dishes are apparently the healthiest diets I have come accross.

Just yesterday I went to the store in my neighborhood and bought dry maize and dry beans to make authentic childhood githeri. When it was ready I sat down on my couch, put my feet up and sincerely thanked the good Lord that I can access such a delicacy in this far flung land of milk and honey. Who knew that a Kenyan Living in Boston would be able to get the 'murram' so easily.

Is there something you took for granted in your childhood that you could now cross the oceans to get?

Of Wardrobes and Personal Style.

     I happen to care quite much about personal appearance. I believe in the fact that first impressions make a lasting impact.  Being aware of personal appearance is something that I have always carried in me but my style has not always portrayed the fact that I do pay a lot of attention to dressing up. I tend to have all the good ideas about personal style but come dressing myself up in the morning, I kind of rush into things and end up dressed awfully. I thereafter spend the rest of day regretting how my pants are hanging two inches away from my beat-up shoes that I slipped in just because they are the closest to the door on my way out. Then I realize that my shirt and pants are at loggerhead with each other like the Bosnian  Serbs and Croats in the early 90s.  I gaze up and find myself gawking and swooning at  the well-put-together street people and colleagues all day. I eventually retire to my humble closet dejected, another fabulous day wasted. And I wonder to myself what an awful day. I look forward to a new day. A new day that will give me the chance to improve and dress myself well enough to make myself comfortable and confident. I carry the hope of  the day and age that will come when I will be finally start to put together outfits that makes me happy. This cycle has been on going most of my life.
    About two years ago, I started working with a stylish young lady, see her blog here.  http://www.alamodewearhouse.com/ . I learned a lot from her about style. Learning was easy because I have always had a lot of interest. Through her I learned that it can be done on a daily basis. I also discovered a new world of bloggers. Who knew that there about15 million style bloggers in the web who are more than willing to show you how they shop, put together  wardrobes and even give away nice things.!!!!
well for the two years, I have been an apprentice, I can now see a glimmer of style in me! Its a terrific feeling. Dressing up well is important to me because it gives me solidity and strengthens my gait as I walk the walk and talk the talk. Mine has never been about  trends nor seeking attention and it will be never be. I just like to feel stylish in a very personal way and its total bliss and I tread in style.
Thanks to my stylish colleague and all the stylish bloggers out there!
What is your style and how do you approach it?

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..By Kanji Mbugua

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, jack frost nipping at your nose. Yuletide carols being sung by a choir and folks dressed up like eskimos. Everybody knows, a turkey and some mistletoe help to make the season bright. Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow will find it hard to sleep tonight. [ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire-lyrics-new-kids-on-the-block.html ] They know that santa's on his way. He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh. And every mother's child is gonna spy to see if reindeer really know how to fly. And so I'm offering this simple phrase to kids from 1 to 92 Although it's been said many times, many ways: merry christmas to you.

The above are the Lyrics to the song.

Ok! as beautiful as this song sounds why would I pay a handsome amount of money to go listen to a Kenyan musician performing this all American song at a Christmas Eve concert somewhere in Nairobi?? I mean its alright to hear it on radio and TV but a live performance?. Well my medula oblangata won't get it.  I was looking for some nice Christmas songs by Kenyan musicians and happened to stumble upon  Kanji performing the above song in youtube. Truth be told he has a great voice but I did not find it brilliant of him to chose this kind of music for some Kenyan tots because they would not be dressed as eskimos nor do they  know a turkey and some mistletoe..and the reindeer??

Someone tell our talented artists to refrain from aping Americans and produce their own homemade art work. I get so repulsed by wanna-bes. American music and culture is alright but its sad to see wananchi aping it even when it does not make any sense . oh by the way, are there any chestnuts in Kenya? ( they taste exactly like roasted sweet potatoes.  Kanji  should probably  be singing of "sweet potatoes roasting on a jiko!!(insert 'brilliant" here) and how everybody knows of a mbuzi and a chapati..

Whats your opinion about Kanji singing of chestnuts and eskimos to kids who not likely to encounter these?

TO BE OR NOT TO BE.

When I meet people for the first time such as new workmates, friends of friends etc, I believe I do not give a good impression at all. I am usually in a dilemma of 'should I be extra nice', 'be myself' or weigh them in' Most of the time I end up with 'weigh them in' to gather the kind of people they are. This allows me a chance to know their character. After I know their character I put them in a specific category in my head and then deal with them like that from then on. The categories include, brilliant, very nice, very kind, generous, confident, funny, impatient, not too smart, judgemental, arrogant and so on. I then from there deal with them according to their category. I think it is serves me well. Eventually I start to see peoples attitude towards me changing according to who they are and how they view me. This has always been consistent. I am who I am I do not change my character to suit a situation. I do believe it works for many people but not for me. I hate pretending to be what I am not. Isn't that cheating?

There are times I switch to 'Exta nice' automatically. This is when the person I am meeting is at a disadvantaged situation such as sickness, is being being treated unfairly or is need of something I can offer.

And so I ask do you think it is nice to change your character according to the situation you are in, is it a smart move to do so?why