MY LIST OF 20!!!

Recently I was on Instagram scrolling through photos when I got a notification that a friend of mine had tagged me in some photo. I'm pretty sure a number of you have been tagged in one of those status updates that start with ' 20 things you did not know about me' and in turn you have to create your own list of 20. I really was not planning on creating my list but what the heck? It won't hurt. So ladies and gentlemen, here's my list of 20.

1. I LOVE selfies! Duuh!

2. There are times I simply wish my 'fro could  just grow faster.

(chance to throw in a selfie, see that? LOL)

3. I'm really not into partying anymore. (I know some of y'all are laughing at this)

4. I LOVE to sing! However, I really do not have the guts to do so in front of a live audience.

5. I wish I were introduced to music at a very early age.

6. My sister is the person I love MOST in this world!

7. I really wish my parents did not give me an English name, two Meru names or one Meru name and another from a different ethnic group, would be just fine.

8. In another world, I would produce cartoon shows for a living.

9. When I do something, I go to the extreme of doing it. If it's working hard, I give it 110% and if it's being lazy I also give it 110%.

10. I'd like to be one f those ladies who never repeat an outfit for months but every time I look at my bank account....well, that just has to be a long term goal.

11. Never come to me for advice if you are having issues with a partner you keep breaking up then making up with. Make a choice damn it!

12. There are a few people I swore never to fall in love with; politicians, pastors and pilots.

13. I like to keep a few friends, it just makes things easier for me.

14. I do enjoy my own company. I can comfortably have lunch alone or even shop alone. :)

15. Unlike many other people my age, I do not have a concrete plan with regards to my career. All I know is that I may become a very good architect. Where I see myself in 10 or 20 years time? I ain't got no freaking clue!

16. I quit business school after two years to pursue architecture. It was the most liberating yet the scariest decision I have ever made!!!

17. There are a couple of countries I'd like to live in. Get to experience a different culture, different people, different spaces; I surely pray this dream comes to pass.

18. I really never get ladies who say "I don't know how to style my hair"......ah, how now? For complicated styles, I understand but what about the simple ones like tying a ponytail?

19. I embrace change. I love to switch things up a little from time to time.

20. Sex will always be an interesting topic to me.

BIDII YETU!!

Hello helloooooo!!!!
I hope y'all are well. This post is one which has been very much requested by some of my readers who are curious about what goes on in Architecture studios. I'm not really sure how much is out there but today I have chosen to do my communication via a number of photos which I took today. (The 5th Annual Eastern Africa exhibition & workshop is going on this week in our studios)
'Bidii yetu' is a Swahili phrase meaning 'our hard work'. Given how much effort architecture students put into their work, I thought that this is a rather appropriate title.
Basically first year is where we get to explore art. We work with different shades of pencils, pastels, coloured pencils and water colours. Model making is also involved. As we progress,we then get into serious design of structures presenting different plans, elevations and sections on paper.
































The photos are quite many, I know. However this is just a sample. There is much more creativity where this came from.
I sure hope you now have at least a slight idea about what we do.
Enjoy your evening guys!

DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR!!

This post is long overdue! I have been thinking of writing about hairstyles as a form of art for months, however....mmmh well, aaah life!! Anyway,it's here now :-)

I got inspired to write this post one Saturday evening (correct me if I am wrong), when my father and I were watching Citizen TV's fashion reviews. You know, the one where Lillian Muli, Adelle and company imitate Joan Rivers' Fashion Police..Then my dad suddenly said, "Even this one with the funny hair is telling people how to dress?". Lol! I do find her hairstyle interesting, though I do not think I can pull that off. In case some of you are wondering what I am talking about, take a look at this photo.

I keep thinking she and a couple of ladies I have seen in Nairobi have drawn some inspiration from Turkana women.

Now, my intention is not to make fun of the style but rather to show that hairstyles do have an origin.

Different women and even men, from different cultures had various ways of expressing themselves through hairstyles unique to them.

DREADLOCKS

I'm absolutely crazy about guys with NEAT locs! I'm told it's weird but whatever. I even pray (on most days) that I get married to a handsome, smart man with breathtaking locs. I'm not sure my folks will ever warm up to the idea but...imma keep praying anyway hoping he will come around.

Dreadlocks work really well with afro hair due to its ability to really tangle and form knots. It is believed that dreadlocks originated form Africa and were introduced to foreign lands like Jamaica by African Slaves. Some say that locs were an expression of bondage and rejection. They were (I guess they still are) associated with Ras Tafari Haile Selassie who was, at some point, an Emperor of Ethiopia and Bob Marley as well.

They were also associated with drugs and filth but I guess that mentality is slowly fading away. Though change is not for everyone.

Nowadays so many men and women have adopted the style and I think it is rather cool!

BRAIDS


Braids or plaits can be achieved either using natural hair or hair extensions.

Braiding is an art that was popular in different cultures and it brought people together as it took quite some time to be completed and usually the help of another person was needed. Younger girls also learned from older women through observation. Some even went ahead to practice with grass. Braiding can be done in several different ways.

BRAID EXTENSIONS, WEAVES AND WIGS

It is believed that hair extensions originated from ancient Egypt! Quite frankly I would have guessed India or Brazil. O.o
Anyway, apparently Egyptians loved hair extensions, they had them in so many designs. They were not only an art but they also expressed someone's social and financial status. Wigs protected their shaven heads from the harsh sun. ( IKR, Who would have guessed?)

CAUTION:  You should really be careful when using hair extensions. Misusing them could cost you your hairline!

I could go on and on but this should do for now :)
Hope you have learned something new.

KINYONGA

Just today morning as I was going through my phone enjoying my one hour in bed after waking up, I came across this photo of a very beautiful lady with really really good hair!

Then I began thinking, "What if I relax my hair after it grows out?" and slowly I drifted off to my usual day dreaming of me having long hair. LOL. Sometimes I ask myself why I cut my hair in the first place. I could have just let it be, right? And eventually through some miracle I'll have hair that looks almost like that of the beautiful lady, yeah?

Not that I do not like my short hair but I guess it's because it's my ultimate dream to have really big long hair...or maybe the desire to want something I know I cannot immediately have. hm! However, I did cut my hair so that I can grow it healthy, natural, big and black! Just like this....

When it comes to my hair I guess I have never really settled. I cut it short sometime in high school, then I was a red head for a while after high school, after I decided I wanted locs but later changed my mind to going natural with the help of protective styles and soon after I began to relax my hair. Now it's short. Most times I have been influenced by what I see and not what I know will work for me. I guess I really loved to experiment with my hair. However, all that had to change hence my natural hair journey to a big 'fro. Just letting it grow the way I think is best for me.

Thinking about it now, this concept can sort of be applied to peoples personalities. Yesterday I was watching a series where the main character said "I KNOW EXACTLY WHO I AM!". So I began really thinking if it is actually possible to really know who you are. You know, fully figure yourself out.

I know for me there are so many times I have tried taking on different personalities. Either from a character in a movie I liked or just someone I came across (but this was rare). I thought I was just being weird ( I know there are times I can be really weird, like when I hold conversations with imaginary people in my room...*sigh*) but I guess it's a phase. I once heard someone say "In life, so many of us take on so many different personalities before settling into who we actually are."

In the same way I was a "kinyonga" (chameleon) about my hair, is the same way many people are "kinyonga" about their personalities! Usually chameleons camouflage themselves as a defense mechanism. So I guess for humans we camouflage our personalities maybe to just to fit in or to benefit from people. Either way I guess as you grow older you settle into who you really are. ( Though not all of us do :-/)

THE NEIGHBOURS

Shuu! I really cannot believe that it has been one whole month since I last wrote something. Gosh, indeed I have been very lazy! Shame on me. Anyway, I really hope y'all are having a wonderful holiday!!Yesterday night I went to eat out with the family.

Such a wonderful time we had.

Today has been such a slow day for me that I decided to look through my window hoping that I would see something interesting happening at the wall. The wall is part of a stone wall fence which is behind our house. Usually I find couples kissing there, men whispering sweet nothings to women (I really do not understand why) or some random person sleeping in a funny position.

The wall.

Unfortunately, there was nothing happening at the wall today so I decided to observe the neighbours in the field. The neighbours in the field are a group of Maasai who live in a big field behind our house. I like watching them because I find their way of living rather interesting. The way they live and the way we live, yet we are 'neighbours' is interesting. I guess the comparison is what fascinates me most.

The field behind our house.

Usually, the neighbours let their cattle graze in the field and when it rains and the field floods, that becomes their temporary source of water. They live in makeshift houses made of mud, old iron sheets and wood just right next to Wilson airport.

I hope y'all can see the houses. The resolution is not too good. I apologize for that. It is amazing how they have lived comfortably in these houses for two years (and counting).

The neighbours' children herding sheep and goats after school. All I ever did after school was run to the fridge then watch a little TV if not going outside to play.

One of the neighbours herding his animals near the wall. Look at how comfortable he is wearing 'akala' and his leso tied around his waist. I wonder if my father can just chill in the house with a leso tied around his waist. Lol!

The neighbours' cows running away from the rain.

Recently I saw a young girl doing her #2 in the field. Another day it was a young boy next to his mother who was busy gathering firewood. (Meaning no microwave or gas cooker)

I began to wonder where the rest of them 'answered their calls of nature',how often they take showers and where. I'm yet to find out these things.

Anyway, every time I observe the neighbours I wonder how it would be like to live like them. It's like that fence behind our house not only separates us and the neighbours physically but it does so in every other way.

Window thoughts and observations I wanted to just share.