This has been a great year by conservative standards. It was not spectacular as I would have loved it to be, but I can almost confidently say that this is the first year I have made progress in my life in the last couple of years. Honestly, I cannot even remember what has happened in my life in the last 2 years. Yes, it has been that bad. I can almost summarize those 2 years in 2 sentences and that is just plain painful especially since people around me seem to be making progress.
The most memorable part of the last 2 years was, honestly, starting this blog. It took so many personal pep-talks to take that step of faith, I am sure it would be easier to convince a politician to stop lying but I am here anyway, I year down the line. So many stories have been told. So many people have offered advice (some of it useless) and that has honestly taught me how to listen to people even when you know that they are not going to say anything useful. Patience. The greatest inspiration to start the blog was so that I could get to unwind with words. Writing can be cathartic and as much as I cannot refer to myself as a writer, I can confidently say that some of the best stories have been written when I really needed to exhale.
Apart from being my space to exhale, it has also taught me discipline. There are days I feel like just lazying and not posting anything but, I have a commitment to myself and you, dearest readers, to post at least once a week and I can promise you that commitment can be so hard to keep. I swear.
On top of that, we have grown beyond how much I had actually expected and that is a great thing. We now have a few comments here and there and many more people reading those stories of pain, observations, rants and just about any other mushene I can collect. It may not be much but we are getting there so yeah, I am thankful to those who read and share with their friends.
Apart from that, the typos and silly grammatical errors have also gone down significantly courtesy of due diligence and a few free tools online (we all use some help from teacher Google so don’t scoff).
My experiences with matatus just never seem to improve and it seems like crazy ones are born daily I swear. Just when you think you have seen it all, some more shocks come your way and you have to tighten your shock absorbers some more. I think these guys need regular and mandatory mental check ups because I think the problem is mental rather than educational. They should also go with nduthi riders who are not only crazy, but also suicidal. I honestly do not understand why this lot pulls such crazy stunts though, considering that they carry the very present risk of getting the greatest impact in the event of a crash.
The general rule is that if a nduthi guy is involved in a minor accident, his peers come and mob the motorist who ends up paying or losing or being rescued by the police. Classic mob mentality. Which is stupid because it only reinforces the careless behaviour. A couple of months ago, some nduthi guy was knocked down by a lorry speeding down Waiyaki Way towards the Westlands roundabout. That was the first time I saw a brain and were it not for the disgust I would have looked longer just to confirm that it was empty. Suffice to say, his colleagues did not mob the lorry guy because their friend was dead so it would make no sense plus I think they realized that foolish behaviour just does not get you far.
Anyway, I hope we find the cure for the motoring madness displayed by matatus guys and nduthi guys. That said, I hope to get a car of my own soon. Amen?
This year, I have also learned that people are inherently evil. I left school with so many human theories which led me to believe that human beings are rational and kind unless provoked but I have since grown up and become cynical. My trust levels are almost non-existent and I have become so cynical, I don’t believe in those inspirational quotes on social media anymore. I have learnt from the teacher called life and her lessons are painful.
Another important lesson I have learned is that people in this Nairobi are inherently thieves. Rarely will you meet someone who wants to do an honest business with you. They will always want to take what belongs to both you and them. Take the example of Patrick mathenge Mumbi. He pretends to be creating employment by giving people academic writing jobs but in reality, he makes you do the job then starts telling you tales of how he was swindled by the company and how you were also swindled by extension. The truth is, he is the swindler and soon, he will stop picking your calls and pretend that he doesn’t know you. The accident that will maim him is still doing press ups. Karma is a cold bitch.
Apart from that, I have also learned that many people in this town are very hardworking. They will put in the extra hours. They will have a side hustle to try and make ends meet. They will look for every opportunity to make an honest extra coin and exploit it. They will work for many hours just to ensure that they stay above the poverty line. Were it not for the exploitative government, we would be living a really great life but now, you pay taxes to fix health care issues just for someone else to steal the money (probably a crony of Mathenge’s) and then you will still need to pay for your healthcare so you end up paying twice for the same thing.
The truth is, most of us are very hard working and it is only a matter of time before our efforts bear fruits, amen?
Most importantly, I have learnt that I must never stop learning. For example, when I started this blog, I didn’t know much about how stuff works and I learn something new daily. I am so excited by the fact that there is no limit to what I can learn and teacher Google has been so kind to me.
What I know for sure is that I am not making any resolutions. Just a wish list. They may sound the same but they are not. A resolution is something you plan on doing for sure while a wish list is something you really want to come true if things go well. I have learned that shit changes all the time so I just live life as it comes. No need for stressing myself over stuff and disappointing myself all the time.
My bucket list is still long and very much unticked but with all its challenges, this has been a good year. I am still adding stuff to the bucket list instead of ticking off stuff but, baby steps.
Happy new year!
hadithicom 