Blankets and Wine: Estelle, Muthoni D.Q, Sage, Jarel

Of heavy, hype weekends and forgotten obligations. Last week three posts were meant to go up but only one made it. Typical.

I figured instead of alluding to what happened this Sunday through a lone vague paragraph why not actually write about it. So, it all starts on Thursday evening and a local t.v show, Victoria's lounge. No lie, I am actually really into it. If I happen to be home on a Thursday night,Vicky's lounge is right up my alley. It's just one of those shows... I guess. I digress, basically all I needed to do, post a picture of myself in my best black and white get up with the hashtag #NiveaBandW on Twitter and I stood a chance of winning a ticket to Blankets and Wine. So to all of y'all who thought  that homegirl has got the funds to get herself to Blankets, the secret's out.

But what made this so special, it was A ticket not the usual pair of tickets. I was expected to be my own company for the  day. The temptation to skip out or give the tickets to my sister who runs a music blog over at The Bar and would have every reason to go was rife but in my heart of hearts I knew I would regret it. So there I was, sunnies on, leather jacket and Maasai shuka in tow ready to have a good time on my free ticket if it was the last thing I would do.

My self consciousness levels were sky high since I was absolutely terrified of being seen by someone I know looking like a complete loser in one of Nairobi's most bumpin' events. Make no mistake, it did happen, but this loser thing, it is all a state of mind.

There I am walking the vast expanse of Ngong' Race Course waterfront, vast may be an understatement, looking for just the right spot. Everyone in their social circles and I see another 'loner' or,should I say brave soul , Rehema. Just like that, literally going light on the details, we became each others company. So, humanity isn't as cold as I presumed.

First artiste on the line up, Jarel. I did not hear of him till not too long ago. I would absolutely love to write nothing but the finest of things about his performance, here comes the but...but through Blankets' past it's common knowledge if you are the first act we aren't exactly expecting you to be the showstopper. I mean, not every opening act. I will say though, he got on that stage and had himself one hell-uhv-a-time; twerking, asking the crowd to get just a li'l ratchet and I have got to give him points for his style, not many a soul can pull of that long shirt, wide rimmed hat look.

Let's talk about Sage. She is someone who simply put belongs on the stage. Came out with big hair, bowler hat, kanga in the front denim in the  back and shorts and she just owned her set. Setting the pace with Maskini which is a personal favourite. If she only sang it would be good but honey, she went all out; on the keyboard, bass guitar, vocals and Working.That. Stage. A  lot can (and will) be said about  her own performed compositions, but the covers she did. There are only two ways about covers, thumbs up or thumbs down. No in between. So when Ms. Chemutai started on that Work(Rihanna ft. Drake) tip, I was in awe at the  stellar execution.

Sage did this one song about a girl in the little blue dress, the name escapes me. Live band goes quiet and its just her vocals, a sick red bass guitar and just this aura of still. It is also worth a mention that Olive from Blaze , the drummer,the one who makes you wait 5 seconds longer to get to your Youtube fix was on drums and fam, she got skills, mad skills.

The show stopper herself , the queen. To describe her performance, I feel like I would need the whole post. She brought everything plus the kitchen sink. From the moves, to some bars, her outfit , a bit of new material from her album which is in the works, the old which had the crowd adequately riled up, served up visuals in her backdrop which had mark my words the self portrait of the year, church windows, some sort of silent movie montage, lyrics and that's not all, then came the drum solo.

Here I was thinking Olive was money, don't get me wrong, she is, but her performance was mega upstaged. I am under the impression that Muthoni DQ calculated her performance to a T especially when it came to this solo. It was dark enough to have a spotlight emphasize her already massive presence on stage and she just went at this traditional drums with the ferocity of Uganda's Ndere Dance Troupe but the class of Sheila E. at Black Girls Rock 2015. They don't call her the Drummer Queen for nothing.

All this was coming from a lady who just a few hours was doing the Blankets and Wine rounds in a flower crown and a wishy, woshy shift dress looking like she didn't have a care in the world. Let the records show that concurrently B'n'W Kampala was happening ; she had two international acts on her hands and still slayed. Where I would be a bag of nerves, she's ultimate goals.

Resident DJ for the  afternoon was hitting us up in all the right places. He had a Kendrick Lamar set with just a side of Jay Z, a set for the girls;Yoga(Janelle Monae), Formation(Beyonce) and one for the fellas; We Dem Boyz (Wiz Khalifa), Panda (Desiigner). Short, sweet and worth a mention, no?

She sure came to show the 254 love, Miss Estelle. On the real though, I was not exactly dying to see her so I didn't stay for her whole performance. I do know that we moved her to tears when we sang along to 'Come over'. Mad props should be given to her for performing  covers; Bob Marley-Is this love,Oliver Twist-D'Banj as opposed to a whole bunch of new singles which, well would have the crowd least stimulated. Future international acts,borrow a leaf, unless well, we really love you, you wouldn't have to worry about that.

Sigh, nothing like an afternoon spent on wholesome festival vibes.

This may be the longest post to date, but hey, I don't make the rules, my thoughts and memories do.

Have a good one!

Surviving College: How to find an internship/job over school break in Kenya

There comes a time in a student's life where you have to get out there and do stuff. Career stuff or just work related stuff to gain this thing called experience, prevent death by boredom or any other relevant reason you can think of. I have been at this crossroads enough to know some tricks of the trade. Every time I get asked by a peer or two how I got the gig, I tend to give a rather vague answer that goes something like, "Oh, you know, I just applied" and that just has to come to a stop,

Let's go back all the way back, I am talking my teens, eighteen, nineteen thereabouts. My freshman college days in Strathmore. Now, I am certainly not being paid to say this but Strath definitely has got the keys. Nearly every week there was a campus corporate event of some sort; career fairs, round tables, hack-a-thons. These shindigz almost always had the right people you needed to make the first impression of a lifetime to guarantee a job position of some sort.

Back then those were my selfish years. Honestly speaking, I had better things to do on a Friday afternoon (or so I thought) than attend these career jolting things. They were geared towards seniors any way who brought their A, for aggressive, game. Follow up meetings or word on the street the week after would be that someone scored an internship at some major company just by how much they put themselves out there. I hope you get where I am going with this. Basically, the world (your campus) is your oyster if you position yourself in the right place at the right time (said events) and actually put yourself out there; read up on the company or individuals just like you would if you were preparing for an interview so that you conveniently have some thoughtful insight to whatever is the topic of discussion.

Still around the same time I was an AIESEC-er which by the by has similar of the above said events, actually hosting quite a number even liaising with some really big names in the Kenyan corporate scene. That being besides the point, my VP for my portfolio at the time, Global Internship Program(GIP), worked for his dad. Hey Dwayne! To the human eye, you would probably go on and think classic silver spoon in mouth situation, probably didn't have to work quite as hard. On the flip side though, he used his connections. So who cares that you "didn't have to work quite as hard" my say, connections are meant to be used. Even my first internship was courtesy of my D-A-D. How is that for food for thought.

What I swear by though and has worked brilliantly for me in the past at least is online job adverts. Brighter Monday might as well make me their brand ambassador because I have got all but one of my internships from there; Storymoja, Tahoe Solar and now my current spot. During my cyber tarmacking days, I would type in something like "Internships in Kenya in July 2015" or "part-time jobs in Kenya in July 2015" and most times something that I was qualified for would pop up. Plain and simple, your search engine is your best friend. Finding it is just the the tip of the iceberg bookmark it because you know, life happens and apply...immediately before you get that pesky notification when you go back to submit your application, "This position is no longer available". It also helps to be on various job sites mailing list so that you are the first to cop that position.

You may want to go old school and drop your CV at offices physical address. Does this work? I have no idea but it's worth a shot . There is always a new building popping up in Nairobi nowadays, heck even whole business parks. If it is a new business they are almost always looking for an extra pair of hands. My advice always fake that you are office hunting or have an appointment because security isn't exactly very cordial towards job seekers. Hey, in this concrete jungle you have got to be shrewed.

On the new school front, more and more jobs are being advertised on your timeline at least on my Instagram feed. Diana Opoti @dianaopotipr advertised for twenty something African designers not too long ago, Kenya's favorite t.v duo Brenda Wairimu @brendawairimu_and Nick Mutuma @nickmutuma called for scripts a few months back for Kenya's first rom-com, Kiko Romeo @annmccreath @iona_mccreath (who by the way has a clothing line under her mom's label Kikoti and modelled for Kiko Romeo,now what did I say about connections again?) just last week set out an ad looking for models@lublaq looking for interns. Class up your social media, this falls under always having an ear to the ground.


That said,

Have a good one!  

THE ROOKIE- Shortlisted for Inaugural Campus Diary Wordfest

Hey guys,

An awkward greeting never hurt nobody. On to other things, as I oh, so,subtly put it in this post, I managed to be top 10 in a writing competition. This  is the "winning" piece.

Image: Rookie Magazine Logo (s/o to Tavi Gevinson who has always been goals!)

‘THE ROOKIE.’

By Edwina Mapenzi

It seems like,

It almost seems like,

I got it twisted,

See

That’s all I wanted,

To be that girl on your feed,

The one who plants that seed,

Of want, no, of lust,

Of the “finer” things in life,

With that high pony puff,

And all that good stuff;

Edges sleek,

Eyebrows on fleek,

On the lips nothing but Nouba,

Don’t forget that winged eyeliner,

Endless trips to Java,

You already know

Because that lemonade

Be, Lit.

It wouldn’t be easy.

Sacrifice,

My time, my soul

Feels like a vice,

This huge hole,

Don’t get me wrong,

For a minute,

I was in it,

I mean, all in,

On a scale,

Everything was great,

Out of ten an eight.

Then,

Just with a drop of a hat,

More of a heart,

It all starts,

A shove in the corner here,

And a blind eye turned there,

At first I took it in stride,

Taking tolerance for the ride,

Finally,

I couldn’t take it.

‘It must be me,’

I thought,

Surely, it must be

What else?

Who else?

But the rookie.

Firsts,

Never easy,

But this hard?

Nah,

This endless

Back and forth,

Highs and lows,

Mostly lows,

New definition lows?

High definition lows.

At this point,

Auto pilot mode, activate.

Rolling with the times,

Of course,

Not so good times,

Now,

I’m up against the wall.

Down? Yes,

Out? Not even close.

I am better,

I am hurt,

And, now, I am a doormat.

Not anymore,

At least not any longer.

YOU don’t understand,

There, I’ve been,

That, I’ve done,

The circle of life.

But now I’m older,

Wiser, I think, I hope,

I pray.

It’s still in the works,

But my starting point

for today,

In the words of Queen Bey,

I will SLAY.

Have a good one!

LIFE UPDATE

I figured I owe it to myself at least my future self an explanation of my whereabouts over the last what? six, seven months. That may sound a tad bit narcissistic but, aye my memory may fail in the near future and the period between December 2015 and most of June 2016 will be just one big gap. This is beginning to sound like a subtle horror movie.


Side note, the sun has come out of hiding babies or rather toddlers are out with their nannies getting some good old vitamin D, house-helps are out spilling the tea on God knows what and I have managed to score quite the vantage point to people watch.  All these equals, good vibes central and I am digging it all the way.

Getting straight to the point, home-girl here is now a part of the working class. Yes folks I am a working woman now. The whole nine-to-five, suit and tie and everything else that comes with it. It is tweaked quite a bit though, for instance, it is not your typical nine to five neither is it suit and tie but its still a job and I gotta say six months in , I love...wait for it...the pay cheque that comes with it. Might as well throw in the experience since, well, you know society. And of course who can forget the tonnes of lessons which I am learning along the way.

Given that I have been vague enough, I work front desk at a fairly new fitness studio. Coincidentally this was the job description I dreamed of all those years I watched college based series. Guess you can say I am "leaving the dream" so to speak.

The one thing they never showed on these T.V shows, the reality behind a working student. That or I never paid attention. I have had to say goodbye to weekends as I know them and free time in general. On the plus side I do realize the value of a minute and I can now afford to splurge on a "must have" here and there although I do so consciously. What can I say, mo' money, mo' problems.

My policy last year, if you are not happy about something, do something about it. In my case I could not have been more tired of always being short moneywise and being idle all holiday long so, I did something about it. Application after  application, two internships and one interview later, flash forward a couple of months down the  line and I am here. How is life on the other side you ask? I will take a fairly good amount of financial liberation any day.

Let me put it out there that I am still doing me. School, co-curricular activities; Kenya M.U.N, heck I even managed to be top ten in a writing competition. Isn't every opportunity great for some shameless self promotion (which I will post soon).

You know how there is a Surviving College series, I have been toying around with the idea of having a Millenial Working girl series. The big question is can I stay committed to this blog or am I going to pull another disappearing act on this URL again? I live for calculated risks, well not really but this, I think I got this.

Have a good one!   

Surviving College: Legal Attachment

It is super surreal that I have been on holiday for a whopping five weeks already. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was super unprepared for my Equity and Trusts final? Confessions of a college student, why don't you?

Well, I am on some genuine feel good hormones right about now so I figured why not ride on them to fuel me through writing this article.

I might as well just put it out there that I am not quite done with my legal attachment just yet. This is just a reminder that possibly, the worst is yet to come.

So, I was attached to Kibera Law Courts. The actual reception we had was now that I think about it rather warm. Security gave us a  point in a vague direction but it is not the what they told us, it's more of how they told us, you dig? It makes all the difference.

On the real though they did not expect us. You would think that with my email inbox blowing up with subject UPDATED CLINICAL ATTACHMENT LIST every two seconds the HR department surely must have gotten at least a peek, but no in the words of the executive officer and I quote "... this is like a bad joke...". Although it may seem like I am throwing a baobab tree's worth of shade, in retrospect, the blame could maybe even should be thrown to say, I don't know my faculty. What would you do if you saw a good 33 souls showing up at your doorstep without so much as a heads up?

In true ambushed fashion they basically just told us to find something to do between the courts and  the registry more emphasis on the registry. Knowing me, I like to jump in both feet first so the  registry sounded like the ultimate challenge. When I look back on it, I clearly went into this expecting a whole  lot mostly in terms of hospitality; the whole shabang a warm smile, couple of handshakes, formal intros, it happened alright just not at the  expected time. Not to say that the cold shoulder was the order of the day but it was one of those, "Toto, I've a feeling we are not in Kansas anymore,"  vibes.

They started warming up to us after two hours, give or take, and I have to say the work was hella basic and in this case, that was a good thing. Filling in files  receiving  files not rocket science at all.There was an attempt to organize us later in the day , break us down into smaller groups which for the most part worked.

The highlight of the first week? There was a cheeky little public holiday and it could not have come at a better time, nuff said: I am a basic lazy bum.

On the fourth day we got to meet our magistrate. I have no recollection of my sentiments at the time but she turned out to be lit. Now, she, she understands hospitality. Warm smile-check, intro-check and a couple of ground rules...see, easy, peasy and not even sleazy.

Most importantly, the legal proceedings. The first time in court gets real old real quick but I will say the first few minutes that fish fresh out of water feel, super real. Then you get the swing of things, basic procedure being mentions a whole lot of them, a couple of hearings and on Monday's there's a side of drunk and disorderly petty cases. Cases that are worth your entertainment? Sexual offences and assault. To sum it up a fire prosecution witness is all you need to keep you attentive. But be warned, when the lawyers get to asking the tough questions, a never ending cycle of answers mostly which are repetitive begins.

Flash forward to week two. I only had to go two out of five times, apparently my magistrate had a retreat and French leave was in order. Didn't  I tell you she was lit? Of course not squarely because of this but excuse me while I slide that in there as a contributing factor.

Before I go ahead and write a memoir out of a four week internship, I'll see you on the other side with part two. But with such a strong start, could anything possibly go wrong?

Have a good one!

Pulling An all-nighter

At some point in the semester if you are not the perfect student like myself (go figure), you realize the rubber has met the road, sleep might as well become a rumor and you and caffeine might as well become besties. Maybe you were slacking or have a professor who goes from zero to a hundred covering more than you can handle or more often than not you have a pesky deadline. What better way to get your life than pulling an all nighter? Of course there are better ways, for starters giving organization a go, but let's just ignore that for a minute, kapish?


First make a list of some of the goals you want to achieve within these few hours. Let them be realistic goals, small ones if you may. It could be covering a few topics in your course outline other than the whole syllabus. Look at it as working smart other than working hard. You could either make a mental list or if you are more of a visual being , write them down and cross them out once you achieve them.

Pulling an all nighter needs you to be all in. I am talking physically, mentally, emotionally. That being said, psychological preparation is a necessity. Your state of mind definitely  influences how long you will stay up hitting the books. Once you know the goals you want to achieve and the limited amount of time you have to do this you will be less distracted. You will definitely get a whole lot more from your all nighter.

Have some motivation/ reward system as you read. Reward yourself with a cookie every hour on the hour or a minty sweet to get that sugar rush going. Your milestones don't go unappreciated and it keeps you going towards the next pit stop and the next after that. After satisfying your sweet tooth do not forget to brush to keep them cavities a long way from your pearly whites.

We would all like to imagine that we are lean mean studying machines, but the harsh reality is taking little breaks every now and again does more good than harm during these hard times. Stretch to get some blood flowing, fix yourself a sandwich, a mug of coffee or tea, listen to your favorite jam of the moment (Sorry from the Biebs, just had to throw that in there). You are fired up all over again this time for the homestretch.

At some point in time during the all nighter, reality hits even harder. Chances of you covering everything you intended to are not looking good and you are just about ready to fall into panic mode. One word, prioritize. You may be good at one topic not so great at another, cover the topic that is most challenging first and breeze through the other at a later time . Panic mode has hereby been aborted.

Study in silence. If you are the type that needs music blasting at maximum volume do whatever suits you don't let me bust your bubble. I find that studying without having anything else on has me more productive. Otherwise, lyrics and what I am trying to read mash up to form one hot mess of mush which goes without saying, is not good, not good at all.

So, here's the thing all nighters generally should not be your usual  go to. Sure it produces grades above average, but it would probably be easier to study all through the semester on a moderate basis  and have nothing but As on your transcript other than going to the extremes. And that's the truth, Ruth (can you tell I just watched Do The Right Thing?)

Have a good one!

Surviving College: Get your life

Am I the only one who is in absolute awe at how fast these months are flying by? Here I was thinking that articles would be on the daily. okay, maybe not but what do you know October 2015 is out the window and so is the first week of November.

The beginning of this semester did not have a traditional start to it. With an internship here, an internship there back-to-school shopping done in bits and pieces, my life at least school wise was in shambles. I was hanging by a thread trying to keep it all together , except when you are all over the place that's almost impossible. So in the words of Tamar Braxton it was time for my disorganisation to take several seats. Turns out only the little things in my shambles ridden life needed changing just to get my little old self centered, simply put, I needed to get my... 

Let me switch things up a bit and start from the bottom, what can I say? Drake had a point.

 At the end of a long college day the essence of a night time routine could not be stressed enough. I am no Youtuber so no mood setting candle is featured. From the moment I get home, chores are the name of the game #GrowingUpAfrican; setting the table for dinner, doing the dishes maybe the kitchen floors if it's my turn and setting the table for tomorrows breakfast. It should be noted that I am no saint and sometimes I ditch a chore or two of course not as often as I would like .

Before any of that happens though, I have got to make perhaps the most important pit stop, the fridge and hit myself up with a snack. It could be a glass of yoghurt, yesterday's dinner, a good ol' Blue-Band(margarine) and jam sandwich; anything that's fast and easy to fix varying with my degree of hunger on any given day.

After dinner and doing the dishes it is just about time to hit the sack. So I lay out tomorrow's OOTD other than coming up with something rushed the next morning in the shower and compromising on my philosophical thoughts time which in turn makes me waste a whole lot of time.

A moment of reflection on the day, I usually do a dose of Bible Study. I have to say it is probably what helps the most. I wouldn't say I am all too faithful in terms of doing it every night because you know that sandman, sprinkles  a tad bit more dust than necessary. Just having time to reflect, show some appreciation, vent, address a weakness or two or learn something about God. It couldn't be more soothing. Your Bible, a daily devotional (I suggest odb.org/ or ourdailyjourney.org) , a notebook, time and just the right environment should be your tools of choice.  

I usually intend it to go something like, I say my prayers and I am out like a light that is, if I refrain from taking a peek at the 'gram feed just before bedtime which usually translates to endless scrolling 10 p.m is lights out.

Something else that I find works absolute wonders (isn't it a coinkydink that I am listening to Oh Wonder? ) is a little siesta in the course of the day. Say your afternoon class is cancelled or you just so happen to get home earlier than usual, mark my words, never pass up a chance to get a nap in. I for one know that afterwards my energy levels are not at par with an Energizer Bunny's , regardless, they are higher than usual.

Do not get it twisted, I wouldn't say my life has taken a complete 360, what I would say is that it's well on its way.

Have a good one!