Up, Up and Away

It's been a while since I last posted as I've been quite busy getting the hang of flying so let me share a little experience that I had over the last few days that has been major.

By last week I had already done quite a number of hours and it was
about time for me to go solo so I was taken to a senior instructor who I flew with a couple times punctuated by a three day gap due to some lousy weather last week. However on Friday I was taken to the chief instructor who I had to stick with till he released me for my first solo. First flight on Friday went pretty well and he had some good encouraging words for me even telling me to believe in myself and I could do it.

The second flight on Saturday was a different story.I hadn't flown for 2 consecutive days for quite a while and those gaps tend to make you a bit rusty so I thought that this was my chance to get some good consistency. However after a relatively good start I made some of the same mistakes of the previous day and even some new ones. At one point I was given quite a dressing down in the cockpit and thought things had gone really bad. Afterward I was told that on Sunday morning I'd fly with the big boy himself, the owner of the school. He's quite an imposing figure a tall old man with a big grey beard who has a lot of experience under his belt so I knew the standards would be pretty high.

So on Sunday morning I woke up to another fine cloudless morning and I was surprised as the weather is hardly ever consistent. My flight was a little delayed as he was dealing with another student before me. When my time cam he gave me a briefing first and looked at the comments from the previous flight and gave me some pointers on what to do. Soon after it was time to get going. Even when we were on the ground he had quite a number of comments to make on the things I was doing wrong and more when I got into the air. Probably due to nervousness I kept making some very silly mistakes which so got to him that he had to revise some of the basics with me in the air. This was really embarrassing for somebody who was already quite some way into the course. You can imagine how I felt after the de-briefing. I had really been brought down to earth or so to speak.After that I did quite a lot of thinking and praying, "have to pull up my socks" I kept telling myself. Fortunately on Monday I was scheduled to fly with the chief instructor so I was relieved.

Once again perfect weather on Monday morning, cloudless and only a slight hint of wind. This was truly amazing for me 4 days in a row of good weather was a first. I guess at this point you're probably thinking that I'm obsessed with the weather but it's part of the job! So as I was saying I was back with the CFI with a lot on my mind no doubt- "have to get to right this time, you can do it!" Went through the usual drill and he even expedited it so that we could get into the air much faster. Off we went into the sky, did a good flight and for the first time made a good landing, previously that had been my biggest problem. He went on to congratulate me for the good landing and of course there was the inevitable but- I had turned too early. Made the same mistake again and I was chastised but managed to fix it on the third try. I knew that what he was looking for was 3 good landings and that would be it. 1st one was good, misjudged the 2nd so
I didn't touch down but the next 3 were ok. On the last as I was about to get airborne again he took hold of the controls and just then I knew the moment I had been waiting for had finally arrived! A smile started forming on my face and I started psyching myself up. He asked
how I was doing whether I was ok and stuff and explained what I had to do next was to go up and do a circuit on my own.

Once he was through with the briefing he stepped out and it was time for me to do my thing. I gave him a thumbs up, put my hands on the controls, did my radio call and got going. The first thing that was really weird was the empty seat beside me and once I got airborne it felt really light and had to keep making adjustments. The flight went pretty well and it was definitely less stressful not having somebody there making comments every time you made a little mistake. Soon it was time for me to land and I was lined up on the final approach to the runway. Had to work on what was usually my weak point all on my own. This approach is particularly tricky as there are some trees just before the edge of the runway and so you have to be really careful so
that you don't end up perched on them. As I came in I noticed I was getting low and heading towards them. Naturally you would try to pull the plane up but this is a no-no as that would cause you to slow down and sink faster, I almost fell into this trap but I quickly increased the power and got over them and was back on course. Once Over them I was basically over the fence and went ahead to do a not so bad landing even if I do say so myself. It was finally done, the first solo, the first major milestone in my flying and 15th December shall remain permanently etched in my memory. After touching down I taxied back to the apron where the CFI was on hand to congratulate me and the other students were the to carry to the pool for a dip.

It's really hard to explain the feeling as I was really happy and at the same time relieved as it had taken me a while to get there as most of my colleagues had already gone before me. However I thank God for the way it went and the experience with the big boy which gave me a
wake up call.

Now it's on to the next stage.

Relfections on the victory

A lot no doubt has already been said about Barrack Obama's triumph in the US elections that have firmly etched his name in history as the first African American to win. This of course not being his only first as he was the first African American candidate to win nomination for the presidency. It all looks like a fairy tale but it really is true. I never for once thought that I'd see the day when somebody other than a white man would rise to the most powerful office in the land. In fact when the writer of 24 created a black president it looked very highly unlikely little did we know that a few years later the fiction would become reality.

As an African I'm proud to see a man of colour in that office more so when his father hailed from my home country of Kenya. It's amazing the way we've taken him to be one of our own yet his father was largely absent during his upbringing. I'll not dwell too much on this but will instead focus on another aspect of this story that makes it so inspiring.

Four years ago Barrack introduced himself to the world with an outstanding speech a the democratic national convention when he was still a senate candidate. Right there everybody sensed something special about the “skinny guy with a funny name.” Some had already started seeing him as a atrong contender for the presidency. That was his moment and he had to strike while the iron was hot. he easily won his senate seat as well as the hearts and minds of many Americans who saw him as a symbol of hope and as expected he eventually announced his candidacy for the presidency.

That decision in itself was very bold- a first time senator and more to that a young black man running for president. The odds seemed to be stacked against him but he kept on. Even during the democratic primaries his main rival Hillary Clinton kept highlighting his inexperience and after the initial predictions you would have thought he didn't stand a chance. Honestly even I myself did not see him succeeding against the Clinton name and a white woman looked somewhat more likely to win the nomination than a black man. the first few results may have been discouraging but he stood firm and so did his supporters behind his slogan of “Yes We Can”

His was a different campaign giving hope to a country that needed it. While Hillary kept trying to attack him, he maintained his cool and overtook her in the race and finally clinched the nomination. Even I was surprised at the turn of events and after my initial scepticism became a believer. That stage finished he went on to face John McCain who looked well past his sell by date and couldn't match the youthful enthusiasm and charisma of his opponent. Desperation set in and his nomination of a female Vice presidential candidate proved to be a flop. The rest as they say is history.

One thing that stands out in this his whole story is how he seized the moment. he could have backed down and said that he needed more experience or that the country was not ready for him. However he cast the doubts aside and went straight for it, it's really admirable as it can be so easy to avoid the risk and stay in a comfort zone but as the saying goes a ship is safe in the harbour but that is not what it was made for. I can not say any more about his feat but it has shown us that when you believe in something and make use of the opportunity truly great feats can be achieved- truly Yes We Can!

Around the mountain

his post has been a long time coming due to moving and all so without much further ado...

A few weeks ago on the weekend of the 26th and 27th September some pals and I decided to go on a road trip. It was pretty spontaneous but ended up being the most fun weekend I've had in a long time and probably in my life. There was a lot of long night driving but the company and scenery all made it worth the effort.

Started off on Friday evening from Nairobi at around 6 p.m and I being the genius I am decided to use the Bypass route from Embakasi to Thika road. After asking for a few directions we found our way to Kangundo road where as per directions we continued on a murram road and came literally to the end of the road- and this was at night mind you. Lost in an unfamiliar place in the cover of darkness is not a very nice experience believe me. Fortunately there were some Maasais around who guided us back to safety.

After that brief detour we got back on the Kangudo road and got on Thika road and arrive at Thika town to meet my pals at round about 8. After stocking up on energy drinks for the long night drive to Embu we set off. Gone down that road many time before so I was able to navigate well even in the dark to the next rendezvous point at Embu town. met the rest of the party there and headed on to Kamburu dam for the night.

On Saturday morning the adventure continued with a drive to Kiambere club right at the end of the Seven forks Dam series. Place was like a steaming cauldron with all that head and some of us took the inevitable swim. We hang around there till even then went on to Embu en route to the next destination- Kangu Baraka farm in Chuka.

More night driving but I had a nagging headache and so bought some pain killers at the supermarket in Embu. However after a can of XL energy drink the headache miraculously disappeared must have been the lack of sleep. We finally got to the farm some time after nine after a long delay on the road which was in particularly bad condition all the way from the Meru road junction. We were so wasted after the journey so a quick supper of sandwiches was enough and off to bed we went.

Got up early on Sunday morning as we had to be in Nanyuki by 9 to visit some 'surprise location' which was '20 min' away from the town. So 6 a.m found us ready to depart with pick up full of hay. The morning drive to Nanyuki gave us a very clear view of Mount Kenya before the clouds gather around it- was very picturesque, however the ice cap on the mountain was conspicuously absent- global warming anybody. 9 a.m found us in Nanyuki so we were right on schedule just 20 min left- right? Shock on us!

We left Nanyuki and followed our "guide's" Directions. Somehere about one hour later and over 10 kms from the end of the tarmac we had to stop and ask whether we are on the right track and he re-assured us that we were. You can imagine how we felt bwing far from civilization and the surroundings looking like this but we accepted that not all have the gift of estimating time and distance.


After a few more minutes on the dirt road we finally reached our destination- Ol Jogi game reserve. One of my ever resourceful mates whipped out his phone to check our location in google maps an to our surprise we were in Anaheim, California- I kid you not!







The joint is pretty neat- a private wildlife reserve owned by some Mzungu as usual. The landscape was beautiful but what was really interesting was the array of exotic animals there like

The Albino leopard

Russian bear- The only one in tropical Africa.


The show stopper however was a couple of our very own African elephants like the one at the top of the page.

After feasting our eyes on the show we made our way back to Nanyuki where we spent some time fixing auto issues caused by our roads and at about 4.30 we started the return to Nairobi. Arrived in Nairobi at about 8 tired but satisfied after a super fun weekend.

After this trip I truly understand how beautiful my country is and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Just want to thank all my pals who made this weekend so much fun- You know yourselves.

At the ball game

All set for kick off

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to witness the brave warriors of Namibia get a lesson or two about football by the Harambee stars. Kudos to the boys for getting one step closer to World cup qualification. Let's hope they can pull something off when they meet Guinea away.

This being my first live national team football match I went with a lot of anticipation. Reports were that the match was sold out and the traffic on Thika road pointed to the fact. An interesting thing I noted was that there were a lot of the middle class rugby crowd headed there from the cars which were draped with the national flag and associated paraphernalia. A good thing to note that the game has such wide appeal hopefully at this rate we'll see better things for Kenyan football. However one of my pals pointed out that a lot of the support was because the team is doing well and I would tend to agree that we are fair weather supporters.

A section of the crowd at gate 13

After braving the traffic we made our way into the stadium a few minutes before kick-off. The crowd was not as large as I had anticipated and it was easy to get space. The thin crowd made it hard to pull off the Mexican wave as it kind of got lost at the gaps. The atmosphere was ok though I noticed that we are yet to learn the art of cheering in this country as there were quite a number of silent moments. That all changed when a goal came from the penalty spot and the stadium erupted into wild celebrations. Had to watch my head as people threw bottles from the upper terraces.

The team's performance was good enough to grind out a win though not without some tense moments in the second half. One area that really needs improvement is set pieces. We had so many free kick but we never so much as threatened the opposition from them. Also worth noting is our lack of attacking options; the absence of star forward Dennis Oliech was clearly evident. We need to get that talent pipeline moving because I know the next Oliech is out there just waiting to be discovered.

Once the final whistle was blown we quickly made our way to the exit. However our exit was not without incident. At around the point we joined Thika road one of the wheels of the car we were in ran over a lady's foot. What even made it more startling was the way she was screaming and writhing on the ground. The shock made me freeze for a minute before we bundled her and her friends into the car and rushed her to hospital. The ride was quite an experience with her wails and groans of pain especially since she had sprained that same foot before. You can imagine the kind of pain she was in! Fortunately for her there was no major damage and she received treatment at the hospital.

Fortunately for us there was no other drama that day as we went back home!

Oh no! not again!

Ha!
Had to blog this before i went to bed.

I paid a visit to the 'wall' this evening. Inserted my card as requested and waited....

"Insert your card" was still being displayed- what could have been wrong? a few seconds later " "This ATM is temporarily out of service." What?

The guard told me to chill a bit and see if my card would re-emerge. After a while he said that since it was more than 2 minutes the card had been retained. being one to keep faith I waited. The wretched contraption made some noise and hope began to rise within me. The familiar "Insert your card" came back on but no card was returned. Card had been retained according to the guard. Doooooh! Nothing else to do but to go and collect it from the bank again.

Funny thing is that there are 3 ATMs on my way home. Had a strange feeling that I should alight where the first two are but decided against it as it was farther away. Next time I had better trust my gut feeling.

So it's back to the banking hall for me- isn't that sweet?

Arrrrgggggh!... ... Phew!

Now where do I start? I think the best place to start is the beginning.

About 3 weeks ago my wallet decided to grow legs and walk out of my pocket. Must have dropped it in a mat but on further inquiry it was nowhere to be seen, apparently somebody had an eye for good wallets. Anyhow luckily for me no vital documents were inside but a very important ATM card was in there. I have since learnt that ATM cards are the best thing since sliced bread, without it I’ve had to brave the snaking queues at the farmers’ bank.

Naturally on learning of the card’s disappearance I hastily made arrangements to have it cancelled and applied for a replacement not without spending a good amount of time in the banking hall to get that done. Was told to come back in 10 days so I waited until the due date.

It was ready for collection last week and I made arrangements to leave work early so as to get to town before 4 p.m. Thought leaving by 3 would give me enough time but as always the traffic on Mombasa road had other ideas. Got to the city centre at 4.30 so much for that. Tried again on Saturday but the 45 min I’d given myself looked inadequate so my trip had to be postponed to Monday.

Come Monday with the benefit of experience my exit from the office was done at 2.45 p.m. Surely by any estimation that should have been adequate time to make it to town by 4. So I cleared with my supervisor and made my way to the gate. Luckily there was a matatu right there so I quickly got on and began my journey.

Before we even got to Mombasa road there was already traffic on airport north road. Even the driver was surprised and wondered whether the president was still around as he had passed that way earlier in the day. After a few manouvres on the road we got onto Msa road which looked to have a high amount of traffic for that time in the afternoon. The matatu was pretty empty so we had to make a few stops but it filled up quickly and according to my watch there was still a lot of time. Once it was filled up I was confident that it would be an express trip into town.

Shock on me when we got to south C and found a snarl up that is characteristic of rush hour and not 3.30 p.m! the driver too was confounded since that time is usually free flowing. Once again some overlapping was done on the road towards the Nyayo stadium roundabout, once we got there it would be all good- or so we thought. We had not even gone through the roundabout before we came to a stop to the horror of even the driver. Strangely all other roads heading into the roundabout were also held up. Knowing that our fate was practically sealed we moved slowly towards the city centre. In the meantime the driver was sharing how frustrating his job can get and I totally agreed.

Just after the Bunyala road roundabout ( side note: how many of those things do we have to pass? They must go, by yesterday!) I looked at my watch, 12 minutes left to bank closing time. Looked out the window and wondered if I alighted then whether I could make it. After a little thinking I decided it was best to stick in to the mat and told God- “please, let me make it in time”.

2 minutes to 4 still on the road, What’s more the contractors working on the road had parked a lorry with concrete blocks on our lane. Thought they were supposed to be working at night not in the middle of the afternoon! Arrrgh! I tell you sometimes you can just shoot people. Thanks to that little obstruction 4 o’clock found us at the Haile Selassie roundabout. I had no option but to alight from the mat in traffic.

Got of the mat and ran to the bank and you guessed it- closed by 4.03 p.m. tried to negotiate with the guards to let me in but hey wouldn’t budge, ati I should come the next day. “what!” After all the trouble I’d been through that was not an option. At this point I was livid, cursing the traffic, for crying out loud, I had done my best to get there in time! Tried calling a pal who works in the bank but he was busy.

As I was outside there brooding and almost going captain haddock on those guys hope arrived. I saw my cousin whose mum works at the bank come out of the door. “Halleluyah!” I thought. Told her my situation and she spoke to her mum. Strangely she noticed that her mum’s number was already on my phone but I guess in the situation I forgot. A few minutes later I was sorted and was smiling all the way out the bank.

Relflecting on that situation I really thanked God for coming through for me again like this time and this. Was a really frustrating experiences but it worked out well in the end. Thanks be to God.

Lakini this traffic is in a horrible state! One of my pet subjects but that’s for another day

Games Over!

Wow! what an Olympics it's been for my countrymen and women. Nothing could have been better than having the Kenyan national anthem being the last on the playlist and that's exactly what happened when Samuel Wanjiru had the honour of being he first ever Kenyan Olympic marathon champion. This Olympiad has had a number of firsts for the Kenyans.

Jason Dunford was the first Kenyan swimmer to get to the finals and more to that he broke the olympic record on the way there. Some may say that he peaked to early but something tells me there's more to come especially from his younger brother David.



The next first was Pamela Jelimo who earned her place in the history books as the first Kenyan female Olypic champion. A lot was expected from this young lady 'the Kaptagat Express' and her counterpart 'the Eldoret Express' Janeth Jepkosgei. Lucky for us we managed to prise Pam from the Americans who wanted to ship her off to the far away lands. The last pioneer of course was Wanjiru(which is actually a Woman's name).

The Haul of 5 gold 5 silver and 4 bronze is our best ever. The only time we came close to that was in Seoul where we garnered 5 gold 2 silver and 2 bronze. Last year's no 2 position at the IAAF world championships was a tough act to follow but the boys and girls have shown that they've got what it takes to do even better.


Of all the 5 Gold medalists Jelimo, Kipruto, Langat, Bungei and Wanjiru some of them deserve a special mention. Jelimo has already been dealt with but the standout performance was from the relatively unknown Nancy Jebet Langat who won the women's 1500m, on that day the race was not a medla hope but she rose to the ocassion even without team mates to help her on. Next up is Bungei who as the captain made up for the dissappointment of not making the finals at the last Olympics. Last but not least is Wanjiru who won the marathon despite the favorite Martin Lel falling by the wayside .

Once again I congratulate the boys and girls for their performance which was outstanding, phenomenal, great even. As we celebrate let us not rest on our laurels as staying number one in Africa is not as easy as becoming number one. The beloved Ethiopians are constantly on our heels as evidenced by their double in the 5000 and 1000m. As I said in my earlier post these guys can be beaten but we have to be more strategic. Former Olympic champion John Ngugi( the last Kenyan to win the 5000m) higlighted this in an interview recently.

One thing that the Ethiopians have mastered is majoring on the majors as opposed to us who have guys running in the IAAF golden league and missing out on the olypmpics. Credit goes to Athletics Kenya for being strict this time round which I'm sure helped our performance. Teamwork wins every time!

Another thing that is vital is money, money, money! the Government and sponsors should do all they can to make sure the athletes get paid well for their efforts lest they defect to Qatar or Bahrain like some have. I wonder if we can even make athletics our national sport as that's our forte.

Kweli leo Najivunia Kuwa Mkenya



In a totally unrelated story came across these interesting pictures of Nairobi courtesy of Ntwiga's blog.