Being Yourself

The other day my boss remarked that it was about time he too got a top of the range ride with enough leg room, big head lights, dark mysterious color, rich deep engine roar, large surface area tyres and the works. It made feel the challenge the jolt the inspiration.  But the team I am working with in D-land has different ideas. The top dog wears a jeans trouser and rides his bicycle to work. It makes him proud that he gets to work ahead of most since he can easily maneuver traffic. And indeed most of his direct reports dont drive the top ranges that I crave for yet they are dirt cheap here compared to back home. If only they knew. They also dont care to put on those sharp suits that could not fit me in their shops! Though smart you would consider them dressed down all the time. Typical IT guys one would say. Well all of them apart of one who refuses to be dragged down that route. He always stands out in his dark suits, white starched shirts and a tie. Really your dream 'white collar' office wear. Drives a serious show man bmw and walks purposefully  to complete the image. He is my hero! He really is being himself.

But Germans are not an inch what I thought of them. They are much more gentle than I imagined and they treat their women with dignity different from what I have read in most books. And who said that europe didnt have faith? I have gone for most masses and they are full (well not shoving full like my local church back home) including the Kolner Dom. (that one deserves a full blog entry)

Missing Opportunities

Somehow everywhere I turn to, something is being said about Ulinzi, KPL and the big eared trophy! I may not remember very well Ulinzi's golden era of 2003, 04, 05, but I have a feeling a win of the local league has never been celebrated this much. Its as if it were the last ever KPL league or the very first. Its all so good even our very own president praised the winners which was a very rare gesture. If it was a win against a foreign club or win of a foreign trophy I would understand but this is just a simple local cup. Even Churchill live gave it a whole episode!

But its all so good  and worth it. I was at City Stadium that fateful day when K'Ogalo was frustrated to a barren draw by a stubborn City Stars side as Ulinzi nailed their opponents 2-0 in the Rift Valley. City Stars had shown their intention early by pricing their gates charges rather high at 200 for the terraces. A whopping 100% rise from the normal. I think they wanted to really enjoy themselves by frustrating Gor Mahia both off and on the pitch which they successfully did.

What I kept on wondering all the time I was there and seeing the umati wa watu is how come our local blue chips are not taking advantage of the marketing goldmine that the sudden interest in KPL league has generated. If you were at city stadium that afternoon or in Afraha stadium you could have seen what I mean. It was glaring right there! Were there any serious marketers in there? And leave alone marketing during matches. Given the near fanatical following enjoyed by the likes of Gor , AFC and the rest, has Safaricom or Airtel for instance thought of what would happen if they sponsored the teams shirts? Wouldn't it be law for all  fans (or is it followers) to make the big switch?

Its a discrimination!

I have once blogged against discrimination.Everyone hates to be treated differently for who they are or what they are. It normally feels bad. In deed discrimination is often condemned by most people apart for my kind. Last April  i tried many shops in Oxford street London looking for a nice sharp suit. (Oxford street is the street!) I spent a day walking up and down and i did find some serious cuts! The kind you put on and you make a statement you can even land a top position by your looks alone! One problem existed though. none of the jackets could cover my chest leave alone the trousers going past my thighs. The attendants told me their largest size customers were just about 2 dress sizes smaller than me. Now that was unsettling but I consoled myself that back home am not even among the tallest of men. I wondered why the Brits were that short. but then again, a number of them looked tall enough to me.

But what i found hillarious again this time in Germany apart from missing on suits again is the bed! In one hotel they were able to get me just a fitting duvet. To be honest I still cannot believe that an executive hotel like this one (5 star actually) does not anticipate tall clients! When I get on to my bed my legs are hanging out and when I cover my face my feet stick out. If I cover my feet my face remains in the cold! Now the fun part was how to explain all that to the housekeepers who cannot speak a word in English (neither can I speak any German) So I grab my laptop and go to google translate and type in. It comes out with ' ich bin groß' 'Kann ich haben eine große Bettdecke?' The housekeeper got the idea. 'I am big. can i have one big duvet?' well they just dont have any so for the next 2 weeks my feet and face will take turns in getting the warmth that comes with a duvet!

Maybe like Griffin of family guy I should start an  IFFCDTP  (international federation for clothing and duvets for tall people)

Rewards Galore

All of a sudden everywhere I look, Kenyans are being offered some sort of rewards, 500K, 50K, 10K, 1M, 5M name it. and the reason for the reward? sending a blank sms! just go to your phone and send an SMS. its some sort of lottery they say  and i keep on wondering if our good old betting control and licensing board have licensed all these and also to run right at the same time. On the face it looks like a copy of the recent one where one Kenyan ponyokad with a range rover worth 11 million (so they said). You know in Kenya we copy , fast! But looking at it even deeper one cant help but see a well planned effort to neutralize safaricom's masonko promotion. Well i can think that now that there are reports of sabotage on their network.

Deeper still this thing reminds one of the run away nation wide fraud of 2007 when Kenyans lost millions in pyramid scams. At the time pyramids were springing from all over. Every other corner had a scheme and due to laxity of the regulatory authorities Kenyans lost quite a bit. Again this time the regulators seem to be asleep in a way and before we know it, these win this win that schemes where only a simple sms is required shall have destroyed the still recovering economy of ours.