Random Ramblings

Today was the first real day of spring, finally got to 70 degrees. The first thing I thought of when I woke up was that next Friday is my last official day as a second year med student! I simply don't know what happened to the last two years of my life. It's a great feeling to know I survived the first half of med school. If I can survive my first board exam, then all the better. With that realization came a very humbling feeling of just how blessed I am. I had a conversation with an old friend yesterday that I hadn't talked to in a year. The last time I talked to her, she had been accepted into med school. However, the sad reality of being an international student hit her when the school told her the only way she could matriculate is if she pays her entire 4 years of tuition up front. I don't know any Kenyan that can write a $200,000 check. So, she's had to settle for a PhD program.

On a different trajectory, did I miss some kinda memo somewhere? Why is everyone and their momma trying to hook me up with some man? I know I haven't been in a real relationship for a year and a half, but come on! I usually feel pretty good while surrounded by my med school friends, but every time I venture outside that circle, I get a rude awakening. The way people carry on, you would think I was 40. I just turned 26 for crying out loud! I recently visited my aunts for spring break and all I heard the entire week were bios of different men that I came into contact with. Never mind the fact that some of them were already hooked up!

I expect such things from my aunts/grandmas, etc. But imagine my surprise when one of my best friends came upto me and excitedly exclaimed "I found your future husband! And he's a cardiologist!" Really? I had no idea she was on the hunt. I can think of at least 5 future husbands lurking around somewhere curtesy of my family. But to have my friend start playing the hook up game made me pose and wonder if I missed something along the way.

I know this is supposedly the age where people do hardcore dating, but who the hell has time? I barely have time to cook and do my laundry, let alone go out on dates. Not to mention the fact that in recent months, I haven't come across a single guy worth a second date. Well, that doesn't matter. My aunts have already warned me that my 30th birthday will be an intervention party. I better find a "future husband" in the next three and a half years! This is too funny...

On yet another trajectory...why is it that the most "saved" people usually end up being the biggest hypocrites? Why hide behind religion? Too many shocking stories lately involving church members and pastors. Or perhaps the only reason I find some things "shocking" is because the most shocking thing I ever experience in med school is having a professor drop the F-bomb and have some overly sensitive person report it to the deans. The next thing we know, we're receiving an email from the said professor in the form of an apology. So when I hear stories about a church pastor sleeping with half the women in his congregation (many of whom I know)...I do find it quite shocking....

TMZ/National Enquirer kenyan Style

Twelve hours ago, I had no idea who Esther Arunga was. Perhaps if I lived in Kenya, I would. Nevertheless, in the last few hours, thanks to Facebook and blogoland, my curiosity got the better of me. Who is this person and why does she have the internet lit up like a candlestick?

Well, I should have known she would turn out to be a celeb of sorts. Hot celeb gossip makes the world go round. I always joke that TMZ knows what celebs are gonna do even before the celebs themselves think of doing "it".

When Raila fired Ongeri and Co. last week, only for them to be reinstated by Kibaki, the Facebookers didn't say a peep. I only found out about it by reading the breaking news on Nation. But who cares about the state of politics when you have juicy gossip to cheer you up and make you forget how truly messed up your own life is? And this Esther Arunga story has it all.

Hot chick on top of the world, seemingly headed down the road of perfection. Then along comes another man (men?) and her romantic love story goes kapoof! Then enter some foreign man (Nigerian? S.African? British? Kenyan? Who cares?). And let's take it a step further than TMZ and add in God and religion. Only Kenyans know how to put God in the middle of EVERYTHING, good or bad.

The Nation already has 3 articles on their website concerning this story, complete with a press conference. Yes, Kenya is quickly catching up with the rest of the paparazzi around the world. The good news is, gossip is good for your mental health. So keep the juice flowing.

Will This Madness Never End?

I woke up to news that one of my childhood friends had been gunned down by thugs in Westlands and had succumbed to his gun injuries last night. I was in a great mood and looking forward to a wonderful birthday week. Now, I'm in tears and wondering why this had to happen. This was supposed to be M.N.'s big year. He's finally followed in his father's footsteps and become a pilot for a major airline. On new year's day, he proposed to his long time girlfriend in what was the most romantic proposal I ever heard of...straight out of a romantic comedy. For him, life was supposed to be good this year. Instead, he's lying on a cold slab in a morgue, while his family and friends are left behind in agony. Such a wonderful young life has been extinguished, just like that!

I am so sick and tired of the damn insecurity in Kenya. Why can't people just live their lives and have peace of mind? When I think of all the family members and friends I've lost to stupid thugs, I wanna strangle someone. Why can't they just take the car and leave the person alone? Why not take everything in the house and the money and disappear? Why do they always have to shoot the victim for good measure? Oh the lives that have been lost! And those that have been spared, but are suffering intense trauma just thinking about their ordeal in the hands of gunmen! I still have horrid memories of the day my mom was carjacked at gunpoint and terrorized all over Nairobi. She's never fully recovered from hearing those gunshots and coming face-to-face with death. But who is responsible? Do we blame the government? Do we blame the crappy law enforcement officers, who are probably the ones responsible for half the crimes? Do we blame poverty? Who the hell is responsible?

My dear friend M.N...I remember him from the days we were children. His younger sister was my best friend. My relationship with him always made me wish I had an older brother. He was always over protective. Full of adventure and an appetite for life. He lived his life and lived it fully. If he could speak one last time, his only regret would probably be the fact that he didn't live long enough to marry his beautiful fiancee and start a family. I don't know anyone as generous, as fun loving, as kind, and as passionate as this man. May God rest his soul in peace, and may the people he's left behind find the strength to face another day.