Kanyindo's Random Ramblings

There are some people who come into your life for a reason, for a season, or whatever. You just never question why because they just fit and it feels like they’ve always been there. One such person is my friend Kenny.  Totally unassuming, quiet, minds his own business, and is rather fond of strawberry yoghurt.  And weed. Don’t be fooled by his shy demeanour though- this guy is one of the craziest, wittiest, dirty-minded mofos I know.  Listening to him on radio you can’t believe it’s the same guy who was chilling with headphones in the corner just an hour ago. Working with him over the past (almost) 3 years has been a blast.  Not only have I learned so much from him, but he has become a true friend- always there with a word of encouragement, advice, and always willing to download something for me when the office firewalls are being a pain in the backside.  Not only that- he makes waking up at 4am and going to work on a Saturday soooooo easy. Happy birthday dude. Have an absolu

My Aunt Liz had  been pestering me for weeks to have lunch with her, and I finally relented last Friday.   The reason why I put off our meeting for so long is the inevitable turns our conversations take to the subject of marriage. Please understand that I love my aunt dearly.  But she has it in her mind that, at my age, I should already be married with AT LEAST three kids by now. So, we met at the restaurant and exchanged the usual pleasantries as we placed our order. “How is work, my dear?  Have you made peace with that boss of yours yet?” Relieved that she hadn’t asked about my love life, or lack thereof, I dived into this topic with gusto. “Work is great! My boss Is still behaves like the spawn of Satan but I do my best to stay out of her way.  I have wonderful colleagues…” “Male colleagues?” she interrupted.  My heart sank.  I could see where this was going. “Er, of course.  Some male, some female.  We make a great team…” “Sweetheart, you know

Its time I made the effort to become a better person. I’ve decided to join a gym. Before you ask, its not because I am seeking to remedy some physical imperfection, imagined or otherwise.  I am simply seeking physical and mental wellbeing.  In my constant quest to achieve Nirvana, I have tried countless therapies which guaranteed a more relaxed life, but none of them quite seemed to hit the spot.  A couple of unforgettable experiences come to mind… The first was yoga.  I must admit that I’ve never been the most flexible of people, but I figured that there would be a beginner’s class and I’d be able to take things slowly. How wrong I was. I paid the membership fee and went to my first yoga class.  Looking around the room, I started to panic.  Everyone else looked so lithe and limber that I began to ask myself what I was doing there.  Swallowing my fear, I forced myself to think positive when the yoga instructor walked in. Looking back, I know I should have walked

It shames me to admit that I was a difficult teenager. As in, VERY difficult. You know how that time of life can be- you’re in a bad mood for no apparent reason, slamming doors and being extremely anti-social.   Don't laugh. Camouflage was IN back then. And usually it’s our mothers who bear the brunt of it. I remember feeling that all my mother wanted to do was curtail my fun and happiness.  Deep down, I knew she had my best interests at heart.  Not that I would ever have admitted it at the time! So here I am, all grown up - well, almost!-, cringing inside every time I remember that surly teenager because my mother is the best friend I could ever wish for.  Now that I’m all grown up we sit and talk and laugh for hours.  As I’ve grown into adulthood, I realize that my mother and I are more alike than I ever imagined. The times we are together, which never seem long enough, there is always a lesson in it for me- whether it’s the best way to get the sap off y

I babysat my 4 year old niece yesterday.  It was without a doubt the most traumatic, hair-raising and heart-attack-inducing experience of my life.  But first, a bit of background. My best friend Claire has been complaining that since she married Duncan and had the baby, she hasn’t been out on a proper date with her husband.  The first time she told me that, I laughed into my (4th) glass of wine (she had stopped drinking in an effort to lose the baby-weight) and said (rather tipsily) “Ha!  Bet you miss the single life!”  She walked out of my flat and didn’t speak to me for a week. Narky cow. I was only joking. I wasn’t being callous.  I was genuinely trying to cheer her up, and bear in mind I had consumed the best part of a bottle of Argentinian Red.  But I was tired of my married friends, my aunts and my alcoholic uncle Brian (more on that later) making stupid comments about people delaying to get married and have children.  Claire, sweet as she is, had turned into a

After waiting what seemed like eons for the second edition, it was finally time for ‘Rhythm In The Rainforest 2’!  The anticipation had almost KILLED me, but I managed to function as a relatively normal human being for the days leading up to #RITRF2, as we’d tagged it on Twitter. The excitement built when I heard that Kaz Kasozi, renowned guitarist and singer was headlining the event and the amazing Evon was hosting.  When Kaz contacted me and asked me to perform with him, I damn well near blacked out, but the less said about that the better.  I'ma make Siima an offer she can't refuse... After Tweeting and Facebooking ourselves into oblivion, those of us who had been at the first event and a whole new batch of excited music fans met at Lugogo, the collection point for the bus taking us to the Rainforest Lodge, Mabira.  Once Rachel had checked us all off (miraculously, this time around, Hakeem was one of the first people on the bus) we set off.  The rowdy crowd a

After almost two months of waiting impatiently, Facebooking and Tweeting to within an inch of my life, the day was finally here.  Rhythm in the Rainforest, billed as the only event to bring people, music and nature together. I could barely contain my excitement as I boarded the bus that was to take us into Mabira forest.  After waiting almost an hour for Deno and Hakeem (more on that later), we hit the road.   Thankfully the traffic wasn’t as bad as we’d expected, considering that we landed right in the middle of the Saturday lunchtime rush.  Or maybe I was just too excited to notice. Finally, we arrived at the Rainforest Lodge.  It was all I could do not to fling myself off the bus and run screaming into the forest to frolic with the monkeys.  (It has been said that my FOMO*  is legendary.)   The extremely friendly and helpful Rainforest staff met us right off the bus and led us straight to the bar, bless them. We were very thirsty travellers, after all. As I w