WEEKEND IN THE VALLEY

Forever is a long time...

Find you a bunch of crazy people with whom you can be stupid and still look pretty.

There is no manual for what friendship should look like but when you are surrounded by awesome people, you'll know:When it's authentic, you'll feel it. This was one one of the best weekends I've had this year, I can tell by the number of times I laughed , which is innumerable.

The company was great, food was totally bomb(except for one milkshake from hell) and the Keyword was 'TIMBA'.Don't ask me what TIMBA is. I think we were extremely lucky because the sky  was crystal clear and the weather beautifully warm.

Anywho, It's a Monday and no one is in the mood for long narratives;I included...so just enjoy the pictures.
Also, have a terrific week!
Deuces.

While everyone else was swimming, the rest of us were just like... 'Hiyo menu iko wapi"

My OOTD

"DRUNK" BOOK REVIEW

Then amidst our conversation he blurted, " Let me tell you something " He uses this phrase a lot by the way. I said "mmh " not that it would make any difference if he didn't first request to tell me something. I mean he could just go ahead and tell me something, but then he always feels the need to alert you the listener that he wants to tell you something. Weird,  huh?
"I love to appreciate my friends by gifting them stuff they cherish, and more often than not books are the only things I buy without limits, without any form of guilt,  so if you told me you loved books, cold hard crisp paper with rusty scent then... "
"Get me Drunk! " I interrupted
"Tonight?"
"No dude, it's Monday and I have court tomorrow "
"I'm messing with you, consider it done!"

I have a small library of twelve books in my drawer, thirteen if you add my Bible :And it's so because one, my friends steal my books and two because I don't have a library "
Let me tell you something Lynn," he retorts again, then he goes on and on about very philosophical and truly realistic things that really hit your soul, in a good way, things that make you wonder how tall Jesus is or just how many people died from poisoning trying to discover food. He is the most realistic person I've ever met, and sometimes the way he arranges his words makes me think that he is fixated at a certain stage of growth, like  men who arrange their shirts according to their colors beginning with primary colors all the way to secondary colors and can actually show you a fuchsia colored fabric. Sigh.
He cuts his words and arranges them with the precision of a blacksmith: Not the blacksmith in Biko's drunk.
There are three luhya men chatting outside, not very far from my bedroom window, they've been there for quite a while. I can tell they are Luhya by their heavy accents and an occasional "omwami" here and there. One of them is trying to explain to the others what it takes to proceed to the next stage in the World Cup Tournament . They have no idea that I invited myself to that conversation and the one with all the answers keeps saying Ronalto this, Ronalto that. And I'm wondering, could he just say cr7?But then that would still come out as CR seveni. Museveni. Kathonzweni.Siro seveni.
I digress.
Seriously though, I'm so disappointed in this book "Drunk" for one simple reason. How can Bikozulu( I'm so used to calling him Bikozulu that sometimes I forget his name) give us such great mind blowing literature in just 167 pages? I read that in one sitting! It's not fair but then again, he fondly begins his prologue by saying:

"It would have been nice if my mom was around to hear that I wrote my first little book. It would have been really nice. I think she would have smiled and said, "That's nice."

This left with nothing but feels, not tears, feels.
And this prologue vividly reminded me of the day my last born brother was joining campo. The three of us were standing next to the post office on Haille Selassie Avenue: My mom, little brother and I. We had just gotten done with compiling the final documents and nitty gritty details of admission requirements and it was time for little brother to head to "school" and you know that means that some advice has to be given at this point.  A typical African parent's depressing lecture. It goes without saying. I anticipated a long lecture about be careful, don't drink,  don't smoke, but get "Drunk"...handshakes between boys and girls lead to unplanned pregnancies etc and I was feeling a little lethargic after two days of non stop moving up and down.. you know how that goes. But then the only thing she said to him was "Pray". She must have noticed me side eyeing her obviously stupefied by the short length of this lecture. Mothers are special : And they advise you even when you're forty two, going on about how you should wash your hands before you eat and sleep under a treated mosquito net. Tender souls.
Pardon me,  I talk too much.

BUT THEN... I want to know if during one of Biko's writing sprees there was a fly perched on his desk and then he began to wonder if the fly was married with kids or whether it's wife was pregnant. I want to know if he ever wondered whether the fly's wife called him at 6pm to ask "Uko wapi? "
Drunk is one of those books that will get you asking your mum to light up your cigarette because you do not want to put it down one bit, lest the aliens suddenly invade earth and steal a page before you finish it. And I love Larry, Larry is everyone of us, caught in between balancing the unquenchable quest for a good life and dealing with the rest of the society, the expectations, the pressures of life. Adulting is hard. 

Bikozulu is a hilarious writer, humorous to the core and diligent with his choice of words, one of my favorite writers to say the least and I wouldn't really give two hoots if a book was ten pages or three thousand pages, I love books with short chapters, just like Drunk. I love to wrap up a chapter and just take some time after to process it and let it all sink in. I'd find it super mind boggling to read a chapter where someone is born and in the same chapter they have already had their own children who are currently in college.Nah.

And the ending! I'm so mad about that ending Bikozulu. For a moment there I flipped the book three pages back to check if there was a page numbering mistake. Damn.
This is by far the most captivating, mind stimulating thing I've read this year, of course other than Mpesa messages and to think that the author is Kenyan makes me a little pleased with my citizenship.. I'm totally enchanted by this masterpiece and definitely looking forward to the next.
Short and sweet.

A DAY IN THE JUNGLE : THE TALE OF TWO LIONS AND AN ALLURING SUNSET

The only rhino I've come so up and close with is the one on the Rhino Kiberiti Packet. But this, this was a first and it was mind blowing!
Guys, I would not be such a great globe trotter if I documented the beauty of destinations outside my country and failed to share with the world the pomp and glamour of my own motherland.
This is Nairobi National Park.
And just a few kilometers drive in through the park we are met with this overwhelmingly intense sight of grazing rhinos. I am a bit startled, but in no time the fear is swamped by awe and wonder. Look at their horns! And that little birdie just sitting there, having a good day

We just sit there for a while, taking it all in ,parked at a safe distance and careful not to disturb or agitate the rhinos, just basking in the glory of nature,you know.
A few minutes later we drive further down into the park a bit and behold, the king of the jungle.Meet Sam.

 And just before I can process that, we notice a female lion casually lying right beside Lion King, with it's legs hoisted up in the air like this is the life, like this is it.

It's mating season! And these two have been here the whole day doing just that and at intervals of fifteen minutes and will for the next ten days. Need a minute to let that sink in? Go on.
For the next two hours it's all camera clicks, snacking and love making. We are on it for quite a while until our attention is suddenly drawn to another female lion approaching the duo, three other cubs right behind her.

THERE GOES YOUR DAD,OH HE LIVES!

I NEED SOME ANSWERS AND ANSWERS I'M GONNA GET

OH SHIT!

Now, I am not a zoologist and I am not familiar with animal behavioral patterns but the moment I saw this scene I knew it was about to go down, and so did these guys here...

POOR SAM, IT'S GOING DOWN MARCUS

I KNEW I WOULD FIND YOU HERE. WHO'S THAT LIL MAMA AND WHY SHE CAMOUFLAGING BEHIND YOU?

LEAVE US ALONE BIH

NO ONE'S TALKING TO YOU BIH...GET OVER YOURSELF!

OH BOY...

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING DRAGGING THE KIDS OVER HERE WITH YOU THOUGH

DON'T TRY TO TURN THIS AROUND ON ME, YOU LYING BASTARD!

I TOLD YOU GUYS THIS WASN'T A GOOD IDEA.SEE?

WHY AM I EVEN WASTING MY TIME TALKING TO YOU SAM?

COME ON KIDS, LET'S GET GOING....RIGHT BEHIND YOU MA'

OH YEA, BE ON YOUR WAY MA'

PHEWKS!

IT'S GON BE ALRIGHT MUM, IT WILL BE OKAY

YOU GON GET TIRED OF HER SOON ENOUGH...DAMN BI***                                                                               

WHERE DID WE LEAVE THIS OFF

YOU KNOW YOU'RE SO CUTE WHEN YOU DO THAT...DAMN

AKI YOU....

So Lion King and his new catch sit there for a while, cuddling and making love like the sun is setting for the last time and there's no sunrise tomorrow. SMH
Still watching.
Meanwhile...

THERE'S A LOT OF THIS GOING ON

AND I SIGHT THESE BEAUTIFUL STEMS OF GRASS LIVING THEIR BEST LIFE IN THE JUNGLE

CAPTION THIS

About 5 p.m
We set out for hyena dam, and along the way we get to see some majestic buffaloes, quite a number actually, a herd.And I can't help but wonder, what goes on in the mind of a buffalo when a bird perches on his back? Does he sometimes wish he could eat it? I wonder!
Further down there's a beautiful picnic site hosting a bunch of Nairobians who are probably feeling sapped by city life and they just want to recede into the animate life and relish some time in the wild.Life in the city is hectic,  on the fast lane, debilitating.

We drive on, more animals, zebras, a lone fluffy ostrich with overly long legs. In another life all  ostriches will be Victoria Secret models. I mean, why not! We are closing in on Hyena dam and the sun is showing signs of being a little sleepy, it's rays still covered in white and grey clouds. For a moment I imagine it will rain and there's a small spark of excitement and curiosity about what the park looks like when it rains.
Then we meet this beautiful obstinacy of buffaloes.

We get to Hyena dam, a fairly small dam that serves as  a refreshment point for  a good number of the park animals. We can spot a gigantic giraffe from a distance, lazily walking towards us,  then we suddenly spot one more, and another and another. They're probably heading home after a long day of neck craning and vegetation scrunching. And I wonder, do they have a place they call home? Like a place they go to at the end of the day? I mean, they all seem to be headed in the same direction. They must be heading home. I guess.

We are parked by the hyena dam on a slightly elevated side, facing the sun, it's rays gently and warmly hitting our faces, illuminating the water and the city. And then I think to myself " When I woke up today I didn't imagine that this is how this day was gonna be, was gonna end."

That's the smile of a content heart.

The sunset is so beautiful.I have watched a thousand and one sunsets and each time the experience is totally different and new. I know I have said this about other sunsets but I will say it again: This is the most breath taking sunset I've ever seen and this is the highlight of it all.The perfect ending.
Check out more photos on my instagram @beinglynn