food/love/life/film

Monday, May 28, 2012

By @ntawi...

11 THINGY THINGS

** Post rules

** Post 11 random things about yourself

** Answer questions posted by the person who tagged you

** Create 11 questions and tag 11 people to answer your questions

** Notify those tagged of the game

** Notify the person who tagged you after you have answered the questions

** No tag backs

1. I’m an introvert

2. I hate my height

3. I have big feet

4.I touch myself

5. I am Obsessive compulsive when it comes to my water bottle. I always

have it even when I move from room to room.

6. I’m smart (okay men, its out in the open, you can officially run for the

hills)

7. I love to hate love

8. I like Nigerian movies (yes this is me depleting my comical reservoirs)

9. I’m kinder and more empathetic than I care to be.

10. I’m not a fan of poetry unless it reads like prose

11. I am very, very, very (notice the 3 very’s?) physically fit


Questions from AkelLove

1.What country have you always wanted to go to?

Spain, my ex and I said we’d go there on holiday because we both speak Spanish

and then shit happened. South Africa would be nice

2. Do you believe in the traditional sense of heaven and hell (harps, angels,

brimstone, wailing and gnashing of teeth)? Discuss (lol)

I don’t. I understand its function into scaring people into religion but I don’t

believe in hell. I do believe in heaven however.

3. What is your favourite book/author?

Up until 2 seconds ago it was Francine Rivers until she disappointed me

with “And the shofer blew”. It was overly religious and unrealistic of feminine

wiles. I am currently searching frantically to fill this gap.

4. What did you think of Avengers?

I didn’t

5. What New Year's resolution have you actually kept?

Lose weight, get your CPL (Commercial Pilots Licence), Save more money…..need

I continue. I’m very good at keeping new years resolutions, I do however think

that they are stupid; they are also a set up for failure.

6. Where is the best place to kiss? (Interpret that as you will ;o) :D)

In the bathroom! Ha! I really don’t know what this means. Anyway, in the spirit

of interpretation, I like being kissed on the side of my mouth and other places

where it probably wouldn’t constitute as a kiss anymore…….. if you know what I

mean ;-)

7. What's the last thing you ate?

Chewing gum

8. How many people know your deepest, darkest secret?

1

9. Do you do charity work?

More than my fair share

10.Do you have a tattoo, and of what?

*Fastforward to July* yes I do, I don’t know of what yet :-/

11.What is the biggest lie you have ever told?

“So we have this huge house, and there’s a water slide from my bedroom to the

pool!” It’s the biggest lie because 15 years later I still remember saying it.


My 11 questions

1. What do you think of Apple products?

2. What is truth?

3. Do you think I’m sexy?

4. Do you believe in perfect altruism?

5. What do you think about bloggers?

6. Do you believe in an after life?

7. Do you like sex?

8. Do you think the Kenyan education system is geared toward keeping

Kenyan minds colonized to create a nation of slaves?

9. Are you into extreme sports, if so which ones?

10. What comes first, colour or light?

11. What do you think is the purpose of this exercise?

Tagged

@awuorattyang

@cindyogana

@checkmatemido

@diibabey

@AskAkinyi

@MarkKoskei

@MarcusOlang

@Oh_lly

@Queenvelly

@tambijou

@kamakil

Thursday, May 24, 2012

The Tsavo Diaries: Day 1

I WENT TO TSAVO!

It's funny how sometimes I put things into the universe and they just happen. :o) Like how I have been saying for AGES how I want to travel/go to National Parks, and lookie here! Whoop whoop!

So this post is going to be in segments, because there is WAY TOO MUCH to do in just one. In fact, this one only got the journey there (which started at like 6 and ended at like 11, so...yeah) and the morning after (teren!)

As we start with the Kenyan and KWS flag. :o) It was raining a tad. (this was actually when we got to Tsavo, but I felt it was a good way to start the post. :o)


So we got to KWS at kedo 10. The folks involved were @mwirigi (Mr. Car Buff himself), @wanjikumwaurah (Poet Extraordinaire who can't stop laughing lol), @urbanekenyan (who has been to BALI. Yo, that hookup, btw!!), @johnalogo (whose photographs are fantastic), @photosynth15 (also nifty with a Nikon) and I. Fun times all around! In the car park, I decided to fancy myself a photographer (this came about because I had a surplus of cameras, believe it or not. And in my vast 4 day experience, ha, I have decided that I do not like Nikons. Yeah, I said it. I'm a Canon girl. Nikons are pretentious and overwhelming, and difficult to master. Canons are loose, easy-breezy, friendly. I saw that in the unwhoring-est way possible.) So, we were going to:


...vinjari. Hehe. These were the shoes I was wearing the day we left. Shoes turned out to be a bit important on this trip. (i.e. don't go with sijui flats. I made that mistake. Ngomas and sneakers, all the way.


The cars, the view I liked, and the baboon who was too far away for me to get a good shot:





The drive there...and some night photos, taken badly if you're looking at strictly technique, but I really like the effect...




This was done by the talented Mr. Ripl- uh, I meant, @photosynth15, when we got to the lodge. Purrty, innit?


So the lodge we were staying at...


The view from the front. Ati that itty bitty fence was supposed to keep lions away. AFTER I DONE SEEN THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS!! lol. That tree looked so pretty to me...





This is the view from the back,


A stone sofa in the backyard. Comfy, right? Hahahahaha


The back porch and stairs leading up to the balcony...





The chairs to sit on at said balcony, and fantastic view from likewise (otherwise?)



The waterhole outside...


Komboyo guest house is 10gs a night and can hold TEN PEOPLE. Someone say DEAL! It's fully furnished and kitchen-equipped (for those of you interested in such things, haaaaaa). And, no lions got me. I am not typing this from the *cue dramatic music* belly of the beast.

So on day 1(day 2 technically, since day 1 was spent travelling. For hours. Like, 5.), we were here (resists temptation to draw in an arrow):



Isn't the seashell thing fantastic? (no idea why it has refused to be horizontal instead of making you, dear reader, crane your neck. So much for Full Effect. See what I did there?) (oh wait I just reattached it so now my little pun is to...well, No Effect. BadudumdumTSHHHHH)




And because I like to take random pictures (and fancy myself a photographer. Let's not forget that lol), voila. This was right next to the gate you see above.


Yes sirree, we were havin' a grand ole time (cocks cowboy hat at the ma'am while chewing blade of grass). At the gate, we got a guide, Munyoki. This fella, by the way, looks like his uniform is washed and pressed every day (with him inside it, I kid you not). I don't think I've ever seen a cleaner chap lol.


So we went here next:


This place is called Shetani Lava Flow *points to picture above* ati coz locals thought the black lava emissions were the devil. And it used to be called Shamba la Shetani, coz it looks like he was gettin' down ploughin' and stuff. *pause* PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA TIA!!! *throws up the thrices*

The cars we went in (sijui Mwirigi was rubbing off. Why do I have so many car pictures?) : (btw, please don't roll up to the Tsavos with no Vitz. I mean, I have nothing against them, but I feel the terrain cannot be handled by a Vitz. Tafadhali.)


Underground view, whatwhat...


Munyoki throwing Wanjiku vibes (Ain't nobody dope as me, I'm jus' so fresh so clean pahahahaha)...teehee nah jus' playin', he was telling us how the whole shetaniness came to be.


It DOES look like a shamba though, right?



As we were moseying on along, this ka-mountain popped up.


Don't ask me which one it was. Couple of random photos:



And don't forget to...
Abi: Keep ironment Clean.


Giraffe: Sorry, what now?


:o)

Part 2 coming soon. Same day, but y’all believe me when I say, too many photos lol (that's already like 40, dude, no?)

tSN

p.s. Shout out to Gachara, Shiko and Wairu who meet me randomly and tell me they’re fans. I LOVE THAT ISH!!! LOL :o) :o) :D

Saturday, May 19, 2012

11 thingy things...

I was tagged by LadyNgo. I love this ish. :o) GO!

** Post rules
** Post 11 random things about yourself
** Answer questions posted by the person who tagged you
** Create 11 questions and tag 11 people to answer your questions
** Notify those tagged of the game
** Notify the person who tagged you after you have answered the questions
** No tag backs

Random things about myself:
1. I spend a lot of time in the bathroom. It's one of my happy places. I carry books inside with me and shii. It usually bothers anyone I live with. :o)
2. Closely linked, I think if you can fart around someone, then you are truly friends. :D
3. I can count from 1 to 11 in Amharic. And how is that relevant to my life? You tell me.
4. When I was a kid, I apparently wanted to be a policewoman. (I know, wtf.)
5. I judge people based on their grammar...among other things. I think deep down, there's a lot of hatred and judgement going on inside.
6. I'm shy...oh wait,that's not random. It's the name of my blog! LOL. Um...the first post on this blog was a poem. One poem I was really feeling when I wrote. I was a poet before I was a blogger (wasn't everyone? Ah, I'm such a poser lol)
7. When I was in the fourth grade, I wrote a Valentine to my best friend at the time (who OF COURSE I had a crush on) with a SONGS OF SOLOMON VERSE inside it. Even then I was a HOPELESS romantic. He knew it was me. Songs of Solomon? Camaaaaaan.
8. My favourite books are children's books. (My favourite author in the world, aside from myself, teehee, is Roald Dahl. I love most of his books - Henry Sugar didn't rock my world, surprisingly. And apparently, he was actually a nasty person in real life. Go figure.)
9. I sometimes do things with my left hand because I feel like it's left - HA! - out.
10.I met Tyrese. In the flesh. *sighs in bliss* And proceeded to lose his autograph but I SWEAR it's true lol
11.I can listen to Michael Jackson all day every day no problem.

Questions from LadyNgo...
1 Whats the last book you read?
The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar and six more stories by Roald Dahl, for like the third, maybe, time.
2 If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
ONE? Are you CRAZY? Do you KNOW how much music Michael Jackson made? Duuuuuuude.
3 What countries have you visited (other than your country of birth)?
Ethiopia, the States, does London count if it was a layover? Lol. And Tanzania.
4 If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
A writer (for travel, for and of books, film, blogs...you get it). Wait, I'm supposed to be thinkking wild, right?...nah, still. :o)
5 Why do you blog?
Because I have too much to say and I have an over-inflated sense of self-importance in that I have decided the world needs to know...lol. And I love words. And me. And words. And me...hahaha
6 How old are you?
The wisdom of the ages has been bestowed upon me, such thay I may...eff it, 23.
7 What is your favorite body part on the opposite sex (or same sex if thats what floats your boat)?
OOOOOOOOOH. Man cleavage, I think. That karidge at the pelvic, mmmm, like D'Angelo in that nekked video? RAWRRRRR. It points the direction towards good things to come lol
8 When's the last time you had relations?
Relations?...this is waaaaaaay too unspecific...with who? What kind of relations? Friendly ones? Hateful ones? << #theartofevasion
8a (for you shy ppl) Whats the craziest/silliest thing you've ever done?
Went skinny dipping (my life is a cliche) in the estate pool at my cousins' at midnight and got busted by a loud, expletive-filled German man...
9 What is your least favorite food?
Um. Avocado, I think. Traditional greens, also. Ugh. INJERA. UGGGGGHHH.
10 Do you have any pets?
I wish I had a cat. I am a cat person. I WILL be those women.
11 whats one thing you've been dying to tell me?
Is this a trick question?

My questions:
1. What country have you always wanted to go to?
2. Do you believe in the traditional sense of heaven and hell (harps, angels, brimstone, wailing and gnashing of teeth)? Discuss (lol)
3. What is your favourite book/author?
4. What did you think of Avengers?
5. What New Year's resolution have you actually kept?
6. Where is the best place to kiss? (interpret that as you will ;o) :D)
7. What's the last thing you ate?
8. How many people know your deepest, darkest secret?
9. Do you do charity work?
10.Do you have a tattoo, and of what?
11.What is the biggest lie you have ever told?

My 11 tagged:
1. @jnttnemo
2. @untonyto
3. @reumac
4. @awuormamou
5. @vuyanzi93
6. @kisulius
7. @twezlie
8. @ntawi
9. @woozie_m
10.Asterix, the follower of my blog who uses that name and,
11.burstapimple, also a tSN follower...big up yourselves lol

If you don't have a blog, email it to me and I will publish it. :o)

There you have it.

tSN

p.s. Next post: Tsavo!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Journey begins! : A photo story


No, I didn't see one.

*sigh*

People, this is my confession to you today: My name is tSN, and I am not a true Kenyan. (Hi, tSN!) Why, you ask?

I have never seen a real lion, like, in the wild.

Or an elephant.

Or a cheetah.

Or a wildebeest (this word. Why is it not wildebeast??) migration (ok, I suppose that last one is stretching it a bit). But seriously! What am I doing, living in a country that boasts tourism as its largest attraction, and I haven't been ANYWHERE? (Mombasa doesn't count. It's a whore of a town lol. Karachuonyo would count if anyone actually went. You want road trip? Yeah, you got it. SMH.)

And so, in an attempt to shed this cloak of uncertainty as to whether I am truly Kenyan (ha. I see many of you with those cloaks on lol) I responded to the call of nature (you know. Because we were in the park. No, really. I'm not taking the piss. Haaaaaa.) i.e. @kwskenya's request for bloggers (which, as you, dear reader, know, I am) to go to national parks, the first being Nairobi National Park. What follows is the photo story. Whoop whoop!!

Quick couple of facts:
-Nairobi National Park is the only park located smack dab in the middle (semi-middle, fine, fine) of a capital city in the world. It has been around since 1946 (duuuuuuuude) and is 117 kilometres (am I American? Am I British?) square.
-It costs 300 to get in (250 for kids)
-A guide (which is oh so necessary, because it is oh so easy to get lost and KWS will charge you 7,500 if they have to come looking for you) costs 1,500 (see how that is sooooo much less than 7,500)
-Go in a car of maana *coughfourwheeldrivecough*
-The park closes at 5.
-You. Are not. Allowed. To get out of the car. Unless you are at a picnic site. (who does NOT listen to these rules? Have you ever SEEN a buffalo? -haaaa, me neither- SMH.)
-Male zebras kiss each other as a greeting! (I bet Obama supports this, woohoo :o) #yestheycan

We started off here...


Generally,I am an all-around, too cool for school kinda girl...hehe...


And if you didn't know, now you know, that these boots were made for walking (and/or sitting in a van looking at Kenya's wildlife)...


In the land of the free and the home of the brave! Wait, no...


And off we were! I thought the sky looked fantastic, so I...


And then, vroom, to the...


...Clubhouse. 3 guesses as to why it is called that, ha.



The clubhouse is a great place to have a wedding/wedding reception. It has great food, great service, and all the facilities are clean (I checked like I was getting married. Which, as we all know, is not too likely too soon.) This, was particularly hilarious for me. Why is that the first rule??


And, it has a gorgeeous view.


After, we went to the ivory burning site, where apparently, TONS of ivory were burnt as a message to poachers that poaching will NOT BE TOLERATED IN THIS OUR KENYA! *waves fist of victory* This is the hill made of the ashes of ivory...


This is me, standing on the pile like a conqueror...


This is the plaque next to said pile.


Our guide, who was oh so nice...


And the Lord said...doesn't this just look like weather in which the Lord would say something?


Picnic site...


Bird? Plane? Giraffe?...ok, plane...


Definitely giraffe...


Among others, frolicking in the road...



And, the buffalo. Please note how I did not get close. At all. You don't have to tell me twice not to get close to the animals, no sirree. I'm black.


Because I like it.


These boots were also made to sit in grass.


A really, really gross insect. I did not take this photos. Photographers. SMH.


*breaks into Michael Jackson*
'If you're thinking about being my baby, it don't matter if you're BLACK OR WHITE!!!'
Ah, I love zebras. They are too cool.
'I seen the bright get duller. I'm not gonna spend my life bein' a colour.' (I am British now. Yes.)


Zebra-lovin'. Go hard or go home.


Argh! So these two ostriches that you cannot see, right, so the miro is the dude, and he's tuning that chickdee, the kabrownbrown one, by rushaing some moves i.e. feathers. (Who loves old school? Me.) Modern day society just needs to go BACK. Or copy ostriches, I'ono.


Water buck. Word.


Yeah right, right? I'm so shady. Lol. #njarozaKICC


Pretty...


The entry to The Emakoko, a serene retreat and hideaway nestled within the leafy treetops of Nairobi National Park. (Travel brochure, thy name is tSN)



Inside the Emakoko...(rawrrrr)





And...BOOKS!!! What more could a girl ask for? Except maybe...


Flowers...


And...well...


The general space...







And then it was hometime. (Unceremonious, unceremoniousen't it?)

:o)


Ei, I went IIIIN with these pictures.

tSN

p.s. May post more pictures. There was great stuff and not nearly enough space, spacen't you?
p.p.s. THE TSAVO DIARIES begins next week. :D
p.p.p.s. Avengers! I will post a spoiler post soon...
p.p.p.p.s. All photos taken with my favorite - agh! favoUrite model Thogi's Cybershot. :D Except that ka-lion one, which, to be fair, I clearly stated I did not see...
p.p.p.p.s Finishen't we?