Decide

Sometimes, momentous events take place on random, ordinary days. Not the first of the month, or the day before your birthday, or the day of a major terrorist attack. Just a random, unremarkable day. But that may be the day that changes your life.

That decision that you have been thinking about, but felt unprepared for, or that you have felt things were not in place for yet. But time has been passing and the situation has not changed, or has gotten worse.

So one random, unremarkable day you hear something, or read something and you just decide. You make a decision to act. And you do. 

And your life is never the same again.

Yesterday, I decided.

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The Lost Story of Uluo Atyak

BLACKORWA

The story of Ulwo Atyak is of a man who ushered a whole new generation of people who today are known as theLuo. In 1010 AD, the Nuer king took over reigns from his father, King Rubanga, who, after several invasion from the Arabs moved the Kingdom capital to Wau in Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan. The new King established himself in the area through acquisition of many wives from the conquered Madi tribe. Inflection of the Nuer language by the Madi tongue gave birth to a new language – the Luo language, and with it a new Kingdom the Lwo-Atyak dynasty (followers of Atyak).

For 400 years, the dynasty grew through commerce, wars, and agriculture until 1365 when the bastard son of Queen Nyilak killed the King and the tribe split into two. One Sudanic led, and the other Madi led (Acholi). It is in Acholiland where quarrels…

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Application for a job

Happy Mothers’ Day!

lizwala

October 2006
To Whom It May Concern

Dear Sir/Madam,

“I am a 28 year old beautiful lady.
I am a motivated, adaptable and responsible graduate seeking an entry-level position in motherhood which will utilise the organisational and communication skills developed through my career. I am now ready to settle down and start a family. Having been educated for six years for a medical degree in one of the toughest universities in Kenya I believe I can transition to the motherhood role. If I survived this, I can survive raising up children. It can’t be that tough, can it? My career goal is to be a very loving and caring mother. Looking presentable at all times. Never fatigued. My kids will always be obedient, smiling and clean. They will be all rounded and energetic. They will listen to me at all times and they will excel in anything they set…

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Dear university students

My friend echoed many of the thoughts I have been thinking recently

Faith & Good Sense

Photo: Courtesy

Every time I meet university students in town I find myself shaking my head, amused. Every time I see UoN students throwing stones at motorists on University Way I am even more confounded. College students amaze me. It is hard to come across so much bravado, naivety, vanity, invincibility and hope all packaged together in one. That could be admirable. But then I wonder how many are making the best of that wonderful phase of life that most of us remember with nostalgia? How many are going to waste their lives or make mistakes that will be hard recovering from? How many will look back grateful for the opportunities they grabbed?

For the university students in my life and those who will come across the post – Sue, Linda, Sharon and your friends… Campus life is a treasure. Cherish it; protect it. It grants grants you opportunities to…

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When #Sheblossoms is not just about me – Lupus Diaries

Let’s meet on Saturday 23rd April

She Blossoms...

So this is happening.

1. I have good friends. I have not lifted and will likely not lift a finger towards organising this. These days I get tired from just waking up so this is good.

I’ve been out of commission for about 8 months now. This time it was really out of commission. Usually, I hit a bad patch and I get a little housebound in recovery, but I keep my wits and continue working from bed.

I’m a writer, blogger and online content editor, so working from bed is doable. I take on editing jobs, ghost writing gigs and so on on the side and that’s usually also doable. I love teaching creative writing especially to kids, and talking about art and art solutions with grownups. A day in a week out is usually also doable.

But this time, this thing just knocked me flat out. This thing…

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Mom, what is that man doing?

lizwala

She lay there on the cold examination bench. Motionless. Alone. Unaware of what was about to happen to her. Legs astride in a position we call lithotomy in medical jargon. The position enables maximum view for consented medical procedures that necessitate access to the inner reproductive organs of a female patient. An examination that requires a chaperone in the spirit of upholding professionalism. But this was no ordinary procedure. I could feel the scream rising from my belly. I stifled it. I was watching with the troop. I didn’t want to scare them. The media house had mentioned the word “rape” in the bulletin. I knew it was going to be bad. I just didn’t know how badly shaken I would be. How angry I got. As he moved around the room, his identity partly hidden, he seemed familiar with what he was about to do. I willed the unidentified…

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A Letter to Dad; Thank You for Knowing Where I Was

I came across this and I think it deserves more reads and Likes 🙂

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Crack The Code

On his birthday last year (2013), a friend of mine posted a cipher in a group to which I belong. He said whoever cracks it would get a prize worth a bundle.

The cipher was:

Ism mgyc ksg g Gcwmo 4 Ougcaemsgc! Cugyi ———@augyi.esu osc ismc eccocga

(I have replaced his email address (which was known to me) with ‘———‘)

He said: The only clue is this: the letters used on fast-forward buttons on old tape recorders.
1. How old am I?
2. Museveni, a third.

Then he said we would need a tool to crack the cipher.

I Googled cipher tools and eventually landed on:

http://www.simonsingh.net/The_Black_Chamber/substitutioncrackingtool.html

This changed the code to:

Ism zglc kst g Tcjmo 4 Ougpnrzstc! Cugyv ———@augyv.esu bsp ismp rpcoctn

LOm mAIE kOA A AEwmo 4 OMAEGCmOAE! EMAIL ———@GMAIL.COM oOE LOmE CEEoEAG

LO* *AIE *OA A AE*** 4 *MAEGC*OAE EMAIL ———@GMAIL.COM *OE LO*E CEE*EAG

LO* *A*E *O* A *E***  *MA****O*E EMAI* ———GMAI*COM *O* LO** **E*E**

YOU HAVE WON A NEXUS 4 SMArtPHONE EMAIL ———@GMAILCOM fOr YOUr PrESENt

Photo http://www.phonearena.com

Yup! I won a Nexus 4 smartphone! Beating out a number of other competitors who were trying to crack the code. (One friend cracked it in seconds and was barred from participating).

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Advertisement Feature – Flash Fiction

I am a published author 🙂
Yes, I know, I should have mentioned it earlier, and on my own blog post…
Thanks, Sarah!

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7 Kenyans Who Made it in Hollywood before Lupita Nyong’o (Part 1)

Some surprising info

Too late for Worms

Lupita Nyong’o’s role in 12 Years of a Slave (2013) is a milestone by itself. Although it represents the achievements of Kenyans and Kenyan-born actors on the global film scene, she is not the first Kenyan to make it that far. In fact, there are about eight decades between her and the first Kenyans to act in a Hollywood movie.

You can read Part 2, another list of 7 Kenyans who made it in Hollywood, here.

 #7 Kipsang’ Rotich in Star Wars

You probably know that episode in Star Wars: Episode VI-Return of the Jedi where Nien Nunb says something in an alien language that happens to be the Kikuyu language. But did you know that the guy who voiced Nien throughout the episode is Kenyan? And not even Kikuyu? Kipsang Rotich  is not credited for his role in the film.

However, we know that Rotich replaced some…

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