I consider myself a pessimist. A cynic. I haven't always been one. I feel like I've undergone a lot of subtle changes over time until suddenly I realize I'm a different person from what I used to be. Is this what growing up is all about? I guess.
I've had a lot of things going on, yet few things have changed. Ironic. It's like running on a treadmill--you cover a large distance yet you don't go anywhere. It's when high expectations and 'reality' reside in different planets. Maybe not that bad. But close.
Some days I have so much to say but other days I just want my own company. One of my pet peeves is people who are extra perky in the morning and insist on having conversations about random things like the weather before I've had any caffeine in my system. Unless there's a tsunami outside, I don't want to discuss the weather! It's fairly predictable this time of year. And I'm not a coffee addict anymore--I drink more tea these days. Black. A little sugar. I have to confess I used to dislike the whole tea-making ritual for visitors when I was growing up. It was my Mom's attempt to make us polite, hospitable, and able to carry on a conversation with grown-ups. We not only had to make the tea but also serve it. Woe to anyone who tried to pass on this duty to the maid. We had enough lectures about the maid's role at home. She was a helper NOT a servant as people in the West like to address them. I didn't mind making tea, but I hated having to serve it while answering questions from visitors about school and hearing comments like "you've grown so big!" and "you need to eat more" often in the same conversation. Years later, I now recognize a few lessons I learned.
-Always ask your guests if they drink milk. Or take sugar. Or caffeine. (Some people neglect to mention it till you've already served them.)
-Parents enjoy to torture and/or show off their kids.
-People love to comment on your appearance and relate it to how much food you eat. (Even though there are lots of skinny people that eat a lot and bigger people who are more moderate.)
-All adults give the same advice: "Work hard."
Now, I'm a little older and have come to appreciate a mug of hot tea--love Ketepa, but Earl Grey will do--when I visit a friend. But I have vowed never to exclaim "you've grown so big!" to any kids I meet. Especially if they were babies the last time I saw them.
If you ask whether my cup of tea is half empty or half full, I realize it doesn't really matter to me. What does matter is that I do have a hot cup to drink.
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9 comments:
mind sharing some of that chai? i like mine with lots of milk and sugar. "oh you have grown so big!" indeed you learn lots of social skills from your parents especially hospitality, back then guests would drop in unannouced and it took a big heart to welcome them and feel at home.
@Aegeus,
Karibu! Please have a cup.
I swear some visitors would time those unnannounced visits around mealtimes. Now after leaving home, I've come to appreciate enjoying a home cooked meal.
Good Tea making is such a ritual and I definately miss it especially with todays hurried boiled water, instant coffee and milk straight from a packet concoction. I remember how mum used to insist that to make proper tea you should pour hot water over the tea leaves not boil the tea leaves.
LOL!!!! definitely half-full!!!
Steadman Cooking up Numbers.
A casual addition of President Kibaki’s support per province as released on Friday then divided by eight (the number of provinces) showed that Kibaki had scored 39.5 per cent, Raila had 47.6 while Kalonzo had 8.5 per cent.
http://eastandard.net/news/?id=1143977974&cid=159
Presidential voting by province
Province Kibaki Raila kalonzo
Nairobi 46.3 39.3 12.1
Central 92.8 5.0 2.0
Coast 34.7 51.5 9.7
Eastern 48.9 6.1 43.8
Nyanza 11.9 85.3 1.8
Rift Valley 39.3 55.8 3.9
Western 20.7 72.8 1.4
North Eastern32.2 64.4 3.4
Total 43.2 43.6 11.4
Kibaki average: 46.3+92.8+34.7+48.9+11.9+39.3+20.7+32.2=326.8/8 = 40.85
Raila averages: 39.3+5.0+51.5+6.1+85.3+55.8+72.8+64.4=380.0/8 =47.525
The weighting has already been taken care of by using a representative sample size based on registered voters per province. The larger the registered population in a province the larger the sample size!
That means that the results can be deduced by simple addition and division in two ways:
1. Because the sample sizes have been weighted you can add the total number of votes of each presidential candidate and divide by the total votes to get the percentage of the candidate!
2. Because the sampling has been weighted you can add the percentage provincial totals of each candidate and divide by the number of provinces.
@Kirima,
Well brewed tea tastes much better than instant for sure. It's an art to brew it just right though everyone has their preference.
@Kreativemix,
thanx! I like your optimism.
@Patriot,
you lost me....
I am glad my mom never made me serve guests tea. lol, and my friends were the least interested in tea when they came by.
I love coffee with milk, not so much tea. But in the winter I brew a thermos full of tea and drink on for hours to keep me warm. Yes, tea with milk. What I miss are those Kenyan (tehehe, English) biscuits with my tea... yummy yum.
cheers, and good to have you back :).
@Majonzi,
Milky coffee or tea tastes good with biscuits! I've started carrying a thermos around so I can enjoy a hot drink anytime with the onset of cold weather.
Hi girl next door, you should also try coffee with a little bit of chocolate flavour and less milk. It soothes me during this cold season. Above all I think you have rich creativity in your writing and your blog is superb to say the least.
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