A part of me is excited, while the other knows that I cannot sincerely wait to attend the 2025 Nairobi Design Week– because, what else makes life beautiful if not art and creation and appreciation of it?
On reading: I set my Goodreads Challenge at 100 books this year and so far I am at 15 of 100, and the app successfully tells me I’m at 15%. I found myself adding more books to my Netgalley shelf- and here are some titles I am excited about:
I recently took time to reflect on my reading habits and book acquisition and it seems like stacking and buying books comes more easily than reading them as fast, where I would have beat myself up about it last year- this year, I am not. It’s a good thing, and it’s an opportunity for me to ask; is this working for me? Or is it working against me?
Oh to ask the heavens for rain, when you could get thunder, lightning, showers, a torrent, a downpour, the rainbow…they clear blue sky, the dark heavy clouds…
And since you asked this of me, listen, I want to read books:
with bright colorful covers
written by Kenyan Writers
written by women
in hardcover
written by me
with a playlist the author was listening to while writing
by Asian writers
anime/manga
by Jennifer Makumbi
BL themed books
in public library
gifted by friends and family
that I swore I would never read (if you mention Anna Karenina I will punch you in my head while smiling, and don’t get me started on the level of heartbreak I endured reading Wuthering Heights)
Harry Potter series (again!)
by Chinua Achebe (my absolute favorite: Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, and Arrow of God)
It’s a Sunday and I woke up at six in the morning per usual and there was a blackout. My morning class was cancelled and for once I wanted to scream about the hours spent preparing for this class and the desire to go curl into bed and sleep..
Since I was up, I found myself downloading Season 2 of Alchemy of Souls on Netflix-because I was in the mood for some sword fighting courtesy of Jang Uk- again! But, along the way and on my second cup of coffee-I truly wanted to post some life lessons that I have been reflecting upon. This is because yesterday morning, right before class, I finished reading The Owner’s Manual to Life (In case you missed that day in school when they handed it out) by Michael Zajaczkowski. He shares one hundred life lessons and if you’ve gone through life, you may have heard some of them- so you’ll feel some sense of familiarity with it.
So, some of the lessons that I am now reflecting upon are :
Focus on the twenty four hours ahead of you.
One sure way to conquer fear; make a decision and take an action.
The way to make a mountain out of a molehill is to add dirt.
When I feed the problem, it grows; when I feed the solution, it grows.
You are never too old to start something new
My absolute life lesson that got me appreciating how far I’ve come, as a person, with my relationships and work was:
April is here. I’ve written more in March and it feels great working my way back into some form of consistency when it comes to writing.
This month, there’s a mantra I’d love to work on that in the past two weeks has reduced my anxiety at work and got me sleeping better and it was shared by RM of BTS (I’m Army) and he said when it comes to wanting to get everything done and done to perfection there is always the chance of getting lost in the frustration when things don’t go as you plan, so he said to calm himself and appreciate his effort he says “Done is perfect,” if a task gets done, that’s perfect.
Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables to improve my iron and vitamin c levels.
Sleep.
Work out ( I am taking to wall pilates and that seems more relaxing for me and I can do the exercises via the BetterMe app for seven minutes in the morning and the evening)
Travel, at least one road trip.
I find myself yearning to engage in everything that means I’m healthy physically and psychologically- and it could be the change I need this month to propel me into the coming days.
Until then, I’ll still say it- if there’s a kdrama you could watch right now on Netflix it is Divorce Attorney Shin.
I am in awe of the kind of world that N.K.Jemisin builds and The Inheritance Trilogy was a treat looking into the gods and mortals and a whole lot of history in between, but I’ve always wanted to read The Broken Earth Trilogy.
I was sad when I tried to get it from Amazon, but realized the shipping costs to Kenya would be twice the cost of the books. Fast forward to February and a colleague gifted me the whole set- so this right here is a post with two memorable quotes from the second book ( The Obelisk Gate) that I noted down.
Put people in a cage and they will devote themselves to escaping it, not cooperating with those who caged them.
But just because you can’t see or understand a thing doesn’t mean it can’t hurt you.
I should amend that title and maybe go with ‘a year older and wiser,’ because I feel some type of way this Sunday morning.
The great thing about my birthday this year was that I was on the mend, feeling unwell and struggling with nausea, fatigue, and loss of appetite but my mind was set on having cake and coffee at Java House for my birthday over the weekend. My birthday, was overshadowed with best wishes for the International Women’s Day- and I snuggled in my duvet and binge watched the K-drama Unlock my Boss– and held onto the hope that Saturday would get here soon.
On writing: I am writing again and loving the time I get to sit down and focus on my current manuscript.
In keeping with my writing goals, I have submitted entries to three publications, received a rejection letter for one and hopeful that I met most of the requirements for the other two. There is something about long form writing that has me reading more articles, essays and researching topics that I would normally overlook like parenting, sci-fi movies, animation, politics.
And that’s a wrap for this birthday girl, I’ll probably go to the market later on. Have a great week ahead.
December is what I’d call my ‘awareness’ and ‘acceptance’ month. It started out with the promise of an awesome time, and as the days drew in, I found myself learning to accept most of the things I haven’t been able to change this year.
Like the fact that I am not consistently working out as I had intended. Or even the fact that I consumed more coffee, milk, sugar this year-when I truly started cutting down on them.
On writing: Looking back, I would say that this year I published one book- Laana: Daughter of the Middle World and though a lot of people in my circles kept pushing for another book, few of them followed through and bought copies of it, and what I got instead were new readers- who are yet to fully embrace my writing style.
I bought eight new books this week and I would like to start reading them as soon as I can.
My elder sister truly knows what I love and she got me a book I have wanted to read ever since it was released but I could never get a copy. She bought me Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue for christmas and I love how she goes out of her way to let me know she cares about me.
I have sufficient stationery and very little inspiration and motivation to write a book as I post this. There is something within me that is calling for rest, for time away from the words that plague me until I can breathe life into them and weave them into a story. So, I am reading more books, listening to Kizz Daniel’s Cough (Odo) and dancing in my head.
Skin care is getting to be something that needs my attention and I am drawn to Luron products which I have been using the larger part of the year, so I got some products that I would love to try.
As 2022 comes to a close, I find myself more calm not because all is well, but because I feel like I am at the point in my life where I can choose which battles to fight, and which ones to walk away from. My friends say it is being old, and well, I am slowly veering off the age bracket that’s deemed as youth- and into the one that needs to have a retirement plan in action and that in itself has me grateful that I made it this far.
Happy holidays and I can’t wait to share what I write when I manage to.
December is here and she comes with the promise of family meetings, home cooked meals and getting to catch up with loved ones, those who’d been toiling in the city-coming home and getting to breathe for a week or so.
For me, it’s all about work, following up on projects, and reflecting on everything I did this year.
I managed to write 12,939 words out of 50,000 words for NanoWrimo- and though I did write every day, most of it were notes, comments, things that caught my eye that were not part of the story I had started, and so, this year, I didn’t get the 50k in.
On reading: I’ve been enjoying the books that are released on Netgalley and reading more which made me feel less awful about not winning this year’s NanoWrimo. I just added some new titles, check these out:
The first thing I did when I bought this book and three other titles by the same author was to look up ‘how to pronounce’ his name and I believe I can now.
As I grow more into my writing and explore various genres, I find myself taken in by phrases, descriptions, those lines that sneak up on you as you read and stay with you all through the book. I now understand why it’s always important to carry a notebook and a pen because I am on page 96 of this book and so far, three phrases have become my silent companions.
There comes a point in life where each one of us who survives begins to feel like a ghost that has forgotten to die at the right time, and certainly most of us were more amusing when we were young.
The story begins, and he who slaps his own face should not cry out.
Why does God give us a garden, and put a snake in it?
I find myself looking forward to where this story will take me, back in time or to just a moment in time, I don’t know. On the blurb it promises a story set against the backdrop of the collapsing Ottoman empire, and the subsequent struggle between the Greeks and the Turks, in a small community in south-west Anatolia. It states that it is about the personal and political costs of war and love.
nilichoandika 