The Inbetweeners

I don’t know when Friday became my favourite day of the week. Even though my weekends are rarely remarkable, I still look forward to Friday. To me, it’s the day equivalent of the moment before you jump off a diving board. Or the second before you say yes to that date. A moment, removed from time, caught in the nexus between what was and what will be. Brimming with the potential of what could be. Pretty cool huh?   I think it’s the same reason I’ve always preferred the act of getting ready to go out, to the act of going out itself. with the latte, it’s kind of set in stone. Once something happens, you can’t change it. You can only accept it and find a way to move on. Which sucks. And is deceptively tricky. But before that thing happens, you experience the wonder of endless possibilities.  One of those possibilities might entice you to be something different.  Others may convince you to stay the path.   I hope this weekend you pick the opportunities that spake joy and ...

Okay. Before I begin, allow me to preface my commentary with the following.  First, my knowledge and understanding of taxation is limited to IB Economics HL. And, second, as I transitioned into the labour force, my capacity to care about taxation was limited to two questions: (1) how much do I owe; and (2) is it fair? Having said this, let's talk about the Treasury's plan to raise PAYE (income tax) to 35% for individuals earning Ksh 500,000.  My first response to this was, good. Great. In Lizzo's words, "about damn time." If you make more money in a month, than an average Kenyan could make in 2 years , then you deserve to be taxed at a higher rate. In fact, this level of taxation would fulfil the very purpose for which taxes are collected ; which is the aggregation of national wealth to enable its' redistribution to the most vulnerable in our communities. However, as a Kenyan (and quite honestly, a person on track to – hopefully – exceed this monthly wage) I...

When I started this 30-Day Challenge - she says as if it hasn't been all of 3 days - I had hoped it would be... to be honest, I want to say "easy," but that's not the right word here. Neither is compelling. Or reflexive.  I think, or rather I hoped that, the challenge would allow me to be. It was supposed to be an opportunity for me to immortalise the many, random and often contradictory thoughts that keep me company. I just didn't realise how vulnerable this process would leave me feeling. I didn't anticipate how exposed and raw I currently feel. Nor could I have foreseen how this challenge would animate my feelings of inadequacy.  Rather than exploring what I could do, this challenge has reminded me of all the things I can't do. And how I've allowed my fears to stop me from exploring other types of writing. Specifically, my fear of failure. I don't mean this in the sense of not getting 'enough' clicks or views. At least, not entirely. Whe...

In the show, Good Omens, there is an exchange between Aziraphale - the angel - and Crowley - the demon who tempted Eve in the Garden. As they watched Adam and Eve leave the Garden, they reflect on what just happened and on God's reaction to the first sin. And Crowley, in perhaps one of the most existential cases of a person you dislike making a pretty valid point, makes a pretty valid point.  Speaking as equals, Crowley asks if God may have overreacted, considering it was our first offence. At that point, our only sin. He then adds, on the nature of the sin itself, that "I can't see what's so bad in knowing the difference between good and evil." To wit, Aziraphale, the angel responds, "Well it must be bad, because you tempted them into it." When Crowley continues to probe Aziraphale's reasoning, Aziraphale says that this was all a part of God's ineffable  plan. And because it came from God, the plan must be good. This means that the suffering w...

I have a slight problem with my anger.  It’s volcanic.  Not in its scale, but in its manifestation; slowly simmering for aeons before a brilliant eruption that leaves everyone and everything scarred in its wake. Believe me, like a volcano, I have a reason for spewing my specific form of vitriol. Says every person with anger issues ever.  But really, I do! My primary trigger is when, in a new situation for which there is no blueprint, something that is supposed to work, doesn’t for reasons beyond my understanding and no matter how hard I try.  This morning, the offending object was a biro pen. The pen had been in my drawer for at least a year, and it refused to write. No matter how furiously I scribbled. No matter how passionately I smacked the pen against the wall, or heated the pen, in my misguided attempts to “jump start” its fluids. So, naturally, the pen had to go. It no longer fulfilled the purpose for which it was created, and I saw no harm in ending its existe...

This has got to be one of the hardest things to do.  Today, I was informed of a book launch by the Communist Party of Kenya. I want to go, I just lack the resources to do so. This is not to say that I don't have the money or the time. But because I had not planned to attend the event, I had not allocated my finite resources to it. Even though, I have planned to use those same resources to engage in frivolities like seeing the next MCU movie, catching up with new and old friends, and buying the things I need to keep myself sane. The book launch was not a priority, and I feel guilty about that. I feel guilty that I do not want to allocate resources to support a cause I believe in. I feel guilty that I would rather give Daddy Disney more of my time, money and mental energy, that the Communist Party of Kenya. I feel guilty that my belief in socialism is only skin-deep; easily undermined by self-interest and social anxieties. That, when push came to shove, I could not put my money where...

How do you remedy a lifetime of self-neglect and denial? How do you stop minimising yourself and your accomplishments after decades of the very same? Put simply, how do you back yourself when you never learned how? I wish it were as simple as finding a new comic book or series to watch. I suppose, in many ways, it is.  At the very beginning of this journey, you shop around for a series that speaks to your values. You cut yourself some slack and allow yourself the grace of change and adaptation. After you've found what you're looking for, you take time to bask in the glow of your new love as you begin to invest in your relationship. You start to follow pages related to the content on social media, as well as specific stars themselves. You begin to research the origin and evolution of your content. You go about getting stuck in the fandom; joining subreddits and Twitter community spaces. At this point, you experience your first crisis of faith and navigate your way through this b...