I will be disabling the blog 'contact list' and you will not be bothered any longer with my intrusive rants and complaints. If you want to read my nonsensical but personal crap, feel free to visit again...
I have just heard that a few of my friends back home are either expecting, or have recently had new additions to their families. Congrats to you ...
I really think if I would have another one, it would spell doom for me. Two are a handful and I am glad that one is almost at the age where she can dress herself and can be a little mor eindependant. The other fellow still needs contant scrutiny and once he gets to the age where he cando for himself, I'll be exstatic.
Of course as I have mentioned before, having kids in Kenya and having kids in the US/UK/Canada is a whole different ball game. If I was at home I think I'd have more kids as I would most likely be the dad who come home at 7pm from the bar, sits down in the living room to a meal already cooked and yells to his kids " have you done your homework ?" and proceed to kick of my shoes and ask Atieno/Wambui/Wakwitu to get me a cold beer and a plate of food. Ahh the life....
Unfortunately our reality is a little more intensive than that. Upon arrival at 6:30pm, there is food to be cooked, mouths to feed, kids to play with, any pending chores to be done, kids to be bathed and taken to bed which leaves an hour or so of tv/catching up with missus/yardwork/preparing kids stuff for the next morning etc. The weekends offer less respite as you have laundry, grocery shopping, additional chores to do, take kids out for play, more chores and more chores ! As you can see this leaves little time foranything..plus its expensive as the day care costs are a pain in the rear.
Being a parent here in the US is definately more challenging given like circumstances and of course labor cost plays the largest role in it.

I think I am tired of reaching out to people. Trying to keep some semblance of a small community of 'friends' is frustrating as apparently we all begin to drift off into our own lives and other interests/hobbies/friends/circles etc. For many many years I have really tried to be a sort of 'coordinator' of the various friends and larger circle to try and foster the sense of a quasi community. Unfortunately it only succeeds rarely and always ends up with the perfunctory 'we should do this more often', 'lets hook up soon' etc and we end up quoting the same sentences the next year. I realize I sound like some grumpy old man or some young lovesick teenager but as I grow in my role as a father in a 'foreign' land, I find that I will not really be able to show the kids MY community ( as a Kenyan ). All I can do is introduce them to an occasional 'uncle' and they then revert back to their American lives. The only community as I have said before is based on drunken nights crawling the bars od DC, ethnocentric golfing weekends, the occasional 'themed get together' ( birth, death, wedding etc ).
I think I have tried my hardest to reach out to many people with good intentions but in all honesty, I'm kind tired of the initiating and of the excuses. I thrive on honesty, there is too little of it out there ...
On some days I wish I could pack up and move to Kenya, then I realize th reason I left in the first place is still the reason a lot of people are still leaving.
Friendships seems fleeting,fickle and loosely based on better memories of a bygone time, of a flag whose colors we proudly wear and of a land we prodly share.
The curse of the Nairobi upper class seems to permeate everywhere.

Aside of my disillusionement of the social aspects of the dc kenyan community I am feeling in a bit of a funk at the moment. I have a lot of negative energy and find that I really do not have a good outlet and would like to smack the living daylights out of many people I encounter on a daily basis. Maybe I need a small vacation...
The missus's car's engine was blown two weeks ago and we had to pony up some crazy amount to get a replacement one. Crappy week that was. Remember children, always check your oil !!
The bright spots have been Chelsea are playing brilliantly and the sports season is in full swing now. I am supporting the Giants again and they too have looked good. I still detest the Redskins and hope the new/old lawsuit to have the name removed will succeed this time. I hope the idiot of an owner befalls some catastrophic financial ruin and has to sell the team. My ideal scenario.....Snyder becomes bankrupt, sells his team to someone to changes the name and hires Tony Dungy or Marvin Lewis. I will then become local team supporter. I cannot condone and stand a name that demeans a people that have seen enough shit in a lifetime. I still cannot fathom how that can still go on in todays society.
Unlce Barrack as well is getting onmy nerves. His kumbaya mentality is grating on me slowly and given all the race based crap he has had to endure, he should stand up and be counted. You a the freaking prez for gods sake. He should have walked doen and headbutted that kaburu from SC when he interuppted him. Then told the crown, "anyone else got a problem , huh "..I bet you he would have had a bipartisan health care plan the next day.
Went to the count fair last week...havenever seem so many country wazungus in my life. They were in all shapes and sizes ( actually there was only one size, mildly obese, obese and morbidly obese ) . The show the "biggest loser' would have had a tough time pickin gout good contestants. They all had ratty oily hair, called the miros 'brother' and looked like they all married their cousins. It was interesting to say the least..
Some times I really hate PG County and other times I revel in a place where I look like everyone else. I hate that businesses do not venture into PG and have the same things on offer like Montgomery ( is there a whole foods in pg ? ). Sometimes race/demogrpahics/geography all get so balled up together, its hard to pull them apart.

9.58
The fastest a human being has ever run ( other than that Jathe guy back in the late 80's who apparently ran 9.3 or something like that ). He must have been running in a hurricane or the time keeper had missed a 1 in front of the 9. I think his name was Kennedy Ocieng or something like that...
anyway I digress..
Bolt is THE MAN. He blew away the much hyped ( at least here in the states) Tyson Gay and blew his own record out of the water. For the rest of the world this was a feat of amazement and much hype. Here in the states, the Washington post placed this info on page D7 of the sports section ! WTF ???? Bad losers, sour grapes callit what youy want but that was definately a show of ignorance. This news in the sporting world was front page but I guess since the US's arch enemy ( at least in track and field ) outdid them, it doesnt warrant any more coverage than a D7 mention.
SHAME, and I will write in to complain.
Premiership kicked off and my weekends are whole again ! Go chelsea !

All these contoversies swirling in air... Cousin Barry hosted the "beer Summit" , Michael " The Bong Hit " Phelps and the pajama swimsuit affair and the whole MJ drugs affair.
Allow me to wade knee deep into all these USELESS issues and give my executive opinion ...
Skip Gates and the Cop are both idiots. One for being an arrogant and obnoxious dufus and the other for being an arrogant and stupid dufus IRREGARDLESS of color. Now drink your beers and let Barry deal with more pressing issues...like solving the swimsuit issue..
Phelps is the third ignorant dufus of the day because he is a whiny overpaid and oversized tadpole. He and his manage cry that he was beaten because the other guy had a newer and better swimsuit than his. Why didnt he then get one and then he could swim perhaps faster than the other dude...makes too much sense right ? Well maybe it an issue of sponsorship and contracts, ..too bad Mike, then if you are making millions for speedo and cant wear the other better brand, then you are up the preverbial shit's creek my bud smoking friend.
Lastly, please stop with all the MJ drug stories. Noone cares anymore whether he died goosestepping over naked eskimos, or sniffing proporonxosilandrozol from the elephant man's shoes. He's gone and we should not have to drag all his misdeeds over and over again...
Michael Schumi Schumacher is back in F1 to replace the unfortunately injured Massa. That should be an interesting rest of the season.
I am ready for the 'fall sports return,.....Premier League, NFL, NBA, La Liga !! This summer drought is killing me. My TIVO/DVR is lonely and is tired of the missus's boring shows...
One show Im a HUGE fan is 'The First 48' on A&E...it on my Tivo list as is Anthony Bourdain and I cant forget Bill Maher on HBO.
The kikster had his 2nd Bday yesterday but he was a little oblivious to it as he was in his usual speedy running around kind of mood. He tore open the presents and proceeded to try and sit on them all and ride them off into the sunset. He's a handful to deal with but when he's calm, he is a joy to read to as he is so inquisitive and wants to soak up every word and picture. Happy Birthday my little guy !

Researchers in VA will be spending money to analyze the link between text messaging while driving and crashes !!! ...and we wonder where all the money goes to ???
I can nip that study right in the bud and declare the findings right now ( and save lots of $$ )

Why is it that when cheps are caught with a DUI, they always have the same thing to say " I just had two beers " !! Two beer and you cannot spell your name, c'mon dude you can do better than that.
Why is it that after a night of drinking every known alcoholic beverage in copius amounts, someone throws up violently, they always say " I think I drank a bad beer : ...NO dude, you drank everything AND the beer and you have whats better known as a hangover !
Why is is that all doctors lie when they say " you will feel a little discomfort "...just tell me to brace myself for some pain...
Why is it that in Kenyan crime scenes ( especially when someone has been shot & killed ) the gun, bullets, and other weapons, are always neatly laying close by the hand. Also why is it that the thugs always that the thugs have their shoes off ?

Watched the Hungarian Grand Prix and Hamilton was on fire ! I'm really digging the Formula 1 like never before. I have always kind of followed it since the days of Michael Schumacher, Mansell etc but never to the point where I understand all the intricacies. It is amazing watching how small differences in the most insignificant ( to the layman ) things make such a huge difference in performance. As well having someone who looks like me ( color wise) involved and talented definately introduced me more to the sport.

What was Kibaki doing in Nyanza feasing on fis' with the PM ? There is definately something underfoot of a politcal nature. They are now expanding the Kisumu airport to accomodate international flight. You can imagine the jathe's in some years if they have flights from UK to UK...there should be some interesting comments given 'our' penchant for being a little 'boastful' ( BUT DO WE SAY ) ...

I love my kids dearly, but they are driving me crazy !!! The one called Thing 1 ( names coined by the missus ) keeps flying into our room every night with " I cant sleep" stories. Once we send her back, she then returns quietly and walks like some pint sized ghost to the missus's side and stares at her for minutes on end ( wants to be invited to join the sleepover). On the occasions we are to annoyed/tired/sllepy to send her back and invite her to the aforementioned party, she climbs on proceeds to fall asleep. Unfortunately for us she sleeps like a flea on crack who has restless body syndrome and will toss, turn and headbutt us like a UFC fight. The artist formerly known as Thing 2 is a destructive force of nature not seen since the Tsunami of 05 ( or 04 or whenever). He will destroy anything of value, and if it holds no value, he will chew it up. Anything above 4 feet up is relatively safe ( but he is working on that ). He is fast, deadly, merciless, doesnt jole around, takes apart his foes systematically and is consistent.( sounds like Ebola or something). He will draw on walls, break sunglasses, see how many dvd's fit in a vcr, disable your laptop, redecoarate your flower pot and pull the toilet paperacross the room.
Our house is always in a constant mess and I have used a toy truck as a skateboard, sat on a small elmo toy, stepped on several mcdonald's kids meal toys and I assure you all have been painful and frgetable experiences.
Children are fun..........................................when they are asleep !

I work in an environment where there are plenty of egos. There are super accomplished attorneys who have been everything from Sec. Of Homeland Security, ex NFL boss's, to judges, high profile litigators etc. These folks mostly earn millions a year, have rubbed shoulders with the world elite, got ivy league education and are considered some of the best in the west. I, on the other hand am a simpleton, who enjoys the simple things in life, Now why is it that these clowns CANNOT use the bloody bathroom !!!!!! Why is it that every time I go to the toilet, I am often thrown back by the sight of a corn embedded log, curled up and ruining my after lunch digestive process. Is it too hard to flush I ask ? All that lawyering has scrambled their doo doo expellant flushing thought process. I mean c'mon know.....my daughter is 4 years old and knows to flush when she has pooped in the toilet. These millionare super humans 'forget' to ? The same goes for the urinal...its mostly filled and looks like a porcelain vat of ammonia....now who would want to pee into that.
Common sense and basic etiquette are just a missing thing for these idiots and I'd like to shake some of it into them.
Last week I was helping our receptionists at the desk and assisted setting some equipment for a large meeting and a senior partner got angry since his presentation had some issues and it took a while to sort out. He used some rather inapropriate language towrds me and I REALLY had to bite my tongue and walk out the room. Had this been 10 years ago, I would have lost my job that day as it would have taken a very different trajectory ( The conversation that is). He further went on to curse out the IT guy who came to help him. I pondered on how I should handle this since I was pretty mad about it. I decided to approach my boss's boss and explained to her the situation and I was not going to tolerate such disrespectful and immature behavior. Next day, the senior partner sees me by the desk, calls me aside and apologizes profusely.
I guess age and common sense have slowly come into my way of doing things and Im glad that I handled it that way because if I had responded to his f word laden tirade, it would have ended me punching the ivy league out of his ass.
People in positions of power often get blinded by their own success and the lack of respect for other is exhibited in ways that doesnt make them look like normal people. To me they often are nothing but spoilt obnoxious morons who dont know how to take a shit !