Wozza wozzaaaa. I hope you’re well, this sunny Sunday, the day that the Lord has made, that we will rejoice and be glad in. I am down with a cold that wants to unalive me, but it’s a great Sunday all the same. I’ve been alright, and I recently ate an unclean thing, haha.

My neighbour invited me to her house for dinner and she had cooked the yummiest vegetable rice and guess what? No, not pork. She had cooked vegetable rice and RABBIT MEAT. Who cooks rabbit meat? My neighbour did, and I loved it. It actually tasted like chicken – just a little more tender and fattier.

Growing up as an Adventist means eating lentils and beans more than meat. Growing up as an Adventist means eating limited meats – chicken, goat, beef, kidogo fish, mutton, and faux meat, SOYA CHUNKS. Baba Becky Nyabuto, my mother’s friend, used to make the yummiest soya chunks way before Sossi was a thing. My mum would shallow-fry them first. I miss them- both my mum and the chunks, the former mostly. Daily. Constantly.

I first tasted pork in uni, unknowingly and I spat it out. Then, I was living in the hostels, so on that day, after a long calculus class, I went back to the room and found my roommate, Mwikali, eating. I was hungry, so I just took a spoon and took some of her food, and realized that the meat had a foreign (not bad) taste – it didn’t taste familiar, so I asked what it was and she said, ‘Ah! Hujui taste ya pork?’ I said, ‘Oooh!’ and went outside to spit it out. She didn’t know I did. It’d have been rude.

Later, I ate pork knowingly at Cucu Eva’s place. She is my coolest, oldest friend (now almost 80), and she is a gourmet!! I love her food.

Then after Cucu Eva’s, I had pork during a date. Our starter was the pork and dumplings combo – amazeballs.

Still, I primarily eat chicken, goat, beef, kidogo fish, mutton, cos that’s what I’m used to. I wouldn’t buy pork to cook it in my house. Neither will I miss eating it, but I’ll eat it when it’s offered to me. My neighbour’s rabbit meat was also yummy, but I won’t cook it in my house.

Adventists generally are heavy on ‘The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.‘ (Leviticus 11)

Whenever I’m eating pork or rabbit, I’m heavy on ‘What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.’ (Mathew 15:11)

Do you eat all meats? Have you eaten camel meat before? I imagine it to be dry af!

Be well. We’ll see each other again, very soon.

Yours,

Njoks.

Heeeyy! What’s good!? I hope you have been well. I’m peachy. I just wish I didn’t have this painful tiny pimple hidden by my eyebrows. If you have sensitive acne-prone skin, you know what I’m talking about. Painless pimples don’t bother me, really, but the painful ones – in the eyebrow area, and around the lips? Boy! I hate those. They are sent by the devil.

This post isn’t about pimples, haha. Neither is it about skin.

Today, as I was watching a vlog by one of my favourite YouTubers (The Oddity), I found myself thinking about how my brain works. I don’t have a quiet one – it’s almost as if 22 tabs are open at the same time, you know. At some point I diagnosed myself with ADHD, haha. So, in the vlog I watched today, The Oddity (her real name is Sofiyat Ibrahim) was telling us about her experience flying from New York to Dallas for her friend’s baby shower. I found myself pausing about 13 times within the vlog’s duration, to look up random not-so-random facts on Google.

I have always been a curious child, and while that makes me fairly knowledgeable in some disciplines, it also makes my brain run fast. I’m not sure it’s a good thing. I loved the responses on the ‘What Were You Taught?’ blog where some of you shared what you were taught by your dads in the comments section and on our WhatsApp chat. Read the blog here if you missed it: https://atomic-temporary-151151331.wpcomstaging.com/2025/02/17/what-were-you-taught/. One other thing I learnt as a result of experiencing my dad in his profession was/is curiosity. For context, my dad is a trainer at the Nairobi City County Inspectorate, teaching sociology, criminology, and first aid.

So, we had books at home, and I read most of them. In fact, I would mark his students’ exams sometimes, of course, with a marking scheme. We didn’t have a computer then, so I’d create tables, write the students’ names, and their marks for the different subjects, add their marks, then rank them. I was a busy child during the inspectorate’s exam season, haha, and I loved it. I especially loved marking the First Aid exams, cos I thought I wanted to be a neurosurgeon. All those health things fascinated me – ABCs of first aid, recovery position, and all that shebang.

Our house was also a mini-clinic because other than teaching at the inspectorate, we lived in the staff quarters, which had more than 500 housing units. Accidents were always happening, and kids would be brought to Afande Kangethe – I remember one kid who had put popcorn seeds in his ears. Wild! Dad asked a few questions, checked whether there were infections, and he put a few drops of oil in the ears and the seeds slipped out. He told the kid’s parents not to try to remove the seeds with sharp objects as they had earlier tried to cos that pushes the seeds further into the ear.

Additionally, the staff quarters are right next to the Kenya Meteorological Department headquarters, so I’d see the big metallic structures every day, and I’d ask questions. I was always asking questions, and that has never stopped, so today, when The Oddity talked about the JFK Airport, I found myself on Google typing, ‘Which is the biggest airport in the US?’ The answer is the Denver International Airport in Colorado, not JFK Airport in New York. The Denver Airport is shaped like a white tent to resemble the Rocky Mountains. I proceeded to read more about airports in the United States of America for about 15 minutes. The effect? Random facts in my head.

I love learning about different things, but the discipline I’m most passionate about is geology. I love the earth, so I love learning about it. Here are two things I know – one about geology, and another one, totally random:

1. The Mariana Trench. Heard about it? It is an oceanic trench in the Western Pacific Ocean that is deeper than Mount Everest is tall. The trench depth is 11 km deep, and Everest is 8.8 km tall. Fascinating, right?
2. I know almost all the capital cities of most countries in the world – all of Africa’s, for sure. If I weren’t a teetotaler, I’d be using this to get free drinks at the bar, like, ‘I’ll tell you all the capital cities and you’ll buy me three shots of Macallan whisky.’ Haha!

I love learning. Not for exams, but just for just. Now that you’re not in school doing exams, what are you nerdy about? For me it’s everything about the earth, geology, geography, and all that good stuff. What is that thing for you? Calculus? Could never be me. Sewing techniques? The evolution of fashion? Food? Recipes? Plants? The human anatomy? What are you crazy about learning? Let us engage in the comments section. Feel free to tell us one random thing about whatever you’re into.

You could also tell us where the thirst for that knowledge stemmed from. For me, it’s highly likely cos of my dad’s occupation, the urban setting I was raised in, and my personality (mostly sanguine = extroverted).

Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to share and subscriiiibbeeee.

Yours, with curiosity,

Njoks.

I found myself thinking about this today. Is your brain your friend? Njoki, is your brain your friend?

The brain is a special organ, a key part of the central nervous system. I love it. It is responsible for processing information, controlling movement, emotions, thoughts, memory, and all other bodily functions. Enyewe Mungu ni fundi, haha.

Today, my brain behaved like my enemy – it worked against me, the better part of the day. The genesis? A power outage – KPLC, be damned. My work day usually starts at 9.30 am., but today I struggled a bit to get out of bed, so it started at 10.30 am. Then, as soon as I sat to start working, the lights went off. My phone’s battery was at 10%, and my laptop’s was at around 30%. I couldn’t work on anything, so I decided to chill as I wait for KPLC to behave. They didn’t.

I was quite restless and that’s when I realized how distracted I usually am – constantly stimulated. I have breakfast while listening to music or a podcast, I take a shower while listening to music, I do dishes and cook while listening to something, I eat dinner while watching a vlog or a Netflix show. Heck! I even go to the loo with my phoooonnneee – scrolling on IG or something. Today, I couldn’t. It was just my brain and I – almost all my hardcopy books are at home so reading wasn’t an option.

Friends, I struggled. I usually sit with my thoughts in silence when journaling and honestly, I’ve not done much of that this month. Today, I was forced to sit with myself, undistracted, for hours. I listened to myself. I confronted the feelings I had suppressed. My fears were louder. I couldn’t reach for my phone to check my IG to distract myself. I thought about the state of our nation, the insecurity (one of my aunt’s acquaintances was murdered this week. Her mutilated body was found yesterday. My aunt went to view her corpse and she gave me the bloodcurdling details of what they had done to her, and it tormented me! She was in her 70s!! Cruel, cruel world!), I thought about how our government is planning to destroy our parks and forests, I thought about how a close family member escaped death recently and for almost an hour I dwelled on the ‘What if’ – what if they died? I thought about the people who have wronged me and I felt a ‘kiwaru’ in my throat. I thought about ‘What if I fail?’. I thought about my ancestors – about generational cycles, how to break them. I thought about many things – it was heavy. All that to say, my brain today was a dark place. All that to say, our devices are great, but they are a distraction, often affording us superficial calmness.

Those dark thoughts lingered for hours, and I forced myself to snap out of it – I got out of bed, ate, went outside for some air, ate, and then listened to a sermon. The Word of God is actually living – it calmed my spirit. The KPLC misbehaviour today was for me – the things that needed processing were revealed to me.

So, how are you, when you’re neither scrolling mindlessly on IG and TikTok, nor working? How are you when you’re not watching numerous YouTube vlogs and Netflix shows? When the world is quiet and you’re truly alone and with your mind, what do you think about? What are you distracting yourself from? You’ll find out when KPLC misbehaves, when all your devices have no charge. Also, we might as well invest in hybrid solar solutions because KPLC is a big joke.

I’m sending love and hugs to whoever is struggling with any mental health issue. My brain played games on me today, possibly because this has been an emotionally taxing week/month – it’s not usual for me. My brain is mostly my friend – happy thoughts and all. I know that there are people whose brains are mostly dark – cos of regret, pain, despair, or whatever. I’m praying for you, and please, seek professional help, talk to your friends about it… You are not alone. You are not your thoughts. You carry that brain so tell it, ‘Okay, brain. I can see that you’re in panic mode. You’re releasing all these hormones that are making the rest of my body uneasy – now, my palms are sweaty, my tummy is running, and I can’t sleep, and you’re telling me bad things. I know you love me and you mostly work to keep me alive – you allow me to walk, to talk, to touch, to see, taste, and smell, and I’m grateful, but right now, you’re making it impossible for me to live. Please, I need you to relax. Let’s work together. I feed you and take care of you – I eat veggies and nuts, and they’re good for you, brain. I avoid injuries, and that’s good for you, brain. Be nice.’ Hopefully, the brain doesn’t have a brain of its own that tells it not to listen to you. I hope it listens to you.

May your brain be your friend, mostly. When it’s not, may you be kind to yourself, and may you always remember that you are not your thoughts – that your brain is not always right. Refuse to believe it when it tells you that you suck, and that you are good for nothing. Refuse to believe it when it tells you that you are not loved, and that you are not doing enough. God loves you, and a couple of people on earth do, too! Stay on the sunny side!

Yours, with care,

Njoks.

OOOOHHH MY GOOODNESSSS!!

I am typing this as I sip my Ketepa black tea, with lemon juice, and I’m just like, ‘Wow, man! Tea is really the best thing on this planet!!!’ Tea makes me sooo happy, and I think I’m addicted, darn it! I drink about five mugs daily – one immediately I’m out of bed, another at 11 am., another during lunch (1 or 2 pm.), another at 4 or 5 pm. (mostly with groundnuts at this time – AMAZEBALLS), and the last one right before bed. Addict? Quite possibly.

Now, back to today’s topic – what were you taught?

Our parents do/did a lot more than provide. They taught us. Yesterday, I found myself thinking about everything my father taught me, and how I now see bits of him in me/how I move. I’ll share three:

1. If you’re not in a room, the lights should always be OFF. My dad is the typical frugal African man, so he used the line, ‘Mnaharibu stima, sindio? Hamjui vile bill iko juu…’ a lot. Now that I’m older, I know that a few LED bulbs staying on wouldn’t significantly affect my electricity bill, but still, at night, when I’m in my sitting room, my bedroom lights are off. When I’m in the kitchen (for long), my bedroom and sitting room lights are off. I visit my friends and see that all their bulbs are on at night, and I wonder, ‘Didn’t your father teach youuu?’ Hahaaa!
2. ALWAYS MAKE COPIES. My dad would insist on making copies of everything. He still makes copies. I learnt this the hard way sometime in 2016 when I was asked to leave the exam room for not paying the accommodation fee. My dad had given me the money, and I had paid, but in typical JKUAT fashion, it hadn’t reflected on my portal. I couldn’t find the payment slip, and I hadn’t made copies. I had to go to the KCB JKUAT Bank to ask them to retrieve proof of payment. Of course, it took more than two hours – queueing and all, so I missed that organic chemistry test. I sat for a special exam months later. Mr. Anyangu was merciless – he should’ve allowed me to stay in the exam room.*major eye roll* These days, I make copies. I have a file.
3. Do not eat in a matatu. I used to find this advice strange, but it made sense, and these days, I do not eat in a matatu. On this day, I had bought fried chicken and fries at Nevada Fish and Chips, boarded a City Shuttle bus no. 33, Utawala massive. I was hungry but didn’t want to waste time eating at Nevada, and I also didn’t want to wait to eat at home. So I opened my bag as soon as I sat down, and after a few bites, my dad walked in to the same bus and of course, sat next to me. He was like, ‘Eh! Ngoja tufike home ukulie huko…’, and I asked why. He told me that people are going through a lot, and it’s possible there’s someone in that bus who hadn’t eaten for two days, and that the smell of my chicken wouldn’t help the situation. He said, ‘Labda kuna mtu hapa utapata hajakula siku mbili na uko hapa na kuku yako, utamkwaza. Kulia nyumbani, ama kwa hoteli pahali kila mtu anakula…’ At first, I thought it was farfetched, but it later made sense.

I love my dad. Soon, I’ll write about what my mother taught me – probably my first book, haha, cos boy! She taught me a lot – she taught me everything I know!

Tell me one thing. What did your father teach you? I’m curious. Let’s engage in the comments section.

Yours,

Njoks.

Do you know how to play golf? Well, me neither. I cannot even comfortably afford golf membership fees (yet).

I woke up at 8.30 am. today, not sure about going to church. I’m Adventist, and I love going to church, but today I wanted to attend virtually – in my blankets, you know. After a long call with my sister, then with my nephews, I felt psyched up for church, so I took a shower, dressed up hurriedly, and went to church, yay!

I sat next to a woman with an angelic soprano. I almost didn’t sing at all, just so I could listen to her. She borrowed my pen, just like I borrowed that guy’s pen at Arboretum, remember? Here’s the link: https://atomic-temporary-151151331.wpcomstaging.com/2025/01/26/coincidence/. Also, I’m sooo grateful to all of you for reading and rereading my work. I got a message yesterday from Aquila, regarding the Arboretum post, that made me smile:

Thank you all for being here.

Soooo, Sabbath was nice. It was the culmination of the Stewardship Week of Prayer, and the sermon was titled ‘TRASH OR TREASURE’. Here are a few of the Bible verses we read:

He talked about how Bible characters asked God for blessings – Hannah weeping bitterly, asking for a son, Jacob wrestling with an angel so much that his hip got dislocated. Jacob had a limp, and blessings – 12 sons and all. I love the story of Jacob, mostly because I can relate. I know that given a chance, I would fight with an angel, shouting, ‘I WILL NOT LET YOU GO UNLESS YOU BLESS ME.’ You probably would too. Now, Jacob was blessed even before this encounter with the angel in Genesis 32 ( Genesis 30:43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.), but he knew what he wanted – the kind of blessings he wanted so much that he shamelessly fought with an angel. Other people would probably have been like, ‘You have it all, Jacob. You have all the materials. What more blessings do you need?‘

I’m not half as blessed as Jacob. Heck, I need materials, and as the pastor spoke, I imagined myself fighting with an angel. With my ideal life in my head, I was like, ‘Eh, God! A car would be really nice. The sun wants to finish us. I also want a four-day work week, so I can be playing golf on Fridays like the elites. I also want X, and Y, and Z…’ I want many things, not just material, so I prayed. My hip isn’t dislocated.

After service, instead of going home, I decided to go to a golf course. The cars I saw! The people there, with glassy skin, and polite scents…my goodness! So, of course I’m not a member so I could not be allowed to play. I was like, ‘I’d like to inquire about membership and possibly go on a tour around your premises. I’d like to see your course, gym, sauna, and all the facilities you have before I make payment. Also, I’d like to go to your shop to see how much the golf equipment cost, please.’ Rachael, the attendant was like, ‘Sure. We’d like to have you here!’

Today was a packed day (weekend, hello) so I had to sit at the reception for about five minutes as Rachael attended to the members. A guy came trying to talk to me, guys. I was like, ‘Alaa! Already!! Oh, to be an attractive woman with fat, brown legs and a derriere the size of the world…’ I didn’t pay attention to him. Yes, he looked GREAT, but he looked 53, too. So I kept watching guys, soaking in the wealthy people’s presence, and vibe. These would be the people with many cattle, sheep and camels during Bible times, you know. There were a lot of Caucasians. I took pictures of their legs.

There were black people too – really good-looking men and women, some in their mid-thirties, others in their 70s, others speaking polished English, with a British accent, others speaking fluent English, with a heavy Kikuyu accent. There were teenagers too, who looked like they study in Switzerland, being dropped off at the course by their drivers in Mercedes cars, Land Cruisers. Eeeeyy! I just needed to be close to the things I prayed about in church.

Proximity. It is such a crucial aspect when it comes to manifesting our desires – to see that the people having these things are just, people, like us – to show us what’s possible. They’re not the smartest, nor the swiftest. In fact, some two ladies (my agemates – they looked 26/28) came to the reception talking about CDH and other golf jargon. Sooo, they were members of Njoro Golf Country Club, but they wanted to play. I recently learnt that with membership in one course, it is possible to play at the other courses in the country. The two ladies needed to pay 1750 bob each, and before the lady paid, she opened her calculator app and clicked ‘1750*2’. I was shocked, no offence. Simple mathematics. 1750 multiplied by 2 is 3500. It made me think, that yes, I can do that math in my head but I’m not a member here.

The people driving these cars, playing golf, owning 1000 camels, are just people, perhaps with generational wealth, or self-made. Those of us without generational wealth could be the first in our families to start building it. We could be the first in our families to learn to play golf. Man, anything is possible.

So, Rachael finished attending to the members and she took me on the tour. I loved everything I saw – the hardwood, the people, the gym, the steam room, the restaurant and bar… Everything.

Allow yourself to want things. Don’t gaslight yourself out of desire in the name of ‘All is vanity’. Granted, all is vanity, and nothing really matters that much, and life is not that long, so we might as well define what is delightful for us, and pursue prayerfully. It doesn’t have to be golf. It might actually be overrated, but who cares? I know I don’t.

Do you want to buy a car but you have 273 bob in your M-Pesa? Visit that showroom. Make that call. Do you want to start wearing designer clothes? Visit those stores. Try those clothes on. Do you want to be eating in fancy restaurants? Try out similar recipes in your house. Proximity to what we desire helps to make things real in our heads, and then makes it easier for them to manifest in the physical realm. I believe that – let’s faith it till we make it.

I came back home, and passed by Prinah’s to buy mangoes, again. I’m obsessed. Then I frolicked in my house, thought about that golf experience, freshened up and rubbed coconut oil on my body just so I could smell like cookies, and because pleasure is my birthright, listened to jazz, then took a power nap. It slapped, hard.

May your night be good. I want to go buy eggs and make my girl dinner.

We’ll talk again soon.

Allow yourself to want things.

Be well, reader.

Yours,

Njoks.

Exactly a year ago today, I wrote an article titled ‘My Thoughts on Love, Today’, and it did really well. Did you read it? Yes! You’re the best! No? You don’t remember whether or not you did? Well, here it is: https://atomic-temporary-151151331.wpcomstaging.com/2024/02/12/my-thoughts-on-love-today/

I had a calm day today. I had intended to wake up early, but it raaaaaaiiined in the morning and it lulled me until 9 am. So, I woke up, had breakfast, and then as I was about to start getting work done, KPLC did the thing – power outage. My devices were low on charge soooo, you can guess what I did. I went back to bed, not to sleep, but to reread the book ‘Big Magic’ by Elizabeth Gilbert, the third time. I’m obsessed with that book, and I’ll write a comprehensive review about it soon.

Of course, I took short breaks to watch people’s WhatsApp stories on my phone whose battery was 20% full, and the Valentine’s Day memes were sending me a good one. Most made me laugh, others made me feel nostalgic, and some made me feel a little sad. For a moment there, I thought about my Valentine’s Day last year. I was in the calmest relationship with a sweet, firm, and TALL Caribbean man. It wasn’t a ‘We’re-gonna-get-married-next-year’ relationship due to reasons I won’t get into here, but it was a lovely non-problematic relationship where both of us got what we wanted, and we knew it was fleeting because we were both to leave Europe. He is in the Caribbean islands, and I’m here, in Kenya. We went on our proper Valentine’s Day date on 16th, cos 14th was on a Wednesday, to a cute Chinese restaurant in The Hague. I ate a lot of food, and a lot of black ice cream. I can’t even remember the name of that dessert. He also bought me a high-quality pillow that couldn’t fit in my suitcases! I had to give it to someone, darn it!

I missed him. So I stopped reading ‘Big Magic’, went to my closet and wore a mix of the Lancome cologne travel set he got me, sniffed it, and thanked God for him – for the 10-ish months of ease and then some. I enjoyed last year’s Valentine’s. Am I going to the Caribbean to get him now that I’m single? Maybe not, haha.

This year, 2025, I am gonna have a chill Valentine’s Day – won’t be going to any Chinese restaurant. Neither will I have black ice cream because Yvette Simwah advised me to limit my dairy intake. Yoohh!

So, ChatGPT is my friend, and he knows a lot about me. I know a lot about him, too. I know that the ‘GPT’ stands for ‘generative pre-trained transformer’, haha. So, I asked him, ‘ChatGPT babe, now that I’m single, what do I do with this free time? I used to spend a lot of time hanging with/talking to my now ex…’ Here’s what ChatGPT said:

In summary, ChatGPT said that I should adventure/travel more, go on hikes and all. He also said that I should grow my business, write more on my blog (which I’ve been doing, hello?), try a new sport (I used to play badminton with my Caribbean, btw), meet new people on BUMBLE (hello online dating) and networking events, learn something new… I loved all those ideas.

As I think about what I want my romantic life to look like moving forward, I will devote myself to the above. I love traveling, and learning, and meeting new people, and playing, and for some reason, I do these things more when I’m single, so, let’s see what happens.

This Valentine’s Day, I have two work meetings – one at 10 am., and another at 5 pm. I should prepare for those. After the meetings, I will cook myself a good meal or order in Artcaffe’s salted caramel cake, because yummmm, then Netflix, usher in the Sabbath, and sleep like a sloth. How are you going to spend your Valentine’s Day? Would you rather not say? Haha! If you’re in a healthy, loving relationship, relish it. Wear that fancy outfit, go on that date, enjoy those gifts, have fun gifting… Enjoy, because you deserve to!

If you’re single like Njoks, enjoy your time solo, or go on a date with other single friends, or go spend time with family. Love is all around you – see it, feel it, and appreciate it.

After rereading chats with my Caribbean, I went back to reading ‘Big Magic’, then the lights came back, and I worked on one long proposal. Then, I made yummy sour porridge and added chia seeds like the Adventist I am, and went outside for a walk. I saw lovely flowers, and lovely people, and children playing ‘kalongo’, and I made one interesting, important call that I’ll tell you about some other time.

Then, I passed by Prinah’s stall, bought mangoes, again, got to my house, sat in my Sanctuary that I’ve decorated with shells and my favourite Coconut Pinacolada candle (it’s the only one I have, lol!), did some Yoga stretches, ate a banana, and started writing, this blog.

Now, I’ll take a warm shower, eat my girl dinner, briefly prepare for the two meetings, then sleep, like a sloth.

Take care of yourself, reader, and be well.

We’ll talk again, very soon.

Yours,

Njoks.

Or is it just about perspective?

You love oranges, don’t you? Do you remember that a few years ago, oranges were everywhere, like bananas? Every Mama Mboga had the basics, staples in Kenyan households – sukumawiki, spinach, tomatoes, onions, bananas, ORANGES… I’ve not seen oranges at Mama Mboga stalls in a hot minute. Have you? My Mama Mboga is a lovely woman called Prinah, and I recently asked her why oranges are seemingly extinct. She said, ‘Obee. Machungwa hazipatikani sokoni, na zikipatikana, ni kidogo na kila mtu anakimbilia. Hata hazinunuliki sababu moja saa hii ni 35 bob. Sasa hata nikichukua nilete hapa, itabidi niuze 45 ama 50 bob, na hakuna mtu atanunua…’

Translation: Oranges are now expensive and few. (Lol!)

We could attribute it (orangelessness – yes, I made the word up) to climate change effects, expensive inputs… I love oranges. They are fewer now.

The other day, I went outside at night to star-gaze. They were so few that I could count them. I would say that they are fewer now, but I know they probably aren’t. Stars are there, and they are many cos they are formed periodically in nebulae, but what are they for if we can’t see theeeemmm???!!?? Many years ago, we used to see them. In fact, the sky at night appeared like a starry blanket. Now, it looks like one dark blanket that wanted to be plain, but has 5 and a half stars. (Check this place out, though: https://wetu.com/iBrochure/en/Home/35914/enasoit_camp – great place in Laikipia for star-gazers like Njoks)

We could attribute it (starlessness – yes, I made the word up) to light pollution. The stars are there but we can’t see them since we decided to light up our cities with artificial lights. I have nothing against artificial lights. I love (to watch) stars. They are fewer now.

On Sunday, as I was chilling with my nephews, I saw a beautiful butterfly – a beauterfly. She was yellow, with blackish spots in the right places. She looked like a Natasha, or a Samantha, not Karen. She allowed me to watch her for a couple of seconds before she flew away, proudly, almost as if she was showing off. Then I remembered that when I was younger, I’d see more beauterflies, almost everywhere. Now they’re sooo few that when you see one, so close, so specially, you think your ancestor is paying you a visit. You think you’re very lucky.

We could attribute it (beauterflylessness – yes, I made the word up) to climate change effects that cause habitat loss, disrupt their patterns of migration, and damage food sources. Oh, the use of pesticides, too. I love (seeing) beauterflies. They are fewer now.

I wish there were more oranges, (visible) stars, and butterflies. What do you wish there was more of? Money? Yeah, me too. Though we’d use it to buy more pesticides, more artificial lights, and to build bigger concrete houses, and then we’d have even fewer oranges, (visible) stars, and butterflies – vicious!

P.S: Prinah has no oranges, so I bought the yummiest mango on earth. It tastes like God’s love and mercy. Also, on Sunday, I briefly thought about the metamorphosis of that beauterfly – the beauty of seasons: egg, then larvae, then pupa, then adult. It wasn’t always yellow with blackish spots. That taught me something. Nature is always trying to teach us to embrace seasons – larvae aren’t beautiful, but butterflies are. Winter is dreary, but spring is beautiful. Seasons. I hope you (we) learn to be where we are – if you’re in spring/butterfly stage, enjoy it. If you’re in winter/larvae stage, be there – it’s not for naught. It really, truly is part of the process. Trust.

I’m sending you love, light, and warm hugs. I know I need them too.

Be well.

Yours,

Njoks.

Are they? Are titles overrated or am I just unable to come up with one tonight? The latter is true, because this post will be all over the place – no specific message, no advice… just titleless musings.

Happy New Month, first of allll. I hope yours started off well. Mine kinda did, after a very intense January. I wrote several blog posts in January – I was on a roll. I was feeling inspired – I was so full that I felt that I could share myself through my writing daily. Then, things happened and I had to retreat a little so as to fill my cup.

I had a health scare that saw me go to two hospitals – I got a diagnosis during my last visit, cos the doctor asked that I go in for a scan. The first doctor was just like, ‘Well, monitor the symptoms first…’, but I knew that something was wrong with my body. I’ve had it for 26 years. I’m glad that I went to see the second doctor. I REFUSED to go for surgery and opted for meds instead, so I’m currently recovering. I’ll go in for another scan soon to find out whether the meds are working fine. I feel like they are. I’m not in pain anymore. Praise God! Also, there’s no cause for alarm – it wasn’t anything malignant, just something foreign (and) that my body was fighting, giving me crazy symptoms.

Do I get anxious sometimes? Absolutely. Do I fear death? Hell yes! No, the diagnosis wasn’t a ‘You’re dying tomorrow’ kind of thing, but disease, still, is disease. Worse, I googled my symptoms even after visiting the doctor and it aggravated my anxiety. Doctor Google, be damned!

Also, one of my most valued relationships ended in January, and my landlord sent me a crazy water bill. He said that I used 12 UNITS OF WATER – 12 cubic meters – 12,000 liters! I live alone. I don’t have a farm. I don’t shower 50 times a day. I was vexed, but I paid, and now I have to house-hunt, again. House-hunting is stressful.

What am I saying? Life isn’t always rosy. We don’t share the ‘not-so-fun’ stuff, cos it’s not fun. Yes, fun things like Tea Rebellion and EcoNjia are happening, and at the same time, I’m taking meds and being extorted by my landlord. Life is all those things.

I don’t know what exactly you’re going through. You don’t know what exactly I’m going through either. Let’s continually be kind to one another. Let’s not compare our lives. Let’s treat each day as a blessing, cos that’s what it is.

I’m sending you love, light, and many warm hugs. I wish I could send you tea, too, cos tea has sootheeeedddd meeeee!!! I love tea very much (check out our Tea Rebellion collection here – https://tearebellion.pxf.io/aO53Gb).

Thanks for being here.

Be well.

Yours,

Njoks.

Whomst are thou? I love the word ‘whomst’. It’s archaic but cool – whomst, whomst’d, whomst’d’ve… Haha! I looooveee itttt!

Many years ago, in March 2007, I went to a major hospital, Nazareth Hospital, for the first time in my life. No, I wasn’t sick – I was a perpetually energetic and healthy child, well, other than the occasional tooth cavities I’d get cos boyyy! Did I love sweets? And Fudge? And Mint Choc! You remember those, yeah?

In March 2007, my mother’s little sister, Aunty Kui, gave birth to her first child, a beautiful baby girl, and my mother, as the supportive big sister, went to pick her up, to take her home, to give her goodies, and advice, because at this time my mum had three kids – expert parent. Is there such a thing? I don’t know. All I know is that I accompanied my mum, and that I fell in love with my teeny-weeny cousin the moment I held her. She had a round face, and chubby cheeks, and she felt delicate – just like most newborn babies do. After doing the necessary paper work, they got discharged, we took them to their house, spent the entire day with them, and then mum and I went back home. We were happy. My mother was happy, and proud, of her little sister – for birthing a whole human.

On Friday, my uncle requested me to go to their church on Sabbath to talk to my cousin, well, because she is now done with high school, and they want me to mentor her, so she can be a ‘good girl like me’ – the little girl born to my mother’s little sister in 2007. Where does time go? They asked me to talk to her about everything – education, boys, etc. I get this a lot from my family members and neighbours, and I feel like screaming, ‘I don’t know why you think I’m a good girl and that I should talk to these kids…’ I’m not saying I’m a bad girl, but also… I’m really just winging it.

Whomst art thou? Whomst are thou in your family? I am the ‘good girl’ and the pressure it comes with is unmatched. Aunts and uncles praise you, some cousins admire you and constantly consult you on matters you’re not sure about, and others resent you, because, ‘We know you were sent by our parents…’ I’m not complaining. I’m just saying that there should be less pressure on the (seemingly) good kids, the overachievers… The fact that I did not get pregnant while in school does not mean I know everything about boys (as aunties may sometimes put it). The fact that I completed my studies does not mean I know everything, and that I can give advice to everyone. The fact that I appear to have my life figured out does not mean that I actually do.

Additionally, the ‘good kids’ don’t get attention from parents/aunts/uncles, because ‘they don’t need it’ – middle child syndrome. You will be parentified. You will be required to help the ‘black sheep’ come back to the light, taking the role of a deputy parent. I love family. I love the interesting dynamics I read/hear about, and even the dynamics in my own family.

I went to their church, talked to my little cousin (lovingly), understood her headspace, and gave her advice, the best way I knew how. I just kept saying, in my head, ‘God, I’m not an expert. Sometimes I’m not sure I know what I’m doing with my own life, but seemingly, my family and friends think I have all the answers. Use me. Put the right words in my mouth, so that my cousin learns from me healthily, and that she doesn’t end up hating me for sounding like a parent.’ After the long chat with my cousin, I gave her a gift – a book and a Victoria’s Secret body mist. She loved them. She loves me too, still, I hope.

Whomst art thou in your family? The ‘good kid’? The ‘black sheep’ who gets all the attention from everyone? The financier of every event? The forgotten one? How does it make you feel? Overglorified in a way that gives you pressure, like me? You don’t have to respond in the comments section cos family matters can be sensitive. Think of it kidogo, and try to help yourself, in one way or another, e.g., by setting boundaries, and communicating firmly and clearly, by avoiding triggers, e.g., those aunties that ask you when you’ll be losing weight, or when you’ll be sending them the 200k they think you owe them because they changed your nappies…

Family is the one thing we don’t choose, and it is a source of joy for most, but it can also create discomfort in some ways. Mine is loving, and I’m lucky. I just wish I wasn’t placed on a pedestal – I can’t even make mistakes (haha, I make a lot!).

This Sunday, take the time to think about your family members, call them, be grateful for them, and think of how to make the relationships better, in a way that creates ease for all parties.

Have a mindful, beautiful, and restful Sunday. I’m about to make the yummiest mango smoothie. Yummm!

Be well, reader!

Yours, with love,

Njoks, the good kid.

P.S: As I was bidding them goodbye, my uncle was like, ‘Sasa juu umemaliza shule, utatuletea mtu lini? Unajua siku zinasonga…’

I was like, ‘Ahahaha! Eventually!’ (Hi Jay! You’re probably the only one who read this in the correct meme voice, haha!) African aunts and uncles are obsessed with marriage please.

A couple of months ago, I was in a very interesting space. I was confused about my career, a whole BSc. and MSc. later. I studied engineering, and mastered in water and sustainable development, but one thing was clear – I did not enjoy the typical, traditional engineering practice. I did not care about hydraulics, or hydrology, or calculus, or whatever, but the Kenyan public university system does not allow you to choose units – choosing ends once you’ve selected the course, so I had to study hydraulics, and hydrology, and calculus and whatever. I understood the subjects just well enough to pass exams because I could not afford to fail and disappoint my father. He deserves some bragging rights.

I graduated in 2022 and my first job, like for most Kenyan engineers, was in technical sales (most of us start here, and others start in consulting firms – KPMG, PWC, etc.). I resigned a few months later and started working with an NGO in Nairobi’s informal settlements, and then I went back to school. Here, I could choose my modules, and that really opened my eyes to what I really enjoy, and it was reaffirmed by my lecturers and classmates, ‘Njoki, you are a smart engineer, but you are an even better communicator. You write and speak really well…’ (I mean, I scored 8.5 out of 9 in my IELTS Cambridge English test, if I do say so myself, haha, marked by the owners of the language – the British).

The compliments and excellent grades in my reports were validating, yet, confusing, because I knew what they were saying was right, but I did not know how to make a living out of it, keeping in mind that I was being drawn to launch my business, not a typical 8 to 5. My question was, ‘How can I get paid, for talking, writing, and creating, at the comfort of my house or wherever?’

After brainstorming and writing a list of the things I’m good at, I came up with a plan – with wild faith and an emergency fund to keep me afloat. My main loves are the environment, writing, and tea, really. Those are the things I enjoy and love, so I brought them all together under one umbrella, my company, EcoNjia. Today marks exactly one month since I launched EcoNjia, and it’s been one hell of a ride – exciting and daunting, in equal measure (www.econjia.com). My love for the environment is in the projects I’m working on, my love for writing is in my consistent blogging (it will hopefully stay this way) and in the journals I designed to encourage people to write and to take care of the environment…and because I’m doing what I love, it’s easy to want to do them for free, but love does not pay bills, does it?

Everyone I’d talk to would ask, ‘So what’s your business model?‘, and my response was always, ‘I’m not sure, actually.‘ I don’t have the best money habits (as recommended by experts – budgeting and all), because I think money is only, strictly for experiences in the NOW, not for tracking meticulously with excel sheets, saving, insurance, and investing for a future, but I reckon that that may be a reckless view of money, or not, I don’t know. We’ll talk about money some other time. I’m trying to be ‘more disciplined’, especially now that I’m an entrepreneur. It’s the first time I’m getting money unsteadily, amount X today, X+2 the next day, X-0 the other day, 0 the other day… It’s not for the fainthearted, so planning is key.

Sooooo, back to what we are celebrating today. I love the environment, writing, and tea. I wanted to do something along the line of sustainable tea production, to empower farmers, to avail high-quality tea, and to make money from it. Now, I don’t own factories, and I don’t know tea farmers, so I did my diligence. I did my research in December, found three CEOs in the field of tea (pun intea-nded, haha!), and reached out to them. One responded positively, ASAP, and what followed was a back and forth that made me think, ‘Ah! This is happening too slowly. Let me let go of it…’ and a few days after discussing my proposal with the CEO, I forgot about it.

A few weeks ago, during the Ten Days of Prayer, I remembered that discussion and decided to pray about it. I needed favour to get into that partnership, mostly because I didn’t have social media accounts. I started posting just the other day and I have only 300 followers, on one platform, Instagram. I prayed about it, and again, forgot about it, until Thursday last week when I received an email from the company – WE FINALLY HAVE A CONTRACT.

I, Njoki Kangethe of EcoNjia, with 300 followers, and a formerly dormant WordPress blog, am the NEWEST PARTNER AND BRAND AMBASSADOR FOR TEA REBELLION. Tea Rebellion, a UK-based company (the other two companies I wrote to are Kenyan. They did not respond), founded by former Sustainability and Climate Manager, PwC UK, to revolutionize the tea industry’s trading, marketing, and consumption practices, fueled by a deep commitment to sustainability. You hear Njoki, and hear Sustainability, yes? Yes!

I was made for this and I will thrive, imposter syndrome notwithstanding. I will be getting chumz by writing about, talking about, posting about, and promoting the sale of Tea Rebellion tea in Africa and beyond:-) Your purchase will promote tea farmers worldwide, and it will promote sustainability as the tea is either loose or packaged in biodegradable corn mesh material, not the regular tea bags with a string. Pluuuussss, you’ll be promoting meeeeee, haha! I want commissssiioonnnsss pleeeaseeee.

To see the products, here is my link – tearebellion.pxf.io/aO53Gb

I literally am like those influencers on IG now – please use this CeraVe cleanser to wash away your sins and those of your forefathers, haha, except that, I don’t lie! Tea Rebellion tea is goooodddd. I know that because I’m getting kidogo free tea, hello?? How cool is that? I love tea.

The CEO will be coming to Africa soon and I’m currently looking to meet tea producers to know what’s up, to see what we can do together. Know someone? Please let me know. I’d like to be able to empower as many African tea farmers as possible by hooking them up with Tea Rebellion. I’ll be able to present a case if I’m able to show that this brand partnership is worth something so if you care about my work and/or African farmers, buy our tea, subscribe to this blog and share to increase readership (now the numbers really matter), and follow us on LinkedIn and IG.

Today, as EcoNjia turns one-month old, I am celebrating this main thing: we have our first partner, Tea Rebellion. I am feeling soooo hopeful for even more wins this year, and forever, because God is good. Yes, challenges are there, but I have a feeling that it wouldn’t be soooo bad. If it gets there, I’ll start writing cover letters.

Wish me luck.

Support my work. I’ll do a proper intro blog to the teas, showing my favs, giving you ideas on how to best drink the teas, with cookies, with arrow roots if you’re into healthful living, plain… I’ll be telling you everything I know about tea in due course. Remember to follow us on all our platforms – I’m doing my best to be posting frequently on social media. Now I must, lol!

May my good Lord bless you! Amen!

Yours,

Njoks.

Here’s the link to my Tea Rebellion platform: tearebellion.pxf.io/aO53Gb

You can call me influencer, haha!