The mandatory end of year post
It's that time when we look back upon the year and like an instagram filter, make the things we did just a few months ago seem almost ancient and nostalgic. It's that time when you decide to be thankful for the past year, hopeful for the next and make half hearted attempts at losing weight, learning a new skill and promising to be a saint for the next year.
It's also the time to make lists. This is my list of highlights from this past year
1. The blog.
First of all, no one ever gets excited when they hear you have a blog. Usually it's a 'meh' reaction. It's akin to the reaction parents get when they begin to unleash baby pictures of their little darling-most polite people smile and endure it all the while hoping Besigye would walk by and a full scale riot breaks out just so they don't have to feign interest. Despite this general feeling that blogs are self indulgent diaries online, It's been a great way to get my thoughts out there, interact with a few people I'd never have met anywhere else and even got a date out of it...so take that
2. The Faith issue.
I'd considered minding my own business and not delving into this much but I noticed how the faithful wear their faith as a badge of pride. How they share it without any self doubt or care and I thought why not I with my lack thereof. The Deconversion of Anthony series was probably my favorite to write just because I needed to let people know that there is a reason to the de-conversion and not just rebellion or evil or whatever else it's been tagged as. Also there's a freedom in being open about it even if it means a lot of awkward or stilted conversations and situations arose, I find that more and more I find people are embracing the tougher questions about our existence, and the nature of reality and not just the easy answers of dogma and lack of evidence. The conversation continues..
3. The scandals
I think we're all suffering from scandal fatigue. From the OPM saga to Basajja's market issues to ID theft to ghost pensioners, and that's just 4 left people just shaking their heads, smiling and moving on. It's almost like the country has become our crazy uncle that always crashes the car and defaults on the payment of his mortgage because of his alcoholism and we just keep bailing him out and barely hope for change. It's too much work to expect so much only to be let down again so we just kinda complained and vented and went about our business. The question for me remains what shall our generation do.We're just now entering the work force and eventually will take the reins of this country, do we have the fortitude to make things different or is it just easier for us to moan?
Also this year, we saw the vitriolic Pastor Sempa and his brood of vipers spew such hatred about homosexuality you would think gay people were breaking into people's homes and having sex on their dining tables. the Anti gay bill was used as a red herring every-time a serious issue came up in the nation, it was waved again like a scarlet cloth before a Brahma bull and we took the bait launching into heated debates and shouting matches over the private affairs of people we'll probably never even meet.
4. The Kampala scene
While Jenny from the block was tearing down illegal structures all over the city, new commercial building came up all over the place and too many to name hang out sprung up this year as well. Acacia which was once a residential street is now packed with bars and restaurants. The cognitive dissonance of this city is that while awesome spots come up and the people be dressed to kill, silly stupid things happen. Like potholes the size of M7's ego in the middle of the city, the fact that when it rains some people's homes are washed away, the streets over flow with sewage, abject poverty is just a stone throw's away from the air conditioned rooms packed with people enjoying the latest bond film. The city is simultaneously getting better and worse.
5. The skinny jeans
Jay-Z said he "can't wear skinny jeans cause my 'knots don't fit/ No one on the corner got a pocket like this/So I rock Roc jeans 'cause my knots so thick".the sense of fashion in Kla has gone to a new level. You may see someone rocking shoelaces for a belt or a chic wearing winter boots in the middle of July(I really hop this is being done ironically) and right next to them someone in a Kaunda suit!The leap from one generation to the other fashion wise is amazing, especially now with the guys who for a long time just wore jeans and a t-shirt or an over-sized jersey. Also I rocked my first pair of skinny jeans this year and them bad boys is comfy as all hell. Don't you dare judge me!!
6. The rejections
I got rejected this year quite a bit. From endless resume's being handed out to having many of my write ups handed back to me and only a few making it to the magazine I'm working for, it was a tough pill to swallow for someone who is as effortlessly awesome and spectacular at all he does as I am. I mean how dare they!! It's very humbling when things don't go as planned. When you find that you've failed and have to acknowledge that and move on.
Even bigger than that, I, your resident Lothario, the African cousin to Casanova, irresistible to women of all hues and shoe sizes, was turned down by a woman. i know I know, what is she crazy?Actually no. It turns out that being awesoem doesn't mean you're awesome together with another person. She is my friend and man did it burn for awhile there, but those sappy movie quotes are actually right-it is far better to try and fail than fail to try, to be true to yourself and honest with your feelings and all that jazz. I mean I wrote a poem about this girl-WEAKCHAP. However I will say that once you get them feelings out there, you realize that you will move on and be better. That the intensity of the moment will get context and you cna eventually laugh about it. That sometimes things just aren't meant to go to the next level and that's alright(Have you seen how I can console myself?I'm a real Jedi)
7.The lossesThe shitty thing about growing older is that more and more people you grew up with pass on. The people that took care of you grow older and pass on too. The brevity of life is part of it's beauty, but it's a harrowing one. For all the travelers that we lost along the way..Thanks for the memories
8. The hope
Even in the face of all the crap this year brought, there's loads for things to be hopeful for. for the brilliance of so many Ugandans I've met doing their own thang, to the fact that we're still alive and that's reason enough to have hope that the best is yet to come. Also, doing that P90X means that I am back in some shape and y'all are about to see me in some tight shirts like a douche bag. I feel nothing in response to your disgust at this.
9. The music
Ug music is buladde right now. I'm not even talking about the big acts, I'm talking bout the chaps that be on the grind doing gigs, polishing their skills and doing what it is they love. I'm a sucker for live music with real live instrumentation and there seems to be an embracing of live bands in Kampala. Right now most do covers but slowly I see them doing their own thing, writing and performing their own music.
C19 studios is killing it with what it's producing right now, and giving artists a space to come and practice and jam, Moroots and Souldeep, Qwela, the incomparable Irene Ntale, them young corporate boys and the baddest rapper on the scene Ruyonga are just a few of the peeps that are laying the ground work for our own music renaissance. We better be thankful that we get to see this now so that when things get to the point where we will have to pay huge amounts to see them, we can say we saw them come up.
10. The people..the beautiful people
I am a lucky lucky person...To 2013 and many more memories to come
It's also the time to make lists. This is my list of highlights from this past year
1. The blog.
First of all, no one ever gets excited when they hear you have a blog. Usually it's a 'meh' reaction. It's akin to the reaction parents get when they begin to unleash baby pictures of their little darling-most polite people smile and endure it all the while hoping Besigye would walk by and a full scale riot breaks out just so they don't have to feign interest. Despite this general feeling that blogs are self indulgent diaries online, It's been a great way to get my thoughts out there, interact with a few people I'd never have met anywhere else and even got a date out of it...so take that
2. The Faith issue.
I'd considered minding my own business and not delving into this much but I noticed how the faithful wear their faith as a badge of pride. How they share it without any self doubt or care and I thought why not I with my lack thereof. The Deconversion of Anthony series was probably my favorite to write just because I needed to let people know that there is a reason to the de-conversion and not just rebellion or evil or whatever else it's been tagged as. Also there's a freedom in being open about it even if it means a lot of awkward or stilted conversations and situations arose, I find that more and more I find people are embracing the tougher questions about our existence, and the nature of reality and not just the easy answers of dogma and lack of evidence. The conversation continues..
3. The scandals
I think we're all suffering from scandal fatigue. From the OPM saga to Basajja's market issues to ID theft to ghost pensioners, and that's just 4 left people just shaking their heads, smiling and moving on. It's almost like the country has become our crazy uncle that always crashes the car and defaults on the payment of his mortgage because of his alcoholism and we just keep bailing him out and barely hope for change. It's too much work to expect so much only to be let down again so we just kinda complained and vented and went about our business. The question for me remains what shall our generation do.We're just now entering the work force and eventually will take the reins of this country, do we have the fortitude to make things different or is it just easier for us to moan?
Also this year, we saw the vitriolic Pastor Sempa and his brood of vipers spew such hatred about homosexuality you would think gay people were breaking into people's homes and having sex on their dining tables. the Anti gay bill was used as a red herring every-time a serious issue came up in the nation, it was waved again like a scarlet cloth before a Brahma bull and we took the bait launching into heated debates and shouting matches over the private affairs of people we'll probably never even meet.
4. The Kampala scene
While Jenny from the block was tearing down illegal structures all over the city, new commercial building came up all over the place and too many to name hang out sprung up this year as well. Acacia which was once a residential street is now packed with bars and restaurants. The cognitive dissonance of this city is that while awesome spots come up and the people be dressed to kill, silly stupid things happen. Like potholes the size of M7's ego in the middle of the city, the fact that when it rains some people's homes are washed away, the streets over flow with sewage, abject poverty is just a stone throw's away from the air conditioned rooms packed with people enjoying the latest bond film. The city is simultaneously getting better and worse.
5. The skinny jeans
Jay-Z said he "can't wear skinny jeans cause my 'knots don't fit/ No one on the corner got a pocket like this/So I rock Roc jeans 'cause my knots so thick".the sense of fashion in Kla has gone to a new level. You may see someone rocking shoelaces for a belt or a chic wearing winter boots in the middle of July(I really hop this is being done ironically) and right next to them someone in a Kaunda suit!The leap from one generation to the other fashion wise is amazing, especially now with the guys who for a long time just wore jeans and a t-shirt or an over-sized jersey. Also I rocked my first pair of skinny jeans this year and them bad boys is comfy as all hell. Don't you dare judge me!!
6. The rejections
I got rejected this year quite a bit. From endless resume's being handed out to having many of my write ups handed back to me and only a few making it to the magazine I'm working for, it was a tough pill to swallow for someone who is as effortlessly awesome and spectacular at all he does as I am. I mean how dare they!! It's very humbling when things don't go as planned. When you find that you've failed and have to acknowledge that and move on.
Even bigger than that, I, your resident Lothario, the African cousin to Casanova, irresistible to women of all hues and shoe sizes, was turned down by a woman. i know I know, what is she crazy?Actually no. It turns out that being awesoem doesn't mean you're awesome together with another person. She is my friend and man did it burn for awhile there, but those sappy movie quotes are actually right-it is far better to try and fail than fail to try, to be true to yourself and honest with your feelings and all that jazz. I mean I wrote a poem about this girl-WEAKCHAP. However I will say that once you get them feelings out there, you realize that you will move on and be better. That the intensity of the moment will get context and you cna eventually laugh about it. That sometimes things just aren't meant to go to the next level and that's alright(Have you seen how I can console myself?I'm a real Jedi)
7.The lossesThe shitty thing about growing older is that more and more people you grew up with pass on. The people that took care of you grow older and pass on too. The brevity of life is part of it's beauty, but it's a harrowing one. For all the travelers that we lost along the way..Thanks for the memories
8. The hope
Even in the face of all the crap this year brought, there's loads for things to be hopeful for. for the brilliance of so many Ugandans I've met doing their own thang, to the fact that we're still alive and that's reason enough to have hope that the best is yet to come. Also, doing that P90X means that I am back in some shape and y'all are about to see me in some tight shirts like a douche bag. I feel nothing in response to your disgust at this.
9. The music
Ug music is buladde right now. I'm not even talking about the big acts, I'm talking bout the chaps that be on the grind doing gigs, polishing their skills and doing what it is they love. I'm a sucker for live music with real live instrumentation and there seems to be an embracing of live bands in Kampala. Right now most do covers but slowly I see them doing their own thing, writing and performing their own music.
C19 studios is killing it with what it's producing right now, and giving artists a space to come and practice and jam, Moroots and Souldeep, Qwela, the incomparable Irene Ntale, them young corporate boys and the baddest rapper on the scene Ruyonga are just a few of the peeps that are laying the ground work for our own music renaissance. We better be thankful that we get to see this now so that when things get to the point where we will have to pay huge amounts to see them, we can say we saw them come up.
I am a lucky lucky person...To 2013 and many more memories to come
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