Wednesday 21 December 2011

O Holy Night

Me getting in the mood of the season. Merry Christmas everyone Two versions of my favorite Christmas song You can read the full history of the song on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Holy_Night Eimar Quinn Kenny Rodgers

Lyrics of John Sullivan Dwights version O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! O hears the angels' voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born; O night divine, O night, O night Divine. Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here come the wise men from Orient land. The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger; In all our trials born to be our friend. He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger, Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend! Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend! Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall His break for the slave is our brother; And in His name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise us, Let all within us praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever, His power and glory evermore proclaim. His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Monday 12 December 2011

Happy 48th birthday - Nchi Yetu by - Yvonne Mumbi

I didn't attend today's Jamuhuri Day celebrations I hope you did. Anyway I found this song on You Tube Nchi Yetu - Yvonne Mumbi. She was supposed to be one of the performers for the day so hopefully you got to watch her live.



Anyway reason I am posting the song is because it just captures all the things we want to see for our country. Things such as an implemented constitution, resettled IDPs (can you believe it is four years down the line and there are Kenyans still living such desolate lives.) Maybe Mumbi didn't mention this in her song but many of us want to see prices of basic commodities come down.

We may also want to at least hear a viable economic explanation on these spikes.

Finally a couple of things we might be able to do for ourselves. When we ask for pay rises whether we are lecturers or doctors let us just remember that wages, salaries are a reward for labour...if we have a pay hike and there is no change in quality or quantity of the services we supply then we are just helping push inflation in the country higher.

If we are asking for pay hikes - the sky high prices should not be the only reason to want a pay increment...God knows we all could do with some extra cash. If we ask for a pay hike let us peg it against what greater performance and what better output we bring to the table.

Second thing we should all do for ourselves before our country hits 50 is to get rid of all our current crop of leaders young who joined this current parliament, old, new and the ancient ones who have been in parliament from 1992 or since the times of our first president.

I don't hate our leaders - some of them are really good hearted and have the right intentions but in this World, in the 20th Century or is 21st they don't have what it takes to lead a developing country to prosperity. If Kenyans want to achieve Vision 2030, if Kenyans want to achieve the MDGs by 2015 they need to bite the bullet and clean the August house of all of them. Do not spare a single parliamentarian at the ballot. Get yourself new leaders ...get your local Masters student who you have been paying for school through harambee, get your leader of the Women's Chamaa, get your Priest or Pastor, get the boss of a local company that's doing well - make them your Senators, Parliamentarians and Governors.

Clean our system of career politicians - then we will have better lives.

Okay I might keep going on and on but here are Yvonne Mumbi's lyrics to Nchi Yetu - ENJOY.

Nchi Yetu (our Country Kenya) lyrics

Yvonne Mumbi


Intro

Oh Lord of all creation
Bless this our land and nation
Justice be our shield and defender
May we dwell in unity, peace and liberty
Plenty be found within our Borders
(taken from Kenya's national anthem)

Kenya Kenya Kenya (x8)

Chorus

Kenya ni inchi yetu
Kenya ni inchi ya amani
Hapa ndio nyumbani
Ata tukienda wapi


Verse 1

In 2013, it'll be 50 years
50 years since our independence
50 years we've been ruling ourselves
tell me brother, sister what do we have to show for it.

Are we together or are we still divided?
Because divided we will always be conquered
Are we enlightened or are we still in darkness
because ignorance is the cause of all hatred


Verse 2

We have an opportunity
to pursue a bright new destiny
but each of us must take responsibility
for the things that hold us back and keep us behind
lets fight corruption in the ways that we can
lets keep education as free as we can
implement the constitution as soon as we can
settle our IDPs as soon as we can

Verse 3

Kenya, Kenya
Habari Zenu (swahili)
Kenya, Kenya
ado aitu muri'ga (Gikuyu)
Kenya, Kenya
Koro Bess (luo)
Kenya, Kenya
Habari gani (swahili)
Kenya, Kenya
Chamge (Kalenjin)
Kenya, Kenya
Uuvo wenu (Kamba)
Kenya, Kenya
Orie
Kenya, Kenya
ero, sobo (Maasai)
Kenya, Kenya
Jambo!

Sunday 11 December 2011

Hypertension - with Dr. Paul Kioko of Mater Hospital

Not to worry about me ...you know as to why I am posting about High Blood Pressure ...yes I have a work deadline that is two days overdue. I have some payments that my bank can't collect...I am thinking of moving house...and I have a tortured conscience over other things - all some great ingredients of anxiety and stress.

But again like I said not to worry it's all part of life's "cest la vie" that's life for you.

So if you really have to have a reason as to why I am posting on blood pressure...well let's see... maybe I like Dr. Kioko's fine looks and I stumbled upon a nice you tube video of him....or maybe I like Citizen TV and follow their channel on You Tube ...or maybe I had a severe chest pain and run to Google searching for a cause - your pick whichever makes it easier for you.

So now after having appeased your curiosity I hope you get something out of what the good doctor says - it is in my opinion the most simplified explanation on blood pressure I have had to listen to. - ENJOY

Monday 14 November 2011

Start-up profiles: 10 ways to prevent start-up exhaustion

Start-up profiles: 10 ways to prevent start-up exhaustion


Just read a nice article on ihub blog on how to prevent start up failure or exhaustion or whatever it is you want to call it. Enjoy.

Start-up profiles: 10 ways to prevent start-up exhaustion

Posted by Hilda Moraa
On November 9th, 2011


All businesses take a tremendous amount of time and energy, but for startups it can be totally consuming. To lead the road of success from a start-up to a mature Company, start up entrepreneurs would do whatever it takes to get there. The unending proactive participation in competitions to pitch to investors, sleepless nights of hacking code and developing their business idea on the ground, ends up being an exhaustion engine to themselves in this process of achieving success. Unfortunately, the results lead to huge consequences for their business and affects the health and safety of the individual members in the team.
Adelaide Lancaster is an entrepreneur, speaker and co-author of The Big Enough Company, She is also the co-founder of In Good Company Workplaces, a first-of-its-kind community, learning center and co-working space for women entrepreneurs in New York City, proposes 10 ways to help entrepreneurs ensure they are in line to achieving business success by preventing startup exhaustion:

1. Get in the Right Mindset. Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. Long-term success depends on your ability to maintain your stamina. You won’t get as far if you sprint out of the gate. Instead pace yourself, respect your limits, and keep the whole “race” in mind.
2. Establish Fair Expectations. There is no such thing as an overnight success. Good things take time, plenty of research, and lots of tweaking. Be generous when you do forecasting, project planning and goal setting. Remember that things always take longer than you anticipate. When you hit a goal, celebrate. When you don’t, shake it off, consider it a lesson learned, and readjust your expectations for the next round.
3. Make Progress with Small Steps. As exciting as the big vision may be, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by it especially when the path from here to there is unclear. Progress comes from moving forward everyday with small, persistent steps. When you feel stuck, break down your tasks into smaller chunks to make them even more actionable. Moving forward always feels good, even if it’s a tiny bit at a time.
4. Keep Your Goals in Mind. It’s easy to get off track and distracted, taking your business in a direction that doesn’t work for you. Remember WHY you became an entrepreneur and be sure to prioritize these motivations as you build your business. That way it will always be rewarding for you, both now and in the long run.
5. Prioritize What You Do Best. Everyone has to do a little bit of everything in the early days. But, in order to end up with a job you love you need to focus on your talents from the get go. Don’t hoard bad tasks or give yourself a job you don’t like. Instead leverage others and deliberately plan for the job you want. I guarantee that’s the only way you’ll ever get it.
6. Create a Support Team. Your network is one of your greatest assets. Not only do they offer support but they provide a wealth of information, wisdom, experience, and resources. They will help lighten your work load and prevent you from reinventing the wheel. You don’t need to learn all your lessons the hard way.
7. Set Strong Boundaries. The transition from startup to established business isn’t a discreet event. So the habits and routines you have in the beginning establish a precedent for years to come. A chief complaint of many entrepreneurs is that they are “always working.” Avoid this from the get go by setting and honoring clear boundaries. Off means off. On means on.
8. Shake Up Your Routine. Nothing’s more exhausting than monotony. Sure you’ll be multi-tasking and trying your hand at all sorts of new things. But if the work looks the same, for example every day in front of a computer or on the phone, you’re sure to tire quickly. Change it up with some rejuvenating work-related tasks such as time out to read, take a field trip or meet a colleague. The list and the laptop can wait until later.

9. Indulge Guilty Pleasures – Daily. It’s easy to get caught up in the ‘what must be done next?’ mode. It’s great to be efficient and productive but an all work and no play attitude can only last so long. Instead create a sustainable routine by integrating small mental or physical breaks into your daily grind. Whether it’s a quick episode of The Daily Show, some perusing of your favorite blogs, or a trip to the gym a shift in focus and some levity will do you good.
10. Take Time Off. Aside from regular, short daily breaks plan to take some legitimate time off too. Time away from the business is actually quite productive. A break allows you to get out of the weeds and gain perspective on the business .

Thursday 27 October 2011

Fast car -Tracy Chapman

Still looking for my fast car ... I got get out of this place my life is at ... at the moment. Yeah and it would be great to drive away with someone.

Anyway enjoy the song forget my "feelings"

Monday 10 October 2011

Bangles Manic Monday




I know I stopped "employment" but I guess Mondays always tend to be crazy ...whether you are working for someone else or yourself. So to all my friends and me ...here goes manic Monday - by the Bangles

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Tribute to Wangari - let's see what we missed out on

In my usual cynical way I take this opportunity to remind Kenyans of our failures.

We are mourning an icon - Wangari was just that an icon, larger than life. For this reason I have posted all her awards below just so we can see the kind of person we will not have in our ranks anymore.

While doing this let us also reflect about our choice of leaders ....we had a chance to have this wonderful lady as our president and she didn't even place. We have to ask ourselves about our criteria, what do we look at? What is our rationale in selecting leaders? Do we look at gender? Are we biased against women? Do we look at service? Because when I look at our current parliament I don't see "watumishi wa wananchi" servants of the people ....all I see are "watumizi wa watu" users of the people.

We are good at mourning and forgetting ....so "Lest we Forget" it is time for a hard look at the kind of person we will miss....and it is time to start to looking for someone like her among our ranks a woman or a young person we have ignored who could truly serve and lead our country.

Professor Wangari Maathai’s Awards: 1983 – 2010

2010: Earth Hall of Fame, Kyoto (Japan)
2009: Earth Hall of Fame, Kyoto (Japan)
2009: Humanity 4 Water Award for Outstanding Commitment 2 Action
2009: The Order of the Rising Sun, Japan
2009: Judge, 2009 Geotourism Challenge, National Geographic, USA
2009: NAACP Chairman’s Award , USA
2008: Dignitas Humana Award, St John’s School of Theology, USA
2008: Cinema Verite, Honorary President, France
2008: Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Honorary Fellowship, UK
2007: The Nelson Mandela Award for Health & Human Rights, South Africa
2007: The Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, India
2007: Cross of the Order of St Benedict, Benedictine College, Kansas, USA
2007: World Citizenship Award, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
2006: The Indira Gandhi International Award for Peace, Disarmament & Development, India
2006: Premio Defensa Medio Ambiente, Club Internacional De Prensa, Spain
2006: 6th in 100 Greatest Eco-Heroes of All Time, The Environment Agency, UK
2006: Medal for Distinguished Achievement, University of Pennsylvania, USA
2006: Woman of Achievement Award from the American Biographical Institute Inc., USA
2006: The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights,
Milele(Lifetime) Achievement Award
2006: Legion D’Honneur, Government of France
2006: The IAIA Global Environment Award,
International Association for Impact Assessment, Norway
2006: Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund Award, USA
2006: World Citizenship Award
2005: New York Women’s Century Award, New York Women’s Foundation, USA
2005: One of the 100 Most Influential People in the World: Time magazine, USA
2005: One of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World: Forbes magazine, USA
2004: Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Norway
2004: Sophie Prize, the Sophie Foundation, Norway
2004: Elder of the Golden Heart, Republic of Kenya
2004: Petra Kelly Environment Prize, Heinrich Boell Foundation, Germany
2004: J. Sterling Morton Award, Arbor Day Foundation, USA
2004: Conservation Scientist Award,
Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Columbia University, USA
2003: Elder of the Burning Spear, Republic of Kenya
2003: WANGO Environment Award,
World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations , USA
2002: Outstanding Vision and Commitment Award, Bridges to Community, USA
2001: Excellence Award, Kenyan Community Abroad, USA
2001: The Juliet Hollister Award, Temple of Understanding, USA
1997: One of 100 in the World Who’ve Made a Difference in the Environment:
Earth Times, USA
1995: International Women’s Hall of Fame,
International Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation, USA
1994: The Order of the Golden Ark Award, the Netherlands
1993: The Jane Addams Leadership Award, Jane Addams Conference, USA
1993: The Edinburgh Medal, Medical Research Council, Scotland
1991: The Hunger Project’s Africa Prize for Leadership, United Nations, USA
1991: Global 500 Hall of Fame: United Nations Environment Programme, USA
1991: The Goldman Environmental Prize, the Goldman Foundation, USA
1990: The Offeramus Medal, Benedictine College, USA
1989: Women of the World Award, WomenAid, UK
1988: The Windstar Award for the Environment, Windstar Foundation, USA
1986: Better World Society Award, USA
1984: Right Livelihood Award, Sweden
1983: Woman of the Year Award

Saturday 24 September 2011

Guess who's back? JeiPea is back

It's been ages since my last post.

Just a few quick updates on what's been up.

Well finally I have started work on Kenya Freelancers Outsourcing. I hope the next time I post about it, it will be on a company website not my blog page. I want to keep my blog page for all those other interesting things in life like falling in love - which I am not, but I am listening to an awful lot of love songs, aging - which I am ...I just hit a critical birthday last week I will put a photo of an older me in a bit.
Drop your Blindfold

come and see

For those who do not know critical birthdays I will speak about only the ones I have experienced - 18 is when they stop adding the prefix "under" to your age, you become a total teen not an under-something, you can sue be sued, drive a car, vote, take alcohol during allowed hours or from a supermarket shelf ....I know what you are thinking ....you can live without all these things - which is pretty much true since my 18th birthday I have used the voting bit more than all the others.

Don't laugh at me I know elections come every once in five years so you can estimate the use of all the others is pretty much close to zero. So anyway 18 is an important age because all these things seem very useful to you before you have them - and very useless after you do.

Next important age is 25 ...it is a silver jubilee, you feel like you have lived a halfway through your life ....you make all those target of things you would like to do by 30 your energy is at peak - I don't know about you I know mine was at peak. I can't remember what my goals were then - but I am sure having more money was among them (Yeah, I know that is not a SMART goal - it doesn't say how much money - but I was only 25 remember).

Next critical birthday is 30 ...that is when you realize aging is real ...don't laugh ...aging is not in the face...I have a "fair and lovely" face - they should use me as living proof of that cosmetic - I still get asked for identification or proof of age the times I have ventured out to a night club. Anyway aging is how you feel and I am beginning to feel ancient. A friend of mine told me 30 is the new 20.... she was being sweet well I think it is the refurbished 20 ...even if you look 20 which I might pass off for - you feel the whole 30 inside (draw the Intel logo and put 30).

Anyway ....just to get into the spirit of things with my new age - I went for a four day retreat to focus and plan and pray. I am now a very focused and well planned and prayerful 30 year old (this is not a singles advert). The next step of course is I am just trying to be just as good an implementer which is much more a difficult task. But as with all good things this will take time and continuous effort.

So not as a part of my newly acquired age - I also want to be posting a bit more to my blog ....you know with all these stories of a world climatic catastrophe in 2012 I want to leave this hieroglyph for the next inhabitants if they are as intelligent as we are.

I also have a new theme song for my new age "Forever Young" by Alphaville - enjoy because this is the only way to be, the only way to live - forever young.

Friday 18 March 2011

In the Quest for Excellence


the Karijo twins and big siz Eddah Karijo


I am reading for exams ... I should put reading in quotes because I am posting to my blog, my Business Finance notes are lying open before me and my mathematical calculator is switched off and to be honest I am tired - funny enough I am tired of trying to read ... not tired of actual reading. But my reality is pretty stark in the recess of my mind - I ended my job contract ...even though I could have had an extension just to get time read and to pass my exams (read a month of brokeness beckons), my company is dormant for the second year running (wow time flies) I have carried last years resolutions over to this year and added one more which is "To get things done".

Coming from a family of high achievers my kid sisters the Karijo Twins Edna and Eva ...my big sis Eddah Karijo in her own right is an achiever she is one of the 40 people in Kenya trained as M&E specialists she holds a Masters degree MPH (monitoring and evaluation) which and is still pursuing another Masters degree MPH (leadership) and my brother Benji is a renowned editing professional in the movie business ... and of course this does not look too good for yours truly.

But anyway family pressure and societal pressure all consist external pressures...and I have a personal policy never to factor them into my decision making or goal setting.

My internal pressure though is what counts and there is so much of it right now. I want to get everything done and I feel "delayed".

Anyway this is why when I found the link to an article on how to be excellent on Mrembo I was most interested.

Just to give you the most intriguing point I found on the article was that to be excellent at anything we do not need to be born with the talent although endowment is important. You just need to push yourself ... for 10,000 hours ... so anyway my motivation to you and me is just to keep at it.

The link led me to Harvard Business review blogs to an article by Tony Schwartz. I advise you read the whole article here is the link

http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2010/08/six-keys-to-being-excellent-at.html

and here is an excerpt


Six Keys to Being Excellent at Anything
Here, then, are the six keys to achieving excellence we've found are most effective for our clients:
  1. Pursue what you love. Passion is an incredible motivator. It fuels focus, resilience, and perseverance.
  2. Do the hardest work first. We all move instinctively toward pleasure and away from pain. Most great performers, Ericsson and others have found, delay gratification and take on the difficult work of practice in the mornings, before they do anything else. That's when most of us have the most energy and the fewest distractions.
  3. Practice intensely, without interruption for short periods of no longer than 90 minutes and then take a break. Ninety minutes appears to be the maximum amount of time that we can bring the highest level of focus to any given activity. The evidence is equally strong that great performers practice no more than 4 ½ hours a day.
  4. Seek expert feedback, in intermittent doses. The simpler and more precise the feedback, the more equipped you are to make adjustments. Too much feedback, too continuously can create cognitive overload, increase anxiety, and interfere with learning.
  5. Take regular renewal breaks. Relaxing after intense effort not only provides an opportunity to rejuvenate, but also to metabolize and embed learning. It's also during rest that the right hemisphere becomes more dominant, which can lead to creative breakthroughs.
  6. Ritualize practice. Will and discipline are wildly overrated. As the researcher Roy Baumeister has found, none of us have very much of it. The best way to insure you'll take on difficult tasks is to build rituals — specific, inviolable times at which you do them, so that over time you do them without having to squander energy thinking about them.

Tony Schwartz is president and CEO of The Energy Project. He is the author of the June, 2010 HBR article, "The Productivity Paradox: How Sony Pictures Gets More Out of People by Demanding Less," and coauthor, with Catherine McCarthy, of the 2007 HBR article, "Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time." Tony is also the author of the new book "The Way We're Working Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs that Energize Great Performance" (Free Press, 2010)

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Anne Kiguta - KTN TV's totally awesome anchor

KTN's News Anchor - Anne Kiguta

There is no single adjective to describe her she is vivacious, she is beautiful, she is eloquent ... she is KTN's Anne Kiguta. The anchor has been creating a buzz since she joined the station last year in May ...or was it June - I know the world cup was showing.

Of course the station being KTN ... there will be comparisons with Janet Mbugua who is now with ETV , Esther Arungah (now Timberlake), Lilian (Mrs Kanene) or the no nonsense - Beatrice Marshall, but Anne Kiguta right now could hold her own in a popularity poll with any other presenter across Kenya's TV networks. Her public figure page on facebook had 5,000 friends last time it was updated  five months ago - probably many are men smitten by her lovely eyes or other genuine fans who appreciate her style of presenting ... easy, straight up plus she has a most genuine laughter.


When she joined the station in May it was obvious she wasn't new to the business - her confidence was "telling". Anne has spent 7 years on radio 3 years with Hope FM and four with Capital FM ... she is multi skilled and an all rounder - trained in communications at Daystar University ...she has done everything from market research for radio stations, program planning, show launching, presenting and she has quite a CV - she is an outstanding case of beauty and brains


Anyway what got me to write this piece was KTNs new look weekend prime and KTN Leo "weekend" segment. The real life stories, less politics, crazy stories are a breath of fresh air on Kenyan TV news and  something to look forward to on the weekend. Anne was a perfect fit to the new look programming and kept me glued to the TV throughout the weekend prime - as I am sure she did other viewers, definitely looking forward to another weekend prime - Anne is totally the best presenter right now

Friday 21 January 2011

Still Rooting For Conjestina

Conjestina taking it away


Conjestina Achieng Kenya's legendary female boxer is admitted at Mathari hospital undergoing psychiatric treatment.

Conje is a living legend - the answer to Kenyan's prayers for another great boxer since the late Robert Wangila. Between her and Fatuma Zarika the two women have brought alive Kenyan boxing.

Anyway all her fans are rooting that Conjestina will be able to "knock out" whatever is ailing her be it a bout of religiosity, or paranoid schizophrenia or depression or brain injury.

Go "hands of stone" give this setback a knock out.