Escaping by the skin of my teeth.

With all the excitement that has been in Kampala the past two months- first CHOGM now it's a few days to Christmas, you'd think that everyone would be in euphoria- ville. Some people are so immune to this stuff, that at whatever opportunity, you've got to earn the dime.
When I came in today morning, I was reliably informed that I was to be traveling on the 29th. That has taken the award for the shock of the month! I really had to wriggle myself out of this one and I successfully did! But I had alot of explaining to do!
A while ago, in a phone conversation with Himself, he asked me what I was doing on the 29th. Silly me, I fell into that pit- that bottomless pit! I thought about it, then said, "Nothing"
Then I remembered! 29th is Himself's birthday! The shoe was on the other foot, it was me who forgot this time! Now I know how horrible feels like! I think, I'll try not to harrass This Musoga, if the opportunity of forgetting my birthday arises.
If I'd travelled, and forgotten before, I surely was going to take the prize!

Otherwise,

Going traditional- NOW!

I have come to the realization, or maybe been boxed into a corner that, NOW, more than I ever thought necessary; I’ve to brush up on my local languages. If not, even start to learn them.

My three weeks in Nairobi have been relatively trouble free- except for a few language issues here and there. The house help speaks very little English and manages
to survive and I also survive because either my grandmother or my cousin Alice are in the house. So I can always ask for translations.
This time however, Alice is away at school and Jajja is elsewhere conducting business. So I’m in the house with the help alone. First course of action was to smile a lot the morning I got there, then in the afternoon I had to get to the bookshop in Sarit Centre and buy a Kiswahili phrasebook.

To diverge a bit- this bookshop makes you feel like buying all the books in it. It is so well arranged, the service is superb and Joe, my cousin swears he wants to marry the pretty Indian lady who helps you find what you are looking for! Aristoc should really send some of its staff on a spy mission to this bookstore because Aristoc sucks compared to these guys. Also, that brilliantly funny comedy show, Ze Comedy Show on EATV and another Kiswahili series Je Huu Ni Ungwana, which Joe kindly looked up for me, is helping. Apart from the rib crackers, I get to hear Kiswahili spoken the way it should- not of the Ugandan kind. I should also mention that the phrasebook is just what the doctor ordered- I’m really catching up!

For the first time in slightly over a decade, we have a live- in help at home. It was more convenient to have someone who came in twice a week to clean and wash but now with the house empty for the whole day, we need someone to stay home and help us a little.
He is from Mubende and does not speak an ounce of English. Mode of communication- Luganda. It is so amusing watching my father and I fumble to express ourselves to him and mum just loves the show! I think it’s her perfect revenge- finally! This morning for instance, I was shocked to hear the sound of running water at 3am from the kitchen. When I got to the kitchen, the only words that came to my mind were, “Ivan, essawa!” When mum investigated later on, he’d thought it was 6am and had gotten up to make breakfast!
So this weekend, I’m buying a Luganda phrasebook too!

I am Lango, from Lango and I speak Lango. This is how I manage to keep up with the identity of who I am, from where and what language I speak. The Lango is coming quite well; the words are shorter, chap- chap and a lot easier to remember. And a few of them are plagiarized from English- Buk for Book, Bach for Bus!

Moment of Panic!

On Wednesday, I was reading an article on the Bugweri parliamentary race and how it is fast degenerating into a murky family affair. Family, meaning it is finally boiling down to which clan you are from and who’s grandchild are you. One contestant, a grandfather wants his grandchild to step down for him! Eer, shouldn’t it be the other way round?
So anyways, at the end of the article which listed a few of Busoga’s clans, I realized I didn’t know This Musoga’s clan! I’m quite vocal about mine and he sometimes calls me Gwe Oyima. The SMS saved the day, he told me he was from the Leopard clan, but didn’t know the Lusoga name. Said he was going to ask Daddy about it.

Come to think of it, I don’t know what Oyima is in English, let me go find out from Dad!

What's up!

Even if I have fat thighs
Flabby arms,
A pot belly,
I still give good loving.

This is taken from a song- aptly named Pot Belly done by a South African band- called Freshly Ground. Pam forced this band onto me. Put it on my player and plays the CD all the time. Thus, I’m boxed in a corner. I must admit, I looked at the CD jacket and didn’t think them serious. Surprise, surprise. They are actually good at what they do! And now I can’t get their song out of my system! And I saw them on MTV. OK, from now on, I’ll listen to them

I’m on a forced holiday till after CHOGM. Because the building is under renovation and as such everyone was sent home to allow the contractors finish that work. Then again I was absent the day they were issuing the CHOGM IDs. So from 1st November till 26th November I’ll not be allowed into the building. So, I’m on a holiday then a forced extension for close to seven weeks.

I’m soon running out of ideas on how to spend my holiday. So far it has consisted of telly, a few books and “just being around”. In a few days, I was bored witless and soon pulling out my hair. My mum suggested I try to do things that I’ve failed to do.
First, I made the resolution to try to follow my gym schedule to the dot. After Himself left, I‘d gone from doing twenty laps in the pool to about seven if I pushed myself hard. I once swam one lap and got out and went home. I was so ashamed of myself that day. I decided to get a swim mate. First was Vanessa- she wasn’t helping much because in two weeks, we only swam three times and less than ten laps. I went looking again and ended up with someone I’d not bargained for. Because this guy pushes and pushes and pushes. He probably swims twice as much as me and I can’t catch up. I mentally cry when I get in but at the end of it, I’ve achieved what I wanted in the first place. At least I’m back to my twenty laps and I don’t care if he’s doing probably fifty to my miserable twenty!

Then I tried baking a sponge cake. All my attempts at baking a sponge cake have flopped- in one word. I tried again and after two tries I finally got something that my mum ate and liked! With that new found joy, I expanded my efforts to Black Forest, with a little help from a cousin, and, Voila!

Also, for the love of me, I can’t make eggs. Let me just say that it comes out another way. If you ask for sunny side up, it may come out like scrambled without the milk maybe. If I try the fried egg, I get something that’s been slightly over done. The only sensible eggs I can make are poached and plain boiled- quite easy actually. The hard part here is turning the egg over to get the other side cooked. That’s when things go wrong. In the things I’ve failed to do, that I’m trying to do, making eggs has miserably failed. I give up!
My cousin Richard has summed up the failures in one word, “Fala”!

It’s officially about three weeks to graduation. In my telly holiday, I was kindly reminded that I had to get a dress and n’ebigenderako for grad! I’d been regaled with stories by Angel and Shu about walking nearly the whole length of the Kampala shops and not finding what they want or even something close to what they want. And with this unpredictable weather, you just don’t know when the heavens will open up on you! I wanted to avoid all that and I decided I’d find something from what I have.
That’s out, according to my mum. I’ve to go and find something suitable. Everyday from the start of this week, I’ve made plans to start looking. One look at the midday sun changes my mind about it and now the hunt is being pushed further and further away.

Well, I have to confront it soon because today afternoon Rita and Angel are coming home to pick me up and WE go looking for dresses. I hope I find something chap- chap, because…………………. I don’t know!!!

Off I go!
Ta- rar!

The curse of Facebook.

This phenomenon called Social Networking took a long, really long, time to creep up on me!
First, I have an utter dislike for sites where I have to fill in endless details about myself and whatever.
Second, I hardly have the attention span to keep up with that turf, upload pictures, update the mood swings?. All that stuff, to me seems like it would take a lot of time, and I simply was lazy maybe to jump on the wagon.
Thirdly, I figured, if you needed to get in touch with me, you'd know my email address or phone number. The beauty about the email is that, if you tired of someone, you could spam them and forget they ever wrote you something!! Or maybe smile coyly the next time you meet and say,"Oh, I stopped using that address! I still have your email, I'll send you my new one." And then you never get round to sending it.

I could say this, albeit with abit of villag-er in me, that my profiles on Hi5 and Facebook have been the concerted efforts of people like Bryan and Shulin, who were probably getting ashamed. So I gave them my ID and password and they'd do whatever. However, the few emails I sent, are always written by me.

So, I can say, that the phenomenon of Facebook is on me! Earlier this week, when I had to spend nearly the whole night in the office, doing boring and frustrating work, I found solace in Facebook- the great comforter!
I pimped my profile, added applications, looked at friends, answered requests and even posted a mood!! Heck, I had a mood swing that I posted online!
Since that evening, I catch myself signing into my account like three times a day and doing what these facebook- ers do on the site!

Shu, Nat, Bryan- I've joined Facebook! I've styled up!

Enjoy graduation weekend!

War of words.

For the observant, you'll notice that this blog has undergone three blog title changes in a period of a few months.
Reason, I would say, This Musoga and I have been having a cold war with all the characteristics. Across continents, each keeping up their front and minimum talk on the subject. The war is about, the blog title!
It was first This Musoga while it was his alone. Then when I joined the fray it got changed to Seven Seas. As of last week, it was re- baptised my darling judith.
So, I quickly suggested we find a new name as I was uncomfortable with the focus on one of the names because it revealed too much identity. It was something that people got confused about the identities of Elit and Mama and Papa and This Musoga!!
Well, now maybe we have to bring our woes to Blogger.
So, in the spirit of defeat that I concede,
I invite suggestions on what we should name our blog!

Elsewhere,
Two months ago when Himself went back, it was he that had the problem of floods and I guess questions whether his house was under water!
Now, the rains shifted focus and they are on this side of the world. And now I have to deal with the questions of whether my village is among the flooded areas.
In Himself's words, "Despite popular belief, my home is not flooded"- If only for a while, maybe?!

Have a great one.

Encounters with pettiness.

It always amazes me when people need help and immediately they are looking beyond the obvious. Here, the in thing when you go to sort out a problem, the first question that is usually asked is, "So, which constituency are you from?" I imagine with every office equiped with the 8th Parliament charts, they look at who represents you and maybe party!
This is often followed by subtle glances at you. It's like in their heads they are saying, "Do you fit the bill?" Others outright refuse to get any assistance from you and prefer to get help from the men in the department.
To counter all these issues, I practice what I know best- The Art of Quiet and in response to the question of my constituency, I ask them, "Or you mean which part of the world I come from".
In the end, I befuddle them both ways!

man on the beach

a picture is worth a thousand words so this is what i am saying ( look right)
with most os my sister running shops reasearch centers and various internet companies ( happy muko ) i know notice there is free space in the kitchen ( because of the hunger in my tummy )
so the dangerous sub is out and no more fast food at least untill i have milked all my housemates knowledge of cooking

mean while the reading is going good have my time table and every thing seems to be in the same week so thes tonsils bettter vanish before i flush them with chilli .


mean while a sister notifys me with a text that i there visitors coming on the weekend ( cheeky why didnt they come when i was home ) but i am sending my own special envoy to negotiate the red chicken like in the picture i dont want any painted stuff ,

need to read the baby blogs i may have missed milestones so have a good morning nelly and i say hi to the commander in chief.

The crime of laziness.

Truly, that is a huge crime seeing that we haven't posted in more than a week, close to two weeks infact.
So what have we been up to lately?
Finding our feet again, after a moment- like time together, but all the same trying to keep from falling on the wayside!

I am still debating on a holiday that was planned a while back and procrastination just keeps pushing it further and further away. So today, I made the decision to actually go for it in a couple of weeks.
Somehow, the rush to raft again has died down after the last week's news of a child dying in the river. I know that's a common enough occurence, but then again, I'm no longer keen. So instead, my partners in adventure and I will be heading to Sipi in Mbale/ Kapchorwa for a few days of climbing and fun on Mount Elgon.
A friend was asking why all of a sudden I'm doing out of the ordianry things. My reply, "I want to enjoy some things, if only for a time."
So at this rate, the procrastinated day at the beach with This Musoga, may happen quite soon.
Just watch this space!

Have a nice one.

A few random thoughts.

When someone leaves to go back to their end of the world, might you cite abandonement?
So, Himself went back to his neck of the woods after a whirlwind stay. But hey, who am I to complain. I'll let him write about that.
The days were filled with babysitting the nieces and seeing the girlfriend in between. He once said, "Funny we're in the same place but I've to talk to you on phone"!
I also had to remind This Musoga to treat his hand luggage with utmost care as it had cake for delivery.
Sadly, he forgot to ask Mary to dance Calypso for him. I guess he'll have to rely on You Tube for videos.

The girlfriend on the other hand went down with the flu almost immediately, which hasn't gone away even a week later.

Have a good one!

8 random things

As usual the cute one has said pretty much all i would say ,

8 i have walked in the same pair of shoes for over a year . poverty is not living under a dollar a day but not being able think how to make hay while the sun shines

7 i know how to cook matooke without banana leaves (take that to the bank )

6 dispite popular belief my home in reading is not i repeat NOT flooded

5 i told my girlfriend my dream and she laughed in my face

4 the world is a stage and i still want to share it with her

3 i feel the pressure i need to get a car

2 i want to start a shop (nelson a real shop )

1 am scared of going bald .

We were tagged

By Pea

According to the rules, we are to post eight random things about ourselves and then tag eight other people so they can do the same.

So here goes

1. We've been planning to go to the beach one of these days. But we still haven't made up our minds to actually go. Somehow, Entebbe is so far off!

2. We both have sisters with the same name.

3. Contrary to popular belief, we are both not in IT. I forget Himself's field. So much for memory.

4. We argue about cats. He likes them and wants to have a few; I hate them.

5. We also argue about F1. He roots for Kimi, I root for the winner whichever race it is.

6. Top Gear- Common Viewing.

7. He's a pork person, I'm more like fish.

8. Our cell phone numbers both end with -661. This was pure coincidence, that was only realised about a month ago.

So there it is.
We still have to agree on the eight others to tag.
We'll keep you posted.

home and away

oh my beautiful lango :)) sorry about the long silence .
it is always nice to see you again .
been home for a while and the mood has changed not because of the northern bypass it seems everyone is in a hurry to win the lottery i thought i was going to take ten days out but it sems i jumped from the pan into the fire.

but anyway this is a happy blog
their nieces and nephews hear i think i am going to start importing pampers and baby clothes
i may just make it big

i had the chance to take care of lexi the other morning and my goodness i was in over my head i realized she needed breakfast and i was not to sure if i could just zap some sausages for her so i called the girlfriend who proceed to give me some good advice ( just give the chic sausages and this is how they are made ....)

anti bija called to make sure her sisters daughter was still alive , ( she sonded shocked when she heard everything was alright . ( obviously she didn't know about the sausage emergency that her name sake had just solved .

we had a a nice time with breakfast and sang the pack away song . and she also helped me upgrade my portable hard drive from 80 gb to 320 ( clever girl her )

deserter strikes
AS she opened the door to go down stairs to swim her caught her foot.
all the kituuka's and all the kadama's put together can not generate as many decibels as this lovely young lady .
don't dis pare this is still my blog am the hero and star "tafa" i use all my charm to turn the the noise into peace full slumber and in no time lexi was counting fairies in dreamland .

as allways the wife has done some thing special to the blog i hope the new lay out is to the satisfaction of all the people who glance at this blog ( even those in parliament *yes i know you *)

When it doesn't work like you want it to!

The previous post was a hint, an indirect threat, name it. Unfortunately, it didn't produce any result! Because Himself decided to blatantly ignore it!
These hints!!

Anyways, The Musoga is arriving tonight, so he's going to responsible for the next posts over the next few days.
And he's on bunkenke to get to the Pearl!!

I hope he's carried the obligatory chocolate for Lexie!
Otherwise, he may hit the freeway!

But he's got to leave the heels behind!

On my internet trot today, I came across,


Go Pirates Go!

Enjoy your day!

Coagitations of a left- out blogger.



How do I say this in Lusoga? "This Musoga, post!"

Unemployment Tales

I got a phone call!!!!

One of the organisation's called back, so I start next Monday as ICT Support Assistant. I don't know whether to be glad, rather I'm relieved that I'll probably be doing something that will keep my brain active.
The work hours are…….
Everyone goes to work late, so I've been told, "work around here starts after 10am". Hmmh…….. I don't know……..


The mosquitoes have finally bitten. Maybe because I dared to step out last week. So I'm home, nursing a pre- fever. I was too scared when I started feeling funny, that I got a test and though it was negative, I insisted on a dose of anti- malarials.
So to be in tip- top shape for next week, I'm home gathering all the energy I need and trying to finish The Messianic Legacy.


Ki- Nigeria.

This Musoga and I had a little tete- a- tete about these movies. He finally watched them and maybe now he understands why I detest them! His complaint was those scenes where they show the guy thinking and it is for like one and a half minutes!! Plus, they use one song throughout the movie.
Nigerian movies are the reason I can't stand piped music and they are shallow. You can tell the plot in the first few minutes of the movie. Then the business of leading you on a long ride, then the movies duration runs out and it leaves you hanging with "To God be the glory"!! I mean……

My grievances are too many!!



Bragging rights.

This cropped up because of one too many coincidences.

This Musoga constantly reminds me how he's one bright Musoga an dthis blog is aptly named "Smarter".

Mr. Magoo also likes punctuating his blog with references to Basoga brightness. He's participated in the Ugandan movie Divisonz (trailer's here), so maybe that's a mark of his genuis

Last week, a Musoga friend also was "assuring" me how many times she crosses the Nile to her home, hence the need to be "handled with care"!

So maybe, I should join the bandwagon and my reasons shall be, I mean, I'm associated with a Musoga and I also cross the Nile, but haven't done any movie works!!!



Have a nice week!

And, …….. We’re back on air.

Me, at least. I’m really not sure about Himself!
Apologies for those that have been checking this fluctuating blog for updates. We really should try to make the posts more frequent!
On my part, I’ve been too lazy and tired to even type out a post in word. Every time, I plan to do it, it’s too much effort at that time. So it gets pushed to the next day and the next and the next, till I am overcome with guilt and also my rather subtle hints to This Musoga were not producing any desired effects! And doing the usual blog trot through all the ones I read, they are really doing the posting. I’m feeling a little left behind, so I’m trying to catch up.

What I’ve been up to

I’m planning to do the three day raft trip, probably in August this year, with Max and Naphlim maybe, if they can behave themselves.
Hopefully, This Musoga will be back in his territory and they’ll be one person less who’s fears I’ll have to allay!! But again seeing the snake in the water, which I didn’t see, I don’t think I’ll be swimming in the river again!

So far, the first weeks of my unemployment have been rather slow in passing. They’ve been mainly filled with Crossword puzzles, Sudoku and more recently the ante has been up- ed, I’m doing kyeyo at my dad’s consultancy. Doing a few things here and there, boosting my organizational skills.
It really doesn’t help that I’m in close quarters with two bookshops and my habits with books are back in full swing. I’ve already spent my allowance on two books which I’m reading concurrently and immensely enjoying the jolts!! The Messianic Legacy and The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail, both which were written by the controversial trio Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln.
Plus, I’m re- reading one of my favourite books- John Steinbeck’s masterpiece, The Grapes Of Wrath. I’ve read this countless times and it still holds my attention!
What these books have managed to achieve is, wean me off telly completely. Not that telly was not entertaining, the Mobutu documentary was good and now that Al Jazeera’s coming to us, there’s the odd scope to look out for! Idols was rather disappointing, I did not root for the winner and felt sorry for Jeroline, too much drama!! C & I is still top- notch. Disappointingly, Tyra Banks’ pity- party is still on! Ellen and Justin Timberlake rocked, rocked and rocked! Instead, there are interesting pages full of facts, history and conspiracy theories to spend my time on. Puli must be thanking the Man up there for putting me near books!

On my home from university when I’d finished, I told my dad emphatically that I was taking a huge break from school. More like a year. Unfortunately, I’l be back in the land of homework, moody lecturers and deadlines starting this weekend, to get certified. The only thing to be thankful about is that I’ll be doing it in town. The downside, I’ll be in class from 9am- 4pm, Saturday and Sunday. It’s hard making choices.
Suprisingly, I’m looking forward to the classes.

Meanwhile, in my lifetime, I’d never seen a Ugandan passenger train. On Saturday, I saw it chugging along from a vantage point at home. Gosh, I was happy!
My bet that Uganda would lose 1-0 was so wrong. Congs to the Cranes but we’ve a few more matches before we can relax that we’re in! So now I’ve to work on my faith in Ugandan Sports, be nationalistic, is it?!

So I’ll leave it here for now.
Maybe, next time, I’ll include the wacky things my class has been up to.

Ta’rar!

Eh mama!

Eh mama!! The computer can do that also?! After like two weeks of fightign to sign into blogger, it decided to allow me inside. I was about to start baying "Open sesame!" Seriously, it was crazy!
Seriously, I've been so busy in the past week, I've sat at my computer for hours and not even attempted to write a post in Word that I could post later.

What have I been up to?

I made a double- two about two weeks ago.
This came with a weekend of eating myself silly. Fri 20th was the last day of my undergraduate lectures. A tight (that's a tight friend) took me to eat pizza at Mamba Point. I've loved going to this place ever since Uncle J and I discovered it. The pizza was heavenly!
Sat 21st, after a day of sleeping off the effects of the pizza before, went to gorge again. Fattening the cow- as Angel put it! Rachael and her husband had a lovely dinner for thanking and birthday wishes. The babies-and-grown-ups evening was all about, well, babies and lovely cake.
Sun 22nd- The big 22 on the 22. What did I do? Uncle Ben decided to make lunch for us and his food is always top notch! Though, he made chicken. I've got major issues with birds that will be discussed at a later point. He made up for it though and made roast sweet potatoes. That is one food item that I absolutely love.
You are forgiven Uncle Ben.
Daddy, mum, jajja- shoes are always nice!!
To Nelson and Rachael- thank you for the lovely meal and cake!
To mummy, Bija, James, Olivia, Ivan, Anthony- thank you for the wonderful company.

In the past week.

That week has been my worst nightmare. I had to hand in rpojects in VB, PERL and AJAX and I stil don't know where I got all the time for them
Right now, I'm in the middle of exams. So far I've done two and I've got one more to go which is next Thursday. I've some breathing space which is nice afer all.

I also applied for a job. It sort of got me scared. I don't know but, it happened. I think it finally hit me that at a point in time, I've to put hours doing something for someone and then end of the month 30% gets subtracted to keep the tear gas stock aplenty! I certainly don't feel too good about that!

On a sad note.........

I found this a couple of months ago and when I followed it up on my blogtrot today, she'd moved here. My deepest condolences.


I hate to leave this post on a sad note, I've to go finish a VB presentation for tomorrow.
Bye for now.

P.S The grad project worked. I just have to wait for the final marks. That's one thing to be happy about.

I'm listening to


I'm ashamed to say I had this gem on my laptop for close to six months and it took watching him on Sound Check to convince me to listen to him.
Nice, and I absolutely love it.
I highly recommend, Coming Round Again, Seventeen and Grace.

Catch you later!

Confessions.

Since I last posted, I've been up to...........

Reading Uganda's Leading Daily, Truth Everyday, The Seer and getting shocked, shocked, shocked till it's now comical.

Also he's been keeping me comapny and tickling me in the right places these cold lonely nights, except I was the one making the tea! :(

I went to see the ladies and spent a lovely afternoon with everyone else.


Major happenings


Going, going......................



To the left, to the left...........



Max, Naphlim really paddling it out!



Head first!



Say: White Nile!

That was my Easter weekend in short.
The blow by blow details can be found here
I think the other half of this blog spent his in bed. I wonder who was keeping him company!

Enjoy your week ahead!

So I don't get a taste of my own medicine, I'm being brief here.
I may not be able to post for a while, graduation project issues and any other business!!

Congratulations
To Himself's sister Pipa and her husband Javi, for the newest bundle!
To Himself for becoming super koja!! Kati, two (soon to be three) kids to play footie with!! You should start fielding for Kampala Kids League!!
But first, work on the tummy!

Rachael, maybe you can do the trick as regards This Musoga's hair!!

That's all for now folks.
Enjoy your weekends!

man its been long
but just bear with me
he musoga is trying to find his way to gadumire
willam is now here
thank good
we are just waiting for the next arrival

thank you judith
i want my family to discover you
cause your my further wife a lot goes round but i believe your the one.
mummy i could put you in the same sentence as juddith but as it stands your the same .
just a rebirth

this course is breaking me but basoga have hard head so i wont break i promise you i will break this elec sh*t if i have to die trying

and daddy if there is one person i admire i adore its you i realise i am not an exact copy of you but man if i could achive half as much as you have it would fulfill my dreams. from nakasero to rue des lattes . dude i wish i dont know if i will ever compare

but boo judith i know its not a one man show i need a help i need a perspective i need you to focus me , lord willing you will be around to make this all coume int to the picture .

GRRRRRR..................

I have this imaginary belief and joke that people look like their cars.
For instance.....



This looks like The Mafia Don character in Shark Tale.


I would like to think people also look like the shoes they've got.
I'd like to think I have a bit of a resemblance to this!!



OK, I'm kidding. I saw this pair in a shop somewhere on Uganda House and I'm still trying to do something good so I can reward myself!!


For the encore.............




After thought.

I should do a vote thing here.
Pass a motion for the suspension of Himself.
Crime: Not posting in a long while.
Punishmet: Pay partnership support!

Have a good week.

My weekend in Mbarara.

Over the weekend, a few of us decided to spend a few days in Mbarara and Ntungamo. A friend was celebrating his birthday (Am I allowed to say his age?)and I guess we were tired of the Kampala club scene. So we decided to spend a day in Mbarara and proceed to his village hom in Ntungamo for a couple of days.

We left for Mbarara on Friday evening about 7pm and were in Mbarara coming to midnight. Went to a take away called Another Life(???), refuelled our systems and went to Vision Empire, which is rumoured to be the biggest night club in Uganda.
I've been to Mbarara several times and just never been to Vision Empire and
everyone I know who's been there has really yapped about it.

It was worth it, every single time I spent in there. It was not too crowded,
the music was good and the best part was the drinks were chilled just right!
Imagine, when they put my drink infront of me, I first had to admire the
bottle- it was sweating like in the TV ads!! I sort of had guilty pleasure of
finally drinking it!


In Another Life before our food.


Us again

We were out of Vision Empire about 6am and went to the Shell in the middle of
town, had breakfast and proceeded to Ntungamo. The place we were going to is
Rwentoobo, about 120Km from Mbarara town. We got there about 10am.
Everyone went off to sleep, except Tony, Lamas and I. I was the last woman
standing!!! That is, till 3pm. Exhaustion took over me and I had to find my
bed. Slept for five straight hours till 8pm, woke up in time to cut the cake
and eat alot of it!
The party continued till morning but because of the exhaustion from the
journey, everyone was fast asleep by 4am!! So much for a sleep- less weekend!!


Abit of the party-iers!

I woke up Sunday morning to the sound of prayers going on in the nearby
Catholic church, soon after we were all up. We wanted to catch lunch at
Highway Motel in Masaka (Delicious food, I recommend the samosas!) so we left
Ntungamo about 11am, were in Highway about 3pm and back home at about 7pm.

This journey was quite exhausting for me, really, sitting on your behind for
all those hours on Uganda's terrible roads is tight! It's Wednesday here and
my behind's still sore!
As the final word, my weekend rocked!

Today...
is Valentine's Day.
It is and is going to be an uneventful one for me. I woke up about 4am to find
a text from This Musoga and I know not to expect a call because Himself's got
a presentation to make and work after that. By the time he gets off work, I'll
be fast asleep and knowing my sleep issues he won't call.
Despite it all, Happy Valentine's Day y'all!

LINGUISTICS A LA MODE.

Words/ Phrases I’ve managed to pick up from This Musoga. He says them, now I say them!

1) Be’s
As in, I be’s doing this, we be’s going here!

2) Ask me another.
When doesn’t want to answer a particular question.

3) Ask me and I tell you.
Response to a question Himself doesn’t, I repeat, doesn’t, want to answer!
Usually when I’ve pushed it too far!!

4) I wanna know.
Like, “Shorty, I wanna know”!!
Usually said when trying to get chummy with me!

5) To the left.
Most recent entry in our dictionary. Still trying to figure out what Himself means by
“To the Left”, hope This Musoga doesn’t share the same point of view as Beyonce!!

6) Sweets, Dimples, Atoti, Peaches………...
Said when trying to get me to do something. But a lot of them work for him too!!
Reverse Psychology!

7) But Judith! Or even but A**** (my surname)
When really exasperated or desperate!!

8) Me: Blah blah blah
Himself: What!

Me: (Puzzled expression)
Repeat Blah Blah Blah
Himself: Oh- Khay!

Me: (Really puzzled expression)
Himself: Ye- Yeah!
(With a huge grin on his face)

Result: Usually gets us doubled over laughing!

P. S Ludacris also has this What- OK- Yeah Yeah sort of dialogue in some of his
songs!

9) Goat.
Reference to an amusing, mixed- up, scatter brain sort of person.

10) Kale.
This is one Luganda word that has stuck with me, and I’m quite proud. I guess it
Means OK.

Just one more…..

Speaking in opposites.
Like when I ask a question that is D-U (Delayed Understanding), aka common sense, I usually get the opposite of the intended reply. For example,

Himself: I’m going to the pub with the boys.
Me: For what? (OK, seriously, that’s D-U!)
Himself: To attend a funeral.

The scary thing is that this opposites talk’s really is affecting my speech. I’m constantly getting these puzzled looks from people especially Puli, who well, ask D-U questions!


Kale, I’ll leave our dictionary here for the meantime.
Will keep updating it.

P.S I'd like to welcome This Musoga's mum to our blog!
Hope you enjoy the ride!

girlfriend my mother reads this blog !!!!!!!


man new year it doesn't get any easier
where should i start

work
its a mess but am top
there is one thing i admire about my father he seems to have endless faith > you know the butter wont melt in 100 degrees kind <
lots of things going on my application was turned down but i feel like i have been short changed.
but a brother has bounced back .

they want me to do extra hours on the shop floor ( hahaha i said i would think about it )


school
less hours this term more practicals the musoga likes wiring stuff in the lab so i am all excited
i don't like the simulations though but i understand that even roses have thorns bring it on i want my beamer and 26 g' s a year.


wifey
just read the las blog .
well i want her to sell those stanbic things . everything that goes up must come down especially that that is over subscribed

boys
man i managed to get out of work on sunday < thank you daddy for the dvd on negotiation skills < so i can see thoses boys in coventry and put the stress of over working through chrimas behind me


goals
i still want to see my boo in summer hopefully my over time would pay for that but fingers crossed we see when the check comes through .


mummy thanks for the texts an bija for the support .
and to my two expecting sister thanks for expanding the family both in numbers and in progress

good night from a midnight oil burning musoga ........... :)

I’ve Been Punked- For the umpteenth time.

I think I’m quite a gullible person. You can easily pull one on me, that is, if you know the right strings to pull. This Musoga knows that one string quite well- People. If you tell me a story about something happening to someone, be it true or false, I’ll so fall for it.

Yesterday evening, after my lecturer cutting my class, I decided to do abit of sms-ing. Target: Himself. I’ve tried to reproduce the conversation, both sms and chat.

Sms to Himself: This Musoga’s thrown me out for sometime now. What’s the dealio?
(According to me, I was on katebe, I hadn’t received a text in like, 12hrs?!)

Himself to me: Speak of the devil. I’ve just sent you an email. I got thrown out of my house.

Me to Himself: WHAT!!! What happened?

Himself to me: There was a fight. Someone said something about you, I threw them out of the window. I’ve been given 10 days and I haven’t told daddy.

(I didn’t want to believe any of this. Explain a calm person taking such measures. So I decide to go check my email and there’s nothing. Am waiting for the email to come and I’m thinking so fast. At that point, I was thinking, what happens if I ever say something and Himself gets so mad and throws me through the roof!!! The daddy part in Himself’s last sms to me, got me believing the story!)

Me to Himself: Get on chat immediately!
By the way, I didn’t say it like that, but that’s what I implied!)

So I get on chat, and Himself is signing in and out of chat. The green button was turning to grey every few seconds. On this other side of the equator I’m freaked out.
Anyhow, Himself manages to get onto chat and we chat.
Below are excerpts from our conversation.

5:53 PM me: Baby?
________________________________________ 15 minutes
6:08 PM Himself: baby
6:10 PM hello

Me: Sweets?
So I guess you can answer my text on chat......

Himself: yeah, well
6:11 PM how is the pole climbling (sic) going
(In reference to the mast things I’d to do last week)

6:12 PM Me: This Musoga, how about us sorting this house mess you are in, then we'll talk about extra curricular activities

6:14 PM Himself: cool
Well I got notice at 9 am today
6:15 PM but I just want you to know that am doing this for you
6:16 PM I you mean a lot to me and I am no going to let any one mess with that

Me: So what exactly happened that caused you to get into this fight

Himself: As I said I woke up and got out of bed
6:17 PM so the heat engineers can install central heating
So when you come over we won’t freeze
There was no fight
6:18 PM I just wanted to get you excited
Coz I miss you
And I want to talk to you
And you’re so cute when you’re bewildered
:)
6:19 PM :D

Me: P****** K***** Y*****, you are in some deep trouble. :):):) You know an angry fish wife, that's who'll meet you at the sirport (sic) when you come. P***!!!!

Himself: sirport? :D:D:D

Me: P******
Airport!!

6:20 PM Himself: Must be an extension

Me: Yeah, the one for CHOGM

Himself: Any way boo I have to run


6:21 PM Me: Bye sweets. Call me if you can afford five minutes. I miss you

Patrick: I miss u too
Catch them

6:22 PM Me: mwaaaaaah. Get out. Go!

6:23 PM Patrick: bye sweety

Me: bye bye

So we kissed and made up.
But am still the most gullible person this side of the equator!
One day, I’ll treat you to the chronicles of the pranks This Musoga has pulled on me and out of these innumerable times, I managed to catch him at his game only once.
I’m going to have to up my game.

Bye for now.
Have a fab day!

I did it!

I finally sorted out the problem with Firefox and now it's up and running very well.

In about an hour's time, I get to climb the mast over here to fix a bridge for extending the wireless. I do this together with two guys from the Tech Team. Am giddy with excitement, pity, I may not be able to take pictures of the view from yonder. I'm all dressed up for the task, jeans, sweater, sneakers, no watch.....
I'l catch you later, part of the team's arrived.
Will blog about the experience.
See you up there!

Today's just one of those those days that does not seem to be going right.
I had a skirmish with a caller earlier on and I'm trying to upload my christmas pictures and blogger keeps on telling me "Bad Request 404"!!
Aside from that, I upgraded to Firefox 2.0.1 (I think?) and it's giving me attitude. It keeps on popping up several windows and then hangs and then I can't do anything. I've uninstalled and re- installed Firefox three times already!! And I love it so much, it hurts :) :) :( :(
I do those things that deal with computers, but sometimes, I just can't figure it out!
Then, the wireless up here is not working so am down in one of the labs trying to console myself reading National Geographic and looking at shoes.
So, this day.........................
When's it ending???

So I'm back in the world of assignments, deadlines and lecturers who can't pronounce my name right!! Plus, also them that cut lectures!! Today was a prime example. There's this highly intelligent, laid- back guy who's supposed to be taking me in a programming unit. Well, today, he didn't turn up. So as the Faculty Representative in my class, I decided to text him to find out if he was coming. He calls me back and says, we'll start next week. Typical laid- back fashion!!
Come lunch time, I receive a phone call from a lady who wanted to know who I am and why I was sending text messages to that number!!! I started stammering, This Musoga probably knows that look so well and I explained to the lady caller why I'd sent that message. So she tells me to listen carefully, then she goes "I don't want you sending text meaasges to this phone and to my husband". Scared is an understatement of the reaction that this lady gave me!!
Atleast I will not be sending messages to that number again. That, am sure of.

On a lighter note, I was watching re- runs of Sex and the City last night, Season 6 which is really full of Charlotte's attempts at becoming a Jew in order to get married to a nice guy. Well, she succeeded. The amusing thing was the episode where she'd made the Sabbath meal and Harry comes home and is more interested in the football game going on. So she throws it on him- the language lessons, the conversion classes, the time spent to make the meal... Name it, she did it all.
It reminded me, how This Musoga would tease me about my not knowing Luganda, wondering how I'd cope when I went to his house. As he put it, "Luganda's like the national language at home". So far, my efforts at learning this language, I think, are commendable. Except, I forget the words just as fast as I learn them!! Plus, I think I've survived so far.....
On Tuesday morning, in my hall, I met one of the ladies that comes around to help with the washing. She greeted me nicely, called me by my name, but for the love of God, I simply couldnot remember how to answer her back, in LUGANDA!! I just smiled at her.
It seems one month at home erased the little I picked up!!
This Musoga should recommend the text books they used to use in Budo for the language. On my part, I'll recommend a site where he can learn mine!!

Welcome back.
The issue with having two blogs running concurrently is that sometimes you are at a loss of words, so to speak. For instance, the glaring similarity is that I’ve got the same heading for posts on different blogs!

So the heading says what this post’s about. Welcome back.
I survived the holidays, though they were still going on over here till Monday!! Yippee!!
About my holiday, I went to my village home, spent about four days there. The account’s already been posted on my other blog. Pictures, am still debating whether to put them. Time and laziness being the prevailing factors!

I got back on the night of 29th and my body’s still operating in village- mode. I still feel sluggish and oba my brain’s also gone to sleep. As I had no network signal, I couldn’t keep in touch with This Musoga and maybe it was fate that prevailed so I could get back on 29th before midnight.
29th was This Musoga’s birthday. Had I not got back in time to make that call, the story would have been “The girl that forgot her boyfriend’s birthday”. Luckily, I made the call in time but he was too busy buying groceries, to put in a lot of words.
The solution to this was to call later. The Musoga decides to call just as I’m drifting off to dreamland. I admit, I can be quite grumpy when you call and I’m sleepy and this always gets on his nerves!! I’ll be too lazy to say anything; I’ll just keep on saying “mmh, mmh”!! Then the one that sets him off, he tells me something, and then I go “yeah, yeah, so what’s up”!! That’s my I-Really-Want-To-Sleep cue to whoever is on the other end.
This Musoga sometimes decides to clock the talk credit. Meaning I’ve got to stay on the line and listen and then yap back!! These sacrifices!!!

This Musoga and my mum have something in common- a birthday. The night of 29th gave me a whole kind of respect for my father. We got back to Kampala at about 10pm; he had a bath and decided to take my mum out. Even if they just got out for about 2hrs, his man who’d been up since 4am that day, then driven to Kampala for 4hrs, still took her to celebrate her milestone.
On the other side of the coin, I paid for this night out starting from 10am today! When we get back from the village, we usually carry beef and fish from home and the following morning, my dad distributes to various people. Because he was out late, it meant I had to wake up and sort, pack and deliver. This took the whole day. As I sit here, I still have got three deliveries to make which I’ve postponed indefinitely!!

I’m really having issues with MTN!! All my text messages have not been delivered and the credit’s still deducted. These Ugandan things!!

Happy New Year!
12.00am 01-01-07, found me driving past the church at the junction to Bidandi Ssali’s mosque in Ntinda and Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira was playing on the radio. My reason for being in Ntinda was to buy more booze for the people who’d gathered home to see the fireworks and celebrate the New Year with us.
I couldn’t help but notice the huge contradiction!
The year’s started out well, so far so good.
Still chilling at home, eating anything that comes my way and watching a lot of TV.
On the down side, it has been blighted by the execution of Saddam Hussein. I’m such a believer in the basic human right to life. I abhor death sentences. They should have left the fellow in the gallows and thrown away the key and let him ponder on his life for his last few remaining years. Surely, he wouldn’t have lived another 50 years, would he?
Now they are also going to execute the brother.
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.

Meditating on the previous year……….
- What happened to Sebagala’s buses?
- Global Fund, Mukula, Muhwezi?
- Nsaba Buturo, still insisting he was right to steal?
- NMS and Rutagi?

This Musoga and I will post an analysis on our previous year.
Bye for now.