Kanyindo's Random Ramblings

I attended a wedding on behalf of my mother recently, and it turned out to be a test of my manners and overall self-control. Usually I would have gone with one of my siblings but they were all caught up, so I made my way to the church ceremony all alone, ready to represent the family and make my Mama proud. I got there early, so luckily I was able to have a chat with the groom before he went in and give him my absent family members’ best wishes and hearty congratulations. I turned around and spotted one of those senior aunties that one simply MUST greet, on pain of death.  I made a beeline for her and patiently waited my turn to say hello.  No sooner had she turned around to see who had tapped her politely on the arm (me) than she immediately launched into me. ‘’EH EH EH!!! NOW SEE THIS ONE!!’’ I’ve stressed the CAPS just to convey loudness.  Volume control is a foreign concept to this woman. ‘’CAN YOU IMAGINE?! EH BUT WEDDINGS CAN REALLY BRING OUT PEOPLE!!’’ She t

Today marks what would have been my parents' 42nd wedding anniversary.  A day that we always celebrated as a family became bittersweet years ago, as my paternal Grandmother passed away on this date, but even more so now that my Dad is no longer with us. That said, my siblings and I would always celebrate this day, even as children, before we understood its significance.  We would spend hours poring over our parents' wedding album, and laugh at Mum's stories of how Dad refused to take his shades off when they were posing for pictures outside church (his kasiki was the night before- madness!), and then Dad's stories about the guest who opened all the beers at once so they went flat before anyone could even get a drink in (who DOES that?!). Over the years the responsibility of throwing a party to celebrate our parents' big day fell to my siblings and I.  Whether it was a shindig with friends and family, or a simple dinner just the 6 of us, it was always an ext

I came across this awesome challenge on Instagram (thank you @thisis_esi!) and just HAD to do it.  Of course, there was no way in hell that my infinite FOMO was going to let me do this day-by-day for 30 days, so I grabbed a few free minutes, refilled my coffee mug, and got to writing. I loved this challenge for several reasons- namely because it totally appeals to someone as obsessed with music as I am, but it also got me pulling out old classics (I say pulling out but what I really mean is scrolling through my iTunes) and reminiscing, singing along and generally making a bit of a twat of myself at my desk.  Thankfully, my colleagues played along and didn't make me feel like too much of a muppet. So, here's my list.  I'd love to hear yours. Siima's 30 Day Music Challenge Compressed Into A Single Afternoon. 1.        A song you like with a colour in the title ·          Blue For You- Wet Wet Wet 2.        A song you like with a number in the title ·      

I learned a very important lesson in patience last Friday, courtesy of Uber. My radio show starts at 6am, so I always make it a point to get to studio latest 5.45am.  Just to get into the groove, banter with my co-hosts before we kick off and so on. That morning, Uber had other plans for me. I placed my first request at 5.15am, in case the Uber driver was violently opposed to GPS and needed detailed directions to my house, which is almost always the case in my experience.  To my delight, my request was accepted almost immediately.  I was pleasantly surprised to be informed that my driver was completing a trip and would be with me in 17 minutes.  Fair enough, I thought.  Gives me time to chill a bit, and I’ll still be in time for the show. 17 minutes later, I checked the app and noticed that the driver’s car was in exactly the same spot it was 17 minutes previously, that he still seemed to be completing the trip, and was STILL ’17 minutes away’. Hmmm.  I decided to

I was doing some spring cleaning recently and decided to clean out the glasses cabinet. You know that cabinet.  The one with the glass shelves and the good wine glasses that only come out when you’ve got guests.  And I’m not talking about the ones you use when your friends come over for a drink up.  I mean the cabinet where you keep the glasses you serve aunties and uncles with.  The one with the silver set, the one with the teacups your parents were given as a wedding gift- the ones you never, ever touch for fear of breaking them.   My inner klutz comes out at the most inappropriate times, so I stay away from that cabinet as much as is physically possible. Anyway, so there I was, listening to music and humming along (tunefully, I might add), carefully taking each glass off the shelf.  I lovingly dusted each shelf, taking extra care to not do one of two things that always happen when I find myself in such a precarious position i.e dealing with glass: Break a gla

I don’t know why, but lately, people keep confusing me with Karitas Karisimbi. I don’t have a problem with this in principle- I don’t know Karitas personally, I just know that she’s a media personality and was on radio.  But it’s crazy how many people have either greeted me by her name or confidently pointed me out as being her. I was at a recording studio voicing an ad recently, and the producer asked the receptionist if she knew who I was.  She scoffed at him and rolled her eyes, replying ‘Shyaa.  Of course.  She’s Karitas!’  I was so stunned I didn’t even have the gas to correct her before I entered the booth.  I wasn’t expecting her to know who I was at all, never mind her mistaking me for someone else altogether. Another time, I was patiently waiting at the ATM for the lady in front of me to quit wasting time, get her money and go.  As always, I had my headphones in and was blasting some tune or other, when she came out and stopped in her tracks in front of me.  I loo

I don’t deal with disappointment very well. I know that might sound like an obvious thing to say, because, who does?  But I realized today that I really need to find a coping mechanism for that crushing feeling when things don’t quite go the way you hoped they would. It is partly my fault, because I was looking at things perhaps I shouldn’t have been.  Nothing illegal, mind.  Just that normal curiosity, more so now because technology makes it so easy for us to look back at what people were doing this time last year or the other year, and tally that with what we were doing at the same time. And that’s when I saw it.  I wish to God I hadn’t.  I wish to God I had Google Imaged Idris Elba instead.  But that split second before my world came crashing down around my ears, right before this stress headache hit (it’s moved all the way down my neck, by the way), that split second before the wave of nausea I still can’t shake came over me- I thought, what harm will it do?  I’ll just

Something happened on air this morning that totally threw me off. We were discussing whether or not a parent should compensate a babysitter, or even a friend, if their child breaks something of theirs.  Like a phone, or laptop.  My stance is, if my child broke something belonging to someone I had asked to look after them, I would feel compelled to refund them or at least contribute towards the cost of getting a replacement. Big mistake, so it would seem. A female listener called the show.  Sternly, she asked me if I have any children, to which of course I answered in the negative.  She went on to say that the only reason I had that opinion is the fact that I do not have a child, as no mother would ask another mother to pay for something broken by a child.  (Please note, she ignored the fact that I said I would feel compelled to refund if my child had broken something belonging to someone else.  I didn’t say that I would demand money from someone if their child broke so

It's no secret that I absolutely adore dogs. I brought my two puppies, Zsa Zsa and Pepper, from the farm in Kinoni to Kampala, right after New Years. It had been a long time coming, lots of preparation and visits to the farm from when they were born in August.  I was especially excited because their mother, Biscuit, has been with us since she was a puppy.  When she gave birth to a litter of 8 puppies, it was a real event in our family.  Our little Biscuit was all grown up! Biscuit. Just look at that face! I grew up with dogs being a part of the family, but until now, the responsibility was always with my parents as regards the vet, food etc. Now it's all on me. It was a bit daunting at first.  No sooner had the pups been in Kampala for a week and had their appointment with the vet, they fell ill, reacting to the vaccines pumped into their little bodies.  After spending a few days at the vet's (I had NO idea there was a facility in Uganda where dogs could be

I'll never forget the day my brother Baingana was born. Not so much because I was going to be a big sister (finally!! Someone below me on the sibling food chain!!), but because I had won a bet with my Dad.  He bet on it being another girl, my sisters and I all bet it was going to be a boy. When we went to the hospital, I was a bit disappointed that we weren't allowed to see my Mum, but I soon forgot all about that when we were taken to the nursery where all the newborn babies were being kept.  Of course we weren't allowed in- my Dad just held me up to the glass and pointed at a baby in the corner (they all looked the same to me- wrapped in blue blankets, with only their little scrunched up faces showing, yelling like their lives depended on it), and said 'There's your brother.'' I was a little underwhelmed, to be honest.  I mean, why couldn't I go in?  I'd washed my face and hands before we went to the hospital.  I'd been so excited to see

It’s Day 4 of my Gratitude Week and I have to admit I’m feeling quite pleased with myself, in an extremely non-smug manner. Not that I didn't think I would make it this far.  One thing I've learnt writing these Gratitude posts is, once you start being grateful for the things in your life, it is so easy to find something to write about and be thankful for. Today’s Gratitude List is specifically about my sisters. I am the third of four children, the third of three girls.  (My brother is at the bottom of our sibling food chain and will get his own blog post another day.) Kaine, Asiimwe and I have a very unique relationship in that for most of our childhood, we were moving around the world due to my father’s job.  Aside from all the usual sibling squabbles- ‘’She’s wearing my sweater!! She pulled my hair!! She’s looking at me!!’’- we HAD to be friends because when you move to a totally new country, new school, you need people who have your back until you eventually

This April will mark 2 years since my Dad passed away. I have to be very honest with you and admit that I'm not quite sure how my Mum, my siblings and I have made it this far. I've come to understand that grief is a very unique, personal thing.  Everyone will lose a parent, but not everyone will feel it the same way. Big Bang Theory actress (though I prefer to remember her from Beaches and Blossom ) Mayim Bialik lost her father a year after I did, and she put into words something I was struggling to. "For those of you who have lost a parent, you know how I feel. You tell me you do. For those of you who have lost someone else you were close to, you also tell me you know how I feel. But you don't. Because you're not me losing my Abba." Read the complete post here:  Mayim Bialik Mourns Her Father In Emotional Blogpost When I read that post, something clicked.  I had been struggling with condolence messages, the fact that some people were avoiding me

I promised myself that I would write a Gratitude List post for every day this week. So far so good. But it's only Day 2 so I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Today's post is dedicated to my mother.  She brought me into the world and on many occasions has told me that she can take me out of it again.  There is so much I could say about her, but there simply isn't enough space.  So I will just have to keep doing it piece by piece. One of the many things I love about my mother is how straight-forward she is.  As a teenager I often hated how she would tell you exactly what she thought of your behaviour (much as you deserved a severe telling-off), and how it made her feel when you acted like a complete turd.  ''I am the only person in the world who will tell you the truth! Because I love you!'' *cue juvenile teenage eyeroll*. Ugh, I cringe when I remember myself as a teen. Now, as an adult, I cherish my relationship with my mother because we

I usually hate Mondays, not for any particular reason apart from the fact that it's the day that drags me firmly out of weekend mode.  Lately I've been doing everything in my power to stay up-beat on this day, especially seeing as it sets the tone for the rest of my week. I made up my mind this weekend that I really need to start work on my Gratitude Lists, because I had let them slide a bit.  (That said, I'm going to try and write one every day this week.  Pray for me.) An incident this morning made me realise that I really should be grateful that my parents taught me manners.  Someone was very rude to me, and I had half a mind to put them in their place but then I thought- no.  Not today.  I am not the one. You might be wondering why I didn't stand up and tell them off, explain that their foolishness has no place in an office and that they should go take a long walk off a short pier.  Or perhaps dig into my vault of rather colourful language.  Or dispense The S

Can I start this post by saying I am so ashaaaaaaaaaaaaaamed it has taken me this long to write it?! I won't bore you with the whys and wherefores.  Just know I am sorry and will do better. So, I am still all a-flutter because the lovely  Sinawo Bukani  saw fit to add me to her list of nominees for this fabulous award.   I came across Sinawo on Twitter, where she was answering questions tweeted by @AfroBloggers  . Her answers intrigued me because she answered many in almost exactly the same way I would have done!  I checked out her blog, and her honesty and style just spoke to me. A kindred spirit!  It was a no brainer that I would follow her and become an avid reader. Thank you Sinawo! Now for The Rules part.  My nominees are as follows: Sinawo Bukani  Coz I swear we were sisters in another life or something. @TheRealLumpen  Because her posts are powerful and put me in the feeeeeeeels!! Ernest Bazanye  Because this guy.  This dude. Is a genius. That is all

I suppose the fact that I dropped my hair brush in the toilet first thing this morning should have been some sort of indication of the day I had ahead of me. Before I continue, because I know it will be bugging you and distract you from the rest of this post if I don’t clarify; yes, the toilet had been flushed when my hairbrush fell into it.  And yes, I did retrieve it. Moving on. I am always full of beans on Fridays.  Not because I am some kind of party animal- trust me, my weekends are mostly spent chilling at home.  But there’s just something about Friday that puts me in a great mood. Not so much today.  And it had nothing to do with the toilet hairbrush incident. After years of trying to help someone close to me, I have had to accept that our friendship is irreparably damaged.  This week has been the final nail in a coffin I have been struggling to keep open, in the hope that things could go back to the way they were. But it looks like I’m only hurting myse