EkiraboKyampaire

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colours. So, don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-4) The Message In 'Christian circles' there is a term; revelation . It refers to what is in secular circles known as 'an Aha moment '. Last night, I received revelation concerning my wedding preparations and the meshing process that my Bosom Buddy and I are going through. The key message from the Holy Spirit to mine? Don't try to get out of this season prematurely! whether it is by taking a bank loan, giving in to the urge to use a roll in the hay to relieve relational pressure or it is by sulking & refusing to tackle conflict/ disagreements head on. Between the two of us, we are more in debt than we are monied. Also...

Hope, Regina, Julie Lynn, Regina, Julie Alice, Hope, Lynn, Regina and Julie I was challenged to write by these lovely ladies...then I get here and I realize I did not even write a happy new year post! Shame! Happy New Year 2014 friends. I hope it is rolling along as well for you as it is for me. I had a fantastic time this Saturday with my friends of old, Alice, Hope, Regina and Julie. If there is any advice I would give to twenty-somethings, it is that they should  choose their friends right early and stick with them. Life is too challenging to be lived friendless. I am engaged to be married. A hope I had shelved. Considering posts on here such as this  one :-) I was quite surprised when the question was popped. I am still amazed that he got the finger size and the blue stone right- just as I had imagined it in my dreams...  smh :-)  I am as excited as I am apprehensive; praying daily that nuptial plans will go well, that I will not...

So, he said, 'let's cross over' and even though I hesitated a tard, I said yes - that was three days ago. Now, I am waiting with bated breath to see what the Lord has in store for me and for us as a unit. I am humbled by the way things have been orchestrated and how despite my unfaithfulness to God on many occasions, He has remained faithful to make all things work out for my good as the Apostle Paul encouraged the Roman church :) "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed" Amos 3:3 :)

He is just not that into me. I needed to have that on record and stop kidding myself :( I am okay and on my way. I do not hate him or wish he would go sky diving and his parachute fails :) seriously, I don't :) Also, I now acknowledge that friendships with the opposite sex are a bad idea. I mean real friendships where secrets are shared, time is spent, fears exposed, truth told...these actions one by one; day by day set the said two people up for trouble. I am done cultivating those kinds of friendships. Perhaps it can be said that this is one of my 2013 resolutions- nurture only friendships with women. We (women) need each other 'more' after all :) In other news, Oswald Chambers through his well loved devotion my Utmost for His Highest continues to bless me every morning or evening, fortifying my bible reading, and all this from beyond the grave. The depth of analysis, the clarity of expression and the evident Holy Spirit inspiration is fantastic. Take the following ...

the cartoon Me :) I am in love. How do I know? Well, firstly, as happens with me where these things are concerned, he does not feel the same way :( Secondly, I am listening to 'love songs', ballads (as we, the 80s people call them) and feeling like I relate to them- like the words make sense :) Usually, I am as unfeeling towards them as a door post. Everywhere I turn, there is a potential story to tell him, a gift I am certain he would like. I refresh my gmail every other hour just in case he finally decided to send me an endearing email declaring how he is nuts about me-blah, blah, blah :) This morning, desperate to hear his name mentioned within my 'airspace', I called a work colleague by his name. It was such an involuntary act that the guy had to ask, 'Who is ...?' You didn't seriously think I was going to give the name away, now, did you?!! ...Shame! :) I catch myself thinking of ways I can sincerely be a better person- the kind of...

I sincerely had not realized how much I love books until I went to Fareed's Bookstore yesterday and spent 50,000 UGX on 15 books...in my defence, that's a bargain right?!!!...Anyway, I am now dreaming of fourteen weeks or so (because I have been, by the skin of my teeth, managing to read a book a week) of being transported to other lands and temporarily morphing into the characters with whom I identify in the book I am reading. That Michela Wrong book, It's our Turn to Eat that I read a month or so ago has remained with me. It impacted me as much as it frustrated me. You see, I identified & agreed with the whistle blower John Githongo who unleashed information about the continued, deliberate and President- backed corruption in Kenya's  government yet I was discouraged by the reminder that such behaviour is not welcome in Africa. People in power and their cronies must 'eat' and no-one should question this or try to put a stop to it because even the po...

 forget Demarco and his loving life declaration:-(  Grey :-( I am not ovulating, so that is removed as a reason for this forlornness I feel/ have been feeling lately. It's been cold and dreary lately, yes, but even that doesn't quite cut it as a reason for my feeling like this...arrgghhh! Anyway, it probably has to do with hope deferred. The Good Book in Proverbs asserts that that situation can make the heart sick. Yeah, gorrit...my heart is sick :-( Meanwhile, that picture on the left actually cracked me up :-) Who does that???, 'dude, do you think you are a rocket, oba?' Scents & Bums :-) In other news, a friend gave me a gift, the other day, of the Jennifer Lopez Love & Glamour  perfume and I have to say, when it comes to scents, she does get it right :-). Way to go! to the woman with insured buttocks :-). My mom told me the other day that I have grown a sizable pair of buttocks in the last couple of ye...

So, as a result of a TIME magazine article, as posted verbatim below, my housemate and I decided we should have a chocolate party at our house one of these days. You know, like a bottle party, only this time, you come with a bottle of alcohol and at least 100g of chocolate :-) Who's in?!!! Holla at your gal!...Of course we hope to attract the female folk mostly, but if there are men out there unashamed to indulge in a chocolate and alcohol binge, you are welcome! :-) Sweet Revenge. Chocolate eaters are thinner. Really. By Alice Park Long branded as a dieter’s foe, chocolate may have been given an unduly bad rap. That’s what the latest study to balance the health benefits and harms of the sweet treat shows: sure, chocolate is loaded with calories, but its fattening potential may be more than offset by its positive metabolic effects- which also improve heart health, cholesterol levels, glucose control and blood pressure. In the study, involving more than 1,000 me...

I have been pondering, over the last couple of days, a rumour, that I heard on the weekend has been going around, that sometime last year I was 'tying on' a certain guy; read: throwing myself at him, giving him time he did not want, stalking him...et cetera. I can't stop shaking my head when I think of these allegations and how untrue they are (especially where this particular guy is concerned). I am a catch. I am the JAVAs chocolate fudge cake recipe every chocolate cake lover wants to get a hold of. I am the Mercedes G 55 AMG every self respecting, Merc loving man in this town wants to drive. I am the Whitney Houston- type pitch control every diva wishes for. I have used three analogies and I can think of many more. Because, let's face it, I- am- more. As I grow older, I begin to acknowledge (more like accept) that I am a pretty unique/ special person. This acknowledgement does not mean I think m...

I was kidnapped. At least that is the ‘official story’ :-) . The perpetrator of the kidnap, has been, unlike the usual kidnapper, kind, attentive, giving, supportive and entertaining. The mere presence (even with no conversation) of the kidnapper has been soothing, a solace. A lot of laughter.   A considerable amount of soul searching triggered by conversation. Inner healing. It was imperative that I ‘cool-off’ (equal to and including phones being switched off, internet being shunned) as the one part of my world that I thought I had control over, that I had made, had fallen apart. The rug had been pulled from under me. I was resentful, stark raving mad!!! :-) How dare he???!!! After all this time??!! After what I had done to put his ******* organization on the map???!!! Due to my sheer awesomeness…arrrgggghhhh! I think I may still be rather pissed off. Msssscchheeewww! Believe me, I am ‘much better’ :-) When God closes a door, it is said, He opens a window. I think, I may ...

I always thought that I would achieve happiness when I could claim a million dollars to my name. I sneered at talk of ‘money cannot buy happiness’ insisting that money may not be everything but it sure does put you in a better bargaining position and that that option to choose is, in truth, the definition of happiness. I am beginning to notice the flaws in that notion of mine. I am certain that I will, in the not so distant future, be able to claim a million dollars to my name. I will soon be able to make all those dreams of mine that were dependent on monetary muscle, come true…yet, I am also just as certain that happiness is not round the corner :-(  I want a companion. I want a witness. I want a running mate. I would like a partner. I find that I even as much as I am a formidable force on my own, capable of achieving great things, I have evidently achieved greater things when I had at least one person rooting for me…and not in a familial, obligatory way but in t...

Another Valentine’s Day sans a ‘partner’. This state of affairs means no expectation of the ‘trappings’ of the day so, I am not complaining. I think I have long reconciled myself to the fact that realism wins the day and I am better off alone or with a partner that wouldn’t care less about Valentine’s Day but is kind, sensitive, providing, protecting, prayerful and honest than with one who is horrendous throughout the year but remembers to appease me with a bouquet of flowers and some (fairly) fancy chocolate on Valentine’s Day. Inconsistency, I discover, rubs me the wrong way.   This year, I have planned a one-on-one dinner with my mom and two sisters. We will wine, dine and bitch about the undeserving men we have had to encounter in our lives while we salute those men that have been worthy representatives of the male species, at least to us. We will spend our hard earned cash on ourselves... I will be letting all and sundry know how things go tomorrow evening... In ...

Area Code: 481; Masaka, Uganda Time Check: 10:08 p.m. I experienced my first steam bath today courtesy of a colleague who insisted I needed it to relax. Well, it does turn out he was right :-)...I got a massage too and a made a friend named Gertrude who is a trained Physiologist and is amazing at reflexology and so on...she counselled me, schooled me...eh! I was glad I had taken the initiative to ask her what she does while we sweated life's stress off :-)...we exchanged cards and shall be in touch.....she shared some seemingly miraculous stories of people given up on by their relatives only to be restored to health with the right counselling, reflexology and massage therapy. 24 hours earlier I was at Alfredo's dancing like I had been hired...yep! I danced all night and without taking time off to sleep, headed to Mbarara at 5:00 a.m in order to be in time for a community meeting at 10:00 a.m. That was a first too and it was so much fun (of course if you discount the horre...

So, this morning, since my housemate is on leave, I had to use 'public means' to work. It had been a while. Anyhow, I  thought I would take a taxi to my not-so-far away office. I mean, Naalya to Kamwokya...just a gunshot away, right? Hmmm...never to be. The traffic was murder. I had forgotten that today was day one of  the school term. The taxis were available but they were parked in a jam...not moving an inch. There were no two ways about it, I had to jump on an 'open roof' :-)... For Clarity: No, my boda boda chap was not half this cute/ muscled/ edible :-) Now, it must be noted that the Ntinda road is at stage three of construction...yeah, the 'loose- soily' stage...and we all know how hot/dry Kampala is these days. Like I was saying to a friend, our city's weather seems to be competing with Dar es Salam's...things are hectic, I tell you. Well, best not to digress... The boda, boda chap was, for some reason, convinced that I needed to ...

Dear All (and sundry) :-), It's been three weeks since I last had this feeling in my belly...the feeling of excitement...the sparkle...I am in a good mood this morning. I am beginning to feel like myself again. Thank God. Last night an old friend and I spoke for 45 or so minutes. We discovered that her story and mine were identical. We had been taken to hell by the goon and we had made it back. We are the ones that got away. The ones that were blessed to get out before the building burned down. We acknowledged that bad things do happen to good people and even the best of us can be fooled/ tricked but as that line in the song says; 'fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me...' We had some good laughs. We shrieked God's name in thanks for 'delivering' us and we agreed to meet regularly...literally be a loose 'support group' to each other in order to ensure that the 'fool me twice' scenario does not ever come to pass in both o...

Happy New Year to all and sundry. For the first time in a couple of years, I feel like I have started a new year with purpose; notwithstanding the fact that this 'purpose' was wrought of disappointment and heartache. Whenever it has been said that, 'it has to get worse before it gets better', I have not quite understood considering that I have rarely been ill in my short life and besides, by a carefully crafted system of cautious existence, I have 'protected' myself from the 'pitfalls' that oft come with loving another human being with careless abandon. Today, I am committed to a year of self discovery, a journey to the centre of Kyampaire to painstakingly separate the wheat from the chaff where my habits, characteristics, beliefs and attitudes are concerned. There is a part of me that thinks I may have been reflecting off me characteristics/ opinions of some other people who I hold in high esteem. Well, it is time for me to figure out on which sid...

The list below is so I can be understood better by kith and kin :-) The colour is Red The kiss is French The music is Jazz The chocolate is Swiss The day is cool and cloudy, no rain The night sky is starry The wine is red The movie is full of drama, laced with comedy The fiction author is witty The auto/biographer is evidently genuine/ honest, no corny lines The jewellery is gold The hug is ‘full’, warm and tight The belief is in an omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, omnificent God The ice cream is chocolate The coffee is dark and strong The handshake is firm The smile is wide The dress is of a sunny colour, figure hugging The hair is short and natural The friend is open and honest The personal income is six figured The shoes are judged by ‘comfortability’ before anything else The work-out involves swimming The nails are short and clean The best household appliance ever invented is a washing machine The sport is tennis The beer is Guiness The suitor is t...

So, I made 28 on Saturday 3rd September 2011, (that's almost a whole two weeks ago!)... and I have so far learnt some lessons which I am happy to share here; A woman's facial skin will not always be smooth and supple...there is a reason for all the money that the cosmetic industry worldwide is making. Zits and all other such blemishes will appear on thine formerly smooth skin as you approach 30 for all manner of hormonal reasons...:-( 'A minute on the lips, forever on the hips' or around your midriff or your formerly toned arms, now turned 'flags'...Food must be eaten with extreme care as you turn the 3-O corner because food is not your friend anymore, woman! Rock music, Barbeque Lounge and Worship Harvest Church praise team is not deafeningly loud, your ear drums are just beginning to get worn out and thus more sensitive :-) 'One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.' This is true as you begin to think of things like wedding guest lists and...

A dear friend has been badgering me to write here for a week or so now...'mbu'  my fans are craving my 'storro'. As I said to this friend, am not too sure, seeing as a fan base is ideally reserved for celebs and such other categories of human beings in which I am not...nonetheless, the following ramblings represent what has been on my mind in the recent past :-) So, Ms. Beyonce is with child...I congratulate her because since 2008, if she lived in Uganda, she would have endured a fair amount of ridicule from her in-laws by now :-)... Well, only a few days ago at the insistence of my little sister, I, for the first time, listened to her song, "Schooling Life" and I must say, she impressed my socks off...I had earlier 'snobbed' this particular album of hers, probably because there was so much hype about it and hype tends to bias me negatively :-) Anyway, this song, turns out to be deep, if ever such an adjective was allowed to be used in description...

So, I was first introduced to the idea of blogging a couple of years ago. I have since been too lazy and or too busy to keep my blog alive... Well, I have spent the last couple of hours today ogling some dude's blog and the envy has gotten the better of me:-)...now, here I am, a proud 'owner' of a new blog...hopefully, this time I will be more consistent... I have thoughts by the way :-) and I oft think they are profound...so here I am! :-) :-) :-) (three's a charm!)