BEGGARS CANNOT BE CHOSERS

It's on a Saturday,the evening is just kicking in;I'm from Jamia Mall,where I had gone to buy some jeans and shoes.As I walk along the Jamia Mosque trying to cross the road with my little purchases,listening to some music on my ear phones.I feel a tap on my shoulder which immediately sends a voltaic feeling across my body.We can all add an ayeee... that Nairobi has not been one of the safest places especially during the past four months.Thus,getting a poke when you are in town without your squad who are the ones  responsible for this,as a sign of asking you to check out a hot shawty is totally unwelcome.

I look back and find a young woman covered  in a black hijab."Nilikuwa naomba usaidizi,sijala tangu jana na nimemwacha mwanangu nyumbani."
Since I didn't have enough change on me I decided to buy her a meal so that I could get the extra cash I wanted to give her."I don't have loose cash with me but..."My but hanged mid air since the lady interrupted me immediately "Msenge wewe,nyinyi wanaume mnajifanya kuvaa na kuongea kizungu nyingi ndo hamna chochote.Mwangalie vile anakaa mashida,miye mwenyewe naweza jitolea nikupe usaidizi.Mwanaume bure kabisa."She says this with a distasteful tone and starts walking away.Am left there perplexed and transfixed.I was willing to help her out, actually even go an extra mile of buying her a meal since she said she was hungry.

Unfortunately am not the only one who's undergone this,my dear friend Samira went through the same ordeal.The interesting part is that it happened to her around the same viscinity.She was coming from one of the coffee houses with a mug of a cold latte and some pie,super hungry ready to feed on the whole world when she was stopped by some teenagers.Some of them looked as if they were in their early 20s.The chaps asked Samira to buy them some yoghurt which had toppings from planet yoghurt.Samira instead offered to give them Ksh.300 which they could use to buy anything of their choice"Hatutaki hiyo tunataka kenye tumekuambia" One of the teenagers said.Samira couldn't believe what she was hearing,the audacity of this teens to end up demanding for what they exactly wanted.So Samira told them she couldn't help them out on that issue.They decided to take back the 3sok they had been offered prior"Too late I equally can't help you out on that as well"Samira says as she keeps on walking,heading to her taxi.

"Wewe aunty uko na roho chafu na vile wewe ni mkonde na sura mbaya"They said this to her on a high voice.Samira couldn't believe her ears,to think that she was about to help them with whatever little she had.Another place where begging is a norm it's around archives and if you don't contribute with a coin to their begging,then consider it a "crime".But let me save you from those encounters for another day.

I do believe this is a mirror to our society.We feel entitled to being given some pocket money by our elder family members,god parents and if not we find them not to being "cool".If you don't give the lazy squad back at your hood some money "ya macho" then you're termed "mtiaji".Boo you're not entitled to being given handouts by anyone.Work your sorry a** off.This is one of the major reasons why gangs such as Mungiki and Gaza are being formed,because they believe they are entitled to your cash because of some "security" they are offering.I believe am paying for this via taxes,aren't I?

I have made a resolution,provided you're young,healthy,up on your two feet and walking.I won't offer you cash unless you work for it.I know we are from different social backgrounds but we all can do different manual jobs.It will only cost you a soap to start up a shoe cleaning business.It's easier to get someone's extra coins when you offer to wash their shoes,as it is always dusty or muddy.And icing to the cake you've earned it cause you worked for it.Other than being given hand outs that you've started deeming as your right.Unless it's a new or a reasonable call am hanging up on this one.

12 INCHES A SPACE

When they say love makes one not think straight,trust you me this is an understatement.You'll not only not think straight but also think about the person you love constantly.I had known Tom for three months now and each time we met,I'd fall deeper.The  trick my heart was performing was way too complex for my brain to interpret.
The first time I met him.I never thought it was going to be a big deal since there was nothing extra ordinary about him.He had a simple look on him plus his sense of fashion was modest .He was older and if you gave him a kin look you would notice that he looked way more mature from his experiences with life. From a distance,you could pick up his native accent.My ideal man wasn't supposed to look or sound anything close to him other than his height which he was a 6ft.Feel me when I tell you that I couldn't put it around my fingers why I loved him unconditionally?I guess that's where the love string angels decided to do a turn on me,cause immediately we shared our first kiss,I had my left leg mid way on the air drown to him like a drug.

Being the girl,guys used to ask me out a lot, but in this case I used to ask him out on dates which he'll postpone or worse yet not show up.I remember this time when we had decided to take go out on a coffee date,I waited for him for 45 minutes before I decided to place my order."Excuse me miss your next lattè will be on the house."The waiter said this to me sheepishly.I was on my 4th cup,I guess the coffee shop hadn't received a singular person who had consumed way too many cups than me or better yet they were trying to cheer me up with a free lattè cause I had a devastated look on my face.This was one of the many occasions where I got stood up with no perfect explanation and when I asked him he would shrug it off with how busy his day was.Not with a text or a call to inform me of the cancellation.My friends would discourage me from all this calling it a toxic relationship,only shared by one and pleaded with me to let it go,"Sheila you deserve way better than this."I knew this all way to well but NO!I wanted the unlovable Tom.This went on for a while,every time I would expect him to change for the better.That's when it hit me that if we took a break,it would give him some breathing space so that he would know exactly what he wanted.I would tell him we needed to talk but every time I saw his smile,the taking a break talk would fly away.As much as I loved him,I knew I had to end the cycle I was in.I couldn't leave with the hurt I felt inside."Babe I think we should take a break with our relationship." "Our relationship?"He said coolly with his eyes still fixed on the road. "Yeah,you've not been acting right.I need to feel your presence in my life,get response to my texts,a call or two during or after the day;but you only talk to me once in a while or when you want us to hook up something that I don't think I can keep up with."I said with a fragile voice and teary eyes. "But I don't remember having been in a relationship with you.It was all fun,wasn't it on your side?And I thought you knew am dating Brenda"He said with a boyish grin. "Who's Brenda?"...

Stick around for part 2