Introduction⌗

I have had a good time – thinking about the last 10 years of my life. At the beginning of the decade, I was done with high school and joined university. I had massive dreams of studying Mechanical Engineering but well, life happened. I ended up doing something different – Mathematics and Computer Science. I remember at some point I wanted to be a Physicist but I think, the allure of Computer Programming found a way to completely swallow me whole.

At the end of the decade, I’m a Software Engineer making a difference everyday, a line of code at a time. I’ve learnt and experienced many lessons over the years and in as much as they are not directed to my career, they’ve made my life what it is right now. So, I’m going to highlight – and in case some of these happen to omit someone or something we experienced together, just know I always have in my heart and mind and it’s omitted because of the human capabilities I have at the moment - some of the things that warmed up my decade.

Top music albums⌗

Kenyan⌗

Pulpilt Kwa Streets by Juliani. This album came at a time that conscious hip-hop music with positive message was needed - for me and my country. I love this work by Juliani.
Safari: The Journey by Adawnage. I had the pleasure of interacting with these guys during the decade I was really happy to meet them, share their experiences outside of the music scene. I love them and this masterpiece they made.
Sol Filosofia by Sauti Sol. This is one of the best things that happened to the Kenyan music scene. The best of my time!
Testimony 1990 by Khaligraph Jones. I can’t find it on Deezer but this album slapped. Khaligraph was in his element and the music on this album was something else. Still killing the hip-hop scene.
LDPC by Octopizzo. Wow! This one revamped word play and metophorism in the music scene. BTW, the title LDPC just stands for Long Distance Paper Chaser.

Global⌗

Anti by Rihanna. Wow! Ask anyone, they’ll tell you how much this album shook the scene. Work was a hit but did you listen to Sex with me in the shower? And sing along?
Watch the Throne by Jay-Z and Kanye West. Why do you think the song was called Niggas in Paris? Cos niggas was in Paris! That’s my mood. All the time.
Lemonade by Beyonce. I felt like I was walking through a hallway with Bey’s emotions and feelings all around. I love Beyonce but this album cemented her place in my heart. Her music will always resonate with me.
Because the Internet by Childish Gambino was my introduction to this genius. ‘Till 3005, I got your back…
2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole. Whoa! I listened through this album like I was going to be tested on it. I loved the beats on the songs, the lyrics hit home and the songs were set to make you feel like you were in the story Cole was telling. And just for the record and special mention, I also loved:
- 4 your eyez only
- KOD
- Revenge of the dreamers III

all by him and Dreamville artistes.

Travel Destinations⌗

Zanzibar. I stayed here for a day but I loved it! I have to go back for longer in the coming decade.
Uganda. Kampala has a life you wanna experience at least once.
Cape Town, South Africa. This one was a lovely experience. I enjoyed every bit and I can’t wait to go back.
Naivasha, Kenya. So what you do is, make it a road trip from viewing the various scenes like The Great Riftvalley to Lake Elementaita along the way. Then you go to Hells gate, climb the Mt. Longonot crater and then you finish it with a ride on a boat on the L. Naivasha. There’s many options to camp and party so please, visit the place.
Mombasa, Kenya. I did this too much in this decade. Too many times. It never gets old.

Sporting Events⌗

Aguero injury time winner in May 2012. Okay, I said I’ll stick to positive things but this one I remembered it cos my team, Manchester United was going to win the league but Aguero happened and snatched it from us on the extra time!
Eliud Kipchoge running the marathon in under 2 hours! I enjoyed that a lot.
Kenya’s Harambee Stars winning the CECAFA cup in 2017. I watched all the games and my joy was just insurpussable when we won.
Naomi Osaka beating Serena Williams in the US open final. She made me so happy. I love Serena so much and her successes are legendary. I root for Osaka in the coming decade to take it up from her.
Anytime Kenyan athletes raced. I enjoyed it. I love our athletes. The best thing that has ever happened to our country. I hope in the coming decade they’re treated and taken care of well.
Wayne Rooney’s bicycle kick against Manchester City. The best of my time.

Technological Advancements⌗

Artificial Intelligence has made very many significant steps. Advancements in Machine Learning and Natural Language processing have been made in many key areas health i.e. cancer detection.
Web Development has seen a rise in web developers, engineers and tools. New languages and libraries have been created that have revolutionized the way applications on the web are developed and maintained.
Blockchain and Cryptocurrency. This has never been of interest to me but it was ~~and still is?~~ a wave that took the decade by storm. In other applications, blockchain has been used to come up with fascnating solutions.

Personal Moments⌗

Getting to study Mathematics and Computer Science. I loved programming and there was a slight chance of me missing out to study CS. When I was actually confirmed, I was overjoyed.
Attending my ex-girlfriend’s masters graduation. She’d gone through a lot to finally get to graduate and it make me very happy to finally get to the end of it.
Getting my first paid job as a programmer. I teared because someone took a chance on me and right now, thanks to him, I am what I am.
Finishing 4th in a global challenge. And I got paid a lot of chums too 😁
Seeing my family graduate; my sisters, my mother, my uncle (now a Dr. ). These moments made me feel very proud of them.

Favorite People⌗

My siblings. I love them. They understand me and they are always ready to accomodate each of us with our different desires. To a decade of growth, love and laughs.
My boys. Ah, these 3 gentlemen ~~Sharkdu lol~~ have always been there for me. I know I can depend on them and that makes me very glad to have them in my life. To a decade of joy, laughs and love. Also, my friends ~~Nice Humans~~, I ❤️ you all.
My ex-girlfriend. I love her. She made me happy. She was my escape. Some people come into your life and they make you live it to the fullest. She introduced me to very many things that I didn’t like at first but ended up loving and seeing or doing to an extent that I missed her a lot if she’s not there. To a decade of love, adventure and growth.
My aunt who has always been there for me in this city and out. I love you aunty Bri.
My parents. Especially my mum. Inspirational. Live long mom.

Reads of the decade⌗

Men without women by Haruki Murakami.
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.
Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia.
Mothernight by Kurt Vonnegut.
A River in Darkness: One Man’s Escape from North Korea by Ishikawa Masaji

Also, everything written by one of my favorite authors Ms Dora Okeyo. Read some of her books from this list.

Gadgets I use(d) and I love(d)⌗

Xiaomi Mi TV box. Toss all you ‘smart TVs’ out and just get this baby. It’s one of a kind.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9. The only sane phone worth the money out here.
Macbook Pro. Okay, I had my reservations some time in the decade but I got a Mac and I loved it. It’s a PC for sane people.
Arduino. I programmed this once and I loved IOT for a minute. I hope I can get back to it in the coming decade.
PS4 and XBOX. Take your console war far away from mebecause I love both of them.

The Best of my Decade