MY HOBBIES AND 'FAVORITES'

Hello esteemed reader, (warm hugs for you if you are in Kampala-Uganda....we are having a chilly day) or even the rest of the world, a warm hug won't do you bad! 

Another Friday, Another blog, Another Snap Moment

I appreciate having you here again for yet another post, it means a whole lot to me. I hope you had a fantastic Easter holiday, relaxed more and you approached this week with utmost vigor. God has been good, we are still here, we still have Patie Polly's Take.

 So today, I thought I would bring you another part of the me, yeah, apart from waking up and going to work, how is my life when the noise has faded, the streets are calm and the leaves are rustling gently against the wind? Well, if you wanna get to know more about that, stick with me, let's dive right into it down below.

To commence the 'dialogue', here is a sneak peek of what gives me a bit or a whole lotta tranquility when the sun goes down or when work is the least thing to worry about.

-Music;  if there has ever been another power on Earth(apart from love...haha) that's beyond 'normal' human understanding, it's music! Well that's my opinion.....don't come after me to hold an argument, haha.

 Many a times we all get sad, excited or sometimes we don't know exactly how we feel but there is one thing that can define our mood and that's music. It's one thing to enter a room and find your buddy listening to "I WILL NEVER LOVE AGAIN" (Lady Gaga-a star is born) and another to burst into someone's kitchen and.... "THINKING ABOUT YOU" (Ciara) is on replay. For the former, get close and give them a reassuring pat on the shoulder and for the latter, ditch the heels and join the groove!! Now you know what I'm talking about, don't you?

Get jiggy with Patie Polly's Take!

When it's a Monday and the music playing beside your dresser is "BITCH BETTER HAVE MY MONEY" (Rihanna) you're sure on the lively team that's going all in to reap the hell outta the week, the vibe is hyped up. On the other hand however, having THE LAZY SONG( Bruno Mars) hitting the waves as you reset your alarm from 7 to 7:30 am on Monday, these two moods are completely different. The later might as well call in sick at their work place,....These are my CONFESSIONS(Usher). Am I talking to somebody????

How about those specific lyrics that suit our situations? Have you ever listened to a song and when it's done you wanna say hallelujah? MERCY SAID NO(CeCe Winans), IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL(Philip Bliss)...Oh com'mon!! Sometimes we are not in that church mood or have taken some good months minus showing up at your fellowship hour but deep inside, when "YOU ARE THE AIR I BREATHE" randomly plays, It feels like you were baptized yesterday and your spirit has that spark that won't be dulled by any obstacle, are we together?

Okay, enough of the above, its official you now know music is a sweetheart to me. I listen to many genres, pop, rock, country, RnB, name it. My favorite boy band of all time is,...ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the amazing heart-throbs of our time,...ONE DIRECTION👋👋👋 Give it up for Harry, Louis, Liam, Niall and our 'estranged' brother Zayn! Who misses theses guys like a problem? Who got their heart shattering in a million pieces when the band disbanded?  Well, a directioner like me is still a fan of each one of the former 1D guys. 

Night Changes, Up All Night, Strong, WMUB, Perfect, Best 'Songs' Ever.....gosh, i'm tearing up. I love their music.

My forever loves, One Direction

My favorite pop artist as of now is Tatiana Manaois,.....sing along with me; Helplessly, Like You, This Other Person, All This Time, and our new baby, Home!

How about my Homeland besties,...Julianna Kanyomozi is my legendary but Sheebah gives me all the vibes! Bobi Wine, is my 'bestest' against all odds, in whichever personality and everything beyond! Musically, politically, socially and swag wise, he takes the lead. Nkwagala Bitasangika(Sheebah Karungi) is a song I would listen to even if the sky was falling down. For Better For Worse(Bobi Wine) is another classic that won't fade away from my mind. In 2013, my roommates declared Juliana's Omutima Oguluma the room anthem. @Phiona @Racheàl @Sophie, I'm giving you a major throw back.

Alright, apart from music, my other major hobby is reading, novels make a third of the whole. Guess what, I enjoy reading a novel more than I do it's movie. Perfect example is the TWILIGHT SAGA series by Stephanie Mayer, i remember this one night during night prep in my form 2, i had just landed on the BREAKING DAWN novel, i had a Biology Practical exam the next day but while people were seated in discussion groups learning and mastering Bones, i was in my corner, head down reading the 3rd chapter of the novel, admiring Bella's courage......thats how far i can go for a good read! Don't ask how i performed in the practical paper,...all i know is, it wasn't good enough.

Veronica Roth's DIVERGENT series/novels is a story for another day. That Old Devil Moon, Storm breaker, A thousand Leagues Under The Sea, Jane Eyre, Little Women, Handmaid's Tale, American Gods, A walk To Remember, Wuthering Heights, A Hero To Keep, A Difficult Man, omg, the list is endless. Let me know in the comments if you relate to some of these books.

Cheers to Forever!
Bella: i know what you are
Edward: Say it(*2
Bella: A vampire
Edward: Are you not scared?
Bella: No!

Why do i feel like my list is getting exhausted? Well, movies are part of what i do when i get home but a only a few get me glued to the screen. Either there is a person i like among the cast or the movie has something like a love story and happy ending in it. One of my workmates is a huge fan of horror movies,.....that kinda stuff gives me sleepless nights. Jigsaw, Annabel's Creation.....that's not my league. I love easy going stuff like What Men Want, A star is born,(i love musicals so much) .....simple life. I remember when i was watching Bird Box, i had to close my eyes more often and wait for the thunderous sound to fade, oh dear me, i can't stand torment. What kind of movies do you like?

Other things that excite me are: Evening walks(while i chew on candy), DIY funny projects(paper cutting, sewing, home decor) i write to,....lots of stuff. I'm a loner naturally, reason you don't see stuff like partying, games,....Oh, play scrabble so much. Literally, that's me, my hobbies and favorites. 

Once more, thank you for dropping by, comment, follow and subscribe so you can have more of this. If you like it, my pleasure, if you don't, you can always leave a suggestion on what you want to read next. Have yourself a good time and catch you again next Friday. 

WRETCHED FIRST LOVE

Welcome and welcome back to my blog guys, Happy Easter, Happy Holidays! Wherever you are, with family, at work or hanging out with colleagues and you who is snuggling your duvet scrolling through your social media feed, i appreciate you more than you think, thank you for dropping by Patie Polly's Take.

Thursday evening and its a 4 day weekend!

While Easter is a period of celebrating, rethinking our ways and drawing closer to our creator, it's particularly a time that reminds of some horrible experience i encountered some few years back, when i fell in love with a guy who was kinda gangster(still wonder even today how my brains were thinking). I met "B" during my second lecture in the journalism class as one of my best lecturers ever, Mr Bbale Francis(RIP) emphasized the importance of mastering the right intonation and pronunciation of words as a journalist. 

We had to take some few notes and just as i started, some one tapped my shoulder asking for a pen(now you know the kinda person i'm talking about, ....like who the hell comes to a lecture room without a pen?) I offered him one(i had some cute girly pens gifted to me by my mum-God bless her heart). Have you ever met someone who becomes your problem from day one but yet again grows into that person you can't resist? That was my first real lover(or so i thought), not a play-boy type but with lots of trouble befalling him every now and then. This is a guy who would be seated with you one minute and the other he is hunted by police! Never consistent with nothing, never having a thing. Hang out with the 'wrong' people(according to me) and chose boxing for a career which meant, giggling and chatting in the morning and by dusk, he has a swollen cheek or a bruised eye.

Love must be the most transcendent form of power that can elude any kind of chase, staying just as it is, confusing even the smartest people on the surface of the universe. I don't know how i put up with this kind of thing. I was never sure of the next minute nor hour, everything was always on a line. We really didn't have a middle ground, our emotions were either elated to the maximum or so down to negative infinity but i still loved him and in my perception, he loved back.

This Is Me Looking At My Audience, like wow.

Three months down the road, the Easter season came in and this was the deafening noise to the call of awakening from my fantasy but also the alpha of a long period of experiencing and nursing a heart-ache. Taking a break from school, i thought about nothing but having the best of times with "B". I told dad that i would not go home for the break because i was chasing something "really important at school"....sorry dad, i lied. Made plans, some of which were unknown to B because i wanted to be the master mind behind the world that i designed, for us!

On Friday evening(good Friday), B and i were at the balcony talking and having a good time when a phone-call came through that wrecked everything. A second after the call, he said to me,"Patie, i'm leaving. I have to join my uncle, he is dropping by the hostel to pick me up in an hours time."
"But ...you can't leave, we have plans, i arranged something,...don't take that...," i went on and on but i could not change a mind that was made up in a split second no matter how hard i tried.
My world seemed to have come to a sudden halt and the ground beneath my wobbly feet ceased to exist. I could feel a million daggers cutting right through my body and all i wanted to do was cling on to him as my soul screamed,"don't do this to me!" He didn't heed my plea, he unwound my arms off his torso, walked away through the lobby and disappeared to the stairs, just like i never had him, like i meant nothing to him, like what we had was nothing but just a sand castle that could not put up a fight against the raging storm.

I curled down, with hot tears cascading my cheeks, not sure of what i felt but one thing was clear to me then, i had longed for a heart that longed not for me. I built my world around one single person, deciding against all odds to love him even when i knew that he wasn't reliable. I sat down, staring into space and a few minutes later, i saw him cross the road(my hostel was at the roadside) in a white outfit, save for the black waist coat that hand firmly on his broad shoulders. A range rover spot pulled up and he sat, drove off from my site but crushed a thousand times in my heart. I had nothing left to fall back to, my friends had definitely left for their homes, it was three people left in the hostel, people that i didn't even know well.

Long story short, we didn't communicate for three weeks and he never returned till then. I grew thinner than i already was, cried myself to sleep for 21 straight days and had nothing to be happy about. The guilt of choosing a stranger over my family killed me each night as i lay lonely in my bed.

 It was one cold evening as i walked up the stairs to my room when someone called my name. My spirit was weighed down with sadness and hallucinations so i didn't respond, i was sick of answering stray voices in my head. This time though, i could hear some faint steps behind me and in an instant, his arms were around me. He was back.
He had less to explain to me(as usual) and i had less to ask, i had all the answers right in my gut. All i needed was to go away, never fall for this estranged loverboy. My mind was made up, he was never going to change and i wasn't ready to cross more oceans for someone who could not jump a huddle for me.I wasn't competing for the award of saint-hood. I let him go, one of the hardest decisions i have done in life. However much i was hurt, there is a part of me that still wanted him, needed him, loved him. That sounds really stupid, doesn't it? I'm just being candid with you guys.

 The journey of learning to accept the 'loss' and move on is never easy, when the memories play back and you want to smile but you can only afford a sigh, sometimes it feels like this is never going to stop but with time, most of the wounds heal. I became my own greatest love.I swore never to neglect myself, learn to forgive, to laugh, to adore me and most importantly to love again.

I loathe sad stories so i'm not about to leave you with a sad ending. Its 2019, and your homegirl is in love. In love with someone who proves to her each day that LOVE IS NOT LOVE WHICH ALTERS WHEN IT ALTERATION FINDS, NO, ITS AN EVER FIXED MARK. A-L-I ain't perfect but he has loved me despite my imperfections too. I don't fancy sleep anymore because finally REALITY IS SWEETER THAN THE DREAMS. Now That's Real Talk!

HAPPY EASTER ONCE MORE, ENJOY THE BREAK
HOPE YOU ENJOY THE BLOG, SPREAD LOVE
LOVE WINS AND GOD WINS

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GET TO KNOW ME MORE, WEEK-DIARY

Hello once again, welcome back to my blog guys.I hope your week has been productive and peaceful, mine sure was. Today i decided to do some sorta a review about how my week has been rolling on, the joys, the adventures, work isshh, everything. So without further ado, let's jump right into it, shall we?

MONDAY
If there is one thing that i have failed to outgrow is dreading Monday mornings. For some reason, however much i endeavor to make thorough preparations, it's never enough to give me that relaxation on Sunday evenings. Maybe it's all in my head always but the weird fact is, my Mondays have some sort of complication in them, i'm yet to master the art of having stuff under control though.(Cheers to the new goal, proud of me) haha.
Basically, it was about work and finally, the joy of ending the day. Seated in a taxi heading home, being grateful about life and alerting my salivary glands about the ginger biscuits waiting at home for the lady of the house,(yeah, when you are staying alone, you are the boss, the lady, the princess and sadly the maid of the house)

When it's a Monday and it's 5:00PM,....

TUESDAY

Just like this dull color in the subheading, Tuesday was a rainy day. Drawing the pillow even closer and hearing a faint comforting sound outside the window, i knew nothing could have worked the magic other than the M-I-G-H-T-Y rain. Maybe it's not a big deal where you are reading this from but if i may be frank to my gut, here in Kampala-Uganda we have been waiting and hoping for the rain to come. I mean, the dust was much and the heat was getting uncomfortable.
There is sitting in a taxi 'on the wrong side' like i call it and 'kasana'(sunshine) hits your shoulder like you are some random nut abandoned by its reckless mother pod on the ground.
Okay, back to the script(i tend to meander sometimes) when i'm story telling, we all do sometimes, dont we?  I was able to make it to work at 9:20 am, thats 50 minutes late, settled in and enjoyed the cool weather, after all i love it that way. Minutes, hours and it's 6:00 pm, time to go back home! The epitome of this day was the conversation i was over-hearing  in the taxi all the way till i dropped off, unfortunately i didn't get the 'sorry ending.' Were you warming up for the story? Ohh, it was a sad one, like sad movies-they make me cry. I don't want to!




WEDNESDAY

Some days are so good that you actually realize just when you wake up. Unlike those mornings when the alarm rings and i feel like someone is dragging me to hell, this particular morning was jovial, didn't have to try on 3 tops before deciding on which one to wear, my neighbor with whom i share a bathroom(he takes 30 minutes to get done with a damn shower) left before i woke up so i wasn't late for work like its the norm. Got a taxi that didn't have to 'stop and load' for ages, and the taxi conductor was nice too. He said "olunaku olulungi" meaning good day, after i dropped off....well thats not to expect from them.
At work, i had a 'snap-break' with my colleagues and you can see in the photos down below the sweet smiles on our faces. Generally, it was a good day! The traffic back home was not that tight, went to the roadside "quick-bites" outlet and got me an egg-roll at 1500 shs,(usually its 1k) i don't know why Mama Brenda has 'hiked' the price! Anyways, i had a yummy dinner an egg-roll, noodles(prepared by yours truly, moi), gravy from the same eat out and a coffee.

Friends who smile together at work, progress together!

THURSDAY

Woke up to no sunshine but clear skies, took a lazy shower (usually i will have that faint scent of berries from my shower gel on me for an hour or so, reason,.....i don’t want to delay in the shower clearing it off and besides, i love it) we all have that gel scent we love more than the deodorant we wear,..... not debatable. Work was the usual kinda routine, happened to move out to run some errands and while i waited for one of the clients for some paperwork to be done, this little girl comes and sits next to me. A minute later, an ice cream vendor approaches the lobby and starts strategizing..... Baby girl looks at me, i look at the vendor, still undecided. In an instant, someone calls out, .."Noella?...oh, there you are, let’s go." I felt some sort of relief for some reason that i can't explain, does anyone else out there feel some kind of way when a 'kid stranger' is giving you 'that eye'?
(Five hours later)
Well, there is a meeting/talk i had hoped for to happen at 6pm but apparently the other 2 parties were tired from the day's work therefore,.....meeting councelled! Yeah, a flopped evening.

Smile, smile, it's good for your health!

FRIDAY

Okay guys, this post has to be up in a few minutes so i won’t spill any tea, the day has just started anyway so there is nothing much apart from the usual to put down. However, a little inspiration won't hurt! Yeah, it doesn't.

As i was walking up the stairs to office today, i noticed that there is this person i always bump into at the same stairs but i never say hello and neither do they! It's not been a bother because i thought..."well, i'm rushing, i don’t even know the name, she doesn't mind too, so let it be" but today was a different case altogether. I was on phone scrolling through some whatsapp feed and i bumped into this same person again, i said sorry minus looking straight into her face but something unusual happened; In a split second i realized i wasn't hearing any footsteps, so i turned back, guess what i saw! 

This lady stood still, focusing on nothing (or so i thought) but she had a warm smile across her face. Embarrassed as i was, i decided to wear some funny grin and extend a hand,.."i'm Patience,...sorry." She placed her hand in mine, never shaking it a bit and said,"hey, i love your hair!" Did you hear that guys? She wasn't rude at all, she is a sweet soul (as far as i know).

 Many times we miss taking the chances we have to make a new friend, go for that training, learn something important, help someone when we are actually able to, be better versions of ourselves just because we have lost the essence of being simple, social and lovable. We have made it difficult for people to even say hello to us, we don't even know the name of the security person down at the building where we work, we make ourselves so busy that we can't be social anymore! This is wrong because when danger strikes, when we encounter mishaps or have difficulties accomplishing our various assignments, we run to the people around us first! 

If i missed a stair step, tripped and fell, the lady i have never minded to say hello to would be the one whose hand i would reach out to. So lovely people, let's be human not robots. Let's not complicate ourselves and trivial issues that may come up because the real complications will emerge in life, some day, but until then be happy, be simple, solve what you can, don’t worry about tomorrow because we both know that tomorrow has its own worries too. 

Celebrate the smile you have on your face and let someone else have a cause to smile too. Don't be too proud to ignore the subtle signals alerting you on what you should do, change or work on. You have a chance to do what you want today because you are here and time is at your hands, don't push everything to tomorrow, you have no guarantee about anything.

Checking Out Which One Should Be Posted

Alright guys, i hope you pick a phrase that will better your day not because i'm good at this but because i'm also learning each day to be a better person. On this long yet short journey, we should learn something new each day, just like we dont stay in one place all day, being flexible enough to adopt to new changes, lifestyles and people should be a point to ponder over!

A lovely day and joyous weekend my esteemed readers, your comments, shares and 'Take' on Patie Polly's Take mean a whole lot to me. Enjoy!

CREATING MY REALITY

Creating one's reality may sound a bit tricky because sometimes we feel like our dreams will only be dreams. On this long journey called life, every one has that one thing that they want to be or achieve so bad that sometimes they lose patience and track of time before getting there. It's been a case for me and maybe for somebody else out there. However, living each day with a purpose, even when i may not fully comprehend what that purpose is or how it will make a positive shift in life, i have stuck to a little hope knowing that when dawn breaks, it will be yet another opportunity to pursue one thing, Creating My Reality.

So what exactly do i mean by 'creating my reality'?
Considering my childhood dreams of being a classy woman(whatever that meant), a poetess, a journalist, seeing myself on big screens, my life has always been and is still being driven by that urge. After two decades of chasing this dream, i have come to learn that it's never a one-way route to that destination and somehow the diversions along my way have many a times strangled my zeal in this struggle.
Creating my reality simply means doing what i can do now, starting with the little i can access, celebrating the seemingly little accomplishments and making a 'comfortable' step towards that grail that i'm hunting and hoping to find some day.

What could be the major diversions as mentioned above?

• High expectations from self
  Setting goals is an awesome strategy to achieve one's dreams. Sometimes we raise the bar a bit high and unfortunately we may not get to that set standard and what happens next? We feel like we didn't do our best and have let ourselves down. This takes me to the next point.
• Focusing on the 'gone wrong'
  When we fail to hit the target we set, we get frustrated and often develop the bad idea of "maybe i'm not smart enough, i'm not meant to do this, if only i did more or why don't i drop this" and at worst we want to attach our failures to someone or something else but us. Let's see how disastrous this is.
• Blaming everyone and everything but self for failures
  If only we would point the finger at ourselves, we would have a starting mark. We would then know what we did wrong and make it right but when we shift the blame to others, we will never better our own selves.

• Fear of responsibility
  I have always trashed the idea of being self employed because i fear taking responsibility and being answerable 'if things went wrong'(they will do sometimes). That fear has snatched away my chances of creating and living in the universe that i design.

How have i come to rise above these weaknesses?
I have come to terms with the limitations that come in(we are human, not some programmed robot) and so i forge a way forward when plan A fails, it's not the end of the road anyway. Going to bed with satisfaction rather than regret has aided me to look at the open door and walk right through it to start on something new and finally, i have realized that many people lose their present trying to secure their future. I live in the moment, do what i have to do now, socialize more, love right and keep it here, where i am not high in the clouds where i might take centuries to be.

Going to bed with satisfaction rather than regret!

Final remark
Choosing to start a blog is another way of explaining this whole thing. There are millions of professional, hobby and commercial bloggers out there, i might be that drop in the ocean but that shouldn't hinder me from doing what i want. It's not about "who and how will they take it?" what matters is "i'm i satisfied with and feeling good about the content i put out?"
Creating my reality is living that dream even when it might be in a different context. It's about having and holding other than dreaming and fantasizing.

Glad you dropped by, i hope you will be encouraged, enlightened and entertained too. I will be publishing many more blogs and strengthening this interface with you(yes, you my esteemed reader), your comments,

shares and subscriptions are a crucial foundation and building block to Creating 'My' and 'Your' Reality. Looking forward to having you here Friday next week when a new article is up.