JUNE 30: ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER BLESSING!

When i was younger, probably 10 or 8, i wanted to be a grown woman, so bad that i, on many occasions, envied our maid; living an independent life, making personal decisions, earning her money and in a different way, i loved and admired the freedom she had in pursuing her love life.

Rhonet, if u see this, here are my eyebrows!

I wanted to be able to wake up, decide on what i am going to wear, make phonecalls, make plans, be a boss, create an empire, make rules and watch over my life!

I wanted to be independent, its all i really ever wanted; to clean my house whenever i felt like, (my dad used to do random checks in our bedrooms and shame those with unkempt beds at breakfast) i wanted my personal space, i wanted to walk around with flimsy ragged pieces of clothing,....all that grown up-ish, WITHOUT NOBODY INTERFERING in my damn business.

But above all my freedom needs, i wanted to experience the feeling of being in love, being loved, and having to love somebody. When Hope(my elder brother) started dating, i was always excited to tip toe into his bedroom, shut the door and dive into all the love letters he had received, and the drafts he wrote but never sent. It always elevated my mood. I loved the whole concept of loving, dating and everything that came along.

In my Primary Six, i happened to fall in love! Ululululu,....i am tearing up as i write this, because it feels as fresh and surreal, just like it was so many years ago. How it happened and how it ended is a whole other story,....infact, it survived for up to like three years! That was a huuuuuge achievement you guys! And i will leave it at that.

But the memory of my first kiss is one that lightens up my day, when the sky is more grey than blue. It's an ever-fixed landmark in the initiation of a girl into womanhood. It was warm, mint-fresh and relaxed. It was a moment. A feeling that gives me tingles even now that jot this down,.....banange PG 10+! I would like to hear about you guys' first kiss experiences, if u don't mind sharing.

Fast forward, tomorrow June 30, i will be adding another year to my already grown self. My mid twenties are rolling away in a flash of a split second, but i have never been happier my whole life, like i am at the idea of growing, maturing, and making every dream of mine come true!

I write this as a dedication to me and the dreams that i have seen manifest right in front of me, from the torn pages of my 2007 notebook, and all the years i could only think about a life i have now. And i dedicate it to all the people who are embracing themselves and carrying their heads straight on their shoulders, living their youthful years with pride and utmost fun.

Where are all the June babies @?

I am grateful that i have witnessed all the changes i ever wanted and a bit of those that came with growing up. I have lived alone since 2013, i have worked- earned, made plans, but i haven't become a boss yet though, haha. I have created a little empire for myself and my raging thoughts and i have a lovely audience that makes my dream manifest every other day. Thank you so much guys, for being part of this.

I wanted to date, to love,.....i have done that, so much that it feels a bit odd for me not love or be loved. I have had all the good and ugly encounters in my many relationships and life is much more sweeter today, knowing that my current relationship is very healthy, happy and fulfilling. I have done all the crazy things i ever wanted to, clubbing till 5 am, crazy house parties, romantic get aways, being able to support other people financially in my little capacity, gifting my parents and loved ones, taking solid steps in my career and all that.

When i look back at all the years that the heavens have blessed me with, i see nothing but favor. And as i usher myself into yet another year, I look forward to doing more crazy shit, and living life with a purpose. If there is one thing that we can't have back, no matter how much we can offer to buy, its our youth. Therefore, i will choose to have every thing done now, so when i am aged, i don't want to carry regret and sad stories with me. I want to be a little vibrant granny(If God so blesses me with that too).

She is a grown ass woman!

The advice i would give to that little girl in primary five with dreams so big they outshone her then present life, is to take it day by day, one step after another. I was impatient to be who i am today, it has taken me years of making mistakes, causing people pain, messing up my parents and breaking hearts of those who had pure intentions for me, but i threw everything away, hurrying to catch up,...i don't know with what. But one thing i am sure of is, IT WAS ALL WORTH IT!

The late night calls that went on for hours- earning me punishments from daddy the next morning,..the narrow escapades that filled my holiday seasons but brought me trouble with my parents, the little and big heartbreaks those boyfriends of mine brought, ..... it was all worth it! I don't regret a thing, because everything that was lined up in my path, led me to the ME that i am today.

Happy Birthday Dear self, Patie! Oh, in advance, until tomorrow 7 pm, hold up the excitement, darling.

Who is partying with me??????????????????

MY FIRST TIME IN KAMPALA: EPISODE TWO

A CHALLENGE A DAY, KEEPS PATIE AWAKE, BUT SO DOES LOVE!

So, due to an overwhelming demand that i couldn't possibly ignore, i will give y'all a part two of the story. Your reactions to last week's blog were hard to neglect, everyone literally noticed that the piece was incomplete! I had comments from various people asking me for part two, or a mini series of the whole thing-which i'm still thinking about. Others told me to ask the guy who distracted me, to STOP, haha.

For starters, i want you to know that 2013 was a huge transition for me, from a kinda naive girl who had just completed senior four in a single school on the Catholic hill of Nyamitanga, a girl who had VIRTUAL boyfriends from Chaapa, Ntare, Jovoc, Muntuyera...well, they were 'Number-Mates' who, after sometime i grew fond of and eventually attached my freaking love feelings, emotions and fantasies to. Don't worry, they reciprocated the same, haha.

So, the hostel where i resided had both genders; boys on the lower floor section and girls on the upper. It was a kind of free range system where animals moved freely without anybody peeking on their business. It was some kind of a new thing to experience.

Some of your comments

This one night, during the second week of the semester, i lost sleep, like i always do, so i decide to move to the balcony to catch air.

While i leaned on the cold metallic rail whose paint was wearing off, i turned to the corner at the far end of the balcony where two lovers were enjoying a moment. While my head reasoned out that i should take a french leave, my heart was wrestling against all odds- putting a weight on my feet and keeping me glued in one spot. Now, you can call me a nerd or whatever, but i actually stayed, since they weren't bothered anyway.

At 2 am, after 47 minutes of bizarre stares that i kept stealing at the couple, i thought i was ready to move away. To go get a life! But i probably wasn't. I hadn't recognized the male figure, whose hands caressed the girl's back in a tight embrace they were sharing. For some reason my heart was enjoying my awkward stay at that particular spot where, in my damn head, i was loving the fact that two people can be in love, create memories that can last a life time and care not about a stranger, who just couldn't break free from the bondage of being an unintentional third wheel.

The girl sort of pushed the guy aside, whose fully built physique outshone the flimsy excuse of the grey vest he wore, creating a bit of distance between them before she leaned forward, raising to her fore toes as she threw, (like literally threw) her lean body with a subtle thrust on to this long muscular torso whose shape fit perfectly the description of a guy i had only read about in a romantic novel-That Old Devil Moon. I gazed at the empty road, trying to be less weird, only to be interrupted by the careless whisper that escaped their mouths as they kissed ever so passionately.

This was kinda savage!

I wasn't sure of anything anymore, whether i was seeing this happen, or if i was just having a fantasy dream. The metal rail had become warm then, it didn't feel cold anymore, i wanted to leave, honestly, but i wanted to stay too, curiously. To be the eye witness to this lovely moment that not even Leonardo DiCaprio would recreate as perfectly as it was manifesting before my eyes.

These two came through too.

Time check; 2:55 am, and my world was still rolling. The lovers were standing still, his chin lowered onto her neck, both staring into space. They didn't talk, their bodies, i think, were taking over the role entirely. I might have lost sense of time and everything else, before my silly phone slipped of my hands, free falling carelessly on to the floor. I crouched forward to pick the phone when i caught a glance at four feet heading for the corridor, hand in hand, his arm wound tightly at her waist as they swayed off.

I squatted, and for the first time, i touched my cheeks- rock cold, it was 3 am and the nightly winds didn't spare me. I know you thinking i was a jerk or something, didn't mind my business, but i had a reason. Actually, i got to recognize this guy when she pushed him. His long jawline and clear temples weren't unknown to me. We had attended the 'radio presentation' lecture together.

He stood out in some kinda way and i guess i was starting to maybe like him or something. If i am being honest, he fit the physical fantasies i ever wanted to encounter. But here i was, seeing him with some girl. I didn't even know if they had dated for long- i was new, a fresher sort of. I was naive and i usually lived with my heart and used less of my head when it came to such spheres of life.

I grew sad,....sad that he was a taken guy, and there would never be a chance, EVEN WHEN I KNEW CLEARLY THAT HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT MY MERE EXISTENCE. My situation was silly, sad, irrational and all the above. How would i even ever explain to somebody that i was falling for someone with whom i had even never talked? Silly, right? Bottom line is;

IT WAS OVER BEFORE IT EVEN BEGAN. My relationship status, instead of being: IN A RELATIONSHIP  to IT'S COMPLICATED then probably to SINGLE AGAIN,...it just flipped at once: Single to Single Again,...in one night. It was complicated before it had a chance to be and i didn't wait to let my heart hoover around in what never really was, after two months, it was "IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH SOMEONE WHO REALLY EXISTED!"

Let me know about your silly love fantasies,.....that was one of mine, when i still had an inch of a 'cultured girl illusion' kind of belief in love.

STORY TIME: MY FIRST TIME IN KAMPALA

A little Munyankole girl takes on the city to pursue her big dreams!

Luganda was not the overall hindrance to winding up my tedious first day in the city, it was a whole bunch of mishaps here and there, including tagging carefully on my back pack each time we moved, lest I lose my trivial treasures in there.

On a Tuesday in early February 2013, daddy took a quick check in my navy blue rectangular suitcase, making sure I had all the requirements packed,...just like he did since my Primary One, when I joined the boarding school section. He always did our back to school shopping and even this time around, when I was joining Crane Media for a course in journalism, he did just the same.
Swift Safaris was his bus of choice from Mbarara to Kampala. While I staggered in the bus corridor after a rude lady squeezed her way past me, daddy yanked me off to the seat after neatly loading our mini luggage bags up on that luggage sort of palette.

Handing me a monitor newspaper, he pulled out I guess New Vision or something that was a day old. "It's going to be a long journey, you need something to keep you busy," he said.
We had little conversation breaks while I opted to read a small novel- The Stormbreaker which I had started on a day before. I didn't have interest in The Daily Monitor, at all.

After four long hours, I didn't need an interpreter to notify me that we had reached Kampala, I could feel it, the noise, the chaos, an avalanche of vehicles getting past each other in a careless manner, tall buildings and people speaking Luganda ever so quickly that I figured I would never learn from them.

The bus conductor started yapping a lot, this time in Luganda not Runyankole, as we sloped to Kisenyi bus park. A slight drizzle ushered us in, not a good way to move about the heavily congested city.
"We are in Kisenyi park, we now have to head to Wandegeya and catch up with a bit of paperwork," my day's tour guide said as we descended the two long steps of the bus. Being a Maryhill High School chap, I had an umbrella folded up in my side bag. It was helpful as we waited on our hired taxi.

Fun fact: We were not allowed to run on compound at school so whether it rained or shone, we had to be 'ladies', act ladylike and ladies don not run. Umbrellas were vital during one's stay at Maryhill, haha.

After clearing with the bursar's office, we walked from the DTB building (where the campus was then) to the mighty Chicken Tonight (It was still operational then) for a late lunch which served as dinner for me. We moved back, and we were assigned some girl to help us with the hostel stuff.
As usual, daddy had to take me to where I would live from then on. The hostel was in Makerere Kavule, a few minutes away from Kolping Hotel. I was to share a room with three other people, including Rachel who had escorted us there.

After we made my bed, daddy gave me some more ka money and hugged me good bye as he slopped down the stairs. "I will come back to check on you on Friday," he promised.

My feelings were strange seeing him leave. I was, at last, going to explore the city, but I was also ALONE! In a minute, the girls introduced themselves, Phiona, Rachel and Sofie...before they headed out for 'Kalerwe', a good chance for me to unpack and settle in. "All these girls look bigger, more experienced, more lively, more everything!" I thought to myself.

My evening passed in a daze, getting to know who I would go to school with, what i would do with my fuckin life and many other stuff.

The next days, weeks, months saw me adapt to many changes, beach parties, dating, going broke, learning funny Luganda words like 'aganyogoga' and a lot other things that I don't regret.

Daddy visited more often, we always hung out at Chicken Tonight and he always asked me to eat more yoghurt so I could add a bit of weight.