Walking through Karura Forest

Like all things easily in my grasp, going to Karura Forest is something that I've simply procrastinated about because it was something I assumed I would eventually get down to. For the longest time, I imagined it was somewhere far off (navigation instructions from Google Maps didn't help either); but then in the course of checking on some plants for landscaping, I realized that the entrance to the forest was something I had passed on many an occasion (the Limuru Road entrance); it was, in fact, directly opposite my favourite plant joint.

Anyway, since rediscovering it, I just needed the opportune moment to walk through the forest. Thanks to my new schedule as a casualty worker (2 day shifts, 2 night shifts and 4 days off), I now have ample time to get a lot of things done. Thus, on a Friday not too long ago, I finally decided to check out Karura Forest for myself.

I got to the venue around 10am, and the first thing that struck me as odd was having my backpack searched; mind you, it's not the fact that they were searching me that was strange...it was what they were searching for. Karura has gone on a full scale crackdown on (non-reusable) plastic bottles and bags. Would've made for one hell of a bad day if I'd actually shown up with soda (my vice of choice) and had it confiscated at the gate.

The sweltering heat on that day made me wish that I had started my journey earlier. The pictures don't seem to convey the heat, but it was blistering. At the start of the day, it also seemed quite humid under the canopy; at least more humidity than I've encountered in Nairobi since forever. However, once I got used to things, I was able to enjoy the scenery. There were lots of butterflies along the trail, especially by the waterfall; I was also surprised to run into some duiker along the trail (6 or so), though some of the dung heaps I encountered made me feel like bigger game might have been out and about (or maybe there might have been someone riding a horse on the trail). The beauty of the tall Newtonia trees and Fig trees along the watercourse was really quite fascinating.

Though, I must admit, it would be a better idea to purchase a map before setting out on the trail. I spent a total of 5.5 hours walking around, and probably 1.5 hours of that was from being lost. Some of that comes down to my failure to ask for directions; but then again, when I did ask for directions, I was sent in the opposite direction...as in I was sent to the Kiambu Road Exit instead of the Limuru Road Exit; and lastly, even with a map, those markers can sometimes get downright tricky. I'm referring to a specific Marker 12 which spat me out in the middle of "no man's land", a spot where they were clear-cutting the exotic trees so that they could repopulate it with indigenous trees. For the latter part of my trek, I downloaded a map of the area and was skirting a thin line between checking out the map and trying to save the dwindling battery life of my phone. In my mind, the Marker numbers should have been descending nicely to get me to the main gate; imagine my shock when Marker 12 sent me on a wild goose chase to Marker 33!

By around 3.30pm when I was ready to leave, I was thoroughly tired; but it was a great experience. Was a bit torture-some driving a manual car with leg cramps, but my lesson is learned. Don't feel like I hit everything on the itinerary, but it should be a breeze second time around. Maybe next time I might even take someone else with me. Karura Forest is definitely a great trip whether you're alone, with friends, significant others or even with the young ones. Make a point of visiting when you've got some free time.

God Bless. 

Life Thus Far...

Hello out there! Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a Blessed 2018

I've been looking at my last couple of blog posts and noted that they've been music or movie reviews. Sure, a lot of good stuff did come out last year; I was also choosing to highlight some of the music that inspires me. That notwithstanding, a lot of stuff's been happening (at work) in the background, so I figured I'll key you in on what's happened thus far. In the past couple of months, I've had about 3 department changes occur: in reality it was 3 days in the Casualty Department, a month and a half in the Orthopaedics Department, and now back (for the remaining foreseeable future) to the Casualty Department.

It really has been a welcome change because I had only ever been in the Internal Medicine Department ever since I started out my current stint at the PCEA Kikuyu Hospital (roughly 1 year and 4 months). There were a bit of shenanigans that helmed my first move to the Casualty Dept (which I will not be visiting here), but I figured some amount of change is good; what left me discombobulated was the sudden turn a few days later when I was moved to the Orthopaedics Dept. Don't get me wrong, I live for Surgery; I'd practically accept and bear any position provided that it had a surgical component to it; but the way things were done, it made me feel as expendable as I did when I was an intern. I was so livid at the time, that I did something unexpected (even for me): I basically told the Head of Department that I had no interest in Orthopaedics.

Anyway, soon as the eventualities were done, I started my stint down at Orthopaedics...and strangely enough, I loved the place! I was actually treated like a Medical Officer, and felt like my own man. Granted, the work can be plentiful on some days, especially Tuesdays and Thursdays down at the Outpatient Clinic; but it is true what they say: if you're doing something that you love/enjoy, then it really doesn't feel like work. I missed lunch on many an occasion, and even worked past my hours, but I enjoyed it.

My basic routine consisted of showing up in the morning for the ward round, and then going down to the clinic. The Orthopaedic ward round is really fast: you have the imaging that shows what's wrong with the patient, their blood work, and you just have to figure out which implant or procedure needs to be performed; after that, they just need to work out some logistics between the theater and the stores and off they would go to perform surgery. For some cases, the consultants would slow down their pace and teach a thing or two. The team on the round consisted of Consultants, a Registrar, a Medical Officer (myself), two interns (Medical and Clinical Officer), a Physiotherapist, and a Theater Nurse.

The ward round was pretty routine and we'd zip through patients really quickly. The only occasions that would demand something extra from my time would be the cases where some sort of medical complication was involved. Seeing as I had spent all that time in the Internal Medicine Dept, I at least provided a chance for patients to get a quick medical review for comorbidities like Diabetes, Hypertension, Pneumonia, etc at the Orthopaedic unit; the alternative would be for them to transferred to the General Unit where they would have their cases reviewed by the physician.

After the ward round, it would be down to the clinic to deal with a large number of patients. Numbers sometimes felt overwhelming, but I was part of a great team. Anyone who needed an orthotic device either got sent to the Limb Shop or the Physiotherapy Dept; if it was something I couldn't handle, my Consults were around for speedy consults; Plaster Technicians also lent a hand in helping me decide which fractures could be dealt with conservatively, or which ones needed urgent surgical management; and lastly, the nurses helped with booking patients into slots for surgery as per our surgical calendar. (Some of them would even chase me off so I could take a tea break or a lunch break :)

I figure I'm only 2 months or so into my Casualty stint, but it seems like Orthopaedics was such a long time ago. Casualty is its own unique animal, with a few fringe benefits, but I miss the regularity of Ortho. At Casualty, I'm on Day Duty for 2 days (each 10 hours), then on Night Duty for 2 days (each 14 hours), and then I get 4 days off. Usually, I spend the 1st day off in a daze and lazing because sometimes that last night shift just punches me in the gut; but the next 3 days are magic, and I have so much free time on my hands to get things done, and perhaps finally delve into some useful hobbies.

Thus far, it's going well. Hoping things only get better.

God Bless

The Music of Kendrick Lamar - Keisha's Song

It's hard to believe, now, that there was ever a time when Kendrick Lamar (aka K-Dot) wasn't on the musical map. He's world famous, grammy nominated (and won), and by all accounts is still delving deeper into his craft.

I can attest that my first introduction to Kendrick was a really short one. A college friend of mine had A.D.H.D posted up on his Facebook account. I didn't know much about K-Dot, but all that straight cursing in the chorus (which also doubles up as the intro) just turned me off. So I just turned it off. Anyway, my truest introduction to him was on "Power Circle" by the MayBach Music Group (MMG). I'm definitely not a Rick Ross fan (and his contribution is the worst of the song), and it didn't help that he does the intro to the song. Anyway, one day I randomly let the song play out and was surprised by two contributors: first up, Wale, switched up his flow and had poetic bars; surprise two was the ultimate reveal - Kendrick Lamar.

Power Circle is really a chest-thumping track with each contributor chiming in either a lyrical boast, or some rags-to-riches story; but Kendrick's verse is different, eclectic, otherworldly, and its content is all over the place...it totally shocks you (in a good way). Literally, his intro, which is a one-breath 12-second take, was,

"Look inside the eyes of the last Mohican survived | You won't last the weekend outside | Seen a pastor tweaking that sank his teeth in a rock his demise | Later on in the evening you had the grieving of angels that cried | See a demon don't compromise"

This wasn't mere bravado; this was Kendrick elevating the song to something else. Some people seeing this as being a bit "extra", but I believe a lot more people appreciated the extra effort.

After wearing out that verse, I immediately set out to find out more about K-Dot. This was before "Good Kid M.A.A.D City" (GKMC) dropped, so I got to listen to "Overly Dedicated" and "Section.80", and some of his collabos on Youtube. Through Section.80, I encountered A.D.H.D again (and viewed it a little more favourably this time), but the concept album also served up another gem: "Keisha's Song (Her Pain)."

This song has been referred to as this generation's version of Tupac's "Brenda's Got A Baby"; Kendrick get's more self-referential when he raps that

She (Keisha) play Mr. Shakur | That's her favourite rapper | bumping Brenda's got a Baby while a pervert yelling at her 

Sure, this is conscious rap, and so we've got many ways to tell similar stories. Tupac's tale of a minor from a dysfunctional family whose life spirals downward after getting pregnant is a sad story; however, what pulls me out of the moment is that excessive R&B crooning they have on the track, and I don't favour the instrumental background either. One truth still remains about how I listen to music: I've got to resonate to the beat before I can even relate to the words. Not easy to catch the message if the beat is putting me off.

So, for Keisha's song, we get a flipped version of the Alan Parson's Project track "Old and Wise", which I had encountered once on Zion I's ode to Hip Hop "Bird's Eye View". The sample here is only slightly recognizable in the intro and then they warp it; they took that opening Violin/Oboe section and manipulate it, then they sprinkled in the opening piano notes to give this epic soulful feel. After that, they just added in a hard beat, and added a little more piano to fill it out. There used to be a video floating around of how it was done, but maybe it got taken down when Kendrick got sued for using the sample. Anyway, part I is cool for me: the beat is perfect!

Part II is the storytelling. Kendrick weaves a story of Keisha, an under-aged prostitute, basically showing us what a day in her life is like. The first verse focuses on her getting herself ready so she can hustle to make the money, which she doesn't see much of; the second verse tackles her paranoia about her profession, which is necessary by default because of run-ins with the police, one of which is detailed here; the third verse brings things full circle and we're given the impression that Keisha has been numbed into this way of life. She wasn't taught anything better. Unlike Brenda, it's her father who is missing from the family picture, and it's her mother's boyfriend who ends up taking away her innocence so early in life; because she wasn't taught anything better, she lacks the tools to turn her guilt into redemption.

I won't really delve into all things Kendrick does to make this song so poetic. Would take too much time, and it would sap the joy out of this little post. I will focus on one point that he specifically uses to contextualize/ground these verses; he basically makes a point of starting each verse,

"Lord knows she's beautiful | Lord knows the usuals leaving her body sore..."

Similarly, the end of each verse begins in (more or less) the same way:

It was a block away from Lueder's Park, I seen the El Camino parked | And In her heart she hate it there, but in her mind she made it where nothing really matters | Still she hit the back seat..."

He uses this very ending to emphasize a concept from each of the verses; in as much as it's something familiar, each verse is propelled in a different direction. In the first verse it focuses on her profession, with the back seat as her "office", the second focuses on her "satiating"a police officer, and the third shows us that more than being a mere office, the back seat is the "bondage" into which abuse pushed her; ultimately, it leads to her demise.

Ashtrobot (aka Ash Riser) provides a short Sinatra-esque chorus that bookends each verse, reminding us that Keisha's not alone on these streets.

"Fancy girls on Long Beach Boulevard, flagging down all of these flashy cars" 

I love this song and consider it Kendrick's best to-date. There is some vulgarity in the song (actually less than I've always thought it had considering the subject matter), but it doesn't detract much from the matter at hand. This is what Rap music can be at its best, giving us a lens into some of society's more gritty aspects, and giving us much food for thought. And there is a lot to unpack here; in case you might have missed it, this song is referenced and addressed in "Sing About Me" from GKMC, and takes on an eerie aspect once you realize that his sister, who he says he played this song to as a warning, also ended up getting pregnant as a minor.

This song for me is ultimate Kendrick. It may get lost in his discography now that he's famous, but if you get a chance give it a listen and marvel at his best work ever.

Have a great day.