Monday, March 28, 2011

Shoe Blues!!!

It is hard to keep a blog rolling (no pun intended), especially if you feel that you are just using this as an avenue to vent. To be honest, that is what I do. I use this space on the world wide web as my 'therapy'. I release the little niggly thingie majigis that get to me and/or I write stuff about what inspires or amuses me.
I am surprised that you read. Not surprised, more like grateful. I am intrigued that my 'nonsense' actually captures your attention. But you challenge me to come up with creative content week on week. Plus, it gets my otherwise lazy ass to stop shopping online and do other stuff on the net.

This weekend I went out to dinner with some great people. I like good company and good wine. So during dinner of course the blog came up and I was asked about how I come up with content for the blog. To be honest, I don't pre-plan it. I just sit down and write.
So this is how the night went - meet for drinks, have dinner and go for more drinks. I am so not a drinker. I cannot hold my drink and after a glass of wine I get a buzz. Which is why it totally surprised me that I had may be a total of 8 glasses of wine!

Of course I played it cool, not showing my very posh friends that the wine had gotten to me. I tried to keep the conversation 'intelligent' but for some strange reason, I vaguely remember talking about Megamind - the animated movie and how he says the word 'revange' in the movie. I am trying not to replay it in my mind too much - I wonder how loud I was. Anyway, the point is, I thought I was very funny!
My friends, being the cool people they are, never let on that they thought I was making a complete ass out of myself. Raj, who had a drink or two, says I was very well behaved.. until..

I have no idea what happened to me once we ended the evening and I got into the car. I don't remember having a conversation with Raj - but he tells me I made three phone calls. I have always said, never drink and dial. From the minute I sat in the car the night seemed to have ended in my mind. But, I am told, it went on.
I misplaced my very expensive shoes. Don't ask me how. Short of throwing them out of the moving car, I cannot even recall taking them off.

Raj tells me I rushed inside the house and when he got upstairs he saw me chilling in my doggies basket. Oh dear! I did, however, find time (and energy) to take my make up off. Why I was in her basket I have no idea. I then got into bed and started bbming someone. Who? I don't know. What did I say? Your guess is as good as mine! The next morning I was up at 7 and in denial that I had a hangover. 'It never happens with expensive wine' I told myself. Raj and I were supposed to attend a wedding. I rushed over to see my baby who was staying at mums and then came back home, all the time thinking did well and avoided a hangie.
But then at 11am it struck and oh boy did I suffer!!

Raj had to force me out of bed so that I could doll myself up and pretend not to feel ill. It all worked out. Truth is, the older you get, the harder it is for you to get over a hangover, Jay Leno said so on his show. Getting into bed last night was amazing when my head touched my pillow - I was just about to fall off into deep sleep until it dawned on me - MY SHOES!!!!

I know I will find them - I mean seriously, where could the go? But while we are apart, I dedicate this blog to them - oh how I miss you guys..I feel so naked without you - well my feet do. When I said shoe - I didn't mean shoo..come back to me.. :)

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Oh, you like my merc? Here are the keys, enjoy...

I watched a film the other day, it had nothing to do with anything, but after the movie I really missed my dad. I don't know what triggered it, but I thought of him with tears in my eyes after a long time.

When I was younger things were very different, the world was not as money minded as it is today. You may have had money, but you would never show it off. Today, it is all about what you have in terms of a car, where you live (do you own or rent), what phone you use, what jewelry you wear, what designer brands you wear and where you holiday. God forbid you don't 'holiday'!! Madonna was some sort of prophet when she sang material world - 20 years too early.
You know, my father was a very wealthy man! Lord help me, the dude was loaded!! When we moved out of our house that we lived in for 28 years - we came across his bank statements from the 70's - the dude had a million dollars in his accounts. A million dollars at that time?  The dude was on point, he was shrewd and he had foresight. I still try and emulate him in any which way I can, but he left HUGE shoes to fill! So what happened? Well, in a nutshell, mum was not business savvy - she trusted people and had such a giving heart - so she gave. She bailed people out of jail and put our house down as security - the money was never paid back, we lost our house. She gave people millions of dollars to start up businesses for their children or themselves and when she went through a hard time those same people turned to her and said 'what money?'

I don't care. Sure, it would be great to be living large on my fathers money (which is what lots of people do) but I always say those millions were not for me. My father worked hard - he took care of his family  and his extended families and you know what, I say hats off to him. He probably did not know he would die so young, he had plans and he did look out for us. Definitely, my brothers and I were trust fund babies, but again - we 'trusted', we were used, misused and spat out! Too bad. If you know me, I do not play victim!

What pisses me off though is the people who stood by our sides when times were awesome. They were in our lives and constantly in our faces, are the same people who walk away when they see us today. My father housed some people, those people did not even make it to come and see my daughter (you know, too much traffic now-a-days!). My father educated some families and well, lets just say that they are kind of busy to remember. I don't mind, you have a short memory - it comes with old agel! But sometimes, some people make you wonder - I remember meeting one of my dads 'very good friends' at Westgate and he stopped me to tell me what a big hearted man dad was. 'You know, he gave me a mercedes...' he rambled on. He gave you a mercedes????? And your brother was the same lawyer who was suing me in court??????? Jeez louise!!! Where the F do people get off?

I just thought I would share. I think it goes a long way to have a big heart. I always go on and on about karma, but it is a fact - you do good and good will come your way - you forget, then you, sadly, will be forgotten. A friend of mine who lives in LA was telling me about leaving a legacy. I believe that is what papa did. He left a legacy that almost 30 years after his demise, he is still remembered.

But if you take advice from blogs, just remember to remember.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

News? or 'Olds'?

Here's me enjoying a nice hot morning with Ariyana in the garden and I hear my phone ring. By the time I get to it I have obviously missed the call. I look at the caller ID and see that my gal pal, Easy Fm radio presenter, Angela Angwenyi called me. If there is anything I love it is chatting to Angela. Angela is a great person, she doesn't mince her words, she gets right to the point and she is very well spoken. I have worked with Angela in the past and she is very upfront - if she likes it she tells you, if she doesn't - she does not waste time bitching about it behind your back - she tells you. So I hurriedly called her back thinking that we were going to do some great work together.

Angela being Angela answered the phone and said 'Hi Pinky, it's Angela Angwenyi' and I said 'I know!' - the last time she called, I hadn't saved her number. It didn't offend her that I tried to make up a crappy excuse as to why I didn't have her number on my now old, then new phone.
Anyway, Angela invited me onto her show that she hosts with Edward Kwach every weekday on Easy FM. It is a prime show - the evening show. I have seen loads of advertising for the same on Facebook - great marketing! I couldn't go in on the same day as my brother was due back from South Africa and I had to pick him up, so we agreed that I go in today.

The thing about 21 questions is that they narrow down people who they have researched that their listeners want to know more about. Angela explained that the questions are not your normal questions, they are fun, they are different and they are slightly edgy. Why not? I love silly banter!
This afternoon I checked into the Nation Building and as I opened the studio door, I felt like I had opened the door to the past. I saw people that I have worked with, that I knew from radio days, that I worked for. It was amazing. The thing is, we go a long way back - more than 12 years. Where has time gone?

Anyway, we get into the 21 questions and they shot all sorts of questions at me. From where I do my hair (what happened to topical questions like 'Pinky, what do you think of the situation in Lybia?') to how I got my nickname to if I found breastfeeding erotic! It was silly, it was fun, it was interesting to be interviewed in a unique manner. I got bored with one question! If you listened to the interview you will know which one. I thought radio stations are meant to be current - how does it matter about what was talked about 7 odd years ago.
Ah well..like they said - asking the questions that no one else dare ask!

I must say, it was so good seeing Kwach and Angela and the entire team. And before anyone starts any rumours - nope, I was not there 'searching for a job' and even though I spent time in the office of the head of radio, John Wilkins, it was only because he was the person who trained me to be on radio and it had been ages since I saw him and we were chatting about the good old days! Yes, Kwach held my hand as he escorted me to Johns office and to the elevator but NO, we are not having a thing! And yes, I met Smriti, NTV anchor and my future cousin-in-law and nope the press do not just write about her because she is dating my cousin and yes, I gave Robert the biggest hug ever because I think he is the most fun on TV!

As I type this I can hear how they have cut and edited the promo - media! But you can never take yourself too seriously in this business, you just gotta go with it and enjoy.
Easy FM 21 questions, make sure you listen in!