TGIF: End of week 1 back on the job

So I have come to the end of my first week on the job. I’d like to tell all sorts of amazing things that happened this week but I can’t. Perhaps it’s the blogks or maybe it’s just that I really don’t have anything to tell.

Well The Master in His mindboggling manner has led me to a place in life  that is rife with financial turmoil. I keep catching myself from screaming at Him. The bible says His ways are not our ways and His thoughts so much higher than ours. I believe I can testify.

I have a seed in my heart that tells me I can do this, transform this like I was Richard Branson or Warren Buffet but it’s challenging in the face of the things I see. Faith after all is the substance of things unseen but I’m struggling in the faith department.

I feel like Gideon when God told him to get rid of 29700 guys and go to war with only 300 warriors to deliver the nation of Israel from armies that were several times larger. I’ve got no clue, no resources and I have major enemies to defeat. I guess, like Israel, God wants things to be arranged so that He can get all the glory and I can’t claim it was my genius or wisdom or business savvy.

Well Lord, have your way. I like Joshua, will remain brave and very courageous for you Lord are with me wherever I go. Though I walk thru the valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil.

Shalom

“Sure I am that this day we are masters of our fate, that the task which has been set before us is not above our strengths; that it’s pangs and toils are not beyond my endurance. As long as we have faith in our own cause and an unconquerable will to win, victory will not be denied us.” Winston Churchill

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The Apprentice: Day 1 on the Job

Greetings good people. And so it is, after a hiatus of 3 blissful months enjoying my personal and marital life, today is my first day back at work. I amazingly got to work at 7:40am which I must tell I have never ever done such a thing in my life.

The Master in His infinite kindness, answered a prayer to show me that He is with me on this new phase of the journey by amazingly clearing the long road from the not-sp-beautiful suburbs of naalya to nakulabye to enable me to impress my new partner the Rogueking-who annoyingly was wearing a black tie!

Well, I now have nice little corner office and a ridiculously loud pc that has like 8 different cooling fans. Yes it’s a monster, nothing less for the Apprentice.

I look forward to communing with you alot more now that I’m back in the saddle.

Shalom

“The biggest challenge you have is your own self–doubt and your laziness. It is your self–doubt and your laziness that define and limit  who you are. It is your self–doubt and laziness that deny you the life you want.”
Rich Dad

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New beginnings for the Apprentice

Greetings fellow blogriends – yes it’s a weak attempt to create a new word from bloggers and friends. I confess a case of the blogcks. Socks.

After a long hiatus, taking some much needed time off and soul searching, the Apprentice is back for your blogging pleasure. The Master has been graciously dealing with me these past two and half months. About what you ask? Well there’s no simple answer really but suffice to say, about living life in the palm of His hand. Trust. Faith. Hope.

I’ve had the most wonderful time bonding with my amazing wife, watching her belly grow as my firstborn grows bigger each day. There’s nothing quite like feeling your unborn child kicking against her mothers womb or seeing the magic of creation via an ultrasound scan. A mind-boggling miracle yet just another days work for the Master. He’s so awesome.

The hiatus wasn’t exactly self imposed but rather as a result of being downsized from the company I was working at. Yeah I was a victim of the global recession. Pity me. The Great Master, though, in His infinite wisdom had tired of my excusitis and finally helped me make a decision to leave that I’d been putting off forever. A not so gentle shove in the right direction you could call it. And boy am I grateful He did.

As it turns out, I am now come full circle and back to an exciting and daring business adventure with my long time friend and creative extraordinaire, the RogueKing. He and the Master have decided they need my humble talents to further the RogueKings outrageous plans for world domination. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I am totally excited about the idea of working.

All I can say is, we’ll be living on the edge of accepted business practice, innovation and excellence that is unheard of in these dark recesses of this very dark continent. A bold claim I confess, but you don’t know the kind of crazy things the Rogue and I have always dreamed of. Plus, you dear bloggers will hold us accountable to our lofty claims. Look out for more posts. These are invigorating times…

Kiteus, Alteus, Forteous – Bigger, better, faster or is Stronger, Higher, Faster…? Agh! Foreign languages!

Shalom

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Oh my God, I am mediocre!

Last night I was in need of great motivation so I picked up one of my favorite motivational preachers, Joel Osteen’s “Your best life now” for a boost. As I read the chapter on living with excellence and integrity, I was so convicted by the Holy Spirit that I, the Apprentice was living in real mediocrity!

I was stunned, horrified and totally ashamed. Me? Mediocre? How?

Well in very many simple ways. You see, Joel was saying that when we as christians go around driving dirty cars, dressing dishevely, consistently getting to work late, spending hours of our employers time surfing & blogging(not you guys ofcourse), giving our very least-just enough not to get fired, constantly complaining and excuse finding; then we are living in utmost mediocrity and shaming our God.

I am guilty of all these things to one extent or another. Joel goes onto to point out that as long as we keep doing this, God will never promote us. As the Lord said, “if you are faithful in the least, you will be given even more to handle” I’ve been crying for promotion, more money, more time, more opportunity, more vision and yet, I see now I’ve been doing so miserably with what I’ve got now that there’s no chance God would trust me with more.

Well, a change has to be made. This just won’t do. I can’t live with myself as a mediocre person. I despise mediocrity. It just won’t do. So help me God a change is on the way. I’m ashamed that there are many people out there who regard me as a sluggard, mediocre. The very words sting my soul. I thank El Elyon for pointing out how I had slipped into this life.

People, be mindful. Mediocrity has a way of invading your life ever so subtly, especially here in UG where its the accepted way of life. Don’t give in.

Live Excellently. Live with Integrity. God has promised He will richly reward us if we do.

Shalom

“This is beneath your dignity.  You were created to house the fullness of God.” Father John Sergiev

Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.Ralph Waldo Emerson

The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.Pearl S. Buck

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Ridiculosity of Weddings ii: Aftermath

Greetings all, it was a hectic weekend indeed as we had to do this wedding I spoke of in my last post which you read here. Well Praise The Master, cause it turned out to be a beautiful wedding. I was tremendously happy for my bro. I even made the speech that stole the occasion 🙂

But thats not to say it was easy function. Even till 9pm we were discreetly going around trying to solicit money from anyone in order to pay the music provider! Food run out and about 60 of the 300 or so people didn’t eat. The rain was a b***h all day. And it was an open air reception so you can imagine how that messed us up. Looking for tents at the last minute, trying to change the venue to indoors and then back again…sigh. 

All in all, God really used those in the committee to do an amazing patch up job.These people were fantastic. Inspite of all the dramatic drama, insult hurling power plays and blame-gaming, the couple are now married. And I’m blessed by that. They have made a major spiritual victory because both groom and bride come from parents who weren’t married. So they have dealt the dark forces a major blow by breaking that curse in their lineage.

And, in closing my speech, I told them as a matter of fact, that after we are done eating their embaga, they are on their own. So they gotta work it out just the two of them. I have had the privelege of seeing the groom today. He paid me a visit, very happy and very grateful to me and the others for all we did for him. He says there are indeed major wounds to be healed between the two of them but he’s full of hope, that the God who did the wedding will make this marriage too.

Let’s all pray that his words come to pass beyond his wildest dreams.

Shalom good friends.

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The Ridiculosity of Weddings

Is it just me or is getting married more popular than ntinda pork joints nowadays? Everywhere you turn there’s at least like 5weddings your aware of at any given time. Don’t get me wrong. Marriage and pork are great but getting wedded, most certainly is not.

You see, people are so ridicously obsessed with the wedding day. The cars, the decorations, the clothing, the guest list–who’s who, the cake, even the party poppers!!! Lo but the financial, emotional and spiritual cost of these things is staggering.

I’m married and I assure you that it’s a nightmare putting a wedding together. Surprisingly, the main reason isn’t the cost or logistics. No. It’s the humans involved, from the in-laws, out-laws, friends, service providers to even the bride and groom. Selfishness and self-centeredness are at the root. When it comes to weddings everyone forgets what’s really truly important, and that is, making an eternal commitment to one another before God and men. We actually forget about the bride and groom.

I am incensed at this. I don’t care much for weddings. Marriage is a sacred and immensely important. Everyone deserves to start it on a good footing. Today’s wedding preps strain even the strongest foundations of a couple’s relationship and beliefs. Most people start marriage in debt not only financially but also emotionally and spiritually. Bruised hearts, crushed self-esteem, destroyed trust. All because of trying to keep up with the Jones or rather the Jose Chameleons of this world.

My favorite cousin is getting married tomorrow. It’s been the most amazingly depressing time for the poor chap to get to this point. The devil attacked him viciously financially, but even his bride and her family have done so too. As we speak, we don’t even have music or photography locked down for sure. Why? because between everyone involved, people have been more concerned with how many guests can be invited, a particular exorbitant decorator and a WBS limo.

He has endured insult after insult from his out-laws even been called a detoother simply because the bride’s father graciously contributed a huge chunk of the reception. They claim he’s marrying their daughter for the dad’s money. The poor man is broken. He’s even questioning whether this woman is the right choice because he feels so alone in this. It’s like he’s doing a wedding for her as some kind of cruel punishment from the gods. They haven’t had a loving conversation in two weeks. The strongest savviest most confident man I know, now doubts himself.

Trust me when I say a man can endure almost anything when the woman he loves is constantly by his side; but when she’s acts as diva and treats him like he’s on his own, any number of things can go wrong.

I love wazungu who have small garden weddings in their parents back yard with like 60 of their closest friends and family. Totally unlike the “kigunda” affairs we love in UG. Better still, the Vegas wedding. No stress.

For those of you getting married anytime soon, I admonish you to always remember what’s truly important. Honoring your God and your spouse. That’s all you need. It’s not the 5000$ wedding dress, the Serena hotel seating 1000 guests or the marching band. If you put those things above your spouse on the wedding day…oooh boy you’ll be in trouble. Remember, the vows you recite that day say for better or for worse meaning limo or boda-boda, I’m with you forever.

I know women have the bigger challenge with this advice because you dream of your wedding day since you were like two years old. But I’ve seen the mistakes my sis-in-law has made and I can already see the repercussions of her choices. Right now she’s unaware of them cause of the immense dust cloud weddings raise but when all is done and it’s just the two of them in the house; deafening silence and cold shoulders will reveal to her that she chose poorly when it mattered the most. I feel very sad for them because of the mountain of rebuilding they now have to do for their relationship.

As for my cousin, I’m doing mad praying for him that tomorrow will be a fantastic day for him and his wife and their marriage will turn out to be a great testimony to The Master. Do join me in this if you can.

Shalom

 

After all these years, I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the Garden with her than inside it without her.

Adam, in Adam’s Diary

Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry.

Tom Mullen

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No more mondays & theme squeemish

I hate mondays. Don’t you? Who ever invented Mondays? Who’s brilliant idea was it anyway? It took me an hour of boston legal style litigation in my head just to get outta bed this morning. Danny Krane never loses much to my annoyance today. I just wanted to stay in my warm bed, have my wife to stay in as well and…PG13 blogging doesn’t allow me to continue with that train of thought.

But lets be honest, even though statistically, 85% of heart attacks occur on Mondays, there really isn’t anything wrong with the day itself. It’s just another ambiguous time cycle we use to organise. The real problem is that the vast majority of us, 95% or so, hate the work we do; hence after a weekend of rest from the complaining & whining, Monday is a rude wake up call that we have to go back to that drudgery of a life we call our careers.

Wisdom says, that in order to truly be successful, we need to do what we love and get paid for it; meaning whether it’s friday, sunday or monday, we will love getting up and facing the day with passion and excitement. The real trick here is finding what you love and making a living outta of it? I personally love sleeping in late, so i’m still trying to figure that one out.

Anyways, you can get rid of monday blues by getting rid of that deadend boring thing you call your job and discover your passion. Quit your day jobs bloggers! 

In other news, the monday blues have forced me to do something to shake up my system into functioning. So i changed my theme. It’s very black, strong and eloquent. A tribute to cousin Barry on his inaguration as presidente of americas. Black power people.

Shalom

What work I have done I have done because it has been play. If it had been work I shouldn’t have done it. Who was it who said, “Blessed is the man who has found his work”? Whoever it was he had the right idea in his mind. Mark you, he says his work–not somebody else’s work. The work that is really a man’s own work is play and not work at all. Cursed is the man who has found some other man’s work and cannot lose it. When we talk about the great workers of the world we really mean the great players of the world. The fellows who groan and sweat under the weary load of toil that they bear never can hope to do anything great. How can they when their souls are in a ferment of revolt against the employment of their hands and brains? The product of slavery, intellectual or physical, can never be great. MARK TWAIN

 

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Dishonesty is the best policy: part 2

A couple of weeks ago, those who will remember, i wrote a very passionate article about the commonplace dishonesty and lack of integrity that has become synonymous with Uganda. In Dishonesty..the best policy I wrote about a carpenter who seemed professional & legit but was actually a complete brigand and a charlatan. 

Well, in a follow up since then, i haven’t been able to get my money from him.600,000 worth of ugandan paper. I certainly don’t know how The Master expects us to turn the other cheek and show love to these types of people. I have been cordial though firm with him and given him lots of chances to pay me back. Ironically, he’s also been very cordial and pleasant to me too.

Sadly, all i’ve got for loving my enemy and being good to him is hundreds of empty promises. Every week for the last 3months, i’ve been left with dashed hopes and wimpers offered to Abba. Now here’s where my dilema comes in.

I don’t want to go to the police because, well, we all know that our police are just about useless without the proper..”motivation”. I would probably spend one third or more worth of the money to facilitate this motivation. Not to mention the back and forth, case files getting lost, statements, dingy stations, kandoya and whole lot of stress to follow up the case.

Two, i can’t sue the guy because I don’t have a lawyer, cause that too would cost me about as much just to retain their services and the judicial process in UG is also spectacularly rotten and galactically inept that i wouldn’t want to have anything to do with it either. This aint Boston Legal.

So, my blogger bretheren, I am now turning to this lovely fraternity seeking a solution to my dilema. What does a humble apprentice do? And please don’t you dare ask me for motivation either

Shalom.

Our character…is an omen of our destiny, and the more integrity we have and keep, the simpler and nobler that destiny is likely to be. George Santayana “The German Mind: A Philosophical Diagnosis”

I ran the wrong kind of business, but I did it with integrity. Sydney Biddle Barrows, in Marian Christy, ”Mayflower Madam’ Tells All,’ Boston Globe, 1986

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This is beneath you…

Sometimes you’re just soaking in lots of reading when something so spectacular just jumps out at you almost knocking you off the chair. It’s as if the Master is speaking to you from the midst of the burning laptop. This is an excerpt from a post on Dan Millers blog-he’s a self help guru with a strong faith in Christ. Enjoy and do check out his blog. Shalom

A Russian priest (1829 – 1908), Father John Sergiev first thought he wanted to be a monk in the remote areas of Siberia – but after a vision, he realized God wanted him to be a missionary right where he was – in the hustle and bustle of the big urban city of St. Petersburg.  While most priests remained in the safe confines of their cathedrals, Father John would go out into the noisy, dirty, crime-ridden slums and back alleys of the city. 

He would find someone down and out in the gutter, sleeping off the effects of the previous night’s drink and activities.  Father John would cup his chin; look him in the eyes and say, “This is beneath your dignity.  You were created to house the fullness of God.”  Wherever he went, people found new hope and optimism because they discovered, or were reminded, of who they were.  Seeing ourselves in the light of who God made us to be is both exciting and contagious…

Can you remember what you were created for?  When I hear people complain about how bad their lives are I’m going to start saying, “This is beneath your dignity.  You were created to house the fullness of God.”

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Dishonesty…the best policy?

My wife is not all happy with me. Every married man knows, that thats not a good place to be. What’s the reason you ask? Dishonesty. Yes, you heard right, DISHONESTY. Ironically, not my dishonesty but another mans! Ok I guess this is begging to sound like “Secreto de Amor” – for those who don’t watch Ugandan television, that’s a terrible south american telenovela.

The man in question, is a carpenter.

A little background. Two and half months ago, I commissioned the said carpenter to make my then fiance’s and my dream bed. He said it would take 3weeks. I liked his work, his smooth professional demeanor and nice office setup. Without hesitation, I gave him 50% down payment. The deal was set.

3weeks later, and 2weeks to my wedding, no bed. I’m not worried. The worst he could take is another few days, just on time to have it delivered so my new wife can find it after the wedding. Yeah right! Up until the wedding day i was calling him. He continued to speak smoothly and assure me how the polish needs time to dry properly and so it would be ready for delivery Saturday, the day after my wedding! Did I mention i had given him the balance of 50% just so i wouldn’t use the money on wedding stuff?  

Frustrated and besides being stressed out enough by the wedding itself, i let it be. I had my wedding and went for my honeymoon. I return at the end of the second month of his workmanship. Guess what, it’s still not ready! I don’t believe he’d done anything at all! When I asked to see my bed, he assured me how he doesn’t work like that and he will present me with a finished product. Somehow, I wasn’t convinced but yet the nice guy in me who believes people are generally honest, let him be. He gave another week deadline. Besides, the thought of abandoning the whole thing after all this time didn’t seem like a plan. It’s the third week now and all i have are pretty slick receipts.

After this all my wife decided to take over and follow up. I gave her all the info. She called the dude. She was warmly recieved with a healthy dose of arrogance, standoffishness and more dishonesty. She lost her marbles. She doesn’t want the bed anymore. *sigh*

Whats the moral of this story?

Is dishonesty the best policy in Uganda now? Why is it so easy for people to NOT keep their word and deliver a product? To lie with such finesse? Getting a product made or a service done in this country seems to be impossible without dealing with dishonest men, women and yes, even children. Carpenters, mechanics, employers, MP’s, Ministers, Pastors. Everyone is aware of the Temangalo/ NSSF saga. More dishonesty. Whether its 1000shs or 10billion, everywhere you turn lately you can’t escape this.

I am extremely concerned at this alarming trend. Greed and impatience seem to be the jet fuel that propels this unsavory character trait. Everyone is trying to make a quick buck with the least amount of time & effort and the easiest way to do this seems to be dishonesty. The average business person seems to have no regard for their reputation any more. Just fleecing their customers at every opportunity. Disgusting.

Can someone tell me, how are we-atleast those of us who pursue progress and integrity-supposed to get anything done when surrounded by a system of dishonesty? How do i get a simple bed without my wife feeling like we’re navigating the intricate lies, intrigue and reveals of a cheesy south american soap opera? 

I need to develop and sleep in peace.

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