38th Annual Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair

Laila makes us laugh.

Laila Gets Tickled some more.

Kenyan-Indian Fashion Mashup

The Njeru's (my parents) are here...

Mum seems to have an eye for fashion..

Sent from my Sprint HTC EVO!

Texas Vacation - Finally!

I keep trying different ways to make this easy so feel free to email feedback when it gets too complicated.

The aim is to share images and videos of the kids development while keeping them private and protected for obvious reasons.

We spent 3 days in 106 degree weather in Dallas, TX with the Johnson's and Jayaseelan's.  It was wonderful to see the greater Jayaseelan family and kids after at least 7 years.  The Johnson's as always spoiled their grand-kids rotten while Auntie's cooking added some girth to our waistlines.

We also spent 3 days in Austin, TX with the Kinoti's and Nkonge's.  Click here to see the Kinoti's post about that visit.  We loved meeting baby London and the Nkonge girls, Brenda and Tiffany.

To see the most recent photos of this visit and for the month of August, click on this August link.  There are some video clips in there too!.

To see some older (2010) photo sets click on the links below. 

July
June
May
April
March
February
January

Enjoy!

Back in California..

We are back from our vacation.  

Watch this space for videos and photos from that expedition.

Meanwhile...enjoy these of Luke and I in Hermosa Beach.

Sent from my Sprint HTC EVO!

Texas Here we Come!

Hi All.
Just sharing some precious video clip moments of our Texas Summer Vacation.  More clips coming!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqxUQIy2NyM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoYGRTSunqA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCl0jNft67I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ntrp28BJvI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a9v-JAgijk

Hello People.
It has been a blessed and busy month with additions to the extended family, work pressures, growing children etc.
Anyway, I have more video's captured during this time but they are not embeded in the blog so you will have to click on the indivudual links to see them.

Laila dancing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bFBxMoi6IQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJxsl3Ms4aU

Windy Beach Day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=144S1B0UEEI

Swimming Videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNfpoHBHcBI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2PNLBcYAv8

Laila being Laila
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPW-JnDDRV4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpfUYu34HYo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRVHf-kBdso

We welcome London!

It is with great pleasure that I on behalf of my family welcome London Sophia Makena Kinoti.

We cannot wait to meet her!

Vlog - Laila loves drama!

Vlog - Laila can get really Sassy!

Vlog - Laila loves Luke's bed!

Vlog - Luke can Dance too!

It has been noticed by none other than his namesake (Mr. B.K Njeru), that Luke is missing in action in the most recent blogs, vlogs and photos.

So it is with great pleasure that I announce that Luke can dance too with this video log. ( thats what vlog stands for in case you were wondering)

Vlog - Laila Can Dance!

Hi All.
I took this video of Laila yesterday and she has some interesting dance moves when she hears music.

Check it out and enjoy! 

Laila's Birthday Video

Hi All.
Click on this video link to see a video of Laila's birthday party.


Enjoy!

How to sleep like a one year old.

Laila showing off her sleeping skills after she turned one today.

Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!

Sleeping tight.

Laila shows us how to sleep tight 3 days before she turns into a one year old.

Watch "Laila's 5 minutes on the new EVO!" on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata&v=nzBMl1VXv2s

Sent from my absolutely awesome EVO!

Little's Law

This is a technical post so disregard it if it doesn't interest you.  I tend to do this on occasion when I am inspired and wantto save something for posterity sake.

Following this weekends joyous Fourth of July celebrations, we decided to order dinner from one of our favorite restaurants so we called Bamboo Thai Bistro.  Naturally, we opted for delivery and after one hour of waiting and no delivery guy in sight, I decided to drive out and get us some hamburgers from In-N-Out.

Little's Law or theory was in effect!  With most people having barbecued themselves out over the 4th of July, I imagine the restaurant probably received more orders for delivery than they had the capacity to handle.  This  resulted in system instability and eventual crash or breakdown for the poor little restaurant.

The queuing theory states:The long-term average number of customers in a stable system L is equal to the long-term average arrival rate, λ, multiplied by the long-term average time a customer spends in the system, W, or: L = λW

End of rant!

I wish!

We could have been there for this.
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Still a Cutie Pie.

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Pylonville again!

Pylonville again!, originally uploaded by kimathi_njeru.

Laila has her first teeth at 11 Months!

Yes.  It is true.  Finally!.

Laila now has two little teeth at the bottom peeking out and ready to bite.

I found it blog-worthy because of how late her teeth have come in compared to how early Luke's teeth came.

Luke had teeth at 4 or 5 months and by his first birthday he was mowing down solid vegetables with relish and abandon.  Laila on the other hand at 11 to 12 months is only getting her first teeth now but that doesn't stop her from attempting to eat anything and everything.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the later teeth come in the more likely you are to keep them into your geriatric years.  Based on that, we can conclude that Luke will be a toothless old man and Laila will be eating sugarcane with her grand children.

Enjoy the weekend and we love you all!

Best Fathers Day Week Ever!

This week I attended 4 great musical events, surfed some pretty awesome waves and cooked breakfast steaks for my family.

I can't say enough about the joy in my heart.

The musical events were....

Alborosie at Brixton on Monday.
Passafire at Saint Rocke on Friday.
Luke Njeru at CCS on Friday.
Baaba Maal at Hollywood Bowl on Sunday.

Awesome!!

I hope all fathers and grandfathers had as awesome a fathers day week or day as I did.
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New Photos!

Mickey Lolipops, originally uploaded by kimathi_njeru.

In case you hadn't noticed, it has been a while since I last posted anything on the blog. I plan to make up for it.

This photo was taken at Disneyland where we celebrated Luke's 4th birthday. Click on the rest of the photos in the 2010 Collection to see what has happened since January.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimathi_njeru/collections/72157623113514639/

Laila started crawling forward!

Yes! You read that correctly. This week Laila started crawling forward. She doesn't move very far before she gets frustrated but she is definitely has the motivation to go forward!
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Picture of the Day

Imagine my shock yesterday when I was browsing through a Hermosa Beach article and photo journal when I saw my picture!

Apparently I made it to 'Picture of the Day' on November 27th 2009.  The fellow that takes these photo's is a local photo journalist and his shots sometimes get featured on the front page of a local daily magazine called 'The South Bay' or something like that.

Edit..this is the current link to the photo.

March scoop

March scoop, originally uploaded by kimathi_njeru.

I know it has been a while since I posted but life happens.

Lee of http://teamstoked.blogspot.com/ took this recently when I returned to my favorite spot this March for a much needed and very enjoyable session.

More updates as they become available.

USA 7 : Kenya Wins Day 1 Games

Kenya 35 Chile 5.
It was an electrifying game.

Kenya 17 Scotland 0
Oh my goodness!!

More tomorrow.
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vlog - Laila finds her hands.

Now you can tell the technology leap in the clips when you see this clip of Laila as she find her hands!

Notice how similar yet different the munchkins are at approximately 5 or 6 months.

Wowzer is all I can say.

Blogging or Vlogging?

I reached back into some archives and found some video footage of Luke at about the same age that Laila is.

Unfortunately, the quality is poor and the sound is lacking which tells another story about technology and time. You will understand what I mean when you see Laila's clip.

Enjoy the vlog as in video log.

New Decade, New Photos

Hi All.
I know it has been a while since I last posted anything.

It is a new year and new decade and it would not be right if i didnt upload holiday and new year photos.

So check out the December 2009 set and then go over the the January 2010 set.
Enjoy!

Real Estate on the moon.

DSC00699, originally uploaded by kimathi_njeru.

I plan on selling and subdividing the moon to interested investors.
Let me know if you are interested.

I took this photo a while back using a friends telescope and my camera. I thought it was quite striking and worth sharing with a little humor.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

DSC00860, originally uploaded by kimathi_njeru.

How many kids can say they had 2 costumes this Halloween?

Paging Dr. Luke Njeru

DSC00820, originally uploaded by kimathi_njeru.

The picture speaks for itself.

New Photos of the Kids!

Hi All.
If you haven't already, please checkout the latest pictures on Flickr.

We have been fairly busy and I haven't had a chance to upload anything so please pardon the silence.

Enjoy and do leave comments. :-)
Love.
Smita, Laila, Luke and Kim.

WebCast Debut!!

Ray, one of the South Bay Bodyboarders in Manhattan Beach approached me about participating in a webcast.  I was honored so I did.

It was held at Manhattan Beach Pizzeria, a local pizzeria in Manhattan Beach a couple of weeks ago.

This happened to be episode 36 of this webcast called BodyBoarding Live and it was quite interesting considering the local cats that turned out.

One of the local bodyboarders, bloggers and photographer extraordinaire took some pictures and posted them on here on liquidplayground.blogspot.com.

It was interesting to see the brothers I surf with in normal clothes instead of wetsuitsor board shorts.  It was also more interesting socializing with them and finding out that they are also regular joes just like me looking to get amped and stoked on the next big ride while holding down a real job, business and family commitments.

Anyway, enough ranting and raving, here is the full link to the webcast.  If you cannot stomach the screaming music and other scenes, you can skip to the following section where i appear in momentary flashes.  @0:38,@16:10 and @45:57.  The choicest of all is my short but LOUD speech found @46:12

Enjoy!

A Cold day.

A Cold day., originally uploaded by kimathi_njeru.

No comment? That is quite alright.

Luke at Eva's Birthday

The photo speaks for itself.
Enjoy.
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More Surfing Pictures

If any of my previous surfing posts scared you, please exhale slowly.

I was paddling up to the rest of the guys this morning when one of them told me that he had seen some pretty neat pictures of me on http://teamstoked.blogspot.com/.

As you can imagine, I couldn't wait to see and share them.  All I can say is, I am glad I started going to this new spot(not-saying-where-so-other-surfers-don't-crowd-it) because it has elevated my riding abilities immensely.

Too much talking/writing...enjoy the pics and you can also get to them on my Flickr.

Yeah Baby!!!

Yeah Baby!!!, originally uploaded by kimathi_njeru.

Family Tree at tribalpages.com

I created this family tree at http://kimathi.tribalpages.com/ such a long time ago and forgot about it.

Eric reminded me about it so, i went back to add Laila and have cc'd Uncle Charlie here.

Some of you read my blog, view my Flickr images, connect on Facebook or still subscribe to the old email list kariuki@yahoogroups.com email which is how this all started.

If  you have any corrections or additions, please email me and I will make the neccessary changes and lets keep the family tree growing.

Enjoy.

The Barrel

This is one of many reasons we wake up so early in the morning.
I thoroughly enjoyed this wave and the rest that followed. 
A perfect start to a perfect morning.
Enjoy.

New Photos!

Smita, Laila and Luke just Chillin.

Hi All.
I have uploaded new photos to Flickr. If you can, do create yourself a flickr account so i can keep my photos private to my family and friends.

If not, just click away but you will only be able to see 3 sets(July, August and September).

Click on these links to get there: July , August , September

Far Left Corner.

One of the surfers took this pic in Manhattan Beach. Thanks Nick B.
I am in the far left corner paddling over it. Pity i wasn't surfing this beauty. I promise the next wave was better. :-)

Click on the image to see a larger view.

Enjoy.

Introducing Laila Mwendwa Njeru

Hello All.

Yes, Laila Mwendwa Njeru is here! She was born on 15th July 2009 in classic dramatic fashion right after her Grandma Rita Alexander arrived from the airport.

Both Laila and Smita are doing well and Luke is adjusting to the new role.

Click on the link below to checkout the pictures we have taken so far or follow it here. We promise to keep uploading if you promise to keep coming back and commenting.

Enjoy.

All 4 of us!

This is a picture of all 4 of us on our recent San Diego Zoo trip.
I will be posting another blog entry with a link to Flickr where you can see more.

More Photos

If you haven't already, head on over to Flickr or click on this link to see some recent photos of us.

Reflections on Fathers Day.

As Fathers day approaches I can't help but notice the love for the paternal parent. This is even more amplified by the fact that Luke can verbalize his emotions quite succinctly even though some of that is orchestrated by his exposure to the media and his preschool.
Nonetheless, it feels great to be the center of attention this Fathers day and I look forward to many more.
I hear athletes and people on Jeopardy thanking and 'shouting out' to their mothers and I wonder where their fathers are.

In keeping with my characteristic and contrarian self I propose a merge of Fathers and Mothers day to create a Parents day so that both parents can be appreciated equally.

I love you Dad and I wish you and all fathers a happy fathers day.
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Lovely video of my current pastime.

Jeremy Arnoux // Pride bodyboards from Napco Global on Vimeo.

Selling the Mustang

I am finally selling the Mustang on Autotrader and Craigslist.
The car has served me well but is no longer practical for our growing family.

Interested or know anyone that is?

Napster Releases New Product

Hi people!
Well, we finally released the Napster product we have been working so hard on.

Basically for $5 per month, you get 5 MP3s, + unlimited streaming music from Napster’s 7+million tracks catalog. It also integrates into your iTunes/iPod so when you download music it finds its way to your iPod/iPhone/iTouch.

Check out the blog about it here and try it y'all!

Luke's 3rd Birthday Pictures

Luke had a great birthday. We thank you all for the birthday wishes, gifts, texts and love.

We haven't posted pictures in a long time so this is a good start.

These links should take you to a collection of pictures and video taken at Disneyland and on his Birthday.

Ever heard of the Lipid Hypothesis?

I had an interesting conversation with some of my colleagues at work at lunch today about oatmeal, cholesterol and heart disease and one of them was quite convincing about the absence of scientific evidence linking cholesterol and heart disease.

Here are some of the links he sent me.

http://www.venev.com/diabetes/Lipid_Hypothesis.html
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/uncategorized/the-lipid-hypothesis/
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/skinny.html
http://www.loveandblueberries.com/2008/02/25/saturated-fats-revisiting-the-lipid-hypothesis/

Any comments about this Physicians, Pharmacists, Nurses and PAs?

Disneyland in April!

There was some swimming time at the hotel pool and Luke was showing off some of his floating skills which you can see in some of the video clips.

We took a detour on the drive home to the Korean Friendship Bell which has a spectacular view of the San Pedro bay. We did some tumbling and rolling around which Luke loved.

Enjoy and do leave comments if you can!

Some LA Reggae Night Spots

1. DragonFly - Thursdays - 6510 Santa Monica Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90038
2. Ivar - Sundays - 1643 Ivar Ave Los Angeles, CA 90028
3. Zabumba - Wednesdays and Fridays 10717 Venice Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90034
4. Saint Rocke - Occasional Big names - Hermosa Beach.
5. LightHouse - Sundays - Hermosa Beach.

11 Things About 11g

Warning...this is another geek tech post so be forewarned.

About one year ago, I attended my Oracle guru's workshop (Tom Kyte) in downtown LA where he presented a very inspiring presentation about Oracle 11g.

I was rummaging through some of my old notebooks and hand written notes and found this one which I wanted to share and keep for posterity, hence the blog post.

1. Encrypted Tablespaces
The database block writer now does encryption and it needs oracle wallets and keys.

2. Cache More Stuff.
The result_cache hint caches more in the shared pool resulting in a better application experience.

3. Standby is better.
The biggest thing here was the ability to have a read/write standby database.
This allows one to report, backup, develop and test on an active standby.

4. Real Application Testing.
I love this one because it solves some major testing challenges for internet applications.
Using Database replay and SQL Peformance Analyzer (SPA), one can replay production load in a QA environment and a whole new world of testing opens up.

5. Smaller Secure DMP.
This one marks the end of life of export as we know it as it gets replaced by datapump.
Datapump's compression ratio is upped to 4:33 and includes encryption.

6. Virtual Columns.
Estimated cardinality improves. More about this later...i cannot remember exactly how/what this is...i swear..:-)

7. Partitioning is better.
They have introduced more ways to partition your data.
Interval partitioning, Partition by reference, Virtual column partitioning, Composite partitioning.

8. The Awaited Pivot.
This one allows you to turn rows into columns by using the pivot keyword in your sql queries. You can clap now...

9. Flashback Data Archive.
Also known as FBDA like we dont have enough acronyms; this extends the flashback window further back by allowing you to mine the logs stored in the FBDA.
This data is tamper proof and cannot be changed or truncated.

10. Finer Grained Dependency Tracking.
PL/SQL code invalidates less frequently and we all know how annoying it can be when you touch one piece of code and the depenency tree gets invalidated.

11. OLTP table compression.
This one is all about space and performance. Let your imagination run wild with the benefits of compression.

Enjoy.

Spy - Listening in on Social Media Conversations

I found this new thing built by some smart folks which is capable of
listening in ('spying') on any social media conversations you are
interested in.

Have geeks taken over the world yet or is it just me?

Enjoy...

Sun,Sand,Surf

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Another sleep-think event!

Boys!
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Luke and Lifeguards

This is a shot of Luke stuck in the sand with our favorite Lifeguard in the background.

Luke makes sure he says hi to the lifeguard every time he sees one.

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Broken Sun?

Lukes first reaction to a sunset was...'Dad, is the Sun Broken?'
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BarberShop 001

This is Lukes first visit to the local barbershop.

He did very well and even tipped Johnny the Barber.

PS: he was a lot more co-operative with Johnny than he usually is with me.
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My 'Simple Life' at Internet Brands

Introduction:

This page is supposed to be a summary of my ‘simple’ life at Internet Brands and should contain a collection of process, methods, tasks and solutions that I created, used or collaborated in.

Methodology:

Having previously participated in numerous successful projects that were implemented using Rational Unified Process(RUP), I observed that the Database Team spent 80%-90% of our time in the Construction and Transition phase.

This is not such a bad thing except that the other phases require just as much attention.

I can best describe the challenge as follows.

If nothing were to change, maintenance of existing systems would be simple and almost predictable with a few menial tasks such as hardware replacement.

Now if you throw in the need to compete, innovate and create new products, change is introduced which requires some investment of time in the Inception, Elaboration and Construction stages of RUP.

The less time spent in these phases by the DB team, the harder the challenges in the Transition phase.

Change:

Change is an interesting thing. We need it to make progress but are resistant to it depending on how it is brought about.

In my experience, I have found that most software methodologies succeed in introducing change by incorporating the following:

• COMMUNICATE CHANGE.
• CHANGE CONTROL.
• COLLABORATE.
• EXECUTE.

Problem Solving:

My philosophy about problem solving is simplistic and falls in the following categories.

1. Troubleshooting.
1. Problem Identification.
2. Historical Metrics.
3. Problem time-line.
2. Impact Analysis.
1. Systems impacted.
2. People impacted.
3. Solution:
1. Create and Test Simple solution.
2. Create and Test Preventative solution.
4. Execution:
1. Communicate Solution.
2. Schedule window for execution.
5. Post Mortem:
1. Communicate closure.
2. Document closure.
3. Document Solutions.

Now I must confess that I did not follow these steps religiously but where time permitted, this approach proved to be most effective in adopting a best practice.

The above philosophy is rooted in the following:

• Problem identification is at least 50% of the solution and is made easier if the problem can be re-produced.
• Historical metrics regarding the problem and environment aid in at least 50% of problem identification.
• The simplest solution is often the best solution.
• Documenting the solution aids in being proactive and thinking about preventative measures.

Daily Tasks:

08h00 – 10h00

This 2 hour window is crucial in getting ahead of the wave.

I call this time ‘window-gazing’ time which is essential for strategic thinking, planning and some execution.

I utilized this time to do the following.

• Day planning.
• MS SQL Server and MySQL task management and review.
• JIRA task management, delegation and review.
• Outlook mailbox organization.
• Meeting request management.

10h00 – 16h45

This window is the actual execution window for most tasks.

Quite a number of meetings are scheduled in this window too.

• Validate that Oracle RMAN backups completed.
• Check and resolve OEM ‘critical’ and ‘warning’ alerts
• Check and resolve error emails in outlook (oracle and OEM) alerts.
• Check and resolve assigned JIRA tasks.
• Connect to UNIX hosts and watch load, memory file systems.
• Attend scheduled meetings.
• Resolve walk-over requests.
• Group discussion on various tasks and problems.

Weekly Tasks

• Check that OEM completed gathering the weekly baseline.
• Review JIRA tasks and timelines.
• Check data warehouse status.
• Check, review and implement access control.
• Database Team Meeting.
• Review and red-flag unattended issues.
• Check documentation status and add to the wiki.

Monthly Tasks

• Capacity and License planning and execution.
• Space and Disk utilization.
• Review OEM reports and dashboards.
• Review SOX compliance tasks.
• Expense reports.
• Vacation time scheduling and review.

Annual Tasks

• Database Team performance review.
• Database Backup and Archival.
• Architectural review and planning.

Hermosa Beach Pier.

This was taken at Hermosa Beach Pier at night.

New Olympic Sport.

Luke invents a new sport. Frog Riding. Not an Olympic sport.....yet.

May 2008 - Reflections and Collections!

This May has been a wonderful and blessed month. With the parents in town, we have been able to take some time off, shop, boogie-board, go to the movies, go late-night-dancing and most importantly take Luke to church.

Many memories were created in May 2008 and I was forced to stop and reflect on the many blessings in our large dispersed growing family, our health and careers.

If you haven't already done so, take a moment in June to thank God for this and more to come.

We have slightly re-organized our Flickr collections which hardly do justice to the blessings of May 2008.

Enjoy and be blessed!
Kim

My Girlfriend!

El Segundo, CA

Golfers!

Mum's Golf Swing.

Golfing 101!

Needless to say with the parents in town golf has been the highlight.

This was taken in El Segundo, CA  at 'The Lakes'.

Our Lady of Angels Cathedral

Wipe Out!!

This was taken outside our house after a day of boogie-boarding at Hermosa Beach in April.

Lukie (he refers to himself thus) decided to start paddling and caught some concrete waves and I couldn't help but snap away.
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Fallbrook Avocado Festival!

Yesterday was one of those days you wish could go on forever.

The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, not windy, not humid just PERFECT.

Now, top that with the annual Avocado festival in Fallbrook, CA and some wine sampling in Temecula, CA and you have a perfect Sunday afternoon.

This is a picture of Luke entertaining the locals with his newly acquired acoustic guitar.

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Luke Chillaxin!

Luke is quite attached to his sunglassess.
This was a hot afternoon at TK and Monicas.
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Hole in the deck!

Yup! There is a hole in my deck. I clearly have some work ahead.
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Blogging from a CrackBerry

I have been wondering about the mailtoblogger feature for a while now.

Well this is a picture of Luke and Smita this wonderful summer evening. The picture was taken indoors with poor lighting with my crackberry curve and then emailed with the afore mentioned thingy.

Enjoy!

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Another Year Later!

Now this is really weird. Exactly one year since I last posted on this blog, I decide to come back and see if it still exists and to my wonderment and amazement, it does!

So I decide to post something to keep with the timing. One post per year does not maketh a blog but here I go anyway.

Life has been going on as usual with the usual grind of work, parenting and keeping healthy.

Luke is proving to be quite the charmer as he learns to manipulate us both with his sweetness. He is talking up a storm and seems to love music. His preference currently seems to be the guitar based on his reaction to any guitar shapes and sounds.

I promise to post a March 2008 picture but for now here is one from December 2008!

See you next year same time....or not

The Kimlet - Now Known as Luke

The Kimlet - Now Known as Luke

Wow. It has been almost a whole year since I last posted anything on my blog.
Well, thats what happens when you have kids. No time to do anything.

The last year has been about diapers, feeding and napping in between.

Luke, formerly known as the Kimlet is now an 11 month old with tons of energy. I am told there is more to come and I refuse to believe.

The guys is all over the place, doing the military crawl, regular crawl, pulling himself up with anything in his way. We need to baby proof right away!!

Anyway, here is a picture of Luke and I in March 2007.

We are having a Kimlet

We are having a Kimlet

So, we are quite excited about the arrival of our Kimlet!
We decided not to find out whether there were any family jewels on the Kimlet so it is going to be a suprise in the delivery room.

We had a baby shower last week which was quite well attended by close friends. We got lots of gifts too.

Check out the pictures

Captains Log - Day 7 - 01/24

Final entry in the Captains Log.

We woke up early enough to have a hurried Hilton English breakfast. (Kinoty has stories about his big late night promises about breakfast)

We took a cab to Victoria to barely make it onto the Gatwick Express. We had a very hurried goodby with Dee which was probably for the best since goodbyes can tend to be teary.

30 minutes later we were at Gatwick Airport, checking in and seated on our plane which was much roomier. We drifted in and out of sleep and conversation for the 10 hour flight.

On arrival at DFW we decided to kill some time at TGIF. After sharing an appetizer combo plate which the patron seated next to us inhaled on his own, we could not help but comment on the sudden presence of large people. As captain, I concluded aptly that Europeans are much smaller than Americans.

We then realized that we were running late and again scurried to catch the Skylink with no time to spare. I made it to my gate in good time and slept all the way to Los Angeles where my Smita was waiting at the Southwest arrivals (she just flew in from Houston). I took the wrong bus to meet her and instead of 2 minutes later, it was 20 minutes later we were on a cab home.

Its good to be home!

Captains Conclusion: I loved this trip. Feel free to comment.

Captains Log - Day 6 - 01/23

We woke up to an SMS from mum to call home that co-incided with the breaking news on SkyTV about the collapse of a building in River Road, Nairobi. After a few panicked phone calls, we ascertained that all was well and proceeded to check out of Hilton Docklands and back into Hilton Kennsington.

After a restful afternoon nap, we joined the old pals in Hendon at the Hendon Inn. Although this was supposed to be a slow night(the eve of our departure), the pals insisted on staying late. They were graciously malicious to offer to pay for our cab ride back to the hotel. We accepted and did not regret it.

On our way back to the hotel, we chatted up our cab driver and inquired about the greatest donna kebab he had had. He promised to take us there and I attest to 'the greatest kebab in the world'. The name eludes me again but Kinoty and Dee should comment on it. I displayed my gluttony by ordering and inhaling two kebabs and then it was lights out!

Captains Log - Day 5 - 01/22

After 3-4 hours of sleep we woke up got ready and caught a cab to the bus stop.
This happened to be the coldest day in Swindon and being a Sunday, there were no restraunts or shops open that early to offer any shelter from the cold.
As we froze our butts off, the effects of the previous night seemed like a dream. When the bus finaly arrived we rushed in, warmed up and knocked out for the 2-3 hour bus ride.

In London, we purchased tickets to use the Underground train. We made our way to Docklands and after checking in and freshening up at the Hilton Docklands, we felt good enough to grab a bite and find out where the NFL games were being televised!
After a few phone calls and a few undergound trains, we met up with Kinoty's old friends at their house and then proceeded to the Thatched House. This was a Kenyan pub replete with the aroma of roasted goat meat and the bar chatter of Kikuyu and Kiswahili in most corner. I was at home again!

We ordered some nyama choma, fry, ugali and it was better than i thought it would be. A few Tusker's, Stella's and Foster's later, we were ready to dance at the local Kenyan club. The name escapes me but Kinoty and Dee should comment on this one.
We cabbed it back to our hotel after a merry merry night.

Captains Log - Day 4 - 01/21

Day 4 was designated to be the day we topped our pub/bar count. Day 1 had the unfortunate reputation of 4 bars. Dee assured us that that was a simple feat in Swindon. I privately doubted it but she was to prove me wrong.

After a lazy start, we started at the Hilton Swindon where I had a light breakfast as Dee introduced her colleagues.
We proceeded to New Town Swindon where there was a string of pubs. We started at Yates's where we played some pool.
We then proceeded to The Groves Company Inn for some grub.
Next stop was Mbargo where we played more pool.
Next stop was the Australian themed Walkabout.
Next stop was the Bedroom. Famous for having beds in the club.
Next stop was the 80's Bar. We had the most fun here.
Last top was Big Fish.

After a long night, we had managed to top day 1. Swindon indeed was not as small as i thought. We cabbed it back to Dee's crib and prepared for our bus ride back to London.

Captains Log - Day 3 - 01/20

After an eventful evening and a search for the elusive donna kebab, we had a late check out of the hotel. We booked our National Express tickets to Swindon and with 1 hour to kill, we waited it out at the Travellers Inn. (this was by far the smokiest pub i had been to)

We boarded our bus and it was lights out all the way to Swindon. Two and a half hours later we were in cold Swindon. We cabbed it to Dee's crib and decided to stay in for the night. We orderd some Lamb Vindaloo amongst other Indian take-outs. The lamb vindaloo was most memorable for its deceptive aroma but killer hot taste. (this was by far the hottest indian food i have ever had) . Kinoty was dripping from perspiration as we all wished we could shower upside down.

We called it a night after lazing around, chatting and flipping tv channels till 4a.m.

Captains Log - Day 2 - 01/19

On arrival in a cold gray Gatwick airport, we contacted Dee after purchasing a Virgin sim card for 10 pounds. (I highly recommend this if you are attached to your cell phone. The convenience is worth it)

We proceeded to catch the Gatwick Express into Victoria Station(Central London). We met Dee waiting for us at the Weatherspoon. After long warm hugs and greetings we mapped out the rest of our few days while being introduced to the pint system of downing beer.

After catching numerous means of public transportation(something that i quickly became familiar with), we checked in to the Hilton Kennsington. We quickly freshened up and made our way to the Green Room for a good English 'lupper'(lunch and supper?) and a few pints of Fosters and Stella Artois. (side note on Stella. she is stronger than her name suggests!)

We then made our way(buses and underground trains) to Dee and Kinoty's old haunts in Hendon. We saw their old employer and proceeded to their old watering hole, the Cricklewood.

After a few pints, Dee and Kinoty's old pals started streaming in and the old stories started flowing at the same rate that 'Stella' and her good friend 'Fosters' were flowing. With little persuasion, we proceeded to another of their old haunts, Puchin where good music, dancing and more Stella were to flow. It was not obvious that this was our last stop but soon enough it was time to mini cab it back to the hotel.

Captains Log - Day 1 - 01/18

So while downing pints on our vacation to the UK, we decided to keep a captains log lest we forget our experiences.

Dee quickly commanded one of her cohorts at the Hilton Swindon to bring us a pen and paper. I will regale you with the contents of that paper on this and the following posts. So rewind to Day 1.

On my arrival at DFW, I met Kinoty who had already arrived a few minutes earlier. We checked in and opted to kill the 4-5 hour wait by taking a cab to a nearby mall to grab some lunch. We called Paul Oeri who happened to be very tied up.

We returned to DFW with 2 hours to kill so we proceeded to our gate, and decided to while time nursing a couple of cold drafts at the Thank God Its Friday (TGIF) chain.

With 5 minutes to board time, Kinoty went to check whether there were any changes and indeed there were! We hurriedly downed our drafts and proceeded to catch the train(Skylink) to the new gate.

We boarded on time and drifted in and out of sleep for the 10 hour flight.

UK Vacation.

So I just got back from a 7 day vacation in the UK. It was a blast!
I have a whole set of pictures on flickr for your viewing pleasure. Just click on this link