May
Random Memories That Make Me Smile:
Written by Shiko
1. The day my sister learnt that the reverse of an ointment cap is used to pierce the seal. Close to a week later she was still shaking her head. She vowed to purchase 100 ointments and have a teeth-gritted puncture fest for all her 30 years and 3 kids of using all manner of crude weapons. Including twigs.
2. The day someone, a manual car driver tried out an automatic for the first time, balancing non existent levers and wondering what the heck.
3. The day my Mum first saw, nay, experienced Google earth and transformed before my very eyes into this excited little girl. We ‘visited’ homesteads in the neighborhood plus schools and shopping centers further afield. The new road right up to the point where it’s yet to be completed, the new block of classrooms in the nearby school, the Catholic Church academy under construction, and look! Wakinyua’s new tank! Wakinyua’s new tank! All this was before street view where she flipped on arrival. Needless to say.
4. The day this otherwise very out there chap in the office was frantically looking for a camera to photograph his computer screen, to capture an error message for when IT arrived from lunch. I was witness to his face palm moment when he learnt of prt scr. He has never heard the end of it because he has since accepted his new nick name. Print Screen.
5. The jubilant day I completed a two thousand piece jigsaw puzzle. It took me about a month of near complete obsession and hawk eyed vigilance on my little nephew whose sole purpose at that point in life was to misplace a piece here and chew on a piece there. Begging, cajoling and outright bribing was already half the challenge! He danced about and lifted his little hands with me when ‘we’ finally made it.
6. This article right here: This is a comp and this is a mouse. Especially the comment about moving the monitor to center the cursor.
7. Back in the day well before vibrating phones were the norm, a friend’s vibrated in her pocket in a packed matatu – pressed against some guy’s thigh. He contorted this frightened bewildered face, stopped the matatu in a panic, alighted and literally ran away very fast. We were unable to guess what might have gone through his poor head. Dude must have thought it was a bomb about to go off.
8. When my village thought I had joined the army. They didn’t ask, just assumed that anyone who wears military looking garb is in the army and then kept the rumour going. It has since been dispelled I believe.
9. The day they, family, took away my rubiks apparently because the sheer obsession was threatening to interfere with my mental faculties. Ok, homework and household chores too but that is not what they said. They said “it will drive her nuts”
By Idza on May 15, 2012
Number one is my favorite. Truth is not many people have had that revelation!
By Crispus M. Shaki on May 15, 2012
Wow what an article nostalgic life does go by
By Shiko on May 15, 2012
Idza really? Too bad. I’ve looked through again but I still can’t even pick a favourite.
Crispus nostalgic indeed, though some of these are as recent as last year.
By Mkenya on May 15, 2012
No. 6 is my all time favourite….
By Shiko on May 15, 2012
Mkenya We need to trace this UrXlnc fellow and bring him back to blogs.
And I’m willing to bet there are people who did that just to see what happens.
By The Spinster on May 15, 2012
I’m smiling right along with you. Am I allowed to say I didn’t know about Windows+M? Thanks!
By Shiko-Msa on May 16, 2012
Yes Spinster you’re allowed. Nifty huh?
By Crispus M. Shaki on May 16, 2012
It’s funny how google earth offers you the world and the first place you look is your homestead I guess whether east or west home is best.
By Ghafla!Guy on May 16, 2012
Number 7 lol! The guy must have thought it was a new type of grenade.
By Shiko-Msa on May 16, 2012
Crispus True. Its so much easier to look for the familiar.
GhaflaGuy but grenades were such a rarity then. I think. I wonder what tales he went to tell his peers that day.
By kbaab on May 16, 2012
No. 1 remains my favourite because it happened to me too! Oh the joy of piercing ointments after the revelation. hehehe
By carolkmail on May 16, 2012
Speaking of comps and mice, I remember a story once narrated to me. In short, a student in a comp class was told to use the mouse pointer to point at an item on the screen. He literally picked up the mouse, shoved it onto the screen and pointed. Good ignorant times those were!
By Kyoe on May 17, 2012
Very interesting read. Just made my morning.
By Shiko-Msa on May 17, 2012
Kbaab I’ll take it you offered to puncture all your friends’ and neighbours’ ointments after that revelation.
CarolK no I did not just try to demonstrate that. Nooo. Not me. I’m not even laughing.
Kyoe glad to make your morning.
By Maua on May 17, 2012
7 cracked me up.
Google Earth, first time ever, I think I saw my parked car and thot, ‘Spooks’.
By Kirima on May 18, 2012
Read this with a smile
Did you finally solve the rubiks cube? ……without using google (hint)
By Shiko-Msa on May 18, 2012
Maua street view is quite the spook.
Kirima I didn’t have access to Google back then, just sheer woman hours and tips here and there from my brothers. The furthest I got was the top and two levels down on all sides. The bottom and last level I gave up at some point, or moving on with life happened.
But the cube is still somewhere in my room in shags. Just you wait! A little grease and voila, back to business. Sitaki google hapo.
By IamVW on May 19, 2012
Hehe. Reminds me, my 1st encounter with ‘Wimpy’ was in a chat room…U can imagine my shock when I finally figured ‘Wimpy’ wasn’t a person!!
By Nyambura on May 19, 2012
*Grins* I’m unable to pick a favourite.This is too hilarious…
#7 has me conjuring up a scene straight out of a crazy funny sitcom.
By woolie on May 21, 2012
The good days – grenades were a rarity. I have to ask about this print screen business. How does it work?
By Shiko-Msa on May 21, 2012
IamVW now who is Wimpy?
Nyambura it sounds naswa-ish.
Woolie Print Screen is for when you want to capture an active window. Like thug a picture online? Press the Prt Scr key on the right of your keypad and paste on a blank document or ppt. Crop as desired. Simple and it works though there’s downloadable software for those who prt scr enough to need it.
By OtienoHongo on May 22, 2012
Very hilarious, especially the vibrating phone story. Are you sure it was pressed against his thighs or something else?
And thanks to Woolie about asking the print screen question, I now get it…always learning something
By Shiko-Msa on May 23, 2012
Lol Otieno it was pressed against the thigh but I can bet my little finger his thoughts were more on what if it extends to something else?
There’s never an end to learning.
By joy on May 26, 2012
the ointment cap does it for me,trust me its not just your sister,i was in her corner for the longest time.what about when you discovered “the lift” and you held to the sides like its about to take off…i did,still have that feeling in my matumbo..enyewe we keep learning…
By Savvy Kenya on Jun 22, 2012
Ha ha.. Print Screen!
By Savvy Kenya on Jun 22, 2012
Number 6 reminds me of this post I did recently about asking for advice!
http://www.savvykenya.com/2012/06/dear-friends-terms-and-conditions-for-it-advice/