Wet Cement

Last Week, the school decided to install one more tank as a solution to Nairobi's failed city status via its inability to supply enough water to the deserved recipients. The tank, quite a large 24,000 litre capacity tank, had to be supported on a concrete base, and a concrete apron had been constructed at the tap. The new tank already had water as the apron was been constructed, and the contractor decided to seal the apron area with a paper and some stones as the apron dried.

I was surprised to find some bright students using the tap despite the drying cement.The students had decided that they couldn't wait for the cement to dry well enough, and that the older tank which is a couple of metres away was supplying water at too slow a rate. The bright university students continued around with their watery business, oblivious of all the details on ground.

The contractor, not one to be put off easily, decided to patch up the area damaged by use of the tap on wet cement, and reseal the tap apron again. A few hours later, the bright students were back again and more determined to prove how bright they were by not letting the cement dry. Now we have to use a new apron with a broken floor due to the above actions of our bright students.Perhaps some of them are a group that attempted to light a fire under an LPG gas cylinder during an infamous campus strike.(luckily, some brighter students put out the fire before they could flatten a few buildings)

Well, the bright students who will not leave wet cement to dry are not in a league of their own. In and out of campus, they are joined by a league of other former and current campus, high-school and other idiots who have no time and understanding of how cement functions.

You will find their foot prints embossed in pavements , their cars stuck in road constructions site they did not see amongst other places. Such people also exhibit a behaviour that leads to them taking the shortest line between their source and destination of travel. They cross barbed wires, tape , grass and drive by the side of the road to get to their destinations faster than the rest of us.

We seem to be in such a hurry that we can not wait for the cement to dry, but at the same time, we seem to be in no hurry to pour more cement.Government and company projects take a significant fraction of our lives to start, despite our love for wet cement.(Anything longer than a few months out of a 50 year life is a significant fraction)

So what is your contribution to the marks on the wet cement? Is it your inscribed name, your foot print, damage, admiration, the cement, the time or the plans?

Comments

Unknown said…

Gives us a lot to ponder on.... hmmmm bright students, bright Kenyans .... is being bright really intelligent after all....
KUDOs Kioko

22 October 2009 at 08:11

Dennis Kioko said…

Thank you, louiza

2 November 2009 at 16:08

Beers in Kenya: A sober opinion

Note: This is a dated post and has since been mostly passed by events. SAB Miller beers including Castle and Peroni are no longer widely available in Kenya after their exist. Sirville Brewery was bought out by Brew Bistro before being permanently shut in a tax dispute. Kenya is a land of milk, honey, beaches and taxes. I have penned, or is typed, a newer post here . Peroni - One of the best beers in Kenya. Did a taste of canned and bottled Italian, and bottled Tanzanian I like the tangy flavour and body in Tanzanian Peroni. The can is close. Heineken drinkers will like the Italian one. I have had a short beer swigging stint in my life. It has however been long enough for me to share my opinion of Kenyan beer. Interestingly, over the course of sharing such opinions with other drunkards connoisseurs, I have found that we all have different views as to what beer is the best, which one makes you too drunk, or which one gives one free, extra hangover for every ha...

Visiting Watamu

Getting to Watamu: Flight to Malindi Airport. Jambojet flies here and so do other airlines from Wilson. You'll then need a Cab to Watamu (KSh. 1,700 to KSh. 2,000 - many apps are inaccurate) or matatu just outside the airport (KSh. 100) SGR to Mombasa, then shuttle to Watamu. There are about 2 regular shuttles and they charge KSh. 1,500 to KSh. 2,000 one way Bus to Watamu. Tahmeed and other buses operate regular schedules to Total Watamu Drive: It's faster branching through Mariakani to Kaloleni then to Kilifi. The route through Tsavo is not any faster and has park fees. Takes 9 hours Things to do Beach Sunbathing : Watamu has some of the world's best beaches, with white sand. The left side from Watamu Village has a bay with shallow water during low tide, you can wade and swim in the ocean even if you don't know how to swim! Ocean is warm in July - August but very windy. Watamu beaches have lots of seaweed but this shouldn't deter yo...

Nairobi's Top 4 Texas Brisket Places Reviewed and Ranked

Brisket on a bed of roast vegetables with barbecue sauce at Texas Brisket, Kikuyu This review has been updated after a number of you suggested I try the brisket at County2County. What's the best place to have Brisket in Nairobi? What's even brisket? Brisket is one of the toughest cuts in a cow, from around the belly. It is so tough that it has to be smoked for about 16 hours to tenderise. But that there, is the catch. 12 to 16 hours later, it is the most flavourful and softest cut you will ever have. So full of flavour and so soft you can pick it apart with your fingers. However, due to the long cooking time involved, only a few places offer brisket in Nairobi. The best so far is Texas Brisket which is located within Kikuyu Railway station. They do the meat for a proper 16 hours, and will usually have a fatty or non-fatty portion. The fatty portions are more tasty. A 500 gram serving goes for KSh. 900 and a 1 KG order comes with a serving of fre...

Beers of Kenya. The Ultimate 2019 Guide

Four years ago, precisely in 2015, I wrote about beer in Kenya in what has gone on to be my most popular post this year with more than 5,000 people reading it. It seems that there is a lot of interest in exploring beer in Kenya, which is understandable. The brewing sector has grown since then and we now have lots of options, which means it is time for another review. Back in 2015, Kenya had one major brewer - EABL/KBL, challenged by Keroche and Sierra which is more of a small volume craft brewer, and arguably Kenya’s first craft brewery. It had also been joined by Brew Bistro which mostly sells its malted stuff at its outlets in Nairobi and later by Sirville, a bar located at Galleria Mall. Sirville was later sold to Brew Bistro and converted to the latter for a while, before shutting down in what is alleged to be a tax dispute.

Why Humanity Hasn't Learned From the Covid Pandemic

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic began ravaging the world, succeeding the 1918 flu pandemic. Many found it unbelievable that despite all the scientific progress that the world has made since 1918, from composite jets to modern healthcare to going to the moon, the world was still susceptible to a pandemic. Ironically, some of these advancements largely played a role in the spread of the pandemic. Thousands of global flights every hour and air conditioning fanned its spread like a dry wind would in a forest fire. There was even further disbelief in mid-2020 when it became apparent that many countries were even struggling to keep a pandemic in check. Developed countries, supposed to have the best healthcare, suffered the worst outbreaks amidst disagreements on measures such as quarantines and wearing of masks. In yet another twist, technology advancement finally came to our rescue with the speedy development of vaccines, including the safe pioneering of never-tried-b...

Dennis Kioko

Search This Blog