19 lessons I have learnt from Covid-19

By G-Boy Babji via FB

19 lessons I have learnt from Covid-19.

1. You are not alone, you are on your own.
That fight you are going through, somebody else is also going through it. You are not alone. However, if you are sitting there wondering why so-and-so is not reaching out to you during your difficult period, he/she is also wondering the same. You are on your own.

2. Before Corona brought social distancing, social media had already done it, Uncle Rona is just too physical.

3. We work too hard on being useful, to our jobs, relationships, et al, but then when difficult times or somebody better comes along the way, you are always disposable. And trust me, difficult times are unavoidable, whilst there is always somebody younger/better to disentangle you off that relationship. Work on yourself and your happiness with the help of your job/relationships.

4. You’re fighting what somebody else is fighting for, for example life. A friend is trending for having suicidal thoughts, another friend is trending for fighting for his life. You’re fighting ED, some huncho is fighting sex addiction, it is what it is. Know your fight, fight it without thinking about what those around you have to say about it.

5. Cleaning The Airwaves.
I didn’t even know this shit existed, till I saw it on a Silas Gisiora Nyanchwani’s wall. Then Brax Thevoice sent me the Prezzo link. Finally a channel that doesn’t bank on clickbaits and shallow content.

6. Platforms are outselling products.
I had this convo with a couple of friends, AirBnB, Amazon, Facebook, Glovo, and a few more companies featured in the convo. However, if you can offer a product and then offer a platform where it is sold, just like some PayTv companies have done by offering the digital boxes and the PayTv services, utakuwa umekafunga.

7. You’re not of any help if you’re as weak as the person seeking your help. Be a bit selfish, be better.

8. Once you are absent (not necessarily), one of your closest friends is very ready to take over your man/woman. I hear Collymore’s wife is expecting a child, dunno how true is this. But always, it is what it is. I know a friend who screws his wife’s bestie.

9. I read this tweet where the tweep said, “Ukiomoka you buy a shamba, chimba maji na choo, connect power. Put up a half-permanent mabati structure on the corner, hama, main house itakuja tu.” I felt that shit.

10. In most parts of Boisanga, families that had money in the 1970s are now begging from those that did not have it back then. in 2050, the cycle will change again. It is a problem where parents personalise their wealth and tell their kids to study hard and make their wealth too. Indians and other Western communities dig it into their kids that this is ‘our’ wealth down from generations and should be passed down to generations to come. So in Kenya we have companies that die with the owner, while the Johnson Family’s Kiwi is still strong.

11. Say hi to strangers, they are hommies to some people, and you are strangers to them too.
I met this Kale guy along Mombasa Road hapo Nyayo at night, we became friends, but wasn’t ready to exchange numbers because this is Nairobi and everybody is suspicious (funny that I didn’t look suspicious to him bana). Young fella who teaches in some high school in Eldoret, proud of the 12K he earns, lives in Eldy, spends very little on all the shit we chase in this city, so positive with life. Last word I told him, This is Nairobi. Bonnie Trevor, alikuwa wa kwenu bana.

12. The more you know, the more you want, the less settled you get.
I met this guy the other day, hommie used to meet me at the local where I would sometimes catch the game. Our talk moved from VAR and controversial penalties to ‘Kai bono aye ogokorera’ which loosely translates to, “Where do you work?” At this point, I didn’t have a concrete answer because, online jobs are like Illuminati to some people, so I just said I have a small peanut-paying jobbo but am still searching for a job. Niqqa promised to hook me up with his supervisor, they pay well, 11K with some ‘marupurupu’. Damn!

13. Your neighbours offer the same services that you’re looking for on social media. Days ago a neighbor knocked on my door to request for a WiFi password. And there, that’s when I knew that all along, I’ve been living next to a badass graphic designer, went to his house later to check out his samples and couldn’t believe. Take some time, know what your friends/neighbors offer. It could be better than what you’re bargaining for.

14. You ain’t as dirty as you think you are, neither are you as innocent as you wanna make us think. Recently, a huncho at our workplace (big man who keeps on shouting at me whenever I hug a lady) posted porn on his whatsapp status. Word has it that he was forwarding it to some contact but instead he selected status, accident of course. He deleted it quickly but then in this generation of GBWhatsapp, I replied to it during my break, and now we’re even.

15. 21 Grams.
I watched this movie, released a decade and a half ago, and the roller-coaster my mind went through is quite something. The interesting part of the movie is when Paul, in his death, thinks loudly, “So this is death’s waiting room. They say when we all die, we lose 21 grams. The weight of a stack of five nickels. The weight of a hummingbird. A chocolate bar”

16. Human beings will always look at what is different between them. We start by noticing different colors, if color is same, we look at country, if that is same, we look at tribe, if that is same, we look at clan, if that is same, we look at anything. That’s why we have #blacklivesmatter, that’s why we have #xenophobia attacks in South Africa, hell, we even have francophone Africans and Anglophone Africans slaughtering each other in Cameroon, we have tribal killings in our own country and of course the gender wars and GBV.

17. This period pushed people to creating opportunities for themselves instead of switching employers, especially in the media industry. We however should be more creative and strive to explore more.

18. In Kenya, comedy is paying more than music, and that is not a good thing, for musicians of course. It’s good for the comedy industry of course, seeing comedians secure the bag (Flaqo, Crazy Kenar, Padi Wubon, et al) without having to rely on any central figure or broker do it for them. Being original and unique has been the in-thing. Artsistes need to borrow a leaf.

19. Life is no longer a marathon. It is a sprint. We’re already in August headed into 2021.