Lifestyle Archives - Page 12 of 15

My favorite blogs

April 27, 2020

If you have been on diet before or have done exercises, you know how precious the ‘rest day’ is. That day on the calendar will be either highlighted or put in bold. You can not wait for that day to come. This is what Day 9 of #UgBlogMonth feels like to me. The preceding days have been pretty intense not because they are hard per say, but because I am either uncomfortable talking about the topic for fear of being judged or I need to think pretty hard lest I mislead my readers. So guess what the task at hard is today!!!!! Writing my favorite blogs, pretty easy right? So let us dive right in.

The blogs enlisted have things that are very important to me. I will tell you why I follow these blogs and maybe you will be encouraged to check them out.

Bikozulu

This is an all time favorite. It would not surprise me if I saw him everywhere among favorite blogs because it is what he is and has a number of accolades to show for it. This Kenyan blogger is a story teller and by the time you are through with his story, you have laughed with him or cried with him. His style of writing is glazed with endless humor and leaves you thirsting for more. From the start of his writes, he will hold you by the hand, jump with you, scream with you, laugh silly with you until the very moment when the curtains close. You will need to read some of his pieces to understand what I am talking about. https://bikozulu.co.ke/

Lyndi Cohen

Lyndi Cohen is the lady behind the The Nude Nutritionist and yes you guessed right, it is because of the nutrition. If you do not know already, nutrition is very important to me and gives me a lot of satisfaction to deal with. I love Lyndi for one thing, she is true to her struggles even as a nutritionist. It is these struggles that she overcame that she uses to work on her clients. Her Back to Basics campaign has seen so many people change their view on dieting and nutritionists as a whole. She promises you to ‘learn how to eat normally again. Even if you’ve been dieting for years.’ On her blog you will find all kinds of healthy tips as well as recipes to work with. Check her out and see if you can pick something. https://www.lyndicohen.com/

The Cultured Cow

The first time I came across this blog about 3 years ago, I was blown away at the creativity that was invested in picking out the name of the blog. Trust me, someone will be ‘forced’ to take a second look not necessarily because of the content but the name. In turn they will find amazing content and are hooked. If anyone out there is thinking about opening a blog, this is something you may want to consider.

Shiro Gaitho is the face behind The Cultured Cow who describes herself as a quiet storyteller, mental wanderer and walking paradox. On her blog you will find things to do with motherhood, interior design and lifestyle. Of all these, I love to read about her interior design escapades, something that she does on the side, and she does it so perfectly that you may thing it is what she does for a living. This got me to follow her on instagram, @shiro_gaitho to keep up with this interesting journey. Check out her blog. http://theculturedcow.co.ke/

Project Life mastery

I had intended to share just 3 of my favorite but later figured I could chip in the fourth as a bonus. The face behind Project Life Mastery is a gentleman named Stefan James. He is an internet entrepreneur, life and business coach, philanthropist, and world traveler with an obsession for mastering every area of life while fulfilling his potential as a human being and making a difference in the lives of others. The first time I encountered his blog was when I was venturing into vision boards and I loved his brain. At the end of the day I was able to create a vision board, declare my goals publicly, develop a financial management plan among so many other things that James gives practical insights about. If you are looking for a practical bog, this is one you will want to check out. https://projectlifemastery.com/blog/

Having shared my favorite blogs, I am working so hard so that I will be listed as someone’s favorite very soon.

Enjoy!

Lifestyle

Uganda’s health care system

April 25, 2020

A healthcare system simply refers to the organization of people, institutions, and resources that deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target populations. Day 8 of the #UgBlogMonth required me to write my thoughts on Uganda’s health care system. Talking from the angle of a health worker, I pray my thoughts are not perceived biased. I will talk about the health care system in the categories that our definition has given us.

The people

This organisation of people majorly constitutes the patient, who is the main recipient of the health care and a health worker who primarily gives this health care. Now in my country we have a system that empowers the giver of health care (the health worker) too much over the patient. And naturally when you are a patient, it is just natural that you are in pain or need that you need instant relief and this automatically gives the other party power. Therefore it is not news that some patients will have to buy their way into receiving this health care and those that do not have enough, more than often have it rough to the tune of loosing their lives.

When I was growing up, I was meant to believe that nurses were the most rude people the world had. Thankfully the world threw me in the health care system where I worked so closely with them and I saw the complete opposite. These humans are very loving and dedicated although I cannot deny the fact there are a few ‘spoilt tomatoes’ like in any other place. Now you will need to work in a health facility to understand the kind of pressure that exists there. Sometimes you will go hours without rest or a sip of water to cool down your thirst, and the next patient who comes in will not think about it or give an ear. Others are just ‘too stubborn’ and come with a preconceived mind and if they receive anything less, it will be war. In short the pressure for health workers can really be intense yet any slight mistake probably due to honest exhaustion will be termed as sheer negligence and the effects are far reaching for both the patient and the health worker.

The last thing I will make mention deals with the health workers themselves. One day we were on a ward round and everything was going well until one of the doctors literally screamed at a nurse for not doing something apparently she was meant to do before the doctor arrived. It was a full ward and everyone just stared at the doctor in utter shock but no one had the courage to say a word. Me inclusive. After a brief uncomfortable silence, the ward round continued. You may be wondering what happened to respect but this is something that happens quite a lot. Persons in superior positions tend to down look the other even be it a fellow colleague. It is quite sad but that is what it is.

The institutions

The structure of the health system in Uganda is divided into the national and district levels. At the national level are the national and regional referral hospitals, and semi-autonomous institutions including the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services, the Uganda National Medical stores, the Uganda Public Health Laboratories and the Uganda National Health Research Organization. At district level we have the health centers I-IV. And just to get a little closure on the expectations of these categories, I will briefly explain.

Health Center I is made up of village health teams (VHTs) who are volunteer community health workers. These are predominately meant to deliver health education, preventative services and simple curative services in the community. More less like first aid. Health Center II is an out patient service and run by the nurse, so patients receive the care and then return to their homes. Health Center III provides out patient, in patient, simple diagnostic, and maternal health services. It is run by a clinical officer. Finally a health center IV is run by a medical doctor and provides all services that a health center III provides as well as providing surgical services. Now I bet many of us did not know about these variations.

When you watch the news, one is meant to believe that we have the worst health system structure especially given the fact that media will always look for the spoil more than what is working. Having worked in this system I know that the population does not know these variations so you will find people going to a VHT for maternal services or a health center III for surgical services. Do you know what happens? When this goes utterly wrong and the system is blamed so severely for something that could perhaps have been avoided if the service was sought it the ‘right’ place. Does this mean that these facilities have all they require, of course not but the one thing I know is, they have dedicated people who do their best humanly speaking to preserve life.

Resources

These resources are not limited to money but extend to human resource as well as equipment. Much as I hate to say it, this is the one place that determines the success of any health system yet in Uganda this is the one place we limp the most. If you do not hear of a vital machine in the referral system that broke down or does not exist, you will hear that a certain facility does not have enough health care providers. Just as that is getting out of the way or being swept under the carpet, you will be hit by doctors striking over delay of their payments or an increase in their wages. Drugs are always missing and patient beds are for some reason always less. The story never ends.. It rips my heart that we have very selfish individuals who choose to take these resources (money especially) and care less about those affected, after all they can afford to get specialised treatment over seas. This however does not water down the efforts of the very dedicated Ministry of Health we have in Uganda and it’s partners including UNICEF, WHO among others who do and are doing their best to support this part of the health care system.

As a Health Care provider, I believe it takes every one from the patient to the government and health worker to make a functional health Care system.

Lifestyle

Best relationship advice

April 25, 2020

Can this challenge get any easier!!!!! How I was tempted to skip this day but well oh! well, Day 7 is here of the #UGBlogMonth and we are not looking back. The task at hand is to give my best relationship advice.

Have you heard of the common phrase that you cannot advise someone in love? This is the most common justification for love being termed as blind. For the first time I am not going to give my own experience especially in love because this is one of the things I guard so jealously. For some reason, I am pretty closed about these matters but I will share some things I have learned along the way and I hope these can pass for ‘best’ relationship advice. I have to put a disclaimer though that these are things I have picked up along my ‘relationship’ journey (not necessarily erotic relationships but friendship as well as family relations.) So it may be average for some of you but if you can use it and it is of help, my heart will be glad.

1. Live in the now

I have a friend (I am sure you will know yourself when you read this) who is always concerned of what is going to happen next and sadly what will not go right. She will be getting into a relationship and thinking of what she will do if they do not work out. Living your life this way is going to rob you of the present. Whether is works out or not, enjoy all it has to offer even if it be for a week. It is worth it. When it crumbles, you will have something good to look back to. Living your life walking on egg shells is the worst feeling ever. Live in the present and make every good out of it.

2. Communication is vital

I used to think that this is self explanatory and obvious until I was proven wrong. For any relationship to survive, clear and consistent communication is important. It does not matter whether you sleep in the same house or better yet same bed, if communication is not done properly, a relationship is bound to get cracks. Now this does not mean that you are going to be calling each other every hour, but to me it means that both parties know what is going on in each other’s lives at any given moment. When you get that to become part of you then that relationship will be on skates. Imagine being in a relationship with someone and a week goes by without you hearing from each other, how is that supposed to work? A lot can take place in 7 days and it is only prudent for your partner or friend to be aware. One thing before I end this is that it is only fair not to let only one person to always lead in this communication loop. They will grow tired. Be the initiator too if you have always ‘felt nice’ being checked on.

3. Written communication is the worst way to resolve an issue

Writing a text or emailing tends to feel safe for most people who are dealing with issues in relationships because probably they are too mad to talk to the person or the other person will not pick up a call or show up to resolve the issue. My friend, this is even worse (to me). Written messages are always interpreted differently by different people depending on their level of understanding, mood and environment at the time of receiving that message. A simple message that reads like this; “Matthew, we need to talk this evening please.” will be interpreted very differently by someone in a jovial mood and another who has been stressed out the whole day at work. This is the reason that many written messages sent in the heat of the moment cut deeper than when people talk face to face.

4. Keep in your lane

The less digging you do, the less heartache you subject yourself to. I say this with so much caution because views always differ for this matter. The one thing I do not do especially when I am in a relationship is check the other person’s phone. Have I been tempted before, Hell yeah!!! but when I think of the effect, it is not worth it. Whether you want it or not, you will always find something that will raise your eyebrows in your partners phone and deepening on you self control levels, the reaction will be an undesirable one. And one thing that gets very disturbing is how to deal with it. One, you were doing something you were not supposed to do and now you want to find a way of dealing with it, the confusion and chaos is just too much to deal with, so at the end of the day it is best if you kept in your lane.

5. Pray Pray and Pray

Praying is communicating to whatever you believe in. If it is to God, talk to Him about your relationship, if you believe in a tree stamp talk to it about your relationship, whatever it is that you believe in, talk and tell them about it. Now like you have read in my previous write ups, I am a believer in God Almighty and a Roman Catholic to be specific. Journaling is one of the very many means I use to talk to my God. Now believe me, I will tell him about a guy I have crushed on, one who is being a darling, another who is being funny. Somehow when I do that, I feel I am not alone in this and I always get closure on what next. So pray and pray about your relationship even when it is still at the crush stage. (I am not sure if that is a relationship though)

Otherwise like I said relationships are a safe guarded haven of mine and maybe, just maybe I will be free enough to share that part of my life someday.

Lifestyle

Self Care

April 24, 2020

Uncle Google describes self care as any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Good self–care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety.

Day 6 of the #UgBlog Month required me to write what I do for self care and because this COVID thing has got to me, I will not limit my self care to these times of the pandemic.

So what do I do deliberately to take care of my mental, emotional and physical health? If you have not noticed yet, the key word here is deliberate. First and fore most one of my parents gave us a very important (in my eyes) strain in our DNA. My brothers and I have the capability to block out issues as long as we decide to. We shall be in the middle of the ‘fire’ and as long as we have told our brain not to feel the heat, life will go on as usual. Now in my self care routine, this is something I use the most. If I sense even the slightest indication of a stressful event happening or about to happen, I will BLOCK it out. Sometimes I also worry if that doesn’t make me insensitive but I use it a lot to protect my mental or emotional health.

Anyone here loves to journal? I have done my best to promote journaling among all my close friends. Sometimes I have to catch myself because I find myself preaching the same gospel to the same people I already promoted the exercise to. I do not know whether it is because I live by myself or because I love to talk (write) and I end up doing this with the pen and paper. Slightly different from keeping a diary and writing the step by step events of the day, I usually journal as a form of communication to God. So as I pray, I will tell Him about some outrageous idea I thought about, something that made me so happy, a thing that upset me or disappointed me and so on. This is most probably the safest thing I feel I do because it is the one place I am not worried about being judged. In addition to this, I make use of my own company. If you secretly trailed me, you may find me laughing out loud in my house. No! not because I read or watched something funny on social media or a book or because I have company with me but because I am talking to me and having fun with myself. Sometimes I believe my neighbors think I am a little nuts.

The other thing I more than often do for self care is enjoy good food. What better self care is there other rewarding one’s taste buds? So it is not news when you find me digging into a sumptuous dish. Naturally I am a very slow eater so for my self care I have to get a time when I am not rushing or being rushed to go somewhere or do something. This will be in the company of a good friend and more than likely a beer or whisky will not be far off.

Exercising is a new addition to my self care. Thank God it was made compulsory at my place of work and surprisingly I am one of the people who had not exactly vouched for it, yet I am one of the biggest beneficiaries now. It is one of the the things that has kept me above the waters in these times of confinement. It has been proved over time that constant exercise increases productivity and mental focus and I have lived to taste this.

I am tempted to add laughing to the things I do for self care. I love to ‘teeth’ a lot and I doubt there is a single day that will pass without me displaying my denture. This will be because of something I have read, watched, heard or even thought. I always have to find an opportunity to laugh as this is such a soothing therapy for me. And as a bonus, I love the look of my denture so I do not mind displaying it anytime, any day.

Given these times at hand where personal hygiene has been promoted more than ever, that is something I do not flinch about. Even before this happened, I am a sucker for cleanliness. I will be late for something but if something is not as clean or neat as I want it to be, I will not care to be late. Whether that is a sign of having OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) I do not know, all I care about is being tidy and being in an environment that is. Sorry I am not sorry.

If you do not have clear ways of what you do for self care, better define them for yourself because guess what? This is going to increase your productivity, improve your resistance to disease, enhance your self esteem, increase self knowledge among others.

Lifestyle

A day in lock down

April 22, 2020

I am writing this with the hope that I am not misunderstood. Day 5 of #UgBlogMonth required me to write a day in Lock down. When the lock down happened, I am one of the very few people I guess who was a little thankful for the extra time we had finally got on our hands.

When the year 2020 began I was so excited, like all of you, I drew out my year’s plan and even made a vision board. Among the very many things I had to do, was to travel and obviously that is not possible as of now, maybe later. By the time we were in the second month of the year, it felt like I had lived six months already. My day always began at 5:30am in the morning when I would leave home and would end at around 10:00pm or 11:00pm when I would catch some sleep. Thankfully this has paid off and continues to pay off and I am sure I will share some of this success with you.

Now that lock down is on, it does not mean work gets any less busy, it only means that I get to do everything in one place and can grab a little more sleep. The adjustment is and has not been easy but it is manageable. My day is sprinkled with daily virtual meetings which can even go to 4 or 5 on an extremely busy day. Now that I have to conduct training virtually that too has to be considered although this virtual thing can get very exhausting. I will check and reply emails here and there.

How to Make Virtual Meetings Less Stressful and More Effective

The fact that I am a student, life of adult education is not something very easy so assignments are always flowing in. Among the things required for this class is reading two books a month and writing a synopsis for one or both books. In addition, is a year long assignment, to write a book, something I am very excited about but it does not get easier.

All in all my day in lock down has to see that it takes care of all these and more. I have also in-cooperated exercises in my day although it is not very consistent. I make sure I run at least two kilometres (in the compound) and then make assorted exercises like squats, leg crunches, leg bridges, side kicks, frog bridges and planks among many. Once in a while I will throw in dance sessions with my neighbors. I have not included the cooking in there because my assumption is that it is an obvious activity of the day.

I am focused on drawing out every good thing this lock down has to offer.