Super Retail Deals

…those words always get my juices flowing and then I remember “Damn, I’m in Kenya and the deals ain’t that great over here.”  In Atlanta, I was a shopping fanatic so words like Super Retail Deals were like music to my ears, food for my soul! I can say with unabashed certainty that almost 95% of all my possessions have been bought at a bargain/discount/clearance, whatever.  As a rule, I never paid full price on an item because I knew that it was going to go on sale at some point.  In the States, that rule held hard and fast …about every 50 days an item will reduce in price.  Also, there was always a calendar holiday around the corner so I timed my major purchases to those special sale days. 

Back to present day Kenya.  I pass by tons of stores that promise tons of discounts but when I go in I almost always come out empty-handed.  That’s because there are no “true” sales here, at least in my opinion.  If an item costs $50, then the sale here will be $49 and the stores think that they are saving everyone loads of money.  If the sale is really good, the price tag will read $47.50. For a girl like me used to 60-90% off original price, a sale in Kenya is like toying with my emotions.  The other day, I was lured by a flashy booklet from Safaricom, with SUPER RETAIL DEALS emblazoned in red and I quickly went through it looking at all the cool phones and laptops that were on sale.  My phone was stolen last year and I am now rolling with a “Nokia China Phone” which is a Chinese-made Nokia knockoff that was really cheap.  It comes with two batteries because the battery lasts about 2 hours…yeah, you get what you pay for.

Ok, back to Safaricom and the little booklet of great deals.  I see lots of phones I would like to get my little pudgy hands on so I fish into my purse for my trusty calculator and damn, damn, damn who the hell is paying this much for phones over here? I’m still converting Kenya Shillings to dollars (78/- exchange rate used) so that I know whether I’m getting a good deal or not.  Well, for a third world country, Kenya has some people with some serious cash because I’ve seen these phones with just about any regular Joe.  I consider myself a regular Joe but I cannot afford the nicer phones …even with the great deals! Now you are wondering how much a simple phone could be, right? Using the booklet, I’ve listed the prices of the phones that are termed as Super Deals! Some prices are OK (if you count buying said phone abroad, unlocked and shipping) but some prices are just outrageous! Unlocking phones in Kenya will not cost you more than $20!! I will let you decide whether I’m just a cheapskate or we need to alert the World Bank to stop sending aid to Kenya because people are spending their food money on phones!

Sleek Offers:

Samsung Omnia – 30,199 ($387)*Verizon has it for $299*SelectGSM for 349

Nokia 6700 – 21,999 ($282)

LG Renoir – 34,499 ($442)

LG KF 510 – 14,699 ($188)

Nokia 6303 – 10, 999 ($141)

Super Deals:

Samsung Ruggedized – 8,999 ($115)

Nokia 3120 – 7,999 ($102)

Nokia 5130 – 9,099 ($116)

Motorola W388 – 4,499 ($57)

Nokia 2330 – 4,299 ($55)

Business Phones:

Nokia E52 – 24,999 – ($320)

Nokia E63 – 18,999 – ($243)

Nokia E71 – 27,999 ($358)

Nokia E72 – 37,499 ($480)*found unlocked one for $379 from SelectGSM

Samsung i780 – 26,749 ($342)

Blackberry Devices:

Blackberry Bold 9000 – 66, 499($852)

Blackberry Javelin 8900 – 56,199 ($720)

Blackberry Storm – 79,999 ($1025) Yikes, found an unlocked one from Verizon for $380!

Blackberry Curve 8320 – 47,649 ($610)

Blackberry Pearl 8100 – 22,999($294)

Mobile TV Phones:

Nokia N97 – 46,999 ($602)*Unlocked 529 from SelectGSM 

Nokia E75 – 34,999 ($448)

Nokia N96 – 36,999 ($474)

Nokia N85 – 33,649 ($431)

Nokia 5800 – 23,999 ($307)

Great Deals: *These are the only ones I consider “real” deals*

Nokia 1680, 1662, ZTE S312 Simu Ya Solar – 2,999 ($38)

Samsung Crest FM – 2,599 ($33)

LG KP 105 – 2,349 ($30)

Nokia 1208 – 2,199 ($28)

Laptops:

Acer Aspire One AOD 250(Mini) – 29,999 ($384)*$289 on Amazon

Acer Extenza 5635Z – 49,999 ($602)

Dell Inspiron 1420 – 59,999 ($769)

HP Pavillion DV 61330ei – 74,999 ($961)*$799 on Amazon

Moral of the story: Do your shopping to make sure you are getting a "Super Retail Deal!"

Happy Birthday Jane & Ian!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Today is a special day for both my mother (54) my youngest brother (23) so here's to wishing them a fabulous day and good health so that we can celebrate many many more special days! Moms is at home today probably missing her last born who is on holiday in Aussie (would want to know what kind of stuff he's getting into over there!)  My moms had Ian when she was 31 years old and that was her last and fourth child...I'm older than that and cannot imagine having ONE child at my age.  Truth be told I already think that having Jonathan and Joi as enough to deal with:-)  If I had 4 kids I would go absolutely nutters!  So, let's give it up for our parents generation that had kids at a young age and still managed to enjoy their life!

Sky High

I'm missing my boys and I just saw them both yesterday! Joi, my orange tabby, was first to go...off to the boarding house for a week. Sunday morning I was trying to clean out his carrier and he knew what that meant - going to the Vet's! So he did what any self-respecting cat would do when threatened with some sort of "imprisonment" - he fled and tried to find one of his hard-to-reach hiding spots. We had a couple of hours so I gave him time to play his little hide-and-seek games. Without any effort from me, the little spoiled brat got hungry and had to come out in search of some good eats and that's when I nabbed him and put him in his carrier and off to the vet for his week-long stay. Sob!

Jonathan spent his day at the airport trying to do his flight planning for his 7-day trip round the North Eastern part of Kenya. All he could think about was how hot it was going to be over there. The veterans of the NE told him not to worry about the heat because he could tell the guest house workers to "pull his bed outside". I was like, "oh hell to the no! There are scorpions out there in the desert and God-knows what else! Yikes! My advice is shut the door, go commando and sweat it out in the house until morning!" Sleep is overrated anyway.

I thought it would be cool if I could plot his stop-over locations on Google Earth and follow him around on my laptop...didn't know GE doesn't have a plot/mapping feature. I spent a couple of hours trying to figure out what a GIS application was and after all that effort, couldn't find one I could download to help me plot the points!! I ended up using Google Maps as seen below! So, let's all 'look in' on Jonathan and cheer him on during his first Kenyan long-distance, multi-stop flight! To hell with the scorpions, snakes, desert critters and scorching heat, we are logging in some hours! Yay!


View Jonathan's Flight Path in a larger map

Another Security Issue!

Last night, Jonathan and I are watching a movie when suddenly we hear screams, screech of tires and what sounded like "commotion". We raced to the balcony in time to see a saloon car screech up the hill and head out of our gate. Simultaneously, we see a haphazardly parked SUV right below our apartment block (we are on the 3rd floor) parked right at the edge, kids and a woman jumping out and fleeing behind the buildings. By this time, most of our neighbors are also on their balcony's wondering what the hell just happened.

The SUV belongs to one of my neighbors, Beatrice Kones, MP in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Evidently, she was on her way home and noticed a car behind her but didn't think that there was any need to worry as the car had red plates (license plates usually given to foreign consuls, UN diplomats, etc). When the guards opened the gate for her, the other car was still trailing behind. As she maneuvers into her regular spot, two guys with guns suddenly jump out of the saloon car and are at the driver and passenger windows in seconds. She said they spoke good Swahili and they seemed calm and confident. Next thing she knew, she backed out of her spot in a frenzy, started screaming and drove down to the hill to the end of our complex (which is a very short distance, say 30 yards). She and her passengers jumped out and ran behind the buildings to hide from the perps. Meanwhile, unbeknown to her, one of the guards is on the floor at the mercy of a guy pointing a gun to his head. The other guard, in a panic, had taken off to hide behind the buildings. When Kones asked him whether he had a panic button he indicated that the guards had nothing to alert the security service nor the police. WOW...There was one nagging thought though - where the hell was her security detail? One of the residents allegedly claims that she had seen the "GK" security vehicle about two hours earlier. Curious. I know most of the residents share my sentiment that Kones better use her office to take care of this problem. According to her ministry's home page, their objectives are to:
- Improve the supervision, rehabilitation and resettlement of offenders
- Facilitate the administration of justice
- Regulate and control the Gaming Industry
- Contain offenders in safe custody

The good part of this story is that everyone is alive and no one was hurt in the ordeal. However, it raises yet another issue about the security in Nairobi. If you have been following Martin's story (previous post) you are aware that the march was successful and garnered the response of the press, police as well as Prof. George Saitoti, Minister of State for Provincial Administration & Internal Security. He met with the parents of the deceased and promised them that the government was working on apprehending the culprits as well as working the crime zones and replacing street lights. It was also reported that 40 suspects had been rounded up in connection with the case. I'm not even going to comment on these alleged suspects because we all know that the police probably rounded up 40 idlers in the city center so that it would look like there was really an investigation going on. Kenyans don't want promises, they want ACTION. Kenyans want to know that they can count on their government to keep them safe at all times. We shouldn't have to take to the streets so that our grievances can be heard.

Brutality on Kenyan Roads

In the early morning hours of January 17, 2010, Martin's car stalled on Uhuru Highway. In the minutes that it took to call his friends (who were a few cars back) to help him out, he was brutally attacked by a gang of thugs and left for dead. He was rushed to Nairobi Hospital but all efforts to save him were unsuccessful. He died less than 24 hours after that brutal attack. A young life, snuffed out in the blink of an eye. He had proposed to his girlfriend just a few weeks prior and was getting ready to walk down the aisle in May. Read the story here by Sunday Nation.

Today is a bittersweet day. I will be attending a march (@2pm from Baricho Rd to Uhuru Highway)organized by Moses Kahia for his late cousin, friend and colleague, Martin Gitehi Njuma. In commemorating the deceased, this walk is first and foremost to bring attention to the lack of security on Kenyan roads. Hopefully, this march will demonstrate to the authorities that it is their job to protect us. It should also demonstrate to fellow Kenyans that it our fundamental right to speak up and demand a safe city. The march should also bring awareness and caution to those unaware of the danger zones (people like me who didn't know about all the danger zones reported in the Sunday Nation story).

From what I've read/heard, the place that the attack occurred (Makaburini near Bunyala Rd roundabout) is a known DANGER spot. My question to the authorities is: HOW CAN YOU SAY THIS IS A KNOWN DANGER SPOT AND NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT? In my head, the solution is really simple...how about you station some policemen there (and all other danger zones) as part of their beat? This is the problem with how the authorities work in a country like Kenya - unless there is a prominent figure of state living in close proximity, the police will not care to station/monitor that area. Citizens are all left at the mercy of these gangs and the police are still twiddling their thumbs wondering where their next "CHAI" (read: bribe) will come from. And the worst thing is that these punks who are attacking people senseless, are stealing petty items like wallets and mobile phones! How do you justify killing someone to steal those items?

What irks me is that the authorities claim that this was an isolated incident as reported in the Sunday Nation. A lot of people have blogged that the area is dangerous and this has been a known fact for years because there have been numerous cases reported. So, dear authorities, IF this was such an isolated case, WHY in heaven's name did you NOT record this in your INCIDENT book? And to add insult to injury, the Central police station boss Richard Muguai made a comment that "The young man put himself in danger by driving at that time of the night." WHAT? Are you kidding me? So there are alloted times of the night to drive? Why? Oh, is it that there is possibly CRIME happening at that time? CRIME that your police force should be handling? Give me an effing break - these clowns are smoking some ISH and they need to stop. How can the Central Police Boss be so callous with his remarks? What if this were his son or daughter? Would his remarks be as callous then? Let's not forget that Martin was a pilot so if the authorities remarks are correct, all those who work those 'anti-social' hours (pilots, nurses, doctors, construction, etc) should ditch their jobs because they shouldn't be driving at that time of the night. What planet is this so called boss from? It's no wonder that tourism has also dropped in Kenya...if Kenyans themselves think that the roads are UNSAFE, how are we going to entice foreigners to come here? Hell, If truth be told, most of us just wanna get the first ship out of dodge.

Love This Song...

I love Alicia ..and this song is playing on repeat on my Ipod. I think most people who have been in a relationship can attest to feeling this way sometime in their lives.

Lyrics