Birthday

Today, I am a year older than I was yesterday. And if that's not cause for a long-overdue post, I dont know what is. In all my life, I cant think of any year that has been this eventful for me. So without much further ado, I present:Dante's 51. Whitewater Rafting. Who knew that a 32 km stretch of River could be so much fun. Hands down this takes the cake for "Most Awesome" experience. EvEr! (So far, of cos). Just in case anybody wants to try it out, know this, the guides-they're liars.You will be told there's 6 classes of traversable rapids. Truth is, there's 7. Only the professional rafters do Class 6 rapids. The last rapid, aptly named "The Bad Place" is no Class 5, its actually a Class 6. What you're not told, is thatIn The Bad Place, you dont stay in your raftYou get sucked in so deep you cant tell which way is upYou're underwater so long your lungs will burnThere's rocks at the bottomIn The Bad Place, you must not screamEvery breath countsYou will break water for only about a secondUse that, to take only one breathYou only get oneAnd then you're sucked back inBattered and BuffetedRinse and Repeat - Four timesWhat the guides do tell you though, is that it's like a washing machine. Bless them, it is. From there on when I tell people about my rafting experience, I shudder ever so slightly when I remember that last rapid. I tell them,In the Bad Place, you live. You cheat Death here. And thats such a rush!Effect: I got sunburn. That will teach me to flaunt my Melanin.2. Bungee Jumping. This comes a close second. I did this right after the Rafting. My heart was still in my throat, but I thought, what the heck, and jumped anyway. With the Bad Place, you didnt know how horrible thrilling it was going to be. Here, you knew, running up those steps, to the platform 40 feet above an oddly still black river. You knew it was going to be awesome.It didn't disappoint.It helped a couple of girls jumped before I did. Twas good for the nerves. What that means, is that being a guy sometimes sucks. When it was my time, I went and sat. I was shivering. I dunno if it was from the cold, or fear, or adrenaline, or both - all. The girls said i looked like i was seated in an electric chair. and that i wasnt smiling. I managed a weak one.I did feel like it was an electric chair.The Jump Master was giving me advice, I could barely hear him over my thumping heart. I could feel his assistant binding my legs together. tightly. So tightly it hurt a bit. But that pain. the pain was good. I figured, it meant the tighter it was, the better my chances. The jump master told me, that all the others who'd gone before me, had just dropped off the ledge. And that he needed me to do it differently. To do it right.He said he needed me to jump off.He needed me to dive.He needed me to fly.In my mind, all i could think of, was that I couldnt hesitate. I couldnt think about it. I couldn't freak out. Because I'm a guy. I'm supposed to be the brave one. I'm supposed to be the fearless one. So I shuffled to the edge. It was impossible to walk. With my toes over the edge, I looked down. I shouldnt have. It was horrible. The water was so dark. He showed me a mark ahead of me to aim for. And he began his countdown. 3...2...1...GO! I looked down a second before I leapt off. For an instant I almost decided not to go. But it was too late. I'd leaptOn the way down. my eyes shut on their own. I remember feeling the wind rush by my ears. I didnt feel the rope. I didnt feel my legs. All i remember was the wind howling. It felt like forever. Then i felt a jerk. And my eyes were jolted open. I saw the water. And I remember it was so very dark. and blood suddenly rushed to my head. And I was jerked back up.I bounced around a while. I dont remember much. Then the raft came below me. A guy told me to grab his paddle. And I was lowered on gently. He told me to look to the sky, it helped ease the pain of all this blood in my head. I'd felt like my head was about to explode. And it was overEffect: I fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine. I've always wanted fly3. Travel. Compared to the above 2 and the last one, this doesn't seem like much, but believe it or not, I'd never been outside Uganda. Let alone, central region. My life revolved around the City Centre and the folks down in my village, Rakai. An unexpected work project in Rwanda got me my chance to put a couple of stamps in my up-till-now useless passport, and explore new lands as a Foreigner.This deserved mention because in travelling, I had quite a number of firsts. I took one of the longest road trips ever the very first time I left for Rwanda - very exciting for a first timer. And on another occasion we actually flew down there. Short trip, 45 mins tops. But it was an exciting first for me.Effect: See above (but with wings, this time)4. Blogger. Ah yes, how can I forget. The entire blogging community has been such an interesting part of my life this year. When you get to a certain age, it sorta becomes hard to make totally new friends with whom you can hang and talk just about anything, many things-most things, anyway. While bloggers seem similar at first, perhaps united by this common interest - blogging, they are as diverse in their interests and personalities as ... uh [to be filled in when invented]. Also, I did introduce a friend of mine to blogging. And lately, she blogs like a habit. At least that's one convert.The one thing they do have in common, is that they're all very interesting people.Effect: I met...5. Carlo. Yes, yes and yes. Not one of the best kept secrets, but yes, I am dating this amazing girl. She is the one thing I didn't see coming this year. I saved her for lastEffect: Happyness