The year is 2016, I am flat broke, I don't even have a phone, and because the gods have a sense of humor, I have been invited to Radisson Blu, Upperhill for #BakeAwards because I am a BAKE Kenya member. I am using an old Samsung tablet. You know the ones that lag and the screen feels like it's smeared with oil because it's a 360p resolution of blurriness? But I have a dream to be a writer, and not even holes in my pocket will get in between me and that dream.
I look under sofa cushions and sink my hand in each one of my clothes pockets, and I get fare. A matatu drops me at NHIF Upperhill. Good old days before SHA shenanigans (Shananigans). Did I mention that at this point, I had no idea where Radisson Blu was? Not to worry, Google Maps existed in 2016, except I don't think Upperhill maps had arrived on my old tablet because all it was doing was loading...
I dial Radisson Blu's customer care number and lift my tablet to my ear so that it looks like I am holding on to a door for dear life. "You do not have enough airtime to complete this call." A lady on the other side tells me with a nice voice, which is just a polite way of saying 'fuck off brokie'.
I swallow the kiwaru in my throat. I am on my own. No, God is with us all. I ask a guard after another, and I finally get to the entrance of Radisson and all its opulence. Carpeted floors that look like they have never been stepped on, high ceilings rising to the heavens, chandeliers floating mid-air as if they never heard of gravity, and the triumph of finally making it to the venue.
The year is 2025. I am an author of four books, and yes, I have a proper phone, and I have been invited to the awards yet again, not just as a member but this time as a nominee for Creative Writer of the Year. The gods still have a sense of humor. I will share in their happiness, and I think it would be poetic if this time round I was among the winners on the podium. Make it happen by visiting https://t.co/2yKs2DkVIj and voting Kisauti under creative writing. #BAKEAwards2025