Kobe’s Blog

If there’s anything I’ve learnt in my 27.99 years of living, it’s that there’s never a dull moment. Never. It’s taken me a while to come to terms with that… but knowing that, I believe, makes life much simpler and easier to live.

27 was a good year. Lots of tough decisions. Lots of happy moments…including obtaining keys to my first home. But only a few days ago… a week before saying good bye to 27, there was a fairly unsettling development that some may see as a setback. I guess it is depending on how I decide to proceed. It could also mark the beginning of great opportunities to come.

Tomorrow, I’m going to be ushered into the world of no excuses. A world of men and women… and I have to be ready to play. As my uncle put it earlier this evening, once you get busy working, you lose sight of the days, the weeks, the months and the years. Next thing you know, you’ve lived a chunk of your life.

I am excited about tomorrow as I am about the last hour and a half of 27. I am prepared to meet the challenges and the decisions to be made. I look forward to looking back a year from now and saying… 28 was a good year.

I’ve been one lucky bloke. All things being equal, I’ve had a pretty good deal. It’s time to move to the next level. I’m ready.

About 4 years ago, I wrote a blog entry about how on the morning of my 5th birthday, I discovered I could whistle. I ended that post saying 19 years later, I could still whistle.

Well, 23 years later, I can still whistle. Life is beautiful

During the weeks leading to the May 5 De La Hoya - Mayweather fight, boxing connoseurs predicted that this would be the bout that would win boxing its long lost fans. I grew up in an environment where boxing was a national sport. I watched the likes of Azumah Nelson destroy boxers like Jeff Fenech of Australia. And I always admired Pernell Whitaker. As time went on, I lost interest in the sport particularly because of the disgust with some of the judging. It was not out of disappointment that my favorite boxer did not win a bout. It was rather anger towards what I saw as a direct insult to me by the judges. I have eyes, just like everyone else. To watch some fights which are soo obviously one sided and easy to score and to listen to the judges score in favor of the real loser of the fight makes a mockery of not only us the spectators, but the sport as a whole.

Well that’s how boxing lost its fan base. And if it was banking on perfect judging to bring back the masses, then its work last night was not achieved. No question… Ffloyd Mayweather beat Oscar De La Hoya. Whether you love or hate the pretty boy … whether you love or hate the golden boy… Mayweather won.

How then did Judge Tom Kaczmarek have Oscar De La Hoya winning 115 - 113? Did he watch the same fight I did? Did he watch the same fight millions of us did? If he did… then I’m going back to soccer!

Freedom, freedom, freedom. May God Bless You.
–Kwame Nkrumah

Today, I decided to return from my long hiatus to wish my fellow Ghanaians a happy 50th anniversary. Days like today calls for a sober reflection and thanksgiving. I am thankful for the opportunities that have come my way by virtue of being Ghanaian. I am thankful for the peace and stability my fellow citizens and I have been able to enjoy over the past years.

Long Live Ghana. Long Live John Kuffour.

It’s officially thanksgiving day and though I’m quite sleepy, I have an urge to write. It’s looking like I’ll be in South Holland tomorrow evening with uncle and his family for dinner. Prior to that, I’ll try to take care of some of the many things I’ve been putting off. It’s really nice to have a thursday off.

Oh and last night, I had my first ever dinner in Chinatown. I was hosting Fiona for the night and we decided to take a stroll there. It’s just nice to know that Chinatown is fairly close by.

But, for now, I’ll just keep playing the Fray’s How To Save A Life over and over again. I love it. I got the plugin from youtoube for this blog. Apparently this is not the official video… but it’s equally great.

So now that thanksgiving is here, the year’s virtually over. It’s now time to prepare a new set of resolutions for the coming year. This year, God’s been very good to me. Next year, my hope is to just take things easy and travel a bit. Hopefully see Ghana for the first time in 10 years.

But for this special occassion, for today, I am thankful for the many blessings that have been showered on me. For having a place to sleep, a job to go to, and the opportunity to eat the food I like. I am particularly thankful for my family. We’ve grown stronger and closer over years. And I am especially thankful that I have a nephew who beams with happiness when he sees me.

Don’t cut the turky without me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s been a month and a day since I ended my 4 and a half year stay in the Uptown/Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. I moved there with my brother in February of 2002 and went through many changes in my life during that 4 year spell.

It was there I cultivated my deep fondness for Soccer. The ritual for every saturday was to watch the premiership in the morning and then immediately after, drive to a soccer field for Zambezi FC’s games. North Kenmore was where I gradually built my confidence and stamina in the game. During the Greenview days, I felt like an unstoppable commander in chief of Zambezi’s strike force. And at Malden, many events signalled that the end was nigh. Barren seasons, injuries, poor fitness level, and frustration reminded me that the fun was over.

So now I’ve gotten to the acceptance stage and have come to terms with the fact that I may not be able to play competitive soccer for 90 minutes without any repercussions during the days after. Still, sometimes, I’m very willing to risk it.

Chicago’s north did not only bring soccer. There was the night life phase, the house party phase, the work work work phase, fall in… and out of love phase, and the get ready for the next chapter phase.

All in all, I enjoyed my time there. But I’m looking forward eagerly to what the South Loop has to offer.

IMG_2126, originally uploaded by Kobe2005.

And there were fireworks

Sunday Night Football - Soldier Field, originally uploaded by Kobe2005.

We’re 4 & 0