Plus 200: The Editor that Is

It’s been more than 4 years since my very first post to this blog and we’ve reached another milestone with the post before this: 200 published posts on this blog and counting; it is also approximately the 92nd post published since @TheOkelo started as editor here and it’s been a great 2 and half years.

Therefore, with this post, this milestone, I’ve chosen to dedicate it to my editor, Tony. It’ll be a celebration of him and our friendship and I hope I can really do it justice.

I met Tony almost 7 years ago at Maseno School. I remember asking him for directions to where the St. John’s Ambulance club met - at the time I didn’t know anything about him. He told me where they did meet but didn’t mention that he was also heading there, nor that he was a member nor in fact the club leader. I remember feeling so duped - yes I checked the synonyms for that - when he joined us under the tree behind the school chapel. [Editor’s Note: I wasn’t duping, I was just withholding information ;p]

I was joining the club in the hopes of meeting this girl I had a crush on, who was in another school, at the national first aid competition. Through the club, Tony and I went on to become great friends as he trained us in drills and first aid, trying to make us into the most efficient first aiders and cadets overall. We made it to nationals where we were ranked second but the girl I joined for wasn’t there. I didn’t think much of it, met others on the way ;).

The Maseno St. John Ambulance Dream Team: Tony far Right and Me Center

We bonded over other things: our love for reading, and Harry Potter. We spent a lot of time debating how the 7thbook would end (now we talk about its shortcomings). We both read a lot but have different styles/methods of going at it. I like to start a series and read through to the end continuously, and he likes to read several books at the same time: a chapter here, a page there; which can be really annoying when you want to discuss a book in the series he recommended but he’s not yet reached that far :(.

Tony has the annoying ability to patiently keep at something, anything really, until he gets perfect at it. He doesn’t give up on the way like I would. I’ve known him to do things over 10 times just to get it right. He’s also the odd combination of engineer and artist. He draws, does photography, writes and composes music and is one hell of a singer (my girlfriend is fond of referring to him as that guy with the voice).

How he joined the blog is well documented here, but I just want to highlight what he does for me now. Because of Tony I can concentrate on the writing and he handles the rest. He chooses the titles for all of my posts, finds links to stuff I refer to in my posts and decides when a post get published. He also vetos some of my more boring posts and finds all the cool pictures for the posts. In fact all I do is write and send it to him and he checks all the grammar, spelling, fact-checking when needed and just posts. This means my job is easier and less stressful.

So now I’m just going to highlight some his work here, be sure to check them out. Some of my favourite titles are KenyanGovernment wants to play Big Brother, Watch out for the boys Little Sister, and of course Ambulating with Confidence.

The very best use of photos so far was in the guest post by Ron, Fool’s Errand, I remember bursting out in laughter when I saw it. Another good example is in the post called Safaricom and its revenueSharing Model, the use of the guy with the sim card blocking his mouth was inspired. Also the lioness and her cubs in For a Mother on her Birthday was really touching.

Sometimes I worry that his editing is getting better faster than my writing…

So what’s next for us? Well we’re looking to win a blogging award. Also we’re looking to move the blog to its own domain soon, so we’re thinking domain names and perhaps even doing a complete rebrand, if you have suggestions for either put them in the comments. Finally we’re just looking to bring you our very best every time we post.

There’s a lot to be said about Tony and I can’t say it all here but if it wasn’t clear, I love him. I’m secure enough in my sexuality to say that. I see us being friends for the rest of our lives and you know what? It’s a good feeling. Peace!!