Candor

Traffic cop: Nakitto (while checking my driver’s license out), do you know why I pulled you over? He said while beckoning me out of the car.

Me: Yes (fidgeting to step out) Sir. Yes I have a clue. I overtook in a corner Sir.

Traffic cop: Why did you do that?

Me: (with the most sincere look) honestly Sir I don't know. It just happened. My head is in a thousand places today. I shouldn’t be on the road. But I have an emergency I must personally attend to.

Traffic cop: (after an awkward silence) you seem honest. Plus you’re humble. I'll forgive you this time. But buy me some water. You see how hot it is out here. At least for Twenty thousand shillings.

Me: Truth is I only have (while opening wallet) twenty thousand shillings on me. See?

Traffic cop: Alright Nakitto (while handing back the license to me). You can go. However, focus while on the road. You could get imprisoned. Keep the money for fuel; just in case.

Me: *shocked* Thank you very much Sir. I promise to be careful. God bless you.

And so effortlessly I survived a Ugx. 100,000 penalty!  Money I didn’t even have or in the least bit hoped to get in the 28 legal days from day of offense considering my January money drought seems to have endured through to February.

This may seem like such a triviality; however, I picked a valuable lesson that overly dusty and scorching hot afternoon. Best believe!

Oftentimes we opt for what in the here and now seems like the easy way out; extricate ourselves from situations by lying; naturally. 

Arguably, the truth presents some cons occasionally but in the long run are outweighed by the pros as it is eventually appreciated. After all, like the old adage goes; good things don’t come easy.

A bosom buddy of mine turned foe (for reasons unbeknownst to me) once told me “Ella, always speak the truth. That way, no one will ever have anything to hold against you since you’ll have nothing to hide”

I recently took these words to heart and learnt to flaunt my truth whenever required to. This way any trumped up stories will be as clear as day in the eyes of the intended consumers.

Some things are best left buried; you may think. However, time has a way of unexpectedly deracinating these little secrets.

Moreover, I could be benighted but it takes a lot of effort making up lies and keeping up with them. Eventually you slip-up and consequently lose all credibility.

Needless to say, truth is a single entity. It does not exist in bits and pieces of unrelated ideas or disconnected data as precisely put by Steven Lawson in his article; what is truth?

“Because truth is one body, it is always internally consistent. It never contradicts itself. Truth always speaks with one voice and is always in perfect agreement with itself. It is always in harmony with everything else it says, since each aspect of truth is congruent with the sum of its parts”

Candor is an infrequent virtue but prised.

Office romance; Uh-oh!

Envision this;

Suddenly a colleague confesses having had feelings for you for a while but always stopped short of sharing. 

For a jiffy you pooh-pooh his revelation, taunt and even ask him to not joke about things that intimate. What’s more, you assure him that if his goal was to pull a fast one on you, it was an epic fail. 

His rejoinder; 

“Hey, don’t mock my feelings; I implore you. You have no idea how hard it’s been for me to see, smell, laugh with and watch you swing your little self by my department and be unable to divulge how you make me feel. I can’t take it anymore. This is my truth.”

Oh boy, are you taken aback by this disclosure! 

What ensues is a blank stare episode on your part; understandably. You try to downplay the situation by digressing with a "Meanwhile, what are your thoughts on Trump's first week in the white house? I think he's a worthy POTUS".

However, you kick the ballistics when he leans over and whispers; “I’m dead serious Ella. Sleep on it tonight, the night after and the night after. I can wait”

Your “uh-oh” moment comes soon enough when he sticks to his guns and keeps asking for a chance to show you he’s for real.

Ah! The male genus are such daredevils!

I’m one "hard" chic lately and always thought I was incapable of rousing such emotions in anyone, let alone a co-worker. With hindsight, I aint fussy enough after all.

Besides, did he have to opt to confess now? Now when I’m down in the dumps and oblivious to my current mind frame? He's privy to the fact that I’m swamped by an avalanche of odd emotions and goings-on. What an inopportune moment!

Surely I’m not culpable for being overly unreceptive. Totally comprehensible; right?

Still and all, I'm quite intrigued by the whole workplace romance phenomenon.  I’m certain you have a clue about its modus operandi, general pros (energizes workplace morale, motivates employees, encourages creativity and innovation, softens work-related personality conflicts, improves teamwork, communication/cooperation) and cons (threatens career advancements, complicates work relationships, creates Co-worker confusion, work performance declines, conflict of interest is inevitable) as summarized by Wikipedia and from personal experiences.

Arguably, I vaguely know that people involved in such an arrangement oftentimes play hard at keeping it under wraps.

Alarm bells!

See, I abhor half measures. If I must get myself into something, it's all or nothing. And when it comes to matters of the heart, ah! I’m very wary (once bitten twice shy). Who mentioned the heart? office romance is usually only but a fling; one may interject. Well, in my books, romance is synonymous with my heart. I don't know any different.  Hence if I'm in, it is completely. And by completely I mean exclusivity, PDA and everything in between. No masquerading.

On randomly sharing with some colleagues over lunch, office romance was described as obnoxious, taxing, dreary and not worth the hustle.

“Office relations can be overly explosive, messy, errant and so indulging if not tempting; however not the wisest of ideas” Andrew said. He totally echoed my thoughts!

"You should actually be flattered that a nice guy should feel this way about you and conjure up courage for a one on one confession" a hopeless romantic volunteered.

There's no harm in trying; we find love in hopeless places", Fahima added.

If he ain't a field agent akin to those working for CTU in 24 the series; I can perhaps give it a shot; a movie freak said prompting gales of laughter one girls' evening out.

Well, nay; regardless of the circumstances, it is not feasible on many fronts I say.