Hi there. Happy New Year! You made it across, again. I am happy for you. I made it too. You should also be happy for me. This place feels musty. The cobwebs are hanging over everything. And the dust coats all the furniture. Before I start cleaning up, there is something I need to tell you. It has been a while since we posted anything here. I know. Let me explain.
Towards the end of last year, we ran into a few bumps. As you know, I am the editor of this publication. And while it might not seem like much, being the editor of any magazine that wants to look and be serious is a lot of work. You have to source, edit, publish and share articles from other writers, as well as write your own and do the same for them, all the while making sure the articles are good enough for your esteemed audience.
At larger outfits, there is usually an entire team for this kind of work. Over here, I am the only one. So, to do it well, one typically needs bucket-loads of time. And that is precisely what I had none of towards the end of last year. You see, apart from publishing this magazine, I was also a university student. And the last months of last year were also my last as a student. Think projects, reports, exams, classes. The last a man will attend for his first undergraduate degree.
I had to make a choice to either dedicate most of my time to this publication or to my studies. I chose the latter, necessarily (sorry) and so spent less and less time here. That meant things got a bit slow with Vantage. You saw the way we handled our first anniversary. I have not even gotten to read the questions that were to be answered for the Q&A (tip: I will certainly read and answer them in a future post, so you may sneak yours in if you haven’t yet. Here’s the link). Eventually, it got to the point where I had to pause the work, finish school, and then find a way to come back.
This is me coming back. With the new year, I think we will do a few new things. Since I am now done with school (take note, potential employers) I have significantly more time at my disposal than at any time in the last four years. For me, that means I will get to write more frequently and regularly, which is awesome. I intend to do a post every week over here. To make it regular, I will post it every Thursday, starting next week.
Another important change is coming in the new year. As you know, I am not the only one who has been involved with Vantage. The amazing articles by Daniel Kobimbo, Derrick Koome, Nancy Masila, Felix Matengo, Freddie Anyona, Kevin Andego and Gladys Kerubo fill these pages with depth and colour. The work of Martin Mungai and Felix Rurigi (who was our designer in the days when we still had a print edition fresh in our sights) made sure this machine was well oiled. The oil itself, the money that kept us going, came from the generous heart of Kenneth Kariuki, whom I will never be able to thank enough.
The lives of these people, especially the writers, have changed a lot in the past year. Those who were students have finished school. Some are working. Others are involved in taxing projects. Yet others changed the direction of their writing altogether. As a result, it would be obnoxious of me to continue pestering them with adamant requests for articles. What this means is that — while we will certainly work together again in the future — I am going back to square zero, back to being a one-man outfit. All articles you see henceforth will come from me (perhaps we will get occasional guest posts from my friends when they can sneak in the time for one). Vantage is becoming a personal blog.
While it is a sad thing to let go of all these great people, this situation opens us up to a whole lot of new possibilities. In the coming months, the look and feel of Vantage might change while I try to fit into the new circumstance and tackle new initiatives. However, the core of Vantage, which is grounded on the mission of making sense of the world, will remain. The articles I publish will hopefully remain as sensible, informative, personal and reasonable as you have come to expect them to be.
Much as it is a situation we have been in before, it feels like a whole new adventure is unrolling itself before us like Cleopatra before Caesar. So, brace yourselves ladies and gentlemen. The ride might be a bit bumpy. See you next week.
Many thanks,
Abiero.
Feature image: WordPress.
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