It’s amazing how the mind works in recalling memories. Sometimes it just takes the smallest thing to act as a trigger. Then the floodgates are open.

Most people who know me know that I was into competitive swimming way back in the way. Swam for my school, a club and even made it on the national team at one point. Of course, swimming led me into water polo as well and I ended up spending 6 days out of 7 in the water when I wasn’t at school (no wonder I still see Sunday as my day to lie around and do nothing).

This morning I was scanning through my RSS feeds while taking a mini-break from my Miami trip preparations and up popped a word from Dictionary.com that I have not seen or heard in years. The word of the day: ALACRITY (cheerful or eager readiness or willingness, often manifested by brisk, lively action or promptness in response). Now anybody who swam around the time I did might smile at the memory because there was this one gentleman, I think he was a parent, who always took part in swim meets as announcer. For some reason, that was his word. We were always being urged to move with alacrity, especially at those larger meets that had a marshalling area where you were expected to report first before heading to the blocks.

Seeing the word today made me miss that time in my life, my one venture into the land of competitive sports. Everything came rushing back. I miss the trainings (morning and evening), the smell of fresh chlorine, the silence under the water broken by the cheers when you turn your head for a breath, the feeling when you execute a perfect turn, the feeling of neatly slicing the water as you enter, the anxious stillness waiting for your relay partner to touch the wall, that moment when you reach the end and look up to see your time on the clock…

Maybe it’s time to go back and swim Masters events.

Falling down to earth
Pulled by some force
A victim of fate

Floating in the wind
Carried on a breath
A passenger of luck

Soaring in flight
Over and above all
A captain of destiny

I guess everybody has their deal-breakers. You know, those things that will put a definite end to a budding or potential relationship. One of mine showed up recently and I realized it really is a huge deal for me.

I’ve always maintained that if I see a good-looking guy who subsequently lights up a cigarette, his glow wears off and he no longer seems as great to me. So what happens when someone I know and have been talking to then turns out to smoke? (funny it never came up before) Shortest trip to the could-have-been pile.

I can’t help it:

• I hate the smell (in the air, on the clothes, in the hair, on the fingers)
• I hate the taste (kissing is like licking out an ashtray)
• I hate the smoke (makes my eyes water, my nose itch, my chest wheeze)
• I hate the look (”human chimneys”, the stupid look as they try to look cool)
• I hate the addiction (to be controlled by a substance is dumb)
• I hate the death thing (tar-filled lungs just not for me)

Now in my defense, I am not just talking. One ex started smoking while we were together - that precipitated probably one of the biggest fights we ever had. Our relationship was saved by the fact that we were both leaving the country and doing the long-distance thing so I wasn’t around for the smoking.

I then actually tried dating someone who smokes once. The rules and conditions:

• No smoking indoors
• No smoking around me
• Toothpaste breath only

Of course, in my mind this was never gonna be more than a short-term arrangement. But the thing is, I don’t even tolerate it well in my friends. I don’t allow smoking in my house. I don’t buy cigarettes for people. I won’t even stop for people to buy cigarettes.

Now the way I see it, I figure I should have no trouble finding a good-looking guy my age, who’s single, with no kids, decent job, some ambition, etc etc (see the wishlist posts i, ii, iii) who for God’s sake DOES NOT SMOKE!!!

Recent developments in communications and technology such as the Internet are accelerating the spread of information and potentially providing global access to a wealth of knowledge. This has caused some to liken the resultant knowledge-based society to the Renaissance that occurred centuries ago.

The explosion of knowledge and sudden importance of scholarship enabled a period of invention unseen for years prior. “Renaissance men” became idealized and developed followings that continue today.

It was thought that a Renaissance man should:

• Be able to defend himself with a variety of weapons, especially the sword 
• Be able to play several musical instruments
• Be able to paint and output other works of art 
• Be forever interested in advancing knowledge and science
• Be able to engage in debates regarding issues such as philosophy and ethics
• Be a skilled author and poet

The Renaissance man (also called a polymath) is considered to be someone who knows a great deal regarding a variety of topics and excels in multiple intellectual fields, particularly areas of both the arts and the sciences; someone who has broad intellectual interests.

A modern Renaissance person, in addition to the description and skills above, is also thought to need to be: 

• Computer literate - attuned to IT developments and at home working and communicating via the Internet
• Mentally literate - appreciating the potential of the human brain, having knowledge of the multiplicity of intelligences, and actively developing accelerated learning techniques as well as creative and critical thinking skills
• Interpersonally aware -  understanding the subtleties of interpersonal communications and being skilled in the interpretation of body language and other non-verbal cues 
• Globally aware - having an appreciation for global links in communications, economics and ecosystems; being comfortable with different cultures and eschewing racism, sexism, religious persecution, homophobia, nationalism etc.

One of the things that drove Renaissance men in the past and continues to drive the polymaths of today is a persistent quest for knowledge, a perpetual state of learning and seeking to expand one’s mind. Even we don’t strive to the heights of men like Leonardo da Vinci our lives can be enriched by adopting this approach to learning.

Know something about everything and everything about something   

- T H Huxley

The only thing that I know is that I know nothing  

- Socrates

You may remember my post about the sandwich. Well today’s treat may not be quite as unhealthy for your diet but your wallet is likely to suffer given that this sundae costs $1000 (that’s US$ guys)!! That’s right! Called the Golden Opulence Sundae, it was created by a restaurant in NYC to celebrate their 50th Anniversary (”Golden”).

What goes into a thousand dollar sundae? Well, according to Daily Olive, the sundae is made as follows: 

• 5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla
• covered in 23K edible gold leaf
• drizzled with the world’s most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porcelana
• covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela’s coast
• suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan cherries
• topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color
• sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac
• served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon
• served with a petite mother of pearl spoon (I don’t know why 2 spoons)
• topped with a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel

So would anyone actually buy this? Well, apparently this restaurant which is frequented by celebrities has been selling about one of these month. Hmm, the life of the rich…

It always helps to have a reward system in place to motivate yourself when working towards a goal. Fitness is not generally something I worry about too much though I know I am nowhere near the fitness level I used to have once upon a time.

One of my goals more recently has been to get toned (not lose weight cause I like my size just fine). The first milestone I set myself was to have abs reasonably worth showing by the time the first Mas Camp Friday rolled around. Definitely on my way there in time for Friday. There are actual definition lines starting to show.

The next milestone will be Carnival itself at the end of April. By then I will come up with something else to keep me going.

Been away from here for nearly a week now (and kinda scarce before that). It’s not really that I have nothing to say but sometimes I just get so caught up in other things. This time around it’s been a couple of things.

Planning a trip to Miami for next weekend the primary purpose of which is “wedding shopping” with my sister. *Shudder. I dread the thought of all the lace and satin. Luckily, my moms and I are heading up a day early so we get some sane shopping time for ourselves.

Anyway I been trying to help organize where we’re staying etc. But I know that’s no real excuse. So look out for more from me later today.

At random moments
I hear a throbbing beat
A low pounding bass
My foot starts to tap
As the horns blow
Visions of colour
Fill my head with waves
Causing my hands
To fidget by my sides
Before I can stop it
A melody swells in me
The simple tune drawing
My hips into a spiral
Soon my whole body
Trembling and shaking
Screams for release

“IT’S CARNIVAL!!”

This one is dedicated to my die-hard never-fail carnival posse: Mel and Seeker.

Were my choices all bad,
Or merely too bold?

Did I choose this path,
Or somehow lose my way?

All the people I passed,
Do they think back and smile?

Was it that I was young,
Or am I now too old?

The questions they come
But at the end of the day

I know how I got here,
Because I walked every mile.