Why? wHy? whY?

A few weeks ago, I did a post querying why this and why that? I've had a few more thoughts since then so here we go:

Why is it that you can pluck one eye brow hair and it'll grow right back, but then it just stops growing? Why don't they just keep growing and growing and growing??? (Actually, that would not be a good look, LOL!)

Why is it that when I try to lose weight I can't but then when I have no interest in it, weight just seems to fall off?

Why did it just snow in North Dakota a couple weeks ago? Glad I don't live there!

Why does anyone live in North Dakota?

Why do I quote Oprah as a source for factual evidence?

Why do I hate driving so much? I swear if I win the lottery, I'm getting a driver!

Why do so many people from the Caribbean not know how to swim? Answer: Cause we just go in the ocean to "cool off", not for sport! (For the record, I CAN swim)

Why do Americans pay so much in taxes and then still have to pay for healthcare? (We don't have income tax in the Bahamas:)

Why did they ever invent the blackberry? Seriously, why? They must really want people to crash while they're driving, not that I would ever use that thing when I'm on the road or anything!

Why do we need passports? Just because I paid a fee for this visa and you stamped your stamp in there doesn't mean I won't come in your country and act a complete fool.

Why don't I just trade in my SUV for a tricycle? I'd sure save a whole lotta money on gas!

Why is it that I don't swear? For some reason it doesn't feel right coming out of my mouth.

Why do people generally either love or hate The Lakers? I for one, love them!

What's with foot fat? You've seen those ladies with the strappy shoes that are SO tight that it looks like their foot is just one big overstuffed muffin!

In that same vein, if your toes are jacked, why would you wear open toed shoes?

Why do you get paid $25,000 to LOSE in the first round of the French Open? Who can't do that?

Why on a bad day, does my hair look like old school Tina Turner?

What happened to Rosie O' Donnell? She used to be the "queen of nice". Now she's just annoying.

Why do some people think it's ok to talk on their phone at the movies. Unless someone's dying, it's NEVER ok, OK?

Why is it that a couple grains of sand can literally make or break my day?

And lastly, why do I often have to translate from English to English for my mother when we're at the cash register checking out? They're just saying cash, check or charge, mom. It's not a trick question:)

MOVIE REVIEW

This past Saturday night, I went to the movies. At first, the plan was to see Ironman. I've heard so much about how great this movie was and so I was looking forward to seeing it. At the last minute, plans changed and I ended up watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.


Perhaps it's because I don't remember what the other previous Indiana Jones movies were about or maybe I didn't even see them, who knows although I vaguely remember something about seeing Sean Connery in one of them. Or perhaps it's because I'm not a big fan of Sci Fi movies to begin with. Lord of The Rings, no thank you, Harry Potter, nope, Star Wars, I'll pass. Give me a good action flick, or suspense movie, or romantic comedy any day. Suffice to say this movie gets one thumb down and one thumb sideways from me. It was entertaining I guess, but for the most part, I don't think I knew exactly what was going on. I probably wasn't really paying enough attention anyway.

My friends are always trying to convince me to go see these types of movies and every once in a while I relent and then it usually only reaffirms for me, that I was right to begin with. You know the movie is not too believable when you're sitting there with your lip turned up with that "no they didn't" look on your face, you know what look I'm talking about. That look when Harrison Ford and friends goes over the 500ft waterfall in a boat and they all survive.....C'mon now....give me a break!!!! LOL!

Anyway, it's all good. I had a good time anyway. Sometimes it's just nice to get out of the house...

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VISIT

Yesterday morning, David and I went to Dr. Phillips Elementary School at the invitation of Betsy Riccardi, the wife of my coach Brooks Johnson. Betsy and I go waaay back. While Brooks was the head coach at Stanford while I was there, Betsy was actually my long jump coach. She saw me through the most trying of times to the most triumphant. From gaining too much weight, let's just say it was more than the freshman 15 (can you say junk in the trunk, with a capital J!), to losing the weight to being two-time NCAA champion. She and I would travel to meets, sometimes just the two of us and during that period of time we became more than coach and athlete, we became friends.

So last week when she called and asked whether David and I would be willing to come to her Elementary school to talk to a group of third graders, it was a done deal before she could even finish the question. We had a fantastic time! I hadn't spoken to that age group in quite a while, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Suffice to say, the experience superceded my expectations. The kids were really inquisitive and asked all kinds of questions.

Dave showed them how high the hurdle is that he runs over, I showed them how far my personal record is and they saw video of both us competing. They also did a presentation for us where they told us about the ancient Olympics and how it originated as war games - the javelin was used as a weapon, the long jump was so that the warriors could jump over moats that surrounded the castles, the shot put was used in the catapult, pole vaulting was used to get over surrounding walls, the marathon was so that information could be transported from one town to another. I learned something too, because I never knew all of this.

We signed quite a few autographs, ate lunch in the cafeteria and then had to escape, Michael Jackson style, in a rush because we started getting ambushed!! It was pretty funny. All in all, it was a good day. I didn't realize it at the time just how much energy kids require because when I got back home, I think I fell asleep on the couch within 5 minutes, LOL!

It was definitely my pleasure to help Betsy out in any way I could and should she ask again, next year or whenever, I would gladly render my services again.

LENOVO OLYMPIC BLOGGER PROGRAM

Lenovo is the official electronics sponsor for the upcoming Olympic Games in Bejing, China. A few weeks ago they contacted me and asked me to be one of 100 Olympic hopefuls worldwide to be a part of their blogging project. I was surprised and honored to know that they were interested in my l'il ol' blog so of course I accepted their invitation. It's taken me a while to answer all of their bio questions, etc that they need for their official website but I finally managed to get it done.


They sent a new Lenovo laptop and a flip cam to help the blogging process be that much more easy and that much more entertaining. The computer is really fancy - almost out of my league, what with eye recognition and that sort of thing. I need to upgrade my own skill level:) Once I figure out how to use the flipcam and upload video, then I'll be sure to do some v-blogging too. That should be a whole lotta fun. If they had known just how unsavvy I am when it comes to these sorts of things, perhaps they wouldn't have been as inclined to include me. Thankfully, they were none the wiser!

So once again I want to say a big thank you to Kaitlyn and the people over at Lenovo for including me. It is most definitely my pleasure.

MEET RECAP

Today I competed at the Adidas Carson Invitational which was televised live on ESPN. I am still a work in progress this year. Things that I used to take for granted, like oh, jumping far, are not happening so easily this year. I am really fit and strong and fast but somehow my technique is not coming together as I would like or as I am accustomed to. Not to fear, I am nothing if not dedicated and motivated and willing to put the work in in order to figure it out. Today was definitely a step in the right direction. We had a pretty top notch field of jumpers. Five of the top US women who will be vying for spots on the US Olympic team competed today along with myself, another jumper from the Caribbean and then a girl from Australia. I finished 5th with a slight improvement in my season's best.


I'm trying to be grateful for small mercies but patience is not easy when time seems to be passing so quickly. I really feel as if I am on to something though and I think I can see that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. The things I worked on this past week in practice I executed really well. The one thing I didn't work on, ended up being my downfall. At least I know now where my focus needs to be and that is a great thing to be aware of. When you're in no man's land and you have no idea what your problem is, that is the worst place to be in. I have about 3/4 of what I'm doing figured out and I vow to get this last part right in the short term, if it's the last thing I do. They're gonna have to throw me off the track because I am going to stay there until I get it.

And so I head back to Orlando in the morning bright and early. I have been away from my coach and my training group for a couple weeks and I am looking forward to getting back. Joice has left me to head back to Great Britain to prepare for her own upcoming Olympic Trials and I wish her all the best. Thanks to my handy blackberry:) we haven't gone a day without contact. So I will be minus a roommate but no worries, I've learned my way around the O and so I shouldn't have a problem. I really should get to bed as I have to get up in another 4 hours.

Thanks for all your support along the way so far this season. I hope to give you something to cheer about in the very near future!

PERSEVERANCE!

"FALL SEVEN TIMES, STAND UP EIGHT!" Japanese Proverb

HAPPY MOTHER's DAY LOIS!!!

For some reason in my family, my brother and I call our mother by her first name. Lois. It is also my second name. I cannot express sufficiently on here how much I admire my mother. She is one of those women that has been there for me WHENEVER I needed her. Before it was the thing to do, my mother traveled the world and lived in Africa, Trinidad, and Barbados before going back to Jamaica and getting married later on in life. We are as close as sisters and we get along really well. We are both pretty silly and we love to laugh and joke around with one another. I know that if I needed her she would be there for me no matter what. She, more than anyone has made me the woman that I am and so Lois, on this day, let me just say that I wouldn't trade you for all the world. HAPPY MOTHER's DAY and I wish you so many more!

UGGGGHHH!!!!

So once again, I have come up on the short end of the stick so I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. I competed or shall I say participated in the meet at Modesto today and it was another tough one. I'm not too sure what is going on but I definitely need to assess it quickly and get my act together. Time is passing and I am having a tough time. I will take the next week to really try and sort it all out. Long jumping used to be easy. I used to be good at this and every once in a while in training I know that I still am. So I have to stop, take a moment, and exhale. I've got to get it right. I finished 4th today from a field of 8 and my result, shall we say, was less than stellar. And that's all I have to say.

Now, on to some brighter news, for those of you who don't already read David Oliver's blog....check it out for yourself. He had an OUTSTANDING race over in Doha, Qatar!! 8th best performance EVER in history for his event. Click on the link and read it for yourself! I am more proud than words can say! Congratulations! You guys travel back safely.

CRACKBERRY

Eb The Celeb....you called it!!! This blackberry stuff is out of control!!! I have talked so much trash to my friends who own blackberries over the past months. I kept telling them to get off their phones. Stop pinning one another. Stop checking it every second. Join in the conversation. Enough already!!

My friends David and Joice both own blackberries and they have been on me to get one for quite some time. It really helps when you're traveling to be able to communicate with everyone, they said. I resisted for as long as I could and then like I said on Monday, I ended up getting one.

Suffice to say, since then I have been using this thing like it's the last phone on earth. In my own defense, I have had to spend a fair amount of time just trying to figure out how everything works and on the first night I didn't know how to turn off all the bells and whistles and so all through the night the phone kept going off and I was really getting annoyed so I ended up just turning it off altogether. I have since figured out how to turn it to just phone only.

Yesterday at the GoTV photo shoot, between EVERY take, when I had to wait for the set up for the next shot, I spent my time browsing around on the phone. It's definitely a great way to pass the time. Man it seems whenever you do a photo shoot, it always takes way longer than they said and you have to do way more takes than they originally told you. Patience is definitely a virtue in these situations. I guess that's why they pay the big bucks.....not, just kidding.

This week my training group has dispersed for various competitions. Joice went to Martinique, Aub will be joining me out here in California at the Modesto Relays and Dave and Joel went off to Qatar. The true outdoor season is upon us and we are all primed and ready to do our best. Nothing surpasses the expectations that an athlete puts on herself and I definitely will accept nothing short of my best effort.

Anyway, since everyone has traveled from here to there and everywhere, it's a good thing I have this blackberry now so I can keep up with them all..... How did I ever manage??

TRAVEL UPDATE

So tomorrow morning I'm getting up early to travel back to L.A. I am going back for a couple weeks to compete in two track meets, the first, the Modesto Relays this weekend and then the second the Adidas Grand Prix Invitational at Carson, CA. I am looking forward to going home for a bit to catch up with all my friends and take care of some bills, etc. Trust me, living in two places at the same time does not come cheap!!! The things we do for our sport....call me crazy!!!

I get in at around 9:45am and then at 2pm I have a photo shoot for GoTV. They are doing some promo work for a new video feature that they have and they needed a long jumper of some caliber to use for the slow motion detail that is involved. I know I'm going to be somewhat tired from the travel but I am looking forward to the gig anyway. I can sleep tomorrow night, right?

Today I bought a blackberry. For those of you who know me, you'll know that I have little to no electronic/technological interest. So the thought of trying to figure out this gadget is somewhat overwhelming. I've already missed phone calls, texts, etc. I just don't know what all the buttons are supposed to do. There's texting, pinning, email capacity, internet, GPS, yada, yada, yada. I'm sure by next year this time, I will have it all down but in the mean time, if you call me and I don't answer the phone, chances are, I haven't figured that out yet. Bear with me...

I'll be headed back here to Orlando after the Carson meet but for now, LA here I come!

Like A Thief In The Night....

Can the gods really be that cruel??

Have you ever had a time in your life when things seemed to be going so perfectly....the stars seemed aligned, every day was a blessing, a joy, you woke up with a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth and a twinkle in your eye, all the rough edges seemed smooth, and the dull skies bright, laughter, fun, happiness...nothing could hurt you, or penetrate your armor of bliss, life was...outstanding!!!

And then, just like a thief in the night, something so unexpected, so unreal, so out of the ordinary, so inexplicable comes along and stabs you in the heart, pierces you in the back, you lose your breath, your vision becomes blurred, there is physical pain, you feel a sense of shock and awe, disbelief, fear, sadness, disappointment, hurt, betrayal, and no amount of screaming or crying or wringing of hands and clutching of self eases the pain so you do nothing. You lie completely still and stare into space, no blinking, no talking, no movement, whatsoever.

It just cannot be true....but, reality stares starkly back at you and you know, alas, yes it is!

The gods cannot be this cruel!! It must be a dream....right??? PLEASE say that it is......

It has happened to me before and I pray that it never happens again!!