Tag trinidad carnival

To be clear….there’s no Carnival right?

trinimomindmiddle 6 Comments

A very Trini post here, so my non-Trinis bear with me. There are clickables for context to help you along.

For those so inclined there is an itch going around that is not being sufficiently scratched resulting in Trinbagonian people bawling for a reprieve. When the announcement came that Carnival was cancelled this year and we would have to fend for ourselves (and I say ‘we’ because I am also part of the throng), nobody knew what this virtual ‘Carnivale Anno Covidi’ would look like. Thus far with the pivot we have seen virtual concerts/fetes/’fetecerts’, Instagram parties, Facebook events, carnival workshops/webinars, small backyard jams, music and comedy online platforms, heartbreaking music videos and soon a movie and an artificial reality feteing experience all from the safety of our seats (not a jump, wave or wine anywhere to be seen). Meh…I guess, something is better than nothing but with all of this niceness covered, guess what? Ah still home and ah still itchy over here dammit!!!

Ya’ll got anymore ah dem fetes?

I don’t usually feel craven but trust me, my mind and my body knows that something is wrong. We are smack dab in what would have been the middle of it, the weekend before Carnival week. Soca on my radio hyped me all the way up today and this now feels so off as unbelievably I haven’t done any of the following as yet (in random order):

1. Stare at different angles of pictures of my Carnival costume trying to get that theme right in my head with makeup and accessories.

2. Map out outfits, makeup and hair for all the carded fetes.

3. Download the Ticket Federation Carnival Calendar on both laptop and phone and study it like exam prep, trying to create a reasonable balance between sufficient categories of fete exposure and parental responsibility (and if you have to rely on grandma to babysit, you KNOW this particular struggle).

4. Lock and load up the credit card with Carnival funds to buy most if not all my fete tickets online in one go. No time to visit outlets and wonder if they still have any remaining.

5. Feel the pulse of the Queens Park Savannah-Cipriani Boulevard-Ariapita Avenue-Tragarete Road-St. Clair Road ‘circle’ (square?🤔) during the season.

6. Wash my cooler and resurrect the plastic bottles including my cup that lights up neon because that is essential in a cooler fete.

7. Obsess with my mas playing crew about our costumes and Monday wear in particular (see #1 above).

8. Wonder (in pain) if my personal trainer arose from the furnace of hell to torment me yet appreciate the work he puts in for the gaiiiiiins.

9. Swallow copious amounts of immune boosters…vitamin C times zinc times coconut water times echinacea and then some Hemarexin in the mix. (Don’t try this at home).

10. Buy two pairs of carnival tights in Micles.

11. Buy glitter, gems and the ‘fete amount’ of false lashes in Wonderful World (but with my shamefully recent discovery of lash extensions, this isn’t likely to return).

12. Debate the boots vs sneakers quandry in my head.

13. Pray that my costume collection day is not on Carnival Friday. (Frenzy and traffic…never a good combo).

14. Not sleep after a fete, bathe, head straight to work, take a half day to go back home to sleep and then wake up and pick up the gremlinz from school. True story. Many times.

15. Take close to 24 hours to style my hair in braids because as long as there is a YouTube video showing me how to do it, I’m doing it.

My look for 2021. my arms and neck were not happy when I finished.

16. Feel the intensity of being a Trini while being at Pan Semis.

17. Load up the soca music playlist to play ad nauseum in the car.

18. Cut up my jerseys in fancy styles in preparation for Jouvert and wondering which of my sneakers are old enough to take the disrespect.

19. Eat like a rabbit.

20. Figure out the Road March in advance (This blessed 2021 it’s a toss-up between Carnival Tabanca by Bunji Garlin and Long Time by Arrow).

Sigh…I made it to twenty, I could go on, but I want to cry. (Finding those links didn’t help either).

I weep hysterically.

Initially I told myself I could cope; I’ve sat out Carnival before but not realizing that even though I did that, I have never fully SAT OUT of Carnival, I have always attended some kinda filler. As the time draws near to the dates that would have been, there is a growing feeling of discontent inside me and of course wehhhhh…..

As is the saying, Carnival 2022 will be a movie as long as Ms. Rona gets the hell out of dodge and vaccines are in wide supply. I cannot wait, but in the mean time let me hol’ ah burn with a virtual jam yes….pass the Calendar….

As Carnival Calendars go, this one realllll sad….sigh…

Blessings

TMIDM

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Germageddon

trinimomindmiddle 1 Comment

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Ebola is at the forefront in many ways than one and you know when things are bad in Trinidad and Tobago when people start making up jokes as a coping mechanism.  So overheard a caller on the radio today: “You go by the doctor to find out if you have Ebola and the doctor tells you well hear nah,  you don’t have Ebola but you’re HIV Positive! which then makes you shout for joy: Thank you Jesus Thank the Lord!”. The radio announcer says he knows he shouldn’t be laughing but it’s funny because the thinking is at least you can live with HIV…sigh….Imagine the biggest debate in Trinidad and Tobago regarding Ebola is if to cancel Carnival in 2015…-_- Carnival yuh know, dat is what people studying!!!

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Everything is a joke in this country. That’s how we deal…..

This deadly disease is on my mind because germs are transmitted so easily as far as I see. No amount of pitchy hand-washing campaigns by the Ministry of Health and hand-sanitizers on sale in exotic fragrances of Japanese Cherry Blossom and Midnight Pomegranate can sway the fact that germs still bounce from here to there. People still sneeze and cough wildly in public, in taxis and buses and still talk animatedly over food being sold (watch your doubles vendor). Today I saw one of my students sucking her thumb and it dawned on me that it’s a habit that can exacerbate the germ-spreading much like biting the nails, both of which are mostly done so absent-mindedly, both of which are ever-present in schools….yikes….

I’m no germophobe but my mother always clued me in to germ-spreading when I was growing up so much so that I was forced to “see” germs being spread. So I used to press the button in the bus with my knuckle, open doors with my forearms/elbows, hold my bag on my shoulder when I have to use a public restroom, pump the soap with the corner of my wrist and I have hand sanitizer in every one of my handbags and my car. I’m not perfect with it and I certainly won’t reach my mom and her level of OCD where she takes grocery cheddar out of the plastic, washes it and then proceeds to slice……..yes…….I’ve talked to her about that.

My daughter Mam’zelle sucks her thumb, a habit she picked up before she breathed air. When she was born she was searching wildly for the finger by the mouth so much so the head nurse exclaimed “Aye Aye! She fass! Look she suckin finger! Chile yuh jus’ born!” I’ve never cut the habit with her because I too know the sweetness, so too my husband, same issue, same hand, (is thumb-sucking genetic?) and I figure she will cut that out very soon. She doesn’t do it in school which tells you the level of pride (or shame) that she has. So when I pick her up and I don’t hear her antics in the car, I know she’s sucking the thumb as though she suffered withdrawal and de feeling so sweet but then I have to yell about germs and cleanliness, rinse and repeat the following day. Sometimes she asks me “Can I suck my finger now?” or she would casually ask if I have hand-sanitizer as if we’re talking about the weather (“oh, by the way…”).

It’s all well and good with the common cold and sundry other mutated forms of viruses that I can battle with doctor visits, meds, excessive talking and frenzied harping and hand-washing but Ebola??? Who am I against a disease that is dismantling West Africa, is one-up in the US, crept into Brazil and made it’s way into Spain and Germany’s news headlines? I am praying to God that Ebola doesn’t make its way into Trinidad and Tobago because we are studying Carnival and at our very best I don’t think we are anywhere close to handling it the way we should and if it’s one thing about this country, ting does realll spread.

Stay safe and be wisely informed. Pick sense from nonsense.

Bless up

TMIDM

Back in the Saddle

trinimomindmiddle 1 Comment

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So my at home fitness plan isn’t going as well as expected. 😦 It wasn’t totally my fault but I admit I was derailed by laziness and end-of the month eating shenanigans which included outings, a wedding reception and my own wedding anniversary which brought its own version of calories, carbs and fat in the form of a guiltless,well-deserved Italian dinner. My mom was measuring me the other day to sew some work clothes and I (secretly) balked when she wrote down the sizings. Not to mention  pair of pants that I haven’t worn in a while left me doing the skinny jeans wiggle to get into. I didn’t need much encouraging to realize that I needed to kick myself into high gear and (finally) haul ass to the gym.

I hate the gym. I hate the grunting and people pretending not to scope you out but who secretly throw glances your way.  I hate the fight down for machines. I hate the clanking of weights by the men and I hate the post-workout selfies by the women. IT BLASTED ANNOYING!!!…….but I started back. One evening last week, I gave in to desperation and thankfully I wasn’t going to train that day because I was severely startled by the SHEER AMOUNT of people there that afternoon. Why de hell it had so much people (women) there was beyond me but I figure it has something to do with the fact that Carnival bands launch already and clearly this year’s theme across the board is “Hail to the V”:

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And well of course……

Fantasy-BlackSwan

 

(Photos courtesy Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Costume Photos. For these and more check the page on Facebook here.)

I am sitting out Carnival next year.

So I’m back in the saddle for my own personal fitness and in order to avoid the sycophants, I’m going to the gym in the morning from as early as 5 a.m., a feat never done before but I’ve accomplished three days of rising and getting there by that hour and I’m damn proud of myself. Additionally I don’t feel the pressure in the day to train in between seeing about the gremlinz. The only thing is that when I start back work in September for the new school term, I may have to go even earlier. I have help though. The following video wakes me up every morning. I grabbed the audio and set it as my alarm so I’m roused from sleep by one of the most motivational get-it-done-now exercise speeches I’ve ever heard in my life.  Take a look:

I think at some point my husband will get annoyed hearing this every morning but doesn’t it make you feel like instantly bursting a sweat? I’m getting it done man!

Bless up

TMIDM