We all know where we were and what we were doing when Usain Bolt once again smashed the 100m men’s world record. I was in London, probably raiding the kitchen in an attempt to find out where my little brother hides his bourbon biscuits (they are 40p a pack, no need for the greed). But the event got me thinking, at time of writing, I am the fastest person I know – and that is only in part to not knowing many people. Yet it makes me the fastest person in my world, which is hardly an achievement for my CV but it’s got me excited, can a 21 year old suddenly decide to take on the world and have a chance of succeeding?
Archive for August, 2009
I’m Going For Gold in 2012
August 25th, 2009Doing the Splits
August 19th, 2009If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about myself is that I choose to learn anything that impresses me. An event only has to raise a smile from me for it to change my life plans and have me swapping my social circle, fashion sense and accent to match. So when I first saw Jean Claude Vandamme perform the splits in ‘Kick Boxing’, I grabbed shoelaces, two traffic cones and ran out into the garden. 30 minutes later I returned with nothing but a sore neck and muddy trousers. My fame in doing the splits was short lived, I returned to the couch and my pain was relived with an episode or two of Tom and Jerry, the former certainly handles pain better than I ever did.
10 years later I’ve decided to carry on from where I left off, and this article marks the start of my training, discovering the benefits of being able to do the splits, how they can be achieved and my current progress. To save you from being disappointed, don’t expect much from me just yet, after a warm up, from afar it still looks like I’m standing…
Are you not called Tony?
August 12th, 2009I’m undecided – a name is your identity, and the single purest connection you have with the rest of the world. The power of a name goes far beyond identifying a human – what do you think of the name David? how about Rebbecca? or Mark? Chances are you will like or dislike the name and your opinion will most likely directly correlate with how you feel about the person who springs to mind. Think of the name of the person closest to you and the emotion and connotations it possess, now imagine suddenly having to know them by another name? Certainly doesn’t feel natural. Do you influence your name or is it the other way around? The issue goes a lot deeper when given thought.
I was born as James, it is the name on my birth certificate and any other important documents, yet I’m known by everyone I met up till university as Tony – at which point I decided to go by my official name. I’m a man of the night, like nothing better than jumping in the car after midnight and seeing where the road takes me – he who goes by two names does not function too well in the instance where the law is concerned….
