So when I'm not fantasizing about a costume, the road, the music, the winery etc, random thoughts of Carnival pop into my head. The following are some of my Carnival realizations.

Yuh ever realize:

- that the closer you get to Carnival, the better flour, grease and sugar begin to look?

- the less cloth/material a costume has, chances are the more expensive it will be?

- the plan to lose weight for Carnival has a natural speedbump commonly known as Christmas food?

- that wining is an EXCELLENT way to trim the waistline! (Saucy Wow being an exception to this non-rule)

- after you see most soca artistes/bands a few times you pretty much have a blueprint of their performance for the rest of the season (maybe even the year)?

- that Kees Diefenthaller and Shurwayne Winchester are two of THE MOST enthusiastic performers ever? They always look soooooo happy to be performing, like if its a privilege for them to perform for the audience rather than that the audience should feel honoured to be in their presence.

- that when bands begin registration so early, there's a greater chance that your costume won't fit by the time Carnival actually comes around?

- that thanks to global warming there's a greater possibility of rain around Carnival time (time to go green people! if yuh doh care bout the environment then think about how bad your feathers look when they get wet)

- that glitter is actually an excellent anti-depressant? (ok so maybe that's only in my mind)

- that pan sweet too bad!

- that the REAL Savannah stage, as in the one that could have been used for a plethora of cultural events including the parade of the bands, was one of the simplest but MOST IMPORTANT physical structures ever erected in T&T? (again, this may be only in my mind)

- that most people still don't have a clue where the current Savannah stage begins and ends? And no one really cares either because it SUCKS!!!!!

- that Carnival Monday and Tuesday are THE BEST marathons in the world! Who say Guinness World Record for longest stretch of uninterrupted wining?

- that schools across the Caribbean need to incorporate cultural and artistic skills like mas making, wire bending, pan playing and tuning, Carnival history and traditions, into their curricula before these skills die out?

- that people litter for NO DAMN REASON around Carnival time. The bins in town haven't moved people!!! And for those who didn't know, EVERY band has garbage bags on various trucks.

- that every year there is at least one song birthed from the bowels of Carnival's spirit, baptized in bacchanal's very being and engineered to make you lose yourself, heart, mind and waist in its throbbing, pulsating, lyrical essence?

- that Carnival is my cigarettes, my alcohol, my weed, my crack, my high, my sugar rush, my time?