Keep Getting Stronger

The performance boosting benefits of smiling have been a hot topic ever since Kenyan marathon star Eliud Kipchonge was spotted deliberately grinning to himself every few minutes during Nike's Breaking2 marathon last year. A researcher in Northern Ireland subsequently published a study showing athletes becoming more efficient, burning two percent less energy to sustain a given pace when they were smiling. Personally, I feel totally exhilarated while training on land or water. With championship rowers, it's not about one plus one equals ten. The greatest crews have an ability to make one plus one equal magic. It's that intangible aspect of the deep commitment to each other and to the greater purpose that accelerates the shell through the waves. 

Do You Live For The Hustle?

I love rising early to see the rising sun. I rise to train in the mornings on land and on the water. I am smitten by the outstanding art that is rowing. After numerous years of rowing in championship varsity eights during my formative years, then transitioning to running long distance, i have gracefully returned to the sport to learn the art of sculling. Glad to be in a shell again.

Nude At Vanity: Roy Lichtenstein at SFMOMA

A series of extraordinary Girls Romances at SFMOMA with a comic retro effect seems fresh and modern. Lichtenstein frequently altered mass-produced images by adding art history references. Here he is inspired by Pablo Picasso's "Girl before a Mirror" from 1932. All art featured in this collection at SFMOMA have strength and color relationships. Like Picasso, Lichtenstein traced the figure with thick black lines and incorporates passages of yellow in the background to frame the face. His black and white dots blur the distinction between flesh and the wall, through vibrant pops of red and blue emphasizing the Goddess lips and expressive eyes. So much good fun.  

Sailor Made On The East Coast: Time Is The Most Valuable Currency You Can Spend

It's on the wild and stunning East Coast, carved into the coastline overlooking the water. The weather is always sunny with a royal blue sky overhead. Goldie is here learning to sail with his Cappy and enjoying his second year of ownership of vintage, yet fully restored Chris-Craft wooden boat that took one year to restore. When you are surrounded by water, everything just slows down. People take time to speak and laugh with each other. Our summer home has stunning views of the beach on one side and the sailing boats on the other. Advancing passions for maximum grins–Goldie and the aquatic tribe have no complaints. Gratitude is the fundamental emotion one feels in the state of grace.

We The North: Rise And Shine

As a Raptors fan, i am one of 35,000 Canadians living in the San Francisco Bay Area, many of us have gone to top tier universities and are working in jobs in tech or finance. Until this week, however, being a Raptors fan was a largely thankless task in a region that boasts one of the most successful basketball teams in recent NBA history. There wasn't even much of a rivalry between the teams before the Finals. The Raptors were barely on the radar in California. Most Warrior supporters looked at the matchup with Toronto with a mix of surprise and compassion. But after Raptors beat the Warriors in Game 1 things have started to change. Canadians are coming out of the woodwork in droves in the Bay Area as well as in Toronto organizing viewing parties and asking friends and family to buy Raptors gear. As an athlete myself, there's a difference between winning the championship and just going to the Finals–the championship has an enduring effect. We are all hyped.

Run Like A Bastadas: Personal Best At Bay2Breakers 7.5 Miler in 50 Minutes

Rain, wind, or thunder could not stop the unstoppable force that's Bay2Breakers. New personal best of 50 minutes 49 seconds for the 7.5 mile run had me placing 357 fastest of all runners in San Francisco. Thank you to all the volunteers, runners, walkers, nudists, endoftheworldwarners, at this amazing event. See you again next year.