Something to think about - What the Chinese may be thinking of me

The Year Of The Rooster

1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005

People born in the Year of the Rooster are deep thinkers, capable, and talented. They like to be busy and are devoted beyond their capabilities and are deeply disappointed if they fail. People born in the Rooster Year are often a bit eccentric, and often have rather difficult relationship with others. They always think they are right and usually are! They frequently are loners and though they give the outward impression of being adventurous, they are timid. Rooster people¡¦s emotions like their fortunes, swing very high to very low. They can be selfish and too outspoken, but are always interesting and can be extremely brave. They are most compatible with Ox, Snake, and Dragon

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2009 Chinese Horoscope for Rooster Animal Sign
Year Ahead for People Born in the Year of the Rooster

The Year of the Ox begins on 26th January 2009.

For the Rooster, the year of the Ox offers a pleasing and restful period.

You will be able to build on the foundations already laid in recent years and progress will continue to be positive if a little slow. There will be times when you might feel more competitive and ambitious than normal and you will eventually reach the aims you set for yourself for this year.

There may, however, be one or two small challenges, perhaps as other people oppose your ideas. These challenges you should be able to overcome with determination. So persevere. Don’t give up at the first hurdle otherwise you will not be giving yourself a true chance to make something of yourself. Success will come through having faith in your abilities.

The slow start of the year will be deceptive as the months will get better as time wears on and good fortune is suggested. However, the very start of the year finds you revising old procedures and clearing up matters of the past.

Finance and Investment for the Rooster in 2009
Further still, there is a suggestion that it will be money and possessions that lie at the root of your problems. Cheques that were supposed to arrive are likely to be delayed and you may have to return recent purchases because they are faulty or not the quality you paid for.

The good news is that there is plenty to suggest that this is a time of new beginnings. By March, you might start looking at new investment ideas and start thinking about your long-term security. You could be a wee bit secretive, hiding your intentions from your partner or someone who has a right to know what is going on. Instead, talk your ideas over and they could offer some valuable and profitable suggestions. Generally, joint concerns may move at a slower pace than you would prefer but be patient as they are moving in the right direction.

General Trends for Roosters in 2009
Because you are so determined to reach certain ambitions, other areas in your life could possibly suffer. If your loved-ones complain that you are not giving them the time or attention they deserve, be sure to take them seriously. The more you ignore them, the more chance there is that you will drive them away.

They will look to other areas for the comfort, company and understanding they need. This is the area where you should be careful in this, the year of the Ox, relationships need careful handling if you want to keep them running smoothly.

Mid-Year Trends 2009 for Rooster Borns
Around July, you might wonder: who do you trust at a time when advice is coming at you from all directions. Conflicting information makes you wonder who to believe and what to do for the best. During the middle few months of the year, you have two options whenever you feel too confused to think straight: you can either put your faith in someone who came through for you in the past. (They are unlikely to let you down now.) Or you could delay important decisions until the end of August when everything will look much clearer.

End of the Year Trends 2009 for Roosters
October is the month to watch what you say. If you don’t pay attention and your mind starts to wander, you might let something slip in front of someone who you were trying to keep a secret from.

And then, correspondence during the last few months of the year will hold a degree of urgency and should not be swept aside even when other concerns threaten to get in the way. Make some time to reply to letters, answer e-mails and follow up messages left on your answer-phone.

Deal with anything important yourself as it is a time when you can’t always rely on others to do what they promise. The more self-sufficient you are, the less likely it is that you will be disappointed.

The year ends with you seeing a number of positive improvements and you will have overcome a number of challengers to get this far. You will have a lot to be proud of and if you managed to use your charm to its advantage, relationships will also show strong signs of improving.

from: http://astrology.suite101.com/article.cfm/2009_chinese_horoscope_for_rooster_animal_sign

Christmas Reflections

By far, this has been one of the nicest christmas I've celebrated. I didn't really get the best of what I want but I did receive some which made me happy; the new cd of APO Hiking society - not released in the market, thanks Fonz; a Parker pen with my name on it; a pair of dumbells (?); the book of Jeffrey Sachs, The end of Poverty from my dearest brother; and a new ring from my father - this is something which I have never expected, I just happen to see the ring and I can't get over it so he bought it for me.

More importantly though, its the special feeling of gratitude, of joy, of love that I feel which made this Christmas very warm and one of the nicest. Suddenly, I realized just how many people loves me and how much I have been given. I cannot help but be overwhelmed with the thought that there's so much to be thankful for.

Well compared to last year's tragedy, this is definitely way better. My family did not notice the difference last year and how broken I've been but the closest to me, especially my workmates have noticed how much I have changed. Whatever lesson I needed to learn, I think I have been made aware of it; learning and living it however will really have to take quite sometime.

This Christmas, I have a renewed vigor to believe in the good things that this life can bring and has to offer. This year, I have been faced with the same challenge of falling in love, getting my heart broken and then trying to recover from it. The last part is a bit difficult to accomplish but I know I'll get there. This is a year of experiments, of forging new friendships, of epiphany, of decisions, of discovering the good there is in people, of craziness, of hope, of love and more importantly, of faith.

I have met a lot of people who witnessed my weaknesses but who never gave up on me. I was given the chance to get to know better some of my old acquiantances and turn them into good friends. I realized this year that its time for me to move on and do what I have been born to do and that if I don't decide now, I will probably be regretting this for the rest of my life.

This year is a year of spending more time with family; of getting to know them a bit better. A year of slowly mending our relationship with our father; of understanding where he might be coming from; of making compromises so that we can meet halfway; of trying to make things work for our family.

This is a year of renewing faith. I found out that its our own insecurities, incapabilites that hinder our ability to ask for what we specifically need or want, for that matter. From the littlest things to the most impossible ones, I find that the power to make our prayers come true is in the humility of asking and in holding on to the faith that it will be granted in due time, and in the way that is best for us. God's love is simply just too much for us humans to understand. We simply have to be steadfast for everything that makes no sense will be revealed to us in due time.

This Christmas has been a meaningful one, not because of the gifts but because I believe I have felt God everywhere and in everyone. Truly, God is with us.

Merry Christmas!

Thinking Too Much

I'm going crazy now. Or maybe it's just the impending headache waiting to reveal itself. I've run the scenes in my mind over and over again until I got tired. Events in my future; situations that might just happen if I think about them hard enough. I'm tired. Really tired. And still I'm not sure whether its because of thinking too much or because my resolve to stay is diminishing.

It is getting more and more ardous everyday to keep a brave front. But its becoming easier to write about the experience. There is a free-flow of thoughts on my mind whenever I feel something intense - but it has been more effective if I am in a state of despair or grief or panic or depression.

On another note, but not entirely deviating from the point I have raised, I feel like I'm scarred. Seriously scarred no matter how I try to not think about it. I know I am over it. But the thought of going through the same experience, or probably a different one but with the same kind of grief, is something I am scared to even think about. Of course, I have not ruled out the fact that I was the one who brought it upon myself. It is scary because if I am able to cause such pain to myself how much more can others do to me. And I was even thinking then.

Right now, I wish I have never loved. I don't want to feel this anymore. If only to ease a bit the stabbing pain in my heart. I'm going crazy now.

Its a thief in the night
To come and grab
It can creep up inside you
And consume
A disease of the mind
It can control
Its too close for comfort

Disturbia
Looks like the darkness is the light
Disturbia
Am I scaring you tonight

...Release me from this curse Im in
I'm trying to remain tame
But i'm struggling

Are you prepared?

I guess I have been forewarned. They told me that they will pop the question and I have bravely, almost smug, agreed to answer their questions as honestly as I can, even in the presence of others. And this honesty, entails spilling the truth about the experience even to others who might not have to even know.

Are you prepared?, they asked. I don't know, I answered. Thinking about it now, I should have said that nobody will ever be. No matter how experienced you are in any field, we can never be fully prepared for what might come, especially when there is no knowing for certain what to expect. I am reminded of this short excerpt from a newspaper I read:

For we are all like swimmers in the sea
Poised on the top of a huge wave of fate
Which hangs uncertain to which side to fall
And whether it will heave us up to land
Or whether it will roll us out to sea
Far out to see in the deep waves of fate
We know not, and no search will make us know
Only the event will teach us in its hour

-Matthew Arnold in Sohrab and Rustum

I have been anticipating, probably way too much. And there are times when I just simply want to forget that I feel, just like how I wanted to get rid of that excruciating feeling. But how can I if it heightens the feeling of living? I feel good about life. I feel positive today.

If I can only forget about it even just for a day. To go living in a day without any thought of it.