Wrongs, (W)Rights, and Weirds of Western Society

Isn't the title cool? :D (The W is there because there are so many other 'W's)

And here are my excuses for not posting: 1 I am lazy. 2 Other stuff going on 3 I doubt anyone cares anyway. \_(o_o)_/ says: holy jehosephat, its been 3 mnths since i posted :O

Lets get rid of the wrongs first shall we?

Sexism is so prevalent in society- WHERE TO STARTT~

Why is it that when people are in relationship they refer to their companion/mate/'friend' that that person *belongs* to them? Case in point: "She's mine" "He's my boyfriend" Popular media may have to do with this too tho'... ("MY Girl" ring a bell, anyone..?)

Another thing, disparities in income, unequal job opportunities, and sexual harassment at the workplace are all too common. (I dont think anyone reading cares tho so I'll move along)

And another thing, why is it in date stuff and so-and-so, the *guy* is s'posed to ask teh girl out?

Why is it that the guy pays for stuff? And why is it ok for guys to be man-whores yet when girls do it they are called 'sluts'? Why can't men wear dresses? Or shave their legs? Why MUST women shave their legs?

See what I mean...? All these double-standards for men and women alike, 'tho b/c women are always below men, its obvious to see who comes out on top: the testosterone, hairy pot-bellied man who enjoys watching people beat the &$%# out of each other (Hockey, wrestling, football, etc) I guess Hillary Clinton had it right when se said we need a woman in charge? :O

Oh and this isnt directly related to sexism, just... pervertedness. In high school. Someone shoot me... PENIS. Why do so many people laugh at that word..? Why do people make so many sex jokes...? I mea. ok theyre funny. laugh. GET OVER IT. Apparently if you dont like this sort of thing and are not obsessive over the opposite sex WOW look at that rack) you're considered homesexual. Which is not a bad thing, but COME ON!! *sigh*

Teenagers are immature... esp. teenage boys..

There are some nice things about society though; specialization of labor from a surplus of food due to the advent of agriculture enabled us to achieve great innovations. (wow WHAP is really getting to me...) Humans get emotions and and a higher intelligence ( is that good or bad..?)

Oh and tonight was a cool autumn night... (im going to blather on about my own life, srry about that) ducks in the pool, various peoples jogging, the beautiful sun setting, firemen BBQ'ing, the gentle gurgle of the creek. Makes you appreciate life... =]

Righto cheerio, the weirds: why is plural of louse lice, mouse mice but not house hice? and why then is not the singular form of rice 'rouse'? English is a weird language... Oh and WTHHH OBAMA GOT A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE???! yeappp...

PS my life stuff goes here cuz its not as important as my thoughts, in my opinion :D

auggh been sick, falling behind in hw, still cant apologize to YSI people, cant see Nancy (ALL THESE RETAKES ARE CONSUMING MY TIMEE)(andd honestly what are my chances anyway D: at the same time im thinking, man im lucky to have met her), hurted body (tailbone and knee still hurt from skating and lava mosnter =( but awesome friends, somewhat making more...? (not really) drifint apart from challenger friends, and chemo ends on DEC FIFTHHH

YAYYYYYYYY

ok thats it.. i think.. (>^_^)> on til next time, whenever that may be :D

if you still check this occasionally, i thank thee for caring :P

Meh

"Meh" as in I feel melancholy, excited, and happy (sorta)

Excited and happy that SCHOOLS OVER! And summer plans! Hoorah!

Melancholy that, we only have three more years of high school. Just three more years of fun =/

In my freshman year, stuff has happened. I've got shot down (not literally of course), friends have done stuff,( and whether I approve or disapprove of it, they ARE my friends and I feel obligated to support them in their time of need), dad's gotten an aneurysm, grades have dropped, the usual high school drama...

Other friends seem more distant, I rarely talk to some of 'em now =/ I'm moving to my grandma's house, and maybe to a new high school.

Man, I am seriously peeved by that ^ Ive been in 5 different schools the past 5 yrs: Meridian, Shawnee, Home schooled, Berryessa, Piedmont, and now maybe Independence. Besides the first 2 years, I havent had the time to strengthen the bonds of friendship =x

Which reminds me: Why are people so dang nice to me? It makes me feel bad whenever I get sick, and the fact that I didn't do anythign to deserve any of it.

I've also noticed a couple things: teenagers seem depressed. I don't know why! =o I think either Raymond or Jeffrey said it to me: I don't think what people go through is a big deal, because Im kinda used it. And I think I DO think that way, for better or worse. (I consider myself an optimistic cynist =p)

Ahh, chemo done in 6 mnths, finals coming to a close, and we're all growing older and hopefully, more mature... As the freshman year is coming to a close, I leave with few regrets. Let life come, and with it, strife, happiness, and crap.

One month later..

OK I have missed basically the whole month of March of school...
Stuff that's happened:
2 weeks of fevers, then three days reprieve, one of which my AWESOME piedmont friends threw me a party =D (I call it a party and not a B-day party b/c it was 24 days later) and then on Caesar Chavez my [)A/\/\N fever came back. So I go to Valley Medical Center and the nurses don't know how to access my portacath OR draw blood. -.- (I have a bruise where he attempted..) And then later I was transferred to Stanford IN AN AMBULANCE! =D Yeah, it was awesome. =] And then another 2 days later I found out I had chickenpox,, so there I stayed at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital for a week and a half, in an isolation ward. yeah, it was boring. And now I'm at home, when its Spring Break, and no school... and i have chemo again this friday, so I probably can't go to school for another week =_=

*sigh* My GPA is like 2.5, I have an F in Alg 2, and I'm wayyy behind on homework...
How can I get to UC, let alone my dream schools (Stanford/Princeton) with this...?
I know its beyond my control, but its just SO frustrating... And the fact that my cance can come BACK, is depressing too... The doctor said 85% survival rate, so thats a 15% chance that my cancer will recurr. And it was a 15% chance that I would get appendicitis, and i got THAT... -.-

Ive realized that Ive only got 3 things going for me: Friends, family, and the fact that I live in the US. Everything good in my life has been attributed to one of those things. =x
Ive also realized why I laugh so much: laughter is great, because it makes you forget about your troubles, and gives you bliss for those few minutes you're laughing; everything else is pushed out of your mind.


Everything is out of my control, so I'll just go with the flow, I guess. Can't change the past, can't control the future. Just have the decisions of the present.

A Quagmire of Epic Proportions!

Cool title, eh? I just wrote it to get you to read this =p Anyways, sounding off on wahat's happened so far in the past week:

Volunteering at Alum Rock YSI =D (It's awesommeeee there! Hawks, turtles, snakes, and what-not! =p and i get to learn to take care of them =]

My birthday came and passed; I am now 15! OK well nobody really cares but I like shouting useless things to the deaf world..

My dad's still in rehabilitation; he is making sense, remembers everything, BUT he acts like a man at a bar overloaded with whiskey. Basically he makes no sense and is confused about where he is at the moment... yep..

Other mundane things in my life: Grades sliding yet some more =x , doing Romeo & Juliet in english (huzzah, yea lily-livered knack-eyed whoreson!), and trying to improve the Wheel of DOOM~~!

In stuff that actually matters: Obama lifted the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, included $50 billion for relief for home-buyers, legalised medical-marijuana clubs, and basically undid much of the conservative policies Bush enacted in his terms.
Meanwhile, GM and Chrysler ARE in a quagmire of EPIC proportions, burnin' through cash, and probably to receive another bailout by the taxpayers... =.= ('Twas your fault to begin with, GM...) Oh and more troops sent to Afghanistan.



Speaking on religion (I am speaking frankly and do not intend to speak ill of anyone; constructive criticism is welcomed] :It is out-dated. Based on books thousands of years old, written by people who were ignorant of the world and its laws of nature. Of course, people need religion. It sustains a healthy mentality, and is a good framework for morals. It joins together a community, and helps others. On a note, therefore: Does prayer help? People prayed for me in church last Sunday, and i felt, awkward. Grateful that people cared, but awkward...


One more thing, depression, which we were discussing in English. Why and how do we become depressed? When are we at, or past the stage of suicide? What is the cure for it?
Here's my thoughts: 1 Life sucks. Get over it. 2 Look on the bright side, there's always someone worse off than you.

Of course, I'm sure you have different opinions, thoughts, and feelings about all this, but I'm just doing this to make you think ;D

The Past Week of Events, Emotions, and Sayings

So here was the last week in a nutshell:

Feb 14-15, 2009: Huzzah for Darren's house! The saviour of boredom!

Feb 16, 2009: Cousin's house! (I kinda think I'm a free-loader now... =S)

Feb 17, 2009: Visited Dad at new place. (More into that later)

Feb 18, 2009: Bowling with old Challenger Shawnee friends!! w00t!

Feb 19, 2009: Hospital; Vencristin and lumbar puncture, eww..

Feb 20, 2009: Happy day! Golfland, movie with Challenger friends~~yayy~~

Feb 21-25, 2009: Steroids x2 daily.. -.-"


Hmm so thats what I was up to the past week; I'm glad I have friends, both old and new =]
Must be dreadful to have none, or to be isolated inside your house, no contact with other fellow humans... *shudder* Which is what I've been doing basically the past 3 days... EEEyaahahahghghgh I gotta go to school tomorrow... *speaking of which I have 2 tests to look forward too =x*

And yes, you've read correctly; my dad got transferred to Santa Clara Rehabilitation Centre (I think) He now has no huge bandage... over his giant stitch.. on his head.. =/
(Yeahup its still painful to see him, but less)


So winter break was a blast =]
But looking at all my friends, on sports teams, having girlfriends/boyfriends, dating, knowing what they want to do with their lives (for the time being), it makes me, feel jealous.
I feel like I haven't been doing ANYTHING the past years, 'cept school. No accomplishments, achievements, nothing. I've been in the same mentality since the 6th grade. (OK im less bitchy now but still) We still have laughs, hang out, and have fun, but life is going on. We're all gonna separate sooner or later; the road of life travels in often unpredictable ways.

Dreams lead to hope, to wishes, to aspirations, to ambition, to succeed.

To dream is to attempt success...

PS Thank you for reading my mundane and rambling thoughts, whether you care or not :D

PPS Huzzah, Lucky #7 followers :]

PPPS How come no one says "Da-- yyuuumm! You lookin' fine!" anymore? Its so succinct =]

PPPPS Writing Post-scripts and Post-post-scripts is fun =D

PPPPPS I dunno, I just can't take things seriously sometimes =/
And Im not sure if that's good or bad...

The sun will come out, tomorrow! Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun...

*Sigh* Parents.... (I'm betting everyone over the age of 10 has had this sigh)

My dad's in the hospital.... I was there for 3 hours last night; and I was kind of disgruntled afterwards. I mean, it's painful to look at your dad in a state where he's mentally ill. It just hurts...
So I was there to start a conversation to make him to talk and use his brain. Oh did I mention he gets really annoyed or angry and doesn't take his medicine or pulls one of the tubes out...

And my mom is still stressed out... Only her habit if "Answer me whenever I talk to you!!!! If you don't its SOOOOOO rude!!!" has come back, tougher and meaner..

so yeahup that's it so far

oh right well on a brighter note, break; well I went to Darren's house on Saturday and Sunday; it was fun =]
Monday I went to cousins' house and today I shall attend bowling with my Challenger compadres =P. Thursday hospital and Friday Oakridge with same people. w00t!. Yay, so this break IS fun :)


in the bigger picture, the economy is still tanking, Obama failed to live up to expectations and did not take out "Buy American" in the stimulus package, or remove much of the pork, however science research and a $50 billion tax break were taken OUT -.-

Markets falling, R & D budgets slashed, workforce sheds jobs, not good..

Our political parties are kind of suckish... =x

EAGP

Wow I kinda want to delete my last post; although I really did feel like ERUGHGHGHGHGHGH, crying doesn't help or solve anything. Its just wasting your energies when you could be doing something more constructive...

Sometimes, when I smile at the world, inside the emotions are just trying to eat me up... You know what I mean? Like I'll say something, and mean something else... Which leads to another thing: appearances.

Everyone seems to want to groom theirs to match it the way they want to, but that just ain't so, I'm afraid. Its kinda weird how in high school so many people obsess about this and try to match their attitudes like that. All the time people are in little groups, because they're too comfortable in their own little world, expressing just one side to themselves. But no one's one-dimensional. You need to expose that multi-faceted personality. If you could, look at all the new people you could meet and talk to =] (and gain some good friends along the way)
For example, me: To one, I am a snitch, others a good friend, another a creepy stalker, and many a 10 year old nerd... (about 2 people know all the people who know me as these things =D) As I've said earlier, everyone's perspective of things changes with each different person, so you can never be that ideal person to everyone; sorry to burst your bubble =p.

On a side note, high school only lasts for so long, then its the time when YOU must account for YOUR actions. And we should treasure our childhoods, while we can do anything, as long as its not illegal =D until when you grow older and have to WORK =o (well actually I dont see anything bad about that, so I have nothing else to say on this subject..)

One last thing, if you could take someone's pain away, only for you to feel it, would you?


PS My dad's sort of getting better; sort of in the fact that he can talk and remember some stuff, but that he'll go blank and talk about random stuff next, plus he has an infection...

Close to tears, yet not crying...

Well, my mom got a call earlier tonight from the police; my dad's in the hospital...


He had an aneurysm, (something like a stroke) and the doctors are going to perform brain surgery tonight. . .
My mom's with him, so yeah. I dont know what to do or say right now...

It's odd; like son like father: I go to O'Connor hospital and am later transferred to Stanford; now my dad's the same way...

. . .I wish I had someone to talk to. . . My life's a mess, and sue and blasphemize me for calling me a hypocrite too. Yeah, when someone dies, the world goes on. Life goes on. But not that little world which they were a part of . Not that part of their loved ones, when they, suffer. Not all is unchanged. That little piece of the world that someone belongs to, when they die, that world becomes that more unbearable...


I feel like crying, yet not a drop is coming out. Maybe its because I cried when I first got leukemia, or when my dog died later. I'm drained of sorrow now; grampa died when I was 5, cancer at 12, and now dad might be going where my grandpa is, all this by age 14.

Forgive my gloom; I shouldn't really be saying this aloud, don't want to burden anyone. Shoulder this on my own, become stronger by it. And when it's all done, then I can shed a tear. Then I can look back at this and laugh. Or drown in my misery.. .. .. Augh I'm just blabbering, just so confused and wondering: What did I do to deserve any of this...?

Yeah, ok.


I'm crying now...

Vague and Confusing and Everyday Stuffs

Have you ever heard of the expression "bitter seeds within a sweet apple"? Well, it's an expression now alright?

Its funny how some people treat people awesome, and you see them as cool and genuine people, but when they turn to YOU they treat you like trash, and look at you like a piece of fungi. (I'm not making much sense, am I?)
Well anywayyyys, let's just say that Person A treats Person B like his/her best friend, and then Person A meets Person C and is like "Who the **** are you?!"

I kinda think everyone is like that; they have a good side, and a bad side. (Hopefully the good side overpowers that bad part.) The good side shines towards friends and (most of the time) family, and bad side towards people, who, you just don't get along with.

(Yes, folks, even I have a bad side =o)

OK now that that's outta the way I'm gonna start bantering off things that piss me off:

Sarah Palin = Do not let me BEGIN with that woman...

Tim Geithner = Didn't see this whole subprime mortgage crisis coming AT ALL, and now he's Treasury Secretary... -.- (Plus with his tax-evasion stuff even though he made millions, and then shooting his mouth off of how China is manipulating its currency AT THE TIME WHEN WE NEED CHINA'S FINANCING THE MOST!!)

Way to go, American politicians... -.-"


OK well Ryan asked me today, how I can be cheery and happy and whatnot altho' I have leukemia, am short, annoying, and lack any physical prowess whatsoever. It's simple, really. Once you get into a life-threatening situation, you treasure life more. =]

*DISCLAIMER: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GET INTO A LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION!!*

Oh that's also why emo people piss me off soooo much... They whine and complain about how their life sucks and they just wanna end it. LOOK, EMO PPLZ: GET OVER YOURSELFS!!
When you die, the person you hurt least is yourself...




Onto more mundance and everyday stuff:

My dear mother hired a tutor for Algebra 2... whoop-dee-doo... And I am supposed to go today or tomorrow...

Oh yeah I've been sick since last Tuesday and then last Friday I also got Chemotherapy at LPCH. (Vincristine, to be exact; and Prednisone from Friday thru tomorrow)

So that's about it...


PS From now on, I shall blog whenever I feel like it. It seems like I do that now, but I've tried to post every coupla days but, 1 I've gotten lazy and 2, I run out of things to say. So with that, I shall post whenever stuff comes up. And with that, I bid Adieu!

PPS (Boy my post-script sure is repetitive...)

Emo Cheese, Sunny Days, and Coins

(For being too lazy to post, I now announce a super long post as I jump from thought to thought that has been on mind for the last weeks)

Hmm, well here's the rundown on the past week or so:
flea market in Fremont (and got a cool letter opener :D),
Mom & Dad nagging me to study for finals,
frantically finishing homework at the last minute,
the three days of finals (and the awesome schedule that goes with it)
and just recently, a boring trip to a Chinese New Year's party (90% of everyone there was 60+)
and now we have a three-day weekend to look forward; well 2 day weekend now...

Well the last week just showed me up; the bright sun has cleared up my gloom =]
Altho' uneventful 'twas still enjoyable; just relaxation and finals. Now that they're over its a plus/minus. Plus: No more frantic studying, or worrying about grades; its a new semester!
Con: No more block schedule, so no more four hour days...
So the sunniness of the weather bodes well for the months to come, I hope.

Au contraire, even with finals being over, and sunny weather, WHY ARE PEOPLE EMO?!?!?!!
Being emo is SO overrated: Why hurt yourself? *Do not confuse being emo with being sad; being sad or miserable is perfectly fine as long as its not all or most of the time.*
Let's name 5 things you got:
1. Parents that give a damn about you
2. Food on the table
3. Be glad you're not livin' on the streets!
4. Be THANKFUL you ain't got cancer!
5. Awesome friends, clothes on your back, and an education.
I could name 95 more but I don't feel like it. =p I mean, seriously: EMO PPLZ, look at your life and compare it to a Darfur or Palestinian refugee, or a poor Peruvian farmer. Ain't it so much better? If you STILL feel emo, here's my number: 408 206 4247. I'm gonna shock it into non-existence! And seriously why do you hurt yourself? Do you get thrills from lacerating your arms and watching blood leak out of your skin? Or bashing your skull senseless against the wall?
NO that's not being emo, thats being a DUMB-ASS!
And by the way, suiciding is a lot harder than you think; oh sure, you wanna kill yourself, or shoot that guy who just pissed you off. But killing is a lot harder than you think, 'cuz you gots a conscience! That 'little voice inside'. And you do not know how it is to kill until you are ACTUALLY FACED IN A LIFE-OR-DEATH SITUATION!! And thats when you realize how precious life is. One more thing, killing yourself doesnt erase the pain and suffering in you; it only passes it onto those who love and care for you: your family and friends.

Now that Rant 1 outta the way: Its RANDOM TOPIC SESSION. Aaaaand this random topic today is: CHEEEEEEZ! Cheese is made from sour milk, combined with rennet, then heated to high temperatures. It is then wrapped loosely and stored in an open-air place, with the air being cool and dry. And you know what happens next: it turns stinky and mold grows on it =o
For more information go to: www.cheese.com

What has two sides to it: both so different, like positive and negative, light and dark, yet both sides are part of the same whole? A coin. And people too. Hmm how can I put this..?
He/she has many friends, and is genuinely sociable, funny, and enjoyable to be around. But when confronted with someone that person does not know or does not feel comfortable with, they react with an unexpected hostility. Many people are like this, perhaps unknowingly. But try melding those two sides together, into a perfect sphere, and see what blossoms from that.
(If you don't know the people/person I am referring to, good =D)


Why, how, and when, do we grow up, to be mature? Society bounds us by laws and traditions, that one becomes an adult when they turn 16, or 18, depending on location. But when do we REALLY grow up? When, as they say, lose our innocence? When we realize that life ain't all its cracked up to be? Why? Because we must, to provide for our families, to realize a sense of understanding. How? As we encounter a life or death situation, or the passing of a loved one? Or any profound disaster, really.
Our parents influence that growth, too. They push us to become that doctor, or lawyer, ignoring our own dreams and repasts. They do it because themselves in us, so that if we become that surgeon, they will too. But we aren't them. Two pieces of a completely new and different whole. We search our own calling through the years, to seek and forge our own path, and along it, come to an understanding.

Society demands that we abide by their laws, and provide for society itself. But we are allowed to follow our own dreams, our ways, as long as in doing so it does not encroach on others'.

Now as for coming to an understanding that life is crappy, here are two quotes:
1. Life sucks. And then you die.
2. There are only two things certain in life: death and taxes.
So with such a gloomy outlook on things, what is there to hope for? (Of course we have religion and an after-life, hopefully, but asides that) What comes after life? Just death? If we have nothing to look forward, then we might as well eat, drink and be merry right? WRONG
*When does a man die? Is it when he's shot in the heart with a pistol? NO
When he's stricken with a deadly disease? NO
When he eats soup made from a deadly mushroom? NO
Its when he is forgotten.*
Contribute to society. Make a BANG and make your mark! Don't let others forget you; make it so man will see in a whole new light, so that we can reach ever-more attainable heights. Let the people around you be influenced by you, (in the good way of course) shine brightly and let that light reflect long and far down the path of humanity, so that others can see that flame flicker still.

And so what if life sucks? Make it so your life DOESN'T suck! That's your job, to make your life, and those around you somewhat more bearable, so that you can die fat and happy. (by fat i mean well-fed not obese)


**With apologies to Eiichiro Oda (Altho' I doubt he's gonna read this =o)

A Dark Cloud Over 2009

Well I refused to get one, to sign up. To give in to peer pressure, to succumb to the crowds, but, my friend got me a Facebook. -.-
Since I caved that easily, I wonder how well I'll do to alcohol, drugs, and tobacco...

Annnnnd... Hurray! Next week is finals... And my teachers are giving so much homework this week, eeeyaaaagggh. On the bright side, I don't have to go to karate. ^^

I should start from the beginning, eh? Well after New Year's and a couple days later, I rejoined school. Where I felt nauseous and tired due to my internal clock used to sleeping at 12 AM and waking up at 12 PM, now suddenly moved to 10 PM and 7 AM... D=
To make matters worse, the days were dark, gloomy, and cloudy. (Of course after that it rained and then the sun broke today, but let me pout, OK?) And of course, the homework load...

I'm a fucking bastard. Reminiscing about 6th grade, I remember Anirudh Ramesh. I remember how mean I was to him, how I used him as a scapegoat for my frustration. How he tried to fit in yet we rejected him. How we scorned him, with no retaliation.
And I remember Akash, whom I hadn't defended from the teacher. Mrs. Hamstra actually "attacked" him about being a bully and to stop picking on other kids. But he wasn't a bully, not in the least. He broke down, crying. And I just sat there and watched, too chicken to defend a friend.
I'm also a stupid jack-ass, so foolish about the real world. I believe just knowing will get you ahead, that life is easy. What an idiot I am. The actual world, sure you know about it, but until you've experienced the real thing, it's like an epiphany, how cruel and sadistic life really is.
You can have it all, then lose it the next second. You are promoted, and then your company closes. You finally make friends, then you move. You can meet your true love, and she is killed.

And looking back at my previous post, yeah, its like really stupid-sappy. But I try to drive home this one thing: Hope. You can bomb a city, level its buildings, torture its citizens. But as long as they have this one thing, they will continue to try and live. They will grow and survive. What is this? Hope.
And what, may I ask, inspires you to continue trying, to hope?











But for me, sometimes Life is beyond hope. . .

Strut your stuff: Head held high, chin up, chest out: BE PROUD!

Yes, my title sounds like an excerpt from a sappy motivational book, I know. But as we resume school again (sadly) we're getting down, funked up, in the blues...

We're afraid of limits, of reaching the impossible, or trying and failure, of shame and humiliation, the laughter and embarrassment.

We dream of striving the unattainable, of grasping the extents of imagination, and turning it into reality; the hopes and thoughts of a philosopher, meshed and mixed, churned into life.

So, come on, as they say in Disney Channel "EXPRESS YOURSELF!" (LOL to that XD but you get my drift, I hope)
Break the constraints of your mind, unleash that inner spirit, be different! Don't go with the flow, make your own.


HOW?!


Don't be shut up all the time, let what you've got out! Not only with friends, to all those near and around you, let that infectious spirit tide over all. Like seeds in fertile soil, it'll germinate and grow. It can infect and spread, shedding laughter and joy everywhere, breaking the monotony of the cycle of life.

Take a deep breath, and close your eyes. See in that vision of imagination, and inspire those around you. Sing in the rain, help a stranger, hang out with different people, get out of your circle of familiarity! Heck, throw off your clothes and dance under moonlight! (OK scratch that last part; the police will fine you for misorderly conduct)

As we enter 2009, unleash those shackles, and let it all out.

So. Strut your stuff: Head held high, chin up, chest out and about, and let that inner music ring.