Mysterious As The Dark Side Of...

The moooooooooooon! Brownie points to whoever knows that song. :)

I just wanted to share with you all a wonderful day I had in the holidays (which seems terribly long ago now). It started out as just an average Autumn day. I was in the city garnering interest for Cranes for Hope from some local Japanese restaurants. 

But life always ends up surprising you. You know what they say though... the best prize is a sur-prise! (I know you guys look forward to my cheesy, corny lines so here you go! Plenty more where that came from.)

Some smile-lights included...

I cooked this! Just kidding, Google cooked this.

=)   The chef of one Japanese restaurant who was actually from Thailand. I think you can imagine my excitement when I found this out - you know how in cartoons when a character's eyes turn into $$ signs? Well, my eyes turned into big plates of "Pad Thai." I kid you not.

We ended up talking for half an hour about his journey to Australia as a kid and how he ended up working in a Japanese restaurant. I walked out with a hand-written recipe for "Pad Thai" clutched protectively in my hand and a huge smile on my face. Amen for Pad Thai, sister!

=)  Two Cancer Council volunteers I met outside Wynyard Station. Dave was from England (England, I say! Hold yourselves back, ladies) and Adam had only graduated from high school last year. 

Somehow, I ended up teaching them how to fold cranes. This turned into a 15-minute affair full of jokes and distractions - especially when a leggy blonde walked by and Dave completely zoned out. I then broke into song about how I'd make a man out of him and then we all started dancing in sync and people on the street gasped at our singing and dancing prowess! No, not really but wouldn't it be great if that actually happened? One day my life shall be a musical!

In the end, I was actually kind of sad to leave them and we parted with a warm and fuzzy hug. I then rode off into the sunset on my gallant horse whilst singing "The hills are alive with the sound of music!" And they certainly were!

Say hello to my new backyard.

=)  When I went to get my phone fixed (let us call the brand of my phone "Grape") at the Grape Store in Sydney, I began to joke around with the people working there. They turned out to be amazingly relaxed and, when I asked what sort of things they did together after work, they told me that they had a "gigantic life-sized monopoly board out back" and that they had to get "specially-made gigantic die" to complement it. I became faint just thinking of the possibilities!

Now, I want to share with you guys a deep dark secret of mine...

I actually get really really nervous and scared when I'm meeting new people. 

It's true - I am indeed a big pansy. I have the sweaty palms to prove it (and my ears also do this weird thing where they go really hot and red - I call this my "tomato" look, it's very popular with the guys). 

I worry whether I'll say something completely dumb or blurt out something random by accident. Or whether they'll think I'm creepy for talking to them or they just won't want to talk to me. Or whether they'll just laugh at me for my tomato-red ears.

Every time I've talked to someone new though, they've never cared that my ears go really red or that I start babbling gibberish when I'm nervous. Every person I've ever met has actually been really interesting and has always taught me something. Like behind every person - young or old, from England or Thailand, red ears or no red ears - they've always had a story to share.

Now, by no means am I saying go and talk to random strangers. Stranger danger, kids, stranger danger! But don't not talk to someone or not do something simply because you're scared of rejection or you're scared of failure. 

Next time you're scared, think of this: "20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than the things you did do." And then do it. With all the strength of a raging fire.

You'll live. I promise. 

And always remember, Happiness Equals Bracket =)

Case Study: Transporting Ourselves

There’s a new group of people emerging from the ashes of physical transportation - a group that has established its unique behaviour, dead-pan expression and seat-selecting rituals. More frightening to approach than my mother chasing a cockroach, this group is robotic, uncaring and relentless. Yet frighteningly enough, they integrate into society so well, nobody has noticed their existence.

Who are they?

I like to call them Homo public-transportus (Homo portus for short. It just has a ring to it, don’t you think?). Every week on the train to school, I glance around sneakily from my magazine, and observe them in their natural environment.

Homo portus’ natural facial expression is one of utmost boredom or detachment, and Homo portus’ speech patterns have rarely been noted; conversation seems to be non-existent when travelling with them. Typical Homo portus behavior includes dabbling continuously on sleek, black iPods, indifferently gazing out windows to the graffiti-ed train tunnels beyond, eagerly pressing against the automated doors when they release their occupants.

Most importantly, members of Homo portus avoid eye-contact, smiling or general mingling at all costs.

Woe to the Homo portus who dares to approach another.

To my horror, after years of taking public transport, I found myself becoming more and more detached to people around me – exhibiting clear Homo public transportus tendencies, in fact. I know that Lindy and i have touched on this issue before, but it seems more obvious in the summer holidays (although not because I'm so popular I take public transport all the time. Hah, I wish.)

Spending hours a week in a metal box with fellow humans from the same race (I double-checked), you would think our paths are bound to cross. Unfortunately, it seems the twenty-first century golden rule of ‘Mind your own business unless I expressedly invite you’ discourages any form of human bonding, and it takes a strong shot of courage to begin a simple conversation with a stranger.

There is something very wrong when finding a smile in a trainful of people becomes akin searching for an earring in a wardrobe of clothes. Or searching for something manly in a large pile of manly things. Is it so difficult these days to find a smile somewhere within ourselves? Have we become so closed off that we miss opportunities to connect with each other?

Is keeping strictly to ourselves really the best way to live in a less-than-united world?

Sure, the world is a witch’s brew of awful disasters, pain and thorns - but we forget the overwhelming good still exists. Friends who support, family who love, people who give. In the words of Leonardo Di Caprio’s Inception character Dom Cobb: “Positive emotion trumps negative emotion every time.” So there - it must be true.

A few days ago I stepped over the gap between the platform and the land of Homo public-transportus, donned my earphones and settled in for an uneventful train trip.

Then an elderly man with kind, crinkled eyes took the available seat next to mine. Clearly not of the iPod-owning, facebook/twitter-spamming generation, he sent a benevolent smile my way and engaged me in conversation. The Homo portus part of me was outraged – how dare he barge into my boredom! - but the more humane part was strangely curious.

We were not exactly the best-matched kindred spirits - he enthusiastically talked about his small grandchildren, I hesitantly brought up the stresses of high school. However despite our differences, it was liberating to be able to share experiences, thoughts and life with a complete stranger.

"As long as you find somebody to share your life with - friend, relative or partner - you don't need much else," he said. "What material thing could possibly be better than having a person there with you every step of the way?"

Needless to say, I had no comeback for that. Unless you count the really bad ones roaming my head.

When he arrived at his station, he said farewell the old-fashioned way - a hand shake and tick from his hat. I was quite sad to see him go.

But he gave me a glimmer of hope that perhaps Homo Public Transportus may be after all, just a made-up race.

Always Remember, Happiness Equals Bracket =)

NB: Image from www.advantagemarketingsolutions.com

The Colour Purple

Did you know that a strange thing that happens in December? No, Lindy and I don't start dancing and pulling out the moves in public - we actually do that every week haha :D But the strange thing is the streets are invaded, the pathways overhung and the lawns strung and not many people notice at all. Which worries me - what happens if a zombie invasion decides to happen D:?

Luckily the thing that's taken over our streets isn't a brain-sucking monster. It's something very different - the jacaranda tree.

Until now, I've barely noticed this tree. Why would I? It's ugly (I'm sorry xD), nondescript and they all look very boring in their non-flowering form. Nobody really picks out jacarandas in the rest of year.

But come summer, suddenly you can't walk fifty metres without a purple branch raining flowers on your head - no joke! Everywhere you walk there's purple littered on the ground and honestly, I think it's beautiful.

I've noticed the trees are sometimes completely different - black trunk, white trunk, skinny branches, fat branches, you name it. But they all have the same gorgeous purple flowers. Some people find them annoying, but everytime I see a jacaranda true, it's like someone is waving at me!

Because it reminds me that you don't have be to beautiful from the start to shine, and that, if you're patient, there is a time for you. It reminds me that there is beauty in the most unexpected of places, and to appreciate it.

Someone once told me "You know Christmas is coming when the world turns purple." And it's true! I hope everybody has a great, great Christmas filled with candy and presents and sweetness and goodness and candy haha!

Sadly Lindy and I are leaving for New Zealand on Saturday and won't be back until Monday the week after, so we're going on hiatus. But expect us to be back stronger, bigger and better armed with our best smiles :)

And I know you'll miss us dearly, but try not to cry too much - tissues are getting expensive these days.

So next time you walk past a great big flowering tree with its shock of purple flowers, give it a hug from me! Or you more enthusiastic tree-huggers can go hug a less pretty, blackened tree.

Because we never judge a tree by it's trunk!

Happiness Equals Bracket =)

We're Falling Apart, So Let's Dance

Hey everybody :) It's been pretty quiet lately and Lindy and I apologise if we've neglected you! But the sad fact of life is that every now and then, these awful things called exams come up.

It was James Ruse Food Fair yesterday and there were the mingling smells of chinese/indian

/korean cuisine everywhere - heaven! In fact I would have been completely

relaxed and prepared to enjoy myself if it wasn't for a life-threatening situation. I was set to perform in a dance to the general public with my crew (such a cool word) . The problem was that we hadn't even finished half of it.

I might be dramatising but let me just say that embarrassing yourself in public is not fun - and this is coming from someone who once tripped on stage in front of an audience of 500. Unless you have the steel balls of a dumbbell, we all fear trying, and failing in front of people who will judge us for it. So I was genuinely worried this incomplete dance which we'd stupidly left to last minute was going to ruin my day.

We spent the 4 hours leading up to our performance practising and choreographing. Yes we improved, but mostly everyone just got sweatier, tired and crankier.

Finally it was 20 minutes to dance time, and I was still completely clueless about a lot of parts. Even though the crowd had died down, there were people out there - people I knew - who were going to see me fail. And to cheer things up, it was raining.

But you know in the midst of all that worrying, I forgot the most important thing of all. And I have to specially mention Dennis Lam, who reminded me before we went on why we started dancing.

"It doesn't matter if we dance well or not. If you don't know it, make it up! As long as we have fun with it, nothing else counts."

And he was right - we forgot that dancing is meant to be a joy! An expression of how music moves us - literally haha.

What did we do? We walked out in the rain, and the music started playing - and we danced.

I have no idea what we did (I may have pulled out some macarena moves) but we laughed and spun and ... danced!

It was exhilirating, and honestly the most fun I have ever had performing anything in my life.

So the lesson to me (and maybe you) is fear is something that stops you from living life properly.

It doesn't matter what other people think of you - Marilyn Monroe once said, "If people can't accept me at my worse, they sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."

One thing that made me smile incredibly was how the year 11's still braved sitting in the rain to cheer us on and support us even though it was not the best conditions, or the best dance.

So thanks to them, and to the crew Jess, Dennis, Merry, Ean, Ray: It didn't look like Step Up 2 BUT YAY WE DID IT!

Here's the link if you can want to see how we danced. Be warned.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=455894441910

Always remember, Happiness Equals Bracket

Hope is Like an Orange

Hello, SlinkyLindy and Bellafella here! Just on a break from our tiring mission of saving the world, a smile at a time :D
Okay, just kidding. I think Lindy would kill me if I actually called her slinky Lindy HAHA. You didn't hear it from me.

Anyway, this post is just a selection of quotes and things that always seem to give me a little ball of hope, even when its raining and I have a disgusting cold, and that special boy glared at me on the bus, and I have almost given up on ever attaining true wisdom at school.

I'd thought I'd share this around, because hope is like vitamin C - when it's not there, you'll get horribly sick. But you will never, EVER have too much of it :)

BELLA'S LIST SHE HOPES YOU'LL READ

"All of us are in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" - Oscar Wilde

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and good things never die."

"When the world says 'Give up', Hope whispers "Try it one more time." - Anon

"Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have is not permanent" -Jean Kerr

- Watch The Shawshank Redemption. There's a reason why it's top of the 'Best Movies EVER' list!

- Go on http://www.givesmehope.com. I should think the title was obvious :)

And the last thing that gives me hope is you! All you guys who actually read the crazy things Lindy and I blog about, honestly it is the most heartwarming thing ever. When we started this blog we hoped people would read it, but we never expected all this support, and it just keeps us going :) So thank you!


Lindy is going to reveal ALL about our October project later tonight... prepare to be shocktobered!

Remember that hope is like Vitamin C, or hope is like an orange ... without it you get sick, but you can never have too much.

And of course, Happiness Equals Bracket =)

We've Got the Blues

It's that time when summer is hiding around the corner, and everyday it gets little bit more sunnier and humid. Sometimes it's nice to just sit in the sun and soak up that lovely warmth - oh and I feel obliged to tell you not to forget the sunscreen kids, not risking any lawsuits right now :D

But how strange that only a month ago the weather was chilly and cold, the wind unfriendly and biting.

Things change quickly, don't they?

And the weather may be nice, but October is also another month:
Beyond Blue Anxiety and Depression Month!

The aim of Happiness Equals Bracket is for people to feel happier in a sad world. But sometimes to achieve that aim, we have to understand the enemy >:[ And depression is definitely a serious enemy.
It's easy to forget about mental illnesses because we all learnt about it in PE and it's not exactly as dramatic a disease as cancer.

Yet how many of you know it's likely someone you know, maybe even know well, suffers from depression?
Depression is a very real illness, and like any other illness it can be cured, but often we don't pick up the signs until it's too late.

And unlike a cold, depression can kill. Suicide is now the 3rd leading cause of death in 15-24yr olds. Yep, that's us.
I really wish I didn't have to refer you guys to this website, it's not a very happy one. But I read this every week and wonder how many of these people could have been saved, because we can actually help.
www.sixbillionsecrets.com
The beyond blue website has a lot of good advice, but the most important thing is to listen, support and let them talk to someone professional. The scary thing is that depression is so easy to hide. What if you just don't know how they feel?

I don't pretend to be an expert at this, but I know that sometimes things really, really suck. And when they're bad I just want someone to care, even if they don't realise they're doing it. It's worth remembering though, that like the weather, life WILL go from cold and stormy to beautiful and balmy xD!
And no matter how black the night is, dawn always comes.

So here's the simple task for you guys! It's easy and obvious - smile!And that kid that everybody picks on at school and in class? Don't. Becuase you might do more harm than you think.

I'll leave you guys with a story I read recently.

A man climbed onto a major bridge and, intending to commit suicide, jumped and fell to his death. People expressed their shock and regretted that there was nothing they could do to save him - he had jumped so quickly!
Later that day, police were going through his papers when they spotted a note. It said:
I'm walking to the bridge. If one person smiles at me, I won't jump.

Happiness Equals Bracket =)

Knock knock, who's there?

Since I was lazy and left fundraising for this year's 40 hour famine to the last moment possible, yesterday I scrunched up my courage and desperately pulled out my last resort: doorknocking.

Let me say that doorknocking to raise money is not for the faint-hearted - when standing behind a screen door, even the smallest kids suddenly seem tall and intimidating, not to the mention the adults that peer at you suspicuously through the mesh screens. And yes, there are ruthless people who will close the door in your face. Yes, even my irrestible baby face :(

Luckily the hills area is the nicest area in the world, and I only dealt with one or two of those. People usually took an interest and donated $3 - $5 and one friendly man even gave me TEN DOLLARS, which sent me ecstatically skipping down his driveway LOL. No wonder people looked at me strangely.

But I'd like to tell you about one of the last houses I came to, as the light began fading and my feet began dragging. The asian women who answered the door listening to my spiel patiently, but then gestured to the old man in a wheelchair behind her.

'This is a disabled household and I just work here. We have no money.'

I went pretty red in the face and apologised before turning to leave. Then a frail voice from behind the door told me to wait.
It was the old man, who looked at me intently before asking the woman to bring him an envelope from his room.
'My daughter told me to use this well,' he said, hands trembling as he handed the envelope to me. 'And I hope I am.' After that he suddenly wheeled back and the woman bade me goodbye before shutting the door.

I waited til I walked back to the main street before tearing open the envelope. And when I saw the contents, I almost cried.
It was a fifty dollar note.

Giving to others despite your own circumstances - that's something that definitely makes people smile, and I really learnt something from the actions of one old disabled man.

Did you?

Remember, Happiness Equals Bracket =)

'Do you know how big a javelin is?'

I'm not sure about you, but I'm an keeper not a thrower.

I absolutely hate throwing out all my old possessions - you never know when you might 'need' that 2007 english exam paper one day! And how could I throw away my Hello Kitty sharpener? Clearly it's of a timeless value.

So I was looking through my drawers, which is always interesting since it's an odd jumble of things I've kept over the years, when I found my old diaries.

Every year since high school began, I've kept a detail of my everyday experiences and thoughts. I really should have grown out of that phase along with ponies and barbies, but even now I still keep a glossy book titled 'JOURNAL' on the desk - and no sir, you may NOT read it xD

But out of all the things we throw out, I realised memories tend to end up tangled in there too, because no matter how smart we are, theres always something we'll forget.

When I opened the page of my year 7 diary, I started reading and then couldn't stop laughing, so I'd like to share a few excerpts with you guys. Please don't judge me LOL.

1/1/05
New Years Resolutions
1) Learn to like sport
2) Stop hunching over
3) Make friends in high school
4) Find a witch or wizard (they must exist!!)
5) Stop growing so tall

31/1/05
I HATE HIGH SCHOOL. Dad took me to school and I stared at the gates of James Ruse, feeling a bit like kindergarten six years ago. There was this thing called rollcall, then we filed into the lecture theatre and Mr. G, our year advisor waved a porfolio around and went on and on. Thankfully he soon stopped.
But guess what? FOUR pieces of homework to do when I got home. On the FIRST day! Are they crazy???

14/3/05
On Monday we had to run 1.6 km in 10 minutes. Take that, person who said JR was a bad sports school! I hope we don't have to do it next term because it was painful. But generally speaking, yesterday was the worst day of my life. Mrs C my asian maths teacher caught me 'talking' and yelled out 'DETENTION!'in front of the whole class. My first ever! So I made a pack with my friends to see who could stay 'good' the longest. More than two forgotten homeworks or detentions, and you are subject to dares!!!

P.S do you know how big a javelin is? I found out in sport. It is huge!

12/4/06
We have CAMP! We're going to Visions Valley to do fun, sporty things tomorrow and my group is going to own them. I can't wait for tomorrow! While the rest of the school is slaving away, we're going to be having fun. SUCKERS!


19/10/06
Something really embarrassing happened. I was leaning back on my chair when I lost my balance and reached out to grab something - only to flail wildly and go down in a painful and ungraceful manner. What's embarassing was it happened right in front of Tyson, Richard, Nick and William! My face was on fire and I heard Tyson say 'Bella is so unco.' HAHA as if I am.

----------
I think I'll stop here and although I could go on for quite a while I'm not sure you guys want me to haha! It's really embarrasing to read, but it definitely made me smile.

Did you keep a diary in year 7, or a blog? Maybe you should start a journal now, because not only is it good mental therapy, imagine your forty-year-old self laughing back at how silly you once were.

Happiness Equals Bracket =)

It Gives Me Hope.

I have to admit, one of those sites that always make me laugh is www.fmylife.com because when things aren't going that great, listening to other people's funny misfortunes somehow cheers me up. Yes i know, what a sadistic person I am, fee-fi-fo-fum! :)

On the other hand though, the fact that so many people in the world think their life is such a mess makes me wonder if there is any hope for anyone at all to live happily? And while I'm sure there's a few of you that already know about this one, it made my day when I discovered quite literally the opposite of FML (thank you Nayoung!):

http://www.givesmehope.com

It's not as funny, and I'm not sure if it makes me smile either (shock! horror!). But there's something else about this site - something brimming with emotion that makes me come back to it again and again.

Anyway, it's worth having a click so if you feel like a break from your 4 hours of maths homework (which I'm sure you've all been doing).
Some of my favourite GMH:

-I'm a doctor.

Across the ward from me, a young couple was told that their baby would have down syndrome.

The lady goes "Did you hear that? Our baby is going to be perfect'.

Couples like that GMH

- To the man who stopped me from jumping: THANK YOU!

You stopped me from ending everything on the night I received word my fiance was killed in action. 6 years later, and I'm marrying you tomorrow.

Tommy, your being there and loving me in spite of how messed up I was GMH.

- Today, I went to In-N-Out with my friends like we do every week.

The cashier I always see took my order: a drink. He handed me my receipt, and wrote on it.

"Please eat something. You're beautiful and should stop doing this to yourself."

He noticed what I was doing when no one else did. He GMH.

* * *

Sometimes life is amazing. It really is.
And I realised just being able to wake up everyday should put a smile on my face =) Hopefully it does the same for you!

Remember, Happiness Equals Bracket =)