The Next Level

Tonight, Bella and I were at the Happiness Equals Bracket Headquaters (let us pretend, for a moment, that this is an actual building and not our home computers haha), excitedly discussing the future of our blog.

We decided it was time. Time to take it to the next level...

Happiness Equals Bracket is going international!

Okay, just kidding. =P

We are, in fact, on Facebook now!

Click here to join the Happiness Equals Bracket facebook group. =)

There you'll get more regular updates of our interesting experiences, news about our monthly projects, pictures and videos and the opportunity to interact with us and each other!

Can you imagine the possibilities?

Being able to share articles, pictures, videos, anything that made you smile! Sharing something interesting that happened to you today or someone new you met. I am absolutely faint from the endless possibilities!

Because, in the end, that's what it's all about. Happiness Equals Bracket isn't about Bella or me or our super awesome, non-existent Headquaters.

It's about you guys. =)

So, always remember, Happiness Equals Bracket. =)

January Project: Flash Serenade!

Today, Bella, I and a group of our readers and friends embarked on an epic journey. One that would take us through parks, harbours, food courts, trains and, most of all, lots and lots of fun. =)

For our January Project, we decided to organise a "flash serenade" to bring a smile to the people of Sydney. What is a "flash serenade" you might ask?

Well, it includes walking up to a stranger, asking for their name, music starting to pump from no-where and surrounding the person whilst dancing and shimmy-ing to "Hey Mickey". OH! And we can't forget the spirit fingers, an integral part of "flash serenading" haha! =D

Some of the SMILE-LIGHTS from today include:

=) "Strategically" planting ourselves around the park so the dance would seem more spontaneous. This ended up with us all crouching behind a building hahaha.

=) Our first serenadee, a nice young man, who started dancing along with us - shimmying and shaking and spirit fingers and all!

=) When one of our serenadees started running away and we had to dance and run at the same time to keep up. Persistence paid off! We got a smile from him in the end haha. =)

=) When we serenaded these two tall, strong guys and, half-way through, one of them picked up Roy, threw him over his shoulder and carried him away. Safe to say, Roy did not find this funny but the rest of us sure did. =P

=) Serenading a lady who was feeding her baby in a pram. Mid-way into the song she turned the pram around to face us and we seriously thought she was going to run us over in a bid to escape. It turned out she was just turning the pram so her baby could watch us - much to our relief and happiness haha!

=) An elderly couple who clapped and cheered whilst we danced and, when we passed them later in Darling Harbour, proudly wore the Happiness Equals Bracket badge that we gave to serenadees.

=) When Bella thought a bird pooped on her hair and we started exclaiming "It's so white and goopy and gross!" and "It's absorbing into your hair, Bella!" She frantically went to the toilet and began soaping her hair and washing it out in the sink, looking a little ridiculous with her wet, crazy hair haha. I'm sorry to tell you this, Bella, but there was no bird poop to start with. =P

=) Our first Homo public-transportus serenadee! He was listening to his iPod stony-facedly in the carriage before we tapped him on the shoulder and gave him the serenade of his life. His name was Raymond and we asked him if he suspected our antics. He had.

Apparently, huddling-in-the-corner-with-speakers looks quite suspicious.

=) Following Raymond out of the train station to serenade his friend, Howard, Happiness Equals Bracket style! Howard looked kinda embarrassed but he seemed to enjoy the "You Are Beautiful" badge which we gave him at the end.

Wherever you are out there, Howard, always remember... You. Are. Beautiful!

=) Our last serenade of the day, Costa. We put all our energy into it and even people along the train carriage started watching, laughing and smiling. =) When we went to the next carriage, a guy there even applauded our performance! =))

So, thank you everyone who participated!

A big, big thank you to all our friends who danced and made today so fun - Alex, Helen, Kelly, Ling, Neil, Paul, Raymond and Roy - and to Bella for the awesome choreography!

And we can't forget our beautiful serenadees. If you're reading this, I hope you enjoyed our dance and that we brought a smile to your face. Thank you for taking the time to watch us and for confirming just how nice and wonderful Sydney-siders are! =))

Stay in tune for the videos from today and for future opportunities to bring smiles to people!

And always, ALWAYS remember, Happiness Equals Bracket. =)

Hey Stranger, You're-So-Fine...

Dear endless-cyberspace-that-is-the-internet, guess what?
It's not too late to sign up for January project! It's dancing, singing, laughing, and a whole lot of making people smile (we hope anyway!) - so if you think you can handle that difficult, difficult task, email us at happinessequalsbracket@gmail.com!

And particularly to those people that regularly support this blog, but have never done anything publicly or out there before, we really would like you to join us! The more people, the merrier - and while it might not save lives, you personally get to experience what its like to make a complete stranger smile. Warm fuzzy feeling, it is. Trust us on that one.

Think you aren't brave enough? Think you can't sing OR dance? Think you'll just self-destruct and take down every surrounding person with you in a tangle of limbs? It doesn't matter at all, we still want you to come help us bring some smiles into the world.

And if you can't participate in this project, send us an email anyway! HEP always has more things on the line, so we'll call on you to take part in other projects down the track.

Something inspiring strike you in the shower? Have an epiphany on the way to school? Do you have a good article, story or post to share? Did something on this blog make you think, cringe or smile? You know what to do - but I'll repeat it anyway. Because I like repeating things. Shoot an email to happinessequalsbracket@gmail.com, and we'll do our best to publish it on this blog.

The most important thing to know is that this blog isn't about me and Lindy at all, really. While we could post angsty, angry rants on this blog (oh could we), we realised it won't make anyone happy in the end - particularly not the people reading it! This blog about you, the reader, and how you feel about life. It's about us, the teenagers of this world who want to do our part and share the best parts of living with everyone else.

Do you hear that? I think it's my cue to leave. Just remember, deadline for January project by night time 18th January so tell us quick! The title of this post is a hint...

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

January's Best Kept Secret..

Hello and happy new year!

I'm sorry it's been a while since my last post. Rest assured though, I've been busy and productive! Oh, just the usual you know... soul searching, being a superhero by night, nothing out of the ordinary.

And, of course, planning for the upcoming Happiness Equals Bracket January Project. ;)

This year, Bella and I have decided we want to include you, our readers, in more of our projects. The more the merrier, right?

So, does becoming a silhouette and jumping in front of a bright coloured background in a lush field of grass and butterflies appeal to you? Are you lured by the temptations of excitement and adventure? Is this beginning to sound like a really bad advertisement?

Well, this is your lucky day then! Because, for the low, low price of... okay I'm just kidding haha. A joke to start off the year and lighten things up. :)

So if you have a little spare time these holidays, why not take this chance to do something new, have a lot fun and get to know other people? We promise lots of excitement, adventure, jumping in front of bright backgrounds and, of course, plenty of smiling .

If you're interested, just send an email to (you guessed it) happinessequalsbracket@gmail.com or comment and we'll talk you through more details! You won't regret it. :)

Keep checking back for more details because Bella and I are determined to make this one of our best projects yet!

As always, Happiness Equals Bracket. =)

Your Happy Hikers

It's Happiness Equals Bracket's first post of the new year! Welcome to what we promise will be a year filled with happiness and excitement! Hopefully 2011 will be as big as the fireworks display I spent 15 (non-stop) minutes filming with a heavy camera - clearly I was fitting in some weight training as the new year came in. Happy New Year everybody :)

You may not all know, but Lindy and I went to New Zealand December last year (I can't believe it was technically last year) to spend five days hiking and living it tough like real women, and five days after that of necessary recuperation and very necessary shopping. I'm not going to lie - it was tough. But it was also an experience in my life that I will always remember, and remember with a smile.

There's something about walking everyday until your legs ache, sleeping knowing the stars are right outside your tent.

There's something about sweating and struggling to climb a mountain, only to be rewarded with a view of every thing beneath. There's something about seeing undisturbed rolling hills as far as the eye can stretch, and impossibly beautiful lakes. It's a good something.

It's a happy something.

Lindy and I tried so many things during that hike which we had never, ever thought we'd ever try. We drank actual real spring water from a waterfall (water never tasted so delicious - I almost thought there was MSG in it)

Not only that, we met people all over the world - Belgian, French, Israeli, English. They weren't all young and they certainly weren't all the same, but they all shared a love for adventure and a belief in simple pleasures.

To achieve true happiness is something that always sounded deep, complex and mysterious to me - but I wonder if being truly happy is very simple.

When I think happiness now, I think back to trudging tiredly into our huts after walking 16km with heavy backpacks - but still having the energy to cheer with everybody else. Huddling close in the rain and shivering - but having friends to huddle with in the first place. Enjoying a hot meal. Running wildly in the long grass and feeling exhilarated and free.

They were all smilelights Lindy and I had, and they were great.

Another great thing was the loveliness of our whole section - the girls section - the cool section :D

There were points in the hike where we were all tired, annoyed and stretched to the end of our limits. But never did anyone give up or complain, and people shouted encouragement continuously. Whenever a hand was needed to climb that step or jump over that gap, it was there. Thank you to all the girls, and Mrs Billing for that. It made everything a million and one times better!

We could probably go on and on and on about this trip.... longer than you'd want to read. But it's enough for now to share our memories and thoughts with all you special people out there. After all, we'll keep working hard....

searching for answers....

...posing our best...

... always on the quest to bring another smile into the world! So these holidays keep safe and enjoy the simple things in life - chilling with friends, being able to laze around whenever you like, tiramisu, all the good stuff in life. Because it's the simple, good stuff that makes us happy.

From your deepest admirers,

Lindy and Bella

Remember, Happiness Equals Bracket