What Year Is this ? The Year of the OX

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I'm not Asian, but I love anything and everything Asian! My absolute first thought on the New Year is "What Year is this accrding to the Chinese Calendar? and when is it?" I can't wait to find out!

If I'm online and thinking about it, zip I'm there looking it up. If I'm ordering out, the first question on the phone to the person who answers...What year is this?
You'd be surprised to know, there are a few Chinese people don't really follow this as closely as I do!

Ok...so are you ready?! 2009 is the year of the Ox! Aren't you excited! Jumping up and down! No..well I guess both of us need a little more to get us excited. First of all, the Chinese New Year is 26 January 2009 - 14 February 2010: Earth Ox. Just what does the Year of the Ox mean?

According to Wikipedia:


The Ox is thought to be the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work. The Ox is a power sign, like the Rat, Snake, Dragon, Tiger, and Monkey. They're quite dependable and possess an innate ability to achieve great things. As one might guess, such people are dependable, calm, and modest. Like their animal namesake, the Ox is unswervingly patient, tireless in their work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint.

Ox people, according to tradition, need peace and quiet to work through their ideas, and when they have set their mind on something it is hard for them to be convinced otherwise. An Ox person has a very logical mind and is extremely systematic in whatever they do, though they have a tremendous imagination and an unparalleled appreciation for beauty. These people speak little but are extremely intelligent. When necessary, they are articulate and eloquent.

Traditionally, people born under the influence of the Ox are thought to be kind, caring souls, logical, positive, filled with common sense and with their feet firmly planted on the ground. Security is their main preoccupation in life, and they are prepared to toil long and hard in order to provide a warm, comfortable and stable nest for themselves and their families. Strong-minded, stubborn, individualistic, the majority are highly intelligent individuals who don't take kindly to being told what to do.

The Ox, it is thought, works hard, patiently, and methodically, with original intelligence and reflective thought. These people enjoy helping others. Behind this tenacious, laboring, and self-sacrificing exterior lies an active mind.

The Ox, according to tradition, is not extravagant, and a modern interpretation of this is that the thought of living off credit cards or being in debt makes them nervous. The possibility of taking a serious risk could cause the Ox sleepless nights.

Ox people are truthful and sincere, and the idea of wheeling and dealing in a competitive world is distasteful to them. They are rarely driven by the prospect of financial gain. These people are always welcome in small gatherings because of their humble composure and reverent nature towards the host. They are reputed to be the most beautiful of face in the zodiac. They have many friends, who appreciate the fact that the Ox people are wary of new trends, although every now and then they can be encouraged to try something new. People born in the year of the Ox make wonderful parents and teachers of children.

It is important to remember that the Ox people are sociable and relaxed when they feel secure, but occasionally a dark cloud looms over such people and they engage all the trials of the whole world and seek solutions for them.

So all and all, it looks like 2009 may shape up to be a GREAT YEAR! Just a little hard work will work wonders this year!

Oh, BTW...the Chinese New Year is part of the Chinese Zodiac. Everyone was born under a different animal in the Chinese Zodiac. I'm a little miffed here, mine is the Rooster in some accounts and very rarely I find my birth year as the Dog. I really like the definition for the Dog the best, so I don't want to be a Rooster!

What is your animal sign in the Chinese Zodiac? Check it out here. Then post a comment with your sign!

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Are You a Fan of 'The Secret' by Rhonda Byrne?

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The Secret reveals the most powerful law in the universe. The knowledge of this law has run like a golden thread through the lives and the teachings of all the prophets, seers, sages and saviors in the world's history, and through the lives of all truly great men and women. All that they have ever accomplished or attained has been done in full accordance with this most powerful law.


The Secret is the law of attraction.

If you are a fan of this book and movie, you've been waiting for the next installment and here it is...The Compass. Now that you know The Secret, you certainly will need to know how to utilize The Compass!

Hear what Dr. Joe Vitale"Aude aliquid dignum" * Author of way too many books to mention,including the bestsellers "The Attractor Factor,""Life's Missing Instruction Manual" and ooohhhso many more, including the head spinner,"Zero Limits" and the mega-hit, "The Key." Star of the movies "The Secret," "The Opus,""Leap," "Try it On Everything" and now -- "The Compass", has to say about this new movie:

I *love* the movie, The Secret. I'm proud to be in it and glad to know it is still being seen across the globe by millions of people. But it's time for the next level. It's time for the next movie. And that movie comes out Feb. 10. It's called "The Compass." It's completely different than The Secret. Oh, it's inspiring, and compelling, but there's a story line in this one, and character, and an eye-opening message about your life.

Some movies can awaken and inspire and change you just by watching them. "The Compass" is that kind of movie. It points the new direction you need to take, to have the life you may have only so far dreamed about. It entertains while educating, and transforms you in the process."

You can see the trailer and pre-order the DVD at -- The Compass I'm in this movie, too. And so are a lot of other people; some you know,some you don't.

I predict this will be the greatest movie of current times, and will help transform the planet. It's all explained over at -- The Compass"

Go see -- and pre-order the DVD today.

Love, Joe PS -- The premier of "The Compass" will be Feb 8 inAnaheim, CA. I'll be there.

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Who Is The Man?

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...He's the one who knows what the women want! This can only describe our new President Barack Obama and his first Presidential signing of a bill. He's been in office for one week and is making his first official signing of a bill, one that has to do with Woman's rights.

WASHINGTON – Declaring that ending pay disparity is not just a women's issue, President Barack Obama signed legislation Thursday that gives workers more time to take their pay discrimination cases to court.

Lilly Ledbetter, the Alabama woman whose story was the impetus behind the new law, stood alongside Obama as he signed the first bill of his presidency. Also in the East Room of the White House were labor, women's, civil rights advocates and members of Congress for whom the bill was a priority.

"Equal pay is by no means just a women's issue, it's a family issue," Obama said. "And in this economy, when so many folks are already working harder for less and struggling to get by, the last thing they can afford is losing part of each month's paycheck to simple and plain discrimination."

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act effectively nullifies a 2007 Supreme Court decision that denied Ledbetter an opportunity for redress.

Ledbetter, 70, has said she did not learn about the sizable discrepancy in pay between her and her male co-workers until near the end of her 19-year career at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Ala. She sued, but the high court said in a 5-4 decision that she missed her chance to bring the action.

The court said a person must file a discrimination claim within 180 days of a company's initial decision to pay a worker less than another doing the same job.

Under the new law, each new discriminatory paycheck would extend the statute of limitations for an additional 180 days. That was the interpretation before the Supreme Court was asked to step in.

First lady Michelle Obama held a separate reception with Ledbetter in the State Dining Room just down the red-carpeted hallway from the earlier event. "She knew unfairness when she saw it, and was willing to do something about it because it was the right thing to do — plain and simple," Mrs. Obama said.

Ledbetter, who won't benefit from the legislation, said the richest reward is that the nation's daughters and granddaughters will have a better deal.

"That's what makes this fight worth fighting," Ledbetter said. "That's what made this fight one we had to win."

The Bush White House and Senate Republicans blocked the bill in the last session of Congress. But Obama strongly supported it — he talked often about Ledbetter during the presidential campaign — and the Democratic-controlled Congress made it a priority in its opening weeks.

Opponents contended the bill would gut the statute of limitations and benefit trial lawyers by encouraging lawsuits. They also argued that employees could wait to file claims in hopes of reaping larger damage awards.

Supporters said the bill does not change current law limiting back-pay awards to two years, so there would be no incentive to wait to file a claim.

Obama cited Census Bureau figures that show women still earn about 78 cents for every dollar men get for doing equivalent jobs, and it's even less for women of color. He said Ledbetter lost more than $200,000 in salary, and even more in pension and Social Security benefits.

The bill, which amends the 1964 Civil Rights Act, also applies to discrimination based on factors such as race, religion, national origin, disability or age.

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