Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Little Ol' Quixote Me

Having eaten at plenty of Chinese restaurants over the years, and being an avid reader of anything with words on it, including placemats, I knew that my Chinese zodiac sign was the Rooster.

But it had never occurred to me that I am, indeed, very rooster-ish. I stumbled across a website yesterday: chingoracle.com. What I found was an eerily spot-on description of me:

"The Rooster is the Don Quixote of the Chinese cycle. It is the intrepid hero who needs to keep its feet firmly on the ground. In order to survive, it's the most eccentric and misunderstood of all the signs. From the outside, we see aggression and self-confidence but deep down, he or she is conservative and old-fashioned.

Those born in the Year of the Rooster, especially men, will be attractive, even really handsome. They are proud of their fine feathers and carry themselves well. You'll never see a listless Rooster. They are very dignified and even the most timid of the Rooster family will be elegant and will be noticed wherever he or she goes.

There are different types of Rooster: chatty ones (me) and solemn observers. It's difficult to deal with both. (Ouch!) The Rooster has many noticeable qualities and is shrewd, attractive, precise, organized, decisive, honest, on the ball and very frank. But he or she can also be brutally critical. Never ask a Rooster for his or her honest opinion as you may never get over the trauma! (Me? Never!)

Roosters love discussing and debating (to show just how intelligent they are) and sometimes don't respect others as they ought to. (Guilty.) When someone ruffles the Rooster's feathers, he or she becomes intolerable. Roosters are not cut out for diplomacy, so situations which demand tact, delicacy and discretion are difficult for them. They go around trying to convince others to think their way, with the zeal of a missionary. (Ouch, ouch, and triple ouch.)

A showy type, the Rooster loves being the center of attention (coughcough). He or she has an imposing personality and could work in a career in the public eye. Cheerful, lively and amusing, the magnificent Rooster never misses a chance to list his adventures and feats.


Looney Tunes (In)famous Foghorn Leghorn
Eloquent, Roosters have good verbal and written communication skills and are prepared to talk on any topic. If you want to challenge the Rooster to discuss a controversial topic, be ready for a long, hard battle: the Rooster is extraordinarily resistant."

Oh. My. God. Well, if nothing else, it's food for thought as I look back at 2010 and forward to 2011. Thank you to Andrew Rosenberg at The WriteRunner for getting the ball rolling in that direction. And thank you to chingoracle.com for dangling my idiosynchrosies in front of me.

As for 2011, the first six months I'll be focusing on poundage: letting go of 35 pounds and pounding out a 110,000 word manuscript. That's about 1 1/2 pounds a week and 600 words a day, both doable. Then, as a birthday present to myself on June 30th, I will be 35 pounds lighter and hold the first draft to my new bestseller!

What are you looking forward to in 2011?

"Every single life only becomes great when the individual sets upon a goal or goals which they really believe in, which they can really commit themselves to, which they can put their whole heart and soul into." ~ Brian Tracy

Here's to a brand new year, one in which we all get a little closer to that big brass ring.

~ Olivia J. Herrell

Public domain images courtesy of bing.com.

9 comments:

Roland D. Yeomans said...

I'm looking forward to Elliot Grace's book SOUTH OF CHARM being published. I'm looking forward to both you and me getting an agent. Hey, it's a possibility! Happy New Year, Roland

dolorah said...

"Never ask a Rooster for his or her honest opinion as you may never get over the trauma!"

Funny, but this is the only trait of the rooster I have in common with you Olivia.

That's OK; I still love you, cuz we compliment each other in other ways.

........dhole

Jules said...

I raise my glass to you and will cheer the rooster on. Stay away from KY roosters don't last long here :)

My best wishes for you in 2011 and a continuing cyber friendship
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Most interesting to read.

I wish you a Happy New Year.

Yvonne.

Olivia J. Herrell, writing as O.J. Barré said...

Roland, I'll second those!

Donna, are you a Rooster, too, then?? Hi Sis!

Jules, me too!

Yvonne, Happy New Year to you, too!

~Olivia

Kimber Leszczuk. said...

I am looking forward to continuing along on my journey to finally completing a college education. :)

I am going to have to see what that website says about a tiger.

The Words Crafter said...

I love..I say I love that Foghorn Leghorn! Roosters can also be fierce. We used to have them and you never want to tangle with them.

In my opinion, that's a good quality!

I hope your new year is even better than you could possibly dream of.

And, I have goodies on my blog for you!

Olivia J. Herrell, writing as O.J. Barré said...

Kimber, that's a great thing to be working toward, congratulations! Did you get any Tiger aha's from the website?

Words Crafter, yes! You know Foghorn! I hadn't thought about them being fierce, but now that you mention it I do remember them chasing us. Thanks for the goodies, you rock!

~ Olivia

Andrew Rosenberg said...

Thanks for the mention!

Those sound great.

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