TO merely “bounce” is just a passive response. To “pounce,” on the other hand, is an act that involves both force and will.
For Kara Mae Noveda, Jad Bantug and Cilee Kuizon (the three are people who were born on the Year of the Tiger), they just want this year to rock out for the better. According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of the Tiger commenced on Feb. 14 and will end on Feb. 2 of next year.
The first one, Kara, is no stranger to the ever-consistent reader of Sun.Star Cebu. She’s the editor of the Shopping Bag section (a page that features interesting items for the adventurous shopper), which comes out every Friday and Saturday.
“I’ve been paid to write since I was in high school and stumbled upon television work sometime in college, which means that I’ve been juggling jobs for half of my life,” explains the page editor and TV reporter.
“I’m a lifestyle and entertainment journalist, an incidental paparazzi, a trend-spotter by day and an enrolled geek by night,” she adds.
Does Kara really observe this age-old Chinese tradition?
“I believe in the quirky interplay of destiny and industry—there are things handed to you on a silver platter by Fate, but it’s only fair that you still have to work hard to keep them,” she shares.
But here’s another (and more direct) point of view, this time from Jad.
“Personally, I don’t really care. But it’s fun to know and read these Chinese zodiac stuff,” shares Jad with a laugh.
Jad is known by his friends as some kind of a ”genius” or a “whiz kid.” A “nurse by profession but a musician at heart” is how he describes himself. He currently runs and owns a recording studio; and arranges, composes, and mixes music for a living.
Another musical tiger you might say is Cilee. She is the front woman of the local rock band Undercover Grasshoppers. One of her best experiences to date was when her band fronted for Up Dharma Down. And she only hopes for the best this year.
“(We’re looking forward) to finish and release an album for Undercover Grasshoppers.”
What is about to be said next might be a surprising information: She is also a nurse. But although this is unusual for some, she likes to think that individuality is the key.
“We’re are all wired differently. Our uniqueness sets us apart,” Cilee says.
Speaking of uniqueness, Kara also has her part to share. Being a journalist on the go, her hectic schedules keep her from working in a “conventional” type of office. She may not be a nurse, unlike the other two, but the pressure of work is still definitely there. But last year, though, the pressure may have been a bit heavy for this editor than prior years. “I lost my father at the onset of 2009. The death of someone really close is such a great loss but it also compels you to live, laugh, love and learn deeply,” Kara shares.
On about committing mistakes in life, Jad shares his thoughts as well. “Mistakes help you learn. I see them as opportunities, rather than misfortunes. And the more [exterme] the mistake we commit—the better. It only means you’re good enough to handle something that is challenging.”
Indeed, these three are on to better things.
Browsing through a list of famous people born in the Year of the Tiger, a few names pop out among the rest, like Jim Carrey and Jay Leno (who are comedians), and Hugh Hefner (who is more publicly associated with bunny rabbits than fierce forest felines).
To wrap up the list, musicians also represented the decades—from the multi-talented Stevie Wonder, hard-rocker Jon Bon Jovi, to the endearing and young Charlotte Church.
It remains arguable whether or not the stars have something to do with the birth of such talented and skilled people mentioned here. The fact is, people like them are all over and born at any year, including that one of the bunny rabbit.