"Monkey Business" Characteristics of People Born in Year of the Monkey

2016 is the Year of the Fire Monkey, fire being the dominant element this year. (the other elements are wood, metal, water and earth)

Characteristics of Monkey People:
People born in the year of the monkey are lively, flexible, witty and versatile with strong practical ability.
They love to be active and they enjoy sports.
Often highly intelligent, they are talented problem solvers, and are self-assured, sociable and innovative.
They love being the center of attention and have a magnetic personality.
Monkey people have an insatiable desire for knowledge and show amazing creativity in their work.
They like challenges and love to succeed, although they can be discouraged if things don't go their way.
Monkeys are mischievous; they are masters of the practical joke (though they can sometimes take things too far)
They tend to be healthy (probably due to their active lifestyle) but should remember to take a break from their busy schedule now and again.
Negative traits are that they can be jealous, suspicious, cunning, arrogant and impatient, and tend to look down on others.

I subscribe to the weekly "Beijinger" and keep up on Laowei  life in Beijing and China.  I would love to go to the Temple Festivals in Beijing to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

But I'm going on a Caribbean cruise vacation. One of the ports is having a Lunar New Year celebration, and it will be interesting to see how it's celebrated there.

And trying to decide which jade bangle bracelet to wear.  Of course I will wear the deep green almost black "Double Dragon" Chinese jade bangle for the protection energy.  With zika virus and other germs, I need this one to wear on my right wrist.  It also helps tame my seasickness.  I will also wear my regular everyday jadeite bangle, the white with imperial green veins, because it has the qi energy I need right now.  But I am also taking a carved jadeite bangle bracelet from my "stash" that I haven't worn since I bought it in 2001 but can't bear to sell it, either.

The jadeite bangle is classic green with honey hues (good for spleen meridian and maybe I won't over eat!)   The jade carver probably spent a great deal of time deciding how to utilize the colors and hues of the jade.  The three-legged Money Toad has a coin carved with it.  The flowers are carved on the most translucent part of the jade stone.  There are also lucky coins and Lingzhi immortal plant flowers.  It is very high polished, silky smooth.  About a third of the jade bangle is smooth and not carved and lots of color variation and translucence.  

I haven't worn it because the carving is not set in the jade, it's on top so it really shows itself off, but I can't wear it for everyday because I would worry about damaging it.  Since I'll be on vacation, it's a good time to wear it.  Very auspicious, lucky, happy and healing.

The stores will close tomorrow afternoon.  We'll finish getting all the orders packed and shipped before we leave. 

I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Monkey.