Tuesdays With Morrie: A book that'll finally change your life?

So y'all know I'm really into self-help mumbo-jumbo and books like Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.

Books on my bedside table right now:
1. Life Makeovers
2. The Teaching of Buddha
3. How To Win Any Argument
4. Asian Branding
5. Last of the Sun

Lack of romance...books I mean.

The last one is some random fiction I took from a friend's place. The others are stuff that I read intermittently, depending on my mood when I'm in bed. Notice that I don't have any romance novels...

When I'm in the mood for zen, I reach for Buddha. Gosh, that puts me to sleep real good real fast (I hope I don't go to hell for saying that. But then again, Buddhism isn't a religion; it's a teaching. So it's fine).

When I'm in the mood to excel professionally, I read about branding in the Asian context. When I feel that my life is going nowhere, I read Life Makeovers. And that Argument book isn't solely on arguing with boyfriends or mothers... but I shan't reveal too much or everybody might want to buy the book, making it harder for me to win any argument.

Tuesdays With Morrie.
Now this is a new one. New but old.

Old because I chanced upon it at a book sale, which I brought my mom to. Going at RM10, I just dumped it in the basket. Sidebar: the other RM10 book I got was that Rich Dad, Poor Dad book...which I think should work wonders on me. But that's another story.

I really encourage everyone to read Tuesdays With Morrie.
Simply as a reminder that:

"The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it."

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

"...if you've found meaning in your life, you don't want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more. You can't wait until sixty-five."

"Find someone to share your heart, give to your community, be at peace with yourself, try to be as human as you can be."

"Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do."


I finished the book in a day (it's really easy to read) and cried about three times. Yeah, serious.
Um... would not go as far to say it's changed my life... but sure made me feel loved up when I was done with it.

As for Rich Dad, Poor Dad...that's already working its magic on me!

Is it me...or did you change your name to 'Me' ?

“Hello?”

“It’s me.”

“???”

“It’s me! What are you doing?”

Sidebar: Firstly, ‘me’ isn’t gender-specific. I’ve received phone calls from both guys and girls claiming to be ‘me’.

“Who’s this?!”

“IT’S ME! Can’t you recognise my voice?!”

“………………OHHHHHHH.”

By then, I’ve already gotten enough clues to figure it out.

But It’s very strange! I’m not judging, I’m merely observing.

I don't know if it's just the kind of friends I have... or if phone etiquette has come to this.

For the record, I always go, “Hey, it’s Jean. What’re you doing?"

I’m very amused (and flattered) that people think I have a talent for recognising voices like a blind taste test. Too bad there’s no prizes for getting the right answer but if I get it wrong, I wind up offending the caller instead.

Nobody likes to be called the wrong name (ever!).

I suppose when you have close relationships with people, you’re expected to instantly recognise their voice. So when they call you from an unknown number, it’s like a pop quiz to test your level of friendship.

But did anyone stop to consider, what if you dialed the wrong number? What if it's NOT me who you called? Me as in me ME... not the 'me' that y'all think I know you are.

And while we're on the subject of names, I have NEVER been able to address a boyfriend by his name. EVER.

It's always "Hey..." or "Eh...", said in a very gentle and feminine manner, of course.

If I'm talking ABOUT the boyfriend in his presence, then I can say his name. But in directly addressing him, I can't. I must've tried a couple of times before, but it sounds funny when I say it. As if I'm suddenly speaking German.

So while some people like to refer to themselves as 'me', I like to refer to some people as 'eh'.

And it all works out. Once again, there is balance in the universe.

Sudoku: The OTHER “Pick A Number” Game I Like to Play

I’m only on my third Sudoku puzzle now (Beginner’s level, of course) and I’ve already realised that Sudoku = Life.

The Sudoku Commandments of Life:


You need to be patient. Being impulsive only leads to irrational decisions that’s gonna mess up the entire game.

You need to be in the right frame of mind to play – mentally organised. If you’re scatterbrained then you need to sort that out first.

You need to look at things at every level, whether it’s in-depth or on a whole. Macro and micro, dahling… macro and micro. Look at each section on its own but remember it’s part of a bigger picture. Everything is relative.

While a solution is usually provided, that doesn’t mean you’ll understand the puzzle. Sure, you can fill in the blanks and look like you finished the game but that’s purely on a superficial level. It’s just gonna end up being a hollow game where you took the easy way out.

Don’t give up when you’re stuck. The answer is there. You either need to erase your answers and start over. Or do something else for a bit and come back to it. Then you’ll see it in a different light.

Sudoku kills two fears with one stroke – numbers and logic.

I’m usually very lazy to think of solutions… especially when the problem seems insolvable at first glance. But so far, I can actually feel my brain throbbing. I mean that in a good way, not in an "Owwww I have a headache" kinda way.