March Read\Lydia

Title : kira-kira

Author : Cynthia Kadohata

Number of Pages : 244

ISBN : 0-689-85639-3

The title “kira-kira” means “glittering” or “shining” in Japanese. This story is about a Japanese immigrant family in the mid 1900’s. Katie learned this word “kira-kira” from her elder sister, Lynn, who died in teen-age because of lymphoid disease. They used this word to describe everything they liked. Katie followed Lynn and believed Lynn was always right and knew everything about world. Lynn was Katie’s hero.

I could see how much this family loved each other though they suffered from poverty and loss of family member in this book. Katie’s parents loved their children very much but couldn’t have time for them. They always worked very hard in the poultry factory and came home only to sleep. This was very sad to me, they knew their daughter might die, but could not stay with her. They had to pay Lynn’s medical bills and a mortgage for own small house, that they had bought in haste for their sick daughter.

This story also showed some bad conditions of inferior labors in the mid 1900’s. Katie’s parents worked seven days a week. The factory didn’t give days off with pay for grief leave like if a family member dies. Even I was shocked Katie’s mom used a pad in poultry factory because the factory didn’t allowed a break for bathroom in working hour.

Their children Lynn, Katie and Sammy also loved and understood their parents. They all took care of one another instead of their parents. Lynn took care of Katie and Katie took care of her brother, Sammy. They saved a small money to help their parents and Katie stole a pink nail polish in a store for her sister. They did what they could for their parents and siblings. When Lynn first died, her parents and Katie was in the deep of sadness. They became like zombies. They couldn’t feel joy. But Katie thought that Lynn’s sprit would be very unhappy if she saw her family crying. She remembered Lynn’s last wishes. Katie promised to Lynn to work harder at school, go to college and take care of her parents and Sammy. Katie tried to keep the promise and changed herself. Her parents felt Katie’s change and began to laugh little by little. Now Katie had her special way of viewing the world that her sister had taught her.

March Read/5

Title: Untangling the Mind: Why We Behave the Way We Do

Author: George, David Theodore

Call Number: 152.4 G347U 2013

Subjects: Emotions; Neuropsychiatry; Neuropsychology

Number of Pages: 276

ISBN: 9780062127761

Book Description (from the front flap):

            We have a much greater understanding of human behavior now than we did just a few decades ago. Yet even with this greater understanding of the human mind, why we do what we do can sometimes seem like a mystery. People are often left with unsettling questions about their own (or others’) behavior.

            We ask ourselves, why did I make a spectacle of myself? Why am I so stressed? Why am I constantly so negative?

            In his years as a clinician, Dr. Ted George has been struck by how much easier it is for people to say they have a physical illness than it is to admit they feel out of control with an emotion-be it anger, fear, or depression. With a physical issue, you have the source of the problem in concrete terms, such as in a lab report, but with an emotional issue, it can be much harder to define what’s gone wrong. Untangling the Mind helps make sense of what’s happening-and why. With knowledge of how the brain translates sensory signals into emotions, you with increase your understanding of your own-and others’-behaviors. As you learn about your psychological and neurological makeup, you will begin to see new possibilities for optimism, motivation, and well-being.

            We can control our behavior and our feelings, no matter how much they may have ruled us in the past, and Dr George helps us know how. Once you understand the deeply rooted instincts that activate your emotions, you can live more peacefully, behave in ways that are more in keeping with the person you’d like to be, and enjoy your life more fully. And you’ll be better able to remain unaffected by the drama of other people’s emotional storms.

My Read:

            I found myself hooked and intrigued as I was turning the first pages on the very first day I checked out the book from the public library. As I finished the book I reviewed the questions the author lists in this interesting book and believed that if you read the book you might find some answers from this book for the following questions: “Why am I the way I am?” “Why do I behave this way?” “What produces an emotion?”

            David Theodore George is a psychiatrist and a neuroscientist. He borrows many his real life cases to introduce and educate the readers why people behave the way they do. He develops a model he calls PAG (PeriAqueductal Gray) model to explain the relationships between emotions and behaviors. Here is what the model looks like:

                                                                    PAG Model

Emotions	(Survival) Behaviors
Anger	Fight
Fear	Flight
Depression	Shutdown
Absence of Emotion	Predatory

            “Your senses are your primary survival tools Behavior is essential, too, but the survival response begins with information from your senses: a sight, sound, smell, thought, or memory.” (page 31) In the book the author talks about the pathways among the thalamus, the amygdala, and the cortex. “When you see an angry face, your thalamus delivers it almost instantly to the amygdala while sending it on a slower route to the cortex.” (page 51) The amygdala is the subconscious detection system and the cortex is where we think and reason. As one can see what is going to happen if the amygdala takes charge and doesn’t correspond with the thoughtful cortex. As if the emotion button is always on. “…Our brain has a propensity to focus more on negative sensory signals than on positive ones.” “A damaged amygdala can cause a person to misread facial expressions.” (page 52). And “Speed is of the essence.” (P104) If a message is sent and the right part of the brain receives it later and responds later than the amygdala that means the emotion charger takes over and the thoughtful part doesn’t have enough time to respond. It says it all on page 117: “A strong connection between the cortex and the amygdala is needed for people to be able to regulate feelings of fear.”

            I found the following saying in the book pretty helpful for the readers: “You reset by constantly reminding yourself that your reactions, your rheostat, can malfunction and need regular attention. You do this by instructing your ‘servant’ that the rheostat has to go back to normal. The servant, of course, is your thoughtful, cognizant brain.” (page 142)

As I read and reread this statement it reminds me of the reasons why we need to reflect frequently on the happenstances in our life: why, what, how, questions, answers, solutions and plans for the next best steps we are going to take.

            “One last thing. Despite all the neurological realities and evidence of hardwiring for our errant emotions, I believe that in most cases, treatment works.” (Page) For instance, in addition to the usual talk therapy and the antidepressants, there is the shock therapy, ECT (aka electroconvulsive therapy). The first and the most crucial and essential step is to acknowledge that you have a problem. Seek help from the professionals.

            One has to read the book to acquire the information and knowledge the author delivers and introduces. Chinese have a saying: one has to help oneself so the Heaven’s assistance will be delivered.

Reading this book opens my eyes and allows me to have a deeper thought about things happened around me. It also piques my curiosity about one thing: if science can help at the mental and physical areas then where the spiritual of ours comes from and how it would influence our life. Religion originated from the sought of the spiritual. What else? Meditation? Reflection?

            I wonder….

March Read\Patti 3

This book is what I call my Health Bible.  By following strictly what the doctor recommends diet and life style wise, I have lowered all of my blood panel results into the healthy range and lowered my blood pressure to a good level.  However, when I go off the regime, I see my blood pressure creep up and my blood panel results increase in the numbers, so to live and age as healthy as I can, I am happy to follow the doctor’s wise advice.

Title: Stop Inflammation Now!” (A Step-by-Step Plan to Prevent, Treat, and Reverse Inflammation – the Leading Cause of Heart Disease and Related Conditions

Author(s): Richard M. Fleming M.D.; Tom Monte

Call number: 616.0473 F598S 2004

Subjects: Inflammation--Popular works; Coronary Heart Disease-Prevention--Popular Works; Arteries--Prevention-Popular Works

Number of Pages: 298

ISBN: 0399151117\Paperback

Patti's Read:

        The doctor explains that a diet in what he calls Phase One, consisting of only fruits and vegetables with certain supplements brings down the things like a high cholesterol level, a high triglycerides level and all the other levels of the things that go into the arteries, damage them and can cause a narrowing of the arteries and blood clots and eventually strokes or heart attacks.

            Also, the diet gets weight off and down to a healthy level.  He talks of research that has shown that cancers and diabetes can be helped or prevented by following a vigorous healthy life style.

            On Phase One, one should avoid all animal foods as they have saturated fat, all oils, all processed foods and flour products, pasta and oatmeal, dairy products, and all sugar.  One should not eat after 7 PM to prevent the body from turning that food to fat and triglycerides.

            In Phase Two, if one choses to not stay with Phase One, the only additions are very small amounts of low-fat dairy and small amounts of fish, chicken or lean meat, walnuts, and small amounts of healthy oils are allowed.

            Of all the health books and books on heart disease, this is the easiest to understand and the simplest to follow.  I am so glad I came across it.  My copy is well worn and well used.  I am healthier and have more energy and a healthy body weight.

            

March Read\Patti 2

Title: Angel Wisdom: 365 Meditations and Insights from the Heavens

Author(s): Terry Lynn Taylor and Mary Beth Crain

Call Number: 202.15 T246A 2005

Subjects: Angels-Meditations; Devotional Calendars

Number of Pages: Unpaged

ISBN: 0062510673\Paperback

Patti's Read:

     This book by the authors is one of several that they have written about angels.  It is a daily book of angel meditations that I enjoy and find uplifting and inspiring.

            The authors say that they want to help the reader tune into their “angel consciousness”.  They want give to messages of hope, messages of life, and a fresh and encouraging perspective on life.

            The authors want to help us find meaning and joy in life no matter how down we may feel or what we may have been through.  They are seeking to help us become more aware of the fun in things, to see the glass as half-full instead of half-empty.

            The book can be used as a daily inspiration and meditation according to the date.  Or if there is something on your mind that is covered on one of the days, you may turn to it, regardless of the date listed on the meditation.

            I enjoy reading the meditation for the day when I first wake up.  It gives me a positive boost for the day.  I use this book daily and enjoy it so much.

March\Patti

Title: Use Your Brain to Change Your Age: Secrets to Look, Feel, and Think Younger Every Day

Author: Dr. Daniel G. Amen M.D.  

Call Number: 613 A511U 2012

Subjects: Self-care, Health; Brain--Popular Works; Mind and Body--Popular Works

Number of pages: 371

ISBN: 9780307888549

Patti's Read: 

In Dr. Amen’s book he shows pictures of brains that have been scanned at his Amen Clinics.  He uses them to show how living carefully and healthy can help one age more slowly by maintaining a healthy brain.

            He lists important information about the brain that we need in order to care for it properly and live a healthy life.  The brain is involved in all we do. It is important for the brain to work right. The brain is complicated and very vulnerable to damage and aging.  The brain is soft and easily injured.  There are things we can do to keep our brain healthy.  If you are able, have a brain scan to see what shape your brain is in health wise.  We can improve the health of our brains and age more slowly and wisely.

            The book goes on at length to teach us how to best care for our brain and live as healthy and wisely as we can because our brain is in tiptop shape.  By making good decisions we protect out brain from injuries.  We need to protect our DNA by eating and drinking healthy things.  We need to keep good physical health by   eating healthy, sleeping enough, and exercising enough. We need to have a healthy diet with no sugar, plenty of water and the right nutrients.  We need to stimulate our brain by being a lifelong learner.  We need to practice good stress management for good mental health.

            The book is basically a manual for living healthy physically and mentally to guard our brains and live a long and healthy life.  No one wants to become senile or age more rapidly than is necessary.

            

March Read/4

Title: The Ring in the Rubble: Dig Through Change and Find Your Next Golden Opportunity

Author: Bradt, Gary

Call Number: 650.1 B812R 2007

Subjects: Success in Business; Opportunity; Diligence

Number of Pages: 193

ISBN: 9780071488518

Book Description (from front and back flap of the book):

            Change always creates hidden opportunities. A leader’s job is unearthing them. In The Ring in the Rubble, change authority Gary Bradt reveals the secrets to moving beyond the rubble of disruption, fear, and uncertainty that change often creates, to finding the golden ring of opportunity that always lies beneath.

            Each chapter of this breakthrough book delivers a powerful principle for leading change, supported by engaging real-life experiences of the author and other well-known business executives that illustrate how to put principles into action Bradt asks penetrating questions that help you “dig deeper” and pinpoint the best ways for applying these principles to your specific change effort.

            You will discover how Richard Schulze weathered a devastating event that threatened to destroy everything he’d worked so hard to build and became the founder of Best Buy in the process. You’ll see how a 65-year-old man, nearly broke after having suffered a string of disastrous setbacks, dug through the rubble to emerge as Colonel Harland Sanders, who remains the face of Kentucky Fried Chicken to this day.

            Change itself doesn’t dictate the eventual outcome of your situation; how you think about and handle change is what makes all the difference. You’ll never find the ring if you don’t start digging!

My Read:

            A good book and good read, to me, help a person think and bring about issues and questions taken place in life. The author poses some good questions and points allowing me to ponder and reconsider my position at work, at home and in various relationships. The followings are some example questions and ideas/statements.

            “Imagine that from this moment forward, you were never able to go back to your current place of employment again, not even to say good-bye. Ask yourself what you would specifically miss about the place where you work right now other than a paycheck.”-(page 43) When I finished the chapter I did ask myself the post question and pose the same question to my family. Interestingly but not surprisingly, my answer and answers from my family matched! I felt grateful that not only do my families fully support me they also understand and realize how much I love what I do at work.

            “People don’t always do what they should do, but they always do what they want to do. Motivation is a psychological process, not a logical one. It follows from the laws of human nature.”-(Page 91) “If you want to know what someone is motivated to do, watch what that person is doing. If you don’t see what you need, or can’t figure it out, then ask that person.”-(page 95) Upon reading this I felt I was with most of the frustrated executives who said “But they got paid to do the tasks.” Isn’t it obvious and straightforward that if you want to be paid you do your deeds? Chinese have a saying: When you receive monetary compensation you do what they paid for. Motivation, to me, is like morale; both of them come from within, the inside of a person.

            “Success is born of a person’s passion and patience. And what links the two is faith…After all, a life devoid of passion is hardly a life at all.”-(page 122) Do what you love. It seems so straightforward, simple and easy. Yet at work one would usually witness the opposite that people don’t like what they do yet they come in to the place of employment day in and day out. But the author also points out that for many executives work becomes less satisfying the higher up the organizational ladder they go. They are more focused on concepts like strategy, vision, and future direction. They miss doing something tangible and the direct satisfying interaction they get from tasks they used to like and people they used to work with. The feedback and reward are less direct and frequent.

            “Many of us fall into the trap of defining ourselves by external measures:  by what we have, what we do, or what others think of us.”-(page 128) Money, position, power, and prestige you name it. We have managers and coworkers who are bullies, narcissists, wimps, paranoid, and disaster hunters. What positions and ranks can’t provide or offer is the peace of mind and the sense of accomplishment. Those jerks wear external mask of importance and success yet internally they are insecure and afraid to face themselves. Anger and meanness are the makeup they have to apply before they come to the workplace. People with passion ignite enthusiasm and invite positive energy to dance with; people fraught with negative energy flick disruption, fear, frustration, and failure.

            Did you ever examine your life with scope broad and deep? How often did you reflect upon daily happenstances or over issues and people happened and around you?

I like reading because it allows me to ponder and reconsider what’s happening in my life. Reading invites me into others’ world to explore the paths they took, the experiences they have had, and the emotions and feelings ebbed and flowed in their lives. Let’s share the final point the author has in the book to take a break and allow us to peruse and ponder:

“Making change happen almost always involves incurring some level of risk. You will rarely find any rings of lasting value if you never risk anything in your pursuit of them. And it’s the very act of taking risks that can make it all worthwhile in the end, even if the risks don’t turn out as you had hoped.”-Page 162

           

March Read/3

Title: It’s Okay to Manage Your Boss: The Step-by-Step Program for Making the Best of Your Most Important Relationship at Work

Author: Tulgan, Bruce

Call Number: 650.13 T917I 2010

Subjects: Managing Your Boss

Number of Pages: 202

ISBN: 9780470605301

Book Description (from inside of book cover):

            Wherever you work, you rely on your immediate boss for meeting your needs at work-no other relationship is as important to your career success. Yet few of us know how to get the best out of the most important person in our work lives.

            In the much anticipated follow-up to It’s Okay to Be the Boss, Bruce Tulgan challenges you to take responsibility for your role in every management relationship. Based on ongoing research started in 1993, Tulgan reveals the four essential things you should get from your boss to succeed at work:

          1-Clearly spell-out and reasonable expectations

    2-The skills, tools, and resources you need to accomplish those expectations

          3-Honest feedback about your performance and course-correcting direction when necessary

          4-Proper recognition and rewards in exchange for your performance

          This back-to-basics and unconventional approach to managing up will help you build highly engaged working relationships with your boss, and deal with complex authority relationships at every level and in any workplace.

Go ahead-it’s okay to manage your boss…you just have to be very good at it. Learn how in this step-by-step book.

My Reading:           

            This book is meant for those people who want to be high performers, people who set higher expectations and higher standards for themselves and people who are goal-oriented and highly competitive.

            The primary concept the book tries to deliver is for the high performers to maintain an ongoing one-on-one management conversation with the manager or the bosses, one boss at a time, one day at a time if possible, if not every day then as frequent as once a week. After finishing the book, one would realize that the main thing of the book is about managing oneself to get the higher performance one could possibly exercise at work and by “managing” the boss one could get helpful guidelines, direction, resources, and positive feedback from the bosses/managers.

            “If there’s a problem, the boss is the solution.” (page 4) Somehow I find this statement interesting and ironic. What if the boss is the problem? Then the statement stays true that if there is a problem the boss is the solution, indeed. Chapter nine starts with the title: What If Your Boss Really Is a Jerk?” Unless you feel there is no way you could work around with your boss the book gives the following advice: Stay professional. Never blink. Never raise your voice. Get your marching orders and go about your business. And keep detailed notes: dates, times, and concrete examples of what the boss did and said. (page 169) The book also asks: Has the boss’s behavior been so jerky that it’s obvious to both of you? A pattern of behavior? If so, try to get your boss to discuss what happened, to acknowledge it, and to give you clear instructions for what you should do if it happens again. (page 169) At reading this I wonder if anyone would take such advice and confront the boss. For the book also says that it is the boss’s psychological problem, not yours. (page 168) If the problem is not ours then how could we possibly fix a problem of someone’s mindset and attitude?

            The most helpful tips, to me personally, come from page 40 in the book. “Before you can do your best every day at your job, you need to be at your best.” (page 40) In order to do so, the author gives us the “best-self reality check” list:

• Are you taking good care of your mind?

What are the main sources of input for your mind right now?

How can you expose your mind to a greater variety of input?

• Are you taking good care of your body?

When do you sleep?

What do you put into your body?

How do you exercise?

• Are you taking good care of your spirit?

Do you know what you believe?

What is your purpose?

What is your attitude?

How can you improve your attitude?

            Someone I respect at work told me today that everyone is “one-of-a-kind.” The questions remain, to me:

What kind of person do you think you are?

What kind of person do you want to be?

And what kind of person are you to the rest of the world?

Do you ever ask such probing questions to yourself? It’s a beginning point and a start to become a better person if you do. One-of-a-kind? Yes, but what kind?

           

           

March Read/2

Title: Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success

Author: Newman, Rick

Call Number: 650.1 N554R 2012

Subjects: Success in Business; Self-realization; Career Changes

Number of Pages: 225

ISBN: 9780345527837

Book Description (from the inside of the book cover):

            Let’s face it: setbacks happen, and failure is always a possibility But here’s the good news: Amazing success has been achieved by people who once fell flat on their faces The secret lies in how we respond to life’s bumps and potholes and unwelcome detours-from getting fired or losing a business to enduring a professional rejection or pursuing a passion that fails to pan out. Misfortune, it turns out, can be a springboard to success.

Tim Westergren

            In Rebounders, U.S News & World Report journalist Rick Newman examples the rise and fall-and rise again of some of our most prolific and productive figures in order to demystify the anatomy of resilience. He identifies nine key traits found in people who bounce back that can transform a setback into the first step toward great accomplishment. Newman turns many well-worn axioms on their head as he shows how virtually anybody can improve their resilience and get better at turning adversity into personal and professional achievement.

• Setbacks can be a secret weapon: They often teach vital things you’ll never learn in school, on the job, or from others.
• There are smart ways to fail. Once familiar with them, you’ll be more comfortable taking risks and less discourage if they don’t pan out.
• “Defensive pessimism” trumps optimism: Planning for what could go wrong is often the best way to ensure that it doesn’t.
• Know when to quit: Walking away at the right time can free the resources you need to exploit better opportunities.
• “Own the suck”: When faced with true hardship, taking command of the pain and sorrow-rather than letting it command you-lays the groundwork for ultimately rising above it.

   

John Ratzenberger

  Each lesson is highlighted by candid and inspiring stories from notable people, including musician Lucinda Williams, tennis champ James Blake, inventor Thomas Edison, army veteran and double-amputee Tammy Duckworth, and Joe Torre, former manager of the New York Yankees.

            In this uncertain and unstable time, Rebounders lays out the new rules for success and equips you with the tools you need to get ahead and thrive.

My Reading:

            What makes a rebounder? According to certain research people who had experienced moderate amounts of adversity turned out to be the healthiest, with the lowest levels of emotional distress and the highest levels of satisfaction. It says enduring a few slings and arrows can make people happier than living a charmed life and experiencing none at all (page 5). This saying reminds me of the “No pain no gain” saying.

Jack Bogle

            Resilience is the core strength of a Rebounder and there are one-third of us who was born with natural antibodies against stress. But don’t worry if you belong to the other two-third for resilience is as learnable as any other skill (page 7). The resilient group has three qualities in common: They remained committed to their work even when conditions got tough, avoiding the kind of gossip, recrimination, and political infighting that’s tempting to engage in but usually accomplishes little; they believed they could do something to control what happened to them, which helped prevent them from feeling powerless; they view unexpected change as a chance to grow or find opportunity, which made them optimistic even as they knew they faced stressful challenges (page 6-page 7). The word resilience reminds of me of some Chinese sayings:

Tammy Duckworth

置之死地而後生: burn one's self and then (reborn / relive) from the ash. One could say: *Despair gives courage to a coward.
*From despair comes a new hope.

浴火重生: She who quits not within, will soon reinvigorate without.

            Let me borrow some inspiring sayings from the featured characters in the book:

Jack Bogle-I have come to regard failure as another essential of leadership. It is often best if things do not come too easily in life. Turn disaster into triumph (page 41).

Jon Luther-Jon summoned Rebounder skills that helped him identify his weaknesses, strengthen his own capabilities, and sustain the confidence it takes to keep taking risks (page 52). I didn’t have that four-year degree. I’ve always been a continuous learner. And I haven’t peaked yet (page 54). And the author states further: the thing that differentiates strivers from settlers isn’t always a fancy degree or a comfortable career or a quick rise to stardom. Sometimes it’s the stumbles that reveal what you still need to learn, stumbles that might not happen if you never ventured beyond familiar terrain (page 54).

Tim Westergren-You can be bold and humble at the same time. Being humble means 1) you listen, 2) you also don’t get caught up in the trappings of success which can be very corrupting for most people. Tim sees adaptability and self-sufficiency as core survival skills (page 81).

James Blake

Personally, I strongly agree with what the author states. There was this interaction I had with a patron that still stays vividly with me; I consider it one of my biggest failures at work. To me, once I had done something well the success belongs to yesterday and my mind would begin to race for the next goal. If one never failed or stumbled one would never realize what bitterness or soreness tastes like. Even when one has passion one would still get stabbed by adversity, disappointment, frustration or failure when one didn’t pay enough attention or got too comfortable at what one was good at.

Thomas Keller

            The author sums up the book by listing nine attributes of rebounders. They are:

• They accept failure
• They compartmentalize emotions
• They have a bias toward action
• They change their minds sometimes
• They prepare for things to go wrong
• They’re comfortable with discomfort
• They’re willing to wait
• They have heroes
• They have more than passion

I would like to finish up my summary by the saying from the Soldier’s Creed (page 165):

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

            I will never quit.

                        I will never leave a fallen comrade.

Reference:

The Elements of Persistence-Thomas Edison-Inventor

When Hardship is a Privilege-John Clifton Bogle (known as Jack)-Vanguard

The Dangers of Optimism-Jon Luther-CEO of CA One, Popeye’s, Dunkin’s

How Passion Misleads-Lucinda Williams-Grammy winner

When to Quit-Tim Westergren-Founder of Pandora (Internet radio)

When Hard Work Isn’t Enough-James Blake-Tennis Champ

The Bright Side of Burnout-Majora Carter-McArthur Foundation Genius Award Receiver

How to Improvise-John Ratzenberger-Main Character in the TV series “Cheers”

What Could Go Wrong-Reed Hastings-Netflix CEO

What Trumps Passion-Thomas Keller-The Best Chef in America and owner of The French Laundry

Own The Suck-Tammy Duckworth-Pilot of the Black Hawk and top officer in the Department of Veterans Affairs

From Wallower to Rebounder-Joe Torre-baseball players and manager of the New York Yankees

Joe Torre

Reed Hastings

Jon Luther

February Read\Ruby

Title: The Key Collection

Author: Cheng, Andrea

 Ruby's Read: 

    There was a boy whose name is Jammy. He lived with his parent in Cincinnati and his grandma lived behind them.

    

    Jimmy called his grandma "Ni Ni", he liked his grandma very much, he got sore throats a lot, which he hated because his throat felt like it was on fire, but he thought the good part was he could stay at Ni Ni's all day long.

    One day, a letter from Jimmy's auntie Helen, who lived in San Francisco, wanted Ni Ni moved to California. Auntie Helen was a doctor, Ni Ni had been having dizzy spells, and she wanted to keep an eye on her. When Jimmy knew Ni Ni had been planning to move, he couldn't stop the tears from running out of his eyes, his dad said that Jimmy should think about what was best for Ni Ni not for himself.

    There was big jar of keys on the shelf, when Jimmy was little, he used to fill his pockets with the keys and go around Ni Ni's house, pretending he was a janitor. Each key has its own story, for example the little one, which was from the closet of Ni Ni's house in Shanghai. Once Ni Ni's brother Po got mad, he locked himself in that closet, when time went by, Po got hungry but the door was locked and nobody could open it until Ni Ni found key under the rug and sat him free.

    Ni Ni was getting start to move, she and Jimmy sorted through her stuff, the mover would load everything into the truck one week later. There was a big trunk caught Jimmy's eye in Ni Ni's room, the box was locked, Jimmy scooped up all the keys int the jar and tried each one in the hole, finally a bent one opened the trunk. Inside the trunk, Jimmy saw a brightest, shiniest blue fabric covered with embroidered butterflies. It was a big quilt, which was made by Ni Ni's mother.

    After Ni Ni moved, Jimmy's dad sold her house to a woman whose name is Alice. She was holding with twin baby boy, and she needed helper to take care of her boys, so Jimmy and his friend-Jason started to babysit them three afternoon a week. As Ni Ni moved to California for two weeks, Jimmy emptied his money can, 20 dollars so far, he figured that even by the end of the summer, he wouldn't have enough money to buy a ticket to California. Maybe it wasn't worth it to keep on baby-sitting, Jimmy looked at his eyes in the mirror; they were sore and red.

    Auntie Helen sent a letter and a flight ticket enclosed for Jimmy, she hoped Jimmy can go California for Ni Ni's eightieth birthday. Jimmy was very cheerful and tried hard to find out a birthday gift for his grandma, but he and his mom went home with nothing for Ni Ni in the end at that day. Nest day when Jimmy went Jason's home to play Ping-Pong, they talked about Jimmy's grandma, and Jimmy recalled that Ni Ni took the trunk with her to California but left the bent key with Jimmy, now Jimmy knows what to give Ni Ni for her birthday.

    Jimmy packed everything he'd need at the first day of summer vacation and went to the airport. When Jimmy saw Ni Ni at the airport, she jugged him like she would never let go. They were happy and spent time to get together again, they planed to visit Ni Ni's hometown in the future.

March Read

Title: Lines of Destiny: How to Read Faces and Hands the Chinese Way

Author(s): Ho, Peter Kwok Man; Palmer, Martin; O’Brien, Joanne

Call Number: 138 H678L 1986

Subject(s): Physiognomy; Palmistry; Fortune-Telling; Occult Sciences-China

ISBN: 0877733651

Number of Pages: 190

Book Description/My Read:

            The book starts with beliefs and history of physiognomy. Reading the history and stories one might wonder how wise the ancient Chinese are. A person’s destiny, from childhood to the day s/he swallows the last breath, could be implicated by simply reading a person’s face and hands.

            Then the book talks about five elements: water, fire, wood, gold, and earth followed by five features of a person: the eyebrows, the eyes, the nose, the mouth, and the ears. It’s interesting to learn about that the body can be read in relation to the five elements or in relation to animal shapes (page 132). For instance, the tortoise shape person. This person will have a dome-shaped head, round eyes, high nose, thick eyebrows, round jaw, long neck and thick shoulders. The body is quite fat and round and the five mountains of the face are well balanced. The person’s disposition is calm and his life will be comfortable and rich (page 137).

            According to the book, the lines on the hand take longer to develop than the lines on the face and are more permanent; therefore they give a more accurate reading than the features of the face. It’s fascinating to read the texts and the diagrams in the book to learn about a person’s past, present, and the future.

            Basically speaking, if a person’s features, skin color, and bone structure are well-developed and formed, his/her life is above average well and might live a good life.

            Some features and lines on both face and hand are quite distinctive and unique, so are the readings. Some readings even give a detailed and fixated ages and events going to take place at the indicated ages. It’s scary to read such implications. For example, locking lines at the mouth combined with lines running from below the eye to the area of the mouth are an indication of death by poisoning, either gas or food poisoning. This is likely to happen around the age of fifty (page 86). And there is a drawing referring to the text. It’s unpleasant to learn about such detailed description of what’s going to happen, how it happens and the outcome of having such feature.

            My thought after finishing the book is that there are good reasons why our previous lives’ memories are hidden and unknown to us. It’s best that I don’t have any idea what’s going to happen next. If my life, my fate, and my future are ordained and locked there will be less room for me to aspire, or look forward to seeing tomorrow’s sun, rain or shine. The will to pursue the purpose and the meaning of this life will be questioned and life would become less joyful and exciting.

            At the age of 50 I strongly believe in the power of a person’s attitude and mindset. An attitude serves as an engine empowering my will and eagerness to explore this given life. The more positive I am the more promising of my future and the influence I would have upon people around me. A person’s mindset is like a map; it directs which route and path a person might take and adventure into the jungle of physical challenges, mental stimulus and spiritual inspiration. Unlike the body features, both attitude and mindset are choices a person can make and take actions based upon the decisions.

            What do you want to believe and how do you want to live your life? Do you consider the future an intimidating unknown and uncertainty or will you become excited, look forward to getting up tomorrow morning and stride with determination and commitment to live a meaningful life and have a life full of joy and sense of achievement?

            Let’s explore!