This and That

By Rajendra Menon

I found joy in trivia, learnt from small interactions. Life itself has no meaning, you have to create. Happiness is in responding than reacting. Delay your negative reaction, you can check your anger and you can avoid heavy damages. You make a living with what you get and life with what you give. What may be a junk for you may be important for others. What is obvious for you need not be for others. The value of your knowledge is what you do with it. Good communication is how you say it than what you say. Learning is more important than earning, never stop learning. The more we know, we realize how less we know.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pencil
• Release date: Jul 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9789354582547

Book preview

Have breakfast

No Breakfast

People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level.

This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

This is what a doctor told me, when I told him I skip breakfast.

Dont cover your head while sleeping .

Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

Multitasking

While many people say multitasking makes them more productive, research shows otherwise. Heavy multitaskers actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information, and they experience more stress.

You have to improve on your multitasking skills  you have heard that from your boss  during appraisal discussion. It helps him to cut a few marks.

While sipping your coffee, talk on the cell and reply to your email, what a multitasking.  Do you remember the taste of the coffee, the value of the conversation and the effect of the reply. The truth is you don’t. If you do, then you did everything one at a time.

Multitaskers tend to search for new information rather than put older, more valuable information to work

Information explosion

Reacting to a never-ending stream of information bursts causes the brain to become excited and  motivates a person proactively to perform certain activities."

Thus, replying to emails, tweets, Facebook updates, forum threads, and other forms of

real-time interruptions can lead to compulsive behavior, possibly even addiction.

Most of us will  find ourselves checking email dozens of times a day, replying to text messages the minute they arrive, logging onto Twitter multiple times an hour, checking for Facebook updates, and on and on and on.

It’s a dangerous, time-sucking, attention-killing addiction

We spend a lot of time downloading  information......  we don't need and will Never Use!

Stress and decreased productivity are  consequences of an always-online, and distracted lifestyle.

Are you feeling compelled to buy yet another home study course even though you have

multiple home study courses gathering dust on your shelves?

Or are you wanting to sign up for another membership site even though you already have

multiple online memberships that you never use?

Well, now you know why.

The more distracted you are, the more money marketers make

And the more you seek out new information, the easier it will be for marketers to sell

you secrets you think you don’t yet possess.

First they bring out a book called ‘secret’ promising  heaven on earth for you. Then a whole lot of others come forward and tell you that you  have not moved an inch in life after knowing all the secrets. Why ? Because they did not tell you how to implement them. Just pay me $99 (this is special for you, for others it is $160) and I will tell you ‘how’- a smarty comes to your rescue!!

Now you know why all the gurus want you to follow them on email, Twitter, and Facebook.

The more confused you are, the easier it will be for them to  sell you yet another overpriced course you’ll never use.

Taking Back Your Life

•    No need to throw you cell phone or laptops. We can get value out of social technology without letting it rule our life:

•    Limit your connections. Connect only with people you really want to connect with.

•    Don’t follow just to be followed.

•    Set aside a specific time to update your profiles and reply to people.

•    Turn your cell phone off to block unplanned interruptions. Do not think it is an honour to be accessible all the time .

•    Be cautious about spending money on new information, especially if you have information you’ve paid for that you haven’t used yet.

•     Block out distractions and focus on completing one task at a time.

Lady luck

During my travel to Cochin from Bangalore, my destination ticket is either to Ernakulam junction or Ernakulam town, also known as Ernakulam south or Ernakulam north, depending on the availability

It was one of the demonetised days, month of November 2016, when most of the ATM would say thanks for coming, sorry  no cash and the ones that worked would give out 2000 rupees note

I love the tea from the roadside tea stalls in Kerala. I stop at a tea stall and ask for tea. you have change ? . I said 'no', no tea for me.

One lady standing under a tree, said Saaray,  buy a ticket, draw is today, its only 50 rupees.

I stopped and said I would have bought, I have a 2000 note. She said take this ticket, I will give you change.

‘The change is a lottery for me", I thought,

Lottery tickets runs the life of a lot of families in Kerala, not the prize, the commission they get by selling them

How much do you make in this lottery business ? I asked.

Enough for me she said.

How old are you, I asked

Its 9 years since I touched 70.

That was an interesting answer, shy to say 79 or late seventies

Where are your family members ?

They are all there, 2 sons 1 daughter, sister, her family. But I live alone.

I am happy. Guruvayurappan's s grace, health is ok.

You are nearly 80 and you may require help.

God will take care of me. I am confident he will take me without troubling anyone.

What's your name ?

Vasanthi.

Where are your children, why are you not with them.

They all have a life to live with their own responsibilities, why be a burden.

I said children should look after you.

She asked, who told you ?

Was there annoyance in her voice ? I wondered.

They call me to stay with them. Its I who have decided to be with myself. They are nice children. I can go and live with them whenever I want. I meet them often.

One is there in kakanad, the other at elamana and daughter in mattanchery.

That’s good, I said. However your age is on the increase, you will need someone.

God is kind to me, he will take me the moment I fall sick. I will not trouble anyone.

How many tickets you want, this one, the draw is today in the after noon , this one is tomorrow and this the day after she said pointing to each one of them.

I said, give me one of each

Take four, she said, accounting will be easy

She gave me the tickets and 1800 change.

I said Vasanthi ammay, you keep these tickets.

if there is a winner among them, you can keep the money.

No no, she said.

I do not want to win anything big. I am happy and secure with the commission I get. More money, more unhappiness. Somebody will kill me. Anything you have more than enough, will bring you sorrow. For my life style, this is fine.

You can give your children, I said.

And make them fight ? She asked.

They are healthy, let them earn their living.

I said, you keep the tickets, if we win, you call me.

We will give that money to the orphanage and old age home.

That’s a good idea, she said.

She noted down my name and number in a cute little book.

Saaray, why do you trust me ? I don't have to tell you the result, you will not know what happened".

We, both, do not want the money, where is the problem I said.

That is true.

Every third trip to cochin I would meet her because it will be the north station, I would get down.

One day she called  to tell me, the last four digits have won Rs 1000. She does not have a phone, called from a shop.

I told her to keep it. She said no, she will not have any. I said then buy four tickets ( that way she can earn some commission) and the rest , give it to some one, she thinks, will be of help.

She agreed. Later she told me, she bought a few text books for some kids.

This time, I reached north station around 8.30 in the morning. Looked around for her, on my way to the bus stop which is a ten minute walk. I did not see her. May be next time, I thought. Kept debating, should I look for her. When I reached the bus stop, I turned, something kept telling me, lets meet her. I walk  back to the station, do not find her, saw a guy walking around selling lottery tickets. I asked him, there is a Vasanthi who sells lottery tickets, know her ?.

AYYO Ssaray, that aged lady ? She died last week. She complained about a chest pain and died , 10 minutes after reaching the hospital. That day was her birthday, he added.  He said something more, it did not register.

I said ok and walked away with a lump in my throat. She completed ten years after her seventieth birthday, remembered her confidence to