Travellers etiquette

Some travel tips suggest that to be polite, one should try to avoid:

• Snoring,
• Bumping others with one's luggage,
• Putting on makeup in public.

I was not successful trying to relocate my source for those tips.  Instead, I found the following list:

• Arrive early
• Stay calm even when receiving bad news
• Dress and pack sensibly with thought for security checks
• Create your own environment with shades, MP3 player, etc if you don't like what is provided
• Be thoughtful of others when taking calls on cellphone
• Share the arm rests
• Be considerate towards grumpy adults and tired children
• Reading over another's shoulder is rude
• Pack your own lunch if you have to, but avoid smelly foods if you do
• You can't choose your neighbours, but you can choose to be comfortable anyway.

What do you think?  Are there things you would like to add to or remove from these lists?  How should travellers today behave?

Is it any different from before?

How much

How much money do we actually need?

Can we give it all away?  Or do we need to save for our future?

Too much savings is bad.  It means we are not sharing or giving.

But not saving is irresponsible.  As we do need something to retire on.

How do we budget?

Financial advisors tell us to set aside something for daily expenses, something for giving, something for contingencies, something for holidays and something for the future.  This can be easier if you have a fixed income.  But not if your income situation is not stable or large.  And many of us are in that situation.

How would you advise in this situation?

Where does God and family come into your consideration in this issue of budgets?

Do you budget?  Successfully?

If not, then can you imagine the difficulty faced by a Federal Budget?  It is hard to predict the future.  It is hard to line up national values, as different people have different opinions.

What would you do if you were the treasurer?

Bad words

Jill lists 45 words not to be used in writing.

These words fall into three categories:

• Self promoting puffery,
• Technical tripe, and
• Creative crap

 I can see how the "self-promoting puffery" words are a turn-off, although I don't know why.

I find the "technical tripe" and "creative crap" words abundant today in the ICT industry.  They almost fall into the category of "jargon", except that they don't carry meaning deep enough to turn people off.

What do you think?

Are there words or phrases that you abhor?  Do you know why these words turn you off?

Are you on the look out for how can you express yourself better?

Mothers Day Gift

The Australian government plans to offer more rebates to attract mothers back to work instead of staying home with their children.

The Sunday Telegraph described this as a Mother's Day gift.  But is it really a "gift" when you think about it?

The intention is to get mothers back to work.  This is because they want to drive the economy further.  They want to reduce the budget deficit.

I respect these intentions.  However, what about the children?  Children need their mothers.  To force mothers away from their children by using this economic tool can be detrimental to family health.  Childcare helps, but they do not replace the mothers.  The parents are supposed to the primary responsibility for the children.  Bible verses as Proverbs 29:17 and 1 Timothy 5:8 assert the responsibility of parents towards their children.

Surely, taking both parents away from their children is not good in the light of this?  Surely parents should not be so caught up chasing after the economic dollar that their children be neglected?

On the other hand, perhaps mothers have been taking too much leave allowance.  Perhaps less leave allowance is okay, especially given the nation's budget deficit.

Where should we draw the line?

How should one balance between the need for money and the need for family time?  How should one balance between loving and nurturing one's children vs. being away from them to fulfill work responsibilities?

What do you think?

Life spared

Last week's execution in Indonesia hit world headlines.

Firstly, there was a lady, Mary Jane Veloso who was given a reprieve.  Somebody turned herself in in the Philippines, claiming that she tricked Mary Jane into carrying drugs.  Her claim is presently under confession.  It gave Mary Jane more time to live, even so.

Why did she do it?  Was it her conscience?  Her generosity?

How would Mary Jane feel about it?  Relieved?  Angry?  That she deserves the reprieve that she has been given?  Or that the reprieve is a surprise, but great blessing?

When Jesus died on the cross for us, He not only gave us a reprieve, He gave us a new life.  How do we feel about that?  Relieved?  Angry?  That we deserve this?  Or are we grateful for the blessing?

Two others who did not get a reprieve were Australians.

1. Andrew Chan was a supervisor at a catering company in Sydney.  He felt that life was not going anywhere.  He was a drug usser.  When given the chance to join a gang and use his leadership skills in the drug trade instead of being a consumer, he he took the opportunity and became a ringleader in the Bali Nine.
2. Myuran Sukumaran worked in a mailroom at the Sydney Passport Office.  He was attracted to the nightclub scene, where his friends had access to women, booze and fast, expensive cars.  He saw that he could not have this lifestyle unless he had more money.  He was also a martial arts expert.  When given the opportunity to join a gang to quicken his money-earning ability, he took it.

These guys were tempted into the illegal drug trade as they wanted to expedite their careers and their earnings.  They got arrested and tried for these activities about 10 years ago.

Interestingly, the other members of the Bali Nine received life sentences - these guys got death sentences even though they had less drugs on them.  Andrew Chan did not have any drugs on him at the time of his arrest.

Might they have thought that their sentences were unfair?  That God was unfair?  Would you have thought like that if you had been in their shoes?  Would you have been upset and remorseful and hated the world?

Chan and Sukumaran later met Jesus while in prison, awaiting their execution.  This seems to make a world of a difference to them.

1. Chan used his leadership personality to serve his fellow inmates as a Christian priest,
2. Sukumaran completed an arts course at Curtin University.  He went on to introduce education courses to his fellow inmates.  He started computer classes for them, and was about to start accounting and legal studies for them also.
3. When executed, these guys and the others were singing "Amazing Grace" and "Bless the Lord O my soul".

They could have been in despair about getting executed.  They could have felt useless and unwilling to do anything helpful in their last days.  However, they chose to live to the max in their remaining days, and bless God and the people around them.

Is this what knowing Jesus is like?  Does Jesus make a difference to you like this as well?