Opinion

We average working class “westerners” are taught from a very young age that in order to be successful in our lives we must always plan for the future. We must get into the best school so we can go to the best college and then get the best job. We must work hard and climb

When people take a calculated risk while driving, it usually pays off. Our minds are amazing things that do calculations so quickly we don’t even have to think. We can immediately figure out if we can squeeze through a gap, overtake before a truck comes and generally weave our way through safely. But it’s when

Living in Jakarta isn’t an easy task. More often than not the monotonous humming of the idle engines can drive a person insane. Waking up in the morning to see a bleak sky isn’t great either, however we all make do to get by in the world. Luckily for us, the residents of Jakarta, we

“There comes a point when ‘Holy sh*t!’ applies across the board…” I was recently forced to do something that I have never really wanted to, and to my great surprise I found that it was actually one of the most amazing and enjoyable things I have ever done. It is something that I have avoided

I have been travelling in Europe recently and have seen some of the best – and some of the worst – examples of corporate responsibility in action as a counterpoint to Indonesia’s growing efforts to understand and put into action real practices to make companies responsible across a wide range of critical value areas, especially

One of the great things about Indonesia at a local level, away from politics andpower plays, is the tremendous community spirit, which especially express itself on 17 August every year when Independence Day is celebrated. For those lucky enough to have well organized local committees, and good parks or open spaces to enjoy, the celebrations

Even if you’re the most selfish person in human history, it’s still in our nature to give. We give different things, for varying purposes, to accomplish different goals. We gift a special someone a box of chocolates in hopes of receiving gratitude (maybe in the form of a kiss or a hug), or we invest

Did you know there are 24 public holidays in Indonesia in 2017? Yes I know it seems more – and so many of them on Thursday, Friday or Monday creating the inevitable long weekend! Since three fell on Saturday or Sunday that’s 21 working days or 8% of the working year. Now I know I’m

I am surrounded by experts. So many people I meet are start-ups, entrepreneurs, go-getters, amazing achievers, dedicated, visionary, brilliant, community-oriented and environmentally focussed. Everyone knows everything about sustainability, responsibility, CSR, recycling, repurposing, re-everything. There are more experts online, in consulting groups, in advisory companies, in multi-national’s, in CSR departments, HR departments, PR departments. It’s a

Political correctness has become part of all our lives over the last couple of decades. Everyone now needs to be very careful not to offend anyone by anything they say or do, and this is becoming a real issue for people making a living in the very subjective comedy industry. Is everything “fair game” for

It was on my mind to write about our new Governor and Vice Governor and look at their campaign promises and get myself all worked up about “how would it be possible to fulfill them” and get you all worked up about how we are constantly deceived, diverted and ultimately disappointed by politicians and government

The British Fire Service uses an excellent and unique shift system to provide the British public with emergency cover 24 hours a day. Each of four watches, always code-named Red, Blue, Green and White, works two nine-hour days followed by two 15-hour nights. The day shift starts at 9 AM and finishes at 6 PM,