I have been doing so since 20 years ago - each year to give my time. Pro Bono as Grisham would say but I am not fighting in the court of opinion. Rather I simply give my time. To plant flower beds or clean a sidewalk; to fix a house (rather than destroy it with limited knowledge of tools) or to sort an errant computer problem or two or sit and chat with errant kids that need diserranting. Foster kids or kids with no money - things like that.
That is by far most rewarding than any job I have done in corporate America. Or any corporate for that matter. It does not pay but that is not expected. The joys of sharing an intangible and to see the outcome that is very tangible does wonders to one's morale I say.
Through these events I have also met and developed some friendships with like minded yokels - at least in the giving arena (don't really know what their thoughts about corporates are).
As far as the last weekend (where in I was still recovering from an arduous trip to the isle of Hawaii and all that hiking that followed) I was able to spend time working to clean and replant some flower gardens in Union Square in the city of San Francisco. It is amazing to discover what secrets a public park holds even in the middle of a thriving metro in a developed country.
From the usual cig butts to butt wipes to an assortment of broken glass and in one instance an IV needle were amongst the detritus cleared away from the flower and tree planters. It was a group of around 20 people from work who had given their mornings to pitch in and carve a clean square in the middle of the city. I think we accomplished said objective and left a few thousand square feet cleaner than we found it.
Cool cat the Japanese are Tokyo at dusk My second visit to this land of the rising sun after almost a decade. Back then clearly I was wet behind the ears product manager and likely didn’t pay attention to all (efficient) things Japanese. But today I did and of course continue to be impressed. It is as much the obvious stuff like on time travel that is both clean and comfortable and all that which makes it possible. The impressive landmark and landscapes that these humans have put together despite their cramped (or because of it) surroundings and precarious geological conditions could amaze a novice architect among us. But it’s also the little things that someone had to think about which have a phenomenal impact on day to day lives that make the Japanese stand apart. Below are few random examples- 1. Providing a very fine machined wooden toothpick in every packet of wooden chopsticks. The said chapsticks are simply set on the To Go counter of any food vendor/ convenience store wher...
I wonder how many millennia it would require to clean up Mumbai...or Delhi.
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