Green company encourages biking to work (if only!)

As a former mountain bike enthusiast who tried to ride to work, I read with amusement the chronicles of a journalist who tried to do the same in KL.

I think it’s a great idea if:

• We can reduce the heat outdoors to a spring-time low of 22 Celsius
• Build side lanes for bicycles
• Have companies that seriously encourage staff to come to work on a bicycle

Wouldn’t it be great to have a company that was serious in encouraging all its employees to come to work riding a bicycle? How can a company do this? Here are my ideas:

• Give bicycles or cash aid to buy bicycles
• Build shower stalls in the office building (I get all hot and sweaty by the time I arrive) and changing rooms (don’t expect me to wear long sleeves and formal pants while riding – you must be joking or crazy)
• Have a parking bay for the bikes
• Provide free bicycle care/workshop
• Have outings/activities for staff where bicycles are needed.

The benefit: healthy staff, less pollution and boasting rights as a green company.

Any company want to do this?

Leave your heart with us . . .

Read in a local newspaper recently  an issue very dear to me - organ donation. I signed up as an organ donor some years ago and I believe every caring and responsible human should leave behind their organs when they die (you are not going to use them and in a few hours all your organs will begin to rot away).

As  Christians, the belief that the physical body is a temporary tent and that God has promised a new body in the resurrection are good enough reasons to donate our organs the moment we die.

I also learnt that giving your organs when you die is known as cadaveric donation.

I then learnt that you can donate some organs while you are still ALIVE – life organ donation. Wow, that’s a challenge I would consider if I could give away something I could spare so some one else may live . . .

Being an ‘idea man’ I had this crazy idea: create an advert for newspapers and billboards with the phrase ‘Please leave behind your heart when you leave . . .’ with a suitable background picture. Anybody want to add to this idea or take it up?

Lastly, something that REALLY irritates me – there is no clear place or person to contact in Kuching for organ donation. If you know anything about this, PLEASE  let me know. I’ve got friends who want to give their hearts (and kidney and eyeballs . . .) away.

Teachers making a difference

OK, here's the idea. I'll put it up here so there's a record and maybe somebody would even respond to it (if anyone reads this blog . . .).
Several weeks ago I preached on the importance of more Christians purposely choosing to become teachers and the need for them to aspire to become the BEST teachers and the BEST witnesses in whatever school they are in.
I also noted that for this to happen there needs to be a body dedicated on doing this - a body I dream of forming and maybe Shalom (the church I am presently pastoring) would play a key role in.
Then I cam across www.teachforamerica.org and its Malaysian counterpart www.teachformalaysia.org
What a wonderful programme and I pray something great will come out of the Malaysian one.
So what can I do? Here are some ideas (I got lots of them, remember):

• hold an annual booster retreat for teachers and teachers to be where they are pampered and provided talks/workshops by great Christian leaders/teachers on how to become the best teacher and evangelist they can be
• encourage volunteer teaching especially for the poor and rejected by (a) running weekend classes, (b) edu programme for kampung schools during holidays and (c) free pre-exam revision classes/seminars

Now, is this a good idea or a God idea and how to make it a reality?

Second name fiasco

Ooops . . . made a mistake concerning second mention of names in my editing yesterday. 

This is the rule: the first time name of a person is mentioned in a report give it in full. Subsequent mentions use his first name (for Chinese) or surname.

My mistake: Dayak names - do you use first name, second name or third name? I assume if the guy's name was Anjie Jingga, then second mention I'll use 'Jingga' (i.e. his surname) but then I was wrong. I was informed 'Jingga' would most probably be his father's name so for Dayaks (to play safe) use 1st name, i.e. 'Anjie'.

But then there are exceptions. Datuk James Jemut Masing is 'Masing' not "Jemut" . . . ah! the joy of learning the exceptions.

Many good ideas, no good work

I am slowly resigning myself to the 'fact' that I am an ideas man - I always have many ideas of what should or could be done and even go as far as planning and sharing my ideas but almost all (the ideas)  have never taken off; it's so frustrating when I think of what could but didn't.
For instance the idea of having a house near UNIMAS and UiTM to serve as a safe haven for students to get a feel of home, affordable food and a safe place to relate that can serve as a platform for outreach and community (student) work. . . yet no lift off as no house and rental money, no cook and no manager for the home.
And the idea of doing something for teachers - start an organisation to promote Christians to become teachers and then have events and back-up strategies to help these teachers become the best teachers and best Christian witness in their schools. Nice idea but do I have the manpower, the means etc etc etc . . .
As I said I have many good ideas of what would be good to do but . . . fantasy is fantasy, isn't it?