David's Page

Lately I have started to tip workers in the service industry for what I feel is good service. I find the approach to tipping around the world extremely variable and dependent on both attitude and employee compensation. In Canada, tips comprise a substantial portion of a service worker's income. I like to think that is motivation to provide effective, friendly, and efficient service. In some countries, minimum wages for wait staff etc are actually quite…

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Snow rage hits the Canadian streets (see Reuters) and I wonder how long before the first instances (if they haven't already) of road rage hit the traffic clogged streets and expressways in Beijing. My morning commute is unusual if there isn't something crazy happening whether it be garbage or piles of dirt on the Jing Cheng expressway or half totalled cars doing 40 km/hr in the left lane. This morning, I watched a truck merge into traffic on 4th ring… Continue

Colin was staying in that night. His was a sterotypical case of grass is greener. He was finding the bustle of the city overwhelming. He enjoyed the bright neon lights, the eclectic mix of people, and the opportunities. The tastes and sights and sounds were nothing like anything back home and he basked in their glory, soaking up the culture and vitality. For ages he craved the anonymity of a metropolis but realized the cost was loneliness. Shy and passive, Colin struggled to make new… Continue