Bike prep's and disappointment

Finally the bike out of the garage
After a long cold and wet winter, this weekend finally nice weather and so it was time to clean out the garage and see whether the bike would still go. After two hours, the garage was clean and ready for summer (all sleds and skies moved out the way) and I moved out my bike to rev the engine again. Finally I would hear the roar and feel the power again of the 1100cc Honda Shadow I own with a lot of shiny chrome.

Disappointing sounds
Then, what happened ? No power, no roar, no battery, nothing, ... all dead. F... Moved up the car with the battery charger cables and had good hopes for a start-up with some help but again, even with the battery of the car helping out, the engine would not come alive, F... again. Having spent another hour trying to get it going, even with running in 2nd gear and jump-starting it, it didn't work and I gave up.

Hope for tomorrow
Neighbour had a new battery charger and that one is now plugged into the power to help the battery come alive. I hope tomorrow it will work because otherwise I will have to ask the service people from the garage. Let's pray ... and I'll let you know the outcome ...

Regards,

Marco

Cultural Changes

Always curious about working with other cultures I have also experienced the pitfalls as being Dutch ;-) Being open and direct is regarded a value here in our small country and we have an opinion on each and everyone. The same approach is working contra-productive with our Belgian colleagues. More reserved, not speaking about their private lives and awaiting the decision of the manager before acting is rather different than we are used to work. Even with my experience of the past 20 years in working with different nationalities, I all the more prefer exploring new persons and trying to contact them. Meanwhile I learned that although I am opening up towards someone, I may not automatically expect someone else to act alike. That's the difference, still remain yourself but do not try to change the other.

Over time, I have learned as well that most of the times, it's better to give first and hope for something to receive later, not expect but hope. If something doesn't come back, you can again decide yourself if you wish to give more or leave it as it is. Clearly stating what you expect from the other is not something you do in e.g. Belgium or France but to my kids I sometimes have to. However, even there I try to change between "Dutch" and other cultures, sometimes direct and clear, sometimes rather "vague" and just see what happens. Sometimes not what you expected but just as funny to see how a kids brain works.

Why shouldn't I do such changing of communicating with my colleagues as well, makes it more varied and leaves room for unexpected surprises. It's a good wish or intent to do so, now I just have to act accordingly --> which requires self-discipline and flexibility. I hope I can meet my own expectations, let's see in a couple of weeks when I read this back.

Regards and good luck Marco