advice

Workplace advice for any issue, problem, or concern; from changing careers to co-working advice and decorating needs.

The Coin Mr Olivier Pressed Into My Palm After My Last School Match. AI-Generated.
The last board on a Friday afternoon I learned to concentrate in a church hall in Krugersdorp that always smelled of floor polish and orange squash. That is where the chess club met, every Friday from two until half past five, and where a retired railway clerk named Mr Olivier taught roughly forty children a year how to lose without crying and win without gloating.
By Josh Maraney3 days ago in Journal
When Luo Yonghao Says Your Ice Cream Is Bad, the Smartest Move Is Silence
One Tweet, Two Reactions On September 12, 2026, Luo Yonghao posted on Weibo. “I tried the suddenly famous Mr. Wildman at the airport. It’s pretty average. Considering the price, you could even say it’s bad. How did it become so popular? It feels much worse than Zhong Xue Gao. I miss Zhong Xue Gao.”
By Jin4 days ago in Journal
I Read the Six Municipal Debt Cases. Here’s What They Mean for Your City.
Old Debt, Current Responsibility: How Local Governments Spend After Six Municipal Debt Cases On September 11, 2026, the Federal Department of the Treasury and the Government Accountability Office released six case studies on municipal debt accountability. The cases involved more than $68 billion. They covered a state official, a mayor, a county board member, and a public utilities authority director. The report did not stop at “improper borrowing.” It named “the previous administration’s debt is not my responsibility,” “restructuring in name only,” and “false execution” as grounds for accountability.
By Jin4 days ago in Journal
The Ancient System That Was Too Efficient to Survive
The Paradox of the Grand Council: The Emperor Present, the Institution Absent In the seventh year of Yongzheng, war with the Dzungars in the northwest was pressing. Yongzheng established the Grand Council, originally the Military Planning Office. It had no formal office, no fixed membership, and no independent authority. Grand councillors were appointed by the emperor from grand secretaries, ministers, and vice ministers. Their work was to receive edicts, draft edicts, deliberate, and supervise implementation. The Grand Council bypassed the outer court and connected directly to the emperor. Memorials came in. Vermilion rescripts went out. Court letters went straight to provincial governors. It was fast, secret, and controlled.
By Jin4 days ago in Journal
I Own a House. My Coworkers Think They Own My Life.
The water dispenser in the break room gurgled. He put his paper cup under the spout, turned his head, and asked me, “That apartment of yours, still not renovated?”
By Jin5 days ago in Journal
A Jewelry Empire Sat on 1.5 Billion Yuan in Gold. Then Its Owners Vanished.
93,000 Yuan in Cash, 1.5 Billion Yuan in Inventory: How Qianye Jewelry Reached the Point of Its Controller’s Disappearance As of September 12, 2026, the public record on Qianye Jewelry is clear. The company’s actual controllers are unreachable. Employees say they have not been paid. Its online storefronts have been emptied.
By Jin5 days ago in Journal
The Robot Tax Is Back. Here’s the Part Nobody Wants to Admit.
Taxing machines, or taxing capital? An old question in a new shell At the Bund Conference in September 2026, Miao Yanliang, chief economist at CICC, said China could consider moderately levying an "automation tax," a "robot tax," or an "AI tax." He called the AI shock a structural and distributional problem.
By Jin6 days ago in Journal
NOT A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO MANIFESTING
NOT A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO MANIFESTING A Quiet Word With the Universe From Yourself I am not going to teach you how to manifest. There are enough people doing that already, usually while sitting in a perfect white room with a candle burning, three crystals lined up like obedient little soldiers and not a speck of dust anywhere. My house does not work like that, and neither does my mind. My thoughts arrive together, all talking at once, while the kettle is boiling and something I put down two minutes ago has mysteriously disappeared. This is not another guide promising that the universe will deliver everything you desire before teatime. This is simply a quiet word with the universe from myself.
By ♿ V+ Marie381Uk 7 days ago in Journal
They Fired 107 Graduates, Paid Them Off, and Apologized 3 Times. Why Is Everyone Still Angry?
Why Xingyu’s Punishments and Payouts Didn’t Quiet the Backlash On Aug. 24, “Xingyu coerces graduates into quitting” trended. By Sept. 7, the company had issued three public statements, one internal accountability notice, and paid 15,000 yuan to each of the 107 graduates it had hired and then pushed out. The crisis PR checklist was nearly complete. The public was not satisfied.
By Jin7 days ago in Journal
She Asked for Five Days to Care for Her Mother. Her Manager Said No. Her Resignation Was Approved in Seconds.
Five Days I On September 8, Hangzhou was still hot. Inside the Victoria’s Secret store at Hubin Yintai in77, a twenty-six-year-old woman stood at the warehouse door, phone lit. She had just typed: “Manager, my mother has been diagnosed with lung cancer and needs surgery. I’d like to take five days off to go home and care for her.”
By Jin7 days ago in Journal
The First Man to Press the Gas Pedal: Tung Chee-hwa and the 8 Years That Tested Hong Kong
Tung Chee-hwa: The First Man to Press the Gas Pedal On September 8, 2026, Tung Chee-hwa's office released a statement: Tung Chee-hwa, former Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, passed away peacefully that day at the age of 89.
By Jin7 days ago in Journal
I Ignored the Letter From My GP for Three Weeks Because I Was Afraid of the Word. AI-Generated.
The letter I left on the hall table The letter sat on the hall table for three weeks. It was from my GP, following up on a routine blood test I had only done because my wife nagged me into a general check-up for my sixtieth birthday, the way she nags me into most sensible things. The letter said my PSA was elevated and that I should come in to discuss it. I knew, vaguely, what PSA meant. I knew, vaguely, what "elevated" combined with "come in to discuss" tended to mean.
By Josh Maraney7 days ago in Journal