Posts by Bungi Bill

15

No go field service days

by Steel in

it's canada day today and not just any canada day, it's canada's 150 birthday.

for some strange reason i was actually able to reason with my wife day and she agreed with me.

field service on a special day wouldn't be appropriate.

Bungi Bill

Typically, that wouldn't stop them!

In all my time with that lot, never was any consideration given to whether or not it was a "good" time or day to attempt to speak to people.

15

Islam terrorist finally gets it right

by _Morpheus in

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4642504/amp/isis-suicide-bomber-kills-12-comrades-wishing-luck.html.

Bungi Bill

Certainly plausible!

That is the sort of thing that can happen when amateurs start playing with explosives. (And one of the reasons why, in countries like this, the sale and handling of explosives is strictly licensed).

28

Report from Japan

by wifibandit in

jw
friends

anon in japan says:.

i served in the third circuit of shikoku japan.

a few years ago, a well-known theocratic family disassociated.

Bungi Bill

And to think that back in the 1980s, our Japanese "brothers" were upheld as the very personification of the term "dedicated" ! (And by contrast, the rest of us were portrayed as mere slack-@$$es).

15

Reached a milestone today!

by Bungi Bill in

jw
friends

today represents for me something of a milestone.

after breaking both bones in my lower left leg nearly four months ago, i am now able to walk without the aid of crutches.

also, the orthopedic specialist has cleared me to once more drive a motor vehicle.

Bungi Bill

Thanking everyone for their kind thoughts.

The physiotherapists inform me that my leg muscles have now regained their former strength, but still need further work to build up endurance. Yesterday, I was given a solid work out in the gym, then provided with a set of exercises to perform each day at home. As they say, though, "You cannot train without pain" . (That and thank goodness for paracetamol !)

15

Reached a milestone today!

by Bungi Bill in

jw
friends

today represents for me something of a milestone.

after breaking both bones in my lower left leg nearly four months ago, i am now able to walk without the aid of crutches.

also, the orthopedic specialist has cleared me to once more drive a motor vehicle.

Bungi Bill

Today represents for me something of a milestone.

After breaking both bones in my lower left leg nearly four months ago, I am now able to walk without the aid of crutches. Also, the orthopedic specialist has cleared me to once more drive a motor vehicle. I now look forward to gradually progressing back to working full time, and carrying out my normal duties. (For the last three months, I have been on four hours a day, and "light duties only").

My lower knee is still a bit tender (where they drove in the steel rod), but it still feels so good that I think I'll go and crack a cold one to celebrate!

16

They should show this 2 minute video about 1975 at the convention

by LevelThePlayingField in

if only there was a way to hack in and play this.

:).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bmca1qdhho&feature=push-u&attr_tag=3yku113wrp-khxdt-6.

Bungi Bill

Wasandelder Once,

Interesting!

Yes, I was very much a JW during those times - baptised in 1972 after having been a regular reader of WTS literature for six years beforehand. Not only the congregation I was in, but all others I knew about as well (without exception), swallowed that one about 1975.

One of the more prominent elders in that congregation made no secret of what he thought about 1975; as late as May of that year, he was still insistent that the current set of tyres on his car was going to "see the system out".

Nobody in that congregation had an educational level greater than Grade 12. Furthermore, I am only aware of one person in the entire circuit who had a university degree (he was a geologist). The few who bucked the trend did no better than a Diploma of Education (qualifying them to teach school at primary level), and they were widely regarded as being over educated! Even those of us who actually got to complete Grade 12 were few and far between - to say nothing of being on the verge of that very disapproved of state of affairs, over educated!"

Your observations about the connection between education levels and skepticism about WTS chronology seem pretty accurate to me! The congregation you describe, though, seems a little different to most, in having a larger number of university graduates amongst its ranks.

In all the congregations I ever associated with, over 28 years and in three different countries, there was only one that a number of degree-qualified persons. This was an English speaking congregation in the capital city of a recently independent Third World country. As a consequence, its territory included the local elite, plus expatriate professionals who had remained behind on short, fixed-term contracts.

Apart from that, in all the other congregations I ever associated with, you struggled to find anybody who even held a diploma. I can recall one brother who was a Quantity Surveyor, and several who were school teachers. That was it, though!

16

They should show this 2 minute video about 1975 at the convention

by LevelThePlayingField in

if only there was a way to hack in and play this.

:).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bmca1qdhho&feature=push-u&attr_tag=3yku113wrp-khxdt-6.

Bungi Bill

"Some back then believed 1975 would be it" ................ only some?

If most didn't, then they were certainly a silent majority. (Actually, make that bloody silent ! ) Not at all surprising, though, when the WTS thought they had that "No man knows the day or the hour" scripture covered. A Watchtower article in August 1968, entitled "Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?" warned that this was "no time to hide behind" that particular bible verse.

12

How did you overcome feelings of lost time in the Org?

by Skepsis in

jw
friends

i'm a very positive person who always try to focus on the good side of things.. however, my fading is becoming increasingly painful and i'm starting being shunned by some i thought were friends.

i'm missing some meetings so the rumour is spreading to neighbouring congregations where i'm known that i'm not as spiritual as i used to be.

elders want to have a shepherding meeting with me.

Bungi Bill

Unfortunately, there is no magic "silver bullet" to cure that one; unless somebody invents a Time Machine, the past is the one period of time that none of us has any control over!

At the end of the day, all any of us can do is make the best with what we have. You at least have age on your side. Coming from somebody who is more than twice your age, 30 is not at all a bad age to be! Another advantage you have is having already completed a university degree (you didn't mention what qualification you gained there?). That definitely places you one step ahead of the likes of myself, who never managed to complete their degree until over the age of 60 (and even then, only gaining the equivalent of an Associate Degree).

It is true that all too many employers have rather unrealistic expectations of a job applicant - the old wanting somebody who is "17 years old and fully experienced" attitude still reveals itself on occasions! However, rightly or wrongly (and as I discovered), academic qualifications tend to be rated higher than practical experience. In my own case, although having worked at all levels in the industry from labourer to senior management, that lack of formal qualifications posed a definite barrier (very much a situation of "No degree qualification - don't even bother wasting our time!")

Being a JW doesn't exactly refine ones social skills, and as Finkelstein has already remarked, somebody like yourself gets rather quickly "sent to Coventry" by their former friends. There are, though, ways of making new friends, through involvement in various community groups - such as sports clubs, cultural organisations, social groups etc. In that way, it is a bit like moving into a new town.

The main idea is to try to keep looking ahead through the windscreen, rather than backwards through the rear vision mirror!

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