30 Nov
How to Give Gifts at Work: My interview with Allure magazine
Allure, December 2009
Dealing with the exchange of holiday gifts at work can feel like unwrapping a migraine. To whom should you give? How much should you spend? A present that’s perfect for a coworker might be all wrong for your boss, gag fits are tricky, and it’s easy to send the wrong message.
So Allure magazine called and asked if I would share my tips about the dos and don’ts of office gift giving. Read on.
Hoops & Yoyo on Cell Phone Etiquette
Thought this was cute. Enjoy!
Hoops & Yoho on Cell Phone Etiquette
Tasty and Tangy Green Bean Salad
Jacqueline's holiday green bean salad
Make someone smile by giving the gift of food. Today I made a green bean salad for my friend, Marilyn Murray Willison and her husband, Tony. The colors of this salad go extremely well with any holiday decor. This salad is healthy, crunchy and delicious and it makes the perfect dish to bring to your next holiday party or family get together. You can taste the love in every bite!
4 cups fresh, thin green beans, snapped into bite-size pieces.
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablesppons red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (I used the red wine vinegar)
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
pinch of salt
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
toasted pine nuts (optional for extra crunch)
In a large saucepan of lightly salted boiling water, cook the green beans uncovered for 7 to 9 minutes or until tender. Drain and pour beans into a large pot of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain again. Read more
President Obama’s bow to Japan’s emperor shows breach in protocol
Obama's bow causes breach in protocol.
Let’s set the record straight once and for all. Protocol dictates that a chief of state should not…I repeat, should not bow to another chief of state. President Obama did indeed commit a presidential gaffe when he bowed to Japan’s Emperor, Akihito during his visit to Japan last weekend.
Only Emperor Akihito’s subjects are required to bow to him. In contrast, when the President visited Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year, he did not bow to her. “The bow was a simple show of respect,” the State Department said in a statement on Tuesday in a response to critics (like me) who decried the move. Experts in Japanese etiquette have even praised it as an appropriate show of respect.
Most Americans don’t take the time or see the need to learn about cross-cultural issues. As a result, there is a lot of ignorance and confusion surrounding other cultures . We are the most culturally diverse national in the world, yet we are the most culturally unaware.
If I were to go to another country and meet a king, queen or emperor it would not be necessary for me to bow or curtsy because I’m not a subject in that country. In Japan, subjects bow as a sign of respect to the person who holds the higher rank and status. The deeper the bow indicates the deeper the respect a person holds for another person, especially one in power.
President Obama’s actions speak louder than words. He was not only showing respect, he was showing deferrence to Emperor Akihito. And again, that’s just something the leader of the free world is not required or expected to do with other world leaders.
Jacqueline Whitmore shares her views about incivility in America
Recently I was interviewed by Ben Becker at WPEC-TV in West Palm Beach about incivility in America. Click on the video to hear what I had to say.
How to cold-shoulder the flu, warmly
There’s a lot of media frenzy surrounding the H1N1 virus and I was happy to weigh in with my etiquette tips and opinions for this article written by Olivia Barker in today’s USA Today.
Manners mavens Anna Post and Jacqueline Whitmore weigh in on dicey decorum during this season of H1N1. “I don’t think good etiquette means you get a cold (or the flu) to be polite,” Post says. “I think you can satisfy both” — civility and well-being. Click here to read more.