Merry Christmas

From Mac....

Brrrrrrr.....!!

It's minus six Celcius in Manchester this morning. The Met Office predicted maximum temperature today is -2C! Brrrr.... I'm cold...

Sad Mac

Mac is sad after saying goodbye to Apple who is flying to Jakarta. Goodbye Apple....!! You'll love it there as grandma will take good care of you...

Apple is ready to go

Apple got his hat, spending his last day with Mac, and ready to start his long journey to Jakarta...

Happiness Measurement

I woke up this morning to see in (BBC) Breakfast News interviews about measuring happiness. Apparently, the leader of this country Prime Minister David Cameron suggested this idea – along with his big term like “Big Society” – amid all the budget cuts that might throw some poor people deeper into poverty.

Articles about happiness are all over the media today. BBC Magazine published an article by Michael Blastland, “Why is it hard to measure happiness “ (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11765401). Whilst The Guardian contemplated deeper into the philosophy of happiness from the utilitarian point of view to Heidegger’s analysis of technology with the idea that life is something to be controlled and mastered (“What philosophy tells us about the happiness index” http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/15/happiness-index-philosophy).

Reading all of this is amusing and entertaining. Yet it makes me think. What is happiness for me, for us common Earth dweller? How do we measure it (or do we need to and do we want to measure it)?

I am going to send the next few paragraphs as a comment for the article in BBC:

Indeed happiness is subjective and very personal. For me, I don’t really care about GDP, or whether or not I can buy new clothes every so often or not. My family has a roof to shelter for, we can afford some (healthy) food everyday, and my son gets the best education that he deserve to fulfil his dreams one day, that is the most important thing for me now.

Yet, even this personal measure changes over the years. When I was a teenager, being able to hang out with my friends around campfires and going hiking played a great deal in my happiness factors. In my career as an aviation journalist, taking pictures and writing about Concorde was the highlight of my life then. Now in my late thirties with a teenager son who wants to be a particle physicist like Brian Cox, seeing him flourishing in school is a great joy. So, I can say that I am happy in general. There are of course things that can me grumpy, but they do not count for my whole happiness, contentment and well-being.

Again, the measurement varies all too broadly. My friends who love shopping, came back from New York very happy – at least for me they looked happy – with so many new shoes, perfumes, clothes and all the “Sex and the City” likes. I would not be so happy walking in Trafford Centre among all the glittery fashion as I just don’t enjoy them. My next door neighbour looks very happy holding his newborn baby in the weekend, yet the next day he looks so tired and said he was looking forward to go back to work for a bit of “peace”. Relative. Personal. Immeasurable. Abstract.

Still, I have one formula that always succeeds in reminding me of how happy I actually am. Content is the word that is more suitable for this.

My formula is a song from Disney’s “Jungle Book” sung by Baloo the bear. It says, “Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities. Forget about the worries and strive…. When you found out you can live without it then go along not thinking about it! I tell you something good: the bare necessities of life will come to you.” This song is about discerning between need and want, about being content and appreciate what we have – after all, there are always people who sleep in refugee camps and cannot afford food, there are babies dying everyday of curable diseases only because they do not have affordable health care. The list of less fortunate people can go as long as forever.

So, at the end of the day, am I happy? I think yes, I am very happy. Our parents and grandparents got it right when they say repeatedly, “Count your blessings, love. Count your blessings.”

Mac meets Alan the Modelmaker

I went with Adeline walking around today. We went to a vintage fair in Printworks, Manchester, near the big wheel. Among all the vintage clothes, accessories and all girly things, I saw the best stall ever! It is called "Mossley Modelmaker". Adeline chat with the modelmaker himself, Alan Tolfrey. He is a very nice guy. I really like Alan. He is so talented, making all little buildings exactly the same as the real big ones.

Alan said, everyone has talents. He is enjoying his and starting to make a living out of it. How wonderful! He is an architec by trade, and now that he is retired, he can make models anytime he likes. Adeline said she can't imagine her dad retiring and enjoying a hobby like Alan, but then again, everyone is different. (Adeline's dad, Joe Tumenggung is 74 this year, and he is still investigating air accidents and/or incidents. He is in Batam, Indonesia at the moment, looking at parts of the Qantas' Airbus 380 engines that fell there)

I enjoy our little walk around today. We were meant to go with Cat Sullivan, a very nice lady who likes my pictures and who said that she wanted to meet me. Unfortunately, Cat is not feeling well. So she had to stay at her home in Sheffield today. I wish her well soon.

I was a little sad not being able to meet Cat today. But I am happy to meet nice Alan. Please look at his models in his website http://mossleymodelmaker.com/.

Now I'm going to watch the recorded Formula One qualifying with Adeline and Andy.

The Space Ape

I want to be a flying monkey! But I am 50 years too late. The job was taken in 1961 when Ham the Astrochimp boarded MR-2 capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and became the first ape in space. Ooh how I want to be Ham. He is my hero.

Ham preceded John Glenn, the first American who flew into the “outer space” orbiting the Earth on 20th February 1962 aboard Friendship 7. He was also three months earlier than Yuri Gagarin, the Russian cosmonaut who was the first human to travel into space on his Vostok 3KA-3 in April 1961.

Although some people might think that it was cruel to launch an innocent monkey – well, Ham was an ape, not a monkey – into space without his consent, I think it was great being Ham. I am sure that if human can understand what he said or read his mind, they will understand how proud Ham was. I know I am proud of Ham!

On 31st January 1961, Ham was strapped into his capsule and launched to orbit the Earth. His flight was 16 minutes and 39 seconds, before splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. Apparently, there was a little problem during his flight; his capsule suffered a partial loss of pressure during the flight. Good job he was wearing a good space suit that not only made him look so handsome, but also protected him from all those problems. When recovered by a rescue ship, he only suffered a bruised nose.

Ham’s name was not related to ham the cured pork meat. His was an abbreviation of Holloman Aerospace Medical, where he was based before his historical flight.

I want to see Ham’s spacecraft, but unfortunately Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry does not have it. Still, I am very happy to see all the aircrafts there. I like the Avro 707A that has a delta wing (its wing looks more triangular than regular aeroplanes).

 

I also like the giant Airbus 380 – although the model they have in the museum was not big at all. Adeline said that at this moment (it is the year 2010 when I wrote this entry), the A380 is the biggest passenger aircraft that can carry up to 600 real humans plus their luggage.

The Airbus 380 was in trouble a few days ago. It was an A380 owned by Qantas - Australia’s flag carrier and so far the safest airline in the world with no fatal accident at all since founded in 1920. According to the news, it had engine problem and had to return to base to Singapore, meaning it had to come back to the airfield where it took off.

There are so many things to write about when I am thinking about aeroplane and aerospace, but I have to leave it to next time. I am going to work with Adeline again today, and then later in the evening we are going to a birthday party of a sweet girl called Karina who wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. So I hope I can have some interesting chat with Karina about aerospace!

Mac in Libraries

These last couple of days, I have been visiting libraries. A library is a place full of books where human come around to read and they can borrow books. I like it, it was quiet and everyone there was all in their good behaviour.

First I visited Manchester’s John Ryland Library. It is an amazing old building, joined with a newer more modern part where there is a café and little shop. The library was having an exhibition about the life of writer Elizabeth Gaskell. Too bad we were not allowed to take pictures in the exhibition part.

We did have fun though! I went to the ladies room. It was a very old fashion ladies or “powder room”, with cute coat hangers and a chain to pull when you need to flush the toilet. Adeline took some pictures of me there!

Then we went to the reading room. Wow….! It is impressive. Not that I am an expert in architectures or libraries, but Adeline says this building it very special. It was renovated for months and months – in fact, it took three years from 2004 to 2007!

This library looks like a church. Well, apparently it was intended by the first owner Mrs Ryland to hold collection of theological books. I asked Adeline what theological means. She said theology is the study about God and religions. She said it is quite a complicated study and that she learned that for a few semesters in university. I am happy with the simple explanation that theological means anything to do with religion and the Old Man in heaven stuff.

The next day, Adeline took me to Manchester’s new City Library. It was only across the street from the old John Ryland library, very near Adeline’s office. I like it there! The sofas and chairs are colourful, and there are many busy people with their laptops and books. Adeline said they might be doing some studies or researches.

In this new City Library, we looked at some interesting knitting books. I want Adeline to knit more friends for me!

Mac messing about

Adeline was busy in court this morning, so I went around playing in her office hahahaha....!

Attack of the Giant Macaque

There are parades of old Rolls-Royce cars at Albert Square

today. This was part of  the celebration of the centenary of Charles Rolls. The Lord  Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Mark Hackett, was around as well. Many photographers, cameramen and reporters came to see the old cars.

However, Mac missed this. Adeline was going to take Mac to see the old gorgeous cars, but when Mac finally had time to go to Albert Square, the Rolls-Royces are gone.

Mac got so disappointed and angry that he wanted to take over the whole Town Hall. Watch out Manchester, for the attack of Mac the Giant Macaque!!

Mac decided Town Hall is too massive. “Let’s just attack a bus!”

Oh, the bus is still too much for Mac. At the end, Mac settled to attack the phone and the PC.

Well, that’s Mac’s story today!

Meet Mac's little brother Apple

This is my brother Apple. When his overall is ready, he'll be flying to Jakarta where he's going to live with Adeline's mum. How exciting! He'll have to sing me "Leaving on a Jet Plane" before he board his DHL box...

Mac's work experience

I'm going to work with Andy today.
Look, he lets me try doing vision mixing at the gallery - that's where the director and producer control what will appear on your TV screen.

Mac's day in

I'm staying home with Jacques today. So i thought i'd better do some exercise on the "tree" before Jacques get up...

Mac's day out with Andy

I'm driving Andy's work car today..

Mac's diary 26 Oct

Mac’s diary 24-25 October 2010

Sunday 24th: I came with Andy and Adeline to their local pub. I was their team mascot for the quiz they played. This pub quiz is like an exam at schools, except that people are allowed to drink alcohol. The questions are tricky, but Andy and Adeline were doing very well until in round six, they were asked names of footballers. Oh no! I know that they hate football and never bothered to read any news about this silly game. But everyone loved me. The winning team wanted to adopt me as their winning prize. Good job Adeline firmly said No!

 

Monday 25th: I came along with Adeline to her work at the Magistrates Court building. Too bad I could not tag along with her into the court room. She said it was a DJ today. I thought there was a party in the court room and I was so jealous that I could not join in, until later on she explained to me that in the criminal justice system, a “DJ” is a district judge, not a DJ who plays music. Pheew… I almost went into a tantrum then. So I stayed in her little office in the Magistrates Court building, hiding inside her handbag. I got to meet her nice colleagues Clare, Stephen, Chyvonne and Ged, I shook hand with them. Stephen even asked Adeline to knit his little daughter a little monkey like me, but she said she has to create my brother for her mother first before she could knit any new one.

Since I did not do much today, I am not too tired this evening. I am now going to sit quietly in the kitchen, trying not to get dirty while Adeline is going to cook Broccoli and Stilton soup for her and Andy and Meatball Pasta for Jacques. Hmmm… I wish I am allowed to eat those nice food…!

Diary of Mac the Macaque

 I was born on Saturday 23rd October 2010. It took my creator one week to create me, just like the biggest human’s fairy tale said about human and their creator. Although she did not plan it this way – she thought it would take her much longer than a week to create me.

On my first day on Earth, my diary is already quite full. I am very excited hearing all the exciting journeys that my creator Adeline and her husband Andy plan for me. Here are some of their ideas:

Monday 25th October. Adeline said she is going to sneak me into her handbag and take me to her job in the court room. Imagine that, being the first monkey ever to sit in a live court room! She said she wants to try to take a picture of me there, but she has to check all the legal stuff first as cameras are not allowed in the court room.

Tuesday – or the day after if I get too tired on my first day out. Andy might take me to his exciting job as a cameraman. He said he will let me sit on the dashboard of his cameraman van so that I can see where we’re going, then he will introduce me to Jojo his cameraman friend and Julie his director friend who also likes to create creatures like me. Oh, I hope Julie will have her cuddly friend with her so that I can flirt!

The next day after going out with Andy the cameraman, I will come with Adeline again to her office. This is the other office, not the court one, she said. Adeline said that I will brighten the mood in her office because there are many miserable people there. She said I have to be especially nice and be as funny as possible to a man in red who comes in the morning bringing the letters. She said the miserable postman will need my cheering up the most. Secondly, she asked me to my funny self to a guy who hates cheese – although I don’t know how am I supposed to recognise him if Adeline is not around. For the rest of the day, she ask me to sit quietly on her computer screen while she works.

Andy and Adeline have a teenage son called Jacques. He is nice for a teenager. I was scared at him in the beginning; because I heard that teenagers are scary creatures who hate cute cuddly creature like me (my friends in cuddly creature heaven told me so before I was born). However, Jacques proved that my friends are wrong. He is a nice gentle teenager creature who smiles at me. He even let me tried to ride his creation that has battery and wheels! I did not drive it well though, because I was too big for his battery-powered creation.

I overheard Andy and Adeline’s conversation about taking me to Jacques’ school one day (but pssst…. I have to be quiet about this because they don’t want to embarrass Jacques). They said I can come to the next parents’ evening to see Jacques teacher. Jacques’ teacher is a very clever human, his name is Doctor something. I heard that when a human has a Doctor in the beginning of its name, it means this human studied for a very long time and knows so many complicated things. Jacques’ teacher knows a lot about how the physical world works, he even has a theory on how the whole big universe started. Wow… how I wish I were that clever.

What is also exciting is that going to Jacques’ school means I can see pictures of clever and famous people who used to study there. Andy said he will take a picture of me with Michael Wood the famous historian – his picture is on the school’s wall, so I will have to hang on to his picture frame while Andy takes my picture. There are other famous scientists, journalists, and all seriously clever people that I will see in Jacques’ school.

Since I was born in October whilst the weather is cold, I have to wait for a few more months before my first camping trip. Yes, Andy and Adeline said they are going to take me camping and take a picture of me in their big tent! I cannot wait for that. And who knows, they might take me to fly one day. I heard that human sometimes ride these huge iron birds that take them somewhere far far away from their home. I heard that these iron birds are also human’s creation. How wonderful! I think these human are really clever creature.

This is only my first day on Earth, so I will need lots of rest and sleep. I will write again soon.

Mac

My Cunning Plan (How to Deal with Miserable People Part 3)

Earlier I was puzzling, thinking, and stressing about some miserable people at work. My good friends sent me some suggestions that are very helpful and uplifting, that thanks to them, I regain my crazy bonkers self back. Now I have a cunning plan!

Let me start with my new hobby – be patient, reader, I will get to my cunning plan. About a month ago, one Saturday in late September, I started knitting. Yes, knitting, as in the activity of an old woman in a rocking chair with her cat chasing her ball of wool around.

This started when I did not get the job I wanted. I applied for the position of Press Office Assistant at the City Council, got the interview, but by the end of the week got the news that my application was not successful. It felt like being dumped by a boyfriend – with cool and don’t care stage, then denial, then crying out loud. I needed a bounced back plan.

Saturday morning, my husband took me for a walk around the canal near where we live. As walk around feeding the ducks, we saw a boat with signs saying, “We sell wool”. I always liked looking at colourful wools and I never been inside a canal boat. So we walked in. The boat was full of jumpers, tea pot holders, scarf and wool for sale. A chat with the nice lady and her husband later, I said, “Oh…how lovely! I always wanted to learn to knit.” Then there it goes, my new hobby was born.

Now, I knit. I am addicted to knitting as it relaxed me. I do not care about the job I did not get, because I knit. Miserable people at work upset me, so I got home and I knit. My husband wants to watch motoring programme on TV that I am not very interested in, I knit. I love it!

With my new hobby, I now have a cunning plan to defend myself against the miserable dementors at work. I decided that I am going to knit some cute finger puppets and take them to work. The plan is, whenever someone said something miserable or whine and whinge, my finger puppet will appear from my pocket and save the day!

And oh, I forgot to mention earlier about the grumpy postman who came to our office every morning. He always gave us too many letters – half of them are actually for the office next door, but he is just too lazy to walk and knock on the other door. When I said, “Excuse me, these two letters are not for us, it’s for them next door.” His grumpy face got grumpier and he always said something rude to me like, “It is on the same floor, isn’t it?! Why should there be too many different offices on the same floor?!” (Jeeezz… I did not design the offices! Do not take it on me, lazy a**e!)

When my finger puppets are done, Mr Grumpy Postman will be the first to meet them. I think one of them will say, “What’s with the grumpy face? When the wind changes, your face will stay like that forever. You don’t want that, do you?”

As with Mr Smelly cheese, I think my finger puppet will say something to him accordingly.

It’s good having a new hobby that is happy and cheerful!

Dealing with Miserable People - Part Two

Last night I posted a question of how to deal with miserable people. Thanks to so many happy and caring friends on the social network I am on, I received quite a few suggestions.

Rio, my friend from secondary school (which is what, almost 20 years ago?) said, “Send him (the smelly cheese guy) to Somalia sot that he will become the cheese (to eat).”.

My happy bubbly friend Cat wrote, “All I can advise you is get out of there asap! Some people are happiest when they are miserable. There’s no darn thing you can do to change that because they don’t want to change unfortunately.”

Jojo, a wise friend with some very good philosophy on his social networking site wrote, “Just smile and always be happy! Life is so short! I am not sure why people are the way they are but they must be unhappy in their lives somehow. I have hope in all people that they can change. As long as we never become miserable ourselves because of their attitude, we have nothing to worry about. So keep cooking your smelly cheese… :-)”

Then Donna, a friend and ex-colleague from the aviation magazine I used to work for came up with this, “Bring durian next time!” Durian is a fruit from South East Asia that is like its name, full of spikes. For South East Asian people, durian is like Marmite: you either love it or hate it!

Not a fan of durian myself, I like the way it was described on a travel programme on BBC Radio 4, “It tastes and smells like kissing your dead grand mother.” Now I can really imagine having this fruit at my office. Maybe I can stand the taste with a thought that it will kill all the dementors in my office!

I thank all my friends who with their supports and advises, made me laughed until I almost fell from my chair. I guess one of the many possible ways of dealing with miserable people is to laugh out loud – although today I found out that laughing is now forbidden in my office (to cut the long story short, a very nice manager of mine had a funny ring tone on her phone that every time it rang, I laughed out loud. Then someone shush us.)

So, today I decided: If I could not laugh with them, then I shall laugh at them. Hahahahahahaha……. After all, the way to beat the dementors according to lovely Miss J.K. Rowlings is to keep your happy thoughts….

How to Deal with Miserable People?

This is not a self-help article on how to deal with miserable people. This is a question.

I have a problem. I am sharing an office with a bunch of miserable people. Not all of them are, just some of them. These miserable bunch is like a group of Harry Potter’s dementors who suck all the happiness and good energy from whoever pass them. I am not exaggerating.

Let me spill the detail. Today I made a cheese and onion toasties for my lunch. They are yummy. I used mature cheddar cheese that was left from our dinner the night before. Then a miserable guy from this lot – there are about four miserable people there – came to the shared kitchen and said, “Ah, so you are the culprit!” He never spoke to me before, normally when I said good morning or hi whenever we passed, he just walked as if I were a transparent ghost.

I said, “Excuse me?” Then he said, “Your cheese smells. I could smell it even from when I got out of the lift.”

Ah, so he is a cheese hater, I thought. So I kindly – with a smile – asked, “So you don’t like cheese? What a shame. Cheese is nice!”

He said, “No, I like cheese. But your cheese smell!” (Jesus! What a miserable sod!)

Just before he left the kitchen I said, “Why don’t you get an oxygen mask.” I’m not sure whether he heard my suggestion or not. I don’t care. He hates my cheese so I can’t help but dislike him.

What I wanted to tell him but did not have time to think it over was this, “Look mate, I came from a third world country, I’ve seen real hunger. So I never wasted food. Last night’s left over is my lunch. Besides, my stomach can take any expired food and it never failed me.” I did not say this. Instead I just left the office and sit in the sun for half an hour.

About a month ago, an old lady from the same bunch suddenly told us off. We – some colleagues from my team and I – were chatting casually about some current affair news It was the palarva in America caused by a crazy Christian who declared 9/11 as a Quran burning day. We were lightly discussing about flag burning in demonstrations – American flag is very popular for this purpose that one of my colleague had an idea to open a business of “easy burning American flag” – and how one culture to another view this kind of expression.

Then this woman – who was normally very chatty, many times she stopped by our desks to chat about many things and no one could stop her talking – suddenly said, “Excuse me, if you guys want to chat, could you chat somewhere else. I am working.” Huh?!! I could not believe my hearing, but apparently I wasn’t hearing voices because my big big boss was there and she opened her mouth so wide in amazement and said, “Did she just told us to shut up?”

The same old woman once followed me around from the kitchen to comment about my team – something that is none of her business at all. This was one Friday afternoon, about quarter to four. My two colleagues just left the office – they were actually going to our other office across the road. I was washing my cups in the kitchen and it was too late to avoid her. She came to me saying, “Adeline, what is wrong with your team? This is a quarter to four and people already left!”

While trying to run away, I said to her, “Maybe they are taking flexi or going to the other office, I don’t know. I am not the manager.” She followed me around and said her words about 10 centimetres from my ear (and she is LOUD), “But this is still office hours!! Bla….Bla….” I ran faster and stopped at my boss’ desk saying, “Ask him. He is the manager, I’m not.” My poor nice boss who were concentrating on some work got up and asked me, “What’s the matter what’s the matter?” By this time, the old woman had already walked away back to her desk mumbling to herself. I was left speechless and could only said, “It is none of her business. It is none of her bloody business.”

Yesterday I got a task from my line manager to print some forms. There are a few different forms that are colour coded, so I needed to load different coloured paper into the joint printer. I could sense trouble soonest I got hold of some pink papers. The dirty looks that was aimed at me was so strong that they could kill a passing fly or bee! A miserable woman – and this one is the champion of all miserable people for the reason that I will tell you next – rolled her eyes so widely that I was worried they might popped out of her eye sockets.

I could not be bothered loading the paper tray with pink, yellow and green papers with three-four dementors hovering around me waiting to make a kill. Oh no, it’s not worth my life! So I told my boss that I will do the task in the morning in our other office, away from the dementors.

Now the champion of the miserable people. First of all, the face. I can’t really blame anyone for having a miserable face, because it might be that it was just nature’s freak or genetically mutant face. However, her attitude totally reflect her miserable face. A few weeks ago, our automatic office door jammed. It kept on refusing to open, no matter how close your fob was to the door panel.

I arrived at the office that morning, being locked out and waiting for the door to open (saying, “Open Sesame!” but with no luck), until Roger the nice guy from that lot came to the rescue. He yanked the door from inside, pulled it close before pressing the button again. Magically, the door opened!

So later that day, when the door became moody again, I jumped to help out people who were stuck outside. I did exactly the same as nice Roger did. There were two people outside: the miserable champion woman and the smelly cheese guy. While I yanked the door toward me, she made a frantic motion outside and shouted, “Stop! Stop! Don’t do that, it would only make it worse.” Still, I managed to open the door. Then guess what she said as she walked in? There is no “thank you”. Oh no! She said (with a very grumpy face that will certainly scared the police horse), “You should not do that!!!! You only made the door worse!!!”

I was so shocked that I could only whispered, “Thank you for trying to help by the way.”

Oh my God, good gracious Lord….! What is wrong with these people?

I am thinking about getting a laughing gas (N2O or Nitrous oxide) and gas the whole office with it. The problem is, our office is not air conditioned. Although I don’t mind becoming the victim myself, but I think the whole office is rather too big for it to take into effect.

I am also thinking about “Dodol Aceh” or Acehnese sweet, that would certainly make people giggle with no reason. Unfortunately, the main ingredients for this delicacy is now a controlled substance Class B. Hmmm… I have to find some other ways…. Where can I get stink bomb? Local jokes shop? Hmmm....

Anyone has any idea of how to deal with a bunch of miserable people?

Riverside Housing is discouraging residence to cycle and killing the wildlife

Residents in one of Riverside’s property in Potato Wharf/Woolam Place, Manchester, are concern that the property management is disregarding its own Environmental Policy that claims to care about the need for “concerted action to combat the detrimental effects of carbon emissions”.

Riverside prefers car than bicycles

In early August, residents received a note saying that all bicycles should be removed from the common area and should be “stored within your own flat or chained externally.” Four residents emailed its Resident Relation Gayle Shackley to ask for a solution since there is no place to chain the bicycles safely outside and it is impossible to drag a bicycle up the stairs to second and third flour.

The reply was appalling. One, she decline the proposal to install bicycle storage in the car park area stating that there is no space. Resident and leaseholder Bosco Fernandez came up with this proposal, “I wish to clarify that we are not requesting you to replace any existing parking bays with bicycle racks or lockers; we would like you to consider installing storage facilities behind the parking bays under the two arches at Potato Wharf that are closest to the gates. These arches have unused areas between the bays and the rear wall. The free area in the arch closest to the gate measures 12m x 3.3m and the free area in the adjacent arch measures 7.2m x 3.3m.”

In reply to this proposal, Riverside’s Gayle Shackley wrote, “If cycle storage provision results in cyclists having to wheel their bicycles between 2 parked cars as the only means of getting their bicycle out, it leads to potential damage to those cars.”

On the whole, Riverside is just not willing to give any solution to residents who want to cycle to work or within the city centre, even though it was clear in their Environmental Policy that “Nationally and globally there is a growing awareness of the need for concerted action to combat the detrimental effects of carbon emissions and their impact on climate change. This is relevant to all businesses including housing providers and impacts on various aspects of business practice including development of new properties, procurement of goods and services, building facilities, transport and waste management.”

A number of residents were also concerned and expressed this by emailing Riverside. However, the response was that, “Since you are not a leaseholder, we are not going to deal with you.”

Killing the wildlife

On Friday 3rd September, residents came home to see that the only green patch in front of the Potato Wharf apartments is gone. Without acknowledging the residents, Riverside cut all the lavender and lilac bushes and all the ivy climbers that made the wall green, and with this, destroying two sparrow nests and a blue tit nest in the bush.

Residents are now waiting to see their next move, whether or not they will replant some flowers or any plant in the flower beds. After all, flower beds are intended to house plants.

With the very few chance to observe wildlife within the city centre area, residents with bird feeders had been enjoying the company of a number of blue tits, great tits, sparrows, gold finches, green finches and even the rare bullfinches that categorised as Species of European Conservation Concern by the RSPB.

These birds are now homeless and probably dead thanks to Riverside.

Residents’ actions

With all the anti-environmental actions that Riverside committed, residents of Potato Wharf and Woolam Place are now in correspondence with their local councillors. So far, Councillor Marc Ramsbottom has encouraged residents to check with Manchester City Council planning policy regarding the environment. According to Councillor Ramsbottom, even though private housing management such as Riverside are not directly under City Council regulation, there are guidelines regarding environmental policy that they should not disregard.

A number of residents of Potato Wharf and Woolam Place will soon be meeting their councillors to discuss this matter.

In the meantime, discussions with Riverside are stagnant as Riverside refused to communicate with non-leaseholders and has been declining all proposal visible.

Photos - Fans wait for first England Match against USA for World cup - Football (Soccer) - Citizenside.com

Photos - Fans wait for first England Match against USA for World cup - Football (Soccer) - Citizenside.com

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Philippines: Danger by the pen

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Dixie Chicks - Not Ready To Make Nice

I'm not ready to make nice

Thanks to Dixie Chicks to help me express how I feel.... My parents said please let it go, don't get yourself into trouble. But I'm not ready to make nice. "Forgive sounds good, but forget, I'm not sure I could. They say time heals everything but I'm still waiting..."

If we just keep our heads down and hope for the best... LIFE WILL PASS US BY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDazrN4WcqQ

Forgive, sounds good

Forget, I'm not sure I could

They say time heals everything

But I'm still waiting

I'm through with doubt

There's nothing left for me to figure out

I've paid a price

And I'll keep paying

I'm not ready to make nice

I'm not ready to back down

I'm still mad as hell and

I don't have time to go round and round and round

It's too late to make it right

I probably wouldn't if I could

'Cause I'm mad as hell

Can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should

I know you said

Can't you just get over it

It turned my whole world around

And I kind of like it

.....

Forgive, sounds good

Forget, I'm not sure I could

They say time heals everything

But I'm still waiting

Unfairness on Election Duty Updates

As my statement on 5th May 2010, I was unfairly dismissed from the one night job on Election Night's postal vote opening session. For this 8-10 hours job starting at 5pm Wednesday, I should have been paid £100 - an extra income that I desperately neeed for the sake of my beloved son. However, after asking a question about workers' right of 11 hours rest to the coordinator ("Governance Officer Chris Shepherd"), I received an answer that my one night job is terminated. She gave me a lame excuse that the position is full.

I have raised this issue to her manager and he promised to start investigating this by next week. I have also been consulting with my GMB union representative. Today I will consult an employment solicitor.

This is not just a matter of one night job and my lost of £100 right. This is about workers right (which is part of human right). This is about unjust conduct - releasing me from my election duty right after I ask a legal question. And this is about the rights of my 21 other colleagues who are still in Town Hall when by time I write this blog (6am, Thursday 7th May) but denied their special leave/automatic release from work for election duty. Other City Council staff on election duty - those who worked at polling stations and those who counted the ballots - are given special leave/relase, while the 22 staff doing the postal vote opening are denied this special leave and forced to take annual leave or go straight back to work after working for over 15 hours!

This is what i should be doing on election night had the so called "governance officer" did not deny my worker's rights and terminate my one night job unjusticely!!!!

Sweatshop-style work on Election Night

As part of the celebration of democracy in the form of an election, I applied to Manchester City Council as a counting assistant. Since the coordinator said the position is full, I was offered a night shift to assist on the postal vote opening session from five in the evening of Thursday 6th May to about 2am the next day. I happily accepted and received a confirmation email on Tuesday 4th May, in which I was told “to report to Committee Room 11 at 5:00 PM on Thursday 6th May 2010, bring your Manchester City Council ID and personnel number... It is likely that the session will run until 2 AM (but be prepared it may be later...)”.

On Wednesday 5th May, I and 22 other City Council employees who applied for this secondment received an email from the coordinator Chris Shepherd (Governance Officer, Governance and Scrutiny Support Team, Manchester City Council) saying, “Please note that there is no time off being given to people working on the postal vote opening session on Thursday evening. If you want to come in later on the Friday morning you will have to take annual leave or flex time if you have any and you must book this in the usual way through your line manager.”

So our options are: either to have only a few hours rest after work consecutively for 15 hours, or being forced to take annual leave.

After consulting with the European Council Directive concerning certain working time (EC Directive 93/104/EC 23 November 1993 Section II Article 3), I questioned this decision. This is what I said in my email to Ms Shepherd, “May I ask what about our 11 hours rest period as stated in EC Directive 1993?”

Article 3 of the Directive says, “Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that every worker is entitled to a minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours per 24 hour period.”

An hour later, Ms Shepherd replied saying that “This is voluntary and is paid as overtime. I presume you do not wish to do this now and will take you off my list.” I replied immediately by saying that I have committed myself and that I found it odd as other colleagues from Manchester City Council who are working (seconded) at polling stations and as counting assistants received full day release from work – and not forced to take annual leave.

She did not reply to my email and an hour later I phoned her, only to get a reply that, “I have taken you out of the list as the position is now full. We have enough people.” I challenged her of whether she took me out of the list because I had questioned about EU regulations, and she repeated her one sentence answer, “The position is now full and we have enough people.”

I found this disgustingly undemocratic, and reminded me clearly of the working conditions of labourers in sweatshops in the under-developed world who are not allowed to question their human rights. As a journalist and activist in Indonesia, I have heard many stories about workers who are suddenly sacked after they joined a trade union and asked questions about their rights.

The saddest thing is that this happened just one day before the election, the day we in the democratic world celebrate Democracy by electing the proper leader who is going to represent us in Parliament. Moreover, this happened within the city council that claimed to always respect human’s (worker’s) rights.

I do not understand the excuse of “the position is full” while I already received a confirmation email the day before, instructing me to report to a specific room in the Town Hall where the postal vote opening was going to take place. I also do not understand her email saying that “this is voluntary and is paid as overtime.” However, I am positive in my understanding of the EC Directive 1993 about working hours, that this directive is written regarding overtime.

I am very disappointed, not only because I am suddenly being excluded from taking part of the Celebration of Democracy in the country where the concept of democracy was originated, but more because a "Governance Officer" from "Governance and Scrutiny Support Team" at Manchester City Council can take an action as arbitrary as a dictator in undemocratic countries.

I wish everyone participating in the 2010 Election all the best; and I do hope that the leaders of the great United Kingdom will not let any act of dictatorship and workers exploitations like this take place anymore.

Don’t Expect “Little Indonesia” in Britain

Jakarta Post, Sunday 27th March 2010

Last week I got a phone call from a woman who claimed to be from the Indonesian Embassy in London. She asked me a bizarre question about Indonesian population in Bangor (Wales) which is 100 miles away from where I live – and yes, she said she is from the embassy! Though I said clearly that I have never been there, she pushed on demanding, ‘I need information about accommodation and study environment in Bangor.’ I told her the Embassy should have an accurate data on Indonesian population – as we have to report to the Embassy as soon as we arrived in the UK – and that Google might answer her questions better than me. She insisted, ‘No! No! I want to know the feeling of being Indonesian in Wales.’ Again, I explained that I have never been a student in Wales hence I cannot help her. She hung up without saying the basic please and thank you.

What do you expect when you pack up a suitcase to study in a country ten thousand miles away? A degree? An experience? Whatever it is, I hope you are not expecting to have “Little Indonesia” overseas.

I came back to formal education as a mature student. After six years working without completing my education – I left university when I got my dream job as an aviation journalist – I decided to go back. At 31, with a scholarship in hand, I packed up my life and my then 8-year-old son’s to the UK. Destination: University of Salford.

My goal was to gain a practical education for my future career – the Master’s Degree was a bonus. My second but not less important dream was for my son Jacques to experience education outside Indonesia, to broaden his horizon. I achieved the second, but still pending the first. I chose Greater Manchester because of the specific course that I needed, and because it is not in fancy expensive London.

Our transition was smooth. But I guess it could be a problem if you want to study overseas but expect to have “Little Indonesia” like my caller. The Indonesian Student Society (Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia, http://www.ppiuk.org/) offers chances to meet fellow Indonesians. Though I enjoy their gatherings, I limit my involvement as I preferred to take in all the cultural differences in my own way. As anthropologists do, what better than living among “the natives”?

Our weekends were spent visiting museums, parks and parades – Remembrance Day, St George’s Day, International Festivals. We even met the Queen! (We were part of the crowd waving on the road during her visit to Manchester Cathedral) Jacques’ favourite was Museum of Science and Industry’s Experiment Hall, where there are “games” like those in Jakarta’s many shopping malls. The difference is that they are all scientific experiments and more important: FREE!
Living far from the comfort of my parents’ house and domestic helper means that we have to share the house chores. Jacques who was pampered back in Jakarta is now an expert of cooking chocolate mousse, washing up dishes, and ironing his own school uniform. He even volunteers to clean the whole flat every so often.

My only culture-shock was that UK is not the “western society” that I had imagined from watching Hollywood movies. Unlike Americans with their “American Dreams” that celebrates achievements “from zero to hero”, Britons are more like Indonesians. The saying “getting above your station” is their way of sneering at people who are (too) ambitious (for the British society). Hence, like Indonesians, high achiever Britons would try to present themselves as humble as possible with sentences like, “Oh, it was just sheer luck,” or, “Ah, it’s nothing really.” This reflects in their movies – while Disney films have inspiring happy endings, most British films have realistic (and sad) endings.

Getting part time work (non-EU students are allowed up to 20 hours a week) was tricky for me, as it is illegal for children under the age of 13 to stay home alone. Eventually, I did get a job as a bartender and worked in venues like Manchester United, The Grand National horse races, and special events like Christmas parties. Here I gained a deeper sight of the British interesting drinking habit (really, it is “interesting”!).

All things considered, being a foreign student in the UK was the perfect choice not just for me, but also for Jacques – now in Year Eight and inspired to study Particle Physics in the future. Unless you wanted to live in your own “Little Indonesia” like the woman who phoned me last week, leaving your comfort homeland to study might give you the experience of your life. Ask Jacques in five years time.