Today is the 12th day of the ironworkers strike, and news said they will continue tomorrow with a protest ending at the government headquarters. Many construction site workers join in the strike, making 1/4 of the sites not in operation. (Well, it also keeps raining in HK these two weeks.)
The ironworkers' demand is simple -- reasonable wage and working hours.
To date, daily wage of ironworkers have dropped from around HK$1200 to HK$1300 before 1997 to around HK$600 since SARS in 2003. Workers of racial minority are even earning as low as HK$300 per day. With inflation and the "best economy in 20 years", there's no sight of any "increase" of salary of the ironworkers. (I am very hesitated to use the word "increase" as the ironworkers are only asking a daily wage of HK$950, still lower than the highest point.)
On the other side, the business association refuses to give in, making the negotiation almost a mission impossible. (Oh, forgot to note, there's no such thing as "collective bargaining" for workers in HK. International labour rights groups and trade unions describe HK as an "uncivilized society".) Many workers of course are facing financial problems now, and the unions are planning to set up a fund to support their living in the time being.
Here's the ironworkers' strike statement:
Lately, people have been asking me what's going wrong, cause they had read the previous post.
Well, thanks. I am quite OK except a little bit exhausted from work, and practicing Chinese calligraphy again and the evening walk make me sort of relax from the tight schedule.
However, when I wrote the previous post, my real intention was to share my happiness (of eating fresh onion when there's no expectation :) and show how easy it could be to stay happy.
I can be happy quite easily, to my and many of your surprise. I am fueled with energy every morning when I walk pass the HK Park to work, seeing all the people working on the trees, the flowers and the fishes despite the heat or the rain. I feel warm when I see kids giving up seats to elderly in the train. I am delighted when I hear the sound of some real musical instruments from a Canto-pop CD.
It all depends on how you look at one thing.
P.S. I think I have to improve my writing skill.
I walked pass the HK Park to Pacific Place and grabbed a salmon bagel for lunch just now. When I opened the wrapping, I saw there were some fresh onion in it, and I suddenly felt a strong sense of happiness during a rather depressed period of time lately.
It's not that difficult to feel good sometimes.
P.S. Fresh onion is my favorite veggie, among a handful that I eat :)
Typhoon Pabuk turned away from HK on Wednesday, but suddenly returned again this morning. In just a few hours, it goes on from Typhoon No.1, 3 and then 8 at about 2:30pm.
This was how we crowded at the entrance of the Admiralty MTR station:
Before we passed the gate:
On the platform:
I should have gone for a drink first!
P.S. I would like to thank a group of young people who looked like a group of HKU students in an orientation camp.
While I was still waiting on the platform, the train came and they were inside. There were around ten to twenty of them, all wearing dark green polo shirts, and they wanted to get out of the train.
For those who have a taste of the HK MTR system during peak hours, you should have expected that those on the platform (excluding me) would try to push into the train although it's all packed with people and quite a number of them tried to get off.
With this group of young people on the train, they kept shouting together "let people get off first; let us get off; you can only get on board if we are off", etc., and they united and pushed...... Yes! They were off the train and left a lot of space inside, making me safely on the train finally :)
由這裡 行過去
行過去 下一區
誠實地 無懼地
隨遇地 行過去
彈指間 第幾關
原來都走到這裡
別說出發以後習慣失去
鮮花開過掌心裡
把握青春最後十年
珍惜中午的光線
很多支票未曾兌現
只因長大了看穿
成名得獎一概不算
不可更改的最佳路線
何謂幸福秒秒在變
由這裡 行過去
行過去 下一區
誠實地 無懼地
隨遇地 行過去
彈指間 第幾關
原來都走到這裡
但我高興繼續漫遊於這裡
寫好這刻這一句
掌握青春經歷老死中間不免有唏噓
今天這一家用至少不只可以談空虛
行過去 行過去
行過去 下一區
華麗地 懷舊地
前衛地 行過去
路彎彎 共深山
由無知走到這裡
但我高興繼續漫遊多幾歲
由這裡 行過去
行過去 下一區
成熟地 緩慢地
回味地 行過去
彈指間 又一關
誰要劃時代創舉
只想懂得慶賀目前
不早不晚的一歲
平常心境中探取
沿路的風裡
I haven't listened a CD through a CD player for a while. First, it's because my CD player is half broken. It can't detect some of my CDs. The most frustrated case is it can only detect Disc 1 of Chet Lam's dual-CD album The Private Life of Chet Lam, which I think both have to be listened together continuously......
Then, it's also because I subscribed MOOV. While I turned on my computer, which means most of my time except while I am sleeping, I use MOOV to listen to tonnes of new CDs, which I seldom register at all. Otherwise, I rely on my iPod Nano while I am travelling, but this usually means I can't quite listen to the music clearly under a rather noisy environment, and not to mention I always have a book handy.
But then I got Keith Chan's 12 Faces of Women yesterday. For some unknown reasons, I put it in my CD player, instead of my computer, and it plays. All the real musical instruments make it difficult not to be played in a real CD player. It sure is nicer from there than from a computer.
The CD+DVD was first performed at this year's Hong Kong Arts Festival, and I watched that too. I have to say I am not those "visual kind of people", and was not quite interested in the 12 short films accompanying the 12 pieces of music. However, the music sure is attractive, and it's worth all the trouble of putting the CD into a proper CD player.
Sometimes, when you are trying to communicate or be communicated, it's important to concentrate and listen carefully.
Sometimes, going the more traditional way is the mean to move forward.
I watched the HKREP's Secret Love - Peach Blossom Land tonight.
Twelve years ago, some of my friends also produced the same drama in Edmonton. I was part of the production as well, but I was the Deputy Stage Manager for another smaller scale production -- Night and Day -- which was on stage the same night:
After so many years, I have to say that some of them I couldn't even remember their faces now. But some have also marked a place in my heart, even though we had lost contacts since then.
P.S. I still remember the first cue I made at the performance was a wrong cue! And I kept asking the producer about the script (since I didn't find it logical at all) during rehearsals, and finally he couldn't stand it any more, and asked me to concentrate on my cues and props and costumes, etc. He said a DSM was not there to understand the play :P
(This issue is also known as "All You Really Need to Know, You Learned It in Harry Potter")
It has been a long time since the last time I blogged. I have been very busy lately and still am.
With the Putonghua Shuiping Ceshi done on the previous Sunday, my Mandarin study will be on hold for a while. It had absorbed quite a lot of my time in the last couple of years, and I think it's time to do something else. However, I still plan to spend a little bit of time daily to practice.
Well, may be after HP7.
Right after the Mandarin exam on 22 July, I was busy every moment while I am not at work nor sleeping on HP7. Anyone finished it yet? I still have less than 200 pages to go. It's so sad the Mad-eye died at the beginning of the book, while Dobby died almost immediately after his appearance.
After HP7, there would be a lot of things waiting for me to do as well. For example, cleaning up my room and bookshelves, following up some personal and financial issues, lots and lots of reading, knitting and cross stitching, visiting museums, etc. Oh yes, I will need to make some updating to this blog as well. Many of my friends' links are not yet added. Also, anyone have Facebook? I need quite sometimes to make it looks "professional".
P.S. I use "ismtse@ualberta.net" in Facebook. Make sure you add me :P
So, the Green Paper on Constitutional Development was finally released yesterday.
From the "direct election in 1988" campaign to now, longer than 20 years has been passed. I think we have "gradually and orderly progressed" long enough to deserve universal and equal suffrage.
From what I have learned from the media, there are still some important elements missing in the Green Paper (e.g. what's a "democratic procedure" to nominate a Chief Executive election candidate?), making the rather complicated and wide spectrum of proposals very trivial. However, I do think it's time to act up and express yourself.
Public consultation will end on 10 October 2007. It should be now or never.
On health,
This is my friend's greeting line at g-talk, and it seems written for me :P
So my hair problem continues. I had a hair cut and a hair treatment, changed shampoo, etc., and I am going to visit Chinese doctor tomorrow!
Everyone asked if I am too stressed. I think I might not be before, but I am extremely stressed now. The more I read from the Internet, the more I am worried. I think everything I do now is more to clam myself down.
When I am used to my "little" problem of my knee, I have a new problem!
I took this picture while having my evening walk tonight. I find this kind of bamboo structure quite amazing, good for the whole building and also good for some small home improvement. If you look at it closely, it is only supported by some triangles (I know they should have a more proper name, but I have to say I give everything back to my Structural professors. I feel sorry for them :( I stood underneath for about a minute, examining it for a while, and decided to take a picture.
Although I am not in the field, I still have the appetite for any kind of construction, from event set-up to real construction sites. (Oops! I forgot I was supposed to be a transportation engineer!)
Today, I had had my Putonghua class exam. After another Putonghua Shuiping Ceshi on 22 July, my study on Putonghua comes to the end, for the time being. I will take a break (don't know how long) and try something else. Lots of books and halfway through knitted sweaters are waiting for me!
For all my life, I am being complained for having too much hair. There's plenty of it, and it's never quite "manageable". But today, I notice that my hair is getting quite thin, too thin even to an alarming stage.
......
My goodness!
I can't tell you how shocked and worried I am today. I know there's should be something else that I should worry about (e.g. mandarin exam again coming Sunday), but my hair sure is issue no. 1 today.
I know it sounds very stupid, but can't help.
......
My friend reminded me that I had changed shampoo, which doesn't seem very good, lately, and suggested me to change a milder one. So I will. Hope it will get better soon. Maybe it's some unavoidable things for being old :(
P.S. Rose, anything good from Adamant Eve?
So Jerry talked about the Paradox in his blog.
I used to be a super fans at the time. My dream college was CUHK studying journalism and philosophy (needless to say I was a bigger fans of Erica Li). I had all of their cassettes (also Yvonne Lau's) and I even had a Paradox wall calendar! (I think that was 1990. My secondary school friend sent it to Canada for me.) I had a tape recording some of their long radio interviews and the moment they won the gold award of new singers at the Commercial Radio's music award ceremony! (Unbelievable!) These were all precious treasures until I somehow lost these things when I returned from Edmonton. (So sad.) I now only have two CDs of theirs :(
I was totally not aware that the Pearl Report had done a "report" on my beloved The Society for Truth and Light last year. It's on Youtube right now. Hope that it can stay there longer so more people can watch the missed episode.
Pearl Report on the Society of Truth and Light:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0gCOLWyjKo
Official website of The Society for Truth and Light (be careful, the content can be very scary):
http://www.truth-light.org.hk/index.jsp
