First few days back at work and it feels like I haven't even left. Work picked up right where I left it, no slow easing back into it. Monday was a full on 2 day experiment that had been scheduled in my name. I only found out about it when I came in at 8am. Of course, this was one of those collaborative experiments that someone else was doing part of, so I couldn't even put it off and get organized. Oh no. Straight back into it.
ah well. back to gossip girl I guess
As some of you may know, I left the Maldives last night for Singapore, on my way back to australia. I could probably now pass as a fairly experienced traveller, given that I have been shuttling in between countries by myself for the last 16 years. Usually I travel SQ, mainly because of the ease in terms of connection (MLE-SIN-MEL) and exceptional customer service...at every SQ office except the hulhule check in desk. Don't get me wrong, theyre usually polite if brusque, and don't give me a hard time about a few kilos excess. Its just that they don't measure up to SQ's other international staff.
Last night though, an incident happened that made me shed a happy tear; finally, some integrity in maldivian service!
We were all lined up, waiting to check in. I was at the internet check-in line, as I had already checked in and picked my seat - just needed to drop off my bags. A tourist was ahead of me being served. Just as they finished and were walking off, this loud, rude maldivian guy barged in front of me to the counter. He was wearing the uniform of a nearby resort, and loudly demanded that the staff member put his tourists through first "as they were very important". I was about to tell him that there was a queue and he was welcome to join it when the maldivian supervisor interrupted him and told him to go join another queue, as this was for internet check-ins only.
Yay.
5 minutes later, I was getting my boarding pass when I saw the resort fella go up to the supervisor and say
"hey, why don't you do me a favour; these tourists are 15kgs over-weight in their luggage, why dont you put them through for free?"
Supervisor: "I'm sorry sir, but I can't do that. I can put through about 5kgs for free like I do for a lot of other travellers, but 15? I'm sorry"
Resort guy: "C'mon just do it for me, I'll make it worth your while *winks*"
Supervisor: "If I did that for everyone who asked me to, the plane wouldn't take off. The excess baggage office is there *points*"
Good to see that not all people can be bought.
Lawl. They complain when they don't get flats, and then complain when they do.
Aih foaraa hisaabah huriHAAAA eccheh
Hulhumale' Winners Complain About Down Payment
29 January 2009
Aishath Shazra
A number of Hulhumale’ flat lottery winners have complained the Rf100,000 (US$7,843) down payment for the apartments is too high, with many saying it will be impossible to pay the money without resorting to loans.
Speaking to Minivan News, one winner, Fareehsa, 31, a working mother who currently shares a small flat with her parents, said, “I am extremely happy to have won the flat but I have not given much thought on how to pay the down payment.
“I am against borrowing money, but I if I have no other choice, that’s what I have to do.”
But the deputy director of HDC, Nuha Mohamed, has said it is important to remember the development project is a non-profit venture: “We have just included the construction cost and the cost of land in the pricing.”
She said the HDC had received “some” complaints about the down payment and the issue was raised on the night of the draw. “The ministry of housing has said it will try to lower the down payment amount,” she added.
Another winner, a 28-year-old woman who wishes to remain anonymous, said although she had won a two-bedroom apartment she might be forced to give one room to “whoever can make the payment”.
At present, she lives with her mother and six others in the 400 ft² house and since she got married, her mother has been sharing a room with her sister.
“I am lucky to have won the flat,” she said, “but I should be able to afford it. Let’s see how the government can make this affordable for us.”
In addition to the down payment, she said the selection process for the lottery remained unclear. “My half-sister is in the same situation as me. Her dad’s house is 100ft², has two floors and he lives with his wife and kids.
“From this house she probably only owns a space the size of a tile, yet she wasn’t chosen for the lottery.”
As a result, many have complained that some people may have provided false information in order to be chosen for the lottery. On this point, Nuha said the HDC was currently in the process of verifying information given by winners.
“We had over 8,000 applicants so we waited to confirm the information after the draw. It’s easier to verify the information of a smaller number of people.
“We are consulting with various government institutions like the municipality to verify everything. Each category has 50 people on the waiting list, so if the information provided is incorrect, someone else will get chosen”.
After confirming the information, the deadline for the down payment will be announced, she added.
Hulhumalé is built on reclaimed land and was completed in 2002. The 188-hectare island was designed with the intention of housing 60,000 inhabitants from the capital Malé.
HDC allocated 488 newly built flats to the winners of a lottery draw and the organisation estimates 4,000 people will move into the flats.
The apartments, which fall into the category of the Social Housing Scheme, consist of two- and three-bedroom flats.
The flats are handed over to the winners after the down payment, which is 20 per cent of the total price. The remainder will be repaid in monthly installments for the next 20 years.
Yknow, if I read one more blog where they use the word "Schweet", I'm going to hurl. And then stab the author in the eye with a pencil
My family prides themselves on being moderate. Sure, they pray, but 'we're not like those extremists, oh no! And yet, a conversation at the breakfast table today had me speechless.
A close family friend (non-muslim) was visiting, and we were talking about the world at large, as we usually do at these sorts of gatherings. The talk inevitably turned to our favourite topics; economics, politics and religion. We were talking about how the current recession would hit the Maldives hard, because of us importing practically everything, and because of the Rufiyya, that really should be devalued but isn't. Our friend is an exporter from overseas, and had come to see if he could drum up business, as in the last few months, orders from the Maldives had practically dried up. Smart arse that I am, I said that "well, being good muslims, perhaps we should go back to goat-herding. I hear it's really lucrative". I wasn't prepared for the fact that my family (particularly dad) would take this completely seriously. Sarcasm was NOT noted. Dad started going on about how "blah blah in times of need blah blah animal husbandry blah blah anyway thats how the prophet lived blah"
Point taken about farming being an excellent way to survive a recession. However, following on from this, someone else mentioned the current furor over the prophets bride, Aisha, and whether she was a minor. I immediately remembered the story about the girl from the atolls. 12 years old and raped in her bed by 4 adults holding an axe. These men received a lenient punishment because the judge thought that as this young girl (who was being 1. physically threatened by 4 grown men with an axe and 2. shit scared) didn't scream, she was 'ASKING FOR IT'
ASKING FOR IT
I mentioned this story to my audience, and all of a sudden, the crowd went wild, as they say. Dad was the loudest of all. He immediately took the stance that "there are many girls like that in Male who misbehave" and that "they walk around in short skirts and lipstick". Oh yeah. Just because some chicks in Male who are young have one boyfriend or make out with them means that this girl in an Atoll was ASKING FOR IT from 4 grown men. At once. In her family home.
so she was asking for it? This 12 year old girl? Whether the story I related was accurate or not was another question. What troubled me was this; my father, a normally sane, moderate, modern man, who was kind, charitable etc...was taking the same stance as one would imagine a fundamentalist would take; just because it was a woman who was the victim.
At that point (following several minutes of heated argument), I knew there was no point in trying to convince him. All I can do is make sure that my younger brother NEVER learns this attitude.
I think I'm still in shock.
Long hiatus from posting. I have this terrible habit of not sticking with things...I know that thats no excuse, and that the true blogger finds some time, any time to blog, but I just couldn't be bothered. To tell you the truth, I've always found it hard to be open about my life, and since interesting blogs are just that; the mundane aspects of life, I find it hard to share this with the world. How can the coffee that I drank today be of any interest to people, I think. But I digress. A new year, new beginnings, and here I am, back where I started last year.
I'm currently at the tail end of my holiday in the Maldives. This trip has been one of the best trips ever. Perhaps its because it was so short, perhaps because old friendships were renewed and new ones forged. Either way, my return to australia is tinged with sadness, because never before have I felt like I truly belonged.
I suppose these things are better in small doses. The Maldives has changed so much since I left back in 2000. Buildings are bigger, the shops are shinier, but at the same time, people are ruder. Its now dangerous to walk around at night by yourself or even with a friend. Drug addicts line darkened streets where the government installed street lights have been shattered by bricks, all so that shady deals can be done under the secrecy of darkness. Policemen, perhaps still burdened by some of the more absurd 'human rights' rules set by the previous regime remain unable to cope with the crime here in the capital. They saunter around trying to look in control, but more often than not can be found guarding places that are least likely to be trouble spots. Last night, on the way back from a late coffee with a friend, we saw a couple of policemen guarding...a tree.
The landslide election victory for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) late last year made many people think that everything would change. Our tiny nation has never seen multiple parties before. So many choices, so many stances. Pro-westernisation, Pro-islam-extreemism, Pro this, Pro that. We heard it all during election time, and it seemed like everywhere where Mohamed Nasheed ('Anni') of the MDP went, there was an air of hope, a feeling that maybe this time, we would get it right. The previous regime had its time in the sun, but the problem, like with so many men, was that he didn't know when to step down. Nepotism, greed and sloth got the better of him, and instead of being a symbol of prosperity to us all, he is now our shame.
Unfortunately, 3 months into Anni's government, and nothing seems to have changed. Admittedly, this is not very long, but at least there should be talk of change. Instead, there appear to be broken promises.
1. A university to be situated within Theemuge, the presidential palace. Instead, 2 government offices have been moved into this 45M Dollar palace, build of marble and the sweat of expat workers.
2. Job security: Already, 1000 existing jobs in the Home ministry are being dissolved.
3. A 'new maldives': Anni's appointments to the cabinet seem random, as if they have been made without examining the appointees past experience. The minister in charge of The Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture is a previously practicing dentist. What is he going to do, check the teeth of the watermelons? The one obvious appointee is the Health Minister, Dr Aminath Jameel, who did her PhD in geriatric studies. Of course the one appointee that had everyone's tongues wagging was the man now in charge of our nations defence; the same man who sold us out back in 1988.
Time will tell, and for the sake of the Maldives, I really do hope Anni and his new government succeed. But for now, I remain skeptical.
Wow. Its been a while. Fantastic weather today wasn't it? Guess what.
I had the day off. Mwuahahahaha. And I spent it getting my visa stamped onto my passport (allowed to stay till 2013, yay!), having lunch with my lovely girlfriends in this awesome open air cafe near Parliament station, strolling the streets and lanes of Melbourne, not really shopping, more window shopping. And to finish off my lovely relaxing day, an ice-cream with a waffle cone. Yum.
Mouse and I have been attempting to jog three times a week. So far we're averaging 1 and a 1/2. Partly to be blamed on crazy schedules and bad weather. Getting there though
Have a ball this weekend, at the Melbourne Aquarium. Its all very exciting - they've opened up all three levels for us. The theme for the ball is Atlantis, and I have no idea what to wear. I think I'm a little too old to show up in a shell bra and tail, or a sheet/toga. A shopping trip might be in order, but I am seriously lacking in inspiration. As far as I can see, I can go two ways - either all roman-togaish (I don't know why I associate this with Atlantis, but I do) or sea-people. I turned to the internet for some inspiration:
Paul & Joe, Piccoli silk dress,
Nina Ricci, Layered tunic dress
Matthew Williamson, Islay tiered goddess dress
Marchesa, Tiered organza gown
Applique Rope Dress
Thayer King Dress
[Pictures from Net-a-porter.com and www.maximillia.com]
So help me dear bloggers. That little cut and paste episode didn't really help me figure anything out. What should a short, brown skinned size 8 chick go for.
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