I am learning to appreciate the honourable tradition of worker's union in UK.  Four-week post strike now is followed by the teacher's strike.

Below is the email I received from our university.  Interesting.
___________________________________


QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY STATEMENT



AUT Industrial Action - 7 March 2006





The AUT in Northern Ireland is to take strike action on 7 March 2006 as the
result of a national dispute with the Universities and Colleges Employers'
Association (UCEA).



Queen's University has a clear obligation to provide a service for its
students and will, as far as possible, be open for business as usual on 7
March.  In particular, it will seek to minimise the impact that any strike
action will have on students.  All student facilities will be available,
although some services may be slightly reduced.



Queen's is disappointed that the AUT feels compelled to take this action and
actively encourages the AUT and the UCEA to convene discussions at a
national level, as a matter of urgency to conclude an agreed settlement.





Professor Kenneth Bell

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education

Silky, my dear friend, can you imagine the mist in my eyes when I hold those two small cards in my hands? The cat sitting on a balcony in front of Spain Square in Rome, and the colourful riverbank view of my dreamland Filenze... Oh I love them, but undoubtedly I love more of reading your words, your beautiful writing. How much we can share with each other? In how many different ways? Silky, you are gorgeous woman, and we are going to make our gorgeous common dream coming true soon one day. No matter where each of us are, there are flames in our hearts whose warmth we can share together.

However, perhaps I should thank for this strike. It is because of it the rent collection became a nightmare and uncleared invoices piled up in the company where I am working now. I guess that's why they feel it necessary to get a temporary credit controller to take the job of the lady on maternity leave, otherwise the financial controller herself should be able to deal with the little extra work.

With strike going on, we receive no bills but also no mails. Luckily so far I have no bills or mails to expect for... except for my National Insurance Number notifier. Oh, wait, one thing stuck in the post is the postcards from dear Silky, from Rome, Venice... I can imagine she sitting in the riverbank cafe and writing me postcards. I can't wait to getting them!

So everybody listen, before my official announcement of termination of post strike, don't send me any mails to Belfast!

Here I am in 23rd Floor, Beijing Fortune Plaza in downtown Beijing, the new PwC office in use since this Monday.  Outside the window, the never-seen huge hailstones are falling down from high above, hitting violently glasswalls of the building, the muddy ground of construction sites all around and cars parking in between.

Unusual heat in previous days finally bring along something significant.  I have been in Beijing for seven years, and this is the first time seeing such a huge hails.  Any native-born Beijinger to confirm if there's any bigger one in memory?

I feel like leaving this note here, to remind me never to break this recrord again, hopefully...

From the morning of March 1, 2005 till the early morning of March 3, 2005, I had been working in office continuously for 40 hours!  Not even going downstairs for a meal.

Crazy life, crazy job, crazy projects one and another.

In my momery I had working overnight in office for at least three or four times in the past a bit more than two years.  Overnight I refer to since the ring out time of the first working day till the start of the next working day, not just working over the midnight time, otherwise it will be just a piece of cake for us then.  However, for those times, I could always take a few hours leave on the next day to go back home earlier for a big sleep, normally leaving office around noon time.  But yesterday, I couldn't.  Workload, follow-up duties, new instructions from the manager, everything like that made me to keep working for the whole next day even without a nap.  Even worse, I had been made to work overtime again.  Undoubtedly, I felt my brain had objected from time to time to work after running continuously for over 30 hours, and headache did hit me.  While I was trying everything to stand erect and respond almost subconsciously to the people in front of me, it was just too hard to achieve the cooperation from my eyelids and power of concentration that the discussion on a new assigned project with our Tax Leader of Big China (the biggest one in our office!) became a fighting between my heart and mind, standing acrossing the line between awake and asleep... You know it could be a tragedy when you were one of the only three persons in discussion on one single table, if being caught, whoa, you watch out...

Anyway, nightmare, nightmare.  After twelve hours sleep since 1:30 am till 1:30 pm, I am again back to work and back to normal.  God bless me this can be a record for a long time, I mean it, A LONG TIME!  I can stay up for chatting with friends I can stay up for writing journals I can stay up for taking care of my sick babies But I don't want to stay up for this job things!  Taunt me, I don't mind, I AM that lazy, non-careerist, non-aspirant girl you pictured from the above, so what!

P.S.  But I did learn something from this horrible 40 hours working.  Forty hours made me a semi-specialist on Norwegian taxes on oil&gas industries.  If I am a workaholic, I would say "Cool!", but sorry I am not, so I say... "Well...I've told you that I am a quick learner."

Haaaaalloooooo!  I am here again, after three-day trip in Hong Kong (I know it's too short but anyway it's my first time) followed by two hectic weeks sticking to my job things.  But actually, the major obstacle for me to work on my small space was that, my parents have arrived in Beijing to spend the Spring Festival holidays with me!  That's wonderful for sure, but parents are the kind of the people who are powerful and arbitrary enough to prevent me from getting online arround midnight time after getting back from work... You know, parents are parents, they are always right on anything that matters for health sake; and all sacrafices for this healthy lifestyle are the satisfaction of friends reading my journals.  Sorry, Isa will be back anyway, whenver possible and allowed by my schedule and my parent's.

Thanks for everyone commenting on my previous journals.  Obviously my Hong Kong trip was one big topic.  Well, I am indeed working on a travel journal separately, also as a first try of using Pages (some software for Mac as if Word for MS Windows) on my Powerbook.  It's extremely cute and powerful especially for its multimedia functions and variety of templates to choose.  I will put it up when it is finished by pasting the captured image in JPG format to a new entry. (I know this space does not support upload files other than pictures, neither do I have my own webpage to upload the file for hyperlink with.  Plus, .pages file cannot be opened on PC but just by Pages on Mac.  So I will export it to PDF file and capture the image for posting here.)

Read this from sina news site.  No time to comment right now but may do it later.

　目前北京上海等城市医院剖腹产婴儿均在50%以上，有的医院却高达80%。事实上，城市产妇普遍实行剖腹产，采取自然分娩主要是经济实力较差和进城民工的阶层。剖腹产已上升为社会地位和经济实力的标志，同时成为一种流行时尚。下腹留有一道刀疤居然被视为21世纪中国“新女性”身体特征。难怪在医院里自然分娩的产妇倍感失落和自卑，人们都在说剖腹产的种种好处：婴儿的脑部避免了阴道挤压，智力高于自然产儿，其头型更为漂亮；剖腹产使阴道不至于松弛，有利产后夫妻性生活和婚姻质量；剖腹产有利于保持体形。在恶俗的攀比风下：剖腹产手术被视为丈夫和公婆对产妇的一种宠爱与奖赏。因此一来，剖腹产就象电影《大鸿米店》主人公让牙医将其一口好牙拔掉，换上一幅镀金假牙一样，成了众人向往和炫耀的时尚，这显然是技术误导和价值混乱造成的恶俗现象。

　　在欧美发达国家，剖腹产比例在10%至15%左右，高龄产妇和生育功能性缺陷是剖腹产主要导因，中国不存在高龄产妇的问题，其次，欧洲白人女性盘骨倾于男性型提高了分娩难度，而东亚女性却少有男性型盘骨。即便如此，欧美国家医院一般不主张剖腹产，产妇以及家属普遍认为自然分娩是一个幸福而完美母亲所必须接受挑战的考验，也是一个女人享受骄傲和尊严的要素，并有利增高母婴日后的感情和赢得丈夫的体量和尊敬。在高福利和全民免费医疗的瑞典，剖腹产现象却寥寥无几，它只限于特殊情况的技术需要。

　　专家们认为：剖腹产的好处避免了自然分娩过程的疼痛，相对于它给母婴的并发症和后遗症便显得不可取，剖腹产只能限于产妇和婴儿的病理因素的补救手术。首先，手术增加产妇大出血和感染的可能性，产后出现各种并发症的可能性是自然分娩的 10～40倍，疼痛和恢复时间也较长。剖腹产创伤面大，产妇易患羊水栓塞，羊水进入血液导致产妇生命威胁，它是近年产妇一大死因，也给日后再孕带来了难度，即便 3年后再次怀孕，子宫也容易破裂。由于手术后需要禁食，明显影响母乳喂养，这给刚脱离母体的婴儿的免疫力十分不利，一旦婴儿有先天缺陷则更容易死亡。从新生儿角度来看，剖腹产带来的不良影响也不小。由于孩子未经产道挤压，有三分之一的胎肺液不能排出，出生后有的不能自主呼吸，即患上所谓的“湿肺”，容易发生新生儿窒息、肺透明膜等并发症。同时，剖腹产也可能因未真正达到胎儿成熟而造成医源性早产，引发一系列早产儿并发症，如颅内出血、视网膜病或残废甚至死亡。另外，一些医生进行手术时操作不慎，伤害产妇和胎儿的事件也举不胜举。据一所医院的统计资料：1995年至1999年剖腹产儿的死亡率为10%，是同期自然产儿死亡率的2倍多。再次，剖腹产费用和保养费用都昂贵，是自然产的3-4倍。

　　剖腹产的盛行，除了医院谋利动机之外，市民社会的无知和恶俗的市侩价值观也起推波助澜的作用。由于制度失范，医德崩溃和技术滥用已成为中国医疗单位的通病，医院成了谋求暴利的垄断行业，病人成了被敲诈对象。当产妇进产妇科，医生和护士以惯例性手段来要挟产妇与其家属，如同布好了一个圈套等他们上当：先是技术性解释自然分娩的疼痛和风险，给产妇造成一定心理恐惧感，接着声称剖腹产对母婴的种种好处。接着拿一分满纸恐怖后果和“责任自负”协议让产妇或亲属签字。经过这番连哄带吓之后，为了图母子平安和听起来有利无弊的剖腹产，没有不乖乖就范的，何况现在年轻夫妇都没有生育经验。即使产妇要求自然分娩，医院通常要求待产者交纳一定数目的押金，理由是防止出现难产时采取应急抢救之需，这给医院在最后关键时候达到剖腹产埋的目的，有产妇在宫口开了很大时被推进了手术室做了剖腹产，因为疼痛和害怕使得她们听从了医生临时安排手术。

　　此外，如今产科医生的助产技术越来越不胜任，只能依赖剖腹产，更不愿意承担责任。关键在于一个“钱”字促成了医院大力推行剖腹产，自然分娩对医院创收和效率也构成威胁，一个剖腹产手术通常在个把钟头而已，可一个初次生产的夫妇至少需要 10小时才能生下孩子，这需要付出巨大的技术人力，而且进益不大。相比之下，剖腹产显得干净利落，住院时间长，用药又多。

　　中国新一代城市父母也是值得关注的人群，他们的忍耐力和独立性更是不敢恭维。他们不仅赶上城市率先实行计划生育，同时成长于物质条件发生突变时期，其父母恰恰尝过的物质极端匮乏的苦头，随着物质条件一下改善，做父母的总在孩子身上尽量避免自身曾经历的不幸，从而造成一种穷人暴富的心理定势，除了溺爱子女之外，并造成下代的毅力不足和养尊处优的性格。这些都是新一代城市母亲的通病，加上医院唯利是图和社会恶俗风气的影响，这代所谓的中国新女性崇尚剖腹产时髦似乎不奇怪，她们压根儿没有勇气去面对健康而自然的分娩，更不懂得天伦之乐和为人之母所必须付出牺牲。如果农民们在经济条件容许下，习惯向城里人看齐的他们必然追赶剖腹产时尚，这将对整个民族未来造成巨大危害。要知道，一个优秀民族首先离不开母亲的坚强和勇敢。

Got this link from other blog:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/quake.aidsites/index.html

Though in China it's not easy to make a donation because most of of us do not own an international credit card that can process automatic payments online.  But to take a look at these webpages and let as many people as possible know it can at least remind us that, we are living on and share the same planet.  Tragedy is happening not far away from us at any moment, while happiness we can always share with people beside.  None of us are really independent.  There are times we will really need others and a glance and a hand can change our whole world in heart.