Yesterday was supposed to be a religious holiday that we are used to and we always got a day off for it, only this year, it was decided that we have to work unlike other countries who took the day off. And this morning while I was driving to work, I was listening to the radio where they were talking about postponing schools till after Eid, but the spokesman from the education ministry announced that school year will start in its scheduled time and that there would be no consideration that it starts at the same time as Ramadan and arguing that we should not be a lazy nation!!

But what about the consideration for the simplest rights one should have and enjoy?? If you want to cut all public holidays and turn the whole year to working days, why don’t you consider increasing vacation days the Jordanian worker is allowed to take????

A Jordanian worker has only 14 days a year for a vacation; when exactly is this going to change?

Most countries have 21 working days or one calendar month a year and I cannot think of a good reason why we are still stuck at the 14 days?

People working in Jordan have to accumulate their vacations for a couple of years to be able to take one decent vacation and they look forward to these public holidays that are scattered around the year so that they can enjoy a random day out with the family or just resting at home and now they are taking that away from us!!

It pisses me off when I see the country flooded with tourists and expats during the summer for a month or so while we are stuck in our long working days and not even able to take a few days off to see relatives and enjoy the summer like the rest of the world because all what we have is 14 days, and we try to keep them for major issues during the year or to add them to the balance of last year to have a good long needed vacation. These expats and tourists coming from other countries have jobs too, but they are not enslaved by these jobs and they have good vacation balance every year which allows them to travel and refresh and they go back to work energized and willing, which makes them more tolerable to difficult working conditions, while their peers in Jordan have piled up fatigue and frustration because they cannot afford to take unpaid leaves and the labor law does not give them better options … and the world wonders why Jordanians frown and have a big “kashrah” and do not smile …

In France, they reduced working hours to 7 instead of 8, which allowed them to introduce shifting systems that provided more work opportunities for the jobless, and they also increased the annual vacation days to 35, and did you know that in France, universities do not have summer semesters because people should rest and have fun in the summer which is a concept that does not exist here!!

In Cyprus, donkeys have lunch breaks because they have the right to relax and take some time off work as this is the simplest right any creature needs, but in Jordan; we are canceling public holidays because we should not be a lazy nation … give me a break!!!

This guy from the education ministry argued that they do not want to reschedule the school year because we should not be a lazy nation, but did they even spend one minute to consider the huge traffic problems that schools create? add that to Ramadan traffic problems and the excessive heat along with an angry populace, well; these are the ingredients of a disaster waiting to happen if you ask me …

With all the problems that we have in Jordan, we need 100 human rights organizations because one will not be able to cover them all …

In this time and age, we still strive for miracles to take us by surprise and somehow change our lives for the better, we still have high hopes to witness a great shift in our environment and surrounding; one that is unlikely and maybe even impossible, yet hope is a human nature that one cannot stop willingly … even those who are pessimistic or depressed, it is a myth that lost all hope because they still hope for something to give … an ending … a closure … anything!!!

I am sitting here and thinking about how this human characteristic is actually controlling us … at least subconsciously, otherwise; why do we keep doing the things that we do???

They say that if you want to change something, begin with yourself, but here is the thing, what if you did? what if you changed and tried to affect others and induce this change but it wasn’t enough? and it never is??? What now? Keep on going with the change or just go back to the old way that seems the norm where everyone else is concerned? What now?

For example; I really hate it when drivers cut in front of you at a traffic light, blocking the left lane altogether just to make it to the beginning of the line, and then maneuver to cut in front of you so that they don’t hit the island in the middle and you have to get out of the way … he is more important than you, his time is more valuable, he is more skillful than you and you have to live with that … it does not really matter if you are following every rule and law and going by the book, because those who don’t get to do that to you and piss you off and just drive away .. and if you don’t like it … that is your problem!!

You might argue that this has been the case for ever and that I should be used to it by now, but you see, I keep asking myself, why should I accept this? what changed that I cannot even tolerate these things any more? is this a part of growing older? or am I just becoming intolerant? maybe it is me!! or maybe I need a major change in my life to make it worth while because right now, I don’t really see the point of it!!

WHO CARES????

Another Airbus aircraft crashed in the Indian Ocean but this time it is from the Yemeni Airline and it had 153 people on board … [Source]

This is really unfortunate and my heart goes out to the families of the victims.

Bodies have been found floating but they were able to rescue on child alive and I am hoping there are more survivors in this tragic accident.

The cause of the crash is not clear. A French minister said faults were found on the plane during a check in 2007.

“The A310 in question was inspected in 2007 by the DGAC [French transport authorities] and they noticed a certain number of faults. Since then the plane had not returned to France,” Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau was quoted as telling French TV.

“The company was not on the black list but was subject to stricter checks on our part, and was due to be interviewed shortly by the European Union’s safety committee.”

Mr Bussereau had earlier told French media that bad weather was the likely cause.

Really tragic, especially that only last month, there was another plane crash …

Prayers to all involved; may the ones who died rest in peace and God help their families and give them patience …

So Oprah is turning 55 and she wants to do something special to celebrate this special birthday. a few years ago, I guess when she turned 50, she took all her employees and their families to an all paid expenses trip to Hawaii, so how can she top that this year?

Apparently; she can!!

So, ladies and gentlemen … Miss Winfrey is taking her 1700 employees and their families to Barcelona for a 3-day party, then this will be followed by a 10-day Mediterranean cruise that will take them from Spain to Italy to Turkey to Greece and then Malta, and yes, she is paying for everything and the word is that this will cost around $5,400 per person.

I wonder if she is going to distribute some of her favorite things to complete the charm!!

Good for the people who are working for her!!!

Source

This says it all …

and the second part:

You can get the original film here: http://www.crisisofcredit.com