My Secret Fear

Are you afraid of old age?

Ever since I can remember, it was not the thought of death which really terrified me, but of actually growing old. The thought of not having complete control of my body, and not being able to function in a self-sufficient manner, has always been a nightmare. I hate depending on others and being a burden, and the knowledge and certainty that someday, this time will arrive (if I do not die young that is), has always terrified me.

When I was nineteen, my grandfather, who was a writer, a poet, and a very intelligent man and whom I loved very much – had a stroke. He ended up in a wheel-chair, was not able to move the left side of his body at all, suffered from incontinence, and had to be lugged about, washed, cleaned, and taken care of by his two middle aged children and their spouses in order to survive. Day and night. Every day. For years. He begged us to let him end it. Twice, my mother found he had dragged his wheelchair to the window and was trying, ineffectually, to jump. Since assisted suicide is illegal in Malta, and since we didn’t want to let him go, we aborted his attempts. He suffered immensely for two years. And then, he had another stroke. A worse one, which caused him to actually forget who we were. I don’t even want to go into the agony I felt when my grandpa, who had been so independent, witty, and wise, who had survived the war and taught me to love books, reading and knowledge – didn’t even know who I was.

Anyways, after four and a half years of terrible pain, my grandpa died. I know that for him, this was a relief.

My grandma, his wife, is currently over 80 years old. She suffers from severe arthritis, can hardly walk, is almost deaf, and blind from one eye due to a botched cataract operation. She is lonely and misses my grandpa a lot. All she does is cry, swallow her pills (she has many of those), and pray. I love my grandma, but I know she is waiting for death. And that terrifies me.

It terrifies me because when I look at her, I see myself, as I will be, in some fifty or so years. It seems far away now… but time is short and flies quickly… and someday, that part of my life will arrive…

It does not bear thinking about…

 

Scan Malta – SERIOUSLY, THIS is your Policy?

Like many other Maltese, I find myself constrained to buying my various IT stuff and gadgets from the 5/6 limited outlets present in Malta, and that’s fine (I prefer to get my stuff from abroad most of the time anyways). The problem arises when said outlets have totally CRAPPY policies which actually go against Maltese law.

This morning a random courier called me on my personal mobile to ask about a delivery to be done at my working place. I knew nothing of this delivery, had not requested the material myself, and did not have anything to do with it since my work has nothing to do with requisitions or procurement. What I wanted to know was how on earth a delivery guy got hold of my personal mobile number to make this call, since it was obvious that he knew I worked here and so someone had obviously leaked it. What’s more, the number was combined with the name of the person who HAD made the requisition, who was definitely not me, and who claimed not to have given anyone my mobile number, since she did not even know it herself. So, why were Scan Computers Malta using my personal details in relation to material ordered by the Ministry I work for??

I asked the guy at reception to notify me when the courier got here, in order for me to ask him how he had gotten hold of my mobile number without me having given it out. When he arrived, he showed me his timesheet which basically was a list of places where he had to deliver stuff. He called the Scan store and told me to call them myself since they were the ones who could tell me more about the purchase order.

Long story short, when I called Scan it transpired that since once months ago I had personally purchased something and then had it delivered by courier to my place of work, they had then combined the mobile number with the address and saved it, and me, as being the person and number responsible for ALL PURCHASES consigned to this address… SERIOUSLY? So had I been living in a block of flats and another tenant made an order to be delivered to those premises, they would have called me too??? What if the minister had purchased something, would I have been responsible of that as well?? As far as I know, client records everywhere are client-based, that is based on your name + mobile number, not ADDRESS-based!! What about DATA PROTECTION?? Is it legal to give my personal mobile number (which has nothing to do with the ministry but is totally my own) to all and sundry??

Needless to say, I gave the Scan-person a piece of my mind. She replied that this was their policy and that no one had complained before, which I find VERY hard to believe. Apparently however THIS time round they had encountered someone who DID know Data Protection law, since actually that is my job, so unlike any blandly ignorant Cettina on the street, I DID know my rights as a Maltese citizen, and I DO know that divulging personal data without a person’s knowledge and consent is ILLEGAL.

I got Scan to delete my stuff from their records and gave them reception’s contact number instead, however the fact remains that their policy is against the law.

If you gave your data to Scan, beware of how they use it. It’s not as safe as you may think.

Another Joke presented by… THE MALTESE GOVERNMENT!! *sigh*

This is hilarious, seriously, the Maltese government, no matter which political party is manning the post, is a total joke. I admit, they have their good moments, like finally opening up their eyes and realizing we now live in the 21st century and finally bring us to step with the rest of the world by ‘introducing’ divorce (yes divorce in Malta only became legal a couple of years ago), making same-sex marriages legal (last year), and providing a choice for children who wish to take another subject at school instead of one which promotes only the Christian religion, under the misleading title ‘religion’ (this is still in process).

However, every silver lining is to be found in the middle of a very dense and smokey cloud… metaphorically speaking.

The latest joke is this – apparently a certain study showed that more of half of the over-70s in Malta are suffering from high blood pressure (most old people do – unfortunately it’s one of the ‘perks’ of getting old). One of the reasons for high-blood pressure is also a salty diet, that is, eating salty food.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150303/local/health-authorities-to-discuss-salt-content-reduction-in-maltese-bread.558236

Since the problem is that middle-aged and senior citizens seem to disregard the fact that due to body changes which happen later in life, one’s physical synapses and metabolism change, and that therefore one cannot continue to eat the same foods one ate during one’s youth with impunity, the obvious solution here would be to educate the masses. Maybe provide free classes or other information in order to make people aware of the importance of a balanced diet.

BUT NO – The Maltese government, in a funny twist of mind-numbing and mind-bending trapeze-scrambling, has decided that since old people eat a lot of bread, and this is ‘salty’, new laws stating that the percentage of salt used in dough should be written, in order for the bread one buys in shops to be ‘more healthy’… seriously… WTF?

I love Maltese bread. It’s fresh and crunchy and really different from the bread I bought while I was in other countries lik Britain, Ireland, France and even Italy. There is no bread like Maltese bread – PLEASE LEAVE IT AS IT IS! THIS IS PURE STUPIDITY!!

What’s wrong with you people??

Prospective Employers checking out your Facebook!!

Have you ever been told off at work for something you said or posted on Facebook or another social media?

Yesterday an article of mine was published – can be read here:

http://www.eve.com.mt/2015/02/18/sexy-or-slutty-if-you-have-it-flaunt-it-right/

The article is about how different people can perceive ‘sexy’ and ‘slutty’, since these two terms are entirely subjective. That is, what is sexy for me, may appear slutty to my neighbour, and vice versa for example. It is also about the importance of posting and uploading certain things on Facebook, and the consequences of this.

I know for a fact that most employers in Malta check a person’s Facebook and anything they can find on him/her online, before interviews, therefore fair or not, some employers DO judge a prospective employee basing their judgment in part on their social life, and behaviour in general, and not just on the prospective employee’s professionality or how much they know the job.

Is that right?

To be honest, I am of two minds about this.

If an employer is searching for the best candidate for a position, isn’t he at liberty to take into account a person’s behaviour, mentality and the way s/he thinks and can interact with others, apart from his/her academia and work experience? Especially if the person will be working in a team?

On the other hand, how can someone who doesn’t know you judge you from a simple Facebook photo? What if I think I look hot and sexy in my photo, and the prospective employer is a conservative and thinks I look slutty and promiscuous? Is he at liberty not to hire me then? Just based on my appearance? Isn’t that discriminatory and illegal?

Against the Law and still nothing is done!! The Bullshit of certain Facebook groups!!

A couple of weeks ago, someone I know entered me as a member into a group she and some of her friends had opened on Facebook, to support a cause I knew nothing about, without my consent or knowledge. She just up and added me (and my bf too), without saying anything. Later on when I asked her about it, she said she had added me because she wanted me to write an article about this cause – basically in order to ask people for money.

Even had I been all in favor of this cause (which I am not, seeing as to how I am against layabouts acting rashly and irresponsibly, and then asking for donations from the public, and sanctions from the government, just to pursue their personal agendas), I simply hate being forced into a Facebook group without my knowledge and having to endure the barrage of posters, comments and random statuses on my newsfeed, not to mention the millions of emails linked to that. And secondly, seriously, did she really think I would write an article about this asking people for their hard earned money??

I gave the ‘Group’ in question a piece of my mind, regarding the issue they were asking money for in particular. They obviously did not like this, but I did not remain to see their reaction, since I immediately deleted my membership. It is important to note, that though I gave them my reasons why I thought this issue was totally inappropriate, I did so politely and wished them well before withdrawing my membership. I also contacted the person who had included me in the membership list privately,and told her why I did not think their cause was just, and was not interested in participating, much less write an article linking me to it!!!

Apparently she resented the fact that I did not share her opinion, and she unfriended me. lol. Well dear, you shouldn’t have brought the whole thing to my attention if you did not want my honest opinion about it right? Anyways this was the second time in two weeks that this person had forcefully integrated me in one of her many Facebook groups without my knowledge, and frankly if she had not unfriended me, I would have, so thanks for sparing me the effort of clicking my mouse. Another thing, not everyone is a stay-at-home unemployed Facebook addict, so good for you if you have time for all this Facebook lobbying – I don’t, nor do I wish to. When I have some free time, I write or read 🙂

TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE

Said Facebook group, a week later, created a petition on change.org. I would have thought nothing of it EXCEPT that they listed all the members of the group… AND MY NAME WAS THERE?!

Seriously? So, not only had I written a long statement about why I didn’t want to be a member and quit, now you also put my name on your petition for people to send you money?! Are you out of your bloody mind? Do you know what DATA PROTECTION is?? Do you know that putting up someone’s name and/or personal details online without their consent (or even knowledge) is AGAINST THE LAW?!

I contacted change.org and told them the information on the petition was incorrect and they told me I had to contact the person who had made the petition in the first place, in order for them to delete my name. I found the creator and contacted her on facebook, but she never replied. After a week of me sending her messages, she still had not replied, although I know she was on facebook as I saw her posting photos! I contacted change.org again and told them I had gotten nowhere, and am still currently waiting for a reply.

This ‘petition’ boasts that there are 108 active group members, of which I, seemingly, am one. Since my name was put there without my knowledge, I must wonder, how many of these so-called members actually know about it?

What else can I do to get my name out of there??

Oh and by the way – in the end I DID WRITE AN ARTICLE… AGAINST your stupid cause! I did not mention anyone by name or the cause in particular, but I DO HOPE YOU READ IT AND APPRECIATE MY CONTRIBUTION!

http://www.eve.com.mt/2015/02/01/passionate-about-animals-love-or-just-selfishness-in-disguise/