What´s the use of roundabouts?

I wonder every day this question. I have to cross six roundabouts before reach my workplace. Everyone of them causes me tension, nervousnes... It´s normal: almost two years ago I had an accident in one of them. It wasn´t serious but I took the decision to share my point of view with the rest, so I can to rule out I´m not crazy...

I have an answer to this question: They have been created to facilitate and lighten the traffic, to make it fluid. In an intersection the preference is given to the cars that circulate inside the roundabout and the rest wait to move on. There´s no doubt about it.  When it comes to choose who has the preference from the ones that circulate inside the roundabout, the discrepancy arises. According to the Spanish "Código de la Circulación", the cars that circulate on the right lane, no matter if they go right, straight ahead or left... Is this normal? Does it give fluency to traffic?

Let´s study an example. We arrive to a roundabout, no matter which lane we are. We find that the car that comes the opposite way that drives on the right lane, decides to go left. All cars that are on its right have to give way until this driver decides to leave the roundabout: this is acceptable. This action also affects to all cars that circulate the opposite way (you and the ones that go the same direction to you... And, above all, this affects to that car that circulates close to it and wants to go straight ahead. This maneuver doesn´t give fluency to traffic, on the contrary: it makes that half of the traffic to waint until this car leaves the roundabout.

Near home is an Avenue (Avenida de los Menceyes, who were the kings of Guanches, people who lived in the Canaries before the Spaniards). A few years ago it was redesigned, so there would be two lanes in every direction. Some arrows were painted: half of them indicating to the driver on the right lane two options, to go right or to go straight ahead; the other haf indicating to the driver on the left lane two options: to go ahead or to turn left. Those arrows, that disipated any doubts, were erased to comply to the actual regulation.

The photo that accompanies this entrance belongs to the roundabout between Stratford-upon-Avon, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwick and London. It is situated over the M40 (a highway in England). I don´t have any information about its daily traffic but I can guess the traffic is quite heavy. I had to cross it more than once a day. This roundabout has four lanes: all of them are signed on  the floor, so the driver don´t get lost and reach the right exit. Cars get into the roundabout on the inside lane, they change lanes until they reach their correct way. It works like an LP player but the other way around... I never saw an accident in four years...

If I could do anything to change the way of driving and make people understand this rational way of driving through a roundabout, I´d do it. So far I´m writing this entrance to check what you think about the subject.

The positive part of the accident? I change my old car for a newer one and drive safer in it... As always, I take a positive lecture from, in the beginning, a not so favourable situation...

(First published on November 31th in http//:maritza-gonzalez.blogspot.com )  

The meaning of Christmas to me

Yesterday I was in a hurry with my partner to find the presents left to buy. He decided to go to a shopping mall and I was afraid: we would find queues, no place to park, full of people waiting to pay.... We found traffic jam but we were very lucky and, in less than an hour we were out of there. Probably we would have found some things in the area where we live and we would have the opportunity to walk a bit... It´s a matter of taste.

At this time of the year, the kids are waiting for the toys Santa will give to them; The grown ups can´t wait to go out and have fun... I´m not religious but I think we are deviating from the real motive of this celebration. It doesn´t mean waiting for a present, it doesn´t mean going out and get drunk, it doesn´t mean get yourself nuts to find a gift to auntie Geraldine... For the orthodox people, this day is devoted to stay at home, celebrate the birth of Jesus, reunite the family, go to church... I respect both decisions: mi alternative is in the middle of both. My Christmas consists on get together my closest family around a table to have dinner. It´s the only day in the year that I dedicate to my famlily, to be with the loved ones. It´s true that that day we exchange presents (In Spain, the custom is on January 6th, the arrival of the three Wise Men) but for me that is the perfect excuse to rest from everyday´s busy schedule and feel wrapped up by my family. It´s true: singing Carols is not in our agenda but we keep the tradition of being together. Furthermore, since my daughter came to my life, I love seeing her happy face when she discovers what Father Christmas have left next to her shoe. She is awake until late just to check if what she asked for will appear magically...

No matter wich way you choose to celebrate Christmas, I wish you to do it the way you want most... I wish that "Marks & Sparks" or "Seals" don´t rule about what you have to do and how to do it... Live it as you believe it.

Well, on New Year´s Eve I think I´m going to enjoy it to the full: dance until I can´t anymore and laugh until my ribs are hurting me.... And wishing that 2011 will bring me what I think I deserve...

(First published on http://maritza-gonzalez.blogspot.com on December 23rd 2010)

Venus´ Story (Part III)

Step by step, she became more than a pet (satisfactions and sacrifices included) to be a being that accompanies you even when she only sleeps close to you.

Right now my daughter, Venus and I are sharing a two-bedroom flat with a small garden with my actual partner and, eventually, with his two kids. The dog has become the perfect link for the three kids: they get along quite well. They have something in common: they adore and spoil her.

It doesn´t matter how long she has to be alone at home (work, travel...), Venus always greets me moving her tail and bitting my hand while she cries of happiness. She even adores the person who rescued her from a sure death, her first leader. In the animal kingdom, there are a lot of  grateful beings…

Many times we have the perfect reason to go out: walk the dog. It´s the perfect solution when you don´t know where to go with the kids. She doesn´t get sick in cars and it´s very funny to see her when she pops out her head and her ears fly with the wind. Every day, she gets more and more clever: she rests in the car so when she goes out, she has all the energy to run, jump... and chase.

Venus is an expert... lizard hunter. All lizards are afraid when they hear her paws approaching. She has no problems with plants or stones between a lizard and her: She makes holes with her paws and with her head moves the vegetation to get to her prey. Once I had to open her mouth with my hands to free an alive lizard she hunted… My grandfather used to say that she was a born-hunter because of the shape of her ears: He knew why this statement was right.

She has impressed me lately. I realized that everytime I feel sick (headache, discomfort…), she has approached quietly to keep me company. My partner has been surprised by her lying down on the floor next to my bed… Right now she lays down close to me, keeping me company while I write these lines…

There are no reason why she doesn´t like some people from the building. If she hears them coming or going, she´s alert, taking care of her garden: territorial. Many have tried to become her friend but it´s almost impossible: not even with a ham sandwich…

It´s funny that sometimes I feel that it´s not fair that she waits for us outside shops or restaurants. My partner, not an animal lover, considers her part of the family. We understand that it´s not higienic to let dogs enter a restaurant but we feel it´s not fair on her.

That´s why I don´t understand people that buy a pure breed puppy for Christmas or birthdays. In the beginning they are loved because they are the new "toys" at home. After that, they become a problem: where can I leave the dog when I go on holidays? The result? They are abandoned anywhere. This holidays, while we were walking Venus through a forest (La Esperanza, Tenerife), we found the rotten rests of a dead dog. If he had an owner, this person had no enough heart or courage to gain his love, trust and all the satisfaction a pet can give you.

It is also true that there are many places where the dogs can´t get in to walk. I understand that there are misbehaved dogs that do not respect their owners. On the other hand, I understand that dogs are, first of all, animals with their instinct alive… If dogs are minimally well educated, they can´t not be a problem if they walk without leash close to their owner (yesterday Venus crossed ways with a runner and she didn´t care less for him). Maybe it is necessary to warn to those dog owners that leave their dogs without supervision while they are walking them, those who do not clean after their dogs and compensate those dog leaders with well behaved dogs close to one another, as the best human´s friends (as it´s been said).

(First published on September 1st 2009 in http://maritza-gonzalez.blogspot.com/)

Venus story (Part II)

Venus had to confront a decisive time in her life: the arrival of a human baby. She left being the centre of attention to leave the space for the new "intruder". Venus has always been very respectful with her: she knew that everyone was going to be disappointed with her if she would have harmed my daughter.

Soon she changed a leader for another: my partner decided to move on with his life and I had to be her master. We both adapted to the new situation slowly and learned to live together… At that time, all the commands were in French but now she is "bilingual" and she understands Spanish as well. She was taught to sit down, lay down, to shake hands and not to nap on the couch… The normal commands for a dog. It cost me lots of cheese but also patient and love.

Once more, Venus had to change house and left behind a great garden for a huge roof. Those were hard years, where her presence was mostly on that roof and on the street when we walked her. Venus has always accepted changes with stoicism. Her only requirement was that she knew I was around and, if I had to go out, I would be back.

At that time Venus didn´t like others to be her leaders but me. Sometimes she became a little jealous of my daughter but it never was more than a fright (showing teeth and gum and a small bite). Those years were hard and I realized she was part of my small family.

(To be continued)

(First published on August 30th 2009 in http://maritza-gonzalez.blogspot.com/)

Venus´ Story (Part I)

Venus started to be part of my life almost eight years ago. Everything began with a phone call from who was my partner, one Saturday, November 4th:

- Hey, I call you because I just picked a hairy, four- legged bug.
- No way! You know that we have Chico, the cat, at home – he was a six-month old cat that shared our one-bedroom flat with us.
- I know but she´s so cute!

In the beginning, the idea didn´t seem funny to me but I gave up. I thought that, in the end it could be a good idea, as we were going to live to a house with garden, so we could be more confortable there.

That night I had a celebration and I didn´t have the chance to see the "hairy, four-legged bug” until the next day. When I saw her, the only thing I could do was shrug my shoulders and "fall in love" with her. Her legs and eyebrows were brown and the rest was pitch black. Her wide legs made me think that maybe she was a potential rottweiler… There was nothing far from the truth than that: many people bet that she´s a mix between griffon, beagle and yorkshire.

Her story with me started when an irresponsable person left her abandoned with her siblings inside a carton box in front of a hotel in the south of the island of Tenerife. One of those puppies has the leading role in this story. She was the luckiest one, as I heard… I can´t understand how there are persons that are so cruel and they can live without remorse… but this story is about Venus, the lucky pup.

From that moment on, Venus was part of the family. It was funny to see how Chico and Venus played together. When she first arrived they both had the same size: a month later she was taller than him and her colour was brown. She was a bit naughty but she soon learned that she wasn´t doing the right thing. In December Venus decided to eat my lentils soup (typical food for New Year´s Eve: it brings luck): It wasn´t her fault, it was easily reachable by her. She also had to celebrate the fortune she had that someone took her home… Since she was a puppy she has protected the houses she has lived and barks to what she thinks it´s a threat: I still remember the noisy way she greeted us one day, when we were still moving. She wasn´t three-months old and her barks were strong…

(To be continued)


(First published on August 22nd 2009 in http://maritza-gonzalez.blogspot.com/)

Raising the children of the future

Today, my daughter was invited to a child´s birthday party. An opportunity to meet family and friends. The first thing the birthday girl asked was: “Where are my presents?”… 6 to 10 year-old kid´s sincerity is overwhelming: as soon as she opened the presents, she informed us she wasn´t interested in "High School Musical" anymore as last year (we bought some stuff related to that film). Every time a visit arrived, the question was the same and she was thrilled if the present was what she was waiting for.

Her parents made a huge effort to organize this party, as they do every year. Her mother seems to be another girl planning every detail: special food for kids, for grown-ups, candies, toys, a small swimming pool, a huge place where kids could play… My daughter´s birthday is in January, I can´t plan her party this way, so I have to hire this special services in covered spaces. It´s a different type of "sacrifice" but we all do it for our kids´ happinness.

All of it made me think if we, parents, are doing the right thing. It seems that we are offering a lot of material things, withouth thinking about the consequences. Even when you could be impressed, it is verified that children are happier if they have some references, some limits given by their parents. If we go on this way, what we are going to offer the world will be spoiled people, people that won´t be content with what they have and they will never be happy.

Today I had the opportunity to talk with some mothers while we were having lunch. I realized that all of us were worried about our children´s education. Some of them were worried about the bad behaviour that they can learn in school. In fact, what we have to worry about is what they are learning at their homes. There is the basement of all education. Children are like white sheet that imitate what they have closer: their parents or tutors. If we curse, it´s going to be difficult for them not to do the same; If we don´t correct attitudes and/or aptitudes, they will go on doing things the same way. We are their lighthouse, their guidance, their example: if we do nothing to correct the situation, we can´t complaint tomorrow if they become spoilt brats.

I´m not saying that today´s children do not deserve presents, special attentions... They are kids but not forever: later on they will have to deal with adults´responsibility. Anyhow: we have to make them understand how lucky they are, we have to guide them with understandable rules.

Today´s children, surprisingly enough, prefer more time with their parents than the last Wii game. In spite of the circumstances, I´ll do my best to share some quality time with my daughter. The reward is extraordinary: a human being more human, consistent and generous for the future and a huge smile when I´m with her...I think all of it is worth it.

(Originaly released on August 17th 2009 in http://maritza-gonzalez.blogspot.com/)

Fixing the world

Nowadays, wherever you go, the conversations tend to be about the same subject: crisis. Amongst the unemployed, in the phone calls, in social meetings, even at your home. All of us think we have the magic potion to solve the world problems (me included). The majority of us have suffered, directly or not, the consequences of this situation.

What´s the easiest thing to do in this circumstances? Blame others. It´s true that a few took advantage  of some persons´ greed to create finantial holes: only God knows where the rock bottom is. The banks have created expetations to the whealthiest through the modests´dreams, those who couldn´t held so many debts and had to leave everything they fought for all their lives…

Globalization has contributed to make the family debts in Alabama influence the bank around the corner, that denies you credits... The reason is because that bank trusted in disguised subprimes and doesn´t know if it will be possible to pay the employer who´s attending you. This had been said many times by the the most respected economists and comediants in the world.… There are some economists that are taking advantage of the crisis: they give conferences around the world, publish books explaining what is going on, you even can see them in a very well known petrol company´s ad... They sell themselves very well!

We forget this is not the first time Capitalism colapses from inside out: in 1979, 1973, 1989-90… It´s true that this time it´s not possible to see the light after the tunnel but, essentially, the basement is the same: some take advantage and many are sacrified… All these crisis were useful to reject what didn´t work, create new situations and businesses adapted to the real social situations. This time the change is going to be deeper than before: there´s the need to find another cheese when ours stinks (“Who moved my cheese?”, Spencer Johnson, recommended reading for now and written more than ten years ago). In other words, if my business doesn´t work, I have to find another way to change the results and, if that doesn´t work, find anything else to do. To do things like always, because it has been done this way for generations is no longer valid: You either change or die… just look at Madonna, the changing queen.

 

Anyhow, we all have responsibilities, too. Do not look around waiting for a miracle. You need to try. It´s important to know our priorities, leave behind what we can live without... I think that many of us are doing this now.

In any case, for me, the definition of crisis doesn´t mean that I can´t buy the latest TV set, nor flying away. A real crisis means I can´t afford to pay to my kid a roof, education, clothing or food. While those prioritiess are met, the rest of them are not needs. When I go to a shopping mall and I see cafes full of people, lines to get inside of a cinema and shopping carts with the last Wii games, I wonder: Where is the crisis?

An advertising gifts´ company (“Público”) gave us a present with a piece of paper where you could read the following message: “Crisis is a difficult moment where the strongest or cleverest don´t win but the one that best adapts to the environment…” .

 

(First published on August 16th 2009 in http://maritza-gonzalez.blogspot.com/)

DOWNSHIFTING

People that know me well know that I like to learn foreign languages. The ones that know me very well know also that I defend Spanish (my mother language): the "Spanglish" language that sometimes we speak without noticing it isn´t appropriate for me... Yes, I´m the contradiction made human. Sometimes there are some words that are difficult to express in my mother language: this is one of them.

I knew about the meaning just a few years ago, when I was practising myself and I was glad I wasn´t the only one in the world. Downshifting is a philosophy of life a little bit different from the "hurry-up" of our times. The main law is to downshift and go slower in all of your acts… Many people like me are doing it now,e even when they don´t know the meaning of the word. Many others may wonder how.

As always, the Scandinavians are ahead of everybody. It consists on not being so avaricious when it concerns to work (in other words, stop working as much as you can to get as much money as you can) and be content with enough to live… Right now I´m imagining many of you raising your hands, being surprised, calling me nuts. Its simply as trying to have an austere live, enough to live. No more, no less.

It´s understood that we all are trapped in a consumer society that "oblige" us to buy anything, even when we can live without it. I´m the first one to fall in the system but I try my best not to do it. For me it´s more importat to come back home to be with my family thatn anything else. It´s very important to be productive in your work hours. As some experts say, staying in our work lots of hours doesn´t  mean being productive: the work needs to be done.

I was like many of us: I wanted to improve in my career and get lots of money above all. I left a very hard work for an even harder one. The salary that was promised to me was more than OK with a reasonable shift. I thought that I couldn´t offer any better to my (at that time) small family of three (my daughter, my dog and me)... Ath the end, I got to lose one year of my daughter´s life (I lived to work all day) and summons at the court: I was defrauded.

I learned the lessons and I went to a job where I worked less hours but I was proportionally better paid. Of course, I couldn´t afford going out for a drink or diner every weekend but I could spend some more time with my family and for me. I learned to be happy with less money: I ajusted my spendings. I remember like yesterday when I called the credit card company (I only have one): the person that attended me couldn´t believe I wanted to reduce my card´s limit. My answer was clear: "My earnings has lowered, so my limit has to go down as well”.

Right now I have a job where I finish at six and enjoy life (that´s why we work, don´t we?). As a boss of mine used to tell us: “There are many moments in a worker´s life: time to wait for a client to receive us, time for bureaucracy, time to attend clients and time to rest”. And that´s what I do when I finish work: enjoy my (actual) enlarged family.

(First published on December 17th 2008 in http://maritza-gonzalez.blogspot.com/)