Being a “Mom” is Work Too

A-M-E-N, to that, on how the “job” of a mom is, taken for granted, too often in the world today, translated…

What full-time mothers hated hearing is, “You don’t work, do you?”, everybody knows it too, that the job description of “mom” is, multifaceted, numerous tasks, long work hours; and on Mother’s Day, everybody wanted to say, “Mom, you’d, worked, too hard!”, but mostly, people believed, that “mom” is, nothing, more than a role, not a job.

My neighbor’s seven-year-old daughter came over to play, asked me, “Aunty, what’s your job?”, I’d replied, “my job is mom”.  She’d stated, “That’s not a job!”, then I’d, asked her, “Why isn’t it?  I’d done some many things during a day!”, she’d, insisted, “but you don’t make any money, my mom works, and made so much money!  She’s working overtime today!”

Yeah, if I worked as a nanny, in the schools, or the afternoon programs to teach the students, cooked the foods at restaurants, driving a cab to take clients to and from, to the employers’ homes to clean their houses, I would, totally, earn a wage, even, the bonuses, the raises around the holidays, the breaks the days off, and the worker’s insurances too.  But, in my own home, I’d done, just that, no money to be earned, no days off, and I’d often needed, the overtime hours too.  As my child fell ill, I’d needed to stay by his side watch over him day and night; if I caught what my child had, or maybe, I fell ill, or felt tired, I can’t have a day off, nobody’s there, to look after me.  Once I’d stayed with my child at the hospitals, and in a few days, my child recovered, but I’d, started having a fever.  As the doctors came to make the rounds, I’d begged, “I feel achy all over, I can’t take one step, can’t leave my child here and got get treated, can you give me a tab that’ll, help reduce my fever please!”

the job of a housewife…

and these women aren’t, getting paid, for EACH and EVERY task that they’re, performing around the house either…illustration from online

If I don’t get paid, then, I’m not, working?  What is the definition of, “work”?  I’d looked it up in the dictionary, “Work”: occupation, synonym: labor.  And the definition of “occupation” is: the post or work that an individual has.  Here, it’d not mentioned anything about wages.  In Wikipedia, the definition of “Work” is: occupation; while the definition of “Occupation” is: a day-to-day routine of labor, with the goals of getting paid for your labor.  “Getting paid for labor” meant, a wage, so, Wikipedia believed, that the purpose of work, is, getting that pay, this is also, the majority’s explanation of what “work” entailed.  Then, in the ancient times, before the individuals became masters, what would the work of the apprenticeships be?  And, there’s, the same character in the world, volunteer, and volunteers normally, don’t get, paid either, but it clearly, constitutes as a form of work too, based off of the meanings of the characters taken apart, so, why is it, that staying at home, taking care the children, NOT considered, “work”?  Based off of what I’d already, described, everything I do at home, are all the work deemed as work by societal definition, and, every single task combined, makes into, a whole “job”!  “Homemaking is NOT a job”, “Full-time mothers aren’t working!”, this sort of deeply rooted belief, when will it get, amend3ed?  It’s a wonder, that a lot of moms want to, find alternative work posts, so they don’t get misinterpreted as, “leeches”!

Before my neighbor’s young daughter left my home, I’d told her, “Aunty’s job is being a mom, I’m also, a temporary nanny.  Next time if your mom can’t watch over it, send you over to my house, do tell her, aunty will be charge a hundred dollars an hour.”, that young girl, she’d made a sound with her tongue, then, walked out the door, she’s still fazed at how aunty doesn’t go out to work to make a pay, to play with children at home, and her too.  The next time, if I ask for pay from her “mom with work”, hopefully, she can gain a little more understanding of how, “aunty also works!”

And that is, precisely, how and why these homemakers get taken for granted, because we’re NOT working out of our homes, dressed up in those suits, making a pay check with the dollar amounts, but homemakers ARE working, they’re working 24/7, 365 or 366 days PER year, and, we’re NOT allowed to have any sick days, vacation times, and we’re not making enough for the families in these, dollars and cents?  You’ve got to be, shitting me here, and this is the LACK of respect, that we women get, for staying at home, and working as a HOUSEWIFE, raising up our young, cleaning up the houses, keeping the living environment, clean and tidy, not to mention, getting the groceries, sometimes, we also act as, the makeshift plumber, electrician too!  So show some RESPECT already, huh???

Helping the Mothers Return Back to the Workforce, a Company was Set up to Match Their Skills

This is a program, that helps women, get OUT of the, traditional gender roles, to help them find work outside the homes, off of the Newspapers, translated…

The Der-Jen Human Resources Agency’s goal is to “help moms find work”; the founder of the program, Tsai saw a lot of women her age, because they had children, and after they took their maternity leaves, it’d become, harder for them, to return back to the workforce.  As she’d set up an independent agency, helping the women to have a friendly work environment, that they can take care of their families, as well as work at the same time, and her company received the “Enterprise Friendly Work Environment Contributions” award.

“What we’re doing may not bring in the big bucks, but, it’s, more than, meaningful!”, Tsai stated, that their workspace is put together with the desks, and the employees don’t need to follow the strict work schedules of nine to five, the flexibility of workhours allowed the employees to have more freedom, “the company is an example of allowing women to not get limited by the time of work in the offices, nor working in a specific space, and they can, all shine still”.

Tsai originally worked in the high-tech industries, in 2016, she’d given up on her high pay job, and set up a company on her own.  With only eight employees, and the objective of her company was to help match the female workers with the fitted workplaces fitted to their needs, the members of the families had the need of caretaking, and needed to go to and from work and home quite a lot, needed the flexible workhours, also, the balances of home and work too; and there were those women who’d left the workforces for way too long, lacked the self-confidences, and aren’t professional enough in their skillsets, they’d all needed the help.

Tsai told, that “combining the work and the families’ needs” was her original thought when she set up her company, “Der-Jen” is also the first human resources company that promoted the flexible work schedule in all of Taiwan, and called itself a social enterprise; from the very beginning of her company being set up, the hardships that they endured, most of the enterprises were all doubtful toward the “homemakers” returning back to the workforce, from the communications, the education, currently, the foundation offers about 3,000 women who are looking to return to work after they had their children.

so women can work, and take care of their children at the same time! Photo from UDN.com

The Der-Jen Human Resources recently combined workforces with the academic units, and started up the forum of setting up a friendlier environment for working mothers, and complied with the government’s program of “Women Returning to the Workforce”, designed many courses, to help reconnect the women with their going back to work, and it’d, set up the human resources classes for the private enterprises too; Tsai hoped to design a more flexible work schedule for women all around.

Making the Work Environment Friendlier, Tsai: What I’m Doing is Meaningful

Tsai worked in the technology industries for more than a decade’s time, she had already been promoted to a managerial position, and her career is on the rise, but as she’d found, that other women around her, due to getting married, starting their families, giving up on their dreams, and the achievements they get from work, leaving their stable workforces, and their wages, she’d pushed forth a friendly environment for mothers.

“People’s choices are related to their personality traits!”, she’d said, in the technology field she’d worked in the “innovations, and the most advanced” job, including before the government’s expansion southbound, she’d led the workers in her company to expand her company to Southeast Asia, to going into the 3-Dimension printing, the resources shopping sites.  But being creative in her thoughts, and with that strong sense of justice, she’d slowly wondered, “are the technologies working in helping people live better, or are they, controlling, our behaviors?”, and she’d started, having a different belief system.

In 2012 in a chance encounter, Tsai came into contact with “social enterprise”, she was in the midst of contemplating wanting to do something meaningful, and, she’d, matched to the programs perfectly, in the end, she’d left the technology industries, and set up a similar social enterprise, the Der-Jen Human Resources Agency.

Tsai told, that as she got deeper in, she’d found, that the matter of gender in the workforces is quite, complicated, in the process of helping, she saw the stories of others unravel before her eyes, and it’d, helped her accumulated the experiences, and felt, that she’d become, a source of power that can, help the society move forward.  She said, “the various people in their various positions, playing their roles well, finding how each can contribute to the society, I’m really glad, to have found the work I really enjoy doing, that’s also, meaningful too.”

And so, this, is a good program, that this woman set up, to help mothers who left the workforce to have children, who wanted to, return back to work again, as the work environment usually isn’t that friendly toward women who’d had children, and most of the enterprises would think twice before they hire mothers, because of how the mothers needed to consider the welfare of their own children, and this woman’s agency, is set up, to help the women find the jobs that can help them do both: work to bring in the pays, and to take care of their young.

On an Unknown Early Morning

On an unknown early morning, she woke up, not knowing, what’s up ahead in her day, she got dressed for school, as she’d done from before…

She got out at six thirty, walked on that small road between the fields, like she’d, always done in the mornings, getting to school, then, she can’t remember, what happened afterwards.

She woke, in a room, full of, bright light, with voices, so sharp, so loud it’d, made her ears ache.  She’d, blinked her eyes, tried to get things into focus, but it’s like, something’s, obstructing her view, she’d, rubbed her eyes, to try to clear it, it didn’t work.  It took her, a very long time, to realize, that the white room she was in, wasn’t her class, where she was, supposed to be.

Then, a woman’s voice started speaking, she tried to follow where the sound came from, but, she couldn’t see!!!  The woman’s voices told her, “Ms. You’d been, attacked, we just did a rape kit on you!”  A rape what???   That wasn’t supposed to happen, I was on my way to school, then, for some unknown reasons, I ended up, here…

The woman’s voice continued, “is there someone you’d like us to call for you, an adult, maybe?  Your parents, perhaps?  Do you have their numbers???”

On an unknown early morning, nothing was supposed to happen, it was, just like any other day, she got up, got into the shower, to wake herself up, brushed her teeth, put on her clothes, dressed herself for school, and, sat at the breakfast table, as her mother worked in and out of the kitchen, her father, sitting in his chair, with his paper, reading…

Nothing was supposed to happen, on an, ordinary, unknown, early morning, but something did, something that made her wish she was, dead, but she wasn’t, she’d, survived through the physical and sexual assault, and now, she’s, broken!!!

Outside the Abortion Clinic…

Outside of the abortion clinic, you see people, holding those, pro-life, and pro-choice signs, and your bodies are still, NOT yours, it was, NEVER yours to begin with!!!

Outside of the abortion clinic, the crowd gathers, to protest the clinic’s god-defying action, with, absolutely, NO sense, of how this FUCKED up matters are, caused by M-E-N.  And you’re, protesting G-O-D???

this, is what you’ll, see…photo from online

Outside the abortion clinic, the crowd parted like the Red Sea, on one side, was the men who are, PRO-LIFE (you mother fuckers aren’t the ones going through the FUCKING pregnancies, what right have you to say, huh???), and on the opposite, there are, the PRO-CHOICE women (it’s our bodies, our rights!!!).  But, do we really, have a right over, our bodies?  I mean, think about it………

Outside the abortion clinic, the crowds are, getting rowdy, and then, in an instant, windows shattered, death took over the air, and there’s, still NOTHING that anybody CAN do, because a woman has the right, over HER body, doesn’t she?  Or, must we women, be ruled by, M-E-N???

Outside the abortion clinic, pamphlets are, flying, fires started everywhere, it looked like, Armageddon, the world, on the verge of, destruction, and yet, where is, G-O-D, in all of this, huh?  If God exists, why didn’t he, stop this, atrocity, tell me!

The Judge Unbuttoned Himself, Asked His Female Assistant for a Massage, the Judiciary Review Recommended that He Gets Taken Off the Bench

Abuse of power, occurring, again, I’m, afraid!  Just because you’re, in a STATUS of power, that does NOT give you the right, to DEMAND these sorts of, sexual favors from your, female subordinates, L-O-S-E-R!!!  Off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

The district court justice of Hsinchu, Wu as he worked in the trial judge of the civil courts locally, he’d not only demanded his assistant handle his private affairs, he’d also, forced the female assistant to massage, to help him with fixing up his achy body, as she’d turned him down, he’d, pressured her, the justice review committee found, that Wu had, abused his power, sexually harassed, that he was, no longer, fitted to reside as a judge, they’d, decided to put him up for a review at the Examination Department, recommended that he gets taken off of his judgeship.

This was, the third case of how a court justice using his status of power, lacking gender equality sense after the cases of the former justice, Chen’s sexually harassing his female assistant, and the former judge, Chen of the Shihlin District Courts commending how his female employee had a perfect cleavage, then, showed off his own pecs to her.  This year in August, Wu was sent for an evaluation of his being fit as a justice of the courts by the Hsinchu District Court Systems, and he was, relieved of his duties as a court justice.

The judiciary review committee stated, that while Wu worked as a trial judge, he’d asked his assistant to take care of his personal affairs on and off hours, including sending his clothes to the cleaners, helping his children find a tutor, planning his family vacations, to find properties, and to go see the properties she’d recommended to him, and because of Wu’s status as a court justice, the assistant was afraid, of losing her job, and so, she’d, done as he’d, asked her to.

From last August to this March, Wu asked his female assistant, to give him a massage on how he wasn’t, feeling well between last August to this March, four times; in the process, he’d, shut the doors and windows, took his clothes off in front of his female assistant, she felt insulted and uncomfortable, later on, she’d started, turning down his requests, but Wu told her, “there are others here”, and demanded that he kept, using the boards to scrape out his internal injuries.

from this…in the shadows…photo from online

Then, the female assistant stopped complying, Wu got angered, and stopped showing her the courtesy on the job for an entire month, he’d, used his status, to pressure her.  What’s more outrageous was, Wu also, asked his coworkers to check off the lists of good looking female employees, and during office hours, he’d, asked them into his office one by one, to inquire them about their relationship statuses.

As the Hsinchu District Court was examining the facts of the case, Wu privately contacted the many women he’d made the requests to, coached them to lie.  The justice evaluation committee believed, that Wu had, broken the boundaries of interacting with his opposite sex coworkers and subordinates, that he was suspected of sexual harassment, and as a justice of the courts, he knew the law, and broken it.

The justice evaluation committee believed, that Wu abused his power, and appointed the court clerk, the justice’s assistants, to run personal errands for him, and he’d not taken into considerations the feelings of his female assistants, after they’d denied his requests of them, he’d, used his status, to pressure them, that as he was questions, he’d, not introspected on what he’d done wrong, instead, he’d, used his status as a judge to pressure those who are questioned, he’d, become, ill-fitted, to serve as a court justices, they’re, recommending his removal from judgeship.

This losers should be, FIRED, than charged, CRIMINALLY for sexual harassments, I mean, just because there are, women who worked for you, that does NOT mean that you get to, treat them like whores, and besides, you’re, a COURT justice, and you should’ve, known better, but, guess you just, can’t, control your DICK, huh?  And you DESERVE to get stripped of your position as a court justice, and, throw in jail for what you put your female subordinates through, and just because we women work for you men, that does NOT mean, that you can, use us, as WHORES!!!

to this…found online…

Raped, by the Silences…

We are raped, by the silences, because, we’re, afraid to tell anybody what had, happened to us, because, if we tell our truths, the outside world will only, ostracize us more, saying, that it’s our fault, that we shouldn’t have, behaved too provocatively in front of that man, that we were, just, asking for it, therefore, we’d, kept our silences.

what we were…picture found online…

Raped, by the silences, we were, because, we’re, too afraid to talk, too afraid for our lives, as well as the lives of, those we loved and cared about, and, can’t even begin to imagine the shame they will feel, if our stories, busted out into the open!

Raped, by the silences, there’s, no way this will, ever come to an end, because, those predators are still, lurking, waiting, for their chances to, attack, and even though, we only come out, during the daytime, sometimes, it feels, like nights…

Raped, by the silences, we were, we were all, victims before, but, I’d, managed to, turn myself, into a god DAMN survivor here, I will, NEVER be quieted, be silenced again!!! what we are now…

what we have the potentials of becoming…picture found online

Raped, by the silences, there’s, nothing we can do, to change the past, change what’s already been done to us (and no, we NEVER enjoyed it!!!).  Raped, by the silences, no we don’t, keep our lips sealed, because what was shameful, wasn’t US, it was, what was, done to us!

Life Took a Sharp Turn

On changing tracks, not knowing, if you’d, made the right choices in life or not! Translated…

Life flew by too fast, it’d been six months, since my return back to Puli, this small town to live. The me a decade ago, or even, just two years ago, I’d never imagined a life like this for me.

Being on the rise through school and into the workforce, I’d entered into my first-choice schools locally, and entered into my top choices of university, after I graduated, I’d started working as an engineer in the well-known high-tech companies in Taipei. I’d worked very hard, and my abilities gotten the attention of the boss, in a few short years, I’d gotten promoted, and raises too. Back then, I’d imagined, that ten years later, I should be a high-end manager in the workforce, and would go on business trips to Europe and America often.

like this???the roadsigns of your life…

And now, I’d, walked with difficulties, with my pregnant belly, travelled on foot, delivering the goods that my clients ordered, and pondering, what I needed to update onto my website to sell when I arrived home.

A few years ago, I’d gotten married for a while, as my husband and I started thinking about when to have children, and how we’re going to take care of our kids after they were born. Both working as engineers in the high-tech companies, after subtracting the time for sleep away, there were only, about two hours in the late hours of the nights we can, save for ourselves. We didn’t want to be missing out on the coming of age of our young, so, a change in track was needed. And, something had, happened at home then, after careful considerations, we’d decided to quit our jobs, return back home, and my husband started working in the field, and I, started setting up my online shop.

Recalling how back when I’d just graduated from graduate school, my dad asked me if I wanted to take the public offices examinations. Back then, I was so satisfied with my own life, full of confidence, didn’t consider, that the life of a government office worker wouldn’t suit me well. But now, as my shop online just got set up, I’d had an unstable source of income, and I’d found those job openings in the areas of Puli, and I’d, wanted, to kick myself. After I’d left Taipei, Hsinchu, and Tainan, cities with the larger scale technology companies, it’s like, I’d, whited out my past work experiences. As I’d passed the post offices, along with Taipower offices, I couldn’t help but wondered, if I’d, only taken the government post exams.

imagine how different life can turn out for you…photo from online…

At the age of thirty, for the sake of my family, my life took a sharp turn, and I can’t tell yet, whether if it’s going to be good or bad, but I believe, that so long as I carried the heart I’d had before, worked hard, I can totally, find a brand new direction in life again.

And so, this, is a huge life-changing situation you’re, faced with now, isn’t it? You’d quit your government job, to chase your dreams, so you can have more time with your young, to not miss out in their coming of age, and, although you’re, unsure of whether or not you’d, made the correct choices in life, your life knows where it’s, taking you.

Unending questions of a girl child

Gender Discrimination, Happening, in the Unnoticed Places…

The First Assertion

As I walk towards my house, I see her tottering behind her mother. She is completely oblivious of her surroundings. Her mother is holding her younger brother in her hand. At times she tries to keep up with the fast pace of her mother and at times of her aunt who is also walking along with them. Although the baby is secure in his mother’s arms, no one is bothered if the girl child is indeed trailing them. Maybe she also knows it. Her speed becomes even more. The poor child deprived of nutrition seems weak. She is making every effort to silently grab the attention of the ladies clattering in front of her.
As we reach a fork road, the family turns towards left and I turn towards right, I am bound to think. Maybe I am making things up. But it is evident in everything everywhere that the…

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Walking Out of the Darkness After Losing My Marriage

The growth of a woman, translated…

My close friend, Hsin-Yi and two girlfriends’ floral shop opened, a few of us, their close friends, made the time, to give them the congratulations.

We saw how in the small space of the shop, there were so many colorful bouquets, potted flowers, and fashionable pots, plus the professional floral arrangements too, with the explanations of the concepts, it’d made us all happy for her, that she could, get from underneath the dark clouds of the loss of her marriage, and find her strength again.

Three years ago, after Hsin-Yi’s husband had an affair, she was in pain, but, for the sake, of giving her daughter a complete home, she’d decided, to put up with her husband’s bad behaviors, but in the end, she couldn’t save, this already shattered marriage of hers, and ended up divorcing her husband.

After her divorce, she took her five-year-old daughter, moved back in with her parents, other than helping with caring for her daughter, the family members would give her encouragements often.  Plus, her two girlfriends from college would often come by to say hi, have heart-to-hearts with her, hoped, that she could, get out, from under the failed marriage, to not get trapped by the depressive moods, and encouraged her, to make plans for herself, and her daughter’s sake as well.

Later on, Hsin-Yi and her two girlfriends decided to go into business together, the three of them decided to open up a floral shop.  Because Hsin-Yi had the working experiences as a wrapper at a floral shop from before, she’d naturally took up the work of packaging, selection of the flowers, as well as the designs for the pots, and the two of them were in charge of the finances and sales.

The three of them worked with the plans of opening up shop, their days were fulfilled, and, it’d ignited that sense of hope, in Hsin-Yi’s life again.

For the sake of gaining a wide variety of customers, as well as upping her own professionalism, six months before they’d opened for business, Hsin-Yi especially took lessons in how to make corsages and bouquets for the brides, hoped, that she could add to her own professionalism, to offer her customers more choices, and to give her daughter a bit more material wealth as well.

Hsin-Yi told me, that getting divorced is not scary, what’s scary was getting sucked, into the glooms of the divorce.  She’s grateful to her own family’s support, as well as her girlfriends’, giving her a lift in time, so she could get stronger, and, start again.

So, this, is with the support from her friend, that this divorcee had found herself again, and, having a social support system like this one is especially important, when you’re going through a major change in your life such as a divorce.

Two Rapists Out on Parole Escaped, Hsinchu, Taichung, on High Alert

Yeah, and, we’re, NO longer safe here, from the Front Page Sections, translated…

It was, extremely rare, but, the sex offender out on parole, De-Yen Lin on the early morning of the 27^th this month had, managed, to destroy the electronic ankle bracelet and took it off himself, got away from his residence, the D.A. already put out an arrest warrant.  The news got out, that a sex offender on parole had broken loose, it’d made the women in Hsinchu and Taichung worry, they’d asked the courts, the D.A. to watch the sex offenders more carefully.

The Taichung D.A.s office manager, Xiao-Wen Chang said, that De-Yen Lin (age 49) twenty years ago, committed robbery and rape multiple times, was sentenced to life in prison, but because he’d shown signs of remorse and behaved well in prison, he’d gotten the chance of parole.  At the start of two years ago, Lin was indicted on charges of theft, and because he was a sex offender, he was forced, to have an electronic anklet on him.

On the early morning of the 27^th, the court appointed officer was watching the monitor, and found that Lin wasn’t at home, the D.A. immediately issued a warrant on his arrest, hoped, that he could turn himself in.

The Facebook Group, “Seeing the North of Hsinchu” two nights ago, posted the note: “a Released Rapist on the Loose, Women be Careful”, said, that the sex offender from northern Hsinchu, Lee severed the electronic anklet and ran off, it’d immediately gotten the online community’s attention, and the article was passed from one member of the online community to the next, and, that, was when the Hsinchu Police Department confirmed the statements.

Guo-Shen Lee (age 43) committed thirty-four cases of robbery back in 1992 in Tainan, and three of these cases involved the rapes of women, and he’d taken items such as Rolex watches from them, and was nicknamed that “Wolf of Rolex”, the following year, he was caught, and, from his first trial to his seventh appeal, the judges all gave him the death penalties, and, on the appeal of his ninth trial, the judge gave him life in prison, four years ago, he’d paroled out, and had the curfews of from nine at night to six the following morning, and he must have on, an electronic tracking anklet at all times.

Two years ago in June, Lee had sex with a hooker, and was sentenced to five months in prison for obstruction of societal values, and, he could not have his parole anymore.  The District Attorney’s Office received the notice of Lee’s parole getting taken away on January 5 this year, the very next day, Lee took off the electronic tracking anklet, and was on the run, on January 16^th, the District Attorney’s Office sent out an arrest warrant for Lee, but they didn’t tell the public that he was a sex offender.

Two nights ago, the Facebook group “Seeing Northern Hsinchu” posted photos of Lee, told the online community to keep an eye out for him, the police subprecinct from northern Hsinchu received so many calls from the public, asking if the source of the news was real.

Why didn’t the police department issue the notices of this sexual predator’s escape?  The police station said, that the arrest warrant issued by the District Attorney’s office is the same as letting the public know; the District Attorney’s Office in Hsinchu said, that if after four, five months from now, Lee is still not yet arrested, then, they would consider posting his name and photograph to the public.

And, by then, guess how many more ladies are gonna get raped and murdered?  Exactly, this, is NOT good way, to deal, how can you ask the public to feel safe and secure, if a sex predator is on the loose?  It’s the justice system’s way of covering up, and, finding ways, to dodge getting blamed for not being careful enough if you ask me!