In the end there were Four!!
This past week had been pretty busy for me hence the lack of posting. See, the Mrs was on leave for the entire week so naturally I will have less time to do any blogging. What made me even busier was we no longer have a maid since last Thursday.
Yes, you read it right! We no longer have a maid! Fast huh?!
What happened was I took leave on Wednesday to spend the entire day with Isaac and the Mrs so we told our maid to just do her stuffs and once she is done she can sleep or watch the TV but she is not to go out. We had to leave a set of keys with her in case there is a fire or any other emergency.
Looking back now we should have guessed something wasn't right because she kept asking us separately what time will we be back. I told her we weren't sure because after all we left home at about 11.30 in the morning and with Isaac out as well who knows when he will be cranky right? So I told her we could have dinner out and then packet something back for her or we could come back and then bring her out for dinner together. What I did not know was just before we left she asked the Mrs again what time will we be back and the Mrs thinking that we will be dining out told her we should be late.
Fortunately for us and unfortunately for her, we were all tired by about 4ish and decided to come home to rest before our game of mah jong at night. So we were home by 5.15pm and you must have guessed by now that she was nowhere to be seen. What pissed me off was also my laundry was left out in the rain and Dino was locked out of his toilet.
The Mrs went to check out our caller id and found out that she had called 3 different numbers shortly after we left and these people also called back. It seemed pretty obvious to me that she was arranging to meet these people.
Anyway she came back, all dolled up I must add, at 7.30pm and all she said was she had to go out and buy a phone card to call home urgently. When questioned how did she walked to the shopping mall and which shop did she buy from she couldn't answer.
Now before you Human Rights Activists protest, she was told specifically she was not to go out and if her story was true then she could have called us before leaving. There was another thing that we were not comfortable with and that was she has this boyfriend in Singapore. We called those numbers that she called looking for her and found out that there is Myanmese guy whom she got to know from her last contract here in Singapore about a year ago.
All along she wasn't getting along well with the Mrs and that is largely due to her bad attitude e.g. she will give us black face for no less than 3 days each time we pointed out (note, not scold) her mistakes. All this while I have been requesting to give her more time as I really do not like to hire and fire so easily. However she has crossed the line this time by leaving our home without saying a word to us. So we did not say much to her the rest of the night and the next morning and promptly drove her back to the agent. As expected she was neither sad nor remorseful. She wasn't at all teary and pleaded for another chance in case you're wondering. All she did show was her usual black face.
As the Mrs did not want to inform her of our decision to dismiss her, we had to pack her stuffs and bring them back (all 5 bags of them) to the agency later that evening. In case you think that I am a bad employer, I drove her all the way to Hougang to her former agent's place on the 3rd day of Lunar New Year to collect her bags of clothes and also for her to reminisce old times with her. I had to go back and fetch her after 3 hours.
Luckily we have never been overly dependent on her when it comes to Isaac so we are coping fine without her. The only drag I have to admit to is the vacuuming and mopping of the floor. Since we have Dino I personally preferred to vacuum on a daily basis or at most once every 2 days.
On the hindsight I am enjoying the time that we are spending as a family without an outsider hanging around. I am secretly hoping that my parents can cope with Isaac without the aid of a maid then I will do away with one.
Before I can finish this post we had already confirmed a new maid. This time a Cantonese speaking one too. Cool right? She will be here after about 2 weeks so I guess we will have to do the nappy changing and showering of Baby for the time being. Frankly I am not complaining and in fact looking forward to it.
Oh, I must also add that according to my BIL's maid, my maid actually told her that she has 2 boyfriends here in Singapore. A Chinese and a Myanmese and in case she (BIL's maid) wants, she can introduce boyfriends to her too! Imagine our shock!! I am almost too embarrassed to face my BIL.
This past week had been pretty busy for me hence the lack of posting. See, the Mrs was on leave for the entire week so naturally I will have less time to do any blogging. What made me even busier was we no longer have a maid since last Thursday.
Yes, you read it right! We no longer have a maid! Fast huh?!
What happened was I took leave on Wednesday to spend the entire day with Isaac and the Mrs so we told our maid to just do her stuffs and once she is done she can sleep or watch the TV but she is not to go out. We had to leave a set of keys with her in case there is a fire or any other emergency.
Looking back now we should have guessed something wasn't right because she kept asking us separately what time will we be back. I told her we weren't sure because after all we left home at about 11.30 in the morning and with Isaac out as well who knows when he will be cranky right? So I told her we could have dinner out and then packet something back for her or we could come back and then bring her out for dinner together. What I did not know was just before we left she asked the Mrs again what time will we be back and the Mrs thinking that we will be dining out told her we should be late.
Fortunately for us and unfortunately for her, we were all tired by about 4ish and decided to come home to rest before our game of mah jong at night. So we were home by 5.15pm and you must have guessed by now that she was nowhere to be seen. What pissed me off was also my laundry was left out in the rain and Dino was locked out of his toilet.
The Mrs went to check out our caller id and found out that she had called 3 different numbers shortly after we left and these people also called back. It seemed pretty obvious to me that she was arranging to meet these people.
Anyway she came back, all dolled up I must add, at 7.30pm and all she said was she had to go out and buy a phone card to call home urgently. When questioned how did she walked to the shopping mall and which shop did she buy from she couldn't answer.
Now before you Human Rights Activists protest, she was told specifically she was not to go out and if her story was true then she could have called us before leaving. There was another thing that we were not comfortable with and that was she has this boyfriend in Singapore. We called those numbers that she called looking for her and found out that there is Myanmese guy whom she got to know from her last contract here in Singapore about a year ago.
All along she wasn't getting along well with the Mrs and that is largely due to her bad attitude e.g. she will give us black face for no less than 3 days each time we pointed out (note, not scold) her mistakes. All this while I have been requesting to give her more time as I really do not like to hire and fire so easily. However she has crossed the line this time by leaving our home without saying a word to us. So we did not say much to her the rest of the night and the next morning and promptly drove her back to the agent. As expected she was neither sad nor remorseful. She wasn't at all teary and pleaded for another chance in case you're wondering. All she did show was her usual black face.
As the Mrs did not want to inform her of our decision to dismiss her, we had to pack her stuffs and bring them back (all 5 bags of them) to the agency later that evening. In case you think that I am a bad employer, I drove her all the way to Hougang to her former agent's place on the 3rd day of Lunar New Year to collect her bags of clothes and also for her to reminisce old times with her. I had to go back and fetch her after 3 hours.
Luckily we have never been overly dependent on her when it comes to Isaac so we are coping fine without her. The only drag I have to admit to is the vacuuming and mopping of the floor. Since we have Dino I personally preferred to vacuum on a daily basis or at most once every 2 days.
On the hindsight I am enjoying the time that we are spending as a family without an outsider hanging around. I am secretly hoping that my parents can cope with Isaac without the aid of a maid then I will do away with one.
Before I can finish this post we had already confirmed a new maid. This time a Cantonese speaking one too. Cool right? She will be here after about 2 weeks so I guess we will have to do the nappy changing and showering of Baby for the time being. Frankly I am not complaining and in fact looking forward to it.
Oh, I must also add that according to my BIL's maid, my maid actually told her that she has 2 boyfriends here in Singapore. A Chinese and a Myanmese and in case she (BIL's maid) wants, she can introduce boyfriends to her too! Imagine our shock!! I am almost too embarrassed to face my BIL.
Lastly, if you're wondering why in the end there were Four, I must say you have to be a non-dog lover right?
Posts
14 comments:
wah! heng you guys found out about her misdeeds before she could try anything funnier, like, leave baby at home while she goes out to jalan. your helper quite terrible eh...so cunning. thankfully you guys discovered early and sent her packing. =)
the 4th member of the family is referring to dino yes? so i suppose you and the mrs are dino's daddy and mummy as well? *haha* i am my shih tzu's 'jie jie'. *kakaka*
Hi Roanne,
Yeah it's a good thing we found out early. In fact this is just the last misdeed that broke my back so to speak. There were a few other incidents that all people that I relate to commented that I was too nice.
Anyway I am happy to see the back of her. Now I only wish for her to find another sucker, er I mean employer fast so that I can cancel her work permit. Read today's Newpaper?
Yes, Dino is the fourth of our family and he is like a son to us.
I'm undecided about my stand on the maids+boyfriends dilemma, but yeap, dishonesty in any form cannot be tolerated. Hope you have better luck with your new hire.
Btw, for those who have someone to supervise their maids, what are some other worries regarding maids having boyfriends? I mean, for families that aren't particularly religious -- if they were responsible enough to use birth control and practise safe sex, would it then be ok?
Am just curious as to what the real concerns are -- that the maid will be distracted? that she will incur medical bills? fear of disease?
Hi Evelyn,
I know where you stand on maids after reading your blog sometime ago.
I'm not sure if I mentioned before but my last maid has a husband and a 7 year old son back home. We learned from my BIL's maid that she has 2 boyfriends in Singapore?!?!
I am speaking for myself here when I said that all I want is a diligent worker whose sole purpose for coming to Singapore to work as a maid is to earn more money for her family back home. Not someone who is looking for love on the side.
If she does her work well and give me no trouble then she will be rewarded accordingly.
I think most of our concern is that they will be distracted from work should they find love or get pregnant. Another fear will be she actually bring the guy to your home instead of going to the hotel.
Think you will be interested in an exchange between me and a Caucasian reader in my previous post, Maid.
Thanks for leaving a note on my blog! Re maid situation, wow, that must have been tough.
Hi Dylan,
I've never had a maid b4, hence hv got no personal experience to share. 1 suggestion tho - in case u need to leave ur future maid at home & alone, give her a set of keys but sealed up in an envelope, best with your signature at the seal. That way, she may hv 2nd thots going out or let someone come in...
Years ago, a fren of mine realised that her maid brought her boyfren home, she fired her the same day. She was afraid that if she delay further, the maid might run away with her son... she may be a bit imaginative, but i can understand how she feel... never take chances...
Hi Pilgrim Mom,
I do enjoy reading your blog. Keep it up.
Well it is really not that tough sending the maid back. The only tough part is the vacuuming and mopping of the floor that I have to do now. Hahahaha
Hi Nana,
Thanks for your suggestion. In fact we know about that but figured we wanted to try trusting her so didn't put it to use.
I'm certain we will use this method initially with the new coming maid. Hopefully she is trustworthy and we can do away with all these suspicions fast.
Hi Dylan,
My sharing shall be based on the tons of maids my uncle used to have in his house while I used to stay with him. on good days, he'll have 3 maids. On bad days, 2 maids. He have this very HUGE size maid and I meant seriously HUGE size maid, which first came when I'm only around 10 years old and she's still around in the house, bossing around. And I seriously means BOSSING wor! This maid, from a demure maid when first came, became the queen of the house. She only have to cook and take care of my now, teens cousins and that's it! no cleaning, nothing. She sleeps in the a/c room with them, sing karaoke, read in the room, eat and snack and just wait for pay day. And she got such a bad attitude, I tell you.
Then why didn't my uncle send her home? Cause they were 'held hostage' cause the two girls of his( my cousins) are sooooooo close to her , hence, my uncle feel that he have no choice. Pathetic. That's one of the reason why I refused to employ maid till date. Even as I see the rest of the maids in the house, working like horse. I see this huge size maid behaving like queen. Even giving my auntie and uncle attitude*faint*
And my uncle did have one maid who got herself pregnant and they have to send her back even as they really like having her around. They in turn employed her younger sister to work and best, the younger sister didn't even know that her sister was sent back due to her being pregnant.Then when we're in our teens, my uncle let us(my two sisters and I) stay alone with this maid and best, she bought man back home to stay overnight that's done without consulting us, imagine our shock when we went into the kitchen and saw a half-naked guy!
It's really a state of mess when you have to deal with maid. So it's a matter of whether you're lucky enough to find good helper around. I do have friends who found them, but rarely..So let's just hope....
*I'm just sharing what I've know and heard* Not discriminating maids ya. :)
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for your "horror" story! Hahahaha
Seriously, I am still hopeful that there are still good maids around. I believe that bad news sell papers hence the stories on good maids are often not reported.
One thing is for sure and that is the Mrs and I will still remain very hands on even though we have a maid. This is to make sure that we continue to bond with Isaac. We often find it very sad to see toddlers closer to the maid then the parents.
This new one that is coming worked in HK for 5 years and 4 of which were with 1 employer. The last contract was terminated early because the elderly lady she was hired to care for passed away hence they have no more need for her. Another plus is she has never worked in Singapore before and according to many, this is a good thing.
Anyway my fingers are crossed and I will keep you all posted on the outcome as we get to know her better. I really hope she will turn out to be good and we can treat her like part of the family.
hey
been reading ur blog but only leaving comments now due to the topic is so close to heart..MAIDS...
i have seen many types... they are all wolf in sheeps skin... never never leave them alone.. when i was young and we are gg out as a family, my mom will always ask her cousins if they mind we park our maid at their place. I still practice the same thing now.
Abt boyfrens, its not so much if they got sick etc but its the element of trust that was broken... see she was so desperate to go out... what if one day she got issues with bf and suddenly leave your house just like that... so unstable.
As for the vacuuming and mopping.. hey .. i lost 3 kg the last time I went without a maid for 2 weeks.. thats a good thing!!!
Good Luck with your new maid.....
Hi Nora,
Well I happy you have decided to drop some comment and I hope you will do so more often.
Since maid issues are close to your heart I will recommend that you read the comments exchange that I had with this Caucasian (I would imagine lady) under my much earlier post, Maid (Nov 2007).
I agree with you that with a local boyfriend that she cannot meet, problems are bound to surface. That is why we looked for those married ones so hopefully at least we will not have boyfriend problems. Guess the strategy did not work out too well with the last one huh?!
Anyway keep reading and commenting ya?
Yah, the loss of privacy is something that's holding me back from hiring a maid as well. Plus having to play detective to their antics. More for cleaning up though. Now am living with a once-a-week cleaning by a freelance auntie.
my boy calls my dog "jie jie". Yes, elders roll their eyes and say we're crazy, but my dog came before my boy, and we're the dog's parents, so that's a logical conclusion mah.. haha.. at least we teach him that "jie jie" is a dog, and different fr us humans.. :p
Hi Trina,
Yeah, we wanted so much to hold onto our privacy but eventually practicality won.
We used to have a once a week cleaner too but I figured that since Dino will continue to sleep with us in our bedroom together with Isaac, I prefer to have the house vacuumed and mopped daily.
I can imagine the non-dog lovers will give you a weird look when they hear your boy calling your dog "Jie Jie". Currently we are referring to Dino as "Dino Kor Kor" when talking to Isaac buy he'll probably call him Dino once he can talk.
Post a Comment