Friday, October 31, 2008

My hopes

My children Fatini and Emir are always together. They are very close and one will never go anywhere without the other. Without Mommy, they will go out with their daddy and vice versa but never without each other. Well, they do fight but they laughed together more and seemed to share everything. They played, ate, fought and went everywhere together. Attended the same classes and go to the same school. They are always looking for each other, day and night. It is my utmost hope that they will continue to be very close, to love and look after each other even after I am long gone.

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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Learning

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Fatini in all black studying the Muqaddam at the night class.

Busy, busy ...

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Emir was busy painting his Deepavali light cup.

My girl is cleaning up the house

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Dont tire yourself, sayang…

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

My firsts

When I sit alone by myself sometimes I reminisced those times that left strong impact on me. Mostly they were my first experiences. Since I am older already therefore I have so many first times. Some that I will share with you.

First memory

My memory went as far back as the time when maybe I was four years old, since I remember I already have my brother Nazri as a baby. We lived in a village, a kampong and our house was just next to a school. I remember standing by the fence looking at the kakak-kakak at the school cooking the corn porridge in a big kuali, I guessed it was lunch for the whole school. At the time school was still subsidized with nutritious food like porridge and powdered milk. ( I really sound ancient !!) At the end of the cooking, they will give us a bowl of the porridge.

My first cat

My first cat was called Intan. I think its a male cat though. He was blackish/greyish in colour. I got him maybe when I was around 6 years old. Actually all my siblings got a cat each. Zul, my brother had a cat which was addicted to sucking our toes and earlobes. I used to kick his cat because I hated it when the cat sucked my toes and earlobes. But I loved my cat Intan which was the most well behaved and very clever. A couple of years later my parents had to move from the house to go to another area in the state. We had to walk across a railway track to get to the lorry which carried our things. Intan refused to cross the railway track because he was so scared of the train. My parents decided to ask the neighbour to look after him for a while. Not long after that when we went to see him, we have been told that he died, possibly because he missed us. I was so sad.

My first magazine / paper

They were Utusan pelajar and Dewan Pelajar. In those times, Utusan pelajar was produced weekly and Dewan Pelajar monthly. My father bought them for me without fail started when I was small around standard 1 or before. I loved to read them. I learned stories like Medusa and Hercules from those magazines. You know they published the stories bit by bit on each issue and always to be continued in the next issue. I would scream with joy whenever my father brought them home. He always passed it to me first. And from there I developed love for reading.

My first day at primary school

I was enrolled to Sekolah Kampung Tanjong. A very old school in a remote village. I dont know whether it still exists now. I remember my first day at school feeling small and overawed by all the teachers who looked so fierce. My father sent me to the school and left me there. I didnt cry.

My first dress

It was a red dress with bouncy fully pleated skirt, lacy and layered, and I loved that dress so much. It was so glamorous. I was standard 2. I drew the dress everywhere, feeling so beautiful when wearing the dress. My sister got a similar one but yellow in colour with slightly different design.

The first actress I admired

She was Farah Fawcett in One Million Dollar Man series. I loved the hair. I spent hours blowing and curling my hair in front of the mirror using my mothers hair dryer. As far as I was concerned I really looked like Farah Fawcett.

My first boyfriend

I got two in Primary school. Both were my classmates. One is short and fat. The other is tall and thin. Everyday I will fight with one of them. When I befriended one I will make enemy of the other. Then I switched. Terrible girl! When I moved to the secondary school we parted ways but continued to write letters to each other.

My first day at boarding school

I was twelve years old going to thirteen. My parents sent me there and left me all alone. The school seemed so enormous and the seniors looked so big and were all so nasty!!! Actually not all, and the boy seniors were so handsome..

My first love

This was monkey love even though happened when I was a little bit older but I was still naïve like anything. I was a late bloomer. When I was studying oversea I fell in love with this Malay guy who was not even interested in me. Sob, sob, unrequited love, Cinta tak berbalas!!! Berlagak habis!!! See siapa rugi now .??? ;-)

My first true love

My husband lah. Siapa lagi. A solid love, unwavering, steady, sturdy and will be there forever Love that grew year after year of being together and sharing everything.

My first pregnancy

It was so beautiful. I could do it over and over again. No morning sickness and I ate a lot. In fact I ate all the time. My excuse was I was eating for two. But my I was not a beautiful sight since I bloated with water retention from top to toe.

My first baby

My miracle of life. When I saw you Fatini, and looked into your beautiful eyes and see that you were perfect I thanked God for his blessings and gift to me. I promised to myself that I will give my best to you.

My first night at home with my new baby

My God, what a night to remember. At the hospital she was at the nursery and I slept undisturbed. Then I brought my baby home. My beautiful bundle of joy refused to sleep and this was the first night ever in my entire life that I didnt sleep until morning. It was an experience as well as a shock to me and I continued this way for the next 4 months.

Well, enough of my firsts for the time being and thank you for accompanying me down my memory lane.


Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A new beginning

With the live in maid being absent from my house, I began to reorganize my house. First of my many tasks was to arrange for part time maids to come twice weekly which I have done and they have started working two weeks ago. Then I began to check the entire house and reorganize.

First was to get rid of all the accumulated junks. You wouldnt believe what had been in stored in the kitchen area. I collected plastic disposable containers, dirty black wiping clothes, plastics, etc to dispose. This was about 4 to 5 garbage bags. Next, I checked all the kitchen cabinets and take out all those handy tools for my ease of usage and rearranged them.

I chucked out all the broken ladles, spoon, and containers, and bought new ones to replace. I reorganized my children milk making facilities and bottles and nipples storage, decommissioned the bottle steamer/sterilizer which had actually not worked properly anymore.

Next I checked all the wardrobes, mine and my chlldrens, and isolated all unused, old and torn garments and put in 1 big garbage bag to throw. I found that some of my childrens clothing which were still good but had not been used because they were buried deep behind in the drawers. So I begin to sort them out. I have still more work to do in this area to organize the clothing.

I also bought more brooms, replaced mops and other house cleaning detergents and facilities. Some of the existing ones are really in bad conditions and dirty and I couldnt imagined these were used to clean my home before.

Next I am going to replace the iron. We have two irons at home, I found one was mechanically dented and the other one had a surface so black I am afraid it will transfer to the clothing. I have to replace the ironing board too.

I have more work to do and more garbage to dispose. I have to do it once and then it is a matter of maintenance.

The cooking and meals preparing also becomes easier as I don’t have to consider the maids appetite and food stuff anymore. My husband and I and children just eat simple meals like pasta and sandwiches and sometimes heavier food like rice.

I began to teach my childten to eat at the dinner table instead of upstairs in front of the TV and Fatini has tidied up my vanity desk a few times because she knew the maid is no lonher around. The children are encouraged to clean up their toys by singing the Barney song (clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere!. Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share. ) to clean up the mess thay have made which they found it fun to do.

And guess what? All of a sudden I feel like I am in control. Ya lah, all these while I really couldnt be bothered to check our belongings, or childrens and husbands clothing. I didnt really identify with my husbands shirts and pants except those I hand washed. Now that I started to iron them and therefore start to recognize the shirts and learn their conditions.

This month had been busy (not to mention it being HariRaya month) and I am readjusting to life without live in maid. Its not that bad. Its going to be difficult in the beginning not because the maid is not there but because i need to know where things are and so on. I have started to feel the easy part coming as I started to adjust to the new routine and found a deep profound happiness of knowing my own home.

Friday, October 24, 2008

More party this month

Today afternoon I went to ToyRus to find a present for my next door neighbours son whos having a birthday party tonight. Buying toys are not easy since there were so many to choose from. Normally I would spend a lot of time being uncertain to choose but today I didnt waste any time so after a couple of rounds I managed to pick one up I thought suitable for a 5 year old boy. I wrapped the gift myself at the office. Hope the boy will enjoy the gift.

My kids love birthday party. So I hope I will be able to turn up at the party which is going to be held by the pool side at the club. Emir is having a diarrhea since 2 days before and today the daycare person called me informing that hes still having diarrhea and actually vomited once. I am very concerned but I was told he was active and behaving normal, not sick. I will check on him when I pick him up later today. Yesterday the diarrhea was like gone so I thought he was allright already. When we went to the clinic last night to get some ointment for the lesions on his legs which he got from the insect bites 3 weeks ago and I thought was getting worse and infectious, we took nothing for diarrhea from the clinic. Today he had another bout of diarrhea which concerned me. I really hope it will go away. Poor Emir. My heart really worry for him.

 

Talking about birthday, Emirs is coming this December. Hes going to be 3. I know its so fast. I still remember when I delivered him and saw him for the first time. He was 3.93 kg at birth! So adorable and such a good baby. Anyway for his upcoming birthday I already planned that one simple celebration must be held at the daycare (just birthday cake and party packs for the kids) since thats where most of his friends celebrated their birthdays. Apart from that I am not sure whether I will plan another one for him. He already knew how to appreciate birthdays celebration and as other kids are so excited to blow the candles.

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My husband will be attending a dinner function which did not invite spouse tonight. Some companies dont involve spouse when holding functions. Kedekut sungguh. Companies like mine are more family oriented and always have function which involves wife or families. I guess that will encourage more attendance. So I will bring the kids alone tonight. The good thing is I dont have to cook because food has been taken care of.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

My Mommy cut my hair

I’d always have problems with Fatini’s hair. Its nice, thick and beautiful but she didnt want to tie it or any hair clips I put didnt remain on the hair very long. She didnt like it. So most of the times, her hair will be covering half of her face. He friend Su Zu had shorter hair and recently wanting to be the same as her friend she had been begging me to have her hair cut shorter. At her age, she already is influenced by friends style. What when shes 15! So Friday night last week I took out a scissor and snip, snip…. I looked at the hair that I cut, so much . What a shame to cut the hair. However she turned out not bad. She was so happy and she thought her new hair was so beautiful.

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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Unscrupulous maid agency

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Today, I am pouring out. Some readers may find my words offensive, so please excuse me and stop reading if you dont like it.

See my earlier post With All My Heart: Turning a blind eye. After posting that write up, I had been planning to send the maid home after HariRaya. The Ramadhan and HariRaya week had been a busy one. I told the maid so but the said maid left the house one good morning almost 2 weeks ago.

Actually I am really pissed about the runaway maid and the associated agency. This is one weird agency who I think acted stupidly and irresponsibly. This agency sms us saying the maid arrived at the agency at 9 am on Friday morning 10th October 22, 2008. This agency Ilham Tenaga Sdn Bhd is at Sri Gombak Batu Caves claimed my maid arrived by Taxi from my house.

They arrogantly asked us to come forward to the office urgently, pay up the agency all the maids salary and return the passport to them immediately. What! What!

What a nerve..?

First of all its such so an unbelievable story that there is a taxi near my house which is located at a golf resort in Shah Alam/Klang area, have 3 gates of security guard along the 4-5 km private stretch to arrive at the public road. And to get a taxi from that area so easily?  Hardly. And even if she is so damn lucky to stop a taxi, would the taxi driver agree to redah the traffic of morning rush hour of Friday morning to the other side of Selangor at Gombak to arrive at 9 am at the agency? How much did she pay to the taxi driver? Paid by sex? Unlikely since she is about 40 years old and the tiang talipon is more attractive. Unbelievable!!!

I had bad experience with this agency before when they supplied us unfit maid (I refused this maid as replacement in the beginning but they managed to get my husband to pay them extra money ) so this time I ignored the sms, yalah, they are not the authority, apasal urgent sangat!. What do they get for this? Well we think they want to recycle this maid, take the money and send the maid to another employer and get more money. They will be the one who will gain the maximum benefit out of all this. And what a nerve to think well come running like a chicken to tend to their needs? Well, I thought let them suffer for a while. My maid is hyper and need to eat a lot of rice all day. Let the agency feed her hoping for our money.

After 10 days they sent an email, cc to me the wifey, claiming the maid had been kicked on the back and physically abused by ME!!!! Sedihnya ..tak de class ke aku ni  Ini dah melampaui batas2 dunia. Ini mesti nak jadi famous macam Nirmala Bonat ni.. After staying with me for almost 2 years! So they said we should settle this amicably that is by paying money and give the passport lah. They said theres no need to involve the authorities. Hah! Wrong person to deal with! CelaXX!!!! If abuse is the case, and the maid is intelligent enough to get a taxi, why return to the agency, why not to the Indonesian embassy which is nearer in KL or to the police station which just around my area? I challenged them to make a police report and to send her to the hospital, do medical check-up. I am not scared if she asked her friends to kick her to prove her words since we in Malaysia also have CSI (my favourite show on TV).  But I still told the agency about the money that been sent home, the hitting of my kids and luckily I have lots of photos of her around the house looking fit and healthy with big bum and in front of the TV lazying around. And I cced the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Pengguna. Actually all the photos are snapshots courtesy of Emir who likes to snap anything when he got hold of my handphone. Thank you Emir!! This agency was again mad that I cced the Consumer tribunal and took the side of the maid (as if they know the maid intimately) and defended the work performance of the maid ! (mana dia orang tahu, ada bagi training ke????) They proceeded with more threats. So we terminated the maids permit and passport after consulting the immigration department. The agency was so mad after we told them and send us threatening emails to report here and there.

Well go ahead. You do your part and well do ours.  First of all if the agency had come politely , make an appointment with us to discuss the maid complain and showed interest to find the truth I would have cooperated more to find the best solution. Also had they shown interest to discuss the impact on us the consumer when a maid runaway or as a result of not complying to the contract.  Who takes care of our children and so on. I believe that the agency has been in contact with our maid or communicated in some ways that she is to return to the agency. We believe the agency has no interest in the maid just an opportunity to make more money. This particular agency is like a human trafficker except it is a registered one. Sorry Ilham Tenaga, how many people have you conned before, you have disturbed the wrong water now.

Lessons to be learned from all this, whenever a maid run away, you know or you dont know her location, we must make a police report. Nobody should tell us that we should not do that!