Archive for July, 2008

When the agent called us to pick up the maid, my husband asked me if I could recognise the maid if I saw her. “I think so”. I said, looking at the photo in the given biodata. The next day we went to the agent’s office. 

When we arrived at the agent’s office, we saw 4 maids sitting there. Two who looked older than the average maid and two the younger ones. “Is our maid there?” asked my husband. “No, I don’t think so” I whispered back as we sat down in front of the agent. To our surprise our agent called one of the young girls over. Oops! She looked very different from the photo in the biodata!

In the biodata, was an older girl with hair all combed back neatly, who looked like a responsible young adult. Before us, was a young girl with a shocking growth of afro hairstyle. She looked entirely different. We had to ask her a few questions to make sure she was the right person. Lol.

The agent told us that she had passed the initial X-Ray test which our first choice of maid had failed and was sent back two months earlier BUT her full medical test results are not out yet. The agent explained that if she fails her medical, then she will be sent back like the other one. “So, why are you handing her over to us?” we asked perplexed.

The agent then explained that our contract with the maid starts on the day of arrival (which incidentally was about a week before they released her to us). We start paying from the day of arrival. “If you are worried, you can leave her with us until she is certified fit but you have to pay for her salary in the meantime.” (Hmm now she tells us. We were already there to pick up the maid so what to do?)

Well, well, well. So it would seem that employers are again on the short end.

You basically have two choices.

1. To take in a maid whom you do not know the full medical history of and after a week or two living in your home, she may be certified unfit. And then you will end up with a dilemma like this
2. To leave the maid at the agent until she is certified fit. This may take 3-4 weeks in which time the maid may get all sorts of negative influences mixing around with the other reject maids etc (of whom there are plenty) who are staying at the agent’s premises. In the meantime, you pay for the maid, so you may end up paying for a full month of maid’s salary but you haven’t got a maid

So now, I have a stranger living in my house whom I do not know the medical history of. Isn’t this just fine and dandy?

Are you thinking of giving your home a makeover? Perhaps you’d like to change the flooring for your house? Changing the flooring can give your home an instant makeover and an improved new look that’ll give it that extra oomph. Whether you are looking for new carpeting or thinking of changing your old carpet for hardwood, laminate or ceramic flooring, you can go to Empire Today.Empire Today is the perfect place to go to for your next home improvement project because it is a leading provider of installed home furnishings for over one million homes in North America and Canada.It was founded over 45 years ago in 1959. That makes it a very “old” company. However “old” here means good because when it comes to home improvements you want to go to a company which is firmly established which has all the systems in place so that you will have less headache. As we all know, though home improvement is an exciting thing, it can also be extremely stressful so you must find the right partner or the right person to do it. Why not let the Empire Today Man handle it?

Have you heard of the Empire Today Man? You must have. He was a live action person turned into an famous animated character in 1977. In fact he can now be considered a cultural icon! He’s part blue collar superhero and part pure entertainment. He has been spotted internationally in commercials and other media. He has been Master of Ceremonies on television and radio singing the Empire Today Jingle – “800-588-two-three-hundred, Empire Today” – making it one of the most recognized phone numbers in the entire country. Amazing isn’t it?

Its really a very catchy jingle too. You can check it out in the video embedded below. And remember to turn your volume on.

Enough about Empire Man, even though he may be a lovely and cute character, I want to talk about the flooring in my home now.

I do believe that certain flooring is suitable for different rooms to bring out and enhance the deco in that room. For example, I like my bedrooms to have Plush Carpets. To me, carpets give the bedroom a rather luxurious feel. It also quietens your footsteps making it perfect for bedrooms. However, you’d have to make sure you have the time to clean it often, to get rid of dust mites. Otherwise, its better to just opt for Hardwood Flooring, which can look very modern and is much easier to cleanup. If you still like carpets, you can add one or two rugs or floor mats in strategic positions to brighten up your room. Hardwood Flooring also looks nice in living rooms and the one or two carpets in strategic places concept is perfect in living rooms.

I’m a traditionalist. So when I think of Ceramic Flooring, I think of kitchens. Ceramic Flooring is best in kitchens and for outdoor patios. However, I do have some friends who have even managed to make their living room look different and special by putting Ceramic Flooring in their Living and Dining areas. Very bold of them but it seemed to work wonderfully for them. It made a statement for them but I’d rather stick to my old ways because I’m not that good in decorating.

When it comes to changing the flooring for your house its best to get an in-home estimate. You can get a free, no obligation in-home estimate from Empire Today. When you make an appointment with an Empire Today professional, he or she will come along with samples so that you can choose those that match your deco. The Empire Today professional will then take the measurements and give you an immediate quote on the fully installed price. After you are satisfied you can schedule an installation which could even be the next day! When installation is complete he or she will make sure that you are happy with the new look and the customer service package includes a follow up two week after the installation to make sure that you are completely satisfied. Now, that is what I call service and a stress free change towards a more beautiful home.

If you wish to read up more about the company, you can check out this Wikipedia Link on Empire Today.

I thought that being a remisier was the most exciting and boring job in the world. It was especially boring when the market was sideways, not when its down mind you, when its down, it was exciting too in a bad sort of way. But when it was sideways………….YAAAWWWN!

You can even hear a pin drop then. It was so quiet and if you look around you, you’d see bored faces clicking on the Solitaire card game on their PC like zombies. Me? I’d be doing my cross stitch. I didn’t have a blog then, otherwise, I’d blog like crazy. Hahaha.

But when it was exciting…… well, it was the exact opposite. It was like a livewire. Each of the remisiers’ 2 phones and a handphone (thats what we all had) would be ringing incessantly. You’d have to talk loudly above the din in order to hear and you have to talk fast to get things done even faster! Every news would move the market instantaneously and you better think and act fast or else…..you’d miss the boat or rather the price.

Sometimes we’d key in a price either 2 or 3 bids higher or lower in order to make sure our orders matched. Otherwise, you’d have to keep on keying in and withdrawing (you must withdraw because you don’t want to take the chance of doing double trades) to no avail missing all the prices but sometimes the client does not understand this. You have to be up to the minute with the latest news then or you’d miss it. Can you hear my heart beating hard as I write this? Well, it would thump very hard then. Haha.

And what about the people at the stockmarket? Well, there are all kinds of course. First, the remisiers. We had ex-army personnels, former teachers, retired bank managers, fresh graduates, former businessmen, people from HR, Accountancy etc. It was a very mixed group. Well, everyone wanted to be a remisier at one time… but not anymore… some say its a sunset industry.

And then there were the regular faces you see at the galery. There were grandparents who brought the grandchild that they were babysitting along and many faceless men starring at the screen.

And what about me? Well, at one time I was heavily pregnant and waddling around with my ugly blue checked dress that would probably look better as a table cloth (it was the only cool thing that fitted). Haha. And after delivery and confinement, I sort of became a SAHM by default cos’ I had no one else to look after my baby. I can’t remember now, but I think I took an extended “maternity leave” for almost a year. I did attempt to bring baby in a sling to the office once or twice when hubby was on leave and able to help me or I’d leave the baby home with him. And when she was bigger, I would go in the office about once a week by bringing my girl AND my father along so that I would have an extra pair of eyes and hands to look after her. I was very slack, cruising in late and staying half days on those days that I went in. I don’t think anyone would want me as a remisier. You can’t find me to execute your trades. Hahaha.

I probably would have carried on being a remisier if I was a big time remisier with assistants and my own room with more privacy but I was only a small fry and it was not easy to carry on bringing my girl to work in my small little corner.

I never felt like I truly belonged there and I would often have dreams about going to work and finding my desk gone and everyone in new places with new workstations accept me! Hahaha. Its funny how the subconcious mind works. 

And so thats how I ended up being a SAHM after the second baby came along. Though I never really enjoyed the job, I feel a bit “sayang” to give up my license though, because well, I had studied and worked for it.  I’m not a person who is good with numbers so I really had to work extra hard to memorise all those calculations of PEs etc. Hahaha. Pssssst. I’d also rather read brainless women’s magazines rather than update myself on the latest corporate maneuvers or read about the whos who in the corporate world and what they have been up to. However in those days, I had to read the Business Section of the papers first before anything else whereas I had always ignored that section before becoming a remisier. Now, I’m back to ignoring it again. Lol!

Its really been fun writing about my previous jobs. Next, I’ll probably write about my first job as a Company Secretary.  No, not a private secretary but a corporate secretary in an accounting firm. Another big yaaawwwwn. The only job I ever truly enjoyed was organising Conferences.

I don’t think I’ve written about any of this in my 3 years blogging. Why? I guess, I’ve always tried very hard to write non-personal posts that feel personal but they’re really not personal. ????

Writing about being a SAHM brought back memories of the days when I was working and the most stressful moments I had at work. (My most significant work was 7 years as a conference organiser and 7 years as a remisier.) Here are my unforgetable heart stopping moments.

1. I had organised a conference on “How to List Your Company Successfully on the KLSE.” We had a panel discussion with merchant bankers, financiers, legal personalities etc when suddenly in the last hour or minute rather, the Chairman of the panel called up and said “I’m sorry, I can’t make it. Can you take over as Chairman?” *faints*

2. There was another instance when I organised a Property Conference and we had a Minister to open it. Having a Minister to open the Conference requires special protocol and it was my first time dealing with it so I was nervous. I had to time it just right. The Minister would arrive in his car, then I had to walk up to him/her and pin a flower on his lapel/her baju kurung then signal my colleague to announce to the Conference Attendees to rise and welcome the Minister. Everything had to be in perfect timing. As usual, last minute, my boss rang up and said “I can’t make it. You have to take my place.” We quickly change the placards. Then I had to guide the Minister to sit on the stage with the rest of the panel and with me beside him. *faints* (After I learned the ropes, this protocol was no longer frightening to me but that was my first time. It was scary man.)

3. At the same Property Conference, the Minister’s office had arranged for the press to come in droves. I had never handled so many press people before. All of them crowded round with their cameras and TV lights demanding for a press kit which we had not prepared because we weren’t aware that so many of them would turn up with the Minister. Usually when we have a Conference, we would invite the press but this time the Minister had something to announce, so his office arranged for the press without informing us. *faints*

4. Once, I arranged a Conference for Public Relations professionals which included a few site visits to a printing workshop as well as to the Star Newspaper office. The Star Office was the last place we visited on the first day. Everyone was tired and wanted to go home. There were about 30-40 participants and the stupid bus that we hired turned up very very late to send us back to the hotel. I had to keep on apologising while sweating all the time because the participants were rather furious. *sweats*

5. Once, we invited a speaker with fantastic credentials online. We had never done work with him before. Everything was online. On the day of the Seminar, he turned up in the morning reeking with alcohol! That was probably my most embarrassing moment. *face turn red* (not from alcohol)

6. Once, the hotel I was working with messed up. As a safety measure, I always check the hotel a day before the event. Even then they forgot and placed us in a different room from what they promised and what was printed on our delegates tickets. Gosh! It was a tiring morning trying to look for all our lost sheep even with the signage informing them about the change. *sweats*

7. Another time, I went to the hotel in the evening to check that the printers had delivered our Conference Papers. To our shock and dismay, they had inserted the pages all wrong. We had to stay till 11pm to sort them out one by one. *tired*

8. Once, my boss was a bit late in paying the hotel and the stupid hotel threatened to lock the door and not allow our participants to enter until we paid! &*%$#! I think they should have practise more discretion in demanding for payment. *&^%$#*

9. We had another sister company which runs short certificate courses. On the graduation day, I was suddenly told (last minute as usual) to make speeches and present the certificates to a roomful of eager participants. Yikes! I hate public speaking. The usual I can muster up is the short introduction of my Conference Speakers but this one was a looooong one. *big sweat*

10. Last but not least is probably the time I sold stocks that my client did not possess and I didn’t know about it till the time for delivery and I was queried by the KLSE and had to submit a written report to them. *unhappy*

Writing this, it strikes me that its really strange that I spent equally 7 years on each job but I only have one item for the years I spent as a remisier. That must be because I didn’t really enjoy that job at all. Every moment was a stressful moment to me. Haha. Every time I want to key in an order I get big sweats trying to make sure I get it right. Afterall, everything is about $$$$ and a small mistake could mean big $$$$$. Aiyoyo. Scary.

I loved the other job though. I loved running around. We conducted Seminars and Conferences and In-house Training for large MNCs. After awhile, I knew the job and the Speakers at the back of my hand so I was confident in it. I ate a lot too! Haha. At every event, there was always two tea breaks and a huge buffet lunch. Lol!. I planned our Annual Training Calander and it was always full to maximise profits. Hehe. In each week there would be almost daily events. Sometimes, I had to be at two places at one time! Sometimes we travelled outstation together with the MNC staff for their in-house training usually on team building etc. I attended so many courses myself because as an organiser we could sit in and pick which ones we wanted to attend.

We did research and spoke to many people about their jobs from clerical to top management. We did all sorts of seminars for all sorts of industries. We visited Factories and Offices and almost all the newest hotels. We ran courses from Factory Management to CarPark and Building Management to PR professionals and for CEOs on how to handle the media etc. We did training work for small groups of 10 or large groups of 200. We travelled to attend courses and trade fairs to update ourselves. It was great fun!

Apart from the running around, I also enjoyed the “paperwork” of writing up the brochures simply because I love to write.

Miss CheongHei (Long Winded) has gotten carried away again. What I wanted to ask was…. What was YOUR most stressful moment at work? Care to share?

Why are you a SAHM, WAHM, FTWM etc? Is it what you want?

I am a SAHM because it is what I want. I love it that the only thing I need to think about before I go to sleep each night is what to cook the next day. Yes, I am that shallow! Hahaha. I don’t have to worry about the first thing in the morning meeting or flight, or worry that the bus that I hired won’t turn up on time for my 30 training participants, or practise that talk I have to make the next day or spend a sleepless night because the market is down 100 points again. Nosiree! Thinking about what to cook the next day is much much better. It gives me more focus when I am reading and chatting to my kids at bedtime. I am not distracted by my own work stresses.

I am happy to be around for my kids when they need me. It is a pleasure to greet them when they come home from school. It is a pleasure to feed, bathe and nap with them. It is good to be able to help them with their schoolwork etc.

Some people tell me, but you’re lucky that you can afford it. Thats not true. If I were working, we’d probably have a higher standard of living. However I don’t think about the bigger house we could be living in or the better cars that we could be driving or the many other things that we will be able to afford with more money because it is my choice and I am happy with my choice. 

I know many SAHMs who are unhappy because it is not what THEY wanted. Its what their spouse or family wants. There are also FTWMs who are unhappy because it is not what THEY want. Its because of circumstance.

On the other hand I also know people who are FTWM because its what THEY wanted. Its not because of the money, they tell me. “If I had to stay at home the whole day like you, I’d go mad!” they say. Well, in that case they had better stay FTWM but they should not complain about the stresses of being one then because its what THEY wanted. I know many FTWM who have very full schedules but still manage to have very close relationships with their kids and they don’t complain about how stressful it is juggling a job and a family because it is what THEY want.

What we want must also match what our spouse wants. I believe that at first my spouse would probably prefer it if I worked. Nevertheless, he says that he will support me in my choice and despite his earlier preference, I think he is now secretly happy that he has me at home taking care of the kids this closely. We don’t have to worry about one of us having to take time off work when the kids are sick or having to make alternative arrangements for transport etc because I am always available. He is happy that I have the time to look after the kids and can coach and teach them myself instead of sending them to some after school care centers that seem to have sprouted out everywhere due to the demand for it.

I just hope that for most of us, we are where we are because it is what we want instead of it being due to circumstances or being forced upon us. Because we can only become happy and better mums if we are happy individuals.

Tell me blogger mommies, are  you happy with where you are now? Is your spouse happy about it?