Archive for the 'Maid' Category

The Maid has failed her Medical Tests. She has got TB and has to be sent home immediately.

What does this mean to me? According to the agent, I don’t have to pay anything extra. Yes, sure! But what about the opportunity cost or the cost of interest for the money that I’ve paid upfront to bring the maid into the country?

Now, I have to pick another maid and wait for another 2 months. I’m back to square one! I first made my application at the end of December last year. Its the end of April now. Another 2 months will make it 6 months or half a year of waiting.

My only thought. Why is the process so ridiculous? Why can’t they make sure she passes all her medical tests BEFORE she comes in the country and not AFTER she comes in? Such a waste of time and money for everyone.

All my anxiousness, nervousness and preparation for nothing. We even went out to buy a fan for the maid’s room last weekend.  I need the fan to blow at my face right now.

GERAMNYA! In a flurry of frustrated activity, I cleaned out the bathroom yesterday and squatted down to brush out the dirty bathroom walls and sinks.

The one good thing that has come out of this? At least my bathroom is clean now. *slaps forehead*

Last week the maid agent called to inform us that the maid has arrived. “We shall conduct a medical test and some orientation. Once that is done, we will call you to collect the maid”, she said. “Don’t call me, I’ll call you.” That seems to be her favourite phase.

So I waited and waited and finally I called her.

MG: When can we collect the maid?

Agent: You can’t because she is having her period

MG: Huh? How come?

Agent: Because we can’t do a urine test when she is having her period

MG: Oh, I see…

Agent: Don’t worry lah. Don’t call me, I’ll call you.

Hmmm… thats not a very good start.

I’m really nervous about meeting the maid and taking her in to live with us in our house. I’m worried about whether she will get along with us and get used to our culture and our way of doing things. I am worried about whether the kids will like her. I am worried about whether I will be able to manage her well instead of letting her climb all over my head because I am such a softie. I am worried about whether she can be trusted. I am a bit sad about the loss of privacy and the adjustments we will have to make to admit a stranger into our house.

So many worries and then this delay….. I am worried that this delay will expose the new maid to the reject maids that are at the agents etc etc. I am worried that this delay is not a coincidence but a trick. Gosh! I am such a worrier!

My first maid will be here soon but I am clueless as to what I should do to prepare for her arrival.

Can I have some pointers on what I need to do to prepare for her arrival? Anything that comes to your mind. Like hide the house keys at night or whatever. Do I have to open a bank account for her to bank in her salary? What about her passport? I’m told that we should keep it safe for her so that she does not run away. Where to keep? In the house or in the bank?

Someone suggested that the health checks done by the agency is not good enough and we must take her for another medical check on our own. Does everyone do this?

Does the maid eat with you or after you? I wouldn’t mind eating together with the maid at the same table and at the same time but I must ensure that there is proper etiquette in the sense that we all take the food with a serving spoon to our plates rather than everyone digging into the dish with their own spoons etc. Is this ok etiquette?

What about her clothing? We wash our whole family clothing all thrown in together in the washing machine? What about her own clothing. When is she required to wash them and how.

These are some of the things that cross my mind.

I am so lost as this is my first time getting a maid. I would appreciate if you could tell me what I need to do to prepare for her arrival. I mentioned the above because these are some of the things I was told by the agent or others but please feel free to add anything else that comes to your mind. Thanks.

I am happy to receive many useful comments from my previous post about getting a maid. I love it that my blog is like my own personal forum. Thank you to all those who gave feedback, their ideas and opinions. They are things that only those who have experienced the process can think of. Hmm… managing a maid really is no simple task is it? You’ve got to have really good people skills as well as good communication skills in planning and laying out the tasks and making sure its done and lots of patience and tolerance too. Its not just a matter of hiring a maid and saying “Nah… you do the work.” Its a lot more than that.

One of the commentors, Adrian reminded me about the issue of how we want our kids to interact with the maid. I think one of the things that the kids must be taught from the start is to treat the maid with respect and not someone to be at their beck and call to do their tasks for them. Kids, are well kids and they have to be told and taught otherwise you will have the scenario of the maids scampering around the kids at their whim and fancy, feeding them, chasing them around, wearing their shoes etc which is something I do not want my kids to learn.

I remember when I was a kid, after my mum passed away, my aunt came to live with us for a year to help us out. After she left, we had a maid to help out. Her name was Ah Yoke. We the kids did not know better then. Imagine this scenario. There were 5 of us and we all had the kick of constantly calling upon Ah Yoke to make us iced coffee. “Ah Yoke, Kopi Ais!” we would call out. We thought it was real cool to have someone make iced coffee for us whenever we felt like it. Poor Ah Yoke. I wonder how she ever got any work done around the house with the 5 of us interrupting her for our Kopi Ais.

Fortunately Ah Yoke was only with us for a short period of time so we did not turn out to be spoilt brats. We all learned independance at an early age because mother was no longer around to pamper us. We learned how to cook at an early age. We would take the soggy catered soya sauce chicken and refry it. Hahaha. We ate catered food for years. How I hate peeking into the tiffin carrier only to see the same unappetising dishes for dinner. We also had a timetable for whose turn it is to throw out the trash, sweep the floor etc. Of course we fought over the timetable too. Lol!

Anyway, this post is not about my childhood but it is a reminder that just as I am going to set the rules for the new maid, I will also set the rules for the kids from the beggining so that they do not rely on the maid too much and they are to treat her with respect like any other member of the family.

I will be getting a maid soon. I don’t like the idea of getting one. To me, it is an intrusion of my privacy and our way of life has to change a little. We are going to welcome a stranger into our home, someone we have not even met before. We have to include her in all our activities and take her everywhere with us at first until we can establish some trust in leaving her alone. It is disconcerting.

I submitted my request for a maid and deposit in December, called the maid agency a couple of times and was met up with several excuses. Its Christmas and year end holidays. Its Chinese New Year. Finally, after Chinese New Year when I called them up again they had some biodatas for me to look at.

The maid selection process is not fantastic. You don’t get to interview the person whom (you hope) will work for you and stay in your home for the next two years. (if she does not run away before then). If she does run away, you stand to lose more $$$ than the agency does. The risk is upon you. And all you get is a photo and a biodata which you don’t even know is accurate or true. Most of them lie about their age, I’m told by the agent. The young say they are older and the older say they are younger than their actual age. It is not an ideal process.

My seizures are under control with my medication but still it would be better to have another adult in the home. Otherwise, I prefer not to have a maid. I had a part time helper for over 2 years. We treated her very well and we told her not to leave us in the lurch because it would take some time for us to get full time help. But apparently our kindness did not count for much. I guess we can’t really blame them since they are here for the money. If someone can pay them better they leave. Why should they care about you? Still I am disappointed.

Hubby tells me that the maid is there to help me and not to take over my tasks. He’s got a point there. With a maid, it will be tempting to let her take over my tasks and free me up but I have got to establish from day one (not only to her but to myself) that she is around to assist me and not to replace me in my household tasks. I will still be in control. She is to assist me. That is all. I have to put myself in this frame of mind because it will be very easy to allow someone who is experience (whether its trained by you or otherwise) in housework to take over the housework and cooking. Previously, with the part-timer who was very experienced, I made the mistake of letting her handle everything. She even decided what to cook most days. This can cause potential problems.

I have selected a single girl aged 22 with secondary education. She is from a large family of 9 brothers and sisters. That is all I know about her. I had preferred someone who is married with kids the same age as mine so that she will be more tolerrant with the kids mischief but there was none which fit that description. I hope that the fact that this girl is from a large family will make up for it. She is 3rd in the hierarchy and hopefully helped to look after the younger ones. She has no experience although I had wanted someone with previous experience. So I will have to teach her myself from scratch. I am told that a young girl will be easier to manage than the more experienced ones.

I do not intent for her to help me with the kids but it would still be good to have someone who is good with kids. She is here to help with the housework not the kids. The fact that she is around to help me with the housework will free me to have more time with the kids, I hope. I also hope to have a cleaner house, cleaner clothes to prevent illnesses like rashes from dust mites and prepare better food for my family. They have been eating my one dish meals and reheated dinners for too long. Lol!

Finally, I have no experience in having a maid. Any feedback from those experienced ones? I don’t want to hear horror stories because I’ve heard enough of those. My sister once found some pictures of her first maid dressed in her lingerie! From that day on she only took maids above a certain weight. *slaps forehead*. Any suggestions on what I should do to prepare myself for a maid would be most appreciated.