Love @ 2 years

Happy 2nd year anniversary to us!! :D

Celebrated in advance on Saturday 22/08/2009 because I have no more leave available to take.

We went for the skydining dinner on the cable car from mount faber to sentosa. Managed to make it in time to see the sunset. The food was not too bad, but due to it being fine dining, the food portion was not filling. But the whole trip and dinner was very enjoyable. :) Also, dan gave me a surprise by buying a slice of chocolate cake. It was damn sinful cos its so chocolatey and it tastes very very nice. Loves.

Before we started the journey, the photographer from the restaurant took photos of us sitting in the cable car and informed us that we can 'collect' our photos from the counter when the trip ended. We were then discussing how come they used the term 'collect' rather than 'buy or purchase'. So it turns out that, 1 A5 photo + 2 wallet sized photo + 1 snow globe with our photo inside costs $50! It came as quite a surprise cos when we stepped down from the cable car, they show us all this nice nice photos. Then the salesperson just nonchalantly mention: "You can get all these at only $50." WTH. But anyway, we bought them. LOL. Cos it's really pretty and I don't think we will go for the skydining trip again soon.

Then, we went for our movie "G.I. Joe : The Rise of the Cobra" at Vivocity GV Goldclass and after which, home sweet home. :)

My another surprise gift from Dan is a necklace from SK Jewellery, which I hearts it alot. :D

A post for Anawang

Felt strange to be blogging again. Heh.

Anyway, was talking to CC earlier on, regarding our ex-maid, Anawang or Ahwang (the 1st and last maid we had). A few years ago, when my parents can't afford to keep her anymore, my dad sent her off to work for his friend instead of sending her back to Thailand. But apparently, ahwang wasnt happy about it. And since then, I felt she held a grudge on my dad. I'm not sure whether it's because she have to leave our house or she doesn't like working for her new master.

To most singaporeans, a maid is a maid and to be treated like a maid, as we can see from the negative news that was widely reported all over the media. But for me, ahwang is more than a maid. She is my family member. She's been with us since I was 4. She saw us grow up from toddlers and baby to teenagers. At that time, both my parents are working, and Benson was just born, so my parents had to employ a maid to look after the three of us, do the housework and cook dinner for my grandparents and us. So ahwang was like a nanny to benson rather than maid.

It's her first time being a maid and first time coming out to Singapore to work. She took the train all the way from Thailand to Singapore on her own and waited for my dad to fetch her at the Woodlands Custom. She's 27 at that time, a year younger than my mom. I think she is very brave, given that she is a country bumpkin. My parents employed her through a friend, rather than through the usual maid agency. Anyway, she stayed in my family all these years without getting married and the chance to have children. All because she wanted to provide a better life for her family in Thailand, which she really did as her family was able to buy land to do farming, to repair their houses, and helped support her nieces and nephews for schooling.

My parents gave ahwang lots of freedom, being that they left for work at 9+ in the morning and come home at 11pm at night. But of course they do have the basic expectations of a maid, ie. cleaning the house, washing and ironing the clothes and cooking food for us. Well, she did do her job well. Cos I always came home to good food, ironed clothes etc.

But I remembered clearly a comment that my sec school mate said when she came over to my house on a afternoon after school. "How come your maid so free one? Can read magazines somemore." I forgotten what I had replied her. But at that time, I didnt know that maid arent supposed to be 'that free'. Cos they are supposed to be cleaning the house all the time. Oh wells, since my parents also didnt emphasised too much on the cleanliness of the house, like the cupboards must be completely dust free, the window panes must be complete stains-free, that sort of cleanliness. I remember my maid's routine, even uptil today. I don't remember her not doing any of her job well. And I do not find anything wrong with maid reading magazines or watching tv, as long as they do their job.

Then, came one day when Ahwang's attitude starts to change. She became grouchier and having attitude problems. All along, she have problems with my ahma as my ahma always pinpoint at her. My ahgong have to amputate his lower left leg in order to prevent his leg to continue rotting because of diabetes. So, my grandparents' children employed a indonesian maid to help take care of my ahgong.

Ahwang dislikes the maid. I somehow do, too. I can't even remembers her name now. She's too flirty and whiny. And, there's one time ahwang showed me that the maid kept her used sanitary pad in the room (which the maid is sharing with her) for awhile before throwing. That's so dirty!!! Grossed out man. But what to do, that's my grandpa's maid. And, the maid doesnt helps out in Ahwang's work cos she is just employed to look after the grandpa. Technically speaking, there's nothing wrong with the maid not doing any housework. But I guess ahwang doesnt sees it that way. And alot of other things la.

Then came the day when my dad have to send ahwang away. Of course she cried. I did too. When she was at her new house, she will call me when she's free. But as time goes by, I don't hear from her anymore. Shortly, I got a call from CC (as her ex-maid is ahwang's good friend) and know that ahwang's employer have given up on her and dropped her at Eunos MRT. Apparently, my dad later told me that his friend say Ahwang's attitude is very bad and she doesnt like to bathe their dog and someother things which I cant really remember. For all I know, ahwang is scared of dogs due to a nasty bite which it gave her when she was young. The scar is still there.

So at that time, CC's family need a maid as her maid is old and can't work for them anymore, so CC's family employed Ahwang. I was so grateful that at least Ahwang have some place to stay and work again. It's been a long time since I last contacted CC and Ahwang. So earlier on, I saw that CC was online, so I chat her up.

I was very surpised to hear bad comments from CC on Ahwang. That she was very lazy, puts the blame on others when she did wrong, not helping to look after her grandma when the other maid(employed to look after the grandma) was bathing, talking back to them. Regarding the grandma thing, its like a v similar situation back at my house, but the roles are reversed. From what CC said, I think ahwang's attitude had turned really bad.

---------------------------------
cc - The Little Teochew says:
another thing i find its boiling, my grandma is not as strong as last time. when she came over and stay with us, she will be attached with anoher maid given by my uncle. so you see, if that maid went to bath, shouldnt you be taking over? i was in my room with my sis, and my sis saw my grandma walking about alone. imagine the horror we felt, because grandma dont have the strength to really walk we dashed out to help her and we found ah wang fucking watching korean drama and not helping her. i yelled at her and she rebelled by saying the maid bathing lah, my sista helping her so she dont see the need to help
WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE TALKING ABOUT?
of course my sis went to tell my mom, mom went to confront her and thats when she said people in the house bad mouthed her
-----------------------------------------

It's bad, isnt it? Seriously, if she wasn't ahwang, I would have definitely reacted the same way as CC. But then, somehow I felt that, it's my family's fault that she has turned this way. We gave her too much freedom and I think she might have took for granted that she will always have such incentives no matter which family she works for. And thus, that leads to her bad attitude whenever she's not allowed to do her own things. During the final years with us, I do admit that Ahwang has somehow become very attitude. But we just let her be and didnt correct her, besides she's somehow my mini-mother. And, I always feel that we shouldnt treat maids like servants and we should treat them like equal-being. And that what's CC believed too. So when I heard what Ahwang has been doing, I felt so bad, that CC's family have to go through such bad stuffs. They do not deserve it.

And when I heard CC referring her as bitch, I just felt so sad. I know that ahwang is definitely at fault. But I cant help but feel sad. :(

Maybe maid should really be treated like maid. Enforce strict schedules and work routine for them. And do not give them so much freedom. But, how to treat another female as a lower rank human being? It's already hard on them to grow up with poverty and be away from their family and children. And here we have to treat them like a servant? I always believed that if you treat someone good, you will be treated equally in time to come. Am I considered naive? Given that, ahwang had turned out this way.

Anway, I told CC that I will try to meet up with Ahwang one of these days and see what she will tell me. Till then.