Post 007

So it was a normal day at the office. Quiet, peaceful... no interruptions. Suddenly there's a mini commotion at the far side of the office, on my left. I turned to look and my colleague, Ms.Vegan is perched on her chair, looking terrified. I asked her what happened, and all she said was, "lizard!" She was clearing out some boxes and files at the corner. And this little cold brown rubbery creature jumped at her. I thought of cold, limp, rubbery skin, cat like eyes, little mini fingers with suction and claws. Eeek. A cold shiver ran up my spine. I dislike those things. Ms.Vegan said it was the kind that would jump at you for no reason! I especially hate those...

So naturally, since I had been cracking my skull trying to out win those cutesy flash games on Orisinal (damn you flying eggs!) i thought i deserved a break and i was pretty bored. So armed with the next best things, i grabbed the digi cam from Mr.O.S.F... and the longest metal ruler we have here. I got to the crime scene, with Ms.Vegan still on the chair. Funny how we're scared shitless of something we haven't even seen yet!! Squatting at a distance, i used my trusty metal ruler and starting tapping on the folders, hoping i'd scare the little bugger out of its hiding place. After a few careful taps, which sounded a lot like i was tapping on a neighbour's door before dropping by to visit. True enough, it popped its head out for a peek. Thats when i aimed at it with my digi cam and took a snapshot of it!! It was hiding inside the folder and it refused to come out! I used the ruler to tilt the folder hoping that it'd come out.. peacefully, with both hands up where i can see them. But nope, its little suction fingers were gripping tightly on the folder. Not budging an inch.

So this was it, it was me and Ms.Vegan against this little brown immigrant! We started to hatch a plan. (Look, you didn't think i'd kill it. Did you?!! I'm not heartless ok) Ms.Vegan, well the name explains it, she wouldn't hurt it either. So... our plan was to slowly drag the folder out of the office and let it run free outside where it can live happily and catch many flies and mozzies for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just when we were getting ready for the big operation, The Boss walked by, totally amused at your antics. Paused. Took a look at the little bugger. Lifted the folder with his hands! (yucks!!) and thats when the lizard took the hint, scampered out of there, scurried off and hid behind the cupboard nearby.

So much for hatching our plans... and now we all know there's a lizard among us.
*cue evil music*

Post 006

The day i believed i have bad carpark karma:

It was a Saturday, and it was Pirates of the Carribean 3 movie night. A 7.30 pm show alright. Around dinnertime, where there are bound to be truckloads of people all equipped with their own darn car, preferably huge SUV's, cramming into 1u to grab a bite. So i drove, with Ching. We were at the 1u carpark, on a Saturday night, gosh, what were we thinking!! Ching had her OneCard, which allows you to get into the preferential parking zone. We were feeling oh so special with it. Feeling rather smug that we'll get a nice spot right away and not have to search for on like the other regular people. But her OneCard didn't work. And there was a crawling line trying to get into the parking area. We knew we were in for some trouble as we inched along slowly. Right when we passed by the preferred parking zone... it was empty. Acres of parking space. Obnoxiously empty but inaccessible to us. Me and ching looked at the vast empty space, and i thought to myself, "shit".

So as i did my umpteenth round on the tracks, failing miserably in getting a spot, (how come every other car is getting a spot expect for me?!!) feeling rather miserable, feeling the slight rush of panic bubbling up, lest i should miss the first few minutes of pirates! We made a conscious effort to leave the house early, to prepare ourselves in case this happens. And it did happen, and its been half a hour, and I'm still circling around like a maniac!! People must have took pity on my despairing condition. There was a group of people who were walking towards their car and they made the kind gesture of pointing the direction of where their car is at. So i tailed them slowly, feeling gratitude, only to discover that their car is located in a land far far away, on the opposite direction of where i am, suffice to say, i failed miserably in getting their spot although they were kind enough to show me where. I had wasted 15 minutes of my precious time for this. The clock was ticking. And this is when, we've come to a conclusion, I've been hit with bad Carpark Karma. All those years of driving in the wrong lane in the carpark has finally caught up with me. And now i'm cursed.

By 7.25pm, i was a desperate damsel in distress. I was so desperate i had to swallow my pride, stop 2 complete strangers and ask them if they were going to their car, and if i could give them a ride to their car so that i can take over their spot. Now, no one can top that in desperado land. Just as these 2 total stangers, who were kind enough to trust us to not kidnap them and have their arms amputated so that they can be sold as beggars in Thailand, climbed into the backseat of my car. Right in front of me. A couple walked to the car parked nearest to me, and proceeded to leave their spot. At the precise moment that i had to halt 2 complete strangers, in a random act of desperation. This had to happen. Surely the carpark gods are playing a prank on me. So feeling totally sheepish, i had to turn around apologize profusely to these 2 kind stangers about the whole thing and wished them luck in finding their car. At this point i thought, surely i have repaid my bad karma debt to the carpark gods!! Fyi, we made it to the movie on time.

A few days later, after work i was on my way to 1u again, Ching and I decided to get tickets for Shrek3. As i was driving uphill to the carpark, bad memories of the previous episode flooded my mind, and i thought.. '0mg not again!!' but this time, i found a spot immediately and it was a great spot, right at the entrance. I got my tickets without any fuss, even had time to window shop a bit and as i left 1u, walking towards my car, we saw a long line of cars trying to get out, so typical for this time of the evening, i thought. Miraculously when it was my turn to leave there wasn't a single car in sight. Talk about good luck! Now let me tell you about the parking situation at my workplace. Usually when i get to work around 9.30am, it is impossible to get a good spot right outside the office, and its slightly cheaper compared to basement parking. Virtually impossible to get a spot in the mornings. I usually have to park in the basement of the next block and walk a short distance. So i was in awe yesterday morning, when at 9.40am... lo and behold. A neat little parking spot right outside on the same block where i work. What luck! Ching said, i must have really good carpark karma this morning.

Well, you've definitely reached enlightenment when every single morning there's an empty spot right outside the office, without fail, and you can park there the whole day without paying and not get a single parking ticket. That my friend is when your carpark karma has reached the highest level of enlightenment.

Post 005

This is Day One of our now maid-less house.

I suppose we've gotten over the trauma. Everyone seems to be doing fine. I just have to make a conscious effort to clean up after myself, I'll get used to it eventually. Haven't gotten round to doing the laundry yet. Eeps! Now we're all wondering if the littlest member of our family, Lacey will realize that she will be home alone most of the day. I have been kinda dreading that this day will come. I've been reading online on how dogs develop 'separation anxiety' if they are left alone all of a sudden for long periods of time. Lacey, i hope you are coping well!!

So i woke up this morning, about the same time as i would when the maid was around, made the bed, and got ready for work. Went downstairs to fix some breakfast for me and Lacey. I had made a batch of beef & carrots for her the day before. So i dished out the goodies and mixed it with some rice from yesterday. Popped it in the microwave for 1 min. Lacey was already licking her chops expectantly. ha ha. There were some dishes to wash, and i cleared up the breakfast table, you know... there'd be less things to do if we canceled out breakfast in the mornings. As if my parents will agree to that. pft. So Lacey's breakfast was ready in a jiffy. I waited for it to cool down abit before mixing it with some doggie kibble for her. Suffice to say she loved it!

After breakfast was done, i made sure her potty area was clean and laid out her doggy bed with some of her fav. toys. Just so she doesn't get bored. Lacey must have been wondering what all the fuss was about, all she wanted was for me to throw her squeaky ball. So before I left for work, I gave the little fuzzbutt a smooch and a cuddle, told her to pee at the right spot, in which she gave me a look that said, "what? you think i don't know how to pee?!!" Right before i stepped out, she looked at me with her head tilt to the side but seemed to know i was going off to work. So all went well in the morning. Eventually it'll be my morning routine and hopefully Lacey will get used to being alone in the mornings.

Post 004

Today marks a historic event in the Ng family history. Lucia, more fondly known as Lucy; our domestic help has returned to her homeland. After much deliberation, the family has decided that she will be our last and final hired help after a long line of previous domestic helpers. She is our 6th maid, imagine that. She has been with us for a little over 2 years. Lucy has been a great help around the house, friendly, hardworking and good to our Lacey. She is definitely one of our better maids. It will be sad to let her go. Lucy, our home will be empty without your domestic pitter patter. The past few days have been a flurry of activity while we help prepare for her journey back. Having first come here with just a small hand carry bag, she now leaves with 3 huge luggages. The parents have been bringing her out and about, showing her the sights of KL, after all you haven’t really seen KL until you’ve gone down to the twin towers and been to Chinatown and done all the semi touristy things.

So after all that fuss, that day has finally come for her to leave for the airport. We were scheduled to leave the house at 9.30am to catch her 12.40pm flight. I wondered if she would still do some housework in the morning, for old time’s sake. And she did, bless her. So after a leisurely breakfast, we gathered for a little prayer for her, she said a rather tearful goodbye to our Lacey, which was quite touching seeing how she’s seen Lacey ever since we first brought her back home with us as a little pup. Lacey did look rather clueless about what was happening, wondering what all the fuss was about but then she did look rather sad when we were off to the airport leaving her behind. Maybe she did know that Lucy was leaving, but then again she could be sad because she missed another car ride. We’ll never know. Then, making sure that everything was in place, all proper documents accounted for, we were on our way to the LCCT airport.

The journey to the airport was rather uneventful at first, we were all rather quiet. I was slowly digesting the enormity of the situation. Lucy was leaving us for good. It did feel rather odd, this person who was a stranger at first… came to live with us, under one roof, cleaned up after us, did our laundry and cooked for us, fed our pup and kept it company while we were away. 2 years past and then now she’s leaving. We’ll never see her again. Now she goes back to being a stranger like before, and now we have to adjust to a new normal. It really does feel rather odd to me. How some relationships come and go so easily. I was brought out of my reverie when she suddenly she started to tell us about some scandalous facts about the neighboring maids. Since she was leaving for good, she felt it would be good to let us in on whatever it was that she couldn’t tell us before. Lydia, I’m sure you’ll want to hear this. I’ll tell you personally, it’s inappropriate to blog about it. Ha ha. All our noisy chatter helped pass the time, so before we knew it we were at the very ghetto themed LCCT.

Mum was being her usual self as expected of her, I made it a point to clear away from her as she fluttered about in her noisy, panicky manner. Now I know why my dad likes to wander away when we go out, to flee from the ensuing messiness. Lucy had planned journey back with her cousin. There was no sight of her cousin or her employer at first, so mum went straight away into panic mode, all a flutter and grumbling with worry. Which made me stay further away from her so not to be caught in the cross fire. It was really not a big deal as they are sure to meet up eventually and we still had plenty of time to spare. So after all that fuss, Lucy finally met up with her cousin, (who bore a striking resemblance, they are cousins after all…) they both had their items checked in and were ready to leave. Standing by the departure gate, we bid our farewells. I had to hold back tears at the thought of the now maid-less house! *gasp* However will we manage with all that housework?!

Lucy’s cousin also bid farewell to her employer’s family who had 2 little toddlers, a girl and a boy. The little girl was about 4 and the boy, 2. The little girl was on the verge of crying, she had a big pout and refused to let go of her maid. Seeing his elder sister looking so upset, the little boy wanted to cry too. They must have been very attached to her. Looking around me, I realized a lot of families gathered around were saying farewell to their maids as well! There was this Malay family with a typical brood of 5 kids, all very young. The youngest boy was sobbing uncontrollably, I kid you not. He was literally gasping for breath between sobs. Apparently, their maid has been with them for 4 years, and has been taking care of the boy since birth! No wonder he was so upset. Much to my chagrin, we also found out that the maid was only going home for 3 months and she will be back again to work for the family. This is where I have to roll my eyes at that! Ha ha.

So after seeing Lucy off at the departure gates, we were on our way back home, silently wondering if we will survive and adjust to the new normal. As for Lucy, I wish her all the best in whatever she does, and may she live a good life with happy memories of working for our family.

Post 003

Overheard on the radio this morning.
On my way to work, most mornings i keep my radio tuned in to fly.FM, (yes my car radio is too crappy to play good cds anymore) and around 9.30-ish they air their fly.FM 'fix it', people write in their problems and the dj's call in to 'help' these people fix their problems. Most mornings its pretty amusing, often times rather scandalous. he he. Cheating boyfriends, traitor friends and iffy relationships are often revealed by accident on national radio!! There was even a marriage proposal aired on their 'fix-it', a couple of days back. I admit it was rather tasteless, if i was that girl i would have said no without batting an eyelid and start looking for a new beau, like asap.

So this morning's fix it, really got me feeling sorry for the victim!! I'm assuming its a secondary school girl, most probably in form 3 or 4 since she's got a pretty matured voice. Her friends who wrote in the complaint request to remain anonymous. And her issue was this: she doesn't shave her underarm hair, simply because she doesn't know how!! Her friends notice it but are to embarrassed to tell her personally so they preferred to have it laid out bare on national radio! I think her so-called friends are out to humiliate her rather than trying to help this poor naive girl. What great friends she's got. And poor naive girl had to say she thought armpit hair was the norm for everyone because even her mum has it. She even added that girls without armpit fuzz are naturally hairless there. I burst out laughing to myself at that. Oh how i wish that were true!

Now the whole world knows there's a mother and daughter duo out there with pristine virgin pit fuzz. The DJ, set on his mission to rectify the problem has got to tell her to get a shaver and start shaving her pits! Now I'm sure this DJ who's a dude has got no experience whatsoever in shaving his own armpits, so how does he know the right way to going around to it?! And ladies, shaving is not the right way to go about it lest you want to have a 5'o clock shadow chafing your underarms every other day. Tweezers ought to be a girl's best friend, besides diamonds. Anyways, it all boils down to this, this poor girl has got lousy girlfriends and an equally clueless mum who doesn't give a rat's ass if her daughter's fuzzy pits are showing through her sleeveless top. All i'm saying is, I'm grateful to be blessed with the discretion to know at a very young age that armpit fuzz in a woman is a big no-no, with or without lousy friends who are too embarassed to tell me so!!