Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Surat Tunjuk Sebab :)

Hmmmm, we're into our third week of Syawal, and I had not posted anything on our Raya celebration this year. So not me!

Well, life pre, during and post-Raya had been pretty hectic for all of us, me included, and on top of that I have been spending more time on Facebooking than blogging (which I think quite a number of bloggers are guilty of, too!) But, I hope to be able to balance between the two soon, insya Allah.

A summary of what had happened in the last couple of weeks -

The first day of raya, my MIL cooked Lontong and Macaroni Goreng, on top of the usual Lemang, Rendang, Nasi Impit, Satay, etc. While my Mom cooked Mee Rebus, on top of the usuals. And I also cooked some Asam Laksa for both. Malam Raya was spent at my parents' for our last berbuka, after which we went to spend the night at my MIL's. Pagi Raya was spent at my MIL's and we only left for my parents' around 4:00p.m and stayed till late. Everybody was there except for my second brother, Jame who spent his Raya in Taiping as he had to work.

Oh ya, the theme for First Day Raya was Turquoise Blue :) The following days - semua carca marba :)

I lost 2.5kgs during Ramadhan, and gained 1.5kg back in the first week of Syawal. Sedey tau ! :( I'm still trying to make sure that it stays at that, or hopefully go down from now on. I'm on my third day of Puasa qadha' (some say, can also be considered as part of Puasa 6). Thinking of doing a proper Puasa 6 after that. That is IF there's enough time to do that. Syawal dah half-way dah ni...

The whole family is fasting now. Just as how it was last year, I'm very heartened when the kids, especially Hilman and Hasya decided to join us to puasa. Nobody pressured them or anything. They decided to do it on their own accord. And so far, so good. Imaan masih kuat di sekolah even though the temptations must have been great when they see their friends eating and drinking during recess.

We have also been dining out a lot after raya, AND buying food for our meals - the reason being, my MIL's and my SIL's maids (both staying at my MIL's) ran away on first raya! My MIL left the house at 6:15p.m to beraya at her sister's place in Keramat, and by 7:00p.m., when the guard came for duty, he could not get in as there was nobody to open the gate for him! Within 45 minutes - the maids lesap. That was after we gave them 2-3 pasang Baju Raya each and duit raya! Big mistake - with the cash in hand, panjang lah lagi kaki they all :(

Anyway, so, now my Bibik Dar kena kerja lebih sikit coz' kena cover 2 houses. But, my MIL is paying her extra for the extra chores/responsibilities. And everybody in the house chips in to wash the dishes, iron the clothes, sweep and mop the floors, etc. I would help with the cooking if I finish work early. If not, my MIL would just buy lauk dah siap, or we would eat out.

My MIL had a temporary maid last week on Thursday, but decided to send her back to the agent on Monday morning. So many things yang memeningkan kepala and menaikkan darah my MIL. That maid refused to eat leftover rice, and would cook fresh rice for HERSELF every day, and would also serve the DRIVER the fresh rice. BUT she would serve leftover rice to my MIL! Ada kah patut?!

On top of that, she spent more than half of her time eating whatever she could find in the kitchen, in the fridge, in the freezer, etc. She even finished the food meant for the toddler at home, Qadri! And she actually cooked one whole packet of Meehun and ate the whole thing herself for breakfast on Sunday! The whole KUALI of Meehun... Can you beat that? She refused to do other things EXCEPT cook. Even then, she would cook ikut selera dia even though my MIL had taught her how to cook the way the family likes it.

She didn't know how to iron properly, she didn't know how to use the mesin parut kelapa (even though dah diajar a few times), and she refused to cook the fish/chicken/meat which had been in the fridge for more than 4 days. According to her - dah tak sedap! Lawan tokey betul...The majikan tak kisah, pembantu rumah lah pulak yang memilih!!! Tak sakit jiwer kitorang?! Anyway, good riddance - my MIL asked her to pack her bag and sent her to the agent on Monday morning.

Another thing yang memeningkan my kepala, Bibik Dar wants to go back for a 2-month holiday in November, but, I'm trying to persuade her to go back in January 2010 instead. So many things to settle at work year end, and having her around while the kids are on their school holiday would really help ease a lot of things. She's keen to come back and work for another 2 years after that, but, she said she has to ask her husband first...I REALLY hope she'll get the geenlight from her hubby. She has been the best maid we've had so far, and the kids are close to her. We're giving her a substantial raise if she comes back, and we hope that will convince the hubby to let her come back and work with us. Pray for us, please. Thanks! :)

Okay, I guess that's all for now - Surat Tunjuk Sebab why this blog has been idle for a while :)

But, before that, you can click here and here for some of our Raya pics :)

:)

22 comments:

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Hi Shana,

Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin. I really hope Bibik Dar's hubby would give her the green light to return to work after her break.

As for your MIL's maid tu...tu namanya parasite, not maid.

Kak Ezza@makcik Blogger said...

bila nak buat open house shana... u masih berhutang sambal taucu ngan akak tau.....meleleh air liur ni......

Amy said...

Akhirnya ada update :). Tell me about it, dok sibuk kat FB je. Malam ni I'm determined to update both blog and FB equally..so dah tercapai and now nak tido haha. Nite2 Kak Shana!

Naz in Norway said...

Selamat Hari Raya, Shana.
Wah! your Syawal yang cukup happening ya :D

ummisara said...

Kak Shana..

Selamat hari raya...laaa kak oiii u baru naik 1.5kg...i nih dah berkilosssss tau! huk huk

maid punya kisah kan..is a never ending story...pi mai pi mai..pusing sana sini...perangai depa tetap sama...!! kita bagi betis depa nak paha!!!!

insyallah semoga bibik dar buleh tunggu balik january dan mai balik sambung lagi 2 tahun...a gud maid is hard to find...bila dah ada, nak lepaihhhh pulak sayang kan.

mcm nih lah kak shana...SURAT TUNJUK SEBAB u tuh...i terima hhehehehhhe

D.N.A.S said...

Kak Shana,
your MIL's temp maid tu ada bela hantu raya ke? Makan begitu dahsyat sekali.

My maid just came 2 weeks before raya. My mom and SIL were being extra nice to her and gave her duit raya. Nasib baik I perasan. I had to warn all my family members not to give the maid any cash. Dia bukannya perlu duit pun dok kat sini. Semuanya kena tanggung.

Anyway, selamat hari raya to you and family.

IBU said...

Salam Shana,

3rd day raya pi mana?

I lurve the ter-qoise skema itu. Sungguh lawa beb.

On the temp maid yg kuat makan itew... satu kuali mee hun dibedalnya? WOW!!! hantu yg kuat makan tu hantu apa? bukan hantu raya ke? ishhh...so timely la pulak dia punya appearance!!

Pray hard la (sesungguh nya...berdoa la bnyk2!!) that Dar would come back. She's good kan? Susah nak dapat maid yg bagus sekarang.

Ok, surat tunjuk sbb dah settle. Tapi in 'sektor swasta' (ahaks!!!)kalu sbb yg ditunjuk tak diterima, kena proceed to next level which is "domestic inquiry". Tapi ini level bnyak songel lah. Between you & me, we can settle over kway teow goreng or bread & butter pudding. hehehehe..... (nanti kalu dah habis pantang, rasa2 patut kah kita berkumpul secara 'nasib periuk'? sila vote...)

HUGS
Ibu

MamaEta said...

Shana.macam2 cerita raya ek!...ape lah mereka- mereka itu..cis!..

Anyway..selamat hari raya..shall come back nak tengok gegambar turqouise dan carca marba..right now..computer tersangat sloww...

Tata!..

wanshana said...

Hi Gina,

Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin to you, too, dear :) I trust that you had a wonderful raya with the family.

Bibik Dar has yet to discuss with her hubby about the whole thing. We're also trying to get the agent to pujuk the hubby. We all belum lagi tell her of hom much her raise is gonna be. I'm still finalizing it with Haizal :) Hope it will be attractive enough to persuade her and her hubby, insya Allah.

And you're right - my MIL's temporary maid tu memang macam parasite (if not worse!)

wanshana said...

Kak Ezza,

Alahai...don't worry, akak. I tak lupa janji I nak buat Sambal Tauchu lagi satu round for you, insya Allah.

Tapi, nak buat Open House tu, ada berat sikit, especially when Bibik Dar kena kerja nearly double shift now :( We'll see how it goes nanti, okay? Kalau lepas Syawal pun okay, kan? ;)

wanshana said...

Amy,

I dah checked both your FB and Blog. Well done, my dear. :) Happening sungguh Bulan Syawal you - berkat and rezqi rumah baru :)

I pun nak try to maintain both sites equally (easier said than done, huh?!)

wanshana said...

Naz,

Selamat Hari Raya to you, too, dear. Sehappening my raya, I think your Raya laaaaagi happening.Hehehe!

I tak sempat lagi check your blog if you've posted gambar anak-anak you with their new haircut. Will check after this. Sure lagi handsome :)

wanshana said...

Mynn,

Terima kasih lah sebab accept my show caouse letter ni...Takut sangat kalau you all insist on internal inquiries lah pulak.

I tak tau lah apa nasib I. Selalu bila my maid okay, ada ajer sebab they all tak dapat renew permit. Sorang dulu kena Hep B. Sorang lagi diabetic. So, I'm really hoping Dar ni will continue and tak de problem to renew her permit, insya Allah.

I kalau bukak cerita maids I, kalah Hikayat 1001 Malam tau, Mynn... Fenin tahap Mount Everest.

wanshana said...

D.N.A.S,

Thank you, and Selamat Hari Raya to you, too.

I know - giving them cash is not really a good idea. But, we thought, dengan raya and all, and them being away from the family, getting bonus/cash and baju raya at least will menggembirakan hati they all. I guess, we forgot that selalunya kita yang dok fikir hal they all, and they never give a damn about us pun no matter how well we treat them.

And d.n.a.s, I don't think the maid bela hantu raya. DIA sendiri yang hantu raya kot? :)

wanshana said...

Salams Ibu,

Ha-ah! Tak report kat sini - third Day raya beraya kat Emerald Rawang, tengok baby Nisha yang so the very chomei, and her Ibu yang, errrr....boleh tahan lah jugak chomei...Heheheh!

Memang macam hantu raya maid tu, Ieja. I teringat balik statement which Hanna made when she first saw the maid came out of my MIL's car the first day dia sampai. She said, "Fuiyooo!! Macam Mak Datin!"

Mana taknya - she was wearing a bling-bling ear-rings, and rambut macam baru set, you!

Anyway, as for the Pot Luck, itu bisa diatur...And tak payah tunggu habis pantang lah kot? You now ni pun sikit punya meriah ke macam orang tak pantang, kan? ;) I think On*ir is thinking of having a get together with our batch at her place. Venue dah ada, we just need to get the ball rolling ajer.

Will keep you updated on this.

Take care!

((((HUGS))))

wanshana said...

Hi Eta,

Salam Hari Raya!

Manusia memang macam-macam pe'el, kan? Sometimes we wonder, if these people ada conscience or not.

Anyway, you can take your time to browse through the pictures. They're staying in my FB album for quite a while :)

Take care :)

Ummi365 said...

oh no apa hal ni.. sana sini i dengar maid lari within these ramadhan and syawal.. are they joining the ganyang team.. wahh pain pain for you. i know how it is like without one.. penat i cakap you. but i am used to it.. tutup sebelah mata kalau nampak sink tu penuh.. kalau rajin buat, tak rajin biar je.

kalau rajin masak, tak rajin kedai banyak hehehe

Desert Rose said...

Selamat Hari Raya kak...

Ya ampun , akak cuba cek balik borang mintak kerja minah hendun tu , tah2 dia apply for the post of MAJIKAN kot, panggggg skali. Kesian ur MIL i can imagine sakit jiwa dia tu mcm mana.

kay_leeda said...

Dear Shana,

SeKUALI beehun?? Orang or h*ntu seperti comments before this...

Maid stories ni...ahhh sakit jiwa yes? Difficult to get good ones these days. Hope bibik dar will stay till Jan and come back after her cuti. You knw how it is with these people, at times they pendek akal. Balik sana kena pujuk with the husband, dah tak jadi come back here again. InshaAllah bibik dar tak macam tu...kita doa lah kan moga-moga terbuka hati nya :)

Yes...saw yr raya pics on FB. Cantik-cantik semua nyer...must have been a goooddd raya for you yeah :)

wanshana said...

Ummi,

Tu lah tu...Memang time puasa and raya ramai yang lari. I think there are many reasons for this.

Firstly, they would be at tahap homesick tertinggi, and secondly, masa raya kerja lebih sikit kot? (But, we normally give them bonus or extra pay for Raya!) That brings us to the third reason - they will have cash in hand if majikan bagi duit raya, etc.

And memang pun Ummi - kedai-kedai makan kat area my MIL's place dah kaya sejak the maids lari...Hehehe!

wanshana said...

Dear Eja,

Selamat Hari Raya :)

We all dah check - dia mintak jadi Majikan/Quality Controller/Diva :)

My MIL is still waiting for a replacement from the agent. And you know lah - agent ni pun kekadang janji nak bagi minggu ni, tapi, bulan depan baru dapat. Janji nak bagi yang umur 30 tahu, dia hantar yang 17 or 50 tahun, etc.

And bila choose dari biodata depa, indah rupa dari kenyataan. Sabo ajer lah...

wanshana said...

Dear Kay,

Thanks. Yes, raya was good, except of course incident with the maids tu lah.

Temporary maid tu memang! I nak bagi nama kat maid tu - Hantu Kembang Sekuali :) I rasa lah kan - kalau kuali tu boleh dimakan, dengan kuali-kuali sekali habis!

I'm praying that Dar gets the consent from her hubby to come back. She did say dia nak kumpul duit lagi sebab nak betulkan rumah, etc. But, ye lah kan...kalau hubby tak izin, tak boleh lah kan? But, I'm dangling the carrots, I'm dangling the carrots :)

Enjoy the weekend with the family, dear. I'm sure you'll have a lot of catching up to do after your PD stint :)