Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Back to square one...

Remember Sabarudin Tukang Bawak Kereta which I wrote about here?

Well, it's Sabarudin no more.

To cut a long story short -

He worked for us for 20 days during which we observed the following -

(1) His driving was okay. Well, if you consider him nearly hitting a car coming out of the junction near our house as okay, and also if you consider him making a dent on Ayah's car by knocking on my MIL's automatic gate as okay, then he must be okay lah kan? You got my drift?

Apart from those two incidents, he would either be driving too slowly, or too fast at times. I find myself pressing on the invisible accelerator and brake pads every now and then, and that was stressing me out a bit, I tell you.

And he rarely used the indicator lights when he was changing lanes or when he was making turns despite being reminded by us many, many times. And that was also stressing me out

(2) He has to be reminded EVERY TIME to wash and clean the cars. We specifically told him during the interview that we expect him to take care of the cars and he should wash them as and when necessary (read "dirty") and we expected him to clean both inside AND out.

But, what happened was, everytime any of the the cars needed washing, WE had to ask him to wash them (bukannya suruh wash all 3 cars serentak pun!) He could have washed them ikut turn every other day, etc. And sometimes if he washed the outside of the cars, he would forget to clean the inside. You got my drift?

Berat tulanglah sikit. No initiatives at all. Padahal while waiting for the times to ferry Ayah and the kids tu, punya lah banyak masa terluang and he would just sit and read his newspapers (tak tau lah khatam berapa kali sehari!) or he would just doze off on the chair.

(3) He had problems answering our calls and replying our SMSs. One time, he was supposed to fetch Hasya and Hilman from school at 1:00p.m. but, by 1:30p.m he was still not there. Hasya called us to ask where the driver was, and neither Ayah nor I knew his whereabouts then. It was on the Saturday when the kids had replacement school and there were not many kids around at the waiting area that time. I must have tried calling him more than 20 times, while Ayah tried calling him more than that. I was at One Utama and didn't have my car then (as Din had dropped me there at 12:30p.m before going to the school to fetch the kids). If not, I would have just gone and fetched them myself.

By 1:45p.m when Hasya called and said the driver was still not there, Ayah who was still at the hospital then, decided to go and fetch the kids himself. Just then Din called saying that he was stuck in a jam earlier and that he only arrived at the school at 1:45p.m! He didn't answer our calls because he didn't realize we were calling him as his phone was on silent mode (?!). So, Ayah gave him a piece of his mind - why couldn't he just SMS or call us to say that he was going to be late fetching the kids? What if the kids were the only two pupils waiting at the school, and what if anything happened to them?! Nauzubillah... He could have at least informed us his whereabouts, especially when he was 45 minutes late fetching the kids, right? What's the point of giving him his monthly telephone allowance if we can't contact him, and vise versa?

(4) He was just not a responsible employee. And that was the last straw for us. It was Thursday last week, and Ayah decided that I should use the driver instead as Ayah would be at his TMC clinic and he was not going anywhere that day. As I was to have a class a 10:00a.m. that morning, I SMSd Din at 6:45a.m. asking him to come at 9:00a.m. instead of his usual 11:00a.m. clock-in time. And he did not reply my SMS.

I waited until 7:30a.m and tried calling him just to confirm if he had received my earlier SMS, and he didn't answer the phone. I tried calling again a few times after that. Still no answer. So, when he didn't turn up at 9:00a.m. I decided that I should just drive to work myself. Ayah then asked me to just wait until 9:30a.m. And waited I did. But, I couldn't wait any longer as I had a class to go to at 10:00a.m.

I left the house at 9:35a.m and reached the Tutorial Room just before 10:00a.m. (Thank God!) And at 11:00a.m, in between classes I checked my phone to see if Din had replied. Still nothing from him. No SMSes or missed calls from him. Nada. Zilch.

It was only when I checked my phone again after class at 12:00p.m that I got an SMS from him, sent at 11:35a.m, stating that he couldn't SMS or call earlier as he had to send his 2 kids to the hospital that morning as they had food poisoning, and he was taking emergency leave.

I say, come on lah... From 6:45a.m until 11:35a.m - that's nearly FIVE hours, don't tell me he couldn't just call either Ayah or myself to inform that he couldn't come to work, right? It wouldn't have taken more than 2 minutes for him to dial the phone and speak to us.

Ayah was really mad and called Din and gave him a piece of his mind (or make it - A FEW PIECES of his mind kot...because after that Din just stopped coming to work...)

And that was it. He didn't even SMS or call to say that he was quitting.

Even when I SMSd him that night to ask about his kids - whether they were okay or not, he didn't reply my SMS.

So, back to square one for us.

No Bibik. No Driver.

And my typical routine for the day now would be -

5:45a.m : Wake up and prepare breakfast for Ayah and the kids.

6:40a.m : Ayah and the kids would leave the house and go to school/work, and I would dump the laundry into the washing machine. Solat.

7:00a.m : Tidy up the kitchen, sweep the floor, and if larat, I would mop the floor, too.

8:00a.m : Get ready for work.

8:30a.m : Leave the house for office, and on the way, I would drop the washed laundry at my MIL's place to be dried.

9:00a.m or 9:30a.m : I'll be at the office already.

1:00p.m : If I don't have any classes, I would fetch Hasya and Hilman and send them to my MIL's place. If I have tutorials or lectures, then my MIL's driver would have to fetch them instead,

Between 1:00p.m to 6:30p.m, as the kids' schedules are different everyday, I would either fetch Hanna from school, send her back to my MIL's, or to the tuition centre, or send the kids to piano, or something along that line.

I would then collect the dried clean and crisp laundry from my MIL's place, after which I would drive everybody back to Sri Damansara, reaching home the earliest at 7:00p.m, latest at 8:30p.m. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when Hasya and Hilman have mengaji class at my MIL's place, we would go back to SD after 9:30p.m. But, if Ayah can fetch them and bring them home, I would go back to SD with Hanna first and normally the two of us would just have dinner outside on the way home.

If I feel like cooking dinner, I would cook.

If I don't feel like it, we would just eat out or order takeaway.

Ayah would normally finish work after 9:30p.m, and he would join us for dinner (at home or outside), or he would just grab something at the hospital.

After dinner, of course - I'd be doing the dishes and also clearing and tidying up the kitchen. If I yell at the kids, then they would be helping me out with this. If not, then I would be slogging in the kitchen alone.

After that (normally dah nearly 11:00p.m.), kalau rajin, I would do the ironing. Kalau tak rajin, then I would do some Facebook-ing :)

I only iron baju rumah and casuals now. All school uniforms and Ayah's work shirts are sent to the Laundrette on Friday evening to be washed and ironed, and collected on Sunday afternoon. That alone easily takes away nearly 3 hours of ironing time off my workload :) Of course this would mean that we would have to spend a bit more on the laundry bills. But, as it is, that would be part of the money which we were supposed to pay gaji Bibik, right? So, we're cool with that.

And THAT, my friends, are the reasons why this blog has been pretty quiet nowadays.

Many times I had opened my Blogspot account with plans to update this blog of mine, and many times I would just fall asleep in front of the lappie...until the alarm went off again at 5:45a.m the next morning for me to wake up and get breakfast ready. And the cycle continues everyday.

That's just how my life is at the moment. Back to square one, but, I'm more settled and organized now, syukur alhamdulillah.

Tired and spent - yes. But still hanging in there :)

29 comments:

MA said...

Kasihan you - but to me personally lah, biar letih badan - jangan sakit mata/hati. The domestic chores can be outsourced, banyak pakai duit but at least you don't have to put up with the craps.

Insya Allah, better things coming your way soon.


Take care.

Amy said...

I took a long deep breath after reading your entry ni, kak. Terasa akak punya penat. Maid tu satu hal la kan, the driver plak camtu gak. Heii mmg menyirap je bila baca.
Hang in there akak, like MA said, better things will come your way soon. You are my idol la! :)

ummi365 said...

Oh Shana, kesiannya you. It's ok , take things slowly. I am without maid for a year already. Tak sedar pun masa tu berlalu. bila dah tak ada maid i feel better, meaning i have my own privacy at home. On weekends i get a helper to iron my clothes or buat apa yang patut for two hours and she get paid RM10 per hour.

I have learnt to tutup sebelah mata kalau bersepah, beli je kalau malas masak and ikut kata hati afterall we want to be happy kan.

Anonymous said...

Take a deep breath and exhale. I have had my fair shares of drivers. Our current driver is the 4th one in 2 yrs. The longest one worked for less than a year. Your complain is typical like mine with all our driver(s). Ada yg irresponsible and decide not to show up one day, ada yang manjang ambik EL, MC such that it interrupts our schedule so much, ada yg bagus but kena curi by org lain. Kita penat2 cari and train org lain ambik. Sabar ajelah. Our current one is the youngest we have so far but alhamdulillah the most mature and responsible. Itupun tak tau how long.

There are bad ones, there are good ones, just like maids. If kena dapat yg teruk mmg sakit hati. That's why kadang2 fikir, the more ppl you manage the more headache you get. Nak manage maid, nak manage driver and the challenge is the lack in the common sense department

Take care and hang in there.

dillazag said...

(((((K Shana)))))

Seem to be giving loads of cyberhugs around the blogosphere these days. hang in there kakak!! :)

cekmekzue said...

Salam dear, I couldn't agree more with MA, biar letih sikit tapi hati tak sakit, I am maidless for alomst a year now and am coping or rather trying to cope with the whole situation, tired? yes but jiwa tak kacau:-) catch my drift;-)hang in there dear, mana yang boleh sub, sub aje, mana boleh buat sendiri, buat pelan2.....

Desert Rose said...

Ar adoyai akak, penat ar baca. Apatah lagi bahu yg memikul kan. I paling tak suka kena drive here n there, cuci toilet takper lagi

Desert Rose said...

eh lupa, hang in there Kak...God Bless U

kudo said...

your next interviews for chauffeurs/maids should include scenarios.

"It's 4.45 pm and you realise you've got to pick up my children at 5, and you are stuck in a traffic jam.What do you do?"

Then again, you'd be scaring all these simpleminded fools applying for the job (which I guess is good) and you'll be in for a long haul doing nothing but interviews.

Take care and may things change for the better asap for you guys! :D

MHB said...

first the maid, now the driver!! takpe.. that just means good things are coming your way!! insya-Allah... I am sure punya... :)

my maid whose contract ends 5 March decided to stay on until Dec... two months before that dok ding dong ding dong nak sambung ke tak coz family suruh balik and dah ada calon suami... i pun panik sbb bukan senang nak cari pengganti... memula ingat to pancing her to sambung, i'd let her go cuti one month and then bila baca your horror story terus cancelled that plan!! so now she's staying on with RM100 pay raise...

memang susah jadi people manager nih!! hang in there!!

anom said...

Kesian u k. shana.. Never mind, hang in there.. You are doing great!! Very the meticulous..I ni tak tau la whether I can cope as well as you..

Take care kak..

ms hart said...

Oh Shana...(dgn penuh drama, please..;-))
.
.
.
.. Punyalah 'menjiwai watak', sampai terlupa skrip!;-) Sabarlah ya Shana, let's together-gether play Bibik Anik and Neng SUPIRah! (tapi I ada satu lagi 'jawatan' - Hang Kebun!!! hahaha..((hugs)) Hang in there dear!

kay_leeda said...

Was trying to read about the driver in one breath. Ishhh...what a character he was, so good riddance, yes?

Tough huh...but YES YOU CAN!! Hang in there okay. Take care yah.

ibu,mommy,mom... said...

Hi Wan Shana...
Reading your post ,kesian you.
I had exactly that kind of driver last 3 years.Exactly perangai macam tu.
My hubby tak marah until one day I had to terminate the driver because suka hati dia datang kerja tak datang kerja,anak sakit,mak sakit...bini sakit...yang tak sakit dia...tapi dia dok tak datang kerja aje.....tapi duit mintak memanjang..eiiii geram...astagfirullah..itu aje lah yang boleh i say.

Hang in there...asalkan jiwa tenang hati tenteram kan tak apa kan?

take care...

Naz in Norway said...

Good riddance, Shana. A blessing in disguise tu sebenarnya. You simpan dia pun you lagi stress. Baik tak ada langsung.
Nevertheless, your day sounds like mine in my other homeland. Tak apa, ikhlas berbakti untuk keluarga :)

Dalam Dakapan Ibu said...

Shana dear,
Alahaaaii.. sakit jiwa dgn drebar mcm tu. Excuses-excuses-excuses..sebijik mcm maid I yg sorang tu.. imagine majikan pulak yg dok kejut dia bangun pagi! Hari2 buat benda salah more than 5 times. Tak larat nak tegur/marah dah. Kata pi lah apa pun kat dia, dok mcm tu jugak. Even the kids & the other 2 maids pun meluat kat dia.

Takpa Shana, hang in there. Mesti ada hikmahnya tu. If he were to linger around lagi, mungkin ada silap besar lg yg dia akan buat... I hope you & the kids can cope with the housechores. Just don't forget the "me" time, ok?

Take care :)
(((hugs)))

dillazag said...

You've been tagged, sister!

IBU said...

Alahai...sorry to hear this Shana.

I'm still holding on to my Sabarudin due dia pun selalu x jawab sms or return call on time. Tak boleh fire daaa....

MAMAMIA said...

Phew.. baca yr routine je dah buat I mengah.

Buat aje mana yg larat.. Since yr kids are already grown up, they can all help out. Paksarela pun tak pa....

Take care...

rozi hamsawi said...

I feel exhausted just reading this post! But been there and done that. Strangely, I am a SAHM now but once in a blue moon, I do feel a bit nostalgic of that life as a working mom and wife. That was the time when many times I'd wished there were more than 24 hours in a day, just so I could have had longer sleep time! But hang in there...

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Aaaa...now I understand your FB posting tu - yang you have to do supir duty. If you are going to find a new one, I hope you get a much better driver soon. All the best!

bella said...

Kak, dari sakit kepala later baiklah awal2 dia dah tunjuk belang kan...what to do...hospital takde pool driver ke, that mr doc can pinch...hehehe...(pandai je i cari idea kannn)take care Kak, hope you'll get your rest every now and then...

MamaEta said...

Shana..bukan nak tokok tambah..tapi..addduuuuhhhh...peeennnaaattnnye!!
take care!

Kmar said...

Alahai Shana ooi... I pun terasa penat. Awat pulak si driver jadi gitu. Memang character unreliable betul. Niat kita baik, nak tolong dia cari rezeki halal. Since dia dah pandai appreciate it, so forget about this person. Lagi memutihkan kepala.. (uban .. he.he.)

Insyallah, things will get better soon.

wanshana said...

MA,

Thanks :) But, beng without a maid and driver means less time for me to blog (hence this VERY late counter-comment! So Sorry!)

You're right - kurang sakit hati (but, I have to say here - makin sakit badan! Hehehe!)

---------------------

Amy,

Thanks :)

FYI, we all have a new driver now. So far, so good - much better than the last one. Hopefully, no major problems with this one, insya Allah :)

---------------------

Ummi,

Thanks - I'm following your advice word for word and I am happy being without a maid now. I have yet to get my weekend helper coz' hari tu tak der driver and I had to be on the road most of the time menghantar mengambik anak-anak for their weekend classes.

Now dah boleh dok rumah Sabtu Ahad to supervise the cleaner, insya Allah :)

--------------------

Dear Anonymous @ 10:04a.m

Thanks. I'm glad that I'm not the only one having to deal with these kind of problems! And I agree with you - the problem with maids and drivers is their common sense department, and if I may add - their attitude, too!

Suspense jugak when you said that the driver you have now is the 4th one in 2 years. This makes me want to prepare myself for whatever that may come my way with my current driver. Macam masalah maid jugak lah kan?

God gives us strength. Amin :)

You take care, too!

wanshana said...

Dilla,

Thanks for the ((((HUGS)))) :)

How's your shoulder now? Dah gi jumpa doctor belum? Hope it's nothing serious. Get well soon, dear!

((((HUGS BACK))))

-----------------------

Salam Kak Zue,

Thanks :) Betul tu...jiwa tak kacau. Tapi demam tak demam jugak lah I dibuatnya! Hehehe...

Like you, I'm trying to cope and buat apa yang terdaya at the moment. Hari-hari I rajin - banyak kerja beres. Hari I tak rajin, nothing is done at home. But, I'm happy :)

-------------------------

Eja,

Thanks, dear :)

Kalau driver boleh cuci toilet sekali lagi bagus, kan? Hehehe!

I don't mind driving the kids around IF that's the ONLY thing I have to do :) Bila banyak benda lain yang also have to kerjakan, mulalah blood goes upstairs...

Take care, you :)

------------------------

Kudo,

Thanks :) Yes, we do have those kind of scenario-setting questions during interviews. The problem is -they all ni cakap lain, buat lain...Ada masalah amnesia.

We have a new driver now. Hopefully this one is okay in the common sense, common courtesy, and attitude departments, insya Allah :)

wanshana said...

MHB,

Thanks :) Memang penat nak deal with people yang bermacam ragam ni. Kena banyak bersabar.

Yes, we have found a better driver now. Syukur alhamdulillah. Hopefully tak buat perangai later.

I'm glad things worked out well with your maid. Come December nanti, she's going back for good ke? Or balik cuti kawin and come back here again? Hope you can work out something with her nanti.

Take care, dear :)

----------------------

Anom,

Thanks :)

I'm NOT that meticulous, my dear. You should come to the house now. Sure pengsan - especially bila tengok baju menimbun tak bergosok kat bilik bibik tu...Hehehe!

I pejam mata ajer. I just sort out the laundry according to the groups - baju tidur, undies, jeans/trousers, tops, etc. So, bila urgent - senang nak capai and iron. Hehehe!

Take care, dear :)

----------------------

Tati,

LOL! Dengan penuh perasaan, you!

I nasib baiklah kebun I setengah kangkang kera ajer...Tak payah nak jadik Tukang kebun. Kalu tak, mau jadi belukar after one month kot?! Buat ladang bela ulau... Hehehe!

(((HUGS)))

----------------------

Kay,

Yes, I'm hanging in there :)

Yes, good riddance. The new driver is better in so many ways. Syukur alhamdulillah. (But don't want to be speaking too soon!)

You take care, too!

wanshana said...

Ibu, Mommy, Mom...

Thanks :)

Yes, my MIL pun has been having the same problem with her previous drivers and she has been telling me to expect so many excuses the drivers would come up nanti. Selalu EL - anak sakit, mak sakit, bapak sakit, motor rosak, etc!

I hope I will have the patience to deal with all that.

You take care, too!

--------------------------

Naz,

How's life back in Norway, dear? Hope everybody's settling in well with the old routine. How's the house? Hope tak jenuh nak clean up and mop segala after some time being left vacant.

Yes, a blessing in disguise indeed. The new driver ni tak banyak kerenah (so far!)

Insya Allah, banyak pahala we'll get taking care of our family, kan, Naz?

----------------------

Ja,

Thanks :)

Tell me about it! Some people memang ketegaq and tak makan saman, kan? You wonder sometimes if memang bebal or saja nak buat kita marah, kan? Good luck with your maid, dear. Any plans to fire her tak?

As for me, I think I need to heed your advice on the "me" time. I'm down with flu symptoms and having a bad case of gastritis now. Have to take care of "me" more from now on :)

You take care, too, okay?

(((HUGS)))

-----------------------

Dilla,

Oooopsss! I totally forgot about the tag, dear!

Nanti I'll try to get down to it, okay? tapi, tak leh janji when exactly I'll be able to do that, okay? But, I'll do it. Promise! :)

-------------------------

Ibu,

Itu Sabarudin you punya - for better or for worse. Tak boleh pecat! Hehehe!

And dia kerja teruk - OT sampai malam... Kena bayar lebih.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

wanshana said...

Mamamia,

Yes, i do get the kids to help out (OR rather - I do TRY to get them to help out!) So many times, they all buat kerja separuh jalan or not properly done. So, last-last I kena buat jugak. So, rather than ending up yelling at them for not doing it right, I just do it myself, especially masa weekdays/nights.

Only masa weekends I make sure they clean their hamsters' cage and terrapin's bowls and tidy up their own rooms. That's the least they could do to help their Mommy, kan? ;)

You take care, too, dear :)

-------------------------

Rozi,

Thanks. I'm hanging in there :)

Sometimes I wished I was a SAHM! But, I know it's not an easy job, too. I guess we'll just have to do our best and cope with whatever comes our way in whatever situation we're in, kan?

I haven't had more than 6 hours sleep at night for a long time now. And I'm not one who sleeps or takes a nap during the day. So, sometimes rasa groggy jugak.

Rasanya, even if we had more than 24 hours a day pun, sure still not enough... So many things to do lah we Moms! :)

----------------------

Gina,

Thanks! Yup - found a better one now :)

---------------------

Bella,

True. Who knows - kalau lama dia kerja dengan we all lagi banyak perangai buruk dia yang surface which might endanger my kids, etc, kan?

I do try to take a rest here and there. But nothing beats a long good night sleep...which I don't get much nowadays :(

Now that the new driver is around, I do try to close my eyes and rest a bit on the way to work, tapi seganlah pulak - takut I tertido and ter-SNORE pulak at the back!! LOL!!!

----------------------------

Eta,

Thanks :)

Memang penat!!! But, I do tell myself - some people have much more bigger problems than me... :)

Take care, dear.

----------------------------

Kmar,

Tell me about it. I, for one - do not need more uban. Cukup-cukuplah apa yang I dah ada now ni... Hehehe!

Anyway, kalau dia dah tak nak kerja, we cannot force him, right? If he feels he can get a better job, an easy job which pays him better, then good luck to him.

Take care, Kmar!