Phew. ONE posting for last month. ONE. That's a record for me who used to blog quite prolifically :)
Blame it on the age. Blame it on my maidless status. Blame it on the weather. Blame it on my angin malas. Blame it on writer's block. And, oh yes - you can blame it on Facebook, too, as I find it lighter and easier to layan than my Blog :)
But, no - I'm not abandoning my Blog. It's too precious and too special to just be set aside. So many of my memories are in here, and of course - I've made so many wonderful friends through this blog of mine. So, have no fear. This blog is here to stay :)
This is for you, Amy ;)
Anyway, so many things have happened since my last posting.
I've made a major decision with regard to something which I had been working on in the last 6 years. I have not been happy, in fact - so many times I had been so depressed working on it. And I have not made good progress in the last 2 years due to so many things happening in my life. Ayah has been a gem and has supported me on my decision to just move on with life, and move on with so many things which I was not able to do in the last 6 years. Never did he ask me if I was sure of my decision. All he said was, "I want you to be happy... The kids and I need you to be happy...". And YES, I am so much happier now. Feels like a 2-tonne rock which I have been carrying with me in the last couple of years has been lifted off my shoulders. I am so blessed to have Ayah and the kids beside me. Nothing else matters. Syukur alhamdulillah.
I'm settling well with being maidless. It has been more than 3 months now. I've worked on a workable routine - if I'm able to do it, I'll work on it. If not, I'll pejam mata and work on it when I'm next able to do it :) Laundry kat dalam bilik belakang tu, toksah cakap lah... :) Selalu sangat pejam mata. Hahaha!
And, oh ya - we've got a new driver by the name of Zaidi. So far so good. He was working with my BIL before this sebenarnya, but my BIL felt that he no longer needed a driver. He prefers his wife to ferry their kids around, and he doesn't trust anybody to drive their cars. Senang cakap - he just doesn't trust ANYBODY with his kids and his cars. He was given the driver by my MIL's company, and I guess he felt obliged to take Zaidi in the first place. In the end, Zaidi was doing all sorts of filing work at his office.
So, when my MIL realized that he was not really using the driver as he should, my MIL suggested for Zaidi to be transferred to us. And the rest - is history :)
Zaidi ni pun, first impression working with us was not really good. But, we gave him the benefit of the doubt. He was supposed to report for work on 22 February, but that morning he called to inform that his motor rosak, and petang baru okay. Kalau ikutkan hati, mau jer suruh dia naik cab datang kerja, kan? But, sabar ajer lah... At least he called.
And last Saturday, he was supposed to come at 8:30a.m, and we got an SMS from him at 7:15a.m, saying that he could not come to work because he had to send his mother to the hospital. So, again - sabar ajer lah... At least he called. We gave him the benefit of the doubt. Again.
Hmmmm...I don't know how far and how long I can appease myself with this reason... Because I'm sure one of these days, I akan hilang sabar jugak, EVEN if he calls! But, for now - we beggars can't be choosers... But, overall - he's a much better employee than Sabarudin.
Oh ya... We finally traded in our old faithful Naza 2 weeks ago. The kids, especially Hilman, were sad to let it go. Kalau boleh, they want us to keep all our cars. Hilman said that when he grows up and have enough money, he will buy our Naza back :) And I thought that was so sweet of him. Anyway, we've got ourselves a Toyota Alphard in place of the Naza. And we're also thinking of trading in my ole Kembara as well, and membuatkan Hilman lagi sedih! He said, "Why Mommy?! We have so many memories in your Kembara..."( And yes, he wants to buy back the Kembara, too, when he has the money :))
At the school-front, the kids are doing well. They're having their March tests this week. And with all first tests of the year before this, Ayah and I have not really pushed them and/or sat down with them to go through their subjects. We normally just want to gauge their natural raw academic capabilities for every new academic year. Once the first results of the year are out, then only we strategize for each kid.
If their results are so-so, at least we can always tell them to look back at the results and set a target for them to always improve on the marks by studying. The problem is when they get really good results and they become complacent because tak study pun boleh score maaa! Anyway, we'll just have to wait and see.
Hanna's sitting for her PMR this year, and she's attending tuitions at two different tuition centres. One for her Maths, Science and Sejarah, and another for her BM. I hope they'll help her. She has always been a good student, but, I hope attending the tuitions and getting a better understanding of the subjects concerned will boost her self-confidence in her own capabilities more. She received the Sijil Kecemerlangan for her Form 2 academic performance early this year. The Sijil is given to all students who obtained more than 14 A's for their Mid-Year and Final Year Exams put together.
Hanna's also doing well in her co-curriculae activities. She's representing her school in Merentas Desa at the MSSD. She's also in the school Football and Handball Teams, and also on stand-by for their Netball Team (she played last year when the Form 3 players were busy preparing for their PMR).
She's also in the school Taekwon-do Team. She has been a Red-Black belter since she was 11, and had always been told that she could only sit for her Black-Belt exam when she turns 15 (which is in November this year). But she has just been informed by her coach who had assessed her during training, etc., that she can go straight to Black Belt without going through her grading exercise. Syukur Alhamdulillah :)
She's now busy practising for her Sports Day - she'll be representing Blue House in Shot-putt, Long Jump and also 1500m.
As with their Kak Long, Hasya and Hilman are also representing Green House in their Sports Day. Hasya's in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m, Long Jump, and Shot-putt. While Hilman's in the Long Jump (I know, right?! I pun terkejut when he said he's in Long Jump!! My chubby baby! Hehehe!). He's also in the Shot-putt and Tarik Tali events. But according to him, during Latihan Rumah Sukan, when the boys practise tarik tali against the girls of Green House, the boys tak pernah menang. Hehehe! His excuse - there are more girls in Green House, compared to boys :) Me? I say - "Girl Power!!!" ;)
All three kids have been practising really hard now, and all three kids are now quite sun-burnt. And Hilman has lost his title of being "The fairest of them all" to ME! So, ME being the fairest now - you can imagine just how tanned the kids are! :)
Okay, I've over-extended my lunch break. Got to go now. Have to get back to work. Hope this posting has covered all that I've missed writing on in the last one month :)
Take care, y'all.
* And Dilla - I'll work on the tag SOON, okay? ;)
Showing posts with label Driver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Driver. Show all posts
Monday, March 8, 2010
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 :)
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 :)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
It takes some getting used to...
It's 10:08a.m now.
Ayah had just left for the hospital 15 minutes ago and should be back by 10:45a.m to send the kids to their dance class.
Breakfast was simple - leftover Nasi Goreng from yesterday, and for Hilman, leftover pizza from Nachos Nachos which we tapau-ed last night. He didn't quite like it, so I had to add new toppings of sausages and more cheese to it. And the pinggan is licin already :) And Hilman said 'Thank you' to me three times for making the pizza taste better :)
It'll be a Sunday at home for us today, but not a relaxing one, I'm afraid. Ayah has to finish his article for MM by 6:00p.m today, and as for me, I plan to clear the porch of some boxes which had been there for the last one year and REALLY make time to send them to the intended recipients either later today or tomorrow morning. Apart from that, of course - the clothes need ironing, too. Anyway, I'm just going to iron Ayah's work shirts enough for 2 weeks, and of course the kids' school uniforms - all 15 pairs of them...again. First thing to do - to find them shirts and uniforms in that pile in Dar's room :(
And I forgot to remind the kids to wash their school shoes yesterday, so they're doing it now. Hope the sun shines the whole day today so that the shoes will be dry in time for school tomorrow...(Hmmmm...macam lyrics lagu lah pulak ;))
Sabarudin reported for duty on Friday, and I took the day off to show him the routes to the kids' schools/centres, and also to Ayah's hospital, etc. Also got him to bring Hilman and myself to Tesco that afternoon. It did make a huge difference not having to go round and round finding a parking space myself. It saved so much time, and of course energy because I had him to push the trolley to the car at the end of it ;) I didn't have him following me around while I was doing my grocery shopping, of course. That would be really awkward for me (and for him, too, I guess?). So, I just asked him to wait for me at the entrance near Pizza Hut.
So, Friday was his day with me and the kids.
Yesterday, on the other hand, was his day with Ayah and the kids.
He arrived at 7:15a.m as Ayah needed to be in Co*um*ia As*a by 8:00a.m. Hanna also had to be in school by 8:00a.m as she had Handball practice until 10:00a.m. Hanna was sent first, then Ayah. At 10:00a.m he fetched Hanna, sent her to my MIL's house so that she could get ready for her guitar class. At 10:45a.m, they left my MIL's house to fetch Ayah, sent Ayah to TMC, and then sent Hanna to OU for her 12:00p.m guitar class. As for me, I only had to send Hasya and Hilman to their Chess Class in Taman Tun at 11:30a.m and then came home straight. Hanna was fetched by Sabarudin at 1:00p.m, thereafter he fetched Hasya and Hilman and then off he went to TMC to fetch Ayah. They all arrived home together at 2:15p.m.
When I asked Ayah what did he think of Sabarudin, he told me that the whole time they were together in the car, Ayah had to keep on reminding him to use the indicator lights when changing lanes or making a turn. And according to him, they nearly hit a car as they were going out at the junction near our house! Hmmmmm...risau jugak, kan? But, I hope in time he'll know what we expect out of him. He needs to get used to our style of driving if he's driving us around, right?
Anyway, he's on a 3-month probation. If we feel he's careless and bukan pemandu berhemah, I guess we'll have to find another driver then.
I felt so much more relaxed, and I found that there were so much more things done at home with this arrangement. One of the things is that, now, I don't have to bring the semi-dry washing in everytime I want to go out sending/fetching the kids (fearing that it might rain while I'm out) and the laundry gets done earlier and easier. And the kitchen sink is clear and empty all the time because now I DO have time to wash the dishes straight away after our meals, and not have to wait until I'm done with the ferrying around job.
But, I think Ayah feels a bit awkward having a driver because he's so used to driving himself everywhere as and when he pleases whenever he's called to any of the hospitals, and now he has to wait for Sabarudin everytime he needs to go somewhere. Ayah may feel that it's so much easier and so much faster if he drives himself all the time. But, I guess it takes some getting used to.
As for me, I told Ayah that the driver is primarily for him. If Sabarudin can send and fetch the kids in between, it'll a bonus. If he can't, I can always ferry the kids. After all, their schools/centres, my office and my MIL's house are all quite near to each other. The only days which I may not be able to do so would be on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I have full teaching schedules.
And the difference between Ayah and I is that I tak sampai hati nak bagi Sabarudin kerja more than his hours, while Ayah said I should not feel like that because we're paying him for his OT. Furthermore, he had been out of work for the last 2 months, and he probably doesn't mind working over-time anyway. And Ayah said, he should expect to work over-time as that is what's expected of a personal driver anyway. I guess Ayah has a point there. I guess on this issue, it's me who has to get used to the idea of asking Sabarudin to kerja lebih masa.
I guess we see things differently - we men and women. To me, I think he would want to spend more time with his family. But, to Ayah, he thinks he probably wants to earn more money to support his family. It's kind of reflecting how both of us view our own careers and lives, I guess. But, I'm still in a dilemma when it comes to ask Sabarudin to do OT. How la like this?
I guess in time I will know what Sabarudin wants from his job, and insya Allah we then can somewhat balance that with what we want him to do for us to make our lives easier.
And our lives will be even easier if Dar is around nanti. Talking of whom - she has yet to call... :(
Ayah had just left for the hospital 15 minutes ago and should be back by 10:45a.m to send the kids to their dance class.
Breakfast was simple - leftover Nasi Goreng from yesterday, and for Hilman, leftover pizza from Nachos Nachos which we tapau-ed last night. He didn't quite like it, so I had to add new toppings of sausages and more cheese to it. And the pinggan is licin already :) And Hilman said 'Thank you' to me three times for making the pizza taste better :)
It'll be a Sunday at home for us today, but not a relaxing one, I'm afraid. Ayah has to finish his article for MM by 6:00p.m today, and as for me, I plan to clear the porch of some boxes which had been there for the last one year and REALLY make time to send them to the intended recipients either later today or tomorrow morning. Apart from that, of course - the clothes need ironing, too. Anyway, I'm just going to iron Ayah's work shirts enough for 2 weeks, and of course the kids' school uniforms - all 15 pairs of them...again. First thing to do - to find them shirts and uniforms in that pile in Dar's room :(
And I forgot to remind the kids to wash their school shoes yesterday, so they're doing it now. Hope the sun shines the whole day today so that the shoes will be dry in time for school tomorrow...(Hmmmm...macam lyrics lagu lah pulak ;))
Sabarudin reported for duty on Friday, and I took the day off to show him the routes to the kids' schools/centres, and also to Ayah's hospital, etc. Also got him to bring Hilman and myself to Tesco that afternoon. It did make a huge difference not having to go round and round finding a parking space myself. It saved so much time, and of course energy because I had him to push the trolley to the car at the end of it ;) I didn't have him following me around while I was doing my grocery shopping, of course. That would be really awkward for me (and for him, too, I guess?). So, I just asked him to wait for me at the entrance near Pizza Hut.
So, Friday was his day with me and the kids.
Yesterday, on the other hand, was his day with Ayah and the kids.
He arrived at 7:15a.m as Ayah needed to be in Co*um*ia As*a by 8:00a.m. Hanna also had to be in school by 8:00a.m as she had Handball practice until 10:00a.m. Hanna was sent first, then Ayah. At 10:00a.m he fetched Hanna, sent her to my MIL's house so that she could get ready for her guitar class. At 10:45a.m, they left my MIL's house to fetch Ayah, sent Ayah to TMC, and then sent Hanna to OU for her 12:00p.m guitar class. As for me, I only had to send Hasya and Hilman to their Chess Class in Taman Tun at 11:30a.m and then came home straight. Hanna was fetched by Sabarudin at 1:00p.m, thereafter he fetched Hasya and Hilman and then off he went to TMC to fetch Ayah. They all arrived home together at 2:15p.m.
When I asked Ayah what did he think of Sabarudin, he told me that the whole time they were together in the car, Ayah had to keep on reminding him to use the indicator lights when changing lanes or making a turn. And according to him, they nearly hit a car as they were going out at the junction near our house! Hmmmmm...risau jugak, kan? But, I hope in time he'll know what we expect out of him. He needs to get used to our style of driving if he's driving us around, right?
Anyway, he's on a 3-month probation. If we feel he's careless and bukan pemandu berhemah, I guess we'll have to find another driver then.
I felt so much more relaxed, and I found that there were so much more things done at home with this arrangement. One of the things is that, now, I don't have to bring the semi-dry washing in everytime I want to go out sending/fetching the kids (fearing that it might rain while I'm out) and the laundry gets done earlier and easier. And the kitchen sink is clear and empty all the time because now I DO have time to wash the dishes straight away after our meals, and not have to wait until I'm done with the ferrying around job.
But, I think Ayah feels a bit awkward having a driver because he's so used to driving himself everywhere as and when he pleases whenever he's called to any of the hospitals, and now he has to wait for Sabarudin everytime he needs to go somewhere. Ayah may feel that it's so much easier and so much faster if he drives himself all the time. But, I guess it takes some getting used to.
As for me, I told Ayah that the driver is primarily for him. If Sabarudin can send and fetch the kids in between, it'll a bonus. If he can't, I can always ferry the kids. After all, their schools/centres, my office and my MIL's house are all quite near to each other. The only days which I may not be able to do so would be on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I have full teaching schedules.
And the difference between Ayah and I is that I tak sampai hati nak bagi Sabarudin kerja more than his hours, while Ayah said I should not feel like that because we're paying him for his OT. Furthermore, he had been out of work for the last 2 months, and he probably doesn't mind working over-time anyway. And Ayah said, he should expect to work over-time as that is what's expected of a personal driver anyway. I guess Ayah has a point there. I guess on this issue, it's me who has to get used to the idea of asking Sabarudin to kerja lebih masa.
I guess we see things differently - we men and women. To me, I think he would want to spend more time with his family. But, to Ayah, he thinks he probably wants to earn more money to support his family. It's kind of reflecting how both of us view our own careers and lives, I guess. But, I'm still in a dilemma when it comes to ask Sabarudin to do OT. How la like this?
I guess in time I will know what Sabarudin wants from his job, and insya Allah we then can somewhat balance that with what we want him to do for us to make our lives easier.
And our lives will be even easier if Dar is around nanti. Talking of whom - she has yet to call... :(
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Sabarudin Tukang Bawak Kereta...
We interviewed Sabarudin last Thursday, and we're quite happy with him.
We offered him the job on Monday, and insya Allah he'll start work this Friday. I'll be taking leave on Friday to show him the routes to send the kids to all their segala mak nenek's schools/classes.
He's younger than us by 2 years. And when he told us his age, this was what Ayah said to him -
Ayah : 39 tahun?! Oh, ye ke?! Saya ingatkan tua dari kitoghang!
(I know, I know...Ayah can never be in PR. HAHAHAHA!)
And when we asked him if he smoked, he said, "Ya, tapi tengah cuba nak berenti... Kalau dulu 2-3 kotak sehari. Sekarang 1 kotak dua hari".
To which Ayah said -
Ayah : Tak payah "cuba" berenti. Berenti ajer terus... Kalau nak "cuba" berenti, memang susah. Sebab kalau cuba, you'll always have the excuse of 'having tried' tapi tak berjaya...
(Yup, that's Ayah for you. Straight to the point. But, he's got a good point there :))
And we heard from my MIL last night, her driver (who's a friend of Sabarudin) told her that Sabarudin has not touched the ciggies since Monday, and has been chewing gums instead :). So, that's a good sign. Hopefully, he'll succeed in kicking the habit, insya Allah.
The arrangement is still kelam kabut because Dar is still not back yet. So, our base will still be at my MIL's for the time being.
Ayah will be driving the kids to school in the morning and he'll go straight to work after that.
Sabarudin will only start work at 11:00a.m, and will go straight to Ayah's hospital and wait there if he needs to send Ayah to the other hospitals if he's being called.
From 1:00p.m to 7:00p.m, he'll be attending to the kids pulak - their tuitions, their extra activities in school, their piano lessons, etc. And of course, he'll be ferrying Ayah, too, in between. At the end of the day, he will send Ayah's car back to Ayah at the hospital, (his motorbike will also be there anyway) as there's no telling what time Ayah's going home on some days. At least Ayah will have his car to drive home himself.
On some days, Sabarudin will have to work until 8:00 - 8:30p.m, and we'll pay him OT. But, the fact that he'll start work at 11:00a.m compensates for this, I guess.
On Saturdays, he'll be working from 8:00a.m until 1:00p.m as that's when Ayah will have to run here and there the most in the morning. The kids also have their chess (Hasya and Hilman) and guitar (Hanna) classes on Saturday mornings. So, insya Allah there'll be less running around for me nanti. But, either Ayah or I will still have to send the kids for their swimming class at 4:00p.m every Saturday. Still, it's not too bad compared to what we have to do now without a driver :)
Sabarudin will be driving Ayah's Honda, instead of the Naza as we don't want all three cars to be out on one day. Mana lagi nak bayar minyak, nak bayar toll segala for all 3 cars, kan? Botak lah kepala if like that.
I will still be driving my Kembara myself. I told Ayah I don't want to use the driver, because on days when his last duty is to send the kids to my MIL's place (when they have mengaji, etc), if he's driving the Naza, that means he would be leaving the car there (at least when Dar is still not back yet, and there's no one at home in SD) and I for one is NOT going to drive the Naza back to SD with the kids after their mengaji! So, it's best if he drives the Honda, and send it to Ayah at the hospital at the end of the day, and I will have my Kembara with me all the time, and can drive back to SD after their mengaji. Furthermore, whenever Ayah needs to use Sabarudin when he's supposed to send/fetch the kids, I can always take over the job instead, insya Allah.
For those who didn't know - I have NEVER driven any other cars except for my Kembara. I refuse to drive the Naza or the Honda. The ONLY time I had been behind the Naza's wheel was when I had to reverse it as it was behind my car, and I needed to go off somewhere in a hurry, and Ayah was in the shower then and could not reverse it for me! That was the first and the last time I drove that huge machine. And I'm not going to start driving it now especially when we'll have Sabarudin to do the driving now. He's supposed to menyenangkan hidup I, not putting more stress on me! Hehehe! (Ya, membawa kereta Naza adalah sangat stressful for me, okay?)
Once Dar is back, things will not be that complicated, insya Allah. At least we have a fixed station in SD, BUT, of course duit toll will be sangat dahsyat because all their schools, extra classes etc., are held on the other side of the toll...
Well you win some, you lose some, kan? :)
Wish us luck! Hopefully things will work out well for us, insya Allah.
I hope Sabarudin will treat the kids like his own, and I hope he'll do his job well - amanah, jujur and ikhlas.
I wish him all the best in his new job, especially part nak melayan anak-anak I bercakap dalam kereta nanti, terutamanya melayan soalan-soalan maut dari Hilman Syauqi...Hehehe!
One thing about having a driver is that I will not have as much time as before to spend with the kids in the car. But, I hope to have more quality time with them at home, now that our lives are much settled, and now that I will be doing less screaming at the kids as I will not be as tired and exhausted as before at the end of a long day.
And I hope Sabarudin will enjoy his time with them like I do.
Welcome to the family, Pakcik Din :)
We offered him the job on Monday, and insya Allah he'll start work this Friday. I'll be taking leave on Friday to show him the routes to send the kids to all their segala mak nenek's schools/classes.
He's younger than us by 2 years. And when he told us his age, this was what Ayah said to him -
Ayah : 39 tahun?! Oh, ye ke?! Saya ingatkan tua dari kitoghang!
(I know, I know...Ayah can never be in PR. HAHAHAHA!)
And when we asked him if he smoked, he said, "Ya, tapi tengah cuba nak berenti... Kalau dulu 2-3 kotak sehari. Sekarang 1 kotak dua hari".
To which Ayah said -
Ayah : Tak payah "cuba" berenti. Berenti ajer terus... Kalau nak "cuba" berenti, memang susah. Sebab kalau cuba, you'll always have the excuse of 'having tried' tapi tak berjaya...
(Yup, that's Ayah for you. Straight to the point. But, he's got a good point there :))
And we heard from my MIL last night, her driver (who's a friend of Sabarudin) told her that Sabarudin has not touched the ciggies since Monday, and has been chewing gums instead :). So, that's a good sign. Hopefully, he'll succeed in kicking the habit, insya Allah.
The arrangement is still kelam kabut because Dar is still not back yet. So, our base will still be at my MIL's for the time being.
Ayah will be driving the kids to school in the morning and he'll go straight to work after that.
Sabarudin will only start work at 11:00a.m, and will go straight to Ayah's hospital and wait there if he needs to send Ayah to the other hospitals if he's being called.
From 1:00p.m to 7:00p.m, he'll be attending to the kids pulak - their tuitions, their extra activities in school, their piano lessons, etc. And of course, he'll be ferrying Ayah, too, in between. At the end of the day, he will send Ayah's car back to Ayah at the hospital, (his motorbike will also be there anyway) as there's no telling what time Ayah's going home on some days. At least Ayah will have his car to drive home himself.
On some days, Sabarudin will have to work until 8:00 - 8:30p.m, and we'll pay him OT. But, the fact that he'll start work at 11:00a.m compensates for this, I guess.
On Saturdays, he'll be working from 8:00a.m until 1:00p.m as that's when Ayah will have to run here and there the most in the morning. The kids also have their chess (Hasya and Hilman) and guitar (Hanna) classes on Saturday mornings. So, insya Allah there'll be less running around for me nanti. But, either Ayah or I will still have to send the kids for their swimming class at 4:00p.m every Saturday. Still, it's not too bad compared to what we have to do now without a driver :)
Sabarudin will be driving Ayah's Honda, instead of the Naza as we don't want all three cars to be out on one day. Mana lagi nak bayar minyak, nak bayar toll segala for all 3 cars, kan? Botak lah kepala if like that.
I will still be driving my Kembara myself. I told Ayah I don't want to use the driver, because on days when his last duty is to send the kids to my MIL's place (when they have mengaji, etc), if he's driving the Naza, that means he would be leaving the car there (at least when Dar is still not back yet, and there's no one at home in SD) and I for one is NOT going to drive the Naza back to SD with the kids after their mengaji! So, it's best if he drives the Honda, and send it to Ayah at the hospital at the end of the day, and I will have my Kembara with me all the time, and can drive back to SD after their mengaji. Furthermore, whenever Ayah needs to use Sabarudin when he's supposed to send/fetch the kids, I can always take over the job instead, insya Allah.
For those who didn't know - I have NEVER driven any other cars except for my Kembara. I refuse to drive the Naza or the Honda. The ONLY time I had been behind the Naza's wheel was when I had to reverse it as it was behind my car, and I needed to go off somewhere in a hurry, and Ayah was in the shower then and could not reverse it for me! That was the first and the last time I drove that huge machine. And I'm not going to start driving it now especially when we'll have Sabarudin to do the driving now. He's supposed to menyenangkan hidup I, not putting more stress on me! Hehehe! (Ya, membawa kereta Naza adalah sangat stressful for me, okay?)
Once Dar is back, things will not be that complicated, insya Allah. At least we have a fixed station in SD, BUT, of course duit toll will be sangat dahsyat because all their schools, extra classes etc., are held on the other side of the toll...
Well you win some, you lose some, kan? :)
Wish us luck! Hopefully things will work out well for us, insya Allah.
I hope Sabarudin will treat the kids like his own, and I hope he'll do his job well - amanah, jujur and ikhlas.
I wish him all the best in his new job, especially part nak melayan anak-anak I bercakap dalam kereta nanti, terutamanya melayan soalan-soalan maut dari Hilman Syauqi...Hehehe!
One thing about having a driver is that I will not have as much time as before to spend with the kids in the car. But, I hope to have more quality time with them at home, now that our lives are much settled, and now that I will be doing less screaming at the kids as I will not be as tired and exhausted as before at the end of a long day.
And I hope Sabarudin will enjoy his time with them like I do.
Welcome to the family, Pakcik Din :)
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