About Me

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Adventurous, observer,kind, compassionate, generous, Practical, quick learner and hard working.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Queen of England

I am working for a family originated from England. When i first arrive ,  i immediately felt at home.
Right at the beginning im pretty aware of the duties that i have  to deal everyday.
I'm pretty much the jack of all trade in the household. I' m not sure how i manage all but I know that I'm working nonestop during the day.
I  normally wake up at six in the morning during the school month  , not necesarry do any specific thing but just hang around in case someone come down early. Kids usually  comes down at six forty five and have a quick breakfast. The school bus normally comes at seven fifteen to pick them up.
I pretty much do everything for the kids, play with them, bring them to movies, feed them , read to them, help them with school projects, fetch them from school, send them to extra classes.
I pretty much like a second parent to them. Sadly, parents are caught up with work most days.

That was 10 years ago, now the kids are both grown up, although i dont babysit them anymore . I still have to ask them to hurry up if they need to go out at specific time. I still prepare thier food and lay in front of them in the dining table. I still heat up thier food in the microwave if it needs heating up. I still have to make thier beds althought they are 19  and 16 yrs old. I still pick up thier laundry from the floor, underwear, socks, and all. I still have to tidy up thier room, even though i gently remind them to at least tindy up thier desk and free up some clutter. It seems my words falls in the deaf ear.

Sadly this kids became a lazy bones. None of them lift a single finger to tidy up thier spaces. They seems not bother to do anything in the house. The house that they are living now are thier parents but yet there seems no sense of belonging from them.

They both seems  wanted to be serve like a king and queen.


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Maids and thier BF

Recently, maids with bf's are hot topic in local newspaper and internet forums in Singapore. My question  is , what is so bizarre about it?. Some say maids are not suppose to have a bf  while working in Singapore. This is a total nonsense. Who says , maids can't have bf?

What i understood is when maid gets pregnant while on a work permit, the ministry of manpower will cancel thier work permit and be repatriated immidiately. It is clearly stated in thier work permit that any work permit holder is not allow to stay in Singapore and deliver thier baby here. The work permit is not also a passage to marry a local or permanent resident. However, if the work permit holder wanted to marry a local, she/he shall cancel his/her work permit and leave the country and return to apply for a letter of  intent to marry a local/pr to the relivant authority.
Although this procedure takes time to materialize, fiancees are allowed to enter the country but are not allowed to work  and needs to leave when thier social visit pass expires.
However, they can return again to be with thier fiancees as much as they want.

It is not also true that when the maids get pregnant, the employer's bond with MOM will be forfeited. What i understood is , if the maid gets pregnant and her employer does not report it to the MOM, then the relivant authority forfeit thier bonds which amounting to 5k.

Everyone with legal age are entitled to have one. No law that says maid cant have a bf. Maids are human too, they have feeling like anybody else.
Employers simply have no right to prevent thier maids of having a bf. It's none of thier business if thier maid falls in love with someone.

Maids are not puppets, they are human like you and me.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Maids offday in Singapore

When i first came to Singapore few years ago, I was'st allowed to have a dayoff for about 6 months as i was still in debt with my agency. The agency charged me  an equivalent to my  6 months  salary and i was  only entitled to recieve a SGD 30 each month for 6 long months.

This was a real surprise for me because i came here as a tourist. They explained that even though i came as a tourist , they are the one who found  me a job. In a sense this is true but why the hefty amount? I bought my own airfare plus i paid the lady who invite me over. I remember handing her 3,ooo pesos as soon as i arrived. She asked for it, i did not gave voluntarily. I came here to work not giving away cash...
So i assume thats how this daylight robber does to unsuspecting victims.
Agency fees has always been in the news because of its hefty amount leaving almost nothing to a poor girl who come here to work only to be fleshed out as soon as she stepped in at the airport by the money hungry agents.

Ok so i survived that ordeal, although i hardly stomach being have to work just to be able to pay my agency. I remember going for a medical check up as soon as i arrive , but i guess the medical fee was shouldered by my employer. I learned later on that aside from the fees that  comes from me, my employer also has to pay the agent,  so to sum it all ...the agency is earning a lot of money. No wonder some of them now are driving a Mercedes, BMW, Porche God knows what else, maybe they even live in condos ,i can only guess.

On my first year with my first employer, i was only allowed a once a month day off after that 6 months period ( while paying my agency fee). But even though its called my offday...its not really a offday because i have to work before i go out. I handwash clothes early in the morning, mop the floor and wash the baby bottles. I generally do my usual morning routine before i am allowed to take off . I have to come back by 5 pm because i need to look after the kids while my employer cooks dinner. Her husband MUST go for a jogging so he cant help with the kids.

When my contract expired my employer renew my work permit without even asking me first, but she told me about later on so  i ask her if she could allow me to have at least 2x off a month and she agreed. They let me have my vacation in my home country for a month after they renewed my contract.

I adjusted very well with my job, having been trained to do housework since young i did not encounter any trouble with it. The only thing that i really hate is washing car , because i  did not think that its a woman's job. In my home country  i did not see woman washing a car, i believe it was a man job all along.
Anyway, i did learned how to do it, and actually loving it , because thats the time that i could think, away from the kids noise and no ones calling me to do things. I spend couple of hours each time i do it, and that is long enough to free up my mind.

I love the children even though they are naughty sometimes, but after 4 years i left the family because i wanted to move into a expat employer whom i suppose are more open and understanding. Also they pay more than most of the locals.

I was given a sundays off  plus allowed to go out on public holidays , not given any curfew or things like that.
I have my needed  freedom, which everyone entitled to but not all are lucky. I spent my offdays attending enhancement classes, socialising with good company. , meet people, meet new friends  , go on a weekend holidays, attend church service and more.

I enjoy going around town, do shopping and eating out. I watch concerts, movies , visit museums, go for swimming, cycling , picnic, visit library , there are countless things that you can do here in Singapore. Even though its only a tiny island compared to where i come from, you have everything you need to do and see.

Offdays means the freedom to free your  burden. Time to connect with friends and family, time to search your soul.