Wednesday 28 April 2010

oohh meri phooti kismet

I'm in trouble, deep trouble.......the last week has been a nightmare. I'm freaking really!!!!

Sometime last week my friend’s maid got caught by the police and they[the police] inturn called M & husband to the police station. There they were given 2 options: pay up the fine or stay in jail till the case is tried. The maid was working illegally for them u see. Dammit 98% of the maids are working illegally here, everybody knows that & are still using their services.

You may proceed directly to the next para but for people who are interested, some gyaan about how the system works here: There are 2 ways to get maids legally working for you in Dubai or shd I say UAE.
One, we sponser one from our home country or any country but it works out very expensive & not only that we are totally responsible for her[if you hear a few horror stories from employers you’ll never feel like sponsoring one ever].
The other way is to recruit one from a cleaning company and they may send any nationality…….again they charge per hour and are quite expensive compared to the 3rd option which is illegal but the most popular option.

Here we put an ad in the newspaper[all this is illegal mind you but around 90% of the population has done this atleast once in their lifetime] stating our requirement & our location and wait for response. Now, there is large number of women who would have come under a maid’s visa after paying a lot of money to their Arab sponsors. Ideally they should be working for them but they have an understanding with the sponsor where they work independently & make more money this way. These maids work as part time or fulltime help for a nominal amount[compared to the other 2 options]; they are happy with his arrangement and we are also happy but the fact remains what we are doing is illegal but we don’t think too much about it until something like this happens.

Coming back to the topic, now M & husband had no choice. They paid up the fine and were allowed to get back home on the same day. My poor friend sounded shell-shocked when she called me to tell the whole story. The fine was bad enough and on top of it all she saw scenes like people being led into different cells handcuffed, how the policemen were doing their duty and making good amount of money legally, how she who had never been to a police station in all her life felt being treated like a criminal.

The only thing which set them apart from the rest was that they had the money[no cheques, only cash] to pay upfront and get out of here without spending too much time in the suffocating environment.

What does all this have to do with me???? Dont ask, just dont ask I might just start crying in self-pity. All this happened on the better-half's birthday. I was actually planning to get a cake & get the kids to decorate the house when M calls me & tells me all this. I was totally shocked to say the least. Yeah well, all of us know that every now and then the police do an over-all cleaning of the society where they round up all the unsuspecting souls standing at the bus-stop, etc. The ones with valid visa's are let off & the rest are carted off to jail. And there they languish till either their sponsor’s pay the fine and bail them out or they are sent back to their own country. But this is the 1st time I hear that even the people who are employing them have to pay fine.....and that too a hefty sum of dhs.51,000[works out to 6 Lakhs+ in Indian Rupees] is not an amount the common man will have lying around in his house or even in his bank account.

And so there I was sitting in shock thinking about how it could happen to anybody when the better-half walks in & He could make out something was amiss & within half an hour got the whole story out of me. And that was it. If I had any inkling I was going to set off a chain of events I wouldn’t have ever told him this. His reasoning, he doesnt have dhs.51,000 to waste on something which could be avoided….the maid had to go, Period. So here I am in front of u, a tired, haggard looking Nancy with wrinkled fingers[all that washing] sitting and typing a post hurriedly before the kids come back from school... oh pleease overlook all the typos.

I'm so desperate really.....and I see no way out. When I picture myself mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, washing utensils, changing bedsheets, taking trash out, doing loads of laundry, ironing, watering the plants + what I was already doing and that is cooking, getting kids to study, taking them down to play, squeezing time to write posts inbetween & looking after the family's needs as a whole, my heart squeezes in terror.

Long ago I made peace with myself when realised I'm not one of those people who can multi-task and finish up with work ahead of time. I'm clean, I'm thorough but I'M SLOW. So slow that even if I’m given me a head start the tortoise will end up winning the race[now u know why my rate of posting is so low].

So I hired a maid and never looked back. When I was working she used to work fultime for me & now since I'm at home she comes in for 2 hours & takes quite a bit of weight off my shoulders. Both she and I were heart-broken….it was a typical parting scene in the end with both of us holding each others hands & reluctantly letting go. As the tip of her fingers left the tip of my fingers I realized how much I loved her & how crushed I was to let her go..……honestly she was worth her weight in gold;-(. Years ago I had written about her here.

And do you know what the funniest bit is …….nobody else, simply NOBODY ELSE sacked their help after hearing M’s story, JUST US. The only satisfaction I derive from the whole fiasco is watching the better-half walking on eggshells around me. And oh yeah he finally got around to taking me to get new furniture for the living room and our bedroom. Buttering me up I know, but I'm not going to let him off the hook in a hurry. And M, I'm not going to forgive you for a looong time.....and I absolutely forbid you to confide in me your problems esp the ones which have the potential to create mayhem in my life. And if anybody of you dares to comment how the better-half is right, u better watch it.

And, and I've got guests[remember holleyland] coming to stay over this weekend.........ohhhhhh somebody wake me up from this nightmare!!!!!!

*Title of the post: roughly translated as 'ooh my rotten luck' in English

72 comments:

  1. Yay! for a change and to my utter surprise today I am first on Nancy's blog :D
    Wow that was one big advantage of finishing work so late today.

    I can totally understand your horror Nancy after having had help at hand for a long time.
    I know it personally what it takes to keep the home running smooth, look sparkling clean with laundry and cooking to accomplish besides countless tid-bits that have to happen besides full time (work for me, and kids for you.

    Don't loose heart girl, we all do it ourselves at my end in Australia, you too shall get used to it.

    Don't loose heart buddy, it's a rough & rocky road, but not a dead end for sure!!

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  2. My dear Chatterbox......I'm literally wilting under the weight of my responsibilities here. Ur words are like balm to my soul:-D.

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  3. Don't worry Nancy!!!!

    Take it as a new challenge of your life :)... But, don't let this take time off from your Lovely Blog. I shall miss you if that happens.

    You can do it!!!

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  4. Ask all ur blog friends to pool in and sponsor a maid for u if they want to read ur posts .. howzzat ;)

    Ohhh wait .. that includes me too rt :P :P err I dnt know what I said before ;)

    Jokes apart, hope u get thru this soon Nance :) I feel sorry for ur friend though :(

    And eh, atleast on his bday, u shud agree the better half ws rt no ;)

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  5. oh sad.. I can understand your whole situation. I had a maid at my earlier house and when we shifted here, we just decided that we will not have a maid as my office is very nearby and i have got lots of time. That is the big mistake i did. Now after completing the work at office, i have to just run around for cleaning the house.. too tiring. Luckily, no kids yet.

    Anyway, dont worry, you will get used to it after some time.. All the best to you..

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  6. Ohh hdear! thats a sticky situation to be in.. really sorry for ur friend.. n of course u too! .. start delegating the work.. Hubby , kids each has to chip in. :)
    Hope u find a solution soon enough. till then hugsssssssss

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  7. I would have been in utter shock had it been 2 years back. but now I am not because everyone here in this country manage things like that. All by ourselves. Maid is a thing of past.
    Still I can feel for you Nancy.
    Can you not ask your maid to come once in while get the major cleaning things done instead of hiring and having her on regular basis. Just a suggestion though.
    Cheer up Nancy.

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  8. and yeah I agree with everyone contributing to house work. You can make weekend cleaning fun activity by including all of them. :D

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  9. Yeah Nancy, Hv heard of such stories from my relatives who stay there. They sponsor the maid from India and take her. Its expensive and difficult, as they have to bear the maid's husband's problems too. But, still better off compared to the legal problems, I think.

    Now, dont u worry. Its only a matter of time. You'll get on fine.

    On your threat, I am not taking your better half's side.

    But, dont make that stop you from posting. Waiting for your posts, as always.

    Take care and hugs.

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  10. We have hired a domestic help to come over and do basic household chores for 3 hrs daily. Though I am aware of the risk associated with it, plus have heard not one but several cases of people paying up fines or going behind bars, for hiring them, we still haven't let go of them. The only thing we do often is keep changing who works for us every 9-10 months. Not sure if it helps in any way.

    But eitherways, I think your friend was just unlucky. Just bad luck. Shit happens. Its not gonna stop folks from hiring maids. Open up classifieds and you'll find tens of ads daily. Infact we've placed an ad last week!!! :D

    So you can reconsider..

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  11. hmm..:) bad luck indeed, esp with guests dropping in. as someone had said,its still not too latei guess for some sos calls,atleast for a while, until u get your grips! ;)

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  12. nancy...i complete empathize with you with regard to having a maid all this while and then suddenly not having the pleasure...been there done that...after having the luxury of a cooking maid and a cleaning maid in chennai, Uk was horror for me..Cleaners are unbelievable exp and no one here can afford it except the real estate agents who have these contracts with agencies and arrange to clean the house before the tenants move in which they any way charge 2 the poor owner. So all those things u have mentioned there....me and ro have been doing for the past 2 years. Except ofcourse the children bit which im sure is a handful on its own..
    what i mean to say is..you will get used to it..u will learn 2 set aside time for all this and blogging :)
    Dont lose heart..hang in there..u will realize you have more potential than u give urself credit :)

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  13. Oh dear! That must be one terrible state you must be in. Especially after getting used to having a maid.

    Hope you manage to work out some solution.

    But you managed to blog despite all this - I should get inspired by you :)

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  14. Aahhhh, I seriously feel for you Nance, and I mean it! Period.

    I won't say anything more coz I'm watching it out! ;p
    And I hope you find some solution really sooooooooon in either of above stated 2 options. ouch!

    Okay, I heard you, I'm making myself scarce...so till you stop seeing red :)

    take care dear...

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  15. what???!!!! dhs 51,000!!! Good thing you sacked the maid! :p:):):):):)
    Welcome to the club, Nancy! Now you know what I do at home all day long :):)
    Okay, I`m done with the meanness quota of the day. Now let me get back on track! :) I cant imagine what your friends must have gone through. And even though sacking the maid means tremendous amounts of work for you(moreso because you are not used to it), I think in the long run it is good Nancy. You wouldnt want to fall into trouble with the law unnecessarily, would you? Hugs :)

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  16. 51000?? Thats toooooooo much!!

    Though as you said, getting maids illegally is the popular option....we have to appreciate the efforts of Governement to safegurad maids employed. I have few horror stories of maids who were treted very very badly by sponsors( Indians too).

    My suggsetion would be....assign few tasks to your hubby so that he shares the joy of housekeeping!!! ( I know from this moment he is not going to be a friend with me!!! as he reads your posts and comments)..

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  17. Hello Nancy,

    Welcome to my world!!! Welcome to life as it is in America.

    I have been doing all your maid's work plus some ever since I got here. That too with a full-time job(about half the time). And I am rather proud too!

    The only thing I feel sorry for you is you really liked your maid & her company. That is like losing a friend. That is sad.

    Rest, as you will soon find out, you will manage much better than you give yourself credit for. Trust me!

    Nilu

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  18. I am so sorry Nancy ! I can understand how tiring all that work can be. Specially with two kids !! How about delegating some tasks to the husband like weekly vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, taking out trash ...

    With no maid, thats exactly what I do.. Som HAS to do half the work at home or he faces the thunder :).

    I hate to say this, but I really think the DH is right. It may be a very remote possibility that this may happen to you guys but then, I am sure Manu and her husband thought the same way.

    So, get down to dividing the work and you will have less burden on your shoulders.

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  19. awww... thts terrible... i seriously wonder wat u r goin to do esp with tht holy land comin up... gud luck chech...

    bt kno wat - i do think its better u opted out now cos 51000 DH is jus tooooo much... is dis legal money launderin :P

    ps. we sure don mind d typos as long as we get to see u in blogsville...

    pps. fingers crossed 4 a turnaroun :) don wry chech - u ll do grt`

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  20. Don't know what to say nancy..
    err..ya..ALL the best for u to manage all the work esp with relatives

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  21. I liked Swaram's suggestion of getting all of us readers to contribute to you getting a legal maid :) Hey if it means more posts- I'm game!!

    Oh but seriously- what a tense situation. And who would have thought of this being the outcome of it all- you maidless-with two children- and all you juggle- ouch!!

    Make your list for hubby to start 'making it up to you' :)

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  22. ***moves two steps from the laptop*** u know what...i think your husband is right ***runs away***

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  23. that's too bad, Nancy!
    I can really imaging the horror of not having anyone to help you suddenly one day.
    Not sure what to say, not especially that you will get used to it.

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  24. hey, I wrote a long sympathetic "i-understand - ur-situation-compeltly" comment. some error happend and it did not get posted..
    anyway, the gist was this -"
    * i miss India inclusive of maids and drivers :(
    * I miss the maid - service more when I come back home from work and have to look sadly at a equally tired Aj to help me with the mountain of dishs in the sink while I run around making coffee, snacks, dinner, evening prayers, returning phone calls, putting away washed clothes yada yada.. u get the thing..na..
    * but now, I am quite happy to do it somehow..
    * I know what you ll say next - " wait till u get little a-la- naina,niki kind of naughty pixies scurrying around the place "
    ** hehehe- Nancy- that s another story allllllllllllll together..
    :D
    Tll then..
    Allll (hopefully) would be wellll... :D

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  25. Also may be this 'piece of incof' will cheer up a bit -
    Doing all this crazy running around work like on a military camp had helped me keep my weight in the same range..if not lowered it unless i work -out..
    But atleast I get to eat yummy bars of kit-kat.as compensation. :P
    hehe..
    n not bother about the weight..
    lifting buckets and moping would have done a few cal- burns..:P

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  26. Awww.. who said the better half is right???? And so what if what he said made sense - that doesn't make things right??? More so on b'day - not a consideration at all??? Right??? ;p .... *Sigh* .. true nobody understands the pain which manicured fingers go thru when within an hour of parlour visit the turmeric sets in over the marshmallow paint or when the perfect white edge gets chipped when the cokker blows an extra whistle.... you there... me here... with or without better half.. life without 'maid' is like an un-made bed :( .... *Hugs*...

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  27. i really pity u:))....sorry!!

    rotten means phooti?!lol....

    anyways good luck:)

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  28. Oh ...This is so sad...But I am sure U can fight back...and I don't understand on U.A.E government on this maids stuff.... :(

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  29. oh thats really horrifying to hear....I can understand your situation but imagining Manu and husband going through it, its scary....Nancy why dont you properly sponsor a maid and have her all for yourself, its a blessing to have them with you 24/7.....indonesians are too good, my own experience and you will have peace of mind that someone will ALWAYS be there with kids even when you go out.

    Work on your options rather than worrying,I totally agree managing a family without maid is ok but managing a blog without a maid is IMPOSSIBLE ;)

    tc

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  30. 51,000?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    no wonder this place is so damn opulent!

    :(

    sigh!

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  31. Oh Nance I can imagine what you must be going through! I know how much of a life-saver househelps can be. Mine is a blessing actually. But its also true authorities have become more vigilant. Its the same in Qatar too.

    Doesnt the system of free-visa apply there? People on such visas can work for anyone. Here and I think even in Muscat there is a whole network of people working privately as cleaners and helpers and they are all on free-visa.

    Hope you find someone to help you at home soon, Nance :)

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  32. oh gosh. i can so understand what u mean by losing a maid. and u have kids!!! good luck. hope some solution comes through for u!!!

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  33. Hmmmm.... This post has got me really worried coz am in the same boat. But then how was your friend caught, was there an informer or were the police actually keeping a watch on their house. Yet i would say keep the maid, life is much better with some help at home.

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  34. You should move to Wordpress. For someone who gets lots of comments, WP is the way forward :)

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  35. OMG.. sorry abt ur luck.. but i was laffing all thru the post. you write wonderfully well!! All the Best!

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  36. I second Masood.
    And I think its all in the mind and I know u know it too :P
    We did nt hv a maid here for a long time ... then hired one and she went away to her village after sometime too ;) So, it ws all divided b/w us and I never felt anything abt it.
    Nw that I hv hired one, even a single day without her seems like I hv been loaded with work :P
    I dnt hv the two sweet girls to be entertained all day long though ;)Just said ;)

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  37. I hope this sorts out! How do they prove she was working for someone? I mean anybody can visit anyone... no?

    And if there is no maid, everybody must contribute :)

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  38. Oh Nancy, what a nightmare! Hope Manu is OK...

    Here is my advice: Start serving dinner on paper plates, complete with disposable plastic silverware ("Honey I just don't have the energy to do the dishes all by myself") and maybe he'll get the message. Just kidding. But not such a bad idea if you think about it :-D

    p/s: Oh and disposable paper "table cloth" ("Honey I don't have time to do laundry") would be a nice touch.

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  39. oh that's tricky! but yeah, delegating would be the key here :P after living a super comfy life all my life, i've ended up here, doing "mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, washing utensils, changing bedsheets, taking trash out, doing loads of laundry, watering the plants + what I was already doing and that is cooking, getting myself to study..." all i say is, it's not bad at all! u'll probably notice a lot of readers saying the same since most of them live away from India hehe you'll be fine :) and oh yeah, delegate ;-)

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  40. Uhh hoo :( hmmm... i kno some men are like this, they will jump at adhering to laws rules and regulations esp if its the botheration of the wife only :| I kno its not fair... but then :( You gotta live with it.. Wishing u luck to get things sorted..and hope u have truckloads of energy to plough through so much work :S

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  41. We become such slaves to habits... C'mon Nancy, you can tackle housework with a smile :) On a serious note, that is a lot of work....

    But this is scary story, in jail in an Arab country... To come up with cash like that... You guys may be on the overcautious side, but better safe than sorry! Maybe after a while when all this is done and 'dusted', you can hire her back?!

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  42. omg!!! that sounds scary!!!

    the maid situation is pretty bad! *hugz* hope u do find some solution soon!

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  43. nancy this can be tiring especially when there are guests. why don't you get someone from the agency on a biweekly basis for cleaning and mopping the house so you have to deal only with cooking and stuff. at least this will ease the weight you are feeling at the moment and then I know you will find a way to manage...
    hope things will get better for your sake.

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  44. WHAT!! are you serious? your friend actually had to pay 51000!!does that apply to part time cleaners (illegal ofcourse) also? i dont blame your husband.. i have a cleaner coming every alternate day and now i am reconsidering..thats a LOT of money
    poor you! hope you find some solution..

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  45. Awww!!! Seriously at any given day if I have to rate a Maid & Hubby on importance meter Maid will win hands down! Period!

    All I will say is good luck and make him work also!!! :)

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  46. Swaram: Oh I know he is right...its just that I get mad sometimes tht he is always right;-).
    And lil girls are entertaining alright but the mess that accompanies the fun is not very amusing tho;-)

    Tan: Its a challenge alright...I had almost forgotten how it was to be occupied every moment of the day;-P.

    Kavya: Even some people I knw dont keep help even tho they r working. I cant imagine how they manage everything;-o.
    LOL...no doubts abt that, I'll get used to it...HAVE to get used to it;-D.

    Mindfulmeanderer: Delegation sound great when we talk about it. But very often I end up redoing stuff;-(

    BlueMist: I actually have been thinking the same...get the same lady to come in once a week...but even that is illegal. I mean thts why I had to let her go in the 1st place;-(

    UmaS: I too have seen & hrd many instances. Sometimes we spend all the money, bring them here & they are not able to adjust & want to go back within 2-3 months. Just imagine the loss the employer bears.

    Masood, ISH, Elizabeth, Suma, Sparkling, Maddy: One advice I can share, Please get them to delete ur numbers from their cell-phones coz the police confiscate them & then get our contact numbers from there and when they interrogate these people later they just crumble & tell them everything.

    Onlooker: Its going to be difficult for sure;-(

    An Open Book: Yeah kids do make a mess....almost immediately after we finish cleaning;-/
    I'm not exacting doubting my potential its just tht I dont want to be in this position;-D

    Smitha: I just had to get it off my chest, hence the post. Have to see how & when I'll manage the next post;-(

    Piper: Oh my friend was sooo shocked...until then none of us knew there was a fine like this for employing them. Oh I knw in the long run its good. I just cdnt assimilate it all so quickly....7 yrs there was maid & then one day she was gone & never again;-(.
    All hugs accepted gratefully;-D!!!

    Nilu: Oh I have no doubts I'll manage but its the crushing disappointment[like I told Piper] which is making me so upset;-P

    Prashanti: The husband's helpful but he's got a bad back & stuff like cleaning the bathrooms are out of question with him;-(. Ooohhh meri phooti kismet!!!!!

    Sulo Badri: I too am hoping it wont upset my blogging. As of now I'm determined to make the time but again time will tell;-)

    Mystery: Thank U:-)!!!!

    Balvinder Singh: U r welcome;-D

    Anjuli: Hehe he's been really sweet but somewhere I feel guilty abt making him work at home coz I'm at home fulltime & ideally shd be able to handle it alone.

    Blunt Edges: Its ok...come back...I've calmed down, I know he's right;-D

    Wanderlust: Yeah it was the shock which made me go haywire....I know I'll get used to it*sigh*

    Swathy: My dear thts the only silver lining in the whole cloud;-D.

    Sagarika: LOL.....LOL....exactly, exactly;-D
    All hugs accepted gratefully:-))!!!

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  47. Brocasarea ;-D

    Prabodh: Since what we are doing is illegal we dont have a leg to stand on;-P

    Sadiya: Now that I'm at home I dont really need a maid full-time...mayb if I were working I wd have considered the option seriously.
    And I find both impossible;-D

    Deeps: Nope there is no system of free-visa...atleast not for the lower-class.
    I'm already considering hiring sombody from the cleaning company for maybe once or twice a week for all the scrubbing jobs, so all is not lost;-D

    Limenlemons: Yep the brain is fulltime trying to find solutions...see above reply;-D

    How do we know: Thanks...for the compliment & best wishes;-D!!!

    Indianhomemaker: Oh when the police see us, the 1st thing they say is 'please dont waste our time saying she was just passing by or is a friend...we've hrd it all';-(
    And anyways they probably wd have intimidated the maid into confessing it all, so no point;-P

    Agnes: Manu is fine, slowly getting back into groove.
    And thanks for all the ideas...have carefully filed them away for future reference;-D

    Snow: yeah I noticed all Indian & Middle east bloggers were with me all the way whereas the bloggers from the west were not so sympathetic;-D

    Amrita: LOL....oh yes have come across many like that;-D.
    And truckloads of energy is exactly what I need, thanks;-D

    Jira: yes landing in jail in a arab country is something none of us want to think about;-o. And @waiting for the laws to change ....yeah well we are not going to hold our breadth;-D

    Sunshine: Thanks;-D

    Dr Roshan: Ridiculous it is....but it has to be paid;-P

    Lan: yes thts exactly wht I'm going to do...already chking out details from few maid service agencies...get them maybe for 1 or 2 days a week for all the more strenuous stuff;-D

    Smita: LOL;-D

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  48. Oooh... that was quite a scary experience !!
    But having lived in US for almost 8 yrs now and having survived with no maid (thats the one thing I have always missed abt India) with a full time job and a mess creating toddler, here are my 2 cents:
    a) Jsut accept it, you cannot do everything, so learn to delegate. Yeah, husband and kids just have to learn to clean their own mess
    b) A happy home is so much important than a neat one , right !!

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  49. Dhs 51000 or jail - well, both options are pretty scary. Living without a maid sounds better when you contemplate the other two. Yes, agree on the 'phooti kismet' bit though.

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  50. Your post is an eye opener for people like me *00* coz I just realized I am a bit happy reading it!! Since I have landed here, most of the time I am crawling like a baby fishing out stuffs from the carpet and under the toilet. Cleaning dishes as if I own a crockery renting business...etc etc.

    hey Nancy...you should have turned this whole episode into a Veeragadha...no? saying the moment you heard the news you had a HALO and decided you won't cheat the country you are living in? and hence you with a heavy heart let the maid go...ahem see now you gave all the credit and smart brains to your hubby!!!

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  51. I am horrified!!! Both options sound equally bad! 51K AND no maid!!! Oh...you have played havoc with my peace of mind now!!! :(((

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  52. Quite informative to me..but Nancy take heart..most of the indians living abroad have to manage without maid...kam se kam ek advantage hame bhi ha yeh ehsaas to rehne do:)

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  53. Nw thats a sad tale...very unexpected from Nancy. Do not lose heart...EOD you will be surprised at how you can do it all yourself. Take help from kids too. :-) Get them to help you by promising a weekend movie, pudding, cookies, more TV time, more stories, more Barbie DVDs, etc. They will look forward to help you!( well, u shud keep the promise):-)

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  54. Bas itni si baat Nancy? Make holleyland do all the work for a week!!;-)

    *no need to thank me for my splendid suggestions, such ideas come naturally to me!!

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  55. oops.. feel so bad to think of you slogging off the day :-(
    hopefully there is some alternative ahead.. light at the end of the tunnel

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  56. Nancy? We need to send the blog-police over to METAMORPHOSIS. I miss her!!

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  57. knock knock
    Hey Nancy wassup???
    thought of checkin up on you......any luck with the new maid????....we are missing our dose of humour ;)

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  58. was that maid on a legal visa or was her visa expired?

    Where did the police catch the maid? Obviously not in your house?

    If caught on the street, why couldn't she say that she worked for her actual sponsor and was running a chore for him???

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  59. Though the pain comes through in your words...it is all for the better O'Nancy dear :D

    Your Hubby is right.
    Till you recover from this shock, go and pick out some great pricey furniture;)

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  60. Oh these maids n troubles,really sucks.
    Better to live without them,and you hv taken a wise decision.

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  61. Dil Se: Option b is something which will comfort me whenever I hear but after being used to a neat house, the sudden messiness gets on the nerves;-(

    JP Joshi: Hehe I chose this out of a hundred other more apt captions;-D

    Sakshi: HALO and me....people who know me well will actually sit down and have a hearty laugh if they read this. I am all willing to risk even jail if it means I have somebody to clean up after me;-P

    WannabeWriter: Yeah I can understand, be careful!!

    Renu: But yeh ehsaas is not good enoff to sustain the spirit when the actual scrubbing & cleaning is going on;-(. Infact no ehsaas works, only the physical presence of a maid hi dil ko thandak pahuncha sakthi hai;-P

    Anita: Helllooo in case u havent realised puddings, cookies and the works are like luxury now since I dont knw when I'll get time to make all this after the cleaning & the scrubbing & the mopping and the......

    Lostworld: LOL u r too much!!! I dont knw abt the spendid suggestions but I sure know whom to contact when I'm in a low mood;-D

    Sneo: Ah I'm the eternal optimist tht way;-D

    Agnes: Just spk to her 2 days back...her internet is down + Neha's got summer hols so u can imagine. I did convey ur message;-D

    Sadiya: Humour will be MIA for atleast a month as a direct result of the contents of the post discussed.

    Rakesh: looong story....will mail u

    Indyeah: Yeah yeah smile away....mera number bhi aayega;-/
    But yeah I had good fun choosing the furniture;-D

    Ambulisamma: Well I pacify myself with the same & am presently in the 'it cd have been worse' mode;-).

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  62. start training kids and hubby!! Its the only way!! After all, you should be the CEO of the house, not the janitor! :D

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  63. This is the only reason i don't like this place.When i was india i used to crib even for one day if maid didn't turn up.Intially i had maid and when i heard of maids been caught and when i checked with my maid she told me she lost her passport and she is working as a maid in few houses and sometimes she hides from police.
    The very next day gave her money and told her not to come.This is a big risk, from where we will get Dhs.51,000/- in this situation,as everything is increasing here,just today heard school fees are increased by 10%.

    I find it difficult to do the house work and the kids but some how managing it.Major cleaning i do it on fridays and rest everyday when kid goes to school.

    First time here,loved you place.

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  64. Roshni: The training is already underway but I dont think they r taking it very seriously;-(

    Saritha: A hearty welcome to an expatriate in a similar situation;-)). A relief to hear tht a few others do think the way we do....u knw giving us the feeling tht we are not panicking unduly;-P

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  65. The amid thing was truly sad. I totally sympathize with you. I lnow it seems silly in hindsight but 51K is no joke. I would have half died!

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  66. Dont get me wrong...I know the husband was doing the right thing but I felt like a drowning person flailing for help.
    U knw its been a month now and tho I'm doing everything I dont like being this way;-/. But my options are limited and bear the situation I must;-(

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