Saturday, November 8, 2008

Bibik's Day Out

They both left the house very early yesterday morning. In fact, it was earlier than the usual time he leaves for the office everyday. "They" were Bibik and ABE. Yesterday was Bibik's big day. It was the day where she was to be at the Indonesian Embassy to get her passport renewed. Just the night before, ABE tried to persuade me again to go with Bibik to the Embassy. I wouldn't have minded, if only I didn't have the day scheduled for a closed door progress meeting with a client. It was just not possible to reschedule, not when the DEADlines are getting closer and closer by the hour.

Before Bibik left, she told me that she didn’t manage to hang the laundry to dry. Told her not to worry about anything, just go (and have fun..heh..heh, almost said that to her, but I didn’t want to rub it in). Bibik has never gone to the city before. All the six years she had worked for us, she has never gone any further than the Mamak shop on her own. If we went outstation, we’d offer her to come along, but she would prefer to stay home and catch up with the ironing or cleaning. She told me some of her friends had often invited her to tag along during their Sunday outings. But she has always refused them politely. I put a lot of trust on her with the running of the household. Alhamdulillah, till now, my trust has never been betrayed.

How it looked like when I started work yesterday morning

After they left, I went on to get ready for my meeting which was also in town. Meeting was scheduled at 10am. Thank god, otherwise I’d have to endure the madness of the morning rush, just like the other single occupancy vehicle drivers (read : car pooling has no impact on KL drivers) on the road. ABE later called to inform that they were already at the Embassy, now standing in line waiting to for their number to be called. Bibik’s number was 29, wasn’t too bad, better than what I had imagined earlier, something in the hundreds.

The view from the meeting room

The sun came out earlier...then it rained

My meeting was long and laborious, item after item was discussed. I felt like I was facing the firing squad. We only went out during lunch. Coffee and refreshments were brought into the meeting room. When we were finally done, everyone looked as if they had no blood left in them, all ready to head back home to hit the sack.

How it looked when I left for home

When I got home, Bibik was all smiles. She said it wasn’t difficult to get the passport thing done. “Cuma kena berdiri dan beratur lama,” she said. According to her the lady at the passport counter was very nice and friendly when she saw that Bibik hailed from the city of Jogja. “Jumpa orang kampong saya,” she rattled with so much joy. I was saying this to myself, “Iyer lah…ramai lah sedara kat sini. Satu kampong sedara!!”

Bibik's crispy new passport

Later I heard her and Nissa talking on the patio about how big the city is. She said, “Uhh Kak Nissa, ramai nya orang di jalan raya. Bangunan kok tinggi-tinggi. Saya ngak pernah tengok macam itu. Orang Indon di kedutaan pun kok ramai amat. Yang mauk pulang, iya pulang. Yang mauk tambah passport, iyah gayak saya tadi.”

Nissa’s reply was simple, “Ha..lepas ni Bibik nak ker pergi jalan-jalan kat KL tu?”

Bibik said, “Ohh…tak usahlah. Saya pusing nanti...udah tua. Takut!!!”

New work permit

I was pretty much relieved when I heard her saying that. But you’ll never know these people, now kata tak mahu, but when friends come a calling, entah-entah mintak cuti nak joli. I will make it a point to observe her behavior in this next couple of weeks, mana lah tau kot-kot she met “chowok ganteng” at the Embassy just now ke. Hai…I hope there will not be such nonsense from her, now that we have renewed not only her passport but also her work permit. I just pray she'll continue rendering her good services to us, just like how it has been the past few years.

26 comments:

Lee said...

Hi Kay, wow, love those pics of KL.
And only this morning at the Supermarket I heard voices speaking Malay. I glanced around...they were Indonesians...easy to know as they tend to have an 'R' behind most words, ha ha.

You sure living life in the fast lane Kay.
I had 30 years of JR Ewing fast lane and called it quits in 1988. Gave up everything to start a new life here as I had neglected my wife all those years as I reached for the stars.
Regrets I have but too few to mention.
You have a great weekend, best regards, Lee.

Kak Teh said...

Kay, you are one of th elucky ones to have good bibiks. So far my sisters and brother have good bibiks as well and when i go back - i sort of tumpang bermanja..and be totally spoilt by them.

kay_leeda said...

Uncle Lee,

Fast lane it is for now, but very much thinking of changing that in the near future. I do want to spend more time with the family and smell the roses before it's too late.

I envy people like you really. Personally, I feel it's easier to do that when you are away. Back home, it's not as easy lah, what's with the finances and children's future education etc, etc.

You have a splendid weekend too Sir.

kay_leeda said...

Kak Teh,

Frankly speaking, I wouldn't know what I'd do if she's not around. Had one or two okay ones before her, but the rest were such "headaches". It must have been Nissa's rezeki to have a good caretaker.

When Bibik came back to work the second time around, my waist line grew a lot bigger. Ahh...how she forces us to eat. Yang soto lah, briyani lah, curry puffs lah... Mem ni tau nyer order saja :)

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Kay, first of all thanks for posting the lovely pics of KLCC. Ah...that used to be my playground..so rindu bangat yah!

Ha..ha..ha..memang ramai cowok ganteng di Indonesian Embassy. Jika ada kumis lebat, waduh lagi ganteng!! Jgn Bibik jatuh hati, udah. Kalu idak, risau lah majikannya sentiasa lepas ini... :)
(I pray she has not!)

Anonymous said...

Komen Pak Malim kucing ray yg alim.

Wah bestnya bibik dapat re-new passport, kata Pak Malim yg tua kerepot. Cakap dgn bibik, nak pinjam, boleh? kata Pak Malim sambil memegang koleh.

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kay_leeda said...

Tai Tai,

Cowok-cowok ganteng have always been the worry. Eventhough Bibik is pretty elderly, you just never know kan. One of the maids near our house dah senja..tup-tup dengar she had gotten married. So "laku" these people.

kay_leeda said...

Pak Malim kuching ray yang alim,

Oleh kerana Pak Malim ingin meminjam pasport dari Bibik, lebih baik Bibik saja yang beri jawapan buat Pak Malim, sambil Bibik memakan ice-cream.

Masakan bisa Pak Malim yang minjam pasport nya Bibik, jawab Bibik sambil menjebik, ketika menumbuk bawang sebijik. Walaupun Bibik tak sekolah tinggi, namun Bibik tau aturan Pemerintah, yang banyak keletah, dan Bibik ngak mauk rugi.

Udah..Bibik bilangin buat kedua kali, buat pasport aja Pak sambil Bibik goreng ikan keli, nanti nyusul Bibik ke kota Jogja, Bibik pasti Pak Malim enjoy macam Raja.

Anonymous said...

Talking about maid. I had a series of problem with my maids. yang lari, yang curi duit, yang malas and all sorts. but i have this one maid who has stayed with us almost 6 years, and I trusted her so much. So much so that we have treated her like a part of our family. makan angin bawak, kita makan sedap dia makan sedap and all. it all started after my hubby started working abroad. before this my hubby always come home to send the the children to school so she cannot sneak out. a few weeks after my hubby left she started MIA. Aahh malas nak cerita buat sakit hati but just a reminder be careful, because you never know they could change in a blink just because of a friend. when i found out about her misbehavior, i applied for a new maid, bought the ticket and inform her one week before the flight. i felt so relieved.. only after that everyone started talking about including the neighbors.

kay_leeda said...

Ummi,

Had one whose story was similar to yours.

Since my children were already in then, she was home alone till my girl returns from school.Member boleh gi dating tu!! Siap got BF, siap got love letters, siap boleh wear my baju kurung SILK, siap boleh tulis nanti kita sama-sama ke Baitullah menunaikan ibadah Haji. Fuyoo...really cintan cinton. When I accidentally found her love letters, she denied everything. Boleh gitu?? Upset with everything, like you I got her a one way ticket. Gi je lah balik if dah mabuk cinta.

Waterlily said...

Hee hee..cerita maid mmg mcm mcm..:) I had one who used to work with us for 3 years. She was the best one, or so I thought. Ajar anak I mengaji (anak ada sorang je time tu, umur baru 3 tahun), pandai masak, rajin kemas rumah..semua best - until we moved house. Baru tau yang dia ada boypren bangla yang I upah potong rumput sekali sebulan - yang datang sebulan 45 minit (depan I la..) Di belakang I rupanya member selalu bawak balik rumah, jadi macam laki bini, siap brainwash my son lagi.."ini kawan bibik, jadi boleh masuk rumah" - I always told my son not to trust strangers. Bangla yang gersang, selalu dok talipon tak kira siang malam cari my bibik sampai I pun heran sapa yang call dua tiga kali ring lepas tu stop. I dapat tau cerita pun dari bangla tu sendiri. Now my maid kat rawang, 'kawin' ngan bangla lain pulak...duk serumah..padahal kat Indon dah ada laki and anak lelaki 12 tahun. Issh...gerunn...

Naz in Norway said...

Masyaallah! macam macam cerita..
My bibiks (present and yang lepas lepas) nasib baik ok. Cuma yang latest ni rabun sikit but refuse to wear specs takut orang kata orang tua bergaya (!) and she moves at the same speed as a sloth. Tapi semua kerja siap elok. So i close one eye :D

tireless mom said...

Kay,

You know kan, the latest bibiks of mine can be written in a whole book. So let it be that way. Bibik Ton udah ada paspor baru yah! Badan nya nggak sakit sakit lagi mahu diurut? Kalu nggak sakit lagi udah payah pulang ke Indon. Biar lewat sahaja pulang nya ke Indon ya.

kay_leeda said...

Waterlily,

Fuyooo...the story of your maid can be turned into a drama minggu ini. At times I often wonder what's with these Banglas. The Indon maids really do prefer Bang La from their own Mas Joko. Curry Bang La power lagi kot. LOL

kay_leeda said...

Naz,

The rabun part comes with the package lah. We also pernah got one whose eye sight wasn't too good. Every time after she washed the bathroom, I'd go and touch up all the "critical" areas she missed.

It was sabar and lots of sabar for me.

kay_leeda said...

TM,

Perhaps I should document all these maid stories - yours, mine & Mak's and come up with a paperback titled "Ms M, Ligiah and friends". I'm sure I'd be happier writing away on this topic than my dry program curriculum which is due ESOK!!! I tell you this is definitely the last time I'm gonna be working with these people from beep beep.

MHB said...

Hi Kay... talking bout maids, just two days ago my maid had requested to buy a handphone. She first voiced out this desire more than 6 months ago - I said no. It was also a NO this time. Why does she need one??

Takut jugak sbb she is alone in the house from 8am to 5pm every weekdays.That's 9 long hours!! Should do spot check on her often!!

ms hart said...

Kay, true, you are sooo lucky to have this kind of bibik. But still, you are so wise as to want to observe her behaviour these coming days. It's so scary and frustrating if we think too much about having to 'doubt' our trusted ones..but we all learn from other people's experience, right? I heard, some of these people, no matter how nice we are to them, and how long they've stayed with us, once that 'call' comes poking in, they'll just do it! Macam Nike pulak they all ni, eh?!! hmm...

kay_leeda said...

MHB,

Oh no...not the handphone!! That would be the start of everything, not that I want to scare you. Talk to her lah, reason out that the handphone will only make her money go even faster.

Spot check is a MUST. I do that all the time. Tak kira lah on my good maids even more on the bad ones.

kay_leeda said...

Ms Hart,

Guess that's why they call "it" super poke (borrowing FB's term) yah!!

In some ways or the other, they all are so pandai tu bermuka-muka. Actually I don't mind if they can't do the work as per our expectation. The lying...ahh...that I can never tolerate.

MrsNordin said...

Kay,

Dah masak dah cerita macam ni. My maid, who has been with us for 6 years or so, dah semacam dah sekarang ni. We suspect she has a boyfriend but obviously tak mengakulah. Asyik nak mengelamun je kat rumah, kerja pun dah slack. Tu yang I hot tu! Kalau nak berpacaran ke apa ke, I tak kisah, tapi kerja mesti selesai and jangan slack. Hari2 nak kena bising. Tu yang I geram tu!

kay_leeda said...

MrsN,

Err..udah pandai pacaran?? Waduh- waduh...nanti Mem nya lagi pusing kepala. Tu lah..susah lah they all ni. Here we are, treating them in as part of the family, they pulak are up to something else.

These Indon maids are really one species which are so unpredictable, don't you think so?

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Hello!

Sibuk ke or is bibik still having her day out? ;)

kay_leeda said...

Tai Tai,

Bibik is safe and sound at home. She's busy preparing for her upcoming holidays. And Bibik's majikan has been having quite a plateful of tasks at the office.

kay_leeda said...

Hi Wallpaper Deco,

Thanks for dropping by my blog. I meant to reply earlier but I wanted to go check out what you have at yours first.

Now that I have, I just have to say this...beautiful!! Keep up with the good work. And do come back yah :)