Maid Ban

Guess who is affected?

US!

For those who are not aware, Indonesia on 25 June 2009, banned its domestic helpers from making a beeline to Malaysia. It was so sudden & the definition so unclear that according to my agent, those in the airport awaiting to board their plane to Malaysia were also turned away!

With that stroke of pen went all my happy thoughts from the holiday breaks with my kiddies!

And I'm now faced with a gigantically huge problem...I'm due back to work on the 15th. A job that I've delayed starting once already due to this unsolved domestic issue.

So there's no way I can delay again. It is either saying bye-bye to the job or just step up to it.

My in-laws can't help throughout the weekdays as they need to alternate their time between my sis-in-law's place and our place. My mom already has her own commitments & moreover, recently her health is not that great, so she won't be able to step in indefinitely without help.

And I can't change my maid application yet. The agent says their contacts in Indonesia is 'working out something'. So if we change now, we'll need to reapply all over again. And we probably have difficulty getting our money back...as our agent has paid their Indonesian contacts.

After a few days of massive headache mulling over it, I decided to keep the job offer & call the one other person left that can help out. Kor-Kor's ex-babysitter.

I'm very, very, very hesitant about this because:-

her 'working hours' is up to sharp-sharp 7pm. So that means I've to rush home like mad. And from the heart of most jammed KL to PJ, that means I would need to run down all that get into my way (if I drive) or run like siau car bo (mad woman) to the bus & then the train (if take public transportation)!

nobody will be around to prepare the boys for class/pre-school in the morning as daddy & mommy need to leave the house by 7.30am.

last but not least - transporters - need to re-arrange & beg, if necessary. But thank god, though not so convenient for them, the babysitter's place is not that far off.

So that means I'll need to:-

wake the boys up by 7am & out of the house by 7.15am so that the babysitter can prepare them for school. Poor boys...

bring for Kor-Kor:- change of clothing, water & bag for morning language enrichment classes; uniform, socks & shoes, school bag with all his books-of-the-day for his afternoon primary 1. Must remind babysitter to give him water & snack for teatime.

bring for Di-Di:- pre-school uniform, socks & shoes, bag with bottle water & a change of clothing for daycare. Yes, Di-Di will stay at daycare until 5pm, as I know he's not keen on the babysitter's place (not that he's keen on daycare too). Moreover, the babysitter's place is rather small & she's now sitting a 2-year old boy & very recently, a 4-month old baby.

ensure that the private transporters do not screw up. Since I'm relinquishing my role as a private car transporter, starting today Di-di got 1 new (to pre-school) & Kor-Kor got 2 new (due to a change we made for his morning activities) & 1 existing (to primary school).

remind their sitter on the pick up times! With a new baby to take care of, her main challenge would be to get them to hustle in the morning...

rush back to pick them up by 7.30pm. This additional 30 mins is an extra from the huge favour I already calling.

What else did I miss out ? I know there's something else.... (think! think!)

I know I'll have slight jitters on the first day, but with all these...I'll be a wreck by the time I reach work!

I wonder if it's worth it...