CID, Walking Calculator, Inspector

It has been six months without domestic helper, first time in my life, I lay both hands on house chore.  The overlapping task took one month, I jotted down the daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and half yearly to do list.

Now that without helper, the most peculiar changes that I noticed was the usage of household items getting much lesser as compare to before.  The reduction ranging from food stuff, beverage, toiletries, and the most significant reduction was my water bill, it dropped more than 180%.  

I recalled during a round table aunties chat time, aunty May advised me to keep an eye on the helper , 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, she spied on her helper all the times, she wore black spectaculars so that her helper will not notice her spying eyes, keeping 8 feet distance away from her helper.  She is more than a qualified CID.

Aunty Rosie added that we must also do inventory check daily, she suggested to count the number of bread slices, count the chocolate, count the biscuit, count the coffee sticks, count the eggs, measure and mark the milk, or whatever at home that maybe consume by the helper without permission. She has become the walking calculator. 

Ya ya, interrupted by Aunty Susie, she found biscuit wrapper under her helper pillow, coffee wrapper under the mattress, half bite apple in her wardrobe , chocolate wrapper in her pocket and many more eatable or uneatable things in her helper’s room.  She even went to the extreme to check on the garbage bin searching for evidence.  Inspector on the move.

Sounds to me that all helpers are greedy for food.    

Contradictory, my pillow partner (husband) just work on the opposite of aunties, he asked me to keep both my eyes close, let the helper eats extra, use extra, or if she takes our money without asking permission, it is alright, as we should consider it (missing money) as bonus for them. 

I cling on to this mindset, and I went through more than a decade of peaceful mind minus the position of Inspector, Walking calculator and Inspector.  

Mr Postman

‘Ding-Dong’, someone is pushing my door bell, I rush out, to find out my teenage neighbor at the door, he handed me a letter of mine wrongly sent to his house.  I really appreciated it and thank him with a bow.  Such a caring neighbor, sure he deserves a rich and good looking girl friend.

Two months later, the same boy holding an envelope at the door, I gave him my cutest smile, but he replied, ‘Aunty ah, your letter come to my house again, why huh?  Always wrongly sent?’  I can see his dismay and irritation, I felt so vexed, as if I am causing him the trouble and inconveniences.  At that moment, I immediately withdraw my previous blessing on him.  Still, I remember to held on my noble posture, I extended a humble apology and thank him, I told him that I will take action on this. 

Another two months later, I received 5 letters wrongly sent to me, I scratch my head off, some are 3 km away from my home, some don’t know what and where on earth, this round, I am at sixes and sevens, how to deal with these 5 letters?  To kill my curiosity I prefer to open and read, or, make easy burning on garden leave, or, gain extra by selling with old newspaper, or use as recycle paper for my son to do math, or just simply write ‘wrongly sent’ and drop it back in the post letter box, and of course, the last resource is to hand carry deliver like the teen boy did.

Clueless, and cause me to swallowed 5 paracetamols daily by clenching on with these 5 important letters.  As a sagacious person, I made the decision to kick the ball back to Post Office, there go an official mail to tell them my 5 paracetamols problem.

On the next day evening, the Post Office Manager & Supervisor drop by my home, they acknowledged their mistake, that maybe caused by his newly on board staff, contributed by no proper road signage, added on with upcoming Taman that have confusing names (Taman = resident park), and the excuses list went on like toilet roll.

Last and foremost, they inform me that for recurrence, don’t take the trouble to write officially, just give them a call, they will come by my house to collect the wrong letter.