Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Bonus Features of the Help

For various reasons, I pay four times the rent I did in Ottawa for a lovely condominium with maid service twice weekly. Normally, though I make few messes, I find it pleasing to never do dishes. This, however, is the traumatic story of how I had to do my own dishes yesterday.

I came home late in the afternoon to see shoes at my front door, well after when the usual maid should have gone. I entered, and a maid I hadn't seen before was there, music, fan and air conditioning were blaring. Not only that, but she wasn't wearing any pants. So there was a stranger in my house wearing nothing but a long shirt. I saw cellulite. What exactly is a girl to do? I tried to mind my own business, but then there was a knock at the door, to further disturb my privacy. Naturally, I had to answer it as I was the one wearing clothes. (Furthermore, the maid is Malay and cannot be seen without her hijab on). Anyway, it was a man at the door wanting to give the maid a key. I believe he is the boss of all maids, known as the maid pimp. Embarrassingly, I had to explain that my maid was "changing", which likely made him suspect we were having some kind of affair, though she wasn't really my type. He left, and my maid took off her pants again. I do not believe this is normal in Singapore. After flinging the mop around for a while, she got dressed then asked me if there was anything else she could do for me. Naturally, I decided that it was worth doing my own dishes in order to regain my privacy and sanity.