1. Do you still remember Helen, our former house cleaner who used my toothbrush to clean the toilet bowl and sink? The employment agency I got her from said that Helen is now in the mental hospital. She has completely lost her ability to communicate and comprehend things. Kaya pala one day pa lang sya dito medyo I noticed something was off.
2. Remember our former maid Jenna? She’s undergoing chemo for stage 2 breast cancer. I hope she recovers fully. I remember one time she sent me a text asking if she could come back to work here. Eh that time there was no vacancy. Mabait naman sya.
3. I found 5 eggs inside the ref in the dirty kitchen.
A——“Bing, kagabi lang binili itong itlog, umaga pa lang ngayon (9 am), lima na lang ang natira?
Kusinera—“Si Sir kumain”.
(That’s a lie.)
A——“Pwede bang wag nyo na itong galawin para sa breakfast namin bukas na umaga?”
Kusinera—“O sige mam, hindi na namin yan galawin. Para sa inyo na lang yan”.
(Salamat po).
4. A—–“Ang dami mong niluluto. Sino’ng kakain?”
Kusinera—“Konti lang mam ito, para sa amin”.
Kusinera—-“Gusto mo mam? Marami naman akong niluto, kung gusto mo bigyan kita”.
A———–“Wow, salamat”.
5. Kusinera—“‘Pay, pay, hindi nila ginalaw, walang bawas”.
She was referring to one tray of pork adobo she cooked for themselves but felt guilty, she gave me some.
She couldn’t contain her excitement when she found the whole bandehado untouched.
6. A——“Pupunta tayo sa palengke, magdala ka ng mga supot kasi hindi na sila nagbibigay ng supot”.
Kusinera—“Oo mam”.
One kilometer from our house…
A——-“Dala mo yung mga supot?”
K——-“Oo mam”.
A——“Asan?”
She asked the driver, then blamed him, then pointed at the other maid Beth.
Driver——“Mam, babalik ba tayo?”
A———–“Ibaba mo sya”.
A———–“Nakukulitan ako sa’yo, bumaba ka na dito”.
Kusinera—-“Mam, ayokong bumaba, hindi ko alam pag-uwi sa bahay”.
A———–“Magtanong ka sa gwardya”.
7. While I was busy preparing noche buena food,
Kusinera—–“Mam, magday-off ako ngayon, bibili ako ng regalo sa anak ko”.
A———–“Sige, wag ka ng bumalik”.
Kusinera—-“Babalik agad ako mamayang gabi mam”.
A———–“Ang dami kong ginagawa na kailangan ko ang tulong mo, tapos gusto mong umalis, babalik ka na lang sa noche buena? Aba”.
Kusinera—-“Kailan ako babalik mam?”
I wanted to say never but naguilty naman ako.
A———–“Maka-bagong taon ka na bumalik”.
Kusinera—-“Ayoko mam, ang tagal naman”.
A———–“Para makasama mo mga anak mo sa pasko at bagong taon”.
Kusinera—-“Hindi na lang ako mam aalis”.
She sensed that I would no longer let her come back.
8. I haven’t prepared chicken macaroni salad in ages. Today, I bought some basic ingredients and whipped it up,
albeit unsuccessfully.
A——“Anak, pls taste it, parang something is missing”.
Nyke—“It’s okay”.
A——“On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 is super sarap while 1 is yuck, what is it?”
Nyke—-An 8 or 9?”
My son is very considerate.
There was something definitely lacking in the taste. I wanted it to be a 10 but I couldn’t figure out how. I will let it sit muna, maya ko na lang retokihin.
This looks unappetizing.
9. Edmund told me a few months ago that when I give something to one, I have to give also to the other. Dapat daw lagi ng equal. If not the same items, the price or value must be equitable.
It’s difficult naman to buy two similar gifts because one is a boy and one is a girl.
For tonight, I am giving Oyen two gifts, one tiny, one big. And three for Nyke (oops not equal), one small, one medium, small, one big. The amounts are not equal.
At least the gift cards are exactly the same. The dedications are similar but not the same. I am confident my kids would like my gifts.
10. Daming gifts. Most of these come from my children. I wonder if they followed our gift giving guidelines for this year. I think we set a limit to maximum of 3 pieces. We’ll see tonight during the gift opening.
11. I didn’t shop for gifts. I only went to Rustan’s last night from 8-10 pm. I went to find something for mister husband. Buying something for Edmund is like dead water. You know that he’s not going to like it, no matter what it is. At least, I get to recycle the boxes, supot, ribbons and wrappers.
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12. While looking for a gift for Edmund on the ground floor of Rustan’s in Shangrila, I noticed this colorful Fendi Mini Peekaboo bag. Nice color. It’s priced at 234,500 pesos.
Sales lady —–“Mam meron kang discount card, less ten percent”.
A—–“Oo nga, so 211,050 na lang”.
(nay ko)
A——“Bakit ang mahal? Ano’ng material ito?”
Sales lady—–Phyton skin”.
(Nay ko again, takot ako sa ahas).
The plain ones are 132,500.
Sales lady——“Mam pwede naman zero interest”.
A——-“Ang hinahanap ko gift for husband, not gift for myself.
13. I went up to the third floor while they’re wrapping my gift for husband. I wanted to buy XXL maids uniform at lobong-lobo na itong mga maids namin. They only have size L.
I honestly liked this one for myself. Pwedeng pang office.
14. I also liked this striped ensemble. Each is priced separately, the blazer is 16,500 and the sleeveless dress is a little bit more.
I wouldn’t be able to get my money’s worth because I would only be able to wear this thrice the most during the remaining years of my life. People would remember that I’ve worn this already. Lalo na ngayon merong Facebook. “Ay diba yung gown ni Maine Mendoza naisuot na ni Kim Chiu two (?) years ago?” See, people have a very good memory.
Para masulit kailangan at least 33 times isuot, eh paano. Parang naging office uniform.
