Bumper Sticker Guy: [running after Forrest] Hey man! Hey listen, I was wondering if you might help me. 'Cause I'm in the bumper sticker business and I've been trying to think of a good slogan, and since you've been such a big inspiration to the people around here I thought you might be able to help me jump into - WOAH! Man, you just ran through a big pile of dog shit!
Forrest Gump: It happens.
Bumper Sticker guy: What, shit?
Forrest Gump: Sometimes... Last weekend had been simply unbelievable. There had been so much which happened that I don't know where to begin.
Let me start with the worst. Our maid was caught stealing money from us. This was triggered by a series of things which went missing and a suspicious looking SMS in Bahasa which my wife received from her "brother" (who later turned out to be a boyfriend in Indonesia - surprise, surprise). Apparently, she had been happily pocketing "ang pow" cash, "loose change" from our pockets, possibly stealing jewellery and even Ethan's money. This was used to purchase phone cards which she used to call her boyfriend.
What was especially tragic was the collusion between three maids - her and another two Indonesian maids who worked for my sis and bro-in-law. The case even ended up with my wife, sis-in-law, bro-in-law and his wife at the Police Station from 12 midnight to 5 am on a Saturday morning (I wasn't there because I had to take care of my son). All three maids were implicated one way or another. I heard that our maid was the chief mastermind who barely flinched or batted an eyelid even while being interrogated.
The Police inspector handling the case told my wife and relatives upfront that she was obviously lying through her teeth. Her version of the story kept changing. Even he felt frustrated! Unfortunately, as we didn't have hard evidence of grand larceny, we decided not to press criminal charges. We felt that the next best course of action was to send her on a one-way ticket home in the quickest manner possible.
Perhaps she was too clever, and given too much freedom for her own good. To think that we even gave her a special bonus and generous "ang pows"!
The sorrowful thing was that we entrusted her with a lot of freedom. She showed a certain maturity and intelligence. In fact my son Ethan took a liking to her. Even now, my wife and I had to explain to him now and then to explain why she had to go. Being an intelligent little boy, I am sure he can understand why it was wrong to steal. However, some of these emotional wounds would take time to heal.
The moral of the story? Trust is something that you should never take for granted, especially for a stranger who comes into close contact with your family. There is nothing more sobering than learning it the hard way like we did.
To rub salt to the wound, the next day after this incident our car met with an accident. Luckily, there were no injuries but still, it was a major hassle to go through the insurance claims procedures. The accident report form was simply a major pain in the *censored* to fill up.
I realise now why motorists are complaining to high heaven about this unnecessary step of bureaucracy. I know that this is a fail-safe measure which the General Insurance Association had come up with, but must we tell our entire family history in the form?
In an eerie twist of fate, the vehicle which banged into us had almost the same license plate number! Should we have bought 4D? Maybe our luck would have been better then!
Following that, my wife lost her voice on Sunday morning, and we went to the doctor to get more medicine. Apparently, the virus/bacteria/whatever micro-organism is getting back at her health with a vengeance. The doctor even said that if she don't take care, it may develop into bronchitis. I certainly hope that things will turn out okay and that she will recover.
Finally, in a manner uncannily similar to the proverbial last straw that broke the camel's back, our washing machine went totally dead. We suspected that this could be our previous maid's handiwork. After all, she was berated for doing the unthinkable and making away with our hard-earned cash while still enjoying a relatively good life compared to the other two maids. Good thing that washing machines aren't that expensive in this day and age. Our replacement machine have already arrived and is now happily humming along.
It is times like this when s**t happens that you appreciate how important your extended family are. I am especially grateful to my family-in-law - Father, Mother, Sis Karen, Brother William and his wife Susan - and of course my dearest wife Tina and son Ethan. I am also thankful for the support which my mum and dad has provided us.
Certainly, blood is thicker than water. There is nothing more important than the love, kindness, generosity and support provided by one's family. With this, all adversities can be overcome, no matter how daunting or insurmountable they may seem.
Have you had a horror story to tell? I will certainly be interested to hear your experience.
