looking for a maid

after all these while, mum finally agreed for me to get a maid. i told her i needed one to help me manage the house, and at the same time, help me look after her. i started looking around and learned from the classified ads in the newspapers that there are some maid agencies at katong shopping center. and so last week, i decided to drop by the place to take a look. i brought mum along after our breakfast last saturday morning. now, katong shopping center was a place that i frequent in the early-80s. it was the place to be for teenagers at that time. in fact, katong was the center of every possible activities in those days. cinemas, coffee shops, restaurants, shopping centers… you name it, you have it. but over the years, the place gradually lost its lustre to other areas. and today, it is a run down place. no one goes there anymore.

anyway, we arrived at the shopping center and took the lift to the first floor. i could no longer recognize the place. the whole floor was occupied by maid agencies. and it was quite a sight. as i pushed mum along, i saw many maids seated neatly and looking out from the offices of the so-called "employment agencies". imagine this, rows and rows of maids, all dressed in identical bright colored t-shirts in each shop. and the t-shirt color of the maid in different shop wore different colors. there were maids dressed in luminous pink t-shirts, luminous green t-shirts, and so on. and interestingly (or scarily), all of them had this "green" and "lost" look. everyone single one stared out blankly at us as we moved along. and for a few more adventurous ones, they grinned at us too. frankly, all these blanks stares and grins made me feel very intimidated. it was rather scary too. i told mum i felt intimidated and she simply brushed me off. she on the other hand was having a ball of a time criticizing maids in general about how bad they could be. and as she narrated her stories, she pointed to a few of those who stared at us…

it was rather overwhelming. in no time, i decided i had enough and left the place. i decided i should just ask around my friend for contacts. it looked like its gonna be more challenging that i thought.

haha...