Since I’ve been spending a lot of time at home, I have had to interact with Mercy, our helper, on a daily basis. Now don’t go thinking I’m matapobre or that I look down on our household help because that is not true and that is not what this entry is about. Anyway, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way…

My mom always says that good help is so hard to find. I have to agree with her. One of my lola’s actually had this pair of helpers who stole and sold all of the jewelry she was saving as pamana to her children and grandchildren. My other lola, the one I used to live with in SanLo, likes her household run a specific way, so all her helpers are very well trained. They also stay with the family for a long time, and the older ones are in charge of training the newbies. There was one helper who had been with the family since before I was born, Wilma, who was very mean to everyone, even to my lola, and acted as if she owned the house. Then one day she just left. Good thing she had trained enough newbies to keep my lola’s very particular household running.

Looking back on the different helpers we’ve had in our house over the years, I have to agree that we’ve had a few bad apples, a few who had the heart but none of the talent, and of course there were those who we wish never left us.

When I was much younger, my parents would take in working students ad put them through school at our family’s university while they worked for us. I remember Yaya Flor the best among the working students because she was always so efficient around the house, and very patient with my siblings and I. She also is the only one, as far as I remember, who finished her degree at U.M. and left us to pursue a teaching career in her province. There was also Ate Cathy who was so big and bubbly and always wore this bright orange t-shirt. She first introduced me to the concept of chain letters. A chain letter arrived at our house one day in a blank envelope, and she was the unlucky one who opened it. I read the letter as she reproduced them and I got scared out of my wits that she would give one to me. I think I was about 11 years old then, and all I could think of was that I might not be able to finish writing all the letters coz I have homework. Then there was Adela, who was my brother’s worst enemy for a long time. I don’t really know why he didn’t like her. I just remember that he locked her out of the house a lot. The last of the working students was Imelda. She was something else. She wanted to become a teacher like Yaya Flor but did not finish her degree because our family stopped paying for her education. This happened when my dad discovered that she had been skipping her classes to spend time with her new boyfriend, one of the drivers or gardeners of one of our neighbors, I think it was. My dad was driving home one afternoon and he saw her walking near house with the guy when she was supposed to be in school. “Pinapayungan pa nya,” I remember my dad telling my mom that night. At least that relationship turned out well for Imelda, last I heard, they had gotten married a little after she left us.

One of the helpers we will definitely never forget is Teresa, who was deaf in one ear. I remember my dad once asked her for a toothpick and she happily came into the living room holding a glass or water (tubig). She would also put a great amount of powder on her face whenever she left the house, whether it was to go to school, run an errand or on her day off. Then at night, she would put a great amount of toothpaste on her face. My sister was around 6 at that time and she found the toothpaste dots on Teresa’s face so funny that she would ask for something late at night just so she could see. Teresa had a lot of zest and gusto, but her hearing problem made things quite difficult.

The helper who was with us the longest was Manang. She started working for out family when we were still living in Sun Valley, and came with us when we moved to Alabang. She used to take a tricycle to our school in Sun Valley to bring lunch to my brother and I. She knew that I like my spaghetti mixed and that my brother wants the cheese on top of the sauce on top of the noodles. She also made sure that our food was always warm, and that we had our Bisbisco (Rebisco cookies) for recess and juice in the fridgijeer (refrigerator) when we got home. I remember when I was in fourth grade in Zobel, Manang went through a chicken phase. My baon for lunch for maybe three weeks was either chicken balls, chicken nuggets, chicken cordon bleu or fried chicken. All chicken everyday for three weeks. Then there’s this pork steak dish that she made that was kind of like a sweet, watery and pale bistek. Funny thing is we all miss it so much now, but no one can get it Manang style, just the way we want it. She went home to the province because she was getting old and tired, and she had to care for her mother. As a replacement, she sent her sister Mercy to work with us, which brings be back to the original topic of this post.

We’ve gone through times when we didn’t have house help, and it was really hard. Since I know that I’m dependent on them, I try to be really nice to the help. But Mercy is something else! She launches into what my mom and I call Grinch Mode where she starts making dabog and being all frownie and cranky to everyone. Her grocery list consists mostly of things she uses to clean and her fish and powdered milk, but none of the things missing in the refrigerator like milk and mayonnaise. She doesn’t answer the phone, and often doesn’t notice when people come and go at our house. One time my dad left the front door unlocked and my tito who was home from the States dropped by to use the bathroom. He just walked into our house and used the bathroom, because that’s how we are in the family. Mercy though she heard something so she went to the living room to check it out, and she was really surprised to see a big Chinese man she had never seen in her life walk out of our bathroom while my parents were napping and no one else was home. The best part is she didn’t say anything to any of us, we heard the story from my tito. After that, we never left the front door unlocked again. Mercy is my kaaway, my mom always says, because she really gets on my nerves sometimes, and at times I think she even does it on purpose. But beggars can’t be choosers, and since I am totally dependent on our household help, I still try to be nice to her, even when she’s on Grinch Mode.

And this post turned out much, much longer than I thought it would, so I will stop writing now.Ü

footnotes...

You are a Great Girlfriend

When it comes to your guy, you're very thoughtful But you also haven't stopped thinking of yourself You're the perfect blend of independent and caring You're a total catch - make sure your guy knows it too!

music of the moment: The Beatles - Help
greetings:
Melai: I actually didn't get to see Bong host at the Fete. Hehe. I got stuck in the super gulo Rock Stage!Ü
Louise: Syempre!Ü Hehe.
Yayam: Wala kasi akong money pang shopping eh! Hahaha. Merry Xmas din!Ü
Karla: Lee ng Mayo? Baka naman nagkita na tayo sa gigs! Hehe.Ü