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I finally did i…

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I finally did it! After months of agonising over it, I took a huge – and I mean a really HUGE leap of faith and did it on Monday. What did I just do? Well, I resigned from my current employer without having a new one all lined up. This is the first time in my career that I’ve done this. And it seems not a moment too soon. My domestic helper who returned back from her holiday after unexpectedly getting married has been giving me so many problems. Today she crossed all limits. She likes to dish out insults to me all the time, but will not take anything. So I’ve decided to terminate her services and send her back to let her transfer to another employer.

So now I’ve to review what I want to do in life plus search a new helper. Wish me luck…

Renewal of Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) Work Permit

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Warning, long and possibly irrelevant post ahead!!

This post is going to be of no relevance to anyone except for someone from Singapore and who employs a foreign domestic worker. I am writing this one so that it serves as a guide for me for the future and if, in the process, it helps anyone else, it’s even better!

Backstory

In November, I got a letter from the Ministry of Manpower letting me know that her two year contract with me was coming to an end around the end of the year. I had to renew her contract or send her back home. Both my V and me were keen to renew the contract, but I did not want to involve the agent who had initially placed her with me as I was not happy with the after sales service that was given to me when V and me had differences over the last two years. Ironically at this same time the agent did get in touch with me to check if I was going to renew the contract. Then she went behind my back and spoke to V directly asking her to renew the contract using her services. When V checked with me, I was ambivalent about it but let V know that if she did use the agent, she will have to bear any extra costs herself as I was not interested in paying her any commission. Later V also realized that using the agent would probably mean that she may have to hand over one or more months salary as commission. So we decided to do it on our own.

I checked an online forum I visit and found out the process. It’s fairly simple actually.

Insurance

You need to get the insurance and bond first before you do anything else. I used NTUC Income, package MI3E which cost me S$ 256.80 for a 26 months insurance. The insurance cannot be done online, so give them a call with the MOM letter in hand. They take your credit card number and process the payment immediately. You can then do the renewal the next day at the MOM website.

Actual Renewal Process

At the MOM website, the renewal process is very simple. Using your SingPass, you log in and do the renewal. A form letter is generated which you have to print to bring with you to the Work Pass Services Office to process the new work permit. This letter will give you the date when you need to be there. Along with the form letter, you also need to print out and fill up a kind of guarantee letter, which basically tells MOM that you, as the employer are guaranteeing the cost of the stay of the FDW.

Work Pass Services Centre

On the date mentioned in your form letter, make your way to the Work Pass Service Centre at Tajong Pagar. This was very close to my office and so took me less than 10 minutes to reach by taxi. The WPSC is located very close to the Keppel Shipyard. There, make your way to the room indicated in the letter and take a queue number. When I went there, it was very quiet, maybe because it was around 3 on a Friday afternoon, but the queue number that I got was called within five minutes. They check the FDW’s passport, old work permit, documents and your identity card. Then you can asked to take the form and go to another room where you can pick up the new work permit. There, the wait was around 10 minutes and I got the new work permit for my helper and that was it! I was in and out of the place in less than 20 minutes.

Wonder why I was so scared of the process. But this bodes well for any future renewals.

I am thankful for

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Since today America celebrates Thanksgiving and there are loads of thanksgiving themed posts on WordPress, I thought of doing something similar.

I am thankful for….

  1. My babies whom I love to death. I can literally die if it means saving their lives.
  2. A loving husband who is my true partner in life
  3. Awesome parents who have always nurtured me and raised me to be a woman who can think for herself and make her own decisions in life.
  4. Family and friends who surround me

A life which is full of love, laughter and joy.

What are you thankful about?

Neighbours all

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For some wierd reason I feel like posting on neighbours, so please bear with me.

Housing in Singapore is of two very distinct types – public and private. We live in a Housing & Development Board (HDB) Executive Apartment type of flat. It’s not too bad and around 80% of people in Singapore live in these kinds of flats. Our previous home was also an HDB flat and when we wanted to move to a bigger flat, we decided to go to HDB again since we had not taken the subsidy they give locals and so wanted to use that before we move to private housing.

We’ve lived in our present home for the past year and a half and till  today I barely know our neighbours. The block we live in is in an L shaped arrangement with the longer side having around 7 duplex type of flats and three in the shorter side (including ours) which are all on one level.

The day we shifted, we met the other two neighbours on our side of the building. They seemed nice and we exchanged hellos when we met or when the doors opened. Then one of them moved away (we didn’t know as we were on a holiday and when we came back, the neighbour was gone!). As for the others on the floor, we do not know ANY OF THEM! Funny right?

At our previous place, since I was working full-time, we also had a hello-bye relationship with our neighbours (there were a total of 6 flats on our floor including ours). But as soon as BB & GG were born, we became very friendly with them and the 6 years we spent there after the children’s birth were fun!

Contrast this with my home in Mumbai. We live in a building with 19 flats and almost all have been there for as long our family has been there (give or take around 60 years, the age of the building). I’ve grown up there and know every single person in the building. There was no fear of the unknown and all the adults living there were surrogate uncles/aunties/grandmas and grandpas! When we were younger and my parents had to go out for the evening, we used to go to one of these neighbours homes and if it became late, even slept over and came back home in the morning. When my grandparents passed away and my parents had to go to the city they were living in, it was to this particular uncle/aunty’s care that my mom left us in. She would bring us food and make sure we went to college and later to work. It didn’t matter to them that we were adults by then, my parents had left me and my sister in their care and they were going to look after us, come what may!

I miss that sense of camaraderie that we had, here it feels like every one just lives their own lives and noone is interested in the other person’s life. But then if I want to be really honest, I am also more of a self contained person and prefer my own company and that of my family’s to others…So guess this is quid pro quid…

To Work or Not To Work….That is the Question…

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Another day, another commute in a crowded bus. To add, it rained last night and early this morning adding to the jams on the road. There are a couple of accidents on the expressway which I take so the bus is inching it’s way to the exit. You must have guessed that I am writing this on my way to work.

The past few years I am increasingly being asked by myself this question – Do I need to work?  The answer is not as simple as it seems. Based on my earning ability we upgraded to a bigger house about  18 months back so any decision to quit work has to factor that in. But now this question has been quite insistent and I look forward to the way that I can take a break from work. I want to take a couple of years off, concentrate on BB & GG and once they finish the dreaded PSLE exams, do something that enjoy doing. Maybe study further – there is a world of possibility out there. But all this will remain a dream unless I find a way to replace my income for the next four years at the very minimum.  I estimate I will need approximately S$ 120,000, give or take a few thousands to replace my take home income for the next four years. This is actually a pared down income level as for the past three months I have been getting around 75% of my previously drawn salary as I am now working less hours a day. Now all I need is to strike the lottery or get an unexpected inheritance and I’ll be set for my life of leisure.

While we are dreaming let me dream about that perfect life I will have when I am not working. I can wake up later than the 4:45 am I currently do, maybe around 5:30 am? Then get GG & BB, along with S ready to get out of the house by 7:15 am and start preparing my day. I would quickly finish my cooking and clean the kitchen. Next on my agenda would be some exercises say between 30-45 minutes after which the exercises would continue in the form of clew if the house. Once that is done, I can go and have a bath. By now the time should be around 10 am. After this would be some computer time or other general stuff – like ironing, clearing things etc. By this time, if i have not had breakfast, I would be hungry so time for lunch. Then rest till the children get home from school. Once back, they should keep me on my toes till it’s time to unwind and sleep! Aah, while I continue to dream about the perfect life, let me get to work!!