Lady of Leisure

I sincerely apologise for the lack of posts. In the past 4 months a lot has happened. We started and completed our house renovation, we moved our boxes scattered across Ampang, Taman Tun and a storage house in Jalan Ipoh to our new place and unpacked, furnished our new home, installed ASTRO, a new phone line and Streamyx, started up an account with Syabas and TNB, resuscitated our grass that had turned brown from the lack of rain and lastly, adopted puppy Angus.

Oh, and by we, I mean me.

Ask me anything with regards to moving into a new home and I guarantee you that I will know the answer. Contact for the cheapest roller blinds, wall lights, cushions and cushion covers? Just last week I found out how to change the tenancy of your TNB bill. Do you know how complicated the process is?


Step 1
Pick up a form from any TNB office.

Step 2
Fill out the form and prepare the following documents:
- 1 copy of the Sales & Purchase Agreement
- 1 copy of the I.C whose name the house is under in
- 2 RM10 Stamp Duty stamps (from any post office)
-  Verify your Stamp Duty stamps at the Lembaga Hasil office in Jalan Duta

- Prepare RM 1,600 for your deposit (previous owner will forfeit the deposit since he didn't cancel it himself)

Step 3
Submit the form and all the documents required to the TNB in your area.
Should take 24 hours to process.

All of that just to change the name on your electricity bill. And yet you call me a Lady of Leisure? I don't find any of these things very leisurely, would you?

I absolutely hate it when people go "Wah, you so lucky la, I want to be like you and not do anything". Every time I hear that, my hand clenches into a fist and I shove my hand into my pocket so I don't punch that person right in the face.

I understand you head to work everyday at a certain time, sit in your office chair for 3 to 4 hours, head to your nearest hawker stall, eat your nasi campur, head back to your computer for another 3 to 4 hours, hit 'Refresh' on your browser to check out your friend's latest Facebook status and then pack up and head home. So shouldn't I say, "Wah, you so lucky! I wish I could be like you and sit around all day checking your Facebook page!"

-_-

Don't get me wrong, ever since I got married, I've had my fair share with my own conscience, "I think I should get a job", "I didn't go to university to end up a housewife", "Women didn't burn their bras so that you can stay at home and cook and clean", and this conversation went on and on...

When we started renovating for the house, I realised that if I had been working, I wouldn't even know how I'd have been able to juggle a job and the house. The delivery people never came on time, which meant that I had to sit in the house waiting for air cons, sofa sets, etc and a whole day would pass just because these people did not understand what punctuality meant.

Don't even get me started on contractors. We dealt with a 'celebrity' contractor who never took notes, which meant that there were a lot of mistakes. Cool bulbs instead of warm bulbs, yellow paint instead of white paint, which then meant I had to whip him into place with my terrible malay many, many times leading him to sulk, many, many times. But I've been told that that's normal.

I must say all was not lost. I learnt so much and have matured immensely from this process and have nestled into my role of 'housewife' quite seamlessly and unconsciously. I was in denial for the longest time but then I realised what is so wrong with being a 'housewife'? Seriously? Why do we look down upon women who decline to get a job? We're not any less intelligent than you are, we know what's going on in the world and we can carry a decent conversation with anyone you throw infront of us.

I take pride in making dinner every night for my husband. I love sleeping in a bed I make for the both of us. I am old school that way. I don't sit very well with another woman doing that for my man.

But that is just me and I am absolutely happy.