The chores were delegated to them according to ability and skill. No 1 swept and did the dishes one meal, No 2 mopped and did the dishes another meal, No 4 hung out the laundry I had had going in the machine and because he lacked the height then, had to climb a chair to do his task, No 3 brought in and folded the laundry. I would come back at lunch-time with packed lunches they loved like KFC, or McD's or chicken-rice and then scurry off back to work soon after. It was fortunate that work then was only a 10-minute drive away.
My neighbours were somewhat aghast that we could leave the kids on their own and offered to babysit them at their homes but we declined saying that things were under control and that the kids were under strict instructions not to use the stove. But they still kept a watchful eye on them and after a few days were amazed at the kids' commitment to their assigned responsibilities.
Having 4 of them each being given a chore that somehow depended on another one's completion of his/her's, as in a critical path, ensured no shirking on anybody's part. Otherwise no trips for everyone!
Also having No. 1 acting as commander-in-chief in my absence helped tremendously too. Otherwise, between the demands of my job and the house and the kids and the admiral, I would have been pulled hither and thither, but I guess I would have emerged bruised but still alive.
Would I just have screamed and scooted off like the lady in this vid?
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12 comments:
Geeee !...interesting but scary !! ,,,wonder if the lady is back in one piece after the show ?. O my God ! Just can't imagine it for real.
,,,have a utube that shows a young 14 years old school boy been eaten by a python at Taman Negara in 2004.. Geee it shows the cutting open of the snake and out pop the boy's body !! Yoooo ! You can't sleep in the jungle opening after watching this. In fact, there are many such pythons on the island too and lucky for me, Jane is around to warn off a couple of times of such huge pythons that hang around the swampy jungle while we take our houseguests for jungle tracking !!. The bat caves are full of such snakes too but of smaller size but as they grow longer/bigger, they come out of the caves for whatever they fancy..Zebra included I guess ?? hehe.
,,,Apparently 2 weeks back, a 14 ft python was caught by the Indon. workers and eaten up by them. When would be the snake's turn ??.
Hi Zen & RA,
So yours r all latchkey kids, lots of pro & con but I like to think they grow up more independent and matured faster and tend to look after themselves very well. Ya & so less worry for both of u when they go away to pursuit their education overseas, betul tak?
Off topic, continuation of my Britney saga
Headline in some U.S papers today;
“Britney having problems ‘Down Under’”!!
That’s so cruel of the media…..hahaha. Ya-lor, don’t mess with them!
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This was the actual reason;
Paul Dainty (promoter) said that the star had been left traumatised by the media coverage which suggested fans stormed out of her Circus tour performances at Perth's Burswood Dome on Friday, due mainly to the fact that she was miming during segments of the two-hour show.
Oops, I did it again, baby one more time, ok?...muahaha
Tommy
Capt, and I thought you've seen them all. Gotcha!
Seems the top lady is an amputee, and I thought she must have a wicked sense of humour for agreeing to do that show. I still can't figure out the bottom half.
Snakes and zebras co-exist Capt. I know cos i was born in the year of the snake in the Chinese zodiac. RA's a dragon - so one breathes fire and the other spits venom hahaha. Never a dull day!
Tommy, yes it looked like child labour horr but they enjoyed it, after all it was only for a week or so when the maid wasn't around and before the trips that we already had planned in advance. "Manja" is not in my vocabulary lah.
So was it true Britney mimed? You were there wat? Or were you busy looking elsewhere? Notti-notti!
No lah Zen, I don’t mean child labour. Latchkey kids are what the ang mohs call kids that look after themselves when both the parents are at work, they go to school, come home, find keys to the house hidden under the mat, under pot plants etc. Make their own meals (that’s why microwave meals r so popular). Gotta give it to the kwai lo for their show of confidence to their kids (Cantonese says ‘Fong Sum’ ).
I suppose their society is much safer & there are more civil minded people around to look out for kids in their neighbourhood (just like what we have in our old kampong days era). That’s why u see most ‘ kwai chai’ (hahaha) r more adventurous & street smarter / wiser….heheh.
Ya-lor, Poor Britney did admit that she’ll lip-synch b4 the show what. No I wasn’t at the concert, I was busy in ‘the where the real action is’ area. AS IF, I go for such teeny boppers show. There’s a dome & there’s also a theatre type in Burswood like Genting. She performed at the dome Friday & Saturday nite. The crowd was about 17K & goodness gracious some paid as much as AUD1500. Shocking, we normally pay between $150 to $250 for Eagles, America, Cold Play or most other concert. She got shot down coz Pink was here 3 weeks ago & Beyonce was too, much earlier. Probably the same fans base would have compared between the 3 acts as a yardstick. Pink got rave review.
Cheers,
Tommy
P/S – Ah Soh might like to go & see Cliff Richard & the Shadows Reunion concert at Burswood in Feb 2010…, ‘darling, we r the young ones’……..once lah leh Tai Sum…hahaha
Tommy, some latchkey kids turned out well, they are god-fearing, filial, respected by the community etc whilst some who had stay-at-home mothers or extended family to take care of them, didn't fare too good. And siblings can turn out different with the same love and care too. So...
Wah, Ah Soh and you share the same love for songs lah. I bet you never pass up the chance to karaoke together "The Moon Represents My Heart". Very nice to listen to, this song, sung by native mandarin speakers.
My new playlist especially for Ah Soh haha.
Soli Zen, flen2, only I dare to say hor, pls change your current nic foto (too fierce & intimidating looking + misleadingly retro) to the new Professor Zen one, more soothingly warm & friendly like your true self mah, like a respectable wargamas….heheh. Wah u 4 eyes ‘sei ngan’siew cheh oso.
Cheers,
Tommy
P/S - Trust me, the rest will agree with me, itu biasa la. Tok Mee's the natural born leader of the pack :)
Tommy, i also flen2 kasi tahu you, I change my profile pic if you put your real profile pic - ahhahaha -
How's that! Same age as your current nic. Leng Chai or not? :))
co-pilot and captain of the boat can relax a bit now coz all the 'awak' has grown up. The most important thing is there is no mutiny and the house is in order...
Tommy..... then I'm Gigi Lai
Do, hopefully no mutiny if they know what's good for them ;)
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