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Monday, November 13, 2006

The New Old House

This moving to the new old house thing is really telling me so much about myself. I am officially depressed right now. For one because I am frustrated about how the fact that the move is causing some emotional stress to everyone concerned.

For the nanny, it meant:

  1. Being upset about sharing a room with the housekeeper who couldn’t make room for her stuff and couldn’t keep the cabinet closed;
  2. Being physically challenged having to go up and down the stairs and all around the house as she go after Boz;
  3. Disappointed from knowing that she has to fetch water from the well when doing her laundry;
  4. Being unhappy about not watching her favorite shows on tv because the housekeeper hogs the remote;
  5. Being glum about missing all the fun and excitement that the Mapa life offers; and
  6. Being impatient about dealing with the two old spinsters who bug her about Boz – why is he crying, he might fall off the stairs, he might hurt himself, he might break something, etc.

For Miki, it meant:

  1. Being burdened with the added responsibilities of looking after the two old spinsters and the financial load of the move;
  2. Physical exhaustion from working on the electrical wirings in the room;
  3. Disappointment with the fact that we won’t be able to enjoy unlimited internet access as we did in Mapa;
  4. His patience being tried with his aunts’ STML (short-term memory loss) and their peculiar 9 o’clock habit (all doors locked, all lights off and noise off by 9 pm);
  5. Sleeplessness during our first night and having a little scare after seeing his aunt peeping through our door at 3:00am and thinking that he was seeing a ghost;
  6. Being subjected to a new routine: sleep as early as 9:30pm, waking up at 7:30am, breakfast by 8:00, be at work by 9:00;
  7. Worrying about what to eat for breakfast;
  8. Sleeping on a single-sized bed;
  9. Contending with the heat given off by the walls; and
  10. Longing for a good hot shower which we so enjoyed at Mapa.

For the housekeeper, it meant:

  1. Adjusting to her new masters;
  2. Being asked to do additional chores;
  3. Being reprimanded for her ways; and
  4. Having to share her room with another.

For me, it meant:

  1. Physical exhaustion from cleaning the room, and putting things in place;
  2. Mental exhaustion from thinking about what things to bring, move, transfer, locate, buy, throw, etc;
  3. Worrying about availability of funds;
  4. My patience being tried as I deal with a purportedly lazy housekeeper, who from my experience doesn’t like being asked to do things outside her routine, difficult to teach, has difficulty hearing, or perhaps she just choose not to hear;
  5. Praying for more patience as I deal with Miki’s aunts’ STML (short-term memory loss) and their peculiar 9 o’clock habit (all doors locked, all lights off and noise off by 9 pm); and
  6. Longing for the comfort stuff that the Mapa life has to offer – hot shower, prepared breakfast, tv morning til night… privacy.

It’s making us all unhappy about the whole set-up. But what can I say, change is always difficult. And it’s going to stay for a long, long time.

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