Emely - The first and only post

I should have written this a long time ago. I actually wrote it when we got back from the US after Christmas. I guess I just wasn't ready to put it here until now. However, in retrospect, it's best I waited.

It's kind of long and boring so don't feel obligated to read it but this is the story.

Emely started with us around the first part of October. Never having had a helper before, we really didn't know much about how it would work for us. 

The kids were ambivalent. Julie and I were stoked. As can be imagined, I'm not the best cleaner in the house. I can do the laundry and personally, I find ironing therapeutic. But I'm not so hot on cleaning the toilet for a sixteen year old with bad aim and a thirteen year old who can't put a roll of TP on the rod to save her life. We won't even talk about dusting.

I'm sure Julie was looking for the person who could do all of that. Me? I was just looking for the next Hong Kong experience.

Once we got past the Immigration paperwork, getting her moved in and adjusting to having another person under the roof, we found ourselves in a great place. She took over right from the start. She knew we were newbies at the whole thing. Not to worry though because she knew just what to do. When she got here, we still had boxes and crap everywhere. Within a week, almost all of the boxes were unpacked and organized into drawers and shelves that I didn't even know we had. 

And that wasn't even the best of it. As it turns out, she was well versed in the culinary arts. Western (american food) was her specialty. Although, her skills were equally on display when it came to cooking Indonesian, Chinese and of course, Philippino. Fried rice, chicken satay, Singapore noodles, fried prawns and home cooked veggies. Nothing in a can around here. Within a few days, she figured out what we all liked. She even figured out the dog. Gizmo was now sleeping in her room and following her around instead of me. 

Nearly everyday she was baking cookies for Alex and Sydney. I never ran out of hooch and there was always fresh iced tea in the fridge for Jewels. The kids had nutritious lunches (fresh fruit with their PBJ's), Julie had a fresh breakfast of muffins or pancakes and we all had dinner that was served exactly on time. Even when Julie frequently worked late, Emely held down the fort in our tiny kitchen and would serve dinner just for her whenever she got ready. Piping hot and delicious. She was very good at what she did. 

One of the best things about the whole relationship was that we all laughed and had fun.  We frequently  got tickled at her pronunciation of English words. She once said "hoog" instead of "huge". When the she couldn't find the words, she would ponder and say out loud "umm, what ees thees theeng.......". And then there was my favorite "Excuse me. Ees there something in your mind for deener tonight"?   

So, not only did we have a very capable helper, we had a new friend and dare I say, a new part of the family? (Lesson learned.) Then we took off for the US. As they say in Saudi Arabia, "that's when the fit hit the shan" (Excuse the attempt at humor. Thats part of an old joke I just made up).

The story goes like this. We left on Dec 17th and planned to return on Dec. 30. Prior to our departure, Emely mentioned that she did want to go out of town for a couple of days over the holiday. Her plans were to take off on Dec. 28th, go to Bali, Indonesia and return on Dec. 30. Arrangements had already been made for the helpers next door to watch the beast (Gizmo). Since I ain't from 'round here, that sounded OK to me. Now I know it's about 7+ hours by plane. A little research on my part ahead of time would have been helpful. Anyway, kind of a hike for two days, eh?

I'll spare you details about text messages, e-mails and phone calls going unanswered and just get to the point. 

She left the same day we did and hauled butt to Australia. 

She got back on Dec 30. Also, the same day we did. She was away the entire time. She did mention that she visited Macau for a couple of days but other than that, said she was here the entire time. 

Fortunately, our good friends Stephanie and Bob were kind enough to check on things when we got suspicious. We called them and they did a drive by to see what was up. The mail was coagulated in the slot, the porch was tiled in old newspapers and the fur ball was running wild in and out of the house. Obviously, someone wasn't watching the farm.

The worst part about the whole situation was that when we confronted her, she never came clean. We even  had her passport and were looking at the immigration stamps in and out of Hong Kong (they stamp your passport even if you break wind in the direction of the airport) on the 17th and the 30th. She gave us her story and she was sticking to it. There was no joy in Mudville that day.

Needless to say, all manner of trust was tossed right out the window along with her job.

The experience continues.