The MOM saga continues........

I received a call 2 days ago from the maid agency telling me that the MOM ( Ministry of Manpower) wanted me to resubmit a letter I had written in support of my mum's maid application. The letter basically stated that I was the caregiver and that I was appealing on her behalf that she really needed the services of a maid etc etc. MOM apparently felt it necessary for my mum to COUNTERSIGN the letter!!! This is really getting to the point of ridiculousness. Since my mum cannot sign the letter I had to have her put her thumb print to the letter. This letter by the way is in addition to a letter by the Doctor certifying that my mum needed the services of a maid. I'm wondering what else the MOM could possibly come up with next as a reason to reject the application once more. Watch out for my letter to the press as soon as all this dust settles and I've got the maid!!

More string pulling needed??

Just another "encounter" with a person with half a brain here in Singapore.......
I wanted to put in an application for a handicapped parking sticker because of my mum condition as I thought maybe it would be more convenient if I was to be ferrying her anywhere. Part of the application needs a doctor to certify that she is indeed in a situation that requires a wheelchair etc etc. I gave the form to the doctor in TTSH and an hour later the nurse returns the form to me saying that the doctor will not sign it as my mum was not handicapped or disabled..........can you believe that?? My mum had a stroke and a heat attack and today she is laid up in a hospital bed; she can';t stand , walk or sit up straight on her own. She has to be fed, washed and cleaned by a care giver and the doctor thinks she is not handicapped or disabled??? How do dimwits like that become doctors?Do I have to "pull strings " again for something so simple like this? You;ve got to be kidding me!!!

Pulling Strings in Singapore

Have you ever noticed how service suddenly improves or everything moves really smoothly if you know the boss or you;re somehow related to the boss of an establishment? I am sure all of you have sometime in your life "pulled some strings" to get something done. Since my mum was warded in TTSH after suffering a stroke and a heart attack 4 weeks ago ; I have had to pull so many strings to get things done , I'm beginning to think that without these strings to pull in Singapore , you;re really at the mercy of the system.
After a week in the hospital , they were ready to send her home......were they kidding? She was on several tubes ; including a feeding tube and catheter. Then they wanted to move her to the AMK Rehab hospital to which we objected to saying she was in no condition for even rehab. After pulling some strings......(couple of really big ones), the staff said it was a misunderstanding and that she could remain for as long as she still needed medical attention and was not in a stable condition. She's been there for 4 weeks now and will move to AMK Rehab hospital next week.
SO, in the midst of all this we were told we needed a maid to look after mum when she gets discharged. The hospital was willing to train her so the quicker she was on board the better it would be. So I put in an application and thats when I realized how biased the maid system is against singles ( but thats another piece I shall address another time) . As I found out singles under 60 cannot get a maid. I had to apply for the maid under my mum's name. Complication number one; her address and mine are different. Complication number two she needs to have a bank account with $50,000 in it. I can;t just prove that I have the money to sustain the maid's employment. I just happened to have a joint savings account with my mum so I rushed down to the bank and deposited the money and because it would take a day for the check to clear I used the deposit slip as evidence that the money is in the account and submitted that with the application. The Ministry of Manpower obviously felt it was not good enough so the application was rejected. This time I was told to go to the bank to get a letter from them stating that the joint account did indeed have at least $ 50,000 in it. So I went down to the bank and was told that I needed to fill out a form and the letter would be ready in 24 hours. I told the clerk that it was urgent and I needed the letter no but she very politely told me that it was not possible. So, I filled out the form stating why I needed the letter etc and left . She said they would call me when the letter was ready and by the way, there was an administrative charge for the letter ( tacky). Two hours later I got a call from the bank asking me what I needed the letter for and to whom should they address the letter to. At that point I was just about ready to strangle someone. I told them that the letter was for a maid application and in my most sacarstic voice told the caller that I was doing it on behalf of my mother who is lying in a hospital bed unable to come to the bank to do it. I decided at this point to "pull some strings" so I sent an e-mail to a friend who is up there on the organizational ladder of the bank. I told her my "problems" making sure that I was not out to get anyone into trouble but that I thought the bank could have been more sympathetic and flexible in my situation. At 8.30pm that night I received a phone call from the bank branch Manager telling me he was dropping off the letter personally at my home and by the way there was no administrative charge! So again string pulling had worked.
Why does this need to be done at all? Surely our systems and service levels in Singapore have not deteriorated so much that you have to now rely on the kindness of friends, family and connections to get what you want? What about the average man in the street who does not have any strings to pull and is at the mercy of the system? Heaven help them.
I am now waiting for the approval on my second application for a maid for my mum. I am ready to pull some strings if I need to................by the way , anyone out there know any big guns in the Ministry of Manpower??!!

Selling the Family Home

How many of you have gone through this experience ? Was it really difficult that last day when you had to lock the front door for the last time and walk away from the house you grew up in ? Maybe you didn't do it and got someone else to do it because it was just too painful to bear. My cousins who lived next door did it 2 years ago and since that fateful day they walked away , they've never returned. they find it difficult to even visit us now for Christmas or Chinese New Year. They have not even driven past since leaving the place. The old house is gone and in its place are two rows of terrace houses. We used to have lovely garden parties and barbecues there. My family home next door is one of 3 remaining old houses along that road. My brother , his family and my 88 year old mother live there. We're thinking of putting up the property for sale and now come face to face with the "trauma" of letting go of a piece of our lives. I used to laugh at how my cousins could not or would not even drive past their house once it was sold. I now understand why. I don;t think I'd be able to drive past too and not see the old house standing there. I have so many memories growing up there. Many of our neighbours have left; their houses long gone and replaced by tiny little terraced houses. I;'m not even sure I could be the one to close and lock the door for the very last time. I know it won;t be my mother because I think I'll spare her that experience.

Sunday Lunch at Gentle Road

Mum eating the Sunday lunch she cooked.

Cheese and Sugar Cookies

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

colored sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add flour; mix well. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes; sprinkle with colored sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350ºF for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Weak in the Knees

OK so for those of us who have reached the BIG 50.......we're starting to see the gradual deterioration of our limbs. While on my regular morning walk 2 weeks ago I felt a sharp pain in my right knee. It went as suddenly as it came and I was startled by it. During the day I felt it a couple more times and gradually the area around my right knee cap seemed swollen and sore. I thought nothing of it and took an asprin and went to bed. I woke up several times that night when I felt several "pulls" on nerves around my knee. That tends to wake you from the deepest sleep. I went to consult with a doctor the next day and without an x-ray or a scan he was unable to diagnose it properly so I paid the $130 for the consultation and a anti-inflammatory medication. He told me to come back in a week if the pain did not go away. After 2 days I called the doctor to make an appointment for a CT scan. the scan showed I had a deterioration of the cartilage which was enough to make me feel some pain and discomfort but it was not serious enough that I would need an operation. All the doctor gave me was a $300 injection which he said would help "lubricate" the joints and I was sent on my way. So, $1200 later, I am none the worse or better. The discomfort is still there; it comes and goes and I guess until such time when my bones start to grind on each other resulting in excruciating pain , I will have to live with this and just rely on painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication. Oh yes, I could go back for those "lubricating" injections at $300 a pop but I think I'll pass on those for the time being!
So.......for now I will switch to swimming instead of walking. I hear swimming as an exercise is less "traumatic" on the knees.
Don't grow old!

Easy to make Biscuits

2 cups plain flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 stick of butter
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix the cup of milk with the flour and baking powder. Shred the stick of butter into the flour mixture; add a pinch of salt and mix it to form a dough. Roll it out to about one and a half inch thickness and cut into wedges. or any shape you like. sprinkle a little more salt and some pepper on each wedge.
Place on baking pan and bake in oven at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes.