Comments on: Habits of Highly Effective Expats

By: Catherine Wentworth

Catherine Wentworth — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:38:01 +0000

Hi Keith. Absolutely, most of us DO do that job for no pay anyway. And besides, what person does not tidy up a bit before the maid comes to clean? I know I rush around at times, making sure her time is not wasted when she is here.

By: Keith

Keith — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:31:49 +0000

Catherine, it sounds like you roll with the punches as well as anyone. You are right, there is no ideal life. But if the life one is given or has earned is not suitable, it’s time to craft another. As long as one isn’t on his deathbed, it’s not too late to improve one’s lot.

As for being a maid, most of us do that job for no pay anyway!
.-= Keith´s last blog ..Aug 25, Norman Rockwell Christmas: Knight Looking In Stained Glass Window, 1930 Christmas Painting =-.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:47:13 +0000

Rikker – ‘Way too much pontificating about how things would be in an ideal world and judging others for being reasonably pragmatic.’

Agreed. Life is never ideal. And if it is, I’d like to meet the people who live in that world :-)

I’ve never had a family backing me, catching me when I fell. I went it alone because that was the way it always was.

So when I went hungry, I was hungry without a net. Forget going to the government as it was not my way.

(besides, being raised as an expat, I was only vaguely aware of government programs in the home country)

When my son was going into first grade, I lost my job as a mudlogger (on site geologist) due to the economy.

We moved to Houston and ran out of money.

I got lucky as the apartment complex we were living in offered me a job cleaning the units. I took it.

So yes, I was a maid for awhile. And I didn’t look at it as demeaning, I took it as a way to feed my family. I was grateful then and I still am.

By: rikker

rikker — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:43:12 +0000

I just finished reading through the comments on that post. Way too much pontificating about how things would be in an ideal world and judging others for being reasonably pragmatic. I have no hired help, nor does my wife do it all, but I don’t get all the animosity.

It reminds me of two phases I went through as a kid:

First, in middle school, being jealous of my friend who started his own lawn-mowing business and made quite good money. He was able to afford all sorts of records and movies I couldn’t. I resented him until I realized he had all those things because he was harder working than me. My family was a little better off, and my folks gave each kid an allowance. They *only* gave us an allowance, so we had to learn to budget, but I wasn’t willing to do any more work than the basic chores they required to get it.

Second, in high school, being jealous of my other friend who was better off than I was, and whose parents appeared to buy him whatever he wanted. The friend in the previous scenario and I used to complain about his silver spoon syndrome, and how he was in for a rude awakening when and if he eventually moved out and into the “real world”. I still didn’t have a job yet.

In both of these phases, I was an idiot. Might still be.