Anger and Apprehension in Pulau Tikus

        Well, I never expected (but I should have known) that there would be a second round in the motorcycle tire fiasco.  It seems like everything in Malaysia takes two tries or two visits.  The TV installer came twice.  Getting the free cordless telephone took two bus trips downtown.  And so it goes. Things get done eventually, but seldom on the first try.  And so it was with the motorbike.


     Last Friday night, the punctured inner tube on the back tire caused us to have to limp about two kilometers through rain and Friday night traffic to get the hobbled motorbike to the bike shop.  Once there, we found out that they would be closed all weekend long.  No way 'round that!  So I left the bike there with the promise that they'd fix it on Monday morning by providing an expensive new "sport rim" that would make an inner tube unnecessary and prevent this kind of fiasco from happening again (at least not on the rear tire!)  They said it would cost RM430 (US $143) and that it'd be done by noon.  Well, that didn't come to pass, of course!  ("Out of stock, lah.  Maybe two-tree days after.")  Meanwhile, the gal assured me that the tire had been repaired and the bike was safe to ride.  (With the proviso that I was to get air put into the tire every day or two until the new parts come in.  I should've considered that a warning!)





     So, trusting that the motorbike was, indeed, fixed and safe, I hopped on and sailed off over hill and dale, around curves and through traffic to a REALLY fancy-dancy condominium in a development called ""The Cove"  to play Scrabble with some ex-pat ladies.  The place has only one unit per floor and they are 6,000 sq. ft. or bigger.  The hostess said airily, "This is my sewing room and these are the five bedrooms.  Each one has its own bath."  There were so many balconies at this apartment, we could choose the one we wanted to Scrabble on.  Goodness gracious, it's a whole 'nother world out there!


     To my distress and disgust, when I emerged from the Scrabble session (beaten thrice, but not bowed), I found that the darn motorbike had another rear tire flat!  Well, actually, I didn't discover it, but Cecil, one of the guardhouse staffers at The Cove did, bless his heart.  He even helped me get across the road and get the tire pumped up enough to make it home, or so we hoped.  So, just like last Friday night, but without the rain and without David on the back, I once again limped down the road, impeding traffic and praying that I'd make it back to Pulau Tikus.  But this time I was four kilometers away from home!  And it really was rush hour.  Somehow I got the bike back to the shop, but the lady I wanted to vent my spleen upon was out at the doctor's.  Lucky her!


      QUICK P.S. HERE:  The motorcycle shop just called, full of apology and offers of compensation.  They're even going to deliver the repaired bike almost to my door.  So, I'm mollified and no longer angry.


     The "apprehension" part of the title of today's post is because this afternoon our new cleaning lady will arrive for our first session.  If it all works out, she'll come twice a month on Tuesday afternoons and spend four hours cleaning for US $16 per visit, the going rate around here.  This wasn't my idea, this having a maid, when I'm home all day and can do this stuff myself.  But David seems to want it, and almost all the ex-pat ladies I've talked to have one, (or more), so I'll give it a whirl, I guess.  Maybe I'll come to love having my housework done for me.   I'd be a fool not to, right?