Firing Squad

The  boss  would often say  "andaming naghahanap ng trabaho diyan, if she doesn't shape up, the door is open." This was  in reference to an agent who commits the same error over our system again and again.

The agent  felt she was entitled and when the office makes her upset, she would post status messages over MSN  regretting her decision to stay.  This gets into the nerves of those tasked to supervise her - including me. Mami Athena told me to stay cool, but lately, she too gets very annoyed by her unwillingness to follow instructions.

For a  leader who gets depressed when someone leaves the company,  the boss' combative stance is quite unheard of.  Our shifting fortunes, and the string of past mistakes may have led him to maintain some distance from his people. He had asked a lot of agents to leave in the past, but this troublesome lady who had a chat argument with another agent  last week remains in office.



I  cannot  help but recall the events at work after another round of scandalous drama erupted between the maid and the driver.  I  was about to put Baby Lenin to sleep in my room when the maid suddenly wailed - like she had lost a loved one - downstairs. Being my mom's attack dog, I went to check the commotion and found the maid slumped on the chair. I  already had an idea as to what took place so I called the driver to explain her side.

"Nagkapikunan lang kami, huwag mong intindihin ito."  Then she went back to her quarters without looking at me. 

Not satisfied with her answers,  I called her again to explain in detail what happened.  The driver refused to go out.

Of  all the things I cannot tolerate, insolence goes on top of my list.  The driver's rudeness made worse by the maid's continued howling shot my temper to unknown levels.  I was hardly controlling the expletives I've said.

I  was shouting at the top of my voice, telling them that they should be ashamed of themselves. Sibling issues had been resolved after the coming of the baby.  The married couple hardly gets into a fight and my maternal relationship is as rosy as ever.  Had we been setting a bad example, they have the right to follow. But seeing them turn into their savage selves, when their employers demonstrate the finest shades of  family togetherness reflect our way of treating others.

Somewhere along the way, we still fail to keep the peace at home.



The  maid confessed what happened the night of her altercation. She volunteered to stay at the neighbor's house after its owners left a female relative to look after the couple's infant child by herself. The driver  went to pick the maid, telling her that my mom wants to see her. Just before they were able to get inside the house, the driver slapped the maid, apparently, for no reason at all.

The next thing we knew, the maid was already pig-shrieking in the living room.

The  maid  also told  my  mom that she had a relationship with the driver - a  suspicion I  concealed after catching the driver sleeping beside the maid with her arms around her waist.  This was also reinforced by their frequent fights and swift sweet turnarounds, which the maid had kept hidden from view.



I  have  not spoken to the two since my  rage demonstration. I  also refuse to eat what the maid has cooked out of my disappointment for being part of the trouble.  The driver has already sent her apology  through Facebook admitting her mistake.  She said her patience has been exhausted and she broke down for reasons still unclear to me.  My  hunch is, the maid keeps reminding her of their past, making it a laughable, pitiful story  instead of being sensitive to her feelings.


By now my sights are set towards finding a possible replacement. After everything that happened, there is a possibility that both of them might pack their things and return to the province. My mom tries to play the peacekeeper role, (even denying the maid's request to go home) and despite her prodding to send a reply and tell the driver how I feel, my heart isn't ready to forgive.

While this unfolding of events tell how much work needs to be done, it also reveals how poorly equipped I am to handle a crisis.  Shock and awe tactics were necessary to keep the ladies from hurting one another, but the drain it does to me hardly keeps up with my ability to bounce back. A day has passed and I'm still sulked in a sour mood.

Now I'm beginning to question if  I ever learned anything from Mami Athena's teachings.

For authoritarian regimes, the easiest solution for any discontent is the firing squad. But for ours reared in equable traditions, it is hard to make moves that will further break down a truce. I do not know how Mami Athena or Bentusi or the Favorite Aunt would act on such matter, but channeling the last traces of Yoda in me, perhaps, it is best to follow what my mom urged.

Yes, explain to the driver our feelings and hope, that with understanding, the episode we have seen lately will never happen again.