"Character" Maids!

Having to shift houses every year or two can be quite a tedious job! For the past five years, I must have shifted to about 6 - 8 houses. Each time I've had to tediously pack all the stuff in all the boxes in a very organized manner, so as to minimize the damages and also be able to find everything you need as soon as you start unpacking in the next house! 

Shifting houses means getting adjusted to a new house and its ways all over again! For, each house has its own rhythm. Also, finding a maid to help you in the new place is a job that is equivalent to the job of a HR manager! Well, everybody knows that to find a "good" maid and that too one with "character" and "integrity" is very hard to get! Every time I shift a house, my hunt for the "character maid" begins in great earnest, for I would like to settle down in my new house as soon as possible, and also would like my life to continue on like it has been till this moment! 

I begin my search process by advertising to my friendly neighbor to kindly spread the word through her maid. That's the best way to go about it, I've discovered! Trust me, word spreads like fire, and the very next day, I had a steady stream of likely candidates for the job interview! 

I need to be very patient if I want a really "good" maid! In the past I used to make the mistake of signing on the very first one that came my way, out of desperation! I have learned some very valuable lessons of selecting maids by my past experiences! So, now I want to be very careful and make sure that I have the "right" one. This time, I concentrated totally on the "character" of the maid and must have interviewed about a dozen when I started to feel a little desperate. Was I asking for too much! Looking for a maid servant with "character" and "integrity" in a place like Mumbai, is like looking for a needle in a haystack! 

But, just as I was beginning to despair and feel pessimistic about the whole affair, this maid appeared from right above my head, literally speaking, for she was working in the flat above mine! The moment I saw her, I knew she was the one I had been searching for. She appears to be sincere, honest and hardworking and to top it all is also a very good cook! Wow, can I ask for anything more? She has a very nice "character certificate" from her previous employer, the like of which I have never seen before, and she has it laminated! Well, of course, I have signed her on and hope that she will live up to her "Character Certificate"!