Goddess, I Am.

I think one of the best – and worst – things about growing up and living in the Philippines is the inevitable tendency to rely on household helpers. I am 28 years old and married for over a year, yet I still don’t know how to cook, clean, do the laundry, or iron. Or more accurately, I simply don’t want to – not when we can hire a woman to do all these once a week for about $5.

And I’m not alone, too. The Sister is an absolute mess whenever The Nephew has no nanny, which is probably why most of the family dramas can be blamed on the crazy women she’s had the misfortune of hiring over the past 2 years. Aaahhhh . . . The horror stories I could tell you about thieving nannies and ex-stripper nannies and nannies with STDs – it’ll take me all day! My poor sister and brother-in-law had to constantly keep an eye on these loonies, which really defeats the whole point of having a nanny, doesn’t it?

Thankfully, they seem to have found a real gem in the current nanny, so here’s hoping the days of scary ex-strippers are behind them. Still, I can’t help but wonder whether a hidden camera or two would help matters. I have very ambivalent feelings about spying on the help, which is why I let The Husband supervise the cleaning woman whenever she comes in. Besides, he’s so anal about his tv stands and the floors and the laundry that he’s perfect for the job. He’s a natural tyrant.

What about you? Would you spy on the help?

Since 2006, I’ve been downing copious amounts of peppermint mocha just to get the yearly Starbucks planner. This year, however, I’ve decided to break what has become tradition.

You see, I have the attention span of a gnat. All three of the planners that I’ve owned over the years all suffered the same fate of being forgotten after March or April. This means that the nearly P6,000 I’ve spent on coffee each November through January for the past 3 years is simply not justified. Besides, Octavian does practically everything for me now anyway, so another Starbucks planner is going to be as useful to me as a bell tv subscription when I live in the Philippines.

Be that as it may, The Family and I are still hell-bent on acquiring each of the 3 planners for those in our fold who actually, umm, plan. Last night, we got the first one for The Husband who fills up one notebook after another with his Blu-ray orders, tracking numbers, suppliers, and what-nots, so it’s looking like this is one planner that’s going to get plenty of mileage. We’re now halfway through getting the second (for the brother-in-law), and it’s looking like we’ll be getting it before the week ends. Yes, the team effort is getting its results, and fairly quickly, too. If we keep this up until January, we’d probably end up with half a dozen planners or so!

I must say, though, that the new planners are a hell of a lot prettier than the ones last year. And the coupons aren’t half bad, either.

How about you? Are you getting a Starbucks planner (or two, or three) this year?