Today was a slow one at the shop.There were only a few customers and the first one only came after 11am.Maybe it is because of the fasting month that not many students came to the shop during midday.
When the first customer came,I can see her smiling even before she came inside.So I smiled widely in return.It was then when she came inside that I noticed .She wasn't smiling at me at all but because she was hare-lipped.I've never seen her coming to the shop before today.Maybe it's because there were no other students at the shop that she came by.
Because I didn't want her feeling unwelcome,I keep on smiling even when I know that she's not smiling.I really felt for her,for being forever in a smiling mode.Poor girl.
It made me rethink and count my blessings.I am blessed with a good and healthy life,happy and united family,also able bodied and beautiful children.We might not be rich in materials standard but I'm forever thankful for everything that the Lord has bestowed on us.

Some people just can't say it right...

Usually when a customer came to the shop for a top up,especially the students,they'd say,"top up saya".
One customer came and just said,"ada mas-is",or something like that.So I said,"oh,tiada,kami tidak jual mancis."I said that because we don't sell matches at the shop.He gave me a stare as if to say,"is this lady daft,dim witted or just plain deaf?"
My friend said,"kak,maybe he wants to top up his maxis",and sure enough that was what he wanted.But why didn't he say up front that he needed a top up?
When the customer left we both doubled up laughing.My friend said that she too heard mas-is but she thought of maxis and got it right.I heard mas-is and automatically thought of matches.

Being a tailor shop,customers sometimes bring in their clothes to be repaired,mended or altered.We'd do repair jobs on jeans,slacks and shirts too.

There's this regular customer at the shop.He comes to the shop every day or every other day to buy soft drinks and biscuits.He's a worker at the construction site at the school.Sometimes he'd ask us how much it is to tailor a shirt,a baju kurung and whatever it is that catches his fancy.He always ask,"berapa mau jahit?But he pronounce the jahit as 'rait'.Because we don't know who his real name is,my friend and I named him Rait.

Rait is a foreigner and one who you wouldn't want to encounter in a dark alley alone..with longish yellow hair (not dyed),filthy clothes and smelly.I'm not exaggerating,he really is like that..

One day Rait brought his work pants to the shop to be mended.Truth be told I had to hold my breath when he handed me the pants because it was smelly.It was also still damp,maybe he made an attempt to wash it but you just can't wash away the smell and filth at one washing without soaking it in concentrated detergent first!It was a ripped seam,about 5 inches in the groin area.

Normally I'd only charge RM2 for that kind of repair but I charged Rait RM5.When he said "sikit saja koyak",I told him that it is because I doubled-stitch it,using the electric sewing machine.In truth it's because of the smell that I charged him extra...

My first attempt at sewing a slack was hilarious.When my friend asked me whether I know how to operate a sewing machine I told her that I can.When she asked me if I can sew,I told her that I can,but I've never done any sewing besides curtains and table skirting before.So she said that it won't be too difficult,that she'll teach me.A customer had asked for a Punjabi style attire and she'd sew the blouse with all its trimmings and I'd do the slack,just a plain,elastic-waist slack.No pleats and no zipper so I thought how difficult can it be?

"A little curve here and a straight line sewing there",she told me before I started.She also had marked it with a tailor's chalk.I didn't know what I was thinking but after the curve,which was supposed to be the behind,I go on sewing in a straight line until it's finished and I did the same to the other side too.It was done in no time at all and I thought,well,it's not that difficult.

It was only after I took it off the sewing machine that I discovered to my dismay that I had it done like a skirt but with the bottom sticking out!OMG!Looking at it I couldn't help but laugh at my own handiwork.I had to start all over again and after the third attempt I finally had it done.

May 2010...my youngest flew off the coop..she went to college.Now I'm really and officially alone at home.
For lack of nothing better else to do,when a friend asked me to help in her shop,I jumped at the chance.That way I can meet other people everyday and not feel so alone.The shop is also not far from home so it's convenient.
I manage her sundry shop and sometimes help her to sew.She's a tailor but since her youngest is just a little over a year old,she has her hands full.So I'm a shop manager,a tailor's assistant and a babysitter all rolled into one.I'm also a mother,a sister,an aunt,a friend and a sounding board...The last one may sound peculiar but that's the truth...