Locked Out!

I went out with Abigail and her family and friends to some church anniversary dinner last night.

My mom went for a family friend's wedding.

What happened was that I came home around 10.45 pm - of course mom wasn't home yet.

What I didn't know, was that the maid was not instructed to wait up for me to let me into the house.

So I rang the doorbell a few times to no avail. Then I called the housephone - which she didn't pick up.

I paced in circles in front of my gate much to my dog's amusement. My friends were still waiting in the car outside until I could get in.

I resorted to scaling the wall. AGAIN.

The last time I went out with Abigail and she sent me home, I had to climb over the fence to get into my compound.

Luckily her parents were already used to it and didn't offer to let me wait in the car until my mom got home.

So there I was, climbing up the wall precariously in 2-inch heels, clutching my bag and a souvenir magazine in one hand. Once I reached the top of the wall, I put my bag and book on top of the pillar and kicked of my heels to scale the fence.

(The wall is roughly 7 feet high and the fence that sits atop it is about 3 feet high. There are footholds roughly every 3 feet apart however, so I can basically climb up with hardly any effort.)

All I can say is thank god I changed into slacks at the last minute - I was initially wearing a white skirt. Anyway the magazine fell onto the ground and one foot landed on it while the other sank into soft wet earth.

Ugh.

I dragged my heels through the gap in the fence, picked up my bag and magazine and proceeded to walk towards the house with as much dignity as I could.

...It didn't help that my heels were sinking into the soil every step of the way.

Once my friend saw me safely in my house compound, they waved goodbye and drove off.

What I didn't tell them was I didn't have the house key.

So the first thing I did was to test the doorhandle - who knew? Maybe the maid had been negligent and forgot to lock it...no such luck.

I called my mom after that, to ask what time she'd be coming home.

"Mom, what time are you coming home?"

"Oh, I'm on my way back, around Jalan Damansara. Why, you reached home edi?"

"Yea. And the maid's asleep so I can't get in the house."

"So you're stuck outside?!"

"No."

"You climbed the gate again?"

"Yeap. But I can't get in the house. I tried calling the housephone, but the maid's asleep."

"Okok, I'm coming home soon."

I prayed the maid would wake up and open the door for me before the mosquitoes got me. T_T

Suddenly my handphone started ringing again.

I picked up.

"OMG I also don't have the housekey!"

"WHAAAAAAT?"

"HAHA Oh my goodness, you sure the maid isn't picking up the phone?"

"Yesssss. -.-"

"Okay okay I'll keep calling. You wait there."

"Where's the alarm sensor?"

"What?"

"I'm going to trigger the house alarm. That one she cannot ignore."

"Oh, every window should have."

"Okay, I set off the alarm ya."

"Okay..."

I hung up and kicked off my shoes, climbed on the window ledge to feel around for the sensor.

I inched my nails around the edge off the window and pried it open - what luck, she WAS negligent after all and forgot to lock the windows.

I got a handful of lizard shit.

@*&$%@#^@!

Anyway, with the sensor located, I shut the mosquito netting again.

I pulled the window open to its limit and with all my strength, slammed it shut.

The alarm wailed...success!

It stopped after a second, and strated beeping.

And even the beeping subsided after a few seconds.

WTF?

Pissed off, I tried the next window and got the same results.

What the hell is wrong with the alarm system?

Suddenly I felt insecure.

What if someone tried to break in?

Summore the neighbours didn't notice a thing when they saw a shady figure climbing over the fence, banging the door and windows and circling the compound looking for a way in.

By then I knew I had to do something - even if my mom came home she wouldn't be able to open the door either.

Furthermore I didn't really think she would resort to scaling the wall like I did.

Not in her new kebaya, anyway.
(She claimed she climbed the wall once, but I never saw her do it. Do you think she's just trying to seem more youthful? )

And I don't think she'd be keen in spending the night sleeping in the back seat of the car, either.

(I don't really mind. My dog is very huggable. )

So, I stomped back to the front door off the house, squished my feet back into my heels and trudged out into the garden.

And right there and then, I stood under my maid's window and screamed her name, instantly breaking the tranquility of the neighbourhood.

She woke up, opened the door and let me in.

Lesson learned:

Sometimes the most primitive method works best.

(Oh, and bring your housekey with you at all times. )