There is a saying ‘when you go to Rome, you must do what the Romans do’. Having been in this country for almost a year, so many unbelievable things happened besides being ‘back to school’ stuff. The best thing is that I am currently doing ‘thing’ that I’ve never imagined I will and can do ‘it’. Ironically, it has been almost 5 months since I started my new ‘dunno how to explain’ job. It was all started when my housemate Pae text me sms that he had booked one ‘job’ for me. I had informed him few days before that I was so bored and need a job for so that at least I have something to do.

I was a depth morning sleep when I received that sms. Without any second blink I replied ‘OK’ (while my brain was half working) without even figuring out the content of the sms. Soon as I woke up, then only I realized that it was a job thing. And yes, I really need to find a job since my course workload was too light during that 2nd semester. The big time gap is filled up by thinking of my wife, nata and kyra in Sabah.

During the interview, the supervisor explained to me the ’scope of works’ and the training I have to go thru. The worst part of the interview was when she told me about the uniform (work attire) i.e. the same typical black and white attire plus a neck tie and mini vast. Feels like a deja vu, I’ve been trying to avoid that ‘tahi cicak uniform’ thru all my ‘lawyering’ days. Funny but odd for my new job, I have to wear them on from monday to friday. On my very first day in such a ‘proper attire’, my house mates asked ‘pergi mana bang, pakai smart2 ni?’ and I just answered ‘pergi mencari sesuap nasi’…hhahahahahaaha.

Each of the steps to my new workplace seems to be meaningful as I was still playing the ‘to be or not to be’ game in my mind. Must I proceed or should I go to town and go watch movie instead. While trying to have an imaginative ‘toss of coin’ in my head, I have actually reached the place and registered my name in the employee log book. Hence, no other choice but to proceed.

Come the training part, the supervisor explained to me what and how to do the tasks. My first task of the day is vacuuming and cleaning all the desks and chairs in the office area within an hour from 5pm to 6pm. To be frank, I am not used to do this kind of works through all my life and I don’t even know how to handle the vacuum cleaner. I guess I should have gone to town and watch movie instead. After the vacuuming part, the supervisor asked me to get a bucket, mop, black garbage plastic and the cleaning spray. I was stunned and completely speechless when she told me that I need to clean all the eight (8) toilets on the 2nd and 3rd floors respectively within an hour or so. Sigh, I quietly asked myself in the most soothing way ‘’Muammar Julkarnain what are you doing??’’ as I begin to clean the first toilet.

Each of the toilets, I need to empty the bins, check the toilet bowls and flush them, spray and wipe the mirrors and all the head pipes, the tissue holders, soap holders and finally ‘mop lantai’. After the toilets, I have to vacuum the common places on the 2nd and 3rd floors as well as the 2 elevators (spray and wipe the mirrors and the steel part). I was under the impression that doing the vacuum and toilets were the toughest tasks to do but I was wrong. My final task of the day, reminds me of Pandekar Bujang Lapok script ‘woo...kerja saya memang merbahaya pakcik, sambung ekor harimau…’. I need carry a vacuum bag (mcm ghostbuster’s bag) on my shoulder, then carry it from the store to the 4th floor and finally, start vacuuming all the steps down until the basement floor. Then, Merdeka!!! (Now I know what is the meaning of MERDEKA!!).

Too heavy for me but somehow I enjoy it for no obvious reason. Every time I log out from workplace, I feel really relieve. I begin to love this job despite how odd it may sounds. There was one time when I told my wife about my aching back for wiping many tables that forced me to stretch my whole body to reach the corner point of the tables especially those behind the computer monitors. She then asked me to quit and find another lighter job. I simply replied ‘no, I want to stay as long as I think I can’. Forget about the tiring and body torturing part, what is important to me this odd job teaches me a lot about adapting life and surroundings.

Being a lawyer, sometimes I feel ‘classy’ since it is no doubt a prestige profession in the eyes of the public. Of course, I miss those moments whenever I do my cleaning job where I just simply sit down do some ’serious’ works and just ask my junior lawyers and clerks to assist. Easy job but need to crack my brain. In contrast, I am currently doing all the physical oriented works and minimal use of brain and most of all no one is helping me with the works. The interesting part is when I have to take instruction from my supervisor. The funniest part is when I started to feel nervous and uneasy whenever the supervisor is doing the checking on me. I can’t really explain how such feeling like but one thing for sure, I never imagine myself being in this kind of situation again... not the nervous part.

We may look things in this world differently and from my ‘new lens’, I now believe that every works and every workers are equally important no matter what. Being a cleaner may not be as classy as being a lawyer but this is a ‘noble’ job too. To me, it is like a minor part that complete the whole drama even though the audience may not even realize its existence. Most of the people may start from small to big things but what I am doing now is the opposite direction or in other words, a reversed perspective in toto.

I may have no more complain in life and I do treasure having this kind of experience and frankly speaking, I love this job no matter what. But above all those things, I will never ever allow my Nata, Kyra and Qatryna to do this kind of job in the future simply on the basis that ‘I love them so so so much’. Call me a hyprocrite, I love being a lawyer more anyway...definitely or maybe.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 11:21 pm