Posted by
hkmrs
17 yrs ago
hi all,
i'm wondering if you can help me. i will be hiring a helper very soon and i would like to make her living area as comfortable for her as possible. however, the room we have for her does not come equipped that has a closet/cupboard and desk underneath, much like those found in ikea for kid's rooms. i am planning on giving her our old laptop, but i'd also like to provide her with a small television to watch when we have guests over. i don't really know how to go about doing this and any suggestions would be great. thanks!
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The first step would be to check if there is a a tv cable going through to her room. If not you need to look if you want to spend the money to do it. If there is one, just get either a shelf or a wall mount for the tv. Also need to check if it's worth the cost if you are only getting local television network or pay tv. No point if you helper doesn't speak cantonese or mandarin, although Pearl does do english channels. We were going to get our helper tv, but we didn't have the cables going through and as we are moving premises in a few months decided it wasn't worth it until we are at the new place. We have decided to get our helper a portable dvd player instead and she is very happy with that.
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hkmrs
17 yrs ago
thanks, neenib! how does a portable dvd player work without a television, or, would it be just as fine to give her my old laptop and she can hook it up to that? i know there are also tons of shows online, including shows she would enjoy watching in tagalog. i guess what i'm trying to make sure is, will she be happy and content to be in her room with a laptop and a dvd player when there is company over?
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"how does a portable dvd player work without a television, or, would it be just as fine to give her my old laptop and she can hook it up to that?"
The portable players have a screen built-in.
My recommendation: wait a few weeks and get a feel for what her preferences are. We asked after a while. Now our helper has an old laptop which she loves, since she can chat with her family. TV is not so much her thing. Depends on the person.
You can also go with her to IKEA or whatever to get some nice fittings for her room. Rug, bedspread, chest of drawers. Having the helper choose her own stuff is a nice gesture.
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hkmrs
17 yrs ago
these are all really great suggestions, guys. thanks so much. and yes, i figured out, after looking online...duh! a portable dvd player has a screen! one last question. unfortunately the extra room does not have an air conditioner and since we rent, i'm not sure if the landlord will be willing to pay for installing another aircon. where can i buy a portable/standing aircon? you have all been exceptionally helpful. thanks!
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Portable aircons you can find in all major electric shops like fortress and broadway and lots of others. You can also find that some people sell their used ones here on the classified section. You can also fit a ceiling fan for extra comfort if that will not be enough.
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If you do go for a TV, consider a flat panel (LCD or plasma) as it takes up considerably less space in what is presumably already a very small room.
I've heard of some employers giving a subscription to the philipines TV channels to their helper as a birthday or CNY gift which lets them catch up on their soaps and news.
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indeed, as adele says - we got our helpers a little (15') LCD - not expensive at all and can be hooked up on the wall if there is absolutely no room for it? but it does take far less room than a pc. We dont have any cable tv of anything like that for the helpers but they dont seem fussed - we got them a DVD player so the watch a lot of DVDs - it seems there are a lot of Phil series flying around - they just swap with other helpers..
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Aircon is good idea. A small quiet one is like 1500-2000 including installation at Fortress.
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these are all great ideas!
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hkmrs
17 yrs ago
i love the small, flat-screen lcd with philippines cable, adele78, but that room does not have cable hookup, much less ANY television cable hookup. is it a real pain to get that kind of thing installed? keep in mind as my original post stated, i don't have a helper yet, but i really want her to be as comfortable and as happy as she can possibly be in the space she has. we'll be starting her off with minimum wage (we have no children and have a small apartment) and then raise it in increments.
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maxis
17 yrs ago
HK Mrs,
You sound like a very kind person.
The things you want to do are very nice.
The a/c thing can be a preference, some heplers actually DONT like it and rather have a fan blowing on them during the warmer months.
Again, see if she isa tv or internet sort of person.
DOnt forget they dont get to interact with other people in the day to the extent we may, and internet gives them all of that - also you canm watch some TV through te internet.
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