Monday, September 14, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thus far...
nothing much to report.
OWS's adhering chain lube is...foamy. And it gets everywhere. Please don't buy it. I don't exactly mind if it gets on the rims, that is perfectly fine because all chain lube sprays do that. This time it went all over the damn tyres. I have no idea how that happened. Had to clean that shit off after. That NEVER happened before with Maxima Chain Wax, which I have always been using, and I might add, damn good. Am not going into discussing lubricative properties. There is really no way one can tell unless one or the other is especially bad, so bad that your chain becomes shiny around the links. Both don't fling easily either. Needless to say that chain lube on tyres is a BAD thing.
DO NOT BUY! I got it free from my oil change.
Tried and tested. 20 bucks for the big can, 12 odd bucks for the small.
OWS's adhering chain lube is...foamy. And it gets everywhere. Please don't buy it. I don't exactly mind if it gets on the rims, that is perfectly fine because all chain lube sprays do that. This time it went all over the damn tyres. I have no idea how that happened. Had to clean that shit off after. That NEVER happened before with Maxima Chain Wax, which I have always been using, and I might add, damn good. Am not going into discussing lubricative properties. There is really no way one can tell unless one or the other is especially bad, so bad that your chain becomes shiny around the links. Both don't fling easily either. Needless to say that chain lube on tyres is a BAD thing.
DO NOT BUY! I got it free from my oil change.
Tried and tested. 20 bucks for the big can, 12 odd bucks for the small.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The pursuit of leisure
I suppose that is supposed to be the objective after working your arse off. In reality I'm just too tired or can't be bothered anymore. I can't seem to find the time, energy nor muster up the motivation to get out and about doing things that I used to love doing. Or rather I would like to think I still love to do. I find its just to easy plonking myself down in front of the computer and play a little bit of Barbarian Onslaught: The Secret of Steel or watch That Mitchell and Webb Look on YouTube. Before I know it, time has been squandered away and nothing fulfilling has been accomplished. These little Flash games and videos serve to kill time but leave you pretty empty inside. So the bowling, fishing and cycling gaps inside me remains unsatisfactorily plastered over by inane nonsense and comedy. Otherwise I'm either in station waiting for things to happen or wrenching piss-poor bikes to earn myself a little cash for the upcoming school semester.
I just wonder whether the situation is only as such now or is it a little glimpse of whats to come? OR maybe I've just gotten lazier. I really can't tell. Perhaps its the weather. Never fails to dampen motivation. I really hope so though.
I just wonder whether the situation is only as such now or is it a little glimpse of whats to come? OR maybe I've just gotten lazier. I really can't tell. Perhaps its the weather. Never fails to dampen motivation. I really hope so though.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Noise
Jeremy mentioned to me the other day about the debilitating assault to one's hearing that is Carrefour Suntec City on a weekend. My MISTAKE was I actually stopped to listed and consciously listen to the amazing racket created by half of Singapore passing through the store and the various promoters, video commercials, muzak, announcements and whatnot designed to get the thundering herd to part with their money.
The most offending of the lot is this endless-looping commercial for some pool toy which happens to be a battery operated fish which imitates the swimming motion of a real fish. The thing about the music for the commercial it sounds irritatingly familiar, but you cannot put your finger on the tune just yet. You tend to listen more to catch more parts of the tune as the tune reaches its climax and the commercial cuts and re-loops. But I'm thankful that there is no voice over.
Another thing I don't get is the PA announcements. I can never make out what they are saying. Its either this girl who thinks she's some hot shot deejay and tries to speak like one, fast and snappy, and as a result I can never catch some parts of the announcement. OR maybe I'm just slow in the head from wrenching bikes the entire day. The other person on the PA simply has the can't be bothered tone and usually fails to capture my attention.
Hearing the piped music loop again and again, day after day really curbs your desire to listen to any sort of music after a shift.
I also think some parents should smack their kids when they misbehave. And when they cry or bawl or make some other equally irritating noise, smack them again, perhaps harder to get it into their think little skulls that crying will not get you anything more than a slap. Anyhow I think that some of their parents are social retards. In what way does letting your kid loose in an extremely crowded store and a sales floor packs full of bikes, tools and other dangerous items a good idea? If you're actually giving this question some thought, the answer is NO. It is NOT a good idea. It only serves to aggravate already stressed sales staff and claustrophobic customers.
Another thing. I never get why people pull stuff off the sales floor, get their kid to trash it about and come tell me that they would like to buy it and ask me for a new piece when I start checking and tuning the bike their kid earlier dropped while attempting to cycle in less than conducive conditions. And when I tell them that we do not actually have display pieces and the previously mentioned bicycle is the last piece which is available for sale they look so horrified. I love it when that happens.
News to Carrefour customers. Space is a premium in our store. We love to cram as much crap as you would care to buy in every inch of available space, so your imagined cavern of a storeroom with loads of new bicycles does not exist. I repeat. Does NOT exist. So don;t screw up my stock on floor. They are actual stock to be sold, not display pieces.
Another thing. ALL our bikes are made in CHINA. And they are reasonably cheap. So don't expect the world for 50 bucks. You get what you pay for. It tickles me when you wrinkle your nose in disgust when you ask of the bicycle's country of manufacture, and I mention China. Nearly everything is made in China nowadays. Deal with it.
Also please do not regal me with your stories of your previous bikes getting stolen due to this and that. I've heard enough to last me several lifetimes, so excuse me if I appear indifferent and unsympathetic. Its your damn fault that you didn't secure your bicycle properly or that you secured an expensive bike properly in an area which you cannot monitor. You DESERVE to get your bikes stolen. And when that happens, I would like to remind you that I couldn't care less.
Another thing. You are shopping at Carrefour. Which is a hypermarket. I'm paid 4.50 and hour and my breaks are not paid for and I work a 10 hour shift. I try my best to assist you in your purchases. In fact I think I do a damn good job at doing so. But the fact remains that I'm overworked and underpaid in an extremely hectic work environment (weekends). So excuse me if I don't hang around you like a dog while you are slowly browsing through the selections available. I have better things to do, so only approach me with pertinent questions, like specifications, comparison and even helmet and bicycle laws in Singapore but not point to the brake and gear cables and ask why they are they there and comment that they look messy and ask whether they can be removed.
I just felt like ranting.
The most offending of the lot is this endless-looping commercial for some pool toy which happens to be a battery operated fish which imitates the swimming motion of a real fish. The thing about the music for the commercial it sounds irritatingly familiar, but you cannot put your finger on the tune just yet. You tend to listen more to catch more parts of the tune as the tune reaches its climax and the commercial cuts and re-loops. But I'm thankful that there is no voice over.
Another thing I don't get is the PA announcements. I can never make out what they are saying. Its either this girl who thinks she's some hot shot deejay and tries to speak like one, fast and snappy, and as a result I can never catch some parts of the announcement. OR maybe I'm just slow in the head from wrenching bikes the entire day. The other person on the PA simply has the can't be bothered tone and usually fails to capture my attention.
Hearing the piped music loop again and again, day after day really curbs your desire to listen to any sort of music after a shift.
I also think some parents should smack their kids when they misbehave. And when they cry or bawl or make some other equally irritating noise, smack them again, perhaps harder to get it into their think little skulls that crying will not get you anything more than a slap. Anyhow I think that some of their parents are social retards. In what way does letting your kid loose in an extremely crowded store and a sales floor packs full of bikes, tools and other dangerous items a good idea? If you're actually giving this question some thought, the answer is NO. It is NOT a good idea. It only serves to aggravate already stressed sales staff and claustrophobic customers.
Another thing. I never get why people pull stuff off the sales floor, get their kid to trash it about and come tell me that they would like to buy it and ask me for a new piece when I start checking and tuning the bike their kid earlier dropped while attempting to cycle in less than conducive conditions. And when I tell them that we do not actually have display pieces and the previously mentioned bicycle is the last piece which is available for sale they look so horrified. I love it when that happens.
News to Carrefour customers. Space is a premium in our store. We love to cram as much crap as you would care to buy in every inch of available space, so your imagined cavern of a storeroom with loads of new bicycles does not exist. I repeat. Does NOT exist. So don;t screw up my stock on floor. They are actual stock to be sold, not display pieces.
Another thing. ALL our bikes are made in CHINA. And they are reasonably cheap. So don't expect the world for 50 bucks. You get what you pay for. It tickles me when you wrinkle your nose in disgust when you ask of the bicycle's country of manufacture, and I mention China. Nearly everything is made in China nowadays. Deal with it.
Also please do not regal me with your stories of your previous bikes getting stolen due to this and that. I've heard enough to last me several lifetimes, so excuse me if I appear indifferent and unsympathetic. Its your damn fault that you didn't secure your bicycle properly or that you secured an expensive bike properly in an area which you cannot monitor. You DESERVE to get your bikes stolen. And when that happens, I would like to remind you that I couldn't care less.
Another thing. You are shopping at Carrefour. Which is a hypermarket. I'm paid 4.50 and hour and my breaks are not paid for and I work a 10 hour shift. I try my best to assist you in your purchases. In fact I think I do a damn good job at doing so. But the fact remains that I'm overworked and underpaid in an extremely hectic work environment (weekends). So excuse me if I don't hang around you like a dog while you are slowly browsing through the selections available. I have better things to do, so only approach me with pertinent questions, like specifications, comparison and even helmet and bicycle laws in Singapore but not point to the brake and gear cables and ask why they are they there and comment that they look messy and ask whether they can be removed.
I just felt like ranting.
Friday, June 26, 2009
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