Of all the skills i've picked up so far in my life, hiding my surprise came in the most useful when collecting the car yesterday. i was prepared to pay $640 since i knew that the tyres had to be changed. earlier, the servicing guy had called me to tell me that my battery was at around 30% charge. so, i decided to change that too, since i wasn't sure if it could last until my next servicing, and i didn't want to make another trip specially just to change the battery. so that came up to another $140 or so, bringing the projected total up to $780. my poker face skill came into play when i saw the total bill for $943. that's more expensive than one month's instalment! the additional $200 or so arose because they charged me for the consumables (engine oil, engine cleaner) used in the process, and also because they replaced the worn-out rubber on my windshield wipers. there was also a servicing charge or GST of some sort. well, at least i know that i should be paying much less next time (everything else constant), since i don't expect my tyres to wear out for at least another 2 years, or better yet, if they could last me until the end of the car's COE. thank goodness my parents didn't give in and agree to get another car when i was an undergrad. i don't think there would have been any way for me to keep up with loan and maintenance payments on my limited (not to mention unpredictable) tuition income. i'd had to have worked so much harder, and my results would probably have suffered as a result.
besides that, the servicing people also notified me of another problem. it seems that my front dampener/shock absorber (i'm not good with car technical terms) was worn out, and air somehow got into the hydraulics when they hoisted the car up or something to that effect. so the service guy told me that i might experience increased bumpiness while driving for the next few weeks. i felt it a little while driving home, but that might have been my imagination after learning about it. i actually don't think that the drive home was anything out of the ordinary. somehow, no good analogy comes to mind at the moment to describe the feeling of feeling something that might be imagined. i guess i'll ask the friends who have sat in the car before for a comparison the next time we go out together.
in general, it was a very good servicing experience. convenient, excellent customer service, and staff who gave intelligent, well-thought out advice and suggestions. the only thing i was - not unhappy, more of irritated - about was that the staff adjusted my mirrors. i guess they had to, since they needed the visibility while driving the car around...and i understand that perfectly, so i'm fine with that. the irritating bit to me was that they didn't adjust the mirrors back. it took me some messing around to set the mirrors back to something that sort of worked for me, though i still don't really feel entirely comfortable with the current set-up. think i'll do some more tweaking as i drive over the next few days.
reading week is over, and my first exam is in 5 days from now. went through the materials notes today, and tried the practice questions. seem to me that the toughest part will be the synthesis section (if there is one). the rest can more or less be explained according to the notes. don't think the lecturers will test anything outside of the notes. so, i just have to know where in the notes the relevant explanations are...and that's something which i regrettably don't know that well at the moment. this means i'll just hole up in the library on sunday to get better acquainted with my notes. since it's an open-book exam, i think i may do up some summary sheets...2 or 3 per day sounds manageable actually. i may even shoot for 4 and get it done by monday. with all the studying i have to do, looks like i can't go down to the dog shelter this sunday.
over the years, i've watched several TVB dramas about various occupations, like firemen, policemen, and teachers to name a few. in particular, 2 of them left an impression on me, and they were about pilots and doctors. i guess it's because deep down, i secretly would like to be one of those. maybe not doctor, since i know how tough my friends in medicine have it. that's not saying pilots have it easy...i guess the glamour of being a pilot makes it attractive. not to mention the frequent travel opportunities. but i know that it's just a dream. a very nice dream which i sometimes wish i could live out, but a dream nonetheless. i think it's a bit too late to start that career path at 25.
tomorrow should be a pretty busy day. my ideal schedule would be to go for CJC/SJI training, shower there, then go to the SJF for the referee seminar and practical. not sure if things will work out exactly like that (most likely the difference will be whether or not i go for training). well, we'll see i guess. other than that, in the near future, i may want to see the materials professor for clarification on the synthesis, and i have a medical checkup on the morning of exam day. thank goodness my paper is in the evening. 7:00pm, to be precise. haven't had a late paper in a while. in fact, i don't think i've had a late paper in 1 to 2 years...not that i remember, anyway. also have to go down to ventus with my friend to apply for the staff season parking personally, as he had problems logging into the system. not forgetting a pretty big safety check, plus commissioning of the S5 lab. but those can wait until after exams.
besides that, the servicing people also notified me of another problem. it seems that my front dampener/shock absorber (i'm not good with car technical terms) was worn out, and air somehow got into the hydraulics when they hoisted the car up or something to that effect. so the service guy told me that i might experience increased bumpiness while driving for the next few weeks. i felt it a little while driving home, but that might have been my imagination after learning about it. i actually don't think that the drive home was anything out of the ordinary. somehow, no good analogy comes to mind at the moment to describe the feeling of feeling something that might be imagined. i guess i'll ask the friends who have sat in the car before for a comparison the next time we go out together.
in general, it was a very good servicing experience. convenient, excellent customer service, and staff who gave intelligent, well-thought out advice and suggestions. the only thing i was - not unhappy, more of irritated - about was that the staff adjusted my mirrors. i guess they had to, since they needed the visibility while driving the car around...and i understand that perfectly, so i'm fine with that. the irritating bit to me was that they didn't adjust the mirrors back. it took me some messing around to set the mirrors back to something that sort of worked for me, though i still don't really feel entirely comfortable with the current set-up. think i'll do some more tweaking as i drive over the next few days.
reading week is over, and my first exam is in 5 days from now. went through the materials notes today, and tried the practice questions. seem to me that the toughest part will be the synthesis section (if there is one). the rest can more or less be explained according to the notes. don't think the lecturers will test anything outside of the notes. so, i just have to know where in the notes the relevant explanations are...and that's something which i regrettably don't know that well at the moment. this means i'll just hole up in the library on sunday to get better acquainted with my notes. since it's an open-book exam, i think i may do up some summary sheets...2 or 3 per day sounds manageable actually. i may even shoot for 4 and get it done by monday. with all the studying i have to do, looks like i can't go down to the dog shelter this sunday.
over the years, i've watched several TVB dramas about various occupations, like firemen, policemen, and teachers to name a few. in particular, 2 of them left an impression on me, and they were about pilots and doctors. i guess it's because deep down, i secretly would like to be one of those. maybe not doctor, since i know how tough my friends in medicine have it. that's not saying pilots have it easy...i guess the glamour of being a pilot makes it attractive. not to mention the frequent travel opportunities. but i know that it's just a dream. a very nice dream which i sometimes wish i could live out, but a dream nonetheless. i think it's a bit too late to start that career path at 25.
tomorrow should be a pretty busy day. my ideal schedule would be to go for CJC/SJI training, shower there, then go to the SJF for the referee seminar and practical. not sure if things will work out exactly like that (most likely the difference will be whether or not i go for training). well, we'll see i guess. other than that, in the near future, i may want to see the materials professor for clarification on the synthesis, and i have a medical checkup on the morning of exam day. thank goodness my paper is in the evening. 7:00pm, to be precise. haven't had a late paper in a while. in fact, i don't think i've had a late paper in 1 to 2 years...not that i remember, anyway. also have to go down to ventus with my friend to apply for the staff season parking personally, as he had problems logging into the system. not forgetting a pretty big safety check, plus commissioning of the S5 lab. but those can wait until after exams.
-random thought of the day: Nights are becoming warmer again.-
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