Published by Swiss James on 07 Jul 2008 at 01:03 pm
A very mixed weekend
Had a bit of a mixed weekend. On Friday night I went to a pub quiz at O’Malley’s
(sample question: “Which LA celebrity has a tatoo of an angel with her wings spread across the back of his neck?“)
we came a respectable fourth although I have written to my MP to demand a recount of the points.
As I was enjoying a post-quiz cocktail, I received the first of approximately 314 phone calls from work . Things were wrong at the airport and they kept going wrong all the way through Friday night until around 3:30am, then started again at 8:30am on Saturday morning.
To make sure everything was OK I went to the airport on Saturday afternoon, and didn’t get away until 8pm when I went to a friend’s birthday party at Bambou.
After the meal I had promised to go back and sleep at the airport to make sure nothing else went wrong (although how me sitting in a nearby hotel with my fingers crossed would help, I don’t know).
Sunday after getting back home, I thought it would be fun to ride my bike to the Photography mall. Well it must have been 38 degrees in the baking sun and I rode around for 2+ hours getting more and more lost. When I eventually returned home, my black t-shirt was covered in the white salt I’d sweated out and I stank like a Weasel in a rubber catsuit.
“Excuse me chaps, which way to the photography mall?“
James you smelled lovely and thanks for the coffee.
Where is the photography mall? Do they carry medium format Seagulls? Huh? Do they? Do they? Do they?
It’s on Luban Lu / Xie Tu Lu. Not just off Yan An Lu as I first thought, or at Lu Jia Ban Lu as I thought after that.
South bund area close to Lupu Bridge.
They carry old Seagull TLRs, but I’ve never seen any new ones there. You know there’s a Seagull factory shop just next to one of the bridges over Suzhou creek right?
New MF Seagulls in there, they seem pretty good quality but they’re not cheap- you can buy a second hand Rolleiflex for the same price.
WoAi- it’s lucky for you that coffee shop is well ventilated. Cheers for helping me out with the camera people
“He says he wants a third-party lens cap but will not pay more than 12RMB. No, I don’t know why he’s so tight with his money either.“
James – I didn’t realise your Chinese comprehension was so good. Now I’m embarrassed.
Seagulls suck big time, I’m not a snob but nothing less than Rolleiflex is good enough! I couldn’t get rid of that piece of crap fast enough before the fake leather peeled right off. If you want twin lens reflex on a budget there are better options, or get a Seagull watch if you really must have a Seagull.
Oh My Goooooooooooooooood!!!!!!!!
I drove pass Bambou around that time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ah yes, James felt a disturbance in the force at around 8:30
Don’t actually bother going into Bambou unless you’ve got four hours to spare, the food was great but the service was v poor.
Shopgirl have you spilled Lingonberry juice over your keyboard instead of your meatballs again?
No I’m just excited that I was about 10 metres away from James, just that there was a thick wall apart.
I don’t eat meatballs, I haven’t for about 1,5 months. It’s all burgers for me nowadays.
and the gold medal for most punctuation marks goes to…………
dingle- it was a bit slow, and what’s more you never gave me tit-for-tat on that half a spring roll I generously forked over to you.
Great creme brulee though and the service is probably better when you don’t turn up as a group of 14.
Well Shoppers, a burger is basically a flattened meatball …. yes, isn’t it annoying when McDonalds don’t deliver your burgers art 3am and you have to go get them yourself!
I know!!!!!!!!!!!
We were going to order at 3 am and they said it would take 2 hours!!!!!
and we drove pass the shop and there were NO people in it.
What’s with that? Can someone tell me?
Am still laughing at my friend who said, are you in crazy in chinese, and got answered in english, No I am not crazy,
HILARIOUS
Element Fresh try to pull that stunt on me all the time
Them “It will take 1 hour sir”
Me “That’s fine”
Them “Really? Actually it could be 90 minutes”
Me “No problem I’ll wait”
Them “You don’t want to cancel your order?”
Me “No I’ll just wait”
Them “Oh OK! OK! We’ll be there in 15!”
It’s a mind game.
are you serious? they want to go bankrupt?
sometimes China is too irrational
OK picture the scene, you’re on nightshift at McDonalds, it’s raining outside, you’re tired, you don’t want to go on a delivery.
Someone calls up- you can
a) Take the order, make it, drive to wherever, before finally getting back and resting again
b) Tell them you can’t be bothered (and risk it getting back to your boss)
or c) Tell them it’ll take a really long time, and hope they give up.
I doubt if the minimum wage delivery staff worry too much about McDonald’s going bust.
By the way
“Which LA celebrity has a tatoo of an angel with her wings spread across the back of his neck?“
I would scream Nicole Richie if I was at O’Malleys
James/Shopgirl
Irrational/bad attitude shop keepers who purposefully lose money:
I get all my shoes at Fly Streetwear, where I can get skate shoes and in my correct size too. However. It’s still a bit on and off as they don’t have mutiple sizes in the same shoe for half the stock. One day, around the time it first moved down Changle Road to by Fumin Road, I had the following conversation.
Background. I always got shoes there and had been two weeks previously. The shop owner, a youngish ex-skater, told me “nothing this week in 44-45, but I see my guy next week, come back in 2 and I’ll have something in for you”.
I enter the shop to find that he’s out, but his mother and girlfriend are in the store (they ran the store for most of the time back then).
Me: Hi, i’d like to check out some shoes in size 44-45
Them: We don’t have anything in that size, we never do, Chinese don’t have feet that big.
Me: I know your son and often buy shoes here, can you check?
Them: No need, we definitely don’t have them.
Me: I spoke to him last week and he said he would get some, can you at least look?
Them: We did a stock check this morning and there’s definitely none in.
Me: Can I have a look around generally, for my friend?
Them: sure.
Me: Look, these shoes right here are 45, now can you please check those boxes up there.
Them: Okay …
Them: … here are several shoes that fit you sir, please try them on, would that be cash or card?
That’s the heavily shortened version. Also, I was there with a native speaker too, language was not an issue.
hate lazy people
Reading these just make me angry. The most famous / extreme version I read was at one of those kiosks. The guy asked for something, soap I think. The shop keeper said they didn’t have any. They guy points and said it’s right there I can see it. And the shop keeper said “no, sorry we don’t have any”.
I actually had the opposite experience this Sunday. I was riding by a bike shop on my new Giant FCR and thinking about replacing my pedals with egg beaters.
(http://www.crankbrothers.com/eggbeater.php)
So I stopped in and saw they had like 3 models. So I asked if they had anymore – the woman running the place said she didn’t know but she would call and ask. So she calls the boss, and he says he’s driving in now JUST to show me the other egg beater models.
I have to wait 20 minutes for him to show up, then he goes to the back, then comes out to the display case and says “nope – we only have these 3 models”
I wish she had been lazy and said “no other ones” – she would’ve been right.
shopgirl- you were wrong with Nicole Richie I’m afraid. Now that I think about it, the question was
“Which LA celebrity sports a tattoo of an angel with wings spread on the back of their neck”
which I think was a bit of a clue.
Andy- that is some very poor service, but I suppose once they’d decided that no shoes were available, they expected that their observation must be true. It’s kind of a messed up Schroedinger’s Cat gone very wrong type argument where you need an external force to break the spell.
WoAi- where did you hear that one? Muppets.
T- I was very much hoping for an FAQ on that website. My most F AQ would have been WTFF?
Just for the record, I’ve had good service and Fly Street Wear is staffed by the skaters themselves these days, they have product knowledge and are eager to make a success of the shop.
But, of course, I’ve got loads of those stories too and this one fit thread :)
Also, let’s try an experiment:
So I went into this shop one day …
Me: have you got any shoes in a 45?
Them: Why yes sir, how about these?
Me: That’s great, thank you.
… yup, riveting!
I’m gonna go with my cousin Dave…and I didn’t need your sporty clue to get it neither…
Andy- well yeah that’s true
daeguowl- where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!
(and yes, you are correct, it’s that David from Essex)
This weasel you speak of: is it dead or alive?
Just trying to get some perspective on your simile …
They’re clipless bicycle pedals. With little cleats on your shoes you can step into them and be attached to your bike.
Black on a bike in 38C?!?!? Talk about mad dogs and englishmen…
Swizzle, wasn’t it very sunny on Sunday? it looks gloomy in your pic. And they’re all wearing coats!
You are a fraud sir.
Shopgirl – Have you not heard of Posh and Becks, LA’s most celebrated couple? I thought you were the fashion queen!
James – Despite Shopper’s averseness to them, it helps if you carry a parasol while you ride your bike in 38 degrees, honestly you will hardly break a sweat.
dingle- I can’t get the photos off my camera- have you seen my card reader? I’m going frantic without it. You’re right though, that’s an old photo.
Colin- I didn’t even think about it before I set off but certainly won’t make that mistake again
R- it was taking it’s rattling, dying breaths
WoAi- screw that, I’d rather be a bit sweaty than look like Mary Poppins!
James – Card Reader? One word : Bluetooth!
bluetooth from your camera to your laptop? You’re dreaming Peter, it’s not the year 2031`
James I saw them do it on Star Trek so I know it’s definitely possible to beam images from one device to another. Those stun phasers are a bit far fetched though I have to say.
I beamed a photo from dingles camera to my own once, but it was all very tiring and I had to sit down afterwards.
Don’t think my laptop even has bluetooth and I’m sure my 350d and f31fd don’t.