Make sure he packs in the grease

I had the opportunity to thoroughly give the Iswara Aeroback a running check when my daughter came home during the Christmas holidays.  Call that an annual inspection.  When I drove it out for degreasing service there appeared to be another engine running independently under the chassis at a consistent RPM.  So after the wash I took it to Kim’s workshop.  The senior mechanic said the wheel bearings are making the noise.  I told him to change them and check for other irregularities.  He found that the engine couldn’t go to higher RPM without faltering.  In the end he installed a standby EDI (distributor) and found what was the cause; a faulty EDI.  A re-conditioned part costs RM200 but there's no guarantee.  I opted for a change to an original part.  That cost RM430.

If you get your mechanic to change your wheel bearings, make sure he packs in the grease.  I made the mistake of not watching this one while he changed the bearings on the 2 rear wheels.  Our Iswara only made it as far as Ipoh (about 200km away) when my daughter called home and said the left rear wheel was making a continuous thumping noise at normal speed.  She took it to a mechanic and upon stripping the bearings, found the insides blackened.  There was no grease in them.  I told her to get a receipt for the replacement and pack the old set carefully and bring it back on the next trip home.  I want to go back to my local repair shop and get my money back.  Besides, that apprentice mechanic needs a lesson in wheel bearing assembly.  His boss has to pay for it of course.

It was a lucky thing that she stopped by at Ipoh to drop off a friend.  Getting stuck in the middle of nowhere can be costly or even extremely hazardous, considering some drivers who like over-taking on the emergency lane...

Our Company's Historical Moment

Going CONTINENTAL

Then it started to rain...

Somehow, they made it in time for Friday's Town-Hall Meeting.  (whatever they call it...)

Who said you can't drink the water?

After I got back from Frankfurt with a sore-throat, a friend almost keeled over when he asked whether I drank the water from the tap.  He was so convinced the tap water in Frankfurt isn't fit for human consumption.  I said Germany's so well engineered, I can't imagine they have unsafe tap water. 

 

I found out only the Germans won't drink their own tap water.  The same goes for us here, but we have very obvious reasons...

   

Here's a webpage that confirms my assumptions:

Local Customs: Who said you can't drink the water?http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/3562b/b/a/

 

"Back in the 60's Jacky Gleason made that famous film, "Just watch the daugther, and don't drink the water!" It would seem ever since then, the rumours have never ceased that tap water in Germany will make you ill.

It's laughable, really, because no other type of consumer article is as carefully controlled in Germany as tap water - it's even safer than bottled water, because tap water is continuously monitored by municple authorities.

So why don't Germans drink it? Because they were brought up not to like it! They were taught that soda water, which has more minerals and salts in it than tap water is "healthier" than tap water, and many cannot get the idea out of their head, that without carbonation, water tastes "icky".

And why can't you get tap water in restaurants? You can, but you have to demand it. Tap water in Germany is relatively expensive, and restaurant owners want to sell you food and drink. They don't really like the idea that you would drink something for free. So when you order in a restaurant, and you want tap water, order a drink from the menu FIRST, then just ask them nicely, if they will bring you a glass of tap water. If they look at you funny, just tell them you doctor told you, that it has to be tap water, then nobody will refuse you."

Where's Your Signboard?

Day One of the take-over was 5th December 2007.  All our signboards dissappeared by the end of the day.  Now, if someone wants to visit me at work and doesn't know where I am, that will be a problem. 

Luckily, I'm not in the customer service or vendor relations department.  So, that ain't my problem.... yet.

It was great being a Siemens' person for a while.  Now we're going Continental...

New Business, Right?

What I brought back from Frankfurt wasn't new business for my company.  But it's new business for our local medicine shop.  Sore throat has mostly gone but the sneezing spells still come around.  And sleep is taken in snatches.

 

No doubt the condition improved 2 days later, but the cough is still persistent.  So, the ball goes to another local Physician.  He's proven to be effective in the past, especially when a persistent cough remains after a flu attack.  After a few long minutes of holding my pulses he told me my internal system was too cold.  Probably I'd taken an overdose of the above items.  Figures.  I know they contain some cooling herbs.   Guess that's why it's always advisable to know what you taking in and how much you need of each ingredient. 

I'm hearing about friends who's been coughing for months without getting a cure.  So, I'm not taking chances.

Still, sometimes like getting rid of unusual noises in an old car, it's a gamble, 'hit-or-miss' kind of thing... because a cough is not considered an ailment (?).  It's a symptom.  Or an irritation.  Right?

Aaach ccchhhhewww....

Someone suggested taking a concoction of juiced tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers for a few days.  I tried that too.  The coughing became worse.  So, last night 10-12-07, I went and tried another Chinese physician.  Giving herbal another chance. 

Date: 12-12-07  - Finally after 3 weeks (or more?) of see-sawing between cough and mild sore-throat without it being really serious enough, the real thing errupted yesterday.  This time it was really a pain even trying to swallow.  So, I went straight to my regular GP.  He gave me cough mixture, some pills to get rid of the phlegm, some pills to get rid of the pain in the throat, and 4 days' regime of 150 mg Roxithromycin. 

Now just take that and pray it works....