20251121 The Gig Worker

The New Disruption

 Imagine working in a place where you can do whatever you like, however you like and whenever you like (OK, this last part is important later), just as long as you hit the target, everyone is happy. And best of all, the no stress target is set by you. Plus, you get to 'work' everyday, as long as you feel like it and the more hours you put in, the more you get out of it, even if the goalpost moves every now and then. There are no office politics, no one stealing your food/ seat/ etc and more importantly no time consuming, useless meetings. And this is an exciting Job where you are at the forefront of this disruptive movement.

 But like all good things nowadays, there is a downside. First of all, there is no financial safety net for you should you fall sick, lose in a fight or just... fall. Although everyone is doing the same work, there is no team and should you fail, they will get your reward for picking up the slack. If you do not work for that day, you will not be punished but you'll have less to eat later on. Still, its a good thing, right? And since the Pandemic, more and more were keen to join you, disregarding the traditional way of studying for Diplomas and/ or Degrees for a more stable position. Lastly, you will not enjoy the benefits of EPF or even SOCSO (but this is being changed).

 By now, you know where I am heading with this.

The Gig Economy

 Yep, there you are, a Gig Worker. No, no, it has nothing to do with Concerts or anything related to it. A Gig Worker is someone who does short-term, flexible jobs be it on a digital platform or, the oft popular opportunities; freelancing and delivery. This breaks the traditional long-term employment with rewards (if you planned) in favour of short-term gains. In short, you are an independent contractor responding to on-demand companies.

 The Gig Economy is a normal part of our daily lives. And we all love to have a package delivered and waiting for us. No more rushing through jams, fighting for a parking spot, ordering and waiting for the food to arrive. Walk under the hot Sun? That was so twenty teens. Now, you can pay someone else to do that all for you and you still have so much time left during that lunch hour.

 Just like a Worker with overtime benefits, the more hours you put in, the more you get paid and that's just about it. But a vertical promotion? Ain't got no time for that since you're too busy making money, right? And this easy peasy this job segment only relies on manpower and the available (legal?) resources that comes with it. It is such an easy Job. A Job that no one can see what the future holds nor how you fare when you have other mouths to feed and also, get older. By this time, will all that ready cash, I'm sure you would have squirreled away some for a rainy day, right? Right? Easy money.

When reality sets in

 There will be a day, when you're too tired, too old and too slow. But you cannot stop. You cannot get your friend/ family to replace you either, even just for a few moments. Unfortunately that day came, and just for that day, you stopped. And every other Gigs you signed up for, also stops. And this is where you need to cash out some of your savings... Let's hope you have savings.

You HAVE savings, right? OK, you can still work

Need instant cash? OK, you can still work

Wife needs money? OK, you can still work

Kids needs more money? OK, you can still work

Family needs more money? OK, you can still work

 Well, since you're still young, why not sign up with other Gig Companies too, as this will make sure you have non-stop orders every moment of the day. And so, everyday, this is your Job. It has turned from, "I'll do this when I have some time to spare" to, "When is the next order?".

Poor fella called me up around half-past ten at night to let me know he has arrived. It was raining, he sounded lost and tired. From the brief convo, I know he's not a regular and only in the evening, did he start working for this gig. So, since it's a pair of safety Shoes, I told him to fling it over the Gate. Didn't realised it rained the whole night and into the morning too. I am not so worried about it getting wet and all, but it would be nice if the seller could have put them inside a box.

 

20251115 Walking through the dark corridor

I can't remember much about this dream but it was frightening and real to me. 

In the beginning, I was exploring a dark corridor by myself and it was a little darker than I expected. So, I went back to my office/ room to gather my wits. Then a female friend came in later and we laid together on the table to rest, with some twisting and turning, she somehow showed me her flat chest. Anyway, with her around, I became braver and we decided to go through the corridor again. It was a long office corridor with high ceiling and both sides had greenish tempered glass. This corridor looked very familiar to another dream I had some time ago. And at the end of that corridor is a darkened shadow. As for the reason why, I am not sure but it felt as if we need to do this.

The corridor opened to a bigger room, which on the right of me were a facade of a coffee shop with tall windows. Inside were empty tables and so, it gave me an ordinary feeling. But then I realized, my Mobile Phone has a mode which view 'special' things. The moment I activated it, from its screen, I can see a lot of 'ghosts'. There were people sitting and drinking at the tables. And then, there is the dark area further up ahead. The normal view shows only a pair of small green doors in the wall, is if it is leading to a celler. But my Phone showed it is full of dark aura, with large spider-like fuzzy soot coming out of it every now and then. I should not open it but I did and all the spider things came out, only to reveal a reddish flowing core.

There were other parts but by the time I rushed for work, the above was the only thing I could remember. The scary part was me walking through the dark corridor alone.

20251112 It was..... Aliens

 20251113

 I was driving along some kind of highway, on a Sunny afternoon, with winding slopes on the right. The Sun was glaring but through my wind screen, there was a long line of cars in front among the sea of yellowish brown.

 I think i must have pulled over at one of the turns where  the hills have recessed shadow. Once I stopped and looked up at the ridge, there were some soldiers with sniper rifles on standby. I climbed up but they were not that bothered with me. While I was looking down at the long line of cars, I noticed they have some kind of potato bread at the side, the kind with burned cheese tops. I ate some abd suddenly, one by one, the soldiers started to turn on their backs, almost screaming in agony while foaming at their mouth before dying. I was worried because I think the bread had something to do with it.

 The next thing I know, I was in front of a brownish house. Inside there were a scene featuring the two guys from Yes, Minister. I was lying on a couch, resting. Then everything shifted to outside, where on a white wall, with one guy crying and sobbing (maybe he is the PM) while the other, who looked like the PM in the TV Show, pushed him to the wall and started scolding hit. Next thing, they were back to the same room with me, which I was still lying on the couch. When the sterner guy talked to me (I thiknk he is really the PM), I noticed though his mouth and into where the throat was, there was some kind of a silver cog wheel with a orange-ish sac in the middle, with red tubes/ veins to the body. I used my finger to poke the sac which then leaked out and he was dead.

 I was in the bathroom, measuring the red scooper which turned out to be 7cm in depth, the same with the others although they looed different in size. 

 I went down where the other staff were, saw a fat guy and pokde my finger into his mouth. There was nothing but his throat. Then saw a Lady Maid, used a chopstick and poke into her mouth and she dies. Somehow, the first guy and I concocted some kind of a white power (salt?) which when we blew onto them, they snorted out the powder and died.

20251108 The oils are... gone!

 Sometimes I can get paranoid when it comes to cars. I have been with VeeChai aka Bengmobile II for close to 14 years and have been very familiar with his quirks. So, any weird sound or changes, can either make me go into inquisitive mode or, well, worry. For example, that 6 six year old occasional front vibrating/ knocking sound? Its now gone, which I attributed to the front bonnet stand lying somewhere on a Malaysian road. I am very certain it is that despite the fact that every time I open the bonnet, it stayed solidly on its holder.

The Engine Oil

 If you were young enough, you would be able to watch how James Bond dispatch the bad guys with an oil slick. In those days, every Bond cars has secret weapons which, by sheer coincidence, came in very handy for 'every' situation. So, everyone, including me, wished our cars has some secret gadget too.

 For those who need to know, mine is the oil slick. Yes, that trailing black oil slick, which, also happens to be uncontrollable (maybe I should have installed a switch?) and sneaky. Sneaky as in, 'How did that happen?' sneaky. Maybe I should call it an oil drip. But anyway, I started to notice Veechai's weird behaviour which seemed to feel lethargic of late and has that occasional clattering/ farting sound.

I beg your pardon?

 Yeah, cars don't usually fart. One thing you should notice when you drive near a wall or a long barricade, they can be a very helpful diagnostic tool. Any sound from the car (apart from the screaming passengers) would be reflected back to you, the driver. This is the opportunity where you can quickly determine if there is a problem. For example, a quick sharp and consistent ticking sound could either be a small stone or, a nail/ screw stuck to the tyre. And, if there is a screeching metallic sound, it could mean you're gluing to the wall, which you can confirm first by looking at the missing side mirror.

Anyway, for my case, the sound is like a fast rattling or a series of non-stop rapid farts. Plus, it only comes up when I least expect it, which is not very helpful when I am on the road. At first, I thought it had something to do with the exhaust and so, I lifted the gas pedal but the sound did not stop. Maybe it's the gearbox because when I set the car to a cruising glide without any load, the sound is occasionally there. Aha! Aaannnnnd...... then it is gone. Only when I press the go-go juice again, it is occasionally there. So, this means, it is from the Engine... shit.

 And. I. Have. Been. Driving. For.... Months!

With the help of the Technicians, we all more or less pin-pointed the loss if engine oil to the faulty oil filter housing, where the oil is trickling down. And when the throttle was pressed, the dripping speeded up. The first thing is to solve this problem before we can confirm if the surrounding oil splatter was from that faulty o-ring of the oil filter housing. Hey, its almost 14 years now. Might also be a good time to really re-seal the oil sump with some gooey stuff.

 

And so, the Sunday is (clockwise from left) Perodua Engine Oil semi-synth 5W-30 RM110.00, Bosch Oil Filter RM8.00, Oil Filter Housing O-Ring RM14.00, Bardalh2 RM22.00 and a pair of Bonnet Rubber RM3.00. Yeah, I forgot the metal oil gasket.

20251102 The Synder Cu...er, Schneider Switch

 It's only after a few months of moving in, we noticed some stuff are starting to break down. Ceilings, lighting, damp walls, rotted grout, leaks and even switches, to name a few. No, it is not the fault of the previous owner/s because to me, these are merely normal wear and tear. It's a matter of time before we start to repair them, budget allowing.

Switch Me On

  One of the most pressing issue would be our Bathroom switch. Both Water Heater and Lights were placed into one 86mm x 85mm Clipsal Switch Panel. And this is one of the range from Schneider Electric. This is not an issue until I realised that cost to replace them and with the same function, is prohibitively expensive.

 One of the models I loved was the Schneider Electric's Avatar On C (must have the 'C') which is like a piano key but stretches all the way to the panel's edges. Unlike their competitors, the small rectangular opening at the bottom does light up. Since the switch is needed to control the Water Heater and the light, I had to get a double-gang version, both with at least 20A capacity. And this is where the price went up. And did I mention that it is 'rare' as well? Rare as in it got 'SOLD OUT' and replacement stock is unknown. If the original wall cavity was constructed to handle two panels instead of one, I would have saved a lot of money by buying tow individual switches. Then again, this would make the whole design looked longer.

Long ago, I promised myself that if I ever did own a house, I would like to have those nice Schneider Switches. I was searching all the over the placed from local to Chinese B2C Platforms, electrical lighting shops and even here, at HomePro.

 

 

 

 

 

And it must be white. So, of all the switches here, the one I wanted is not on display, meaning it was never stocked. The design I want is 7 from the left and two down.

 

 

And the spec is a Double-Gang, 1-way, 20A in White. In the end, I got it for about RM80.00. I showed this to my Wife who responded with a very enthusiastic disinterest, 'meh' look.

 The Installation

 Replacing the switch is a very straight-forward task. Or so I thought. I mean, all I need to do is to remember which wire goes where, remove the old switch, re-wire the new switch and then mount it back. But the sad thing is that the wiring for the old switch is not the same as the new model. But after some time of figuring things out, it got it done. And oh yeah, do tell everyone you're going to shut down the ELCB and the MCBs before you start.. 

 

In less than ten days, the switch has arrived. While I was going over it, my Wife gave me that, "Are you sure you can do this?" look.

The rocking action of the plastic panels do feel nice but I just can't get over the feeling as if the other end of the plastic bounced. The experience is not solid plastic but more of a hollow feel.

 

This is how the 1-way connection worked. The LED would light up when the Live (red wire) and Neutral (Black wire) have power. I was able to do this for the Water Heater (L2, N2 pairs) but for the light, it was a single Live Wire connection so there is no way the LED would light up and I do not want to use the Water Heater's Neutral.

 

 

This is the front of the Avatar On C fascia. Unlike other switches where you need to pry off the bezel of some kind, you only need to remove the switch covers with a solid tug. I know, I know, because looking at where the fulcrum point is, the panel can weaken if I do it too often. Then again, I might want to if I can find some flat weights to stick under these two pieces.

 

This is the interesting part. The light window is diffused and it creates a very soft red light. Because the whole switch assembly is closed up tight, there is no way for me to modify with a white LED. Um, no, forget I mentioned it. Not going to hack a RM80.00 item.

 

Here is a nice surprise! Once the room's lights are off, the small rectangular window also has a brief glow-in-the-dark feature so that you know where the switches are located.

 

Under dim lighting, the red indicator is there but if the room's lights are on, sometimes it is not so noticeable, forcing me having to look at the switch directly instead of a side glance.