3rd D&D

Attended the company's annual D&D not too long ago and it wasn't too bad.



My boss has been hiring a lot of new designers recently, so there were quite a few faces there that I simply could not attach a name to and like every event with hundreds of attendees around, where I am expected to socialize and make small talk, I was feeling a tiny bit uncomfortable.



I had a few colleagues that I tried to stick with during the first hour or so of socializing, not that I really had to stick with anymore because I was essentially sitting in an armchair in the bar area and sipping on my bubble tea with a few of my colleagues who also aren't very interested in socializing  congregating around my general area.



After about an hour of me just going...

"Why is this taking so long? What time is it?"

... and looking at the time, the ballroom finally opened and everyone started trickling in.



Unlike last year, where 4 colleagues and myself got sidelined and assigned to a regular table while everyone else from my company got assigned to the VIP tables, everyone in the sales team this year was split all around the ballroom, and the only ones who got to enjoy the VIP table this year were the boss and the in-house team. So everyone in the Sales team ended up getting split into a few different groups and were assigned to a table with a few other sub-contractors.



The table I was assigned to this year was pretty close to the stage and luckily for me, I was sat with colleagues I was relatively comfortable talking to, but of course once the emcee started talking, any conversation I attempted to have got drown out by the speakers near the stage. I felt a little awkward because I was sat with a few sub-cons I haven't worked with before, and pair that with the loudspeakers that was constantly blaring the emcee's dialogue, I was just simply not interested to even attempt to start any small talk with them. We did have a few small exchanges once in a while when the emcee went to take a break, but we didn't manage to become close friends by the end of the dinner.



As the dinner went on, small games were introduced to make the dinner a bit more lively, innocent guest were pulled on stage to partake in a few mildly embarrassing games, I was also pulled on stage at one point to take part in this cringey group dance with a bunch of other guys from the audience and the only point of the dance is to invoke laughter from the audience.  Luckily I was standing at the back, so the ones in front of me acted as my embarrassment barrier.



Then came the part that I was most looking forward to, the lucky draw event where everyone in the company is bound to win something. There are 10 big prize and then the rest are like $100 red packets, the fact that the consolation prizes are $100 cash means that the big prizes are quite valuable items.



I was lucky enough to actually win one of the top 10 prizes, but before my name was drawn for the prize, the emcee did actually tell everyone what the prize was and the moment I heard what the prize she was drawing the winner's name for was, I pretty much lost interest in it straightaway...

"And the next prize is a digital door lock."

... it was like an instantaneous response from me because after that revelation, I just went back to my food and did not even bother looking at the screen where the winner's name would be revealed. If I won the item, I can't use it because I already have a digital door lock installed at my house, and even if I didn't, I will have to engage an installer to come install the lock for me and there is just too much hassle involved with that prize.


 But of course my name was called, it was like the Universe was trying to fuck with me because I was looking at my food so hard, thinking that if I focus all my attention on the food on my table instead of what was happening on stage, my name won't get drawn.


That being said, the digital door lock looks great, if I had my own place, I would have definitely been very happy to win that prize, it looks really sleek and so much nicer looking than the one my Mum installed.


So I went up on stage, took my prize, posed for a picture and went back to my seat. It is definitely exciting to win something, but that excitement really lasted only for a short while because when I finally got home and explored the contents, that's when I realize how much I DO NOT need the door lock.



I know I am looking a gift horse in the mouth and being an ungrateful little bitch about the Digital Door Lock, but I really would have preferred getting the consolation prize. I tried to sell the Digital Door Lock on Carousell, had to advertise it as an item that does not come with any installation and warranty, close to impossible to attract any potential buyers, but one did actually reach out to me.



I was selling it at $350, which is about $200 lower than the market rate, and this guy comes in with a $250 offer, I thought he was low balling a little too much, so I counter offered him $300 and ask him if he was still interested, he replies with a "Thanks" and then about a day later, ask me if $250 is okay, and that he can purchase the product from me today.



No matter how much I sold the item to him, I will still technically be making a profit because it is ultimately still a free gift I won, but I really didn't like how he was making no effort to change his price even after I made a counter offer of $300, so I told him I was willing to sell it to him at $280, but that will be the lowest I can sell to him, I didn't really want to ask him if he was alright with the price, so I just thank him for his interest, which was my way of indirectly telling him that this was no longer negotiable, either take it or leave it.




About 7 or 8 hours later, he drops me another message that went...

"$160. Last offer, what do you say?"

.... When I first saw his offer,  I got a little pissed off , I said no to $250 and he has the gall to offer an even lower amount, he is clearly fucking with me, but then another part of me also thinks that he might have mistyped and meant to offer $260, so I went...

"Sorry, $160 is too low"

... thinking his response would be to correct his typo and actually offer me $260 instead. I would have just accepted the $260 and sold him the door lock if he had told me it was a type ,I mean I really don't have any other buyers, but nope, he just went...

"Thanks"

... which meant that he was trying to low ball me even more by offering $160, he is trying to fuck with me. Needless to say, the lock is still with me and I have lost my only potential buyer, but it feels even more satisfying knowing that if he truly wants to get the door lock, he is going to have to fork out more than $250 for it.




UPDATE:

The joker reached out to me a few days ago asking me if $250 is okay. At this point, I honestly can't be fuck with him anymore, especially after how he tried to low ball to $160.

Am I suppose to be grateful by the fact that you have decided to raise your buying price back to $250 and sell the item to you?



Go Fuck Yourself !

At this point, I don't even trust him anymore, I have the feeling that when we actually meet to do the exchange, he might come up with some sort of excuse and tell me he only has $160 on hand or something and then attempts to get me to sell him at $160.

He has officially been blocked!

Zero Foresight.

I recently got my hands on a new project that is slated to start after the CNY break and it was suppose to be a relatively simple and straightforward project.



I told the homeowners that the renovation won't start until after the CNY break multiple times and even told them that the earliest they should anticipate moving in is probably between late March to early April, they were a little disappointed with the long wait but told me that they will just extend their lease at their current place a little in that case.


Normally when presented with such a scenario, the clients will extend their lease at their current place and if their lease extension fails, they will opt to move in to their relative's place for the time being until the actual renovation is done, but not this clients, because after failing to extend their lease, their next course of action is to move into the empty flat first.

"Hi Tim, we will have to move into our apartment before the renovation starts because we can't extend our lease."

 ...the apartment is empty, aside from the flooring and 2 functioning toilet bowls, the place is just not ready for moving in unless you don't mind living the life of a squatter for the next 3 months.



Naturally, I was quite taken aback and expressed my shock at their decision to move in to an empty space so early on, but then also told them that it should be possible for them to they stay in one of the extra bedrooms when the renovation starts, it's not ideal but seeing how their options are limited, it's the only feasible solution to their predicament.



Of course, this brought about more concerns such as having a functional toilet area with a wash basin and shower, doors for privacy, lights for illumination, a place for their fridge, for their washing machine, etc.



Essentially, everything that I would prefer to be done closer to the end of the renovation has to be brought forward in order to make the space livable and I prefer to do those things at the end is because it gives them less chances of actually getting damaged during the renovation process, and now the wife is asking me if the renovation can be shortened from the estimated 6 - 8 weeks like I had told her initially down to 4 weeks.



I find these kind of request to be bloody redundant. I told you I need a 6 to 8 weeks renovation period, that means I need at least 6 weeks to renovate the space, if it can be done in a shorter amount of time, than that is great, but I am not going to promise a timeline I am not even 50% confident of achieving.



She is essentially requesting for me to shorten the renovation period by half, it's like baking a cake and then deciding that since you don't have enough time, you will just bake it for half the time required by turning up the temperature of the oven, sure, bake the cake in a hotter oven for half the time, the exterior of the cake may look done,  but enjoy the under-baked, possibly even raw cake batter in the middle as you slice into that bad boy and lie to your guest that is is suppose to be lava cake when all they will get a few hours later is a trip to the toilet excreting chocolate lava out of their asshole.



I was feeling exhausted when I saw her request, so I told her it was just not possible, especially if the project is going to be starting right after the CNY break, there are many other projects that had to be postponed because of the CNY break, not just hers, that means once the break is over, all these bottle-necked projects are going to gush out like the hoover damn just broke,the contractors are all going to be hella busy during this period so rushing is not going to be an option for them.




After that, she just stop replying. I don't really know why her planning is so terrible, she knew from the start that the renovation will only happen after CNY, and she knows it will take at least 6 weeks to renovate the space, that means right from the start, she has been aware that the renovation will last all the way to April but she decides not to do anything about her lease that is coming to an end and then decides to just wing it when the time for her to move out of her current apartment comes.




Her "winging" it is now affecting my planning of her renovation schedule, what was suppose to be a simple and straightforward renovation has evolved into something else. I really really really hope she ends up finding another place to stay during the renovation and her lack of response right now is her actively reaching out to friends and families for a place to stay.



Please have some foresight.

Lamentations

It's been more than a month since Sly Fox brought up the issue with his house to me and after countless visits by the various contractors and myself, the issue has yet to be resolved.


I am EXTREMELY exhausted at this point, I was actually at a Foodcourt with my colleagues today, about to buy dinner when Sly Fox dropped me the text sharing the bad news with me, after which I completely lost my appetite and went back to the office empty handed. After the last trip to his place,I was really optimistic that the issue would be resolved, even send a specialist who deals with the specific issue he had and it was still futile.



My contractor who originally did the space really did a fucking fantastic shit show of a job, keeps telling me his workmanship got standard and then after countless futile attempts at repairing, informs me the the problem is probably because of another issue caused by another contractor, which makes no fucking sense because he's really grasping at straws at this point.



It's like going to a bakery to complaint...


Customer :
"Hey, your chocolate cake taste a bit odd, I think the cocoa powder that you use may have expired because we got a serious case of food poisoning a few days back as well.


Baker:
"I don't think the issue is with our cakes, maybe it was something else you ate that day? Maybe during your lunch or dinner?"


Customer:
"I'm pretty sure it's your cake, the taste of it was really off and I didn't really have anything that day aside from the cakes I got from your shop."



Baker:
"I don't believe it's our cake, we have certain standards that we set for ourselves, so it's not possible the issue is with us, it must have been something else you ate maybe the day before or the day after."



.... with my contractor, he admits that there was an oversight on his part because I found quite a few glaring issues upon closer inspections that he really couldn't deny responsibility, but the problem with my contractor is how prideful he is, he doesn't listen to criticism and his standard has never really been good to begin with, I only used him because he is like the contractor that a majority of my colleagues in the company uses, so it was more of like an default option for me to keep using him, but after this whole fiasco, I am no longer confident about giving him anymore huge jobs to run.




I added him into the group chat with my clients in hopes that he can directly liaises with them and update them on the progress personally. He did a shit job, so he should be the one facing my clients head on and bearing the grunt of any unhappiness they may have with him, but he isn't, every time instead of addressing the issue in the chat like I had intended for him to, he will call me personally and then ask me to address to the clients, citing stupid reasons like...

"You are the main contractor, so you should be talking with them, I think the issue is not with my workmanship but with the other contractor's workmanship, so it doesn't sound very good if I were to start badmouthing the other contractor."

 ....and then he shares with me the reason why it's the other contractor's fault, and I am not even remotely convince that it's the other contractor's issue at all because it sounds completely ridiculous, if I can't even convince myself that "the other contractor issue" is a valid reason, how am I suppose to convince my clients about it, and not sounding convincing with the bullshit reasons aside, it is a bullshit reason, there is no point sharing that with my clients because that is simply not the cause of the issue.



I really am just the middleman in this bloody mess my contractor has created for everyone and it's just getting really really tiring to have to constantly apologize for the same thing over and over again. I put my trust in the contractor to do a decent job for me, I wasn't even expecting a good job, just a decent one, and he was able to fuck all this up, I am actually splitting the repair cost for the damages with him out of goodwill right, but seeing how long this issue has been dragged out for so long,  I am now really considering bringing this issue up to my boss and getting him to tell the contractor to bear the full blunt of the repair cost because when my clients paid for his services, they were expecting the job to be done properly and not in this fucked up state like the way it is now.



But for future projects, I am now very confident that he will no longer be my go to contractor anymore, I will maybe give him some smaller ones once in a while that are easy to do and have a very low margin for error, but the larger ones, for the sake of my sanity, will NOT be given to him to run anymore because it's really not the first time I had clients complaint about his workmanship.