Today was a bit of a long day but an enjoyable one which made it all the better. I went with a friend out to a rather empty bit of their neighbourhood and did some driving practice. They had their Learners license but had only done about twenty hours of driving, so we went for a drive and also a beginner lesson on using a manual gearbox vehicle. They had never tried manual before and I am proud to say that they did do quite well today, getting from a total no-experience to being able to change gears from 1st to 2nd from a complete dead start.
While this was done on a flat (a very small incline really, enough to roll the car about maybe thirty centimeters a second) surface, it was still quite good progress. It took about two hours but we did have a break in the middle as they were getting slightly frustrated at one point. So, they can now start the car, go from neutral to first gear, clutch into a stopped start with accelerator control, and then change into second gear. While they can't go back down to first, they can at least stop the car without stalling by remembering to clutch-in when applying the brakes.
After that, we went off to Bankstown to look for the Hookah as I previously mention, and we walked through several arcades in the area before coming across a strongly smelling shop of middle eastern connectivity. They had quite a few, ranging from singles to quad-pipe with prices to match. The design and patterns of them also varied and we picked one which looked nice but was not overtly gaudy or glaringly attention seeking. After that we had lunch nearby at what apparently was the only place in Bankstown with Yum Cha.
It's been a while since I've had Yum Cha, about just over twelve or so months when I last went at the Regal in the City. Like all places that do this ritual hustle and bustle of food on carts and waitresses calling their wares and waving their stamps, we had a table and the customary pot of tea. We had some prawn dumplings, baby squid, green vegetables, prawn mince on eggplant, glutenous rice in banana leaf and then a fruit pudding. It was quite nice and allowed a bit of conversation though I think as usual I spoke too much. The bill was not too bad so no complaints there.
Post lunch, since I didn't have anything better to do at home, we went shop cruising for window shopping. Somehow or other, I ended up in the menswear section at the Myers in Bankstown, more specifically the suits section. While I admired the high quality suits and was trying on just for the heck of it a very nice Pierre Cardin suit ($499 for just the jacket) and moved up a size, a gentleman from the shop called out "96". A bit puzzled at that, he came over with his collegue and said that I was a size 96, though I had been trying on a size 100. He asked me to try on the 96 again and although I claimed it was too short on the sleeves, he pointed out that it was actually the perfect length on the shoulders and waistline.
Being the professional that he was (he'd worked Myers for 20 years after I asked him), he said that this particular suit cut meant that the 96 was the right size though the sleeves were a tad short. While this could be fixed by tailoring the sleeve length out, the other brands could also be suitable with their different styles. He found another 96 from the rack which was a Flare (I think?) brand which was much better in terms of sleeve length, the shoulder fit was very tight and not as comfortable for me. He pulled out the 100 regular (instead of the 100S, S for short) and it was a much more comfortable fit and the sleeves were also within acceptable limits.
Not to end it there, he then went into the back room and pulled out a Van Heusen suit ($599 including the trousers) which was a 100 regular in size, and a 88 regular trousers. After a little urging, I went to try the pants on, and on the way into the change room he gave me a size 42 shirt to complete the look. It fit quite well, and once I came out, he deftly tied a tie on top around my neck and it was a beautifully tied tie, you could tell he had a lot of practice tying ties onto other people. A look in the mirror and a spin around, I did actually look very spiffy. All I needed was a fix of the hair, and shoes to match, and I would have been suitable for a high power business meeting, or job interview (no pun intended). I pondered this and yes, at some point I probably should spend the money on a good suit instead of getting the cheap ass $99 suit+trouser combinations so I could look much more presentable when the opportunity arises for it.
I thanked the gentleman muchly for his assistance since now I know that my suitsize is the 100 regular with size 88 or 34 (depending on the system) pants and that big stripe patterns should not be mixed with small sized strip patterns. We cruised through the rest of Myer and then a few more shops around the Bankstown Centro before going home.
It was a nice day out and I really enjoyed it. I just wish I had the kind of money to take use of the advice given to me. Tomorrow is some work for me at uni before the 21st party, and then I also have some work on Thursday too.
While this was done on a flat (a very small incline really, enough to roll the car about maybe thirty centimeters a second) surface, it was still quite good progress. It took about two hours but we did have a break in the middle as they were getting slightly frustrated at one point. So, they can now start the car, go from neutral to first gear, clutch into a stopped start with accelerator control, and then change into second gear. While they can't go back down to first, they can at least stop the car without stalling by remembering to clutch-in when applying the brakes.
After that, we went off to Bankstown to look for the Hookah as I previously mention, and we walked through several arcades in the area before coming across a strongly smelling shop of middle eastern connectivity. They had quite a few, ranging from singles to quad-pipe with prices to match. The design and patterns of them also varied and we picked one which looked nice but was not overtly gaudy or glaringly attention seeking. After that we had lunch nearby at what apparently was the only place in Bankstown with Yum Cha.
It's been a while since I've had Yum Cha, about just over twelve or so months when I last went at the Regal in the City. Like all places that do this ritual hustle and bustle of food on carts and waitresses calling their wares and waving their stamps, we had a table and the customary pot of tea. We had some prawn dumplings, baby squid, green vegetables, prawn mince on eggplant, glutenous rice in banana leaf and then a fruit pudding. It was quite nice and allowed a bit of conversation though I think as usual I spoke too much. The bill was not too bad so no complaints there.
Post lunch, since I didn't have anything better to do at home, we went shop cruising for window shopping. Somehow or other, I ended up in the menswear section at the Myers in Bankstown, more specifically the suits section. While I admired the high quality suits and was trying on just for the heck of it a very nice Pierre Cardin suit ($499 for just the jacket) and moved up a size, a gentleman from the shop called out "96". A bit puzzled at that, he came over with his collegue and said that I was a size 96, though I had been trying on a size 100. He asked me to try on the 96 again and although I claimed it was too short on the sleeves, he pointed out that it was actually the perfect length on the shoulders and waistline.
Being the professional that he was (he'd worked Myers for 20 years after I asked him), he said that this particular suit cut meant that the 96 was the right size though the sleeves were a tad short. While this could be fixed by tailoring the sleeve length out, the other brands could also be suitable with their different styles. He found another 96 from the rack which was a Flare (I think?) brand which was much better in terms of sleeve length, the shoulder fit was very tight and not as comfortable for me. He pulled out the 100 regular (instead of the 100S, S for short) and it was a much more comfortable fit and the sleeves were also within acceptable limits.
Not to end it there, he then went into the back room and pulled out a Van Heusen suit ($599 including the trousers) which was a 100 regular in size, and a 88 regular trousers. After a little urging, I went to try the pants on, and on the way into the change room he gave me a size 42 shirt to complete the look. It fit quite well, and once I came out, he deftly tied a tie on top around my neck and it was a beautifully tied tie, you could tell he had a lot of practice tying ties onto other people. A look in the mirror and a spin around, I did actually look very spiffy. All I needed was a fix of the hair, and shoes to match, and I would have been suitable for a high power business meeting, or job interview (no pun intended). I pondered this and yes, at some point I probably should spend the money on a good suit instead of getting the cheap ass $99 suit+trouser combinations so I could look much more presentable when the opportunity arises for it.
I thanked the gentleman muchly for his assistance since now I know that my suitsize is the 100 regular with size 88 or 34 (depending on the system) pants and that big stripe patterns should not be mixed with small sized strip patterns. We cruised through the rest of Myer and then a few more shops around the Bankstown Centro before going home.
It was a nice day out and I really enjoyed it. I just wish I had the kind of money to take use of the advice given to me. Tomorrow is some work for me at uni before the 21st party, and then I also have some work on Thursday too.
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