Job Discussion Forums

Takahiwai · Joined: 06 Sep 2007 Posts: 93 Location: Libya

VS - 'ma'am' is also alive and well and used when addressing female officers in the British Armed Forces..and also if bowing and scraping to the Queen. We too can mush up a centre consonant when it suits us Laughing

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

To make it interesting the different dialects of English tend to mush up different consonants. Laughing

So we both get rid of that pesky 'd' in the middle, but we have a different vowel sound I believe... it is much longer in AmEng. (think of the extreme between a servant talking to the queen in a British costume drama - yes, m'm - versus the cowboy in an old American Western - howdy, maa'aam)

I suspect that the full 'madam' has been kept alive in the Indian English dialect.

So... we are talking among ourselves here waiting for MT to give us another update.

VS

MTelmar · Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 63

I would, but... I'm in hotel in Liwa on EXTREMELY SLOW dial-up internet which also costs a pretty penny - not that I care, really, since internet is a necessity, but I might end up throwing my computer into the wall waiting for the page to load Mad

So, very briefly... I'm alive Smile

Takahiwai · Joined: 06 Sep 2007 Posts: 93 Location: Libya

VS - couldn't agree more with your observation on pronunciation ('t' is the current victim in pronunciation in England, it seems). Just liked the phrasing - 'mushing up the centre consonant', very evocative Very Happy

MT - apart from the Flintstones Internet service, how are you finding the rest of the experience of being in Liwa? Incredible that someone managed to build a hotel there without a single view of the famous dunes, isn't it?

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

What a surprise that Liwa doesn't have cutting edge computer access... How quickly we are spoiled... Laughing

I wonder when they will get you into your flat. I assume that your luggage arrived??

VS

The Lemon · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 42

adorabilly · Joined: 20 May 2006 Posts: 430 Location: Ras Al Khaimah

Hey Lemon.

Yes we finally got internet. Though I had to get creative to make it happen.

At the start of week 10 (sunday morning at 830 in the morning) I went into the etisilat office. Now I have been going in every day, or every other day since week 8.

I was tired of waiting. So when I went in this time I made sure I would make an impression.

I went in in my wife's bathrobe, a wife beater undershirt, my nice black boxers, and my fuzzy slippers.

I did not speak to anyone. I walked in, went to the customer service desk of the woman I have been seeing for 2 weeks, sat down, and proceeded to plug in my computer and set it up for wireless.

Then I looked at her (she had by now realized I was there, and was a little shocked at my appearance), and said "I will be using the internet like I do at home. I will be coming here EVERY day until the internet I ordered is set up. Tomorrow I'll bring coffee, what type do you take?"

She stammered that she didn't like coffee. I proceeded to ignore her (well not really, but I was looking at my computer screen). She picked up her phone and started talking to someone in arabic (I wish I knew arabic to hear what she was saying.) But in 10 minutes I got a phone call on my cell, "Can you come to your villia so we can set up the internet?"

I told the woman thank you for finally making it happen, she replied that they had scheduled the internet connection for that morning. I smiled and said inshallah and good bye.

I think the bathrobe, slippers had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with it. Smile

Now from what I hear, etisilat is usually very good. And depending on which emirate you are in you can get immediate service...

When the tech arrived he said I should feel lucky, there are people who have been waiting for 4 months for their internet to be set up...

obviously they don't know about the bathrobe trick.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

You wouldn't be pulling our leg would you? Laughing

Drastic times demand drastic measures.

It sounds like the growth of the RAK Etisalat office has fallen way behind the growth of RAK.

VS

mishmumkin · Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 929

Sometimes you have to yell at Etisalat, and they will come through. My old school was not too keen on people leaving early, and it meant forcing a colleague to cover my classes. Etisalat didn't show up, and when I rang I was told they were running late-could we reschedule? Evil or Very Mad

I let rip, and sure enough, they came by that day. I felt bad afterwards, but I just couldn't afford to leave early one more day to organise it. When yelling doesn't work and you're female, bust out the tears. This only works w/ male Etisalat employees though. Female employees will continue to fuss w/ their veil, bending the head to the right in order to hold their mobile in place as they continue their personal conversation during business hours...

adorabilly · Joined: 20 May 2006 Posts: 430 Location: Ras Al Khaimah

Hey VS.

No, honest I went in like I described.

What the tech guy said when he finally showed up was that the etisilat system has been changed. It used to be order in RAK, and it was sent to the RAK office to get hooked up.

Now it is in the new etisilat office. The system sends the requests to abu dhabi, and there it is "processed." That processing can often take 4 weeks for the further away emirates (like the RAK) or longer. Then they may send the order to the techs.. or may lose it.

The Lemon · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 42

adorabilly · Joined: 20 May 2006 Posts: 430 Location: Ras Al Khaimah

Lemon.

Actually they had to send out a tech to "configure" the line. He spent about 90 minutes in my house making calls to etisilat over his cell, and then messing with the "connection box" in my house, as well as going out to the neighborhood "connection box" and fiddling there too.

Then he looked at me, said your line works, picked up the modem and left.

I was like... wait a minute where is my modem?

his reply, they will deliver it soon inshallah... (OMG I think another 10 weeks)

so I go back to the etisilat office, and as soon as I walk in they take a deep breath. I tell them what happened, and that I don't want to come back in the morning in my wifes house coat, they tell me, instead of waiting buy my own dsl modem, and have it installed.

so I went and bought my own adsl wireless modem and set it up.

about 5 days go by and the modem guy shows up from etisilat to give me my modem ... I say no thanks, I got my own... he replied good because the ones etisilat gives you SUCK.

But we do have internet.