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| Is paperback the new wilberforce? |
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| You betcha |
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| One and the same |
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| Total Votes : 4 |
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Never Ceased To Be Amazed
Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 3500
Location: Shhh...don't talk to me...I'm playin' dead...
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 Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 3:52 pm Post subject: Is lollaerd or paperback the new wilberforce? |
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One and the same or jes' another tireless poster?
Last edited by Never Ceased To Be Amazed on Thu Dec 23, 2010 10:35 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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paperback
Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 116
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| Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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FYI Nope. I worked with Wilbur at the Gulag but have moved on. Wilbur has retired as his new wife takes up a lot of time and is very "Wilbur-oriented', he ain't got much time for out of house activities. He's moved further south in the Gulf.
As for me, I am also recently separated so have time on my hands. I worked for an independent school which was deadly and have also worked for SEC training teachers. I am just starting a new job here with a big outfit so how successful it will be remains to be seen. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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Dear paperback,
Well, if you're not wilbuforce, you certainly seem to have picked up one of his bad habits (i.e. posting lots on one day and then disappearing for a while.)
What's the problem? Is there only one Internet Cafe there?
Regards,
John |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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No... I think he is lollaerd... 
...who shared Wilbur's odd proclivity for posting every single article in the local paper here on Dave's and posting to 20 or 30 threads a visit. Let's just be thankful that they have moved over to links instead of full articles.
Is it something in the water? 3 of them?? (Not to mention them sharing the wandering spouse problem...)
Fortunately it doesn't happen on any of the other country threads... yet...
VS |
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paperback
Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 116
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| Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:29 am Post subject: |
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FYI I spent a day with Wilbur during the last Eid. He said he's very busy with his new job (a university job this time) and the new wife, a very nice girl from LA who keeps him up to the mark. She is bossy (but he is thriving on it). He was so disconnected when numero uno took off). Numero 2 doesn't want him posting anything. She's told him to talk to her instead of the boards; he's happy where he now works and doesn't take issue with anything. Therefore he has no need to post any comments.
When he was posting on this forum, he was a very angry and upset teacher. The mismanagement of QP staff by Griffith/Imtiaz was very disturbing and he took it seriously; he was friendly with a lot of the guys who were fired so unceremoniously and unfairly. He left before the Lang Sol outfit took over. I think he worked for QP for at least 10 years if not more. In our reunion, he suggested I try putting in a few posts now and then so I figured - why not. Is that a problem?
Wilbur and I crossed paths the 18 months I spent working at QP/Gulag. I went to the magic kingdom for a while and came back to work for SEC. We were farmed out to new independent schools to train teachers. The operator of the school I worked in offered me a full time job when my SEC stint was over. The SEC doesn't do long term contracts as they like shopping around and spending money on consultants. It gives them something to do.
The indie school I worked in wasn't too bad but there were a lof of bedouin kids who had learning problems. The school couldn't meet their needs. A learning specialist was desperately needed. The school's operator lost his contract with SEC because they said he didn't come up to scratch. Basically he wasn't given enough time. There is always a major upheaval from a government regulated school system to one run by indepdent operators (not all of whom were educators although I think it is now a requirement); things take time to fall into place. My operator had good ideas and wasn't too bad as operators go but he just didn't play ball with the right people. Some of these SEC schools are very successful, others are struggling. The system allows them to hire inexperienced university graduates as teachers and a lot of them don't have a clue about classroom management or teaching and can barely cope. (The same problem those ESL housewives had.) There is a high turnover of young national teachers in these schools which SEC is trying to fix by doing in-house teacher training with different outfits from different countries.
So to answer your question, I am not Wilbur but I took a page out of his book and thought I'd try putting in the odd post just to keep up the tradition, so to speak. I didn't know it bugs some people.
Last edited by paperback on Sun Dec 12, 2010 7:58 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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paperback
Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 116
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| Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:34 am Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
(Not to mention them sharing the wandering spouse problem...)
VS |
Wandering spouses are a problem in this part of the world for lowly paid English language teachers. You bring a wife out here and she sees the good life. She compares the dump you've been given to the spacious compounds other expat wives live in. She sees them having coffee mornings and flirting with the tennis coach and then she goes back to her poky one or two bedroom dump in an unsavory part of town. You can't blame some of them. It's just the way it is. Even the Asian wives get a yen for something better and it's no wonder these wandering wives latch on to something better if they can. Hotel meals cost 200 - 300 QR and if your hubbie is only bringing in second rate bacon instead of prime, you betcha bottom dollar, your babe is going to wander. |
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paperback
Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 116
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| Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:39 am Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
No... I think he is lollaerd...
...who shared Wilbur's odd proclivity for posting every single article in the local paper here on Dave's and posting to 20 or 30 threads a visit.
VS |
Nope, not lollaerd, I am not sure who he is. Our paths may have crossed at QP/Gulag but I was only there for 18 months. Wilbur was and is myt buddy. There were almost 100 teachers in the Gulag when I was there, this is before the students starting getting farmed out to CNAQ and other places. The more they farmed them out, the fewer teachers they needed. I left before the Griffith takeover so I only know what I heard from the boys left on the block and who were put on the block. Chop, chop.
Posting kept Wilbur sane for a while as he was able to vent his frustration with news of the QP/Gulag/Griffith/Imtiaz fiasco and disgrusting treatment of teachers. No other place in Qatar has such a bad reputation other than Qatar University. The university teachers I met a few years ago when they used to hang out a Garveys had nothing good to say about their job, their boss, their accomodation, etc. Maybe things have improved but I can't speak for any of the teachers there as the ones who hung out in Garvey's have either left or have found a new place to hang out.
Yup, I do share the odd proclivity for posting news. Why not? Nobody else is doing it. I got things to do but now and then, it's not a bad way to let people know what's what going on out here in Dohaland. |
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Never Ceased To Be Amazed
Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 3500
Location: Shhh...don't talk to me...I'm playin' dead...
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| Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 1:10 pm Post subject: |
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| paperback wrote: |
| So to answer your question, I am not Wilbur but I took a page out of his book and thought I'd try putting in the odd post just to keep up the tradition, so to speak. I didn't know it bugs some people. |
You seem to have an odd idea about making the "odd post". You have blanketed the board like yer buddy. I think that yer being a bit over-sensitive as well as there was no post on this thread for 6 days until YOU decided to continue on it.
Let's count today's post on this thread...one...two...yes, three...in a 10 minute period...
It's obvious that wilberforce was frustrated, but there are better ways to take our yer frustration than blanketing a board...there are dogs to kick and cat's tails to stomp on, doncha know...
Besides, the thread was kinda tongue-in-cheek...but it seems that a nerve was hit.
Anything else that you'd like to share?
NCTBA |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 5:08 pm Post subject: |
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| paperback wrote: |
Is that a problem?
I didn't know it bugs some people. |
Nobody has or is complaining about the many informative posts that Wilbur posted... and since he seemed to know a teacher at every school in town, he was very helpful to new applicants. Nor were many (any?) of us fussed when he complained about his horrible treatment at QP. But posting 20 newspaper articles in a day... in effect, spamming the board, with full articles... does make it hard for anyone to find the information that they may be looking for buried between pages of articles that probably don't interest them.
I see that you are now posting links too, which is much better... IMHO. There are really only 3 posters who have ever blanketed any country board like this in the Middle East section, you, lollard, and Wilbur. And I've been on this board since its beginnings in the mid-late 90s. So, you can see why people would assume that you might be the same person. Sheiker is a close 4th on the Saudi board, but his posts are usually more education/Saudi employment law related.
As to the wandering spouse problem, interestingly, in my 15 or so years teaching around the Gulf universities - where the vast majority of the teachers were married, there were no wives who decamped over the chance to find a richer husband in a nearby compound. There were even very few divorces and the ones that did happen were more commonly related to a straying husband and/or the usual unraveling of a marriage... so... it seems to me that you three also share another rare factor.
VS |
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paperback
Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 116
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| Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 7:52 pm Post subject: |
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| paperback wrote: |
As for me, I am also recently separated so have time on my hands.. |
To clarify. I was in a long-term relationship with a teacher at the at one of the American curriculum schools. We were not married. In my case, separated means we are no longer officially together. We did not cohabit as this is a risky business here. Why did we break up? Because we grew apart while I was away for a while; it was kinda hard to pick up the pieces where we left off. We tried but it didn't work. I was under a lot of stress with the SEC and no time to fix the relationship. The indie school also took its toll. No hard feelings; we still socialize and are on good terms. No problems on either side. So why is this strange? Wilbur came to Q with a wife who couldn't handle the Gulag accomodation and lifestyle. I didn't and have never been married so didn't have to expose a woman to substandard accomodation etc. |
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paperback
Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 116
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| Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
As to the wandering spouse problem, interestingly, in my 15 or so years teaching around the Gulf universities - where the vast majority of the teachers were married, there were no wives who decamped over the chance to find a richer husband in a nearby compound. There were even very few divorces and the ones that did happen were more commonly related to a straying husband and/or the usual unraveling of a marriage... so... it seems to me that you three also share another rare factor.
VS |
Teachers who work in universities are much better paid, they have school fees, good /decent accomodation, benefits, decent furniture, appliances, etc. etc. This is an entirely different category of teacher from those of us who work in institutions like QP or the tech colleges in the UAE or schools owned by consortiums. These places do not pay well and do not offer good benefits. They save on housing, often putting teachers either in shared accomodation or poorly maintained small dark apartments in grubby neighborhoods.
You cannot begin to compare the salaries of university teachers with the rest of us who work in these places. Teachers in most schools in Qatar earn less than 10,000. Some indie (independent) schools pay 11,000 and no accomodation so you have to find y our own. People then end up paying 50 -70% of their wages on housing. And you wonder why women check out? It's pretty clear. People who work in universities in the Gulf live the ivory tower lifestyle. It just cannot be compared to those of us who work in meaner establishments. You have to be more realistic about your comments. I'd say most university teachers earn 40% or more than teachers in institutes, etc. not to mention the goodie bags they are given.
Wilbur had a straying wife. My lady friend and I parted on amicable terms, we weren't married so there is no question of 'straying spouse'. I don't know about lollard as I don't know who he is nor do I know what his marital situation is. Just check how many people who work in these 2nd rate institutions are married against the number of married people in universities. I am sure you will find there are far fewer married people working in such places (the exception may be the magic kingdom where they actually pay better wages for these institutes). Look at the poor salaries the tech institutes in Oman and the UAE pay not to mention the substandard housing, then you get a clearer idea why wives might take off.
Are you married, VS? If you are or have been, you know that marriage can have a lot of pitfalls and unhappy wives don't stick around when there are no children. Even when there are children, I've known wives to take off. One Gulag teacher was even left in charge of his Chinese wife's son after she found a better prospect.
Last edited by paperback on Sun Dec 12, 2010 8:24 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Never Ceased To Be Amazed
Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 3500
Location: Shhh...don't talk to me...I'm playin' dead...
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| Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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Erm...I'm convinced...any others?
NCTBA |
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paperback
Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 116
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:09 pm Post subject: |
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... and all variations thereof. You present this as if it was new information. (I'm just shocked that there is gambling in Rick's Cafe) One doesn't get to their first Social Security check without figuring a few things out.  One thing I figured out was that there were few, if any, benefits to marriage - and that is why many wives depart. Once was enough and I never make the same mistake twice.
From your posts, you sound very young...
VS |
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lollaerd
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 337
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| Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 8:02 am Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
... (I'm just shocked that there is gambling in Rick's Cafe)
VS |
Do you mean Ric's Country Kitchen, the place where all homesick Americans and base people go for grits and flapjacks? No gambling there that I know of. In the old days, before all the bars, people used to play card games. That's the extend of the gambling. But maybe you know more than I do. |
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