The Makiav3llian Enchantment…

After a short hiatus, I am finally glad to say that I am back on the online scene! For almost a month I have been out of circulation and after so many hard fought battles with cable providers (Etisalat and Orbit), I finally have some legs to stand on. Keeping in touch is one thing and being back in circulation is another and now that I have internet connection, I am able to vent out some of my frustrations about the services I got in Al Ain. Being a small place doesn’t actually mean that you don’t have the capacity to accomplish your job, it actually is a place to measure efficiency, the smaller the area, the better your coverage but the wayI was handled by the two biggest cable providers in the UAE was nothing short of disappointing.
Orbit, one of the biggest cable TV providers took two weeks to process my application. OK, I had the cheapest package but that shouldn’t be an excuse. I had to follow up a total of 4 times to get the service due to me. I gave all the details over the phone and closed the deal there which was really a great convenience, just give my credit card details and it’s a done deal. Receiving an SMS the following day that I would be contacted within 3 days for installation was actually an excellent sign of things to come. After 3 days I decided to contactthem regarding my issue, to make the long story short, I had to call them 4 times in a span of two weeks to get things done. I was pretty pleased that on my last call that someone did come right away after I emphasized that my job order was older than a week. I guess you just have to blame the third party area distributor. Finally got the thing installed a day before my wife and daughter came back to the UAE.
Then after one frustration I was then at the mercy of Etisalat! These guys took a total of three weeks (even more) to help me out. I mean I’ve worked on meeting all of their requirements to the point that I even knew that there was no DP to use. It took a total of three weeks for them to tell me that there is no drop point and that I have to subscribe to WiMax. I had to go and check with them on getting a new registration number and then after two days, I finally got internet. So much time was lost, imagine how much internet I could have downloaded, the recipes I could have cooked, but alas I just couldn’t have both during that time.
The only positive thing about this whole episode is that I have cut the ropes that bindme to the internet. I actually feel free and dependent from it. During this time, I actually learned to appreciate the things I have, I began to miss people, I appreciated cooking and pretty have balance in my life. I never realized how much time I had in my hands and despite being offline this entire time, I never felt so online with myself.

Household help would usually be housemaids or people who serve the host of the homes whom they work for. Today, however, it has taken a completely different term. These are people who have taken their time to assist me in getting my home up and running. Except for those three”patan-clowns” who screwed up my refrigerator, I would to thanks Kuya Danny, Johanna, Khalid and Rona.
Kuya Danny was gracious enough to accept the repair job I asked him to do. Since the landlord AKA natoor wasn’t really up to the task to make changes in my shaabiya, I had to do my own modifications. Cost me a couple of quid but I’ve power outlets here and there.
Thanks go out to Khalid, the K-Man, for helping move my stuff out. He helped me a lot particularly in movingmy smaller things out. For crying out loud he brought out the Family Fortuner to assist me in moving. Although, I had very little help moving out, I’m glad there was help for me moving in.
Rona also had a chance to visit me and even though the moving part was already finished, a little female criticism is an added benefit. I designed the place that it looked like a bachelor pad. Basically she told me that there is no indication that I was a family man. Her advice does go a long way even though implementation is seems no where of happening. A little female opinion is what I needed and that is what I got.
My final batch of thanks goes to Johanna who really took a lot out of her busy schedule to help me move and shop around. Not to mention giving me her table at such a throw away price. Jo was there on every big movement I took and saying “thank you” just doesn’t really do justice for all she’s done. Being there for her kids, being on time with her husband online and nurse ER duties are the little things she has put aside to aid me. I’ve never really been able to find a home suitable but these friends who’ve helped me, helped me out as if I were family and at the end of the day, that is all that matters.