Normal Service Resumed......again

Just a quick update on teh Du situation, which I must admit I thought was Du-n and Du-sted. It seems that in Du world if at first you don't succeed then you have to try and try again.....even after you have already done it.

As previously reported here, Du came and testedout lines and hooked us up about a week ago and low and behold, last night we got a call at 11pm from a Du service agent who was ever so pleased with himself to be abel to tell us:

Du: Evening sir
Me: Evening, who is this
Du: I am calling from Du, I have great news
Me: Really, well it better be at 11pm
Du: You know how we told you that we woudl not be able to send and engineer until the 29th to connect your account?
Me: Yes
Du: Well, good news sir, we have managed to bring the date forward to the 27th
Me: What?
Du: The 27th sir, it will be two days earlier
Me: And you had to call me at 11pm to tell me that
Du: Yes sir, its good news
Me: So good i had to be woken up after I have already been in bed for an hour and a half
Du: Sir?
Me: Well maybe we could both wait until tomorrow morning when we have had a good nights sleep and have clearer head
Du: Pardon sir?
Me: Because then you can check your computer and realise that you connected me 3 days ago!!
Du: Pardon sir
Me: Good night, and do not call me again this late
Du: But sir.....
BBbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I felt a pang of guilt for the fella as he did seem really proud of the fact he was going to be able to arrange an engineer 2 days sooner.

Meeep Meep

This year I vowed that under no circumstances was I going togo to an Iftar buffet as they are, generally and on the whole, crap. Only people who haven't eaten ALL day would want to touch most of the make 'em cheap stack 'em high stodge that is shoveled out on the buffets......which is probably why Iftar comes right after fasting.

Add to this, when we went out for Mr Bailey's birthday a few weeks ago the Dodd's broke the news to Richard and I that as a birthday present they had entered us in the Dubai 10k!! With friends like that who needs enemies. As so it is that the co-pilot and I are having to embark upon the (very) long road to fitness.

On Wednesday last week Ashley at work decided that we should all embark upon a run as a kind of group team building torture event bt combing these two - avoiding Iftar and running - and enter the Dubai Road Runner 5k Iftar race. This basically involved a runaround Musrif park starting at 6pm and running until Iftar - and therefore no water until the end!!

Ashley then press ganged Mr Page, Gregor, myself, Chris and Matt and Natasha into joining her for this act of stupidity, along with each of our respoective partners.

And so it was that at 5.30pm we congregated in the car park as Musrif, limbered, stretched and generally tried to make it look like Mr Page wasn't the only one who knew what he was doing. We struck off at 6pm and by 6:05 I was crossing the finish line wishing I hadn't agreed to this stupidity.

By 1km I had been passed by the lead pack of girls and by 2km I was passed by Natasha to a hoot of "Camon Mate, are you going to let yourself be beaten by a Sheila" and she might have even said "Struth".......but equally I might be resorting to crude stereotypes and paraphrasing but she said words to that effect as she glided past effortlessly and I cursed her to trip and fall (in a no injuring or damaging way of course).

But 35 minutes later it was all over and I was stumbling over the finish line and completing my first ever running race....and I even beat three other blokes!!

Full results can be found her, and I can be found pretty close to the end of the list

http://www.dubai-road-runners.com/iftarchallenge/iftarresults.html

Readers in High Places

Well, it would appear that this blog has readers in high places..........as low and behold the Du machine ground into action today and I was called this afternoon to say that if I could be home within an hour then an engineer would be there to connect my internet and TV.

So, with all due haste (but equal measure of due attention to road safety of course) I high tailed home from work to find the fella sat in the drive way with a box of tricks under his arm. Five minutes later he had plugged in the cables, turned it on and we are now up and running!!

Hurray for readers in high places!!

For those interested, the 'checks' the Engineer had to make on the lines which were the reason Du couldn't connect us remotely were made up of plugging in the network cable in to the wall, other end into my laptop and asking me to connect to a web page........ground breaking.

THE SERVICE IS TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED

SORRY - DUE TO THE INSANITY OF THE DU COMPANY SYSTEMS THIS BLOG WILL BE TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED FOR UPTO 28 DAY

WATCH THIS SPACE.......BUT DON'T EXPECT ANYTHIGN EXCITTING TO HAPPEN

Du - Well...actually we don't....but we do....just not straight away

The co-pilot and I have recently moved out of our borrowed palacial mansion and into an new "little house of our own" (albiet rented - we are not daft enough to buy in Dubai at the moment). we completed the move last weekend and the new landlord is a sound fella (a rarity in these times) and he kept the DEWA and Du servces connected while we moved in.

Now I have been following with amused interst the Grumpy Goats on going saga with Itisalot and his efforts, in vain to date, to persuade them that as a ISP they have just two functions (1) to provide internet and (2) collect payment for said service. And in summary it would appear itisalot are only able to master the second part of that equation.

In our old appartment (prison Cell Block Wakka) we had completely failed to enjoy any of Itisalots services as they did not have cables in our area yet. So, with the move to the Arbian Ranches we were looking forward to never having to deal with itisalot again as we would be switching (through no choice of ours) to the otehr monopoly - Du (oh the joys of the free market competition in the Sand Pit). This will be brilliant we thought; fast internet, cable TV and not a hint of Itisalot's incompetence.

Yesterday therefore co-pilot met up with the The Landlord and went down to Du to arraneg for his account to be cancelled and ours to be set up and thereby effect a "seemless and painless transition of power"......or so we thought!!

The Co-pilot and The Landlord explain the situation and requested the disconnetion and setting up of our account.

"No problem" replied the (suprisingly) helpful assistant.....[click click clicked click]....."there you go Mr Landlord your account has been cancelled and your internet will be disconnected within 24 hours"

all don't remotely, efficiently, and without undue hinderance or hassle.

And then she turns to the co-pilot [click click clickty click) "and there you go madam you have been scheduled for reconnection"
Co-pilot "scheduled? Do it will follow on as soon as the Landlord is disconnected"
Assistant: "Pardon me"
Co-pilot: "you said scheduled, does that mean it will be straight after"
Assitant: "Oh no, your request has to go to an engineer.....who will schedule an appointment.....to come to your premises to make the connection"
Co-pilot: "erm..why can't it be done remotely like the disconnection?"
Assistant: "becasue it is the companies system of course"
Co-pilot "why?"
Assistant: "well, because they need to check the lines and make the connect"
Co-pilot: "but why, we know it works, you havejus tdisconnect The Landlord from the same line"
Assitant: "yes I know, but its the company system, what can I do"
Co-pilot [realising she is fighting a loosing battle]: "Groan.....so how long will that take?"
Assistant: "Oh I'll schedule you for the next available slot......which is......[click click clickedy click] 29 September"
Co-pilot: "WHAT!! That's over four weeks away!!"
Assitant: "Well yes, it is a long time away, but the Engineers are all busy"
Co-pilot: "What with, checking lines unnecessarily?"

24 hours to disconnect.......672 hours to connect!! Don't you just love high technology!! My brother can work on a server in Frankfurt while sat in London, and get can turn it off and on again at will. But the dears at Du need a man to come a month later to check it manually.

So it is that the YBOD family will be off air for the next 28 days while we await an Engineer coming out to check a line we all already know works fine.........I love living in the sandpit.

NOT.