Frustrations and highlights

Yesterday was a trying one though, like everything here there were lots of good points as well. A chap from Etisalat actually turned up - only 24 hours late. However, having fiddled about a bit he then had to leave for a while (to pray, I think, which is not something that usually happens in the UK). However, he did return and connected the landline,or at least I think he did as I haven't been able to get out and buy a handset yet. Then, despite having not one, but two, boxes containing ADSL broadband wireless modems with him, he left without connecting the internet which was not his job, he explained and the boxes were for other customers. He said he might be coming back to fit them or someone else might come - I asked him when and he shrugged and said 'maybe tomorrow' (like The Pretenders song 'maybe tomorrow, maybe someday') I was tempted to barrricade him into the apartment until he fitted one but I thought better of it. The call centre assured me that the technician should have done both jobs at the same time but couldn't shed any light on the matter. Whilst we were out in the evening there was a missed call on John's phone from the magic technicians number which no-one answers when you call back but, as we don't have voice mail we don't know what they were calling about so meanwhile I wait! Most days I can pick up a very weak wireless signal if I balance the laptop on my knees in one corner of the bedroom so whilst ever that works I am not completely cut off though with very stiff knees!
HSBC also phoned to admit there had been a mistake in setting up the bank account which was now rectified and I would be in receipt of 2 debit cards and 2 pin numbers - all arriving at unspecified times from separate courier companies. I'm glad to know how seriously they take security that these cards can't be delivered to the bank for me to collect but it does involve a lot of waiting around. They've also set up the text alerts for whenever a card is used - now that's a really clever piece of technology which means you know immediately when your card gets used and can call if it isn't you. However, they seem to set it up twice on my number rather than on mine and John's - still it means I'll be able to keep a close eye on his spending patterns! Be a shame to know about those surprise birthday gifts from Harvey Nichols or Tiffany before the event though!!!!
Having stayed in for 24 hours to not achieve very much I was able to stomp up the road to Abela and buy some food and then carry what felt like a hundred weight of shopping home in the heat.
Ameer, the building manager arrived in the middle of all of this with bath plugs - amazing. However, they were the wrong sort and would work well in the basins but not in the baths, so back to the drawing board on plugs.
John took me out to dinner to compensate for all the frustrations of the day which was lovely. Being still new to the whole Ramadan concept we made the mistake of going out to look for a taxi just after the Magreb call to prayer - not dissimilar to wandering out to find a taxi immediately following the 3 minute warning. The streets were deserted and even after prayers every cab was heading for Iftar after a day of fasting. We were pretty hungry too but we changed our plan of going to the Sheraton and walked up Hamdan St to the French restaurant in the Novotel. It is definitely cooler now at dusk as we managed the 15 minute walk without looking too much like drowned rats! They'd moved the restaurant upstairs - I guess they open at lunchtime and the downstairs room can be seen from the street and it is forbidden to serve food in places on view between sunrise and sunset - so we were denied the 'authentic Parisienne brasserie with red check table cloths' promised by the guide but the food was lovely, especially accompanied by a glass of bubbly and beaujolais. It was a really nice evening and we managed to walk back as well.
I don't know if I've mentioned the guide before but it is a book I would strongly recommend to anyone coming to live in Abu Dhabi or even coming on a visit - Abu Dhabi explorer. It is a mine of useful information about everything from getting a visa to where to live and what to tip and the restaurant information is incredibly comprehensive (though very positive about all of them!)To be fair though I haven't had a meal here that wasn't absolutely superb and the quality of the meat and produce is stunning. Time Out is also full of useful information and snippets about new places opening as well as the plethora of activities and courses though they're all things you can do 'after work', a time which doesn't really exist in my world at present! I've now seen several copies of the Time Out 'Guide to Ramadan' which is great on the cultural aspects but doesn't mention anything along the lines of 'don't even think about trying to get an internet connection, bank account, a taxi or have anything delivered in a hurry!'