simpleasabc | ExpatWoman.com
 

simpleasabc

simpleasabc
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Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 13:31
dikane, sounds as if you've got it sussed :) I'm not even going to start on our holiday plans - neither husbad nor I want to go at all, because the logistics of mothers in London and Athens and child who calls Geneva home are not evident.. <em>edited by simpleasabc on 06/06/2011</em>
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 12:27
Maybe too late for this time, but next time, why not rent a place which is suitable for all of you, and tell all the family that that is where you'll be and they're welcome to visit you there! Or are the distances from everyone too far for that to work?
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 11:54
yes you can get an egate card so it stops them stamping the little uae stamps but that doesnt help with getting visas for other countries that take up 1 page. Oh, yes, of course, if you're travelling to countries which require a new visa every time you go there on business, it soon mounts up. It used to be much easier when husbad was looking after a different patch :(
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 11:41
:( Was looking forward to getting my wellies on. And showing DS what a sheep is. And a highland coo. :( Worse case sceniro the BE here can give you an emergency passport to exit, but think you are over reacting you are talking about the Germans here the most efficient race on earth! That's the whole point, it *used* to be efficient until the process got moved to the UK on 1st April :) No joke :)
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 11:37
Umm....so DD's passport expires in December and we are just about to send it off for renewal before we fly home in August as I was under the impression she needed to have at least 6 months left on it for international travel. Will we get it back in time??? I might be wrong, but I should think she can leave the UAE on her current one, and enter the UK on it. Then you could do a fast renewal as mentioned elsewhere, when you're in the UK and she can get a tourist visa when she comes back again, or else you keep her old passport with the residence visa in it? (This is just a suggestion, have no idea if it's viable). Otherwise, send the application off via courier immediately, including a covering letter explaining your travel dates and asking that they work quickly. It might work. Anyhow, you've got nearly 2 months, so it ought to be all right, maybe just keep an eye on it and keep chasing, using that disgustingly expensive phone-line to keep track..
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 11:22
maybe they need to just add the time left on your passport to the new passport if you apply like really early...... 9 months may not be enough. lol They say they do that, in the Top Tip from the Dusseldorf Embassy: "You can renew your passport up to nine months before it expires, and we'll add any unused time onto your new passport. Remember - you can't travel without a valid passport. Don't leave it until the last minute!" yes i know that they will add 9 months on if done early etc, my hubs ran out of pages and we got a new passport last year the biggy one but he had something like 6 years left on it...... only got the extra 9 months! Oh, my goodness, I see what you mean, yes, that's a real pain. Husbad's got the same problem with his passport, it doesn't expire for 8 years but his job involves so much travelling, he needs a new one. At that point, his company should pay for renewal, now I think about it.. I saw something about using e-gate instead of your passport, on one of the websites, but it wasn't clear to me how that works?
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 11:16
Unfortunately, there are dire warnings by the British Embassy in Dusseldorf about your not making travel arrangements before your passport has been renewed/returned :( I'm not sure if it's a blessing or not that they are aiming eventually to have all passport renewals from ex-pats dealt with in the UK as well as those by UK residents.. It seems that visas and passport applications are outsourced to a company in Ireland called Abtran. I'm definitely going to apply 9 months in advance next time, if I'm still abroad.. Must check to see dorter's passport status.. maybe they need to just add the time left on your passport to the new passport if you apply like really early...... 9 months may not be enough. lol They say they do that, in the Top Tip from the Dusseldorf Embassy: "You can renew your passport up to nine months before it expires, and we'll add any unused time onto your new passport. Remember - you can't travel without a valid passport. Don't leave it until the last minute!"
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 11:15
I would imagine it being quite hard to readapt to living in a family home from living on your own, which I believe is what you are having to do? It's very easy to become set in one's own ways and routine and almost resent family impinging, I think. How does your new job look?
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 11:11
Unfortunately, there are dire warnings by the British Embassy in Dusseldorf about your not making travel arrangements before your passport has been renewed/returned :( I'm not sure if it's a blessing or not that they are aiming eventually to have all passport renewals from ex-pats dealt with in the UK as well as those by UK residents.. It seems that visas and passport applications are outsourced to a company in Ireland called Abtran. I'm definitely going to apply 9 months in advance next time, if I'm still abroad.. Must check to see dorter's passport status..
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 10:47
I think you're probably right, busybee2. I hadn't heard about the passports being printed in the UK, and then returned to Dusseldorf. Best of British outsourc^^^streamlining, eh :( Wrong! The passports are done in Germany not the UK Not as of April 2011.
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 10:33
How are things going, CT? Settled back in well? (You are in Perth, aren't you?) Not missing Dubai one smidgen? :D
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 10:27
This'll be another stupid question, then - can't Du recommend anyone?
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 10:10
OMG, BM, :\: But haven't they taken the money from your cc to process it? They *must* be able to back-track it from there, surely?
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 09:55
I think you're probably right, busybee2. I hadn't heard about the passports being printed in the UK, and then returned to Dusseldorf. Best of British outsourc^^^streamlining, eh :(
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 06 June 2011 - 09:45
I'm lucky enough to have been to both and preferred Al Qasr, for the food :) We sat in MJ's but there was a lot of movement going on around us and through the other restaurants and it was lovely to go outside, as well, which I don't suppose you'd get at this time of year. I can't remember the entertainment (oops!), but there was a general feeling of bonhomie :) Looking at the Madinat Jumeirah website, there doesn't seem to be a great difference in cost, but I'd call and check, anyway: http://www.jumeirah.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/destinations/dubai/madinat-jumeirah/Exclusive-Offers1/Dining-Offers/Brunch/Al-Qasr-Brunch1/ <em>edited by simpleasabc on 06/06/2011</em>
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 05 June 2011 - 21:58
Mushroom, bite the bullet and ring the extremely expensive phone line in London and tell them your predicament. If the passport hasn't already been sent, offer to pay for DHL or equivalent delivery, I think there might even be an express fee you can pay them. Otherwise, postpone your hols..
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 05 June 2011 - 20:54
Have you tried your telephone service provider? Surely it's up to them?
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 05 June 2011 - 19:11
Thanks, KM, will give that a try.
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 05 June 2011 - 15:28
Our DEWA bill has doubled since last month. We have recently started using sprinklers twice a day and also the gardener has been watering the plants outside the range of the the sprinklers, so we assumed it was the gardener overdoing the watering, as we got the sprinklers to save water :) Hadn't thought there might be a leak, was just going to tell the gardener he was overdoing it, except he doesn't seem to understand us.
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 05 June 2011 - 15:19
I'm sorry, I can't contribute anything useful here, but I have a question. If you are a Moslem already married to a non-Moslem, with children, and planning to come to the UAE, will your marriage certificate from another country not count, then?
simpleasabc
5400
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 05 June 2011 - 10:23
Would Saloona be what I understand is also called "Saudi crepe", then?
simpleasabc
5400
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 05 June 2011 - 10:19
Don't need an AUS vpn - the current series is available for download worldwide. That's where we're getting it from. We have no cable or satellite and download all our TV (apart from UK stuff which we can either stream or download whichever we choose). Our option means that we can watch US/Canadian TV, AUS TV, UK TV which is more than enough for us. Der, when you say "download", could you explain further? What is "your option", if you don't mind my asking? As I said below, it takes forever for my computer to download anything here, so I prefer to just watch online and in that case, I'm unable to access the Australian Master Chef videos as I don't have an Australian Vee Pea En.
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 05 June 2011 - 10:14
Would this thread here help you? Or you could put out a call for one of the ladies who posted obviously knowing what they are talking about? :) http://www.expatwoman.com/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=145547
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 04 June 2011 - 22:41
You could probably find them on youtube, each episode cut up into 10 min segments. Otherwise, there are torrent download sites but our internet connection is too slow for me to be able to download from them. As Izzy mentioned, you would get it if you had an Australian Vee Pee En.
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 04 June 2011 - 22:35
So, are you a leggy blonde who uses the baby-changing cubicle because it's the nearest to the entrance, then, alexalexa1?
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 04 June 2011 - 22:31
Yes starts Sept I thought series were typically 24 long, so was waiting and waiting! edited by Lady Bubbles on 04/06/2011 Ah, I see. I'm by no means a GA fan, had stopped watching long before coming here, but enjoyed what I saw of this series. Wish they had Mad Men on TV here, I hate watching stuff like that on my computer.
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 04 June 2011 - 22:27
That was the finale? That's what it says on the box, yes :) I thought it was excellent. Will there be a new series? The Good Wife finale is brilliant :)
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 04 June 2011 - 22:25
In the past couple of weeks, yes. I watched it a couple of days ago, but had recorded it and don't remember when it dated from, sorry. Perhaps tv dot blinxx dot com could be of use? ;)
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 04 June 2011 - 22:20
If you mean Season 7, the season finale, called "Unaccompanied Minor", has been and gone. Can't remember if it was last week or the week before.
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 03 June 2011 - 12:30
Must say, if dorter had been young enough, we'd have happily been to see the Wiggles - Dorothy the Dinosaur is a different matter ;)
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 03 June 2011 - 12:23
There are many, many reasons I wish I still had a small child in the house. That flaming purple dinosaur is not one of them :D <em>edited by simpleasabc on 03/06/2011</em>
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 02 June 2011 - 18:45
Yes, we went for our wedding anniversary. It was lovely, but hugely expensive for what it was, we thought - but then, we're spoilt, and used to French and Swiss restaurants.
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 02 June 2011 - 17:52
There are signs to it in the Madinat Souq. You follow them to an exit, there's a large (Italian?) restaurant entrance to your left, you carry on a bit and it's quite a discreet entrance a bit further on, on your left. Bon app!
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 02 June 2011 - 15:45
Ken? ;)
simpleasabc
5400
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 02 June 2011 - 15:43
You can look for the thread, currently on page 4, which is headed "Please read this before you next go to Mini Monsters" - for me, the safety concerns are encapsulated in this post from Maid Marion: Quote: This is a great thread RebeccaS and think that MM would be wise to read and learn rather than critise after all we are its target market!! I have been a few times and 18month old DD loves it but I too have my reservations like some of the other posters. 1. The safety issues of doors 2. People wandering in and out without children 3. Lack of highchairs 4. Cafe being open for children to run behind 5. Very steep steers, one set metal, with no stairgate 6. Only one changing table, up the steep stairs 7. Large children being allowed into the baby/toddler soft play 8. Volume that the music is played at 9. No apparent maximum limit for children safety or fire regulations 10. Lack of baby food available to purchase 11. No loyalty/membership programme Unquote.
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 17:29
Thanks a lot! I was hoping to get something nearer to where we live, because I'm a lazy old bat! Do you have the details of the Al Barsha place handy, at all?
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 16:49
Bump, please! Can anyone recommend a good tailor/seamstress for a Prom dress, please?
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 16:10
I'm fairly sure the answer is yes to both. I remember that the airport was the only place you could go where there was a shop open on a Sunday.. Or was that Hamburg, darn it, can't remember! Here's a link to shopping at Frankfurt Airport: http://www.frankfurt-airport.com/content/frankfurt_airport/en/shop_enjoy0/market_places.html
simpleasabc
5400
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 11:04
It's true, neither France nor Spain is doing very well and there is high unemployment amongst young adults.
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 11:02
Crikey, Zaabs, hope you get to 49M&Ms' state soon :) am soooo over it dont worry, I realised its actually fun to date again, which i was dreading! Good to hear :) Enjoy :)
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 10:55
One one of the last shows, somebody said Callum was young with not a great deal of experience, but like a sponge, learning and taking in and retaining everything that he was taught on the show. In the light of that, I'm quite surprised to hear he is not working as an apprentice still. Mind you, I never got what his aim was, except to work with food - not sure he wants to open his own restaurant?
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 10:53
Crikey, Zaabs, hope you get to 49M&Ms' state soon :)she still has a name for him and still considers him DH, not encouraging news after 13 yrs. I think she's probably using the "other" version of DH, the one that's short for Richard. <em>edited by simpleasabc on 01/06/2011</em>
simpleasabc
5400
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 10:45
Crikey, Zaabs, hope you get to 49M&Ms' state soon :)
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 10:37
Such a shame about Callum's dessert! I still preferred Marion, Jonathan and Claire to either of the two finalists, but that's just me :) Also loved Alvin and Aaron's characters :)
simpleasabc
5400
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 10:34
By the way, I call mine the Greek Myth.
simpleasabc
5400
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 10:32
Can't post mine either but it sounds a bit like a single automobile That took me a worryingly long time to work out - I only know merchant bankers ;)
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 08:28
Thanks, Izzy.
simpleasabc
5400
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 01 June 2011 - 08:11
Sorry, this is a silly question, but what's the number to call in the event of accidents like this?
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 31 May 2011 - 18:48
HUGE smash at the wee round about leading into 10, 11 and 15. Traffic backed all the way up. Ambulances have left now though. Not sure how many cars (relying on heresay) but lil miss's bus is not back yet, so lord knows what time they'll get through. Hope everyones people are safe and travelling sound. I drove past at that time - no issue with the traffic. A small car had smashed into the side of a minivan, must have been going at some speed judging by how much the front end of the car was pushed in. I went past at about 3.45 pm and only saw the mini-van (hugely bashed in front-right-end) and the small black car. Since, unlike many others who were around, I didn't stop and rubber-neck*, I didn't spot a 4 x 4 at all, apart from the Police one. ETA: * Not anyone on here, of course, but there was a water-truck stopped on the other side of the road from the site of the accident, driver chatting away to various people "at the scene" and blocking everything else which wanted to come out onto the roundabout <em>edited by simpleasabc on 31/05/2011</em>
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 31 May 2011 - 11:57
Very good food and service. Petting zoo and other kids' stuff outside as we went when the weather wasn't too hot. No ambiance otherwise, not many people around, no live music or other entertainment (wondering what that could be as I type!). There were a couple of large tables of families who were clearly enjoying it.
 
 
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