Archived entries for

New Year: New Look

There you have it. The new look of Tololy’s Box, done entirely by Black Cats, without whose help I would have probably messed things up. The header is my work though and I am pretty proud of it, so far at least.

Welcoming the new year, both the Year of the Lord 2006 and the Hijri year of 1427 (in about 30 days), as 2006 coincides to begin in less than two hours, I send out warm wishes for peace of mind, and peace on earth to everyone. 2005/14256was a year of affliction to many, a year of natural disasters to many more, and to some a year of inner growth. May 2006/1427 prove to be more logical and soothing, and may it bring you and your loved ones blessings and joy.

I shall quote Prometheus and think of 2006/1427:
” A child of yours is named as my deliverer “.

Arabic Entry: لأني بيضا و حلوة

كثيرة هي المواقف الغريبة التي أجد نفسي أتعامل معها, Ùˆ قد زادت نسبتها Ùˆ غرابتها في الاسابيع القليلة الماضية. Ùˆ لعل أشهر هذه المفارقات محاولة البعض تتبع “أصولي” Ùˆ معرفة أسرار هذا الشكل الذي يوحي Ùˆ لا يبوح, Ùˆ اللفظ الذي يحمل حروف ثقيلة Ùˆ أخرى عادية

كلمات قليلة علقت في ذهني بعد حوار قصير مع احدى الزميلات, فقد سألتني من أي مدينة بالضبط أصولي, Ùˆ عندما أجبتها كانت دهشتها لا تحتوى بكلمات Ùˆ أخبرتني أنني أبدو كفتاة من أصول فلسطينية لست أبدو كأردنية من الكرك, فسألتها لم يتكرر على مسامعي هذا الوصف Ùˆ هذا التحليل, فما كان منها الا أن قالت : ” لأنك بيضا Ùˆ حلوة”! … لا زلت أحاول فهم هذا الحكم, Ùˆ لا زال الفهم متمنعاً

هل يعني هذا أن كل الأشخاص الأردنيون غامقو البشرة Ùˆ “بشعون”ØŸ علماً بأنني لست كما وصفتني زميلتي, Ùˆ لست أتحدث بهذا كي أثير نزعات عصبية أو ما شابه فأنا ضد ذلك كله جملةً Ùˆ تفصيلاً, قلباً Ùˆ قالباً, لكن التحليل ذاته تكرر Ùˆ تكرر حتى اشتهيت أن أفهم سببه Ùˆ لكن الأمر أصعب مما تخيلت

Arabic Entry: لأني بيضا و حلوة

كثيرة هي المواقف الغريبة التي أجد نفسي أتعامل معها, و قد زادت نسبتها و غرابتها في الاسابيع القليلة الماضية. و لعل أشهر هذه المفارقات محاولة البعض تتبع “أصولي” و معرفة أسرار هذا الشكل الذي يوحي و لا يبوح, و اللفظ الذي يحمل حروف ثقيلة و أخرى عادية

كلمات قليلة علقت في ذهني بعد حوار قصير مع احدى الزميلات, فقد سألتني من أي مدينة بالضبط أصولي, و عندما أجبتها كانت دهشتها لا تحتوى بكلمات و أخبرتني أنني أبدو كفتاة من أصول فلسطينية لست أبدو كأردنية من الكرك, فسألتها لم يتكرر على مسامعي هذا الوصف و هذا التحليل, فما كان منها الا أن قالت : ” لأنك بيضا و حلوة”! … لا زلت أحاول فهم هذا الحكم, و لا زال الفهم متمنعاً

هل يعني هذا أن كل الأشخاص الأردنيون غامقو البشرة و “بشعون”؟ علماً بأنني لست كما وصفتني زميلتي, و لست أتحدث بهذا كي أثير نزعات عصبية أو ما شابه فأنا ضد ذلك كله جملةً و تفصيلاً, قلباً و قالباً, لكن التحليل ذاته تكرر و تكرر حتى اشتهيت أن أفهم سببه و لكن الأمر أصعب مما تخيلت

Open letter: At Fastlink, the customer is not always right

This is an open letter to all Fastlink personnel, specifically to their Customer Care division, and to the company’s client base in Jordan. I shall write out of personal experience and will not attempt to criticize in empty words. My account is not meant to bash the company or its employees, but to bring back to their attention that I, as their customer, have the full right to complain of lack of professionalism and manners. The name of the Fastlink employee who needs additional training will be disclosed in this account, as well as in the official complaint I shall make at Fastlink HQ, and possibly in other materials.

I had the chance to visit Fastlink’s corner in Jubaiha Safeway stores at precisely 4:20 PM, today, Thursday December 29th, 2005. The purpose of my visit was to finish a transaction concerning the changing of a pre-paid offer into a post-paid one. Had I known any better, I would have saved myself the money, the time, and the patience I lost in this call.

The procedure was pleasant enough, official enough, until the Fastlink employee named Tareq Ershaid handed me two papers to sign. A quick look at the papers proved that the printer was obviously jammed when they were produced, and this caused the very words contained in the contract to be like a game of crosswords. I refused to sign the papers and demanded another copy, and at this point, Mr.Ershaid said nothing. He proceeded with the official steps, took my money as could be expected, and asked me again to sign the papers.

I refused to sign, again, and asked for a proper copy of the contract. It should not be so strange to ask for a copy of your contract printed out properly, no? Apparently this is unheard of at Fastlink. Mr.Ershaid, and praised be his manners, then resorted to another tactic. He literally told me that he has other customers to tend to, and has no time for this. My shock was unspeakable, and he did not stop at that, having a bad hair day no doubt. He added that he would change something in the contract to make my deposit five JDs instead of three, if I do not sign the paper.

Customer Care has no limits. Mr.Ershaid even said that he would take the papers without my signing them if the need be so, and that my signature is not really that crucial. I was scandalized by this. Yet I was very short on time and did not wish to make a scene because things on such occasions get ugly, so I signed with the full intention of filing my complaint anywhere it may be read.

Following is a picture of the contract that I received, I shall be writing about this to any source that may wish to hear of it. Should additional information be needed to prove this case, I will provide any data without hesitation.

I find it hard to digest that a printer is not functioning properly, and a firm as gigantic as Fastlink cannot replace it. The case maybe so, but shouldn’t Mr.Ershaid have known better than to print out a blurred contract and hand it in to a customer? At the very base of professionalism is respecting clients, and I see no respect in what he did. He could have told me that the printer is not functioning as should be expected, and I would have left with no hard feelings. He could have, at the very least, apologized for the mess of words he generated. Yet he did not, and he added to that his insolent comments and semi-threats. Funny how he only said those words after he took my money, don’t you think?

I would have guessed such people undergo certain training courses on how to deal with the public, how to promote the company’s products, or say – and I am just guessing here, how to show some respect to perfect strangers after you take their cash. I was obviously mistaken, and I am extremely unimpressed.

My sister called Fastlink’s customer service number, and the girl who answered was gentle enough. She urged us to take measures to make this known to the company, and by God, take measures I will.

Arabic Entry: الجهل و الجهلاء

ألا لا يجهلن أحد علينا
فنجهل فوق جهل الجاهلينا

بيت “معبر” من شعر عمرو بن كلثوم, ان لم تخني الذاكرة. استوقفني هذا البيت قبل فترة ليست بقريبة Ùˆ أنا أطالع الشعر, Ùˆ لمعت في ذهني كلمة انجليزية بسيطة, قد تكون من التناقض مع “سياسة” هذا الصندوق بمكان بحيث يتوجب علي ألا أستعملها. لكنها معبرة يا أخي!
Typical
مما يؤسفني أن هذا البيت يعبر عما هو متعارف عليه في الشارع تحت مسمى “تياسة”. اذا لم يعجبك أسلوب الخطاب الموجه اليك من أحدهم, قد ترد عليه بنفس الأسلوب, Ùˆ اذا “ظلمتك” الادارة قد تتصرف بأوراق الطابعة كيفما تشتهي, Ùˆ اذا خانتك حبيبتك قد “تصاحب” عليها “للجكر فقط”, Ùˆ هكذا دواليك حتى لا نعود ندري من صاحب الحق Ùˆ من المفتري. لله درك يا عمرو

Arabic Entry: الجهل و الجهلاء

ألا لا يجهلن أحد علينا
فنجهل فوق جهل الجاهلينا

بيت “معبر” من شعر عمرو بن كلثوم, ان لم تخني الذاكرة. استوقفني هذا البيت قبل فترة ليست بقريبة و أنا أطالع الشعر, و لمعت في ذهني كلمة انجليزية بسيطة, قد تكون من التناقض مع “سياسة” هذا الصندوق بمكان بحيث يتوجب علي ألا أستعملها. لكنها معبرة يا أخي!
Typical
مما يؤسفني أن هذا البيت يعبر عما هو متعارف عليه في الشارع تحت مسمى “تياسة”. اذا لم يعجبك أسلوب الخطاب الموجه اليك من أحدهم, قد ترد عليه بنفس الأسلوب, و اذا “ظلمتك” الادارة قد تتصرف بأوراق الطابعة كيفما تشتهي, و اذا خانتك حبيبتك قد “تصاحب” عليها “للجكر فقط”, و هكذا دواليك حتى لا نعود ندري من صاحب الحق و من المفتري. لله درك يا عمرو

The love you make

All for good reasons,and as unusual of her, Tololy failed to publish as (little?) as a word of late. She has been severely sick for the past number of days, call it purification -as she likes to coin it-, it was a purgatory contrary to Dante’s, in her own bed.

The smell of illness still lingers in her three-holed nostrils, the hair, the clothes, the bed. The feel of weakness was humbling, very humbling. That–that indescribable sentiment of insignificance and defiance at once still visits her now as she recovers. She can at least get out of the bed without feeling cold and dizzy, she can walk steady and say a few words after being silent for this past period -something she is not used to and does not practice willingly.

Much time she found at her disposal to think, of many a thing. I would certainly rate it strange had she not spent her time thinking, she did not sleep at nights and stuck to that damned mattress, silent, under the sheets and the Paris wool hat during the day. What else could she have done, really? Mayhaps the fever had something to do with the hallucinations, the so-called visions, it’s your body heat Tololy. Nothing more, nothing less.

Crippled and static she recalled the beggar she did not provide change for, the innumerable sins, The Beloved… Yes, she remembered The Beloved only when she managed to snooze for a bit. It was something like a sweet summer nap, yet she awoke with the taste of humid salt on her lips, shedding precious tears for the loss of her.
Then she felt she was going to join The Beloved in that other realm, a moment of revelation; both tragic and joyous. Fever was at its best at that hour, deep in the garb of dark, and she literally wanted to have her back, as always, but now more profoundly, more solemnly. Proximity to death is healing.

But she was spared and did not turn into a metaphysical notion, a name recorded by a circle of kinsfolk and friends. She was touched by the warm concern of Niwhsa and Sabri Hakim, and she wishes to thank them from the very bottom of her heart for their thoughtfulness and care.

Illness provides one with an invaluable chance to reflect on matters. It gave her a minute of alleged wisdom, a gift it is being able to value health, and not giving mundane affairs more weight than they deserve. A time to read as well, she managed to conclude three works of literature, and she is not complaining.

A wish for Happy Holidays

A warm wish for a Merry Christmas to all those celebrating. Throw in another for Happy Holidays, enjoy the beautiful season everyone!

T Play Box IX

Alone in the office, never imagined this happening, not in a zillion light years. My chair has beautiful prowess that I unearthed but this morning. I placed it in the centre of the room, and made it go round and round. Round and round it went, my chair.

Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature.

- Tom Robbins

I am in a playful mood, and by the same token I take everything to be as playful as I am today. The window suddenly opened and a gush of cold Decemebr air sent a chill down my spine. The door responded by closing instantly, and I had my own little storm, in the office. Just the two of us, alone.

This phenomenal fur jacket adds to the relish of the weather, the black nail polish adorning the very tips of my now-pinkish-now-bluish fingers is out of this world. Controversialist? Mayhaps. Witch? Add wicked.

Tech support

Blogging via e-mail. This is something. Introduced to so many technological advancements today, I am overwhelmed.