# I met someone new yesterday



## Sam (Aug 27, 2009)

Now, I'm sure nobody else will find this anywhere near as exciting as me, but I am excited and I'm the sort of person who likes to share 

I've just found out that there's a British guy living beside me, who is a trained engineer, very well experienced in all aspects of construction, plumbing and electrical work - and he's relocated and just opened up a business here!! 

After working in real estate for so long I have seen A LOT of apartments here, and A LOT of VERY shoddy workmanship, and (I hate to say it) but when receiving complaints on the quality of finishing in their apartments I have had to resort to the fact that "we are in Egypt" and "things are different". I used to have people that would pay good money just to have things right, but there simply was nobody around who could. So the fact that finally someone can actually fix this and there will be apartments around that really are a home from home I find really exciting  .

What's more, when it comes to apartment handovers, he is offering a service which would include the checking of electrics and plumbing, rather than the standard "are the light switches on straight and tiles not cracked" normal checks that agents offer (where the answer to these questions is normally no); he will actually tell you if the apartment is safe. There is a resort beside me where the WHOLE RESORT had no earth wiring, and until he went along NOBODY knew this, not the developer or any client. I find this kind of news shocking (no pun intended) hence my little burst of excitement at what change such a presence might bring to the city, or even property investment here in general. 

Sorry if I've gone on a bit, but in my world this was even better news than Tesco coming to Sharm, lol. I know I'm sad, but I had to share.

Sam


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## DeadGuy (Jan 22, 2010)

Sam said:


> .......................................
> 
> I used to have people that would pay good money just to have things right
> 
> ...


Hi there,

That's the problem with things in here, if you're willing to pay more, those idiots can see it, so they suck your money, but they still do things totally wrong!

Glad you found someone who's gonna make things a lil bit easier for you in there, always nice to have someone that actually knows what he/she's doing! 

Have a nice day.


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

*electrics*



Sam said:


> Now, I'm sure nobody else will find this anywhere near as exciting as me, but I am excited and I'm the sort of person who likes to share
> 
> I've just found out that there's a British guy living beside me, who is a trained engineer, very well experienced in all aspects of construction, plumbing and electrical work - and he's relocated and just opened up a business here!!
> 
> ...


Hi Sam,
Believe me if i had found someone like that when i was living in Hurghada i would have have been more than excited,i would have been extatic..!!!!!!! Can't tell you the number of times i got a shock from touching electrics in my house and everytime i brought the so called electrician he looked at my like i was crazy and told me "madam that is normal"..........only in Egypt.:confused2:


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## Sam (Aug 27, 2009)

hurghadapat said:


> Hi Sam,
> Believe me if i had found someone like that when i was living in Hurghada i would have have been more than excited,i would have been extatic..!!!!!!! Can't tell you the number of times i got a shock from touching electrics in my house and everytime i brought the so called electrician he looked at my like i was crazy and told me "madam that is normal"..........only in Egypt.:confused2:


LOL, I shouldn't laugh, but sometimes it's all you can do!!

It reminds me of an incident I had early last year. I had put the washing on, and then left it running whilst I went out to the supermarket to pick a few things up. When I got back home the apartment was flooded and and "engineer"was about to "fix" the machine either with his trusty hammer or screwdriver. Either or, I was not letting him touch it, so went to go in the bathroom to try to see what was wrong. My ex husband was trying to stop me in case I'd fall over on the wet floors, and of course the "engineer" was still planning on his way to fix it. But, me being me, I barged on in to the bathroom and immediately popped the drain pipe back into the wall!!!!!!!


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

After getting a shock from the washer and also the drier my maintenance guy told me to wear slippers and make sure my hands were dry!!!


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## Sam (Aug 27, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> After getting a shock from the washer and also the drier my maintenance guy told me to wear slippers and make sure my hands were dry!!!


You got a drier.... in Egypt?! 

When I first came here I was told that the bathroom floor is considered dirty and for religious reason footwear should therefore always be worn in the bathroom. Not long after being told this I got a shock when turning on the light whilst the floor being wet, to which I was reminded about the importance of wearing flip flops in the bathroom, as though my shock was my "punishment" for not doing what was religiously right.

I don't want any religious debate and I don't know if such belief is actually something from religion, or just customary practice, but it seems obvious now that shoes are a much cheaper and easier solution to poor electrical wiring.

I've also many times received shocks from my laptop... just another thing I'd come to live with!!!!


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## Beatle (Aug 14, 2009)

Sam said:


> You got a drier.... in Egypt?!
> 
> When I first came here I was told that the bathroom floor is considered dirty and for religious reason footwear should therefore always be worn in the bathroom. Not long after being told this I got a shock when turning on the light whilst the floor being wet, to which I was reminded about the importance of wearing flip flops in the bathroom, as though my shock was my "punishment" for not doing what was religiously right.
> 
> ...


I have never heard of wearing footwear in the bathroom! Perhaps it is an Egyptian custom. Some people have flip flops that they will just wear in the house but that's not specific to the bathroom.

On a slightly different note, when I first rented a flat in Egypt the "washing machine" consisted of a tub which was powered by electricity which you had to pour hot water and washing powder into and which basically just shook your clothes around for a bit. At the end of the "cycle" you had to drain the hot water out and then pour some cold water in to shake your clothes round for a bit. You then drained the cold water out and let it spin. At the end of my stay, my clothes were completely destroyed!


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## DeadGuy (Jan 22, 2010)

Sam said:


> You got a drier.... in Egypt?!
> 
> .......................................
> 
> I've also many times received shocks from my laptop... just another thing I'd come to live with!!!!


Wanted to ask the same question 

But shocks from the laptop??? You mean the laptop itself?? Or the charger's wire??


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## Sam (Aug 27, 2009)

DeadGuy said:


> But shocks from the laptop??? You mean the laptop itself?? Or the charger's wire??


The charger's wire if it's not plugged in (as in the charger is connected to the mains but not charging), and the metal parts of the actual laptop if it is charging.


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## DeadGuy (Jan 22, 2010)

Sam said:


> The charger's wire if it's not plugged in (as in the charger is connected to the mains but not charging), and the metal parts of the actual laptop if it is charging.


I can understand why you get those shocks when the charger is plugged into the mains but not to the laptop, it's the wire's job to connect electricity and it's connected but to your fingers 

But I can't find an explanation for why you're getting shocks from the metal parts of the laptop while being charged though :confused2:

If you got your laptop from UK and got the British plug with it (The 3-pins plug, which is grounded and fused all by itself) then this shouldn't happen, but it doesn't really happen even with the regular 2-pins plug used in here in Egypt :confused2:

There's something called a "converter" sold in here to be able to use the British 3-pins plugs with the regular sockets in here, I assume you got that?

If it's happening only with your laptop in your place then it's worth trying someone else's laptop, hard to tell where's the problem to be honest :confused2:

Good luck surviving being online!


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Hi Sam

Yes I have a drier here and it is needed in the winter.
I too used to get shocks from my laptop when it was sitting on my lap but I put it down to static electricity building up as previously my sofa covering was made of some horrible slippery material and now that I have changed it for a lovely woven material no more shocks.

Maiden


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## Sam (Aug 27, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> Hi Sam
> 
> Yes I have a drier here and it is needed in the winter.
> I too used to get shocks from my laptop when it was sitting on my lap but I put it down to static electricity building up as previously my sofa covering was made of some horrible slippery material and now that I have changed it for a lovely woven material no more shocks.
> ...


I suppose Cairo gets much colder in winter than we do over here.

It could be a build up of static - I'm VERY susceptible to shocks, always get them on escalators when touching the rubber handle thing (which doesn't make much sense) and can even get them clothes shopping from the metal hangers.

When it comes to laptops, its not just mine. I've also had them from my last two work computers, in my last two work places and in the last 3 apartments I've lived in, location and computer aren't the factor. And although I have a nice comfy sofa at home, at work it was a leather chair and desk so not much static build up necessarily!!!

@Beatle - I've since got the impression the bathroom shoes thing is just a custom among some families. I was also told before (same person) that cut toe nails and finger nails should be flushed down the toilet not put in the bin, again he claimed religion. Unfortunately I think there are a few (I don't think it's many, well it might be) who confuse customs, traditions and actual religious practices.


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## Beatle (Aug 14, 2009)

Sam said:


> @Beatle - I've since got the impression the bathroom shoes thing is just a custom among some families. I was also told before (same person) that cut toe nails and finger nails should be flushed down the toilet not put in the bin, again he claimed religion. Unfortunately I think there are a few (I don't think it's many, well it might be) who confuse customs, traditions and actual religious practices.


I haven't heard of flushing cut nails either.

I think you are right that customs and actual religious practices can be confused. To a certain extent, you only become aware that something is a custom when you meet other people of the same religion from a different country and discover how customs differ. It's very easy for custom and religious practice to become entwined.

Anyway, you didn't want this to become a religious debate - just found what you said about wearing flip flops in the bathroom interesting!


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I have a South African friend who always flushes his toenails as he doesn't want anyone getting hold of them to practice voodoo on him


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## Beatle (Aug 14, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> I have a South African friend who always flushes his toenails as he doesn't want anyone getting hold of them to practice voodoo on him


It reminds me of how one of my Egyptian friends in England thought I was crazy last time I spotted a magpie as I was desperately trying to spot a second one. And another Egyptian friend pointed out that when you say you will cross your fingers for someone, it has its origins in Christianity which I had never thought about before.


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