I receive a call from my friends at Globe, (Refer my article “Bad Dongle” 10 September 21012) they are sure that they have solved my old Bad Dongle problem, I’m thinking; “Right, and I just saw Big Foot in my yard!” But I’ll make the trip to the New SM Mall in Olongapo anyway, because I’m a glutton for punishment, and besides what else have I got to do that day?
Putting my old dongle in my pocket (Not a word mind you, not a word!) and with a plan for other things I wanted to do while in the BIG PO, I slipped and slid down my newly graded sloppy road, made a left turn onto the torn up National Highway and headed for the back gate of Subic Free Port. Stopping at the Land Bank ATM as per usual to get bucks, we parked the car by Dunkin’ Donuts and walked over the bridge to town.
First we walked up to Data Works Computer Shop, to check on our daughters Sony Lap top, which had stopped computing and we wished to find out why;.” Oh, sir you must need a new Mother Board! The repairman stated. Then in a second breath told me it would cost Php. 35,000.00. Assuming I was getting the entire family including cousins with that “Mother” I’m thinking it would cost less to buy her a new “Puter” than fix her not so old one. I’ll mark that as a very disappointing turn of events, to say the least.
Off to Globe, to see what solution they have come up with for my burning dongle problem (Again; don’t say it). Take a number, sit and wait. Then Jhoy calls me up to the counter, she knows me and she knows why I’m there. That is an auspicious beginning! Johan the manager appears smiling with a look of self satisfaction one gets by knowing he has done his part in aiding a loyal Globe customer.
Is it going to be a simple fix, oh come on, where do I live? It has to be convoluted or it won’t work. Their plan: I purchase the new dongle he has found for me and he guaranteed that it will pull in the 3G signal I need, but first I must cancel my excising contract, which will take a week and a trip to their business office. Then return and they will start my new contract that will only take a day or two (OR three or four) to activate. It’s as simple as ABC. Ah, a Michael Jackson song from when he was a young man.
Johan needed help from me to streamline this 10 plus day process. So I posed the question; “Johan the sim card in my Bad Dongle is the thing that your computers recognize in order to bill me, debar?” he agreed, so since I now own both dongles, could I but remove the sim from my old one and insert it into my knew one keeping the old contract in effect, and thus bypassing all that time consuming BS stuff. True a lot of people working for Globe will have nothing to do that week, and I’ll be accused of being the “Ugly Kano”, but I just didn’t care.
In my many, many years here in the Philippines I have never seen a head scratch applied with such power and determination. His eyes went blank, as if he fell into a deep coma. It was so bad he had to leave the room. Now with Jhoy, a light come on in her eyes and a smile appeared on her face, while she slowly jerked her arm up into the universal “YES” jester. She got it, and then Johan returned with a smile from ear to ear, with a look of new found respect for the old Kano. Mr. Paul, I know your plan will work, and you’ll be online as soon as you get home. The bells started ringing, the heavenly choir started singing, and rockets were going off and I with new found dignity sat a little straighter in my chair. Even Mayang looked at me in awe, and told the story over and over to her sister, daughter and our two nieces when we arrived home. By the way my plan “B” was to nod my head yes to their plan and go home and do it my way anyway!
It turned out perfect you’d say, well remember Paul is still involved, as I was installing it into my computer I got Zippo, nada, zilch and nothing happened, oh what the hell, I’m thinking, it just the way it is. Until my wonderful daughter Ymir Thea looked at the computer and said; Daddy, you failed to enter the password to activate the new dongle. Plus she found the password in the tiny little instruction book Globe provided to me, that my 65 year old eyes could not have read when I was twenty.
The old dongle (Hey, remember my warning from above), took 3 hours to download one song, and the new and improved dongle, took 12 minutes to download the entire album. 3g, do I even have to mention that? That’s it until the next problem rears its ugly head. But they love me at the Globe shop!
Just to prove computers are put on Earth to vex me, I was told that this new dongle was set up for 4G. Wait, wait for it! Dinalupihan Bataan is not set up to receive the 4G signal. Please Wait! 4G who cares, my daughter, my wife and our two nieces are all sitting in the living room with the Wi-Fi buzzing in their cell phones, pleased as punch. Thank you Mr. Globe!
Ha Ha Paul, the dongle dilemma comes to conclusion, must be the luck of the Irish (decent).
I am looking forward to my own dongle dilemmas next year, lol.
As for the Sony Laptop, the repair quote is about the new price in the UK, probably more expensive there. Maybe a trip to Singapore is in order for a duty/vat free Sony laptop.
Chas;
My daughter bought it in Singapore the first of this year when she was living there. The cost of flying there to repair it would be high, but fun. Hell I’ll do it! But I did suggest that she airfreight to one of her friends and have them get it fixed. We’ll see!
Hopefully when you get back you’ll be living in a place where you can get DSL, and will have no need for a dongle.
Glad to hear your dongle is finally working now! 😉
I will be in the Subic area for a month in two weeks and I’m going to need one of those dongle thingy for my laptop. Good to know where I can get one. Although, according to my research, Smart Bro dongle is better than Globe dongle.
Miss August;
You tried to slip in a dongle comment that I warned everybody about. Very good, but I caught it.
I’ll take your word on the Smart Bro. Dongle, it can’t be worse than the luck I’ve had with Globe. Enjoy your trip, and have fun!
And someone in your family will enjoy it when you leave, leave money to reload it!
Shucks! I thought I could lip one over you. LOL
Yep, I’m also bringing my old netbook to give to one of my nieces to use with the dongle when I leave. I’ll reload if for a month before I leave.
BTW, do you know anyone in Olongapo who rents car or does private car service aka private taxi? I just don’t want to borrow my sister’s car if I can help it.
*I could slip one…
Miss August;
I re-read everything that you wrote until I found out what you meant. Thanks for my morning mental workout. Believe me I need it.
Miss August;
Both on the Free Port and in Olongapo City cars with/drivers, or you drive (Both with stick and auto Trans) are readily available, my advice would be to have your sister shop around for you before you come and reserve one for you, as it will always be a better price if you’re not in a hurry.
Plus I’ll wager that someone she knows has a van that they rent out, and that also comes with a driver, who will be on call and you only pay for the time you use the service (Best way to go as if you aren’t going anywhere that day, you don’t pay.)
Thanks for the info, Paul!
Miss August;
I live to serve!
Hi Paul! I was going to ask one more favor. I search for your car articles on LiP hoping to find some information about your car mechanic. All I found was his name “Kuya Greg”, I was wondering if you would share his info where he works. Someone is offering to sell they’re Nissan to me and I would like someone knowledgeable and trustworthy to take a look at the car. I was going to send a private message, but seems you can’t do it from here. Thanks!
Just click on “Contact Us” at the top of the page and your email will be sent to the appropriate writer.
Miss Auguest;
Send me the e-mail through Bob, and I’ll send you what you need.
Bob;
Thank’s for that!
Thanks, guys! Message sent with my email address.
Miss August;
Received and responded to, anymore questions feel free to ask.
I’ve had luck using a Huawei “unlocked dongle” which can be used with globe, sun or smart. You can buy it on sulit.
Paul,
Are those dongle things all pre-paid or do you have a contract and have a bill every month US style.
I will be in the market for one of them when I get there.
“Is that a dongle in your pocket or are you just happy to see me” (sorry I just had to)
Neal;
I know the temptation would be too much for you.
You can go either way with the dongle, prepaid (Contract 1 year) or no contract that you reload when needed. It’s up to you; whatever best fills your needs.
Neal – I would personally recommend that you go with prepaid first. That way you can try it out and see if it works well in your area. You may find that the area where you are living does not work well with Globe, Smart, or whoever you choose. If you have a contract, and cannot get a signal from the company… well, you just have to keep paying for a full year, and getting nothing for it. If you try it out first on Prepaid, you can always go with a contract later, given that it works well in your area.
Bob
Sounds like good advice, seeing we will not know exactly where we will be living. Maybe when we settle in a house we can look into cable internet in the house, depending on advice of the local GURU of course.
Cable internet? cough, cough… right, Neal. ha ha
Bob;
Thank you for that, very sound advice!
Bob;
When I was renting in Olongapo 15 years ago, the cable company was advertising that the internet would be coming through cable very soon. We are still waiting for that pig to fly!
Same here, Paul! 😉
Bob;
Read Loren’s comment about cable internet below, I never knew that!
Hey Paul, (hey Paula)… Remember that one… Ok you just admitted you are not as technically challenged as you claimed to be in your response to my ‘technical rant’ in your previous dangle post.
“Take the SIM CARD out of the old one and put it in the new one”. Easy… I have gone down to att store here in Florida saying the phone doesn’t work, to be told that I had put the SIMPLY CARD in backwards ha ha.
I am happy that your internet flow is restored.
Jade
Jade;
Put the sim in bassackwards? I’ve never done that, but only because I’ve never really done that, handled a sim card at all. I have smart kids and grandkids to do that for me. But it sounds like me and the pasword.
Paul,
The first time I had heard of the term ‘dongle’ was in 1982 when my computer nut neighbor was telling me of his computer adventures… He he. Wonder how back it goes…
Jade;
I had no idea that the word dongle was part of the lexicon, until about a year ago Bob Martin mentioned it in an article and I e-mailed him and asked what it was. 1982 Wow but it might have had a different meaning then. I had to say that!
Very interesting and informative story. I had internet through the catv cable TV company while there-1 year contract, I used for 6 months, paid one year, and it was satisfactory. My niece had two smart bro flash drive connectors and neither gave satisfactory service.
Glad team Globe found a Viagra type fix for your dongle, even if it did require a certain amount of self diagnosis from you.
Loren;
Really CATV Cable really had an internet service? That is the first I’d heard about that. When trying to get to Face Book did HBO pop up? I’ll bet they’ll refund your used 6 months of service when you get back. I had a Bubba Burger Saturday; do I need to tell you how good it was? The Dongle Viagra comment I warned you three times above! But it was funny!
Sounds like a good ending to your Dongle Dilema Paul. I have used a Globe Tattoo Dongle on my last 2 visits with my notebook and it has worked out well for me. The ” pay as you go ” system works just fine for me with additional load available just a few steps away from the hotel. On my last visit I had to get a new sim card as I think the original one had expired, maybe from lack of activity between visits.
Bob;
The sim will self destruct after I think in six months. For a short visit the pay as you go plan is best, but a hotel without WIFI?
Paul,
Was enjoying the saga of the bad dongle. Glad you finally got a satisfactory result. But it could rear its ugly head anytime though. Will have to see what the dongle is all about when i get there. Have a beautiful day on the mountain.
PapaDuck;
I’m having another very rainy day on the mountain, but I’m going to spend the afternoon with my granddaughter later, so I know the day will be great rain or shine.
For now the dongle is working fine, but today is not over yet. When your here check if where you are has WIFI close to you, but put away the laptop and go have some real fun. Remember SMB is not effected by any signal!
Hi Paul, i have been reading your episodes with globe, and my question how good is globe as compared to smart, i bought the latest globe ‘tattoo’ dongle and they told me i wouldn’t have any problems with it, i live in Alegria just a hop,skip and a jump from ormoc city, i was so happy that now i could get online, but disappointed soon set in, no signal, but i discovered if i walk up the road with laptop in hand i did get a signal, but trying to use the laptop and avoid all the tricycles, i thought this a bit too suicidal, so back to globe i go, and told them the problems i was having, but was told, sorry sir, but i doesn’t always work where you live, so i thought great, my happiness to be back on the internet was short lived, but a neighbor came to my aid and said we could share there wi-fi, which i thought was great, at least it works, but some days no signal, other days it was so slow, but at least i can get on the internet, but i was wondering if smart would be better than globe where i live, it is hard to make a decision as to who is the best, some say globe, others say smart. At least it has been a challenge so far living here, so many things to adjust to as compared with australia…
Mel;
Since I have never partook of Smart services I can’t give an answer to that burning rivalry between Smart and Globe. But you should demand that Globe come to your house to read your signal. They have a little thing-a-ma-gig that they use to do it. Make sure he gets to the highest point on your land. If he finds one, they have a few other plans that might work for you. I request that Smart do it also before any outlay of money.
Wow, I did that without joking around!
A happy ending to an outlandishly funny story Paul! Thanks again for a great article. As long as the dongle is dangling right, it’s all good.
Scott;
If one thing I’ve found is that LiP readers are consistent. You just had to slip in that dongle comment! (LOL)
It’s great to be able to show that things also work out very well here on the Archipelagoes of the Philippines,
And so ends the Mysterious Case of the Dastardly Dingle Dangle Dongle!
Mark;
I bet you had fun posting that!, But not bad!
Cable internet? I laughed so hard i woke up the family. Things are not so simple here. A few years ago i installed a cistern and toilet. It took me 2 weeks to work out why it wasn’t working. My family couldn’t get it to flush. After a few questions i discovered why. My family removed the lid to the cistern and took the water out to flush the loo. I said to them did anyone think of just pressing the button?? Oh the simple life.
Boss;
I got a good laugh out of your story as well!
And you expected a different result? John Crapper had trouble selling his toilet’s here a long time ago. If you call it a loo, I know you know who that British gentleman Mr. Crapper is.
In awe i watched the waxing moon ride across the zenith of the heavens like an ambered chariot towards the ebony void of infinite space wherein the tethered belts of Jupiter and Mars hang, for ever festooned in their orbital majesty. And as i looked at all this i thought….
I must put a roof on this toilet! LoL.
(The late Les Dawson – Comedian)
Chas….it’s been a long looooooong time since I last saw that one….isn’t it great? Old Les couldn’t have survived today in this different era, but he was fabulous in his own time. A real good act shining out from all the Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson types.
Hi Jim,
Yeah Les was a brilliant wordsmith, and a great favourite of mine. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few times along with Roy Barraclough back in the good old days, when they both lived in the Manchester area. Your so right he would not survive in this modern pc era, lol.
Chas;
I bring up one famous Brit, old John Crapper and LiP becomes Face Book. I can’t say I know of Les Dawson, but if that a sample I would have. I’m going to Google him later. Very funny BTW.
Chas;
I have no idea where my mind was when I posted that hodge-podge of thoughts above.
I think I was trying to say was; If that’s a sample of his humor (US Spelling) than I think I would have enjoyed him very much.
Rule 3: Never go for a cup of coffee in the middle of a reply to a comment.
No sweat Paul.
Chas;
Maybe in Great Briton it’s no sweat it’s cool there, but today is kinda hot here. Maybe it will rain this afternoon!
Paul I am happy that your new dongle is functioning so much better than your old dongle. Your lovely bride I am sure is pleased that the her loving husband’s dongle has improved and perhaps you will spend a few minutes less per day in the man cave. I don’t think we get new dongles here in the U.S.. If we did I am sure many of us would love to trade in our old dongle for a new more improved dongle that would improve overall performance. Congratulations Paul on your your more potent improved dongle.
Ron;
I warned everyone three times about the dongle jokes and they were ignored. I don’t know what more I could do? Perhaps if you had better dongle service in the US there wouldn’t be a fifty percent divorce rate. The man cave was anointed years ago, but I never keep my computer there, there is a time for putin’ and more time for beer and sh-tkickin’ music. I respect a man how laughs in the face of warnings! (Well done BTW)
paul, as a former military man, USAF 26 yrs….yeah, i know…..other service branches call the AF “civil service”…anyway… your issue with your dongal, dongle, …whatever…..reminds me of that song “my own ding a ling”……lmao.
Skip;
I find it hard to believe that there is a member of another branch that would ever disparage the USAF, Have they never flown on a Freedom Bird, never required air support when no Navy jets were available? I think it’s because of how smart your Brass is. Build a base, put in the Golf Course, clubs and housing first, then go to those idiots in congress and tell them you need more money for the runway and get it. The other branch’s would build the runway first and have the troops live in tents until they could build the rest. Skid marks in the sky, Go Air Force!
I think all branch’s are great!
paul, right you are!! I loved serving and thats why i sometimes make fun of it.I’ll be in the philippines in 2 years when i retire. My wife has a house in cagayan de oro and i will join her there.Perhaps we can share a cold one after i get there.Take care, love your articles.
Skip;
I know you’re looking forward to that, a cold beer? I’ve never said no.
You are very funny Mr. T. I enjoy reading your write ups here in LIP. I want to be like you when I grow up. hahaha.
Toti;
Thank you for your kind thoughts, You really want to be like me when you grow up? Me I just never want to go up!!!