I would like to acknowledge my contribution

She who must be obeyed is job hunting again. She is much more capable than she thinks she is, and approaches the process with considerable pessimism. She applied for two jobs and was most surprised when she was offered both immediately. However, these have been turned down in favour of the possibility of another job which has much more potential, but also has a much longer application process. So far she has undertaken a series of tests and two sets of interviews, and is now waiting for the final interview. During the interviews it was suggested she should confirm her English ability by taking a TOEIC test.

TOEIC is a recognised scheme worldwide for testing English proficiency. The test takes a couple of hours and she who must be obeyed had to travel to Bangkok to take it. The maximum possible score is 990 and the average result in Thailand is around 500. The company she was applying to, being a Thai company, only required a score of 550 for management staff.

Naturally, my wife was convinced she would struggle to achieve that score and has been fretting while awaiting the arrival of the results. I was much more optimistic of her chances and was betting on a score of around 700, which is what I recall my Thai staff who were reasonably fluent in English achieved when I was working in Bangkok.

We were both wrong. The envelope arrived this morning and her score was 800; which is probably more than some of my countrymen could manage.

I like to think that I have made a small contribution to this success. My stubborn refusal to learn Thai, plus my teaching of the correct usage of crucial words such as “twat” and “wanker” have helped she who must be obeyed gain a good grasp of one of the more difficult languages (although I was disappointed to learn that “twat” did not feature prominently in the test questions).

Well done she who must be obeyed.

Comments 🔗

2011-09-15 | genuinej says

Well done indeed! You’ll let us know if she gets the job I trust.

2011-09-15 | JB says

Priceless, when the boss asks her for a coffee, “Get it yourself ya wanker!” Well done, Spike! You could open a tutorial school and train prospective TOEIC takers. That would sure to be fun and give you plenty to write about.

2011-09-15 | Spike says

We were driving home this evening and a car pulled out in front of us. “Twat”, she exclaimed. I felt a little glow of pride.

2011-09-15 | Spike says

You’ll be the second to know.

2011-09-15 | Biggrtiggr says

Good for her! ‘Er indoors also lacks confidence with her job prospects and has a fear of the interviews, a problem which does not help her use of English at a crucial time. I’m interested in that TOEIC test, must learn more. She may return to Thailand shortly to check out the job prospects (accountancy) back home…… helped somewhat by the fact that dear Uncle M—s has just landed a (very) senior government post, aftera few years on the wrong side of the political divide. Nepotism rules…………..

2011-09-16 | Pete says

Surely, SWMBO would be the second to know, after the person that decides she can have the job? With you a close third. How is GJ in the loop above you?

2011-09-17 | Spike says

You get more like genuinej every day; and don’t call me Shirley.