Weekend Redemption
So, I had a great weekend, for once. Heard some live music, and liked some of it enough to buy a new CD from a band I never would have heard of otherwise. Went SHOPPING. Saw some friends. Saw a movie. Did not go to the grocery store or do any laundry. Mua hahahaha.
The bad news is, it's Monday, and Lazarus is dead again. My email is down, and my cell phone battery has died even though it is new, and I fully charged it two days ago, and haven't talked on it, and it's supposed to have like 4 days of standby time. I am wondering if I should take it back and get something else. Already. Like I want to add yet another errand to my long list.
So this morning my goal was to, you know, communicate with a few people about finalizing the paperwork for my grant, I think there is one more signature I need to get, and a couple of forms about budget stuff that need to be sent to different people who were supposed to already have them, yada yada. Bunch of idiot paper-pushers, I finally understand the real meaning of bureaucracy.
But since I can't email or phone anyone from my own office, I have to decide if it is better to go and try to use someone else's phone... I guess that is my only option at this point. And it might give me a chance to pitch another small fit about us still not having office telephone access. It's just ridiculous. I swear it will eventually escalate to full-scale tantrum if there are no signs of improvement!
I should be doing more job applications, but I would feel a lot better if this stupid grant were totally off my desk. As it is, I am wondering when I will be driving the package over, since I'm not sure I trust campus mail to handle it fast enough. I really want that to be done today.
So, it feels like a Monday, and I can't even distract myself by programming my phone and calling to make various doctors appointments, because that was my original fun plan for procrastinating. So lame when technology totally fails en masse.
posted by Ms.PhD @ 11:22 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
as someone who is married to a former lab purchasing assistant (and who can testify that working for moody, absent-minded scientist is the worst thing you can do for your mental health), I can tell you that if it weren't for the bureaucrats, the scientists would be in a heap of trouble. The problem is not with the paper pushers but with the many regulations on grants and the ignorance of the scientists of all the regulations. The paper pushers are only there to help you get through the process. And if the process is not fast enough for you - then you probably didn't prepare well enough in advance to give it enough time!
Yes, we are ignorant of the regulations. That is because they're not written down in any obvious way for first-timers. In fact, when I asked around, all of the scientists seemed to be ignorant, as well as most of the bureaucrats. What really cooks my noodle are the few- VERY FEW- bureaucrats who do know the rules and why they're there. Where do they get this information? Why isn't it written down anywhere?
Like I said before, scientists are very good at following instructions that are written down like protocols. See my next post for more on well-meaning bureaucrats who don't understand how scientists actually work.
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