... the price of the wisdom tooth. Headache and ear-ache included in the package.
I'd rather stay unwise.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Whither passport?
I've been resisting typing this post out for some time now. In the light of certain recent events, though, I thought I should not deprive others of a splendid laugh.
It all began when I applied for a passport, and gave the application in that black hole of a building called a Regional Passport Office (we're going to shorten that to RPO). The procedure (in theory) is pretty simple, really. It goes thus:
Fill in form --> Hand it over to agent --> Agent submits form and brings receipt --> Note reference number on receipt --> Policeman is supposed to verify existence within 2 weeks --> Policeman sends verification report to RPO --> RPO sends passport.
Phew! That's simple enough. But given that this is my passport we're talking about, I'd have been shocked if it had followed this course.
Everything went according to plan till step 4 of the process-chart. After that, the sequence of events has left me pretty confused. I'll list them out here for clearer understanding:
Event 1 - To the best of my knowledge, no policeman ever came to verify my existence till date (unless they did it like some undercover operation).
Event 2 - I check the website of the RPO to look at my status and it displays 'Police verification report not received'. Fair enough, since the verification was never done.
Event 3 - I wait. That's not really an event, since I've been waiting for quite sometime now. Let's call it a phase. Phase 1.
Event 4 - After having waited for nearly 4 months, I go to the local police station and the policeman says he has not recieved my file from the RPO.
Now begins the confusion - we'll call this phase 2, since it doesn't really qualify as a one-time event where RPOs are concerned. If the website of the RPO claims that the policeman has not sent the verification report, they should have sent the file to the police station.
'Yes, yes. That is correct.' thinks the mind.
But then, that is being contradicted by the policeman, who says he has not recieved the report.
'Also true..', thinks the mind.
Event 5 - I discover the website of the AP Police Department (which, by the way, is a very neat site) and check the status of my passport there. The site proudly mentions that the verification report has been sent to the RPO as of 16th Feb.
'Gah!'. Mind gives up on thinking.
So, the police now claims that they've verified my existance and sent the report to the RPO. The RPO denies having recieved any such report. My agent is stumped.
Phase 2 continues...
It all began when I applied for a passport, and gave the application in that black hole of a building called a Regional Passport Office (we're going to shorten that to RPO). The procedure (in theory) is pretty simple, really. It goes thus:
Fill in form --> Hand it over to agent --> Agent submits form and brings receipt --> Note reference number on receipt --> Policeman is supposed to verify existence within 2 weeks --> Policeman sends verification report to RPO --> RPO sends passport.
Phew! That's simple enough. But given that this is my passport we're talking about, I'd have been shocked if it had followed this course.
Everything went according to plan till step 4 of the process-chart. After that, the sequence of events has left me pretty confused. I'll list them out here for clearer understanding:
Event 1 - To the best of my knowledge, no policeman ever came to verify my existence till date (unless they did it like some undercover operation).
Event 2 - I check the website of the RPO to look at my status and it displays 'Police verification report not received'. Fair enough, since the verification was never done.
Event 3 - I wait. That's not really an event, since I've been waiting for quite sometime now. Let's call it a phase. Phase 1.
Event 4 - After having waited for nearly 4 months, I go to the local police station and the policeman says he has not recieved my file from the RPO.
Now begins the confusion - we'll call this phase 2, since it doesn't really qualify as a one-time event where RPOs are concerned. If the website of the RPO claims that the policeman has not sent the verification report, they should have sent the file to the police station.
'Yes, yes. That is correct.' thinks the mind.
But then, that is being contradicted by the policeman, who says he has not recieved the report.
'Also true..', thinks the mind.
Event 5 - I discover the website of the AP Police Department (which, by the way, is a very neat site) and check the status of my passport there. The site proudly mentions that the verification report has been sent to the RPO as of 16th Feb.
'Gah!'. Mind gives up on thinking.
So, the police now claims that they've verified my existance and sent the report to the RPO. The RPO denies having recieved any such report. My agent is stumped.
Phase 2 continues...
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Appraisals, appraisals and some more appraisals.
If there is anything I really dislike, it is coming to work on a Saturday. If there is something I dislike even more, it is filling out appraisal forms.
For the uninitiated, appraisal forms are meant for one to appraise oneself.
Well, since that much was pretty evident from the name, let me shed some more light. It mostly contains a series of attributes that one is to rate oneself on and add additional comments, further explaining those ratings. In addition, there are also some questions that do not require a rating and are more qualitative in nature.
"What's wrong with that?", one might ask and proceed to open the appraisal form all set to fill in the rankings and comments and voila! Easy enough, right?
Nope. Wrong. Also, erroneous, faulty, untrue and incorrect.
Since my inarticulate attempts at explaining these wonderful forms are pretty ineffective, let me present a sample.
Form: What were your job responsibilities in the past review period?
Me: Erm.. erm.. [scratches head, tugs at hair, blinks a couple of times]... That's a superb question! How do you manage to come up with questions that are so challenging?
Form: [Gloats and waits expectantly]
Me: Next question, please.
Form: What are your goals for the next six months?
Me: A ha! Nice. To keep my job intact..
But then, such things may not be mentioned in appraisal forms unless you're sure nobody is going to read it. So I make use of the Backspace key and get back to scratching my head.
And so it goes on, till one simply gives up and takes to blogging about appraisal forms instead of trying to fill them in. But since the deadline is on the morrow, I'd better get back to it. The form is still gloating at me.
What were your job responsibilities...
Sigh!
For the uninitiated, appraisal forms are meant for one to appraise oneself.
Well, since that much was pretty evident from the name, let me shed some more light. It mostly contains a series of attributes that one is to rate oneself on and add additional comments, further explaining those ratings. In addition, there are also some questions that do not require a rating and are more qualitative in nature.
"What's wrong with that?", one might ask and proceed to open the appraisal form all set to fill in the rankings and comments and voila! Easy enough, right?
Nope. Wrong. Also, erroneous, faulty, untrue and incorrect.
Since my inarticulate attempts at explaining these wonderful forms are pretty ineffective, let me present a sample.
Form: What were your job responsibilities in the past review period?
Me: Erm.. erm.. [scratches head, tugs at hair, blinks a couple of times]... That's a superb question! How do you manage to come up with questions that are so challenging?
Form: [Gloats and waits expectantly]
Me: Next question, please.
Form: What are your goals for the next six months?
Me: A ha! Nice. To keep my job intact..
But then, such things may not be mentioned in appraisal forms unless you're sure nobody is going to read it. So I make use of the Backspace key and get back to scratching my head.
And so it goes on, till one simply gives up and takes to blogging about appraisal forms instead of trying to fill them in. But since the deadline is on the morrow, I'd better get back to it. The form is still gloating at me.
What were your job responsibilities...
Sigh!