Journal Entries

New car

I just got a new car. It's big and functional. The kids AND the shopping fit into it simultaneously. Damir Dokic does the ads for it, but that didn't deter me. It's very comfortable and has a grunty engine. Hehe!

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Latest reply: Feb 8, 2002

Stupidity and the art of mollifying idiots

Work is bleedingly annoying right now. Part of my job is managing the distribution and movement of large numbers of sensitive documents. Right now I have to provide a report to my superiors on the status and location (i.e. does it still exist, and who's got it if it does?) of every single document in my domain. This amounts to a couple of thousand separate documents, ranging from single pages to 12 page submissions with 100 page reports attached. Of course, I don't personally hold any of this stuff, it's out there in la-la land to be found.

My colleagues and I have just discovered that the procedures for handling these documents haven't been very well adhered to over the past few years, with the consequence that they can't believe I'm looking for a specific document (or group of specific documents) which they believe they destroyed some time ago. I'm afraid the computerised system we have, which is exceptionally good at its job and generally has excellent operators, doesn't lie. So, instead of being able to provide a blanket "yup, I know where everything is" report, instead I and several colleagues have had to produce lists and lists and lists for people to check against, and still we're not getting close to 100% accounted for.

Now, I'm not worried about outcomes - like every good pubilc servant I known that the integrity of the process is paramount, regardless of the outcome. (*snigger*) What I am worried about is the potential for my superiors to lobby for revised handling procedures which will make my life a living hell. The handling procedures are fine. They're just not being applied. I intend to make this point if necessary, but in the meantime I have a lot of work to do which is SO unnecessary ... and coming here is the only thing that makes being at my desk bearable.

So, that's today's bugbear. Anyone have similar experiences?

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Latest reply: Oct 25, 2001


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Guran

Researcher U186104

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