Friday, April 22, 2005
today i am going to complain about bureaucracy, because i am in a tourne en ronde right now, and i get tired of being punished when i actually do use common sense! yesterday it was so hot that my rearview mirror came unglued from the windshield, and i found it dangling from the cords that go with the little lights that i forget are there. my beads, my rosary, and my parking tag somehow managed to stay attached to the mirror which was hanging sideways. i unloaded it then rushed to get it fixed and was thankful that i only had to drive with it attacking my windshield for about 5 minutes! i thought it might be a good idea not to hang anything from it for 24 hours, since it is just glued there, and although this parking tag is virtually weightless, my morning routine does not include rehanging it. by the time it occurred to me, i thought that i probably already had a ticket. on a positive note, i finally found the forms to prove that i did receive required vaccinations in 1998 and 1982! thank God for my mom, because i would never have a form that old, and i would have to leave this wonderful grad program without that proof. i recently paid a parking ticket which was causing another hold, and my advisor cleared a 3rd hold. finally, after dealing with all of this shit for a month...this morning, i was able to register! however, there was this permit that needed to be entered, and first i needed to be sure this was the correct "filler" class before registering. there is no rush, though, i have a few months, so i decided not to worry about it until next week. there is just one problem. not too long after i discovered this wonderful fact, i also discovered another parking ticket on my car for no parking tag. (i am envisioning another registration hold). i knew this was going to happen, so why didn't i register? well, i knew it would be ok once i had a copy of the receipt from the rearview mirror repair. it's great, the mechanic even added a comment that i was advised not to hang anything from the mirror for 24 hours, that it was repaired at 3, and the ticket was issued today at noon, while there was still a risk. so i brought the receipt with my ticket to parking services, where i expected the ticket to be waived. after being told that i had to go through the regular appeals process, i can't believe this, anyway, this guy came in to say that he just received a ticket while appealing another ticket! this is another important point: in a place that is so insane where someone can sue for coffee being "too" hot and actually win, i realize that things are this literal: if i don't follow directions exactly, even when it is practical not to, it is common for businesses to refuse what they have no right to refuse. for example, if someone is not wearing a seatbelt in an accident after signing a paper which states that they will (to lower their insurance a few dollars a month), the company will not cover the accident, which is not worth saving a few dollars a month. so i refuse to take advantage of that "discount." so i was also expecting that if my mirror falls off, "because i rehung the tag too early," this place has a right to refuse to redo their job correctly, since i did not follow directions. however, there was a greater chance of getting the parking ticket than of the mirror falling off again, and i would rather pay another $10 than a $25 ticket or go through the lengthy appeals process...which is also so much shit. why didn't i just remember to rehang the tag? only parking services knows, and they make a lot of money as a result...madame le professeur at 10:33 PM
