Cox Crow

Work, or Paperwork

I hate paperwork. More specfically, I hate HR. I don't know if they're unable to write coherent instructions because they talk to Legal first, or if they just love confusing those of us who have to fill out their forms.

Today is the end of the annual enrollment period for benefits. Well, not all of today — just until 19:00 CDT, when Mr. Bartman leaves his office. The e-mails from HR were unclear. Do we have to enroll again? Do our choices from last year carry over if we don't do anything? Could the health plans be any more verbose? Can I sue an HMO for its inability to answer our questions?

At least with the rest of my virtual pile of paperwork to complete there is certainty. I must re-read the code of business conduct that hasn't changed since the last time I read it. I must learn all about rule 272 affiliates. (Short version: Don't talk to anyone from Long Distance.) I must take an hour to fill out the change management form to schedule a five-minute change next week. I must fill it out again because the client application crashed. I must fill it out again because the client application crashed. Yeah, well, maybe I'll fill that out later.

One thing the paperwork purports to reveal is how well we're working. How it does that, I don't know.

10:53:15 PM # Google It!

Anti-Productivity Tools

I've been in a lot of meetings recently waiting for the capacity planning, asset acquisition, project management, security planning, network planning, and datacenter operations planning teams to come to an understanding of our needs that is closer to what we need than to what the Company's standards are. This has been an exercise in frustration. Luckily, I don't do this all the time: my boss does.

To compensate, I spent a few minutes setting up yet another virtual server and Movable Type for internal use. There's an on-going project that's running well, but could be simplified.

Me: Do you have a web site? Want one?

He: No. Yes. But neither you nor I have time to update it. Do you have one of those blogging tools?

Me (10 minutes later): Of course. Try this.

Will that change the world? Hope springs eternal.

8:01:53 PM # Google It!