--her jaded wings--

Had a doctors appointment, the type where any woman will nod and cringe in sympathy. But, once again, what was supposed to be a very simple half hour appointment, and then off to work turned out to be much, much more tedious than that. I didn't even make it in today, which is not good, given my dwindling leave balances for the year.

First sign that it was not going to be a normal appointment was when I started hyperventilating from pain and nearly passed out...from having my blood pressure taken. That was "fun". The nursing assistant was worried, and so was my OB-GYN.

Then I mentioned my other health concerns to her, and she became even more concerned, and told me to go see my primary physician ASAP, while requesting a staggering amount of blood tests, as well as an ultrasound.

This was the second fun part. I walk over to the lab, get called in surprisingly quickly,  only to have no blood come out when stuck. Rather than spending an excruciating period of time trying to poke around and find a source, we agreed that I should go home and drink water like crazy, in an attempt to try again in the afternoon.

Barely made it home, drank the contents of the Brita, and collapsed into bed. Bonus boyfriend curling up beside me, ftw.

Second time was the charm, but making two trips downtown during school crossing hours was tedious at best.


On the upside, I just chopped about 4 inches of ugly hair, and have a new sexier, and hopefully more controllable style.

For the vast majority of my employed life, I have been a public servant. My parents are both public servants, and many of my aunts and uncles are as well. It is a family tradition and one I take quite seriously. But unlike my parents, I have worked in the public sector as well, so I fully appreciate what I have as a government employee.

I have been a student assistant at a large library on a major university campus. I have been the errand bitch for everyone's favorite popularity contest (and trust me, most of those people should never be considered Mr. or Mrs Congeniality). For the privilege of fetching coffee, working late nights, and generally doing all the things that other people were too lazy too, I was paid only slightly over minimum wage and required to dress business formal (and YOU try buying anything suitable on that kind of pay).

And now I work for the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Here is my manifesto.

I am a public servant.
§ Despite the rumors and anecdotal evidence to the contrary, I am here to assist you.
§ I do not take joy in filling your day with red tape and paperwork. I take joy in the appreciation by others of a job well done.
§ I consider it my responsibility to listen to your request, and provide you with the clearest information to solving your issue.
§ I will ask as little from you as humanly possible, especially in a situation where the problem was on our end.
§ I exchange for this, I ask that you not waste more time than necessary. Explain your problem clearly, answer my questions honestly, and tell me exactly what it is that you are confused by.
§ I will never use "that is not my responsibility" as an excuse to shuffle you off to another department. I will always make sure that when I need to transfer you, you are provided with the information you need to tell the next person.
§ In return, please understand there are times when I will not be able to answer your question. Especially in cases where you've admitted that you gave up on the system and just started pressing buttons until you got someone. I understand that our system is not the greatest. I will do my best to get you to where you need to go.
§ Please remember that I do not make the policies, and there is no employee-only line at the DMV counters (I checked). I commiserate with you, because most likely, I've been through a lot of the same things. I can and will listen to your complaints, and even forward them on to the appropriate people if I can, but do not get mad at me for not being able to wave a magic wand and make everything better.

And finally, please remember that I took this job because I enjoy helping people. I fought long and hard to get this job. I've come to terms that I will be painted as the bad guy in every editorial, especially when it comes time to trim the budget. My pay and benefits are dragged out like so much laundry for all the world to see, and I will do the work of more and more people as my coworkers retire and our department is not allowed to make any new hires for years on end.

In the end, the thing that makes up for everything is being thanked. So if I've gone above and beyond, and I've made your interaction with the vast cogs of  bureaucracy a little less painful, let me know. Because I'm not just a voice at the end of the phone, I am a person. And I like to know that I've made a difference in someone's day.