The Lady Hooligan’s Page

In the movie The Twelve Tasks of Asterix one of the heroes’ tasks is to find a particular form in “The Place that Drives Men Mad”. On closer inspection, that place looks very much like any civil service office… and it is said that it still exists today!

Somewhere else I read that if one wants to be exposed to the latest and greatest in technology and service, one should NOT go to any burocracy, be it a large corporation or a government office, as their mere size makes them cumbersome and outdated.

And if you add affirmative action into this mix, you’ll get a murder waiting to be committed!

I had a Monday today. A real one, not just the calendar day!

I got a note on my mobile phone early this morning to go to the main library. Having arrived there, I was informed that forms that I took great pains in obtaining were missing! And I know that not only did I return them to the main library, but I made all the necessary copies of the supporting documents as well! In hindsight, I think I should have copied the forms, too… The woman who was supposed to do the job, clearly was very upset that I could accuse her of not doing it! And she couldn’t find other documents that I urgently needed. (Fortunately, I had them e-mailed to my personal address, so I could make copies!)

And the third thing is that I couldn’t access information that I needed for my school children on the Internet, because some brilliant idiot somewhere decided that only certain levels may have internet access! That’s all very well, but considering that my library does not even have a computer, let alone internet access, and it serves a really poor community, I think that is the most shortsighted act so far this year! I can’t believe that I am expected to render a service of any nature to the public without as much support as I can possibly gather! So much for Batho Pele, or any other customer service principle. If you cut me off at the knees, I can’t do my work. Period.

And I refuse to use any of my own resources for work purposes without compensation!

Anyway, now all this is a matter of public record. I hope the people I work for read this and decide to do something about it! But I hope in vain…

East Library, Rustenburg

“My” library opened officially on the 1^st of September 2009. Unfortunately, I only have enough stock in place to warrant a reading room (for the moment, anyway!), but I do have some reference material to help the kids with their school projects, so that prompted the authorities to open the doors.

Anyway, I feel right back at home in that community. The old ladies haven’t all noticed that I’m back in business (which is a relief, I must say!) but all the neighbours have popped in to say hello and some old friends drop in from time to time, to check up on me and my progress! I’m friendly to the teams who pick up rubbish on the sidewalk around my place, and to the parks people. I greet the lady who watches over my car at the corner store and she tells me about her day. She doesn’t complain - so she gets a big smile along with her tip!

Yes, the East of Rustenburg is full of really “common” people. Those who lay rubber on the tar on weekends and drink themselves into enough courage to beat their wives. There are, however, also lots of genuine people who would go out of their way to help you without expecting anything in return. OK, but then they also trust that you would pay that kindness forward, and in the end, it would come back to them in some form or another, so that’s not a bad deal at all!

And I even know that the books in my library would all be treated as sacred texts, as the previous collection was! That’s just the way these people are.

So yes, I really, really look forward to going to work each morning. That alone is worth millions!