It was almost two months ago when my supervisor called me in to the regional manager's office, at which time the regional manager informed me that there was a vacancy in Region One in Newark. Immediately, I accepted the offer. That was on January 17, 2012. Currently it is March 7 and there is still no effective start date.Frazzled and growing impatient as a result of the lack of explanation for the delay thus far, I emailed my regional manager requesting a personal meeting with the director (his name is irrelevant here) of the agency the next time he was visiting our region. He's known to appear on a weekly to biweekly basis. Rather than meet me in person at our office in New Brunswick, I was given the phone number to his office in Trenton. He asked that I call him rather than speak to him in person face to face. How nice. Nonetheless, I gave him a phone call to figure out why there is such a delay in establishing an effective start date in my new location. He quickly explained the process, stating that he approved the transfer but the Department of Labor had not yet approved it. Basically, the delay boils down to paperwork (AKA layers and layers of bureaucracy).
Furthermore, he explained this to me in a way that made it seem like he did not want to be bothered with such a discussion. I replied "OK" and got off the phone with him. Therefore my transfer to Region One is delayed for the time being because paperwork and approval on behalf of the Department of Labor, in my case, has taken at least two months thus far and may even require additional time. I am sure they are busy and likely overwhelmed. However, I have seen transfers that were addressed and approved much faster and rather recently. It is truly astounding how detached the system would appear to be from the average civil servant.
From here on out, I'll just continue to focus on the work at hand and focus on my day to day life outside of work. Spring is arriving soon. Summer will follow three months later. The weather is going to be beautiful tomorrow; temperatures will reach the mid 60's. B-Money will continue to do the job, but mostly importantly, will keep his mind focused on the vacations, trips, and plans that are coming down the pike. For they are the only facets of my current day to day life that seem to bare any logic, reason, or sanity. It is the way of life outside of the office and bureaucratic irrationality that really makes any sense. Nothing else matters.
