Spurs start badly and so do I..............

The picture will be the happiest thing you see or hear in the next few paragraphs, so savour it now........ Red and Blue class during Speech Contest 2008.

Not sure where to begin. How about this? Right now I feel stressed, frustrated, run-down, lethargic, confused, betrayed and redundant. Why? Quite simply I haven’t got a working visa in Korea from the 4^th September. Why? Quite simply, I need a police check from the UK. Why? Because the new law in Korea asks so. So! Why is that such a problem? just get one! Easier said than done. In my beloved home country, the UK, it takes anything up to forty days to receive it, not including postage times they say. Why? I have no idea. In Korea you can order you police check and have it signed off and presented to you within 24 hours. Why? Because that’s how things can work. In fact you can have your entire workforce checked off within 24 hours. Our country, the United Kingdom, is obsessed with application forms. We love paperwork. We love small print. We seem to love filing systems. We’ve even created job roles specific to filing.

Isn’t it time we started relying on computers more? We are 8 years into the 21^st century now and we’re still applying for things through paper applications. A process that has so many negative and destructive aspects. “Lost in post”, “Postage back an forth ads on a week to the process”, “mislaying legal documents”, “if any errors then whole process has to start again, i.e. fill out application form again, this time use BLACK CAPITALS – Why?? Why?? Why??” I pray for the day that our country sits down and relaxes a little. Stop being so damn anal and break away from the paper past.

One aspect of this particular process that I’m currently three days into was false information given on the application form. It clearly says, in slightly bolder and blacker text, that you should enclose x2 copies of identification. I did so, then on receiving the copies they then say that it’s new policy to have original copies and not ‘copies’. But they haven’t updated this on their TRUSTY application form. Finally, just to reiterate the pathetic-ness of our anal and vintage system in the UK, when my father went into the police station to hand in the forms etc the policeman kindly sympathised with my fathers matching concerns and the policeman actually said “I could look up your criminal record here and now and print it here and now”……… do I need to say anymore??????!!!!! Really???

OK, so maybe you’re thinking why didn’t I start this process two months ago. Then there wouldn’t be this rush to get it tied up now, before the 4^th September. Well, I did my duties. I asked my boss if I needed a police check in order to renew my contract and get a second year visa. He said no and the rest will soon be history. Hopefully. I won’t go into any further details on conversations with my boss, as I’m not into kiss and tell, but lets just say that I now face 2/3 weeks of unemployment and non-payment, due to OTHER peoples misuse of accessible information. So I’m now set for budget eating, budget entertaining, no fun and frolics and finally a whole lot of time to get even more frustrated at the turn of events.

Welcome to my second year!!!!!!!!!!

More to follow………….

ARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!