haps and mishaps

Yesterday was the culmination of a series of mishaps that are re-training me in getting along here. I'm starting to guess: a combination of NOT being a control freak or in too much of a hurry, but also trying to stick up for yourself when necessary. There's also a certain level of bravado, so they shout and you shout, and then later you get together and move on.

Trying to deal with a large bureaucracy has its own delights, which have been educational for me. People I have spent a lot of time with at Berkeley talk about policy, but not as much about how policy gets interpreted by organizations.. or ignored.. or how it gets lost in the shuffle. Actually, quite a few folks in my own department do study this (policy in organizations), but none of them do IP policy, and the IP and privacy people I have been surrounded with don't seem to talk much about that kind of stuff (This is a split I've noticed before).

So anyway, it's been interesting to watch how and when things get done through the bureaucracy of the department of correctional services. What the deciding factors and moments seems to be, and also, what officials say, feel they have to say, or feel they cannot say, and what that really means.

One example: with respect to (only some) bureaucrats: when you are in conversation with them, and they say "you know more about that than I do" – you might think this is an invitation for you to explain what's going on, share your information, etc.. or even a sign they might listen to your opinion..

But no, what it really means is "I hate you." Anything that involves looking like they could learn from you is reversing the power dynamic they want to maintain. So they simply will not listen to anything you say that depends on you explaining to them. I've come to take that phrase as a warning sign, to try to get my point on track with what their assumptions already are, if at all possible.

Anyway, there are a series of struggles going on that have nothing to do directly with the tasks I had come here to do, but in another way are exactly what it means to do work for a nonprofit engaging with a government bureaucracy (especially one that consistently loses the paperwork we are required to fill out, or does not send it along to the relevant entity who needs to see it).

But our challenges yesterday were of another sort: Coming back from Fort Augusta, which is the women's prison by the water, a bit outside of Kingston, our van began to make an awful noise. Awful enough that we pulled over, opened up the engine (which is under the passenger's seat), and poked around. Seems to be well destroyed, actually. We limped back to the office, but after parking it it's clear that van is not going anywhere. Of course, tonight is when the technical team from Antenna Alliance are supposed to arrive at Kingston airport. So we have to round up another way to pick them up. A friend of SET offers her company van, which is more of a cargo van but at least will hold the five of us that will come back from the airport.

The van and driver comes by the office, and the two of us pile in. As we rocket along to the airport, a cloud of smoke goes up behind us. Yes, it is the van. We pull over, and commence the same ritual, only this time we are in an Esso station on the way to the airport and not by the side of the road coming back from Fort Augusta. This van too, mash up. "It lick out the head-gasket" he says with a shrug. We are left to call a taxi, but need to get a taxi-van to hold all of us, get us to the airport and get us home. No cheap thing! At least the van that comes is new and cushy inside. The driver is jovial and swears it nuh brek down. He's right. No more mishaps for the night for us.

As could be expected, the guys take almost 2 hours to get through immigration + customs, especially because those who have checked their luggage have had it lost, as mine was. (American Airlines must spend as much in luggage delivery costs as it does in fuel for the planes.) We finally extract them from the airport and taxi home to a late dinner and much tapping on our respective computers.