Tomorrow night, we’ll be replacing some hardware at one of our main sites. Customers are informed, and so is the helpdesk, we have the parts we need, so only one thing remained: the papers. This particular site is at Refinery Isla Mirant’s highest tower. Most of my coworkers have a permanent badge to go over there, but I don’t. Today, we went to pick up my (one-week) badge. Literally, as it was requested a few days ago already. Brought copies of the actual request just to make sure.

And then the fun started. Ofcourse the guy at the desk understood us wrong. We didn’t want to request a permit, only -get- it, as the original forms were already filled and signed. After a little conversation, he got the idea. And started searching. One by one. S. L. O. W. L. Y. He’s probably being payed minimum wage, and working like that. Anyways, -finally- he finds the papers. So he starts typing, asks me if I’ve been there before (I’ve been there once, in August last year, for a day), then gets pissed because “it was only for a day, not for a week!”. Oh well. Starts typing again. Feeds the printer some more paper. Struggles with some stickers, realizes he made a typo, then starts all over again. I’m sure his typing speed was way below mine when I started using dvorak the first day.

The result is one piece of paper, saying I am allowed on Refinery property for one week, starting 15-3, even though 16-3 was on our request form. The funny part is that after reading the form again and again, checking my passport several times, the guy didn’t even realize my name was spelled (obviously) wrong.

I can’t wait what kind of surprises immigration has for me, when I go there and file my visa/work application..