Stephen Witherden’s Website :: Angst :: Texas may be an illusion

Well, doesn’t that just take the cake?

Thomas called me into his office today and informed me that there’s been a bit of a snag with getting me to work for L3 in Texas. Essentially, in order to be able to go to work for L3 either:
a) The US congress must pass a bill which allows L3 to “export” cool secret stuff to South Africa (that means me apparently), or
b) I need to become a New Zealand citizen

So, they are going to have to try and turn New Zealand’s 9 month citizenship process into a 1 month process. L3 have indicated that if it takes too long (2 or 3 months or so), they are probably no longer interested in having me, so we have to do it fast.

Now, I know what you’re going to say. Why didn’t they figure this out earlier? Well, to be honest, I haven’t the foggiest. It’s a mystery to me. I guess something didn’t happen when it was supposed to.

It’s a good thing I worked for the University for years. Working for the University gives you a deep appreciation for bureaucracy and a lot of tolerance for major screw-ups. I mean, they didn’t pay me for about 4 months when I got my new contract. I ended up having to verbally abuse the head of HR before I got my money.

It’s at times like these when you really have to sit back, take a broad perspective and laugh.

It’s a good thing I applied for New Zealand citizenship about 5 months ago. I didn’t receive confirmation of my application (as I had been promised) but apparently they are “very busy” and will “get back to me”. I don’t think I have even been assigned a case worker yet and I know they haven’t requested my paperwork yet. Technically, there’s only really 4 months to go before I should be able to officially consider myself a New Zealander, so greasing a few palms should prove effective.