Great Expectations

Equilibrium. Equality of distribution. When two sides are working in any given situation, both parties should "work". That's the point of having 'two' in the first place. You expect the work to be done and over with faster, swifter.

So, I get a piece of paper from the Civil Service "allowing" me to leave before the set date to do my MA. By the book, I should leave February. Fuck the book. By bending the rules, I could leave December. Fuck the rules. By my way, I could leave this September. Fuck-not my way.

If I leave September, I will be doing a lot of people a lot of favors. Fa ya3ni mo ga3id "a3tedy 3ala 7ag a7ad", bel3aks. There will be one extra vacancy for those who will apply for the same job if I leave. There will be one less vacancy when I come back Inshaallah. There will be more periods for students to choose from. There will be a lot of things, all because of "my way". Fuck-not my way.

No, I am not trying to make the world a better place. I am just trying to achieve that which I have set for myself, you see, I take myself a bit too seriously.

Back to the paper, the condition is: "with approval of the Cultural Office".

A not-so-great-expectation-but-an-expectation-nontheless is that you assume that since I have chosen/applied to/admitted into a University which my Jehat 3amal and Kuwait University approved .. I would not need the "approval of the Cultural Office.

Is'alni laish. I did not make up the University. I got its name/site from a folder found at my place of work. It doesn't take a genius to guess that the folder's name was "Universities approved by the Cultural Office". Note that I am not going to mention the signatures I got from my place of work, and the fact that the letter I took to the Civil Service was actually in the 'name' of Kuwait University. Okay so I just did mention it.

Shsar bel denya etha ishtar6aw "approval of Cultural Office"? Wala shay. All it would take is an email asking "Do you approve?". If emails aren't considered official. All it would take is a fax: "Do you approve?". (A great expectation)

A very long story, long. Called Kuwait University a lot of times in 2 weeks. 14 days, minus 4 days weekends. 7anna is the word, if you were wondering. And they (she, go figure) says "ma wosalna shay", "ma wosalna shay", "YA MAMA, MA WOSALNA SHAY".

A great expectation would be the assumption that something can be done without your interference. Two weeks is a long time to wait for something you should not be waiting for, so I took it upon myself that I show them how to take care of business. I emailed a lot of addresses that I have found on the Cultural Office's website. I asked a friend in the UK to call them and talk directly to the person (a she, don't go figure) in charge.

To my mixture of amazement/amusement/anger/happiness, she has explained to my friend that she has infact recieved the fax AND that she has replied on the 22nd of July. Hal 7achi saar Wednesday the 27th. She later emailed me explaining what had happened. And I also got an email from the Director of the Cultural Office promising to "look into it". I respect that.
I just made it clear that I have called all last week, and all I got was "ma wosalna shay".

Great expectation: when the fax actually arrives, somebody will read it and call you. If not?
Great expectation: when the fax actually arrives, somebody will notify somebody else (asking whoever it is for). If not?
Great expectation: when you call and call, and yet call again urging to check whether a fax has been sent; you expect that after hanging up, that certain somebody you just talked to will ask "wosal fax b khesoos ...?" If not?
Fuck great expectations.

I'm not mad. I know it's not personal. I just can not afford the time, so yeah, I am mad and it is personal.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I appreciate stuff like this happening to me. They set me straight for "next time", and they give me a chance to remind myself of what I have always believed in: you take care of your own business.

Taking into consideration the fact that if something as simple as sending/recieving a fax and notifying the person concerned if and when that happens, is infact a GREAT expectation. What are we to expect when it comes to decision-making, for example, as opposed to 'routine procedure'.

It's kinda sad that everybody admits and names the time we live in as the "speed age", when it takes over two weeks to process an approval which was uncalled for in the first place.

Just a thought. Or maybe not. Fuck-not my way.