Anonymous feedback forms are not always anonymous

Let me start out by saying that I HATE dealing with immigration. And, no this is not necessarily a comment on India per se, but, more likely, a comment on government bureaucracies in general. Every time I go there, it's like I have to pry information out of the receptionist about the documents that I need. And then the next time I go, the other receptionist will tell me I need something else before I can submit them. It's a horrid place and mostly try to minimize the time I need to spend there. I was quite relieved, however, when I was finally able to submit my application for registration last Monday. However, that was not to last....



Tuesday at work, I'm in a meeting and I get the following call:



Caller: I'm calling from the FRRO (Foreigner Regional Registration Office). I'm telling you that you need to come for appointment tomorrow morning 10 AM.



Me: 10 AM is not a convenient time for me. I work nights. I need to do it at another time. [I think this just goes to show you start to think you can get ANYTHING changed if you live in India-a sign that I've been here too long.]



Caller: Then I don't know what will happen to your application. [Is that a threat??]



Me: (sigh) Ok. Where do I go?



...



Uh-oh. I mean normally you submit your documents and, right then and there, they give you an appointment to come in a pick up your certificate a week or so later. There usually is neither a phone call nor an appointment with the FRRO to contend with. So, I'm sure you can imagine my state of mind for the rest of the night.



So I manage to get up and get myself to the office early the next morning. None of the administrative people seem to have any record that I have meeting with the FRRO-nor the Assistant Director. Finally they tell the FRRO himself that I am here and bring me in to see him. I sit down and he says to me, "Did you fill out this feedback form?" My initial thought is, "What?" I look and, attached to my application is the 4-question, anonymous feedback form that I had filled out on Monday.



Dozens of things flashed through my mind: How did they match it up? How long did they spend matching it up? Is this why everything there takes so long? Wow, they actually read the feedback forms! And, why exactly did I get only 4 hours of sleep for this?



He proceeded to ask me questions about my comments on their website and even brought in one of the receptionists to chastise her (in front of me) for saying not to go by what's on the website. [Of course, I'm thinking, "Great. Now this woman's going to give me an even harder time than usual when I next have to come here for something!"]



Sigh. I can hardly wait to see what my next trip to immigration will bring...

Elmira

One of the things that I have been missing, that I haven't been able to find a substitute for in India, is Civil War reenacting. Luckily, I timed my return just right in order to be able to attend the 2007 Elmira Civil War Weekend with my former unit.

It was great to be out in the freezing cold, sleeping in a canvas tent...

....eating Denise's food cooked over an open fire....

...frantically mending our outfits....

...and sending our boys off to fight!

It was especially memorable because it was Maggie's first reenactment (look, she's already ready to cheer on the boys of the South!)