Hawaii Time

I was told by many before i got here that I would soon come to recognise the term "Hawaii Time", and indeed it now makes perfect sense. Many things here move much slower than the mainland, everyone takes things at a gentler pace. This sounds like a good thing, until you try and work here. Most people who stay have found their own way of working around Hawaii Time without it driving them nuts, many people never find a way to deal with it and leave. I've had my own dose of Hawaii Time here at the university, but i'm still laughing about it and it isn't driving my completely insane yet, so maybe i'll make it. Here is my list from my arrival here at UH - more for me than anyone else, just as a reminder -

- No chair at my desk (ended up buying one yesterday)
- Desk nice, but drawers rusted shut
- Sharing an office but only one phone
- And that phone is on the other side of the office from both of us
- Have a filing cabinet, but no inserts to be able to put files in it
- Three grants transfered from WHOI in November gone missing
- One grant paperwork found tucked in the secretaries drawer without being submitted
- Other two never found - restarted all the paperwork
- Can't print grant paperwork as I don't have an IP address
- Can't get an IP address without a grant to charge to
- 6K of startup promised turned into 3K (better turn back soon)
- Can't get to startup account because fiscal office is closed because the building has no power
- As grants not here only getting 75% of salary not 100%
- Can't backdate pay to recoup what i've lost
- Can't get a monitor for my computer as I don't have a grant number
- Tried to get a UH credit card, but fiscal office shut
- Particular fiscal officer to sign credit card is also on holiday until Feb
- Can't get another phone put in without a grant
- Found another desk in the campus warehouse - woo hoo!
- Desk will be delivered anywhere in 2wks to 2 months

Felt very circular yesterday, maybe today will straighten out. I'll probably keep adding to this list i'm sure.