Posts
Filling in official forms, makes my head hurt. A lot!
25 April 2024
I’m rather fond of admin and don’t mind doing
it at all. Weird, right? Cause I think most people hate it.
Now I’m not saying that I actively go out there
and look for admin stuff to do, but I’m quite happy to just knuckle down and do
it. It’s kind of non-thinking work. You simply just get on with it and usually
you can see the results of what you’re doing. The pile of papers gets less,
your inbox shrinks, stuff gets chucked out and everything sort of goes where it
needs to go. So the end result is rather satisfying. In addition I'm methodical, so I find it all rather logical.
So given the above, it might be quite
surprising to discover that filling in official forms, does not fill me with joy.
At all.
There are so many senseless boxes to tick. And
should you tick them or make a cross? The boxes are really small. You always
have to use a pen and I’m more of a clutch pencil kind of gal, and have a great
fondness for an eraser (my kids have urged me to not use the word rubber…). So
many boxes seem to require the same information over and over again. And I
sometimes find the simplest of questions on a form rather challenging.
I mean given the fact that my postal address
and residential address is the same, why should I need to tick where I would
like to receive my correspondence? It’s the same bloody place. Besides which,
why does anyone actually need to know where I live? It’s not that I mind, but
having to fill my whole address out twice means that there’s lots of room for
error. Also, when last did I receive anything in my actual physical mailbox outside my house? Everything is done via email, right?
I’ve recently started a new job and I
absolutely LOVE it!!! So grateful for the wonderful opportunity, awesome
company, fantastic working environment, fabulous colleagues and really great
bosses. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy my role in my new job. I’m learning and
growing and I’d like to believe that I’m making a valuable contribution. Well, maybe not just yet, but definitely in the future. One
that will hopefully increase as I skill up and become better at my job. For
now, I’m thinking I’m probably more of a bother than a help, but in time I'm positive that this will improve once I’ve gained more experience.
But just the other day, I had to fill out a
really, really basic one page form for my boss. So yes, it was a form for SARS with
a lot of little boxes to tick and complete. And I had to fill in an employee’s
personal details, ID number, Company number, employment dates, financial
details, etc. But let’s keep it real. I had all of the information in front of
me. Albeit in a different format. It was a very simple matter of transposing
information from one form to another. Hardly rocket science.
Apparently it was not that simple. For me. My
boss printed a single page for me to complete. It didn’t take long for me to
make my first mistake. In black ink. But fear not. Was I not issued with my
very own bottle of Tipp-Ex at work? Surely this would be a very quick fix. So I
painted the mistake away, blew the Tipp-Ex dry, made my correction and
studiously completely the form. Delighted that I was finished, I took it to my
boss and proudly gave it to her.
She took one look and said that it would not be
accepted by SARS. So she printed me another copy. Felt a bit embarrassed, but
it’s just one page after all and anyone can make a mistake.
Completed my 2nd attempt and realized
that I’d filled in a wrong line. Knew by now that Tipp-Ex was not an option. So
I sheepishly went to my boss and explained that I’d unfortunately made yet
another mistake. Apologised and asked her to print it for me again.
My 3rd attempt went really, really
well. And I finished the whole thing. Before I realized that I’d filled a
December salary amount into a January block. I could not believe my stupidity.
By now I was mortified. My first reaction was to drop my head on my desk and I got
the most inappropriate and uncontrollable attack of the giggles. Couldn’t believe
that I’d done it yet again. Cringed at the thought of bothering my boss yet
again to ask her to print me a 4th form.
Still I could not stop giggling. Eventually
sent Grant a message and told him what an #eejit I was. Finally plucked up my
courage, tried to school my face into a look of remorse (which I really felt,
but I do tend to giggle inappropriately when I get nervous, ruining my sincerely
remorseful look), knocked on my boss’s door and confessed once more. To top
things off I giggled while confessing and over explained what had happened.
To be fair, she was most patient with me. Didn’t
blink an eye. And went ahead and printed me another 3 copies. Just in case.
And just as well… She's clearly a wise woman and had sized me up by this stage.
Delighted to report back that I finally completed
the form accurately and without mistake. However it did take a rather disproportionate
amount of time, paper and ink.
Now, this fear-of-form-filling moment of
introspection, made me think of other forms. And I had to wonder if anyone else
ever felt the same way?
And then I remembered…
There was this one time my Amber had to go to
the doctor and I accompanied her. Once we announced our arrival at reception,
the receptionist handed over a clipboard and form that needed to be completed
with Amber’s personal details. I knew for a fact that I DID NOT want to
complete this form. In addition, I could turn my aversion into a learning experience
for Amber. Which made me think. Had she ever really filled out an official form
of any kind?
I delighted in handing the
clipboard over to her and informing her that it was time for her to fill in her
own form. One of the “perks” of being an adult.
It was a lengthy process and she
had lots of questions along the way. And hey, I so get it. I also find forms
confusing. Clearly, I’m not very bright. Not saying that she isn't. But I know for a fact that I'm not. She was a first-timer.
We got to the bit where they
asked for the contact details of her next of kin. So I told her that she could
simply add my name, surname, contact number, etc.
The following question on the
form was, “Relationship”.
Now I didn’t think that would be
a hard one for her to complete. In my opinion, the relationship question was an
easy one. I’m her mother, hence my details. Piece of pie.
Until she stumped me with a
question she whispered loudly to me…
“Why would they want to know if I’m
single or if I’ve got a boyfriend?”
I guffawed. As did the receptionist.
So there you have it. Forms are
truly baffling. To many of us. In addition, it’s also clearly a hereditary condition.
Sorry Amber!
