After 2 years of "ifs" and "buts" and deep agonising and long hours of fruitless discussion of whether to resume work or quit, the decision got made for me by some simple facts -----my sons neither need me 24x7 nor have much time for me (my husband never had ) and office work gives one enough idle time, and more importantly, monetary and other resources such as "designation" to permit one to engage in one's non official "causes" .
So, after a 5 year long sabbatical ( yes, it has been 5 years since I last sat behind a desk and attended an intercom call with a "Yes, Sir?" ) , I will be back in office next week, in an organisation which has always appeared to me rather like the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It deals in strange subjects like APIS, ACES, GSTN, CDF, ICES etc etc, officers who once enter its portals rarely make an exit, their language cannot be comprehended by Muggles, and if you ask them their job description they look down the length of their noses long enough for you to wish you had never asked such an inane question. There is no Lord Voldemort in this world, so one can have a jolly good time, and not even need a Harry Potter. There is always a Hermione , however. I believe there is one right now!
Because Muggles mostly do not understand what is happening in this magical world , they dare not ask for any accountability regarding progress or lack thereof vis a vis any of the enchanted (or is it enchantment) programs the school undertakes to develop. You see, this is not a school where one is taught, this is a school which researches and develops programs to so enchant tax payers as to make them voluntarily, out of the goodness of their hearts, comply with tax laws and procedures.
Oh, before I forget -----the organisation is called the Directorate General of Systems and Data Management and it was one of my dreams to work in this charmed and charming world and learn a few spells. The dream has come true in that I have been given an opportunity to work in the Directorate -----whether I manage to learn to cast spells or even to invent a few new spells remains to be seen.
If I have the courage to, and without risking being thrown out, I will soon let you know the rest of the cast of characters : is there a Prof Snape? a Prof Dumbledore? a Prof Minerva Gonagall? a Lupin? a Hagrid? Do they play Quidditch? Is there a Triwizard Tournament ?? ( After all, sister tax departments have similar organisations).
If I have the courage to, and without risking being thrown out, I will soon let you know the rest of the cast of characters : is there a Prof Snape? a Prof Dumbledore? a Prof Minerva Gonagall? a Lupin? a Hagrid? Do they play Quidditch? Is there a Triwizard Tournament ?? ( After all, sister tax departments have similar organisations).
I look forward to a lot of fun and a lot of hard work having fun.
