As an independent computational biologist, I generally do not bother the administrators for funds every other morning. Consequently, I cherish the privilege of escaping fakery of smile, flattery of complements and flaunting of fleeting loyalty. Nevertheless, they always succeed to find one occasion when they feel that I am on their mercy. On the great occasion of arranging Article Processing Charges, popularly known as APC. It is an "अहं प्रभु छविः" (I am God's reflection) moment for the administrators. Most of the extra-mural funding agencies do not have a clear provision of accommodating APC. This grey area serve as administrative tool to harass the ones they don't like. They sit on the papers to make sure the invoice expires a couple of times. The same administrators promptly process twice costlier APCs of their own or dear ones' articles. Ironically, they go after the PIs to finish the leftover funds towards the end of the financial year. A serious case of intentional amnesia !
Some of my colleagues suggested that I do not sufficiently visit the administrators to earn their goodwill. They label it as ego. It took me sometime to realize that by 'ego' they referred 'me'. Chutzpa ! I thought they implied satisfying the egos of administrators who expect me to flatter them. Why do I roam around in the offices, which are no less than maze puzzles? What explains those unanswered emails for appointments then? A relatable question I asked in the midsem exam of a statistics course:
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