Office Antics

So I'm coming up on a month at work and while generally I'm settling in, some things just haven't changed much from day one.  I'm still sitting in the hallway (although I now have a small convex mirror that reflects any people trying to sneak up behind me)...I am still learning linux (although i've moved onto data analysis and bash script writing...yeah I don't know, either) and my computer is still only half-working.  Barbarosa (sorry, I left out a syllable in that earlier entry) isn't set up yet.  in an effort to get the old seadog up and running, I sent an email to the help desk to ask them about my windows platform.  This is the email I got in return.

>> Here's a good way to verify that Windows is working:
>>
>> 1. Power the computer on.
>>
>> Any problems let us know. Thanks.
>>
>> --Sam

Do I spot a little attitude?  Hilarious as this is...the computer still isn't fixed.  And it's not the only instance of intractability I've run up against, unfortunately.  For instance, I need to access the e-journal subscriptions if I'm going to be writing papers, but I can't get access to the subscriptions unless I have a library PIN, and I can't get a library PIN without a Harvard ID, and I can't get a Harvard ID without a PhD or MD.  Ironically, I'm working at this job, analyzing data and writing papers, to accomplish a long-term goal of a doctorate...oh hey ever read that book Catch-22?

Anyway, the people I deal with on a day-to-day basis are quite cool so I'm not trying to say I hate my job by any stretch...but there you go.