an apology

Remember my phone conversation with Ashley at the Census Bureau on February 28?  Well, I was so wrong about her I want to publicly apologize (even though she of course doesn’t read this blog).  Still, I feel I maligned a very nice person.

Today I go down to Tribeca to the Census Bureau to fill out two-hours worth of forms for my $16.95/hour part-time temporary job.  That’s when I meet Ashley.  First, she is adorable, with tight little braids standing up all over her head.  She is young, casually dressed, African American, and lip-reads.  Ashley is deaf.  She can understand everything I say but can only communicate back in writing.  On the phone, she uses some kind of automated voice that transcribes what she writes.  So when I thought she was being snippy (on February 28), it was actually a snippy computer-generated voice that was just reading Ashley’s typed words.  I tell her how sorry I was for being rude on the phone, and she smiles an engagingly sweet smile and indicates not to worry.   I feel so bad I don’t even complain about all the redundant forms I need to complete — the fingerprints I need to have taken — the picture I need to take — nor the 3-days of training yet to come.