Passwords - What the hell!?

The password frenzy at work has gotten out of control. My windows password was almost ready to expire (as it does every 90 frigging days), so I spent the first half hour of my morning today trying a million different entries until it FINALLY deemed one of them acceptable. Fortunately, this time I actually remembered it long enough to write it down. Usually I have to try so many different cryptic passwords that by the time it accepts one, I forgot what I typed in, and I have to call CSC (the IT department) to reset it for me, which means I have to start all over. I go through this nonsense every 90 days. As a result, my password is on a sticky note, stuck directly to my PC case along with the other 13 stickies that are already chock full of passwords. So much for security.

So this afternoon I decide to check my voice mail. In the 5+ years that I've worked here, I've never had to change my voicemail password (passnumber?), but today it decided that now is the time! I try a new numeric entry, and just like Windows, it tells me that it's not good enough! Rather than a 4 number code like I've done just fine with for the last 5 years, it now needs six. So I add 2 more digits. Not accepted!

I guess I'm not using voice mail anymore, because I do NOT have the patience to deal with that bullshit. It's bad enough that I have to deal with it on my PC. These fucking security nazis are driving me crazy.