I know my home is not very earthquake-proofed. I have a loft office over my bed, and I worry that the computer monitor will fall over on top of my bed and kill me.

And the TV would probably fall down and break, but really only the computer monitor would kill me.

Unrelated to things falling down, I love the nailpolish colour Rihanna is wearing here.

I thought the idea was to, you know, hire you for the job you are already (and have been) doing.

Yeah, but at the moment they can't hire me because I didn't make the qualified list under the open competitive, and I'm not eligible for lateral hiring. So if nobody on either list is currently actually qualified (as opposed to being ranked as qualified by the scoring), then they will cancel the announcement and try again with stricter criteria.

I don't know whether it's worth trying to stay, frankly. Argh.

However it sounds like I should hear pretty quickly whether there is anyone qualified on the lateral list. If yes, then I look for another job, because they can't cancel the process if they did, in fact, find a qualified applicant. If not, then I have to decide whether it's worth it to stick around for another round of hiring.

Maybe your comments here only highlight the negatives, but it sounds like Crazy Nemesis Lady alone makes the workplace kinda toxic.

From my dad - DC earthquake devastation:

[link]

Also, I mean, unless I'm missing something, it sounds very much like you will never actually be considered for this job. (It is entirely possible I'm missing something, because the whole thing sounds like ridiculous bureaucratic crazycakes nonsense to me.)

When moving into my place in CO, my mom wanted me to hang a pretty picture over my bed. I couldn't do it. I know I'm not in CA anymore, but the idea of it still gives me the shivers.

Nicole's hubby has a very pretty sword mounted on the wall over the stairs to the basement - you have to pass under it as your use the stairs. Always makes me think twice. Too many years in CA.

Is Allyson on twitter? I want to retweet her story but can't find her on my phone.

I do, @allysonbeatrice

I think maybe I don't know how to use Twitter correctly. I forgot about this hashtag business. I'll have to retweet it correctly. Still, I don't know if GM or anyone else is going to give a shit. I can't make them care. I just wish I was still BNF enough to raise an army to fuck with them for a few days, just to feel slightly better.

msbelle, I did email consumerist.

Allyson, tweeted and FB'd. I hope GM responds. With their tail between their legs and a shiny new gas pedal, if not a brand-new car.

Consuela, I'm so sorry. The whole thing sounds nightmarish, and really stressful for you.

Dear newspeople:

North Anna nuclear plant has not declared an "emergency." It has declared a "notice of unusual event," the lowest level of emergency declaration. NUEs are declared based on specific criteria from the NRC. An NUE can be declared for everything from an approaching tornado to a piece of equipment that's going to be out of service for a day longer than tech specs. Nuclear plants nationwide declare a couple a month. The vast majority of NUEs are declared because of mishandling of medical nuclear sources and people stealing glow-in-the-dark signs.

Once again, chill.