Working is hard, people, and I am not even being paid for this!

So unfair! I hope you get good connections or something as payback.

As for me, I forget if I mentioned last week that my organization has screwed up again. Apparently HR forwarded the short list of candidates, but put the wrong name in the "to" field, so it didn't get to the hiring manager. He only found out it had been forwarded when they emailed to ask why he hadn't made his selection yet.

So now they've gotten an extension on the time to make the selection, and the hiring manager is out for the rest of the year on use-or-lose leave. Which means nothing will happen before the beginning of January.

t facepalm

I like my job, but this bullshit is going to kill me, I swear.

I mostly finished my Christmas shopping last night, and wrapped a bunch of gifts to send to my brother's house in Colorado, but realized this morning I'd forgotten a few, so I can't ship it today.

And I didn't get a tree. I just don't have the energy. I will put a ribbon on my front door and be done with it.

Suela, all that matters is your name is on the short list, right, assuming the hiring manager wants to hire YOU? That's my understanding of how it works - the hard part is getting on the short list, but the hiring manager can choose anyone on the list (regardless of points), because they are all highly qualified. I'm assuming you have confirmation that you are on the short list? (mr. flea was hired off the short list without even a formal interview; the hard part was the finagling of the short list to get him on it.)

I am actually learning a great deal about how to write a successful large grant, so that's the benefit of this unpaid work. I am keeping the grant .pdfs to refer to how it's done (one of them is really good.)

I don't know when I find out about this meeting. I don't even really know who to ask. But if they have roped in my pain management doc, I can find out tomorrow morning, because I have a standing appointment scheduled for then. I will wait. And at least if he doesn't know the answer, maybe he'll know where the answer is.

I have been horizontal for three days, and vertical is an interesting option. But at least there was breakfast, which is new. Gotta get back up to speed. That shit wrung me dry.

If I ever wake up (I made it out of the house 30 minutes late), maybe work will be accomplished. Apparently I made a spelling error last week that messed people up. Oops. Also not looking forward to anyone asking me how my trip was, but maybe my rep will serve me well here, and no one will give a fuck.

Colin was very kind to come across town and sit with me for the scintillating process. It went smoothly, but not quickly, and he was dead knackered by the time we were done. And I suppose I will learn to get over my company taking time to text Rita Moreno while I'm being shot up with meds.

Okay, I gotta work out what numbers mean now.

For Teppy:

72 Years of Batman Logos on a Single Poster

ita, I'm glad you got something to eat. And so glad that Colin was able to help you.

Although my company taking time to text Rita Moreno makes me boggle. Rita Moreno! I swoon.

I saw Ms. Moreno perform last year, and she was amazing. If I could have one quarter of her energy at 81, I'll be pleased.

Suela, all that matters is your name is on the short list, right, assuming the hiring manager wants to hire YOU?

Um. Well, one would hope. Except the preference rules state that the only way to pass over a veteran is through an onerous written application that must be approved at a fairly high level, and apparently nobody in my division has ever successfully accomplished it.

My only hope is if the hiring manager can show that despite their scoring the other two people in the pool are not, in fact, actually qualified. Or convince them that they don't really want the job because there is no relocation pay, or something like that. Or so I understand.

It's very frustrating; when I was originally hired, the assistant division chief was very skilled in civilian hiring and he really knew how to work the process. But it's clear to me that since he left, nobody really knows how to do it. Additionally, there is extra incentive against passing over veterans here: I think such attempts get more scrutiny than they would at, say, EPA or the Forest Service.

Yes, veterans get points in the applications process at the EPA, but there's no preferential treatment once they are in the short list pool as far as I know. That sucks

I hope the other applicants are unqualified! There's certainly at least a chance of that. mr. flea was telling me there's some guy who ends up in all the hiring pools at his work despite not actually being qualified; apparently he's really good at applying.

Apparently I got in the way of dinner with Ms Moreno, but I'm sure they've made other arrangements.

Consuela, I cannot wrap my head around the dos and don'ts of that hiring process. I tried to get a government job once, and despite being the person the guy wanted to hire, their paperwork never lined up with my H1B paperwork windows, so I gave up on New Orleans and moved back to the hated Michigan.

Working for UCLA Medical as a contractor was a much simpler way of working for the govt, but hearing some of the things the full timers had to deal with--I was both envious and not. I still miss it as a workplace, and not just because it's walking distance from the ER.

I think I just got dug out of a project related freakout boss was having last week. Through no effort of my own, so I'm hoping that what I'm seeing is real.

My sister has been gentle about talking about the wedding. Apparently the bride that I've not met corrected the seating cards to lower case my name, which means I don't care that no one in their family does relationships right--she's okay by me. Apparently there was a 20 minute "we miss her" session, and then my sister did double ! duty. Of which she is more than capable.

The cousin/aunt to whom I don't speak got grunted at by her. I really wish I'd gotten to see that, and also gotten to see what I would have done. I know she doesn't think I despise her, and since we worked together for almost ten years and lived together for about three, I'm sure she'd have tried to talk to me.

Manager just asked what I did over the weekend. I told her I missed the wedding, but since they have a lot of kids and a lot of relationship problems, there'd be another one soon enough, which is way meaner than they deserve.

Not that untrue, but still.

Yes, veterans get points in the applications process at the EPA, but there's no preferential treatment once they are in the short list pool as far as I know

Nope, the preference continues to apply. If you want to hire someone other than a veteran in the top open pool, you have to justify it. It's the new rules. It's why most hires here are actually either veterans or people from other federal agencies, already in the system, who don't have to compete with veterans.

Consuela, I cannot wrap my head around the dos and don'ts of that hiring process

It's ridiculous. If I don't laugh I'd have to cry. And drinking just makes me sleep poorly. (I bumped into a climbing pal on Friday that I haven't seen in about 18 months, and the first thing she said was that I looked "skinny". Which frankly isn't true, but I have dropped some weight in the last couple of months...)

Hmm, it's 10AM and no call yet from the assisted living facility, or from my folks. I didn't get any calls on Friday, either. I wonder if this is the new normal? Please?

I'm catching up on episodes of Revenge today. I have had too many things in that time slot, and I thought that I would be able to watch on demand. However, the on demand option on my cable has been broken for weeks. They seem to have fixed it today. The flashback episode was excellent.

I am nose to grindstone today, but sending out warm wishes and good thoughts to everyone.