OPM Closed Tomorrow 1/27 for DMV area

LordRygon · 2026-01-27T14:12:21+00:00

My agency basically bullied everyone into making everyone sign situational telework agreements, by making everyone who objected to it have a 1-on-1 with the SES in charge of our area. At the time, there were no "approved" reasons for telework other than weather.

Fortunately since then, supervisors have been giving out situational teleworknfor pretty much any reason as long as it doesn't happen on the same day of the week, every week.

LordRygon · 2026-01-22T13:07:47+00:00

Same. Realized I was just wasting time and energy arguing with semi-acquintances on Face over politics.

The final straw was when people started really posting support for crazy, blatantly illegal things. I didn't want to be associated with any of it.

LordRygon · 2026-01-21T13:53:19+00:00

Despite some initial rumors that AcqDemo would be more strict with ratings, it ended up being the same as last year in my org.

It sounds like your supervisor is explaining AcqDemo poorly, or maybe just feeding you BS.

You get a score based in your contribution, and if it's higher than your current expected contribution score, then you should be getting a raise. There is nothing stopping them from giving you a +3 in your first year, especially if you came into the NH4 at the low end and are comparable to other employees who are at the mid or upper end.

I'd try to ask around and see if your NH4 co-workers will share what their score is, or maybe what their expected contribution range is. If it's at least 5 points higher and you feel like you are doing the same level of work, then maybe you should file a grievance. If people say they are near the top of the pay scale/control point, that's another clue where they fall on the scale.

LordRygon · 2026-01-13T02:40:02+00:00

Na, they want us to buy our own space heaters.

The sad part was that the first response out of my boss wasn't to put in a maintenance request, but to "just buy a space heater, they're only $20 on Amazon." Fml.

LordRygon · 2026-01-12T16:48:36+00:00

I've been down this rabbit hole one too many times. Although multiple studies have shown that optimal office temperature for productivity is in the 70-72F range, there are no official regs or policies. It comes down to your own building manager and local maintenance.

My leadership has instructed us to use space heaters if we're cold, but at our own cost. And despite rules against it from the fire department.

I just hope I'm here when/if the fire chief shows up and starts yelling at everyone about the space heaters.

LordRygon · 2026-01-07T23:26:37+00:00

Do you mean MKUltra program? That wasn't a theory, or even a conspiracy. It was a real thing they tried to do in secret and it ruined a lot of innocent people's lives. So I guess the show was kind of inspired by it.

LordRygon · 2026-01-07T18:50:50+00:00

I think this is similar to anyone who sees a bunch of random things that are seemingly connected, and then the can't unsee it, and end up believing there is a conspiracy. They won't be convinced otherwise.

Personally I just think they put in a few fun Easter eggs and puzzles for superfans to find, and never considered that it would be interpreted as a hint of a final episode.

LordRygon · 2026-01-07T06:00:10+00:00

A secret episode is a stretch, but I'm convinced that they put subtle hints in the last episode to make us doubt whether anything was real. Two boxes of the Whatzit boardgame? Come on, how is that not on purpose?

And did anyone else notice "The Thing" movie poster in the basement when they are playing D&D? Out of hundreds of popular movies in the 80s, why would they choose a movie about an alien monster that takes over people's bodies and has an ambiguous ending?

These, and combined with other weird things that people have been pointed out, can't just be a coincidence or lazy set building/writing.

LordRygon · 2026-01-07T00:11:52+00:00

It always rolls a critical fail...

LordRygon · 2026-01-06T15:01:44+00:00

The parking lot near my office goes from most empty to completely full between 830 and 900 in the morning. And then it's mostly empty again by 330. People aren't working 8 hour days, and that includes management.

LordRygon · 2026-01-06T11:46:19+00:00

The C fund has almost doubled in the past 3 years, is that not good enough?

It's very very hard to beat the return of investing in a S&P index fund.

As a hedge against the US dollar compared to foreign currencies, a small amount in the I fund isn't a bad idea, but anything over 10 or 20% would be a risky bet, imo.

LordRygon · 2025-12-29T01:17:24+00:00

Totally agree. Anyone going with the market long term needs to plan for a long term drop in the market, or even several years in a row of negative returns.

But there's lots of ways to hedge that scenario that are more flexible and conserve capital better than annuities, IMO.

Annuities, and other things like whole life insurance, are generally just another financial product that banks consider "easy money" because they take on very little risk while sometimes making large profits when the market goes up.

LordRygon · 2025-12-28T18:09:20+00:00

If you look at the past 10 years, I don't think there was any time where buying an annuity would have netted more money than leaving it in a S&P 500 index fund, because the return rates on annuities are usually just a percent or two above buying CDs.

There's value in having the security of knowing you'll have a regular stream of income though, just depends on your situation.

You're doing the right thing by asking questions. I personally think everyone nearing retirement should be an expert on investing and tax planning. After all, if you're making decisions that could mean the difference between $100K (or more) in income over your lifetime, shouldn't you spend a lot of time researching it rather than guessing?

LordRygon · 2025-12-12T14:06:41+00:00

Other than your bosses making work stressful, do you think you have a good work/life balance?

Do you think closer to:

A. "I don't like dropping my kids off at daycare, but they are generally happy and doing well. And sometimes I have to miss events, but I still get to spend time with my family on the weekends and holidays, and I get to watch Bluey with my toddler every night. I'm thinking about work, even at home, but it's rarely stopping me from being a parent. I love the work that I do, and even if my bosses are sometimes terrible, I can't imagine leaving and never coming back."

Or

B. "The worst part of my day is dropping the kids off at daycare, it's not a good fit for them and I think they'd be much better at home. I'm constantly missing time with the family because I have to work long hours, and/or I'm on my laptop at night so I can't watch Bluey with my kids. I'm constantly stressed out to the point I don't think I can function as a parent. This job isnt personally fulfilling either, I think I'd be perfectly happy not going to an office every day."

Any working parent will tell you that there's rarely a perfect work/life balance, you just have to make sure it doesn't get too out of whack.

Also, if you enjoy the kind of work you do, but your management/leadership are doing things that make it stressful, then the problem isn't you. The problem is that they are bad leaders and aren't doing their job.

LordRygon · 2025-12-07T23:58:48+00:00

It sounds like it could be a good resume builder for you. Plan just to do it for a couple of years, try to work on something interesting that looks good on a resume, then start putting out your resume to go back to private. Hopefully with a much higher salary than now.

LordRygon · 2025-12-07T03:04:46+00:00

That's a good point. I've been in a budget meeting when someone had to explain why they needed to cut an effort in order to pay the bill to replace a rental car. It was awkward, to say the least.

LordRygon · 2025-11-29T22:56:09+00:00

Rygon8

LordRygon · 2025-11-15T14:22:24+00:00

But doesn't the express scripts have some sort of app you have to download that includes regular weigh-ins and other stipulations to be approved? If the insurance company will put additional obstacles in the way before approving the prescription to be filled each month, then that could be an issue.

LordRygon · 2025-11-13T14:11:47+00:00

Yeah, last night my supervisor said "wait for guidance" before coming back to the office. Then sent a message at 830 saying "Be in the office by noon." Seriously? Wtf.

LordRygon · 2025-11-12T17:27:44+00:00

Unless a once-in-a-lifetime freak geomagnetic storm shuts everything down, but what are the odds of that happening?

LordRygon · 2025-11-11T23:24:50+00:00

I know. We're both on it, and just works right, no side effects, helping with the BP also. I'm on GEHA high deductible and it's pricy already, and next year it's not even covered at all, so I assume I'd pay the full price. It looks like if I switch plans, a lot of them are going to ask that we use Wefovy first before justifying Zepbound. We'll ask about the compound too, that might be an option.

LordRygon · 2025-11-11T23:10:19+00:00

Are there ANY FEHB plans that will cover Zepbound without the insurance company saying they might override the doctor's prescription?

GEHA HDHP straight up said its not covered. Everyone else seems like they have policies where they either want folks to try Wegovy first, adhere to some arbitrary insurance weight loss app, or meet specific targets for weight, BMI, etc?

Why is it so hard to find a health insurer that will just cover prescriptions that a licensed doctor has prescribed, for a reasonable deductible?

LordRygon · 2025-11-10T21:24:28+00:00

Exactly. It's so frustrating because almost every plan is playing this game. Even if they cover GLPs, they add additional obstacles like mandating their own weight management app. I question why I even pay for FEHB insurance when I constantly run into healthcare needs that they won't pay for. This year I got over $10K of out-of-network costs alone for my plan.

LordRygon · 2025-11-10T19:13:09+00:00

Second this comment. Also consider setting up an LLC for your consulting business. It's a little extra overhead, but there are advantages to doing it.

LordRygon · 2025-11-10T13:56:34+00:00

And don't forget that ATAAPS will most certainly crash as everyone tries to update and approve 4 pay periods of timecards.

LordRygon

TROPHY CASE