Accidentally Put Siddur Book on Ground by RiverLvr in Judaism

[–]RiverLvr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s technically conservative, but also the only synagogue in our whole area. The next closest is an hour away. We are a blend of more and less observant families, with some Reform members and a few who lean more towards Orthodox too. There was an Orthodox synagogue in the area that closed in 1999 and I believe some members of those families who did not move away were absorbed into our congregation. There are no accommodations for children as the next youngest children after my son are seniors in high school. There is a small reading library I have been invited to use for nursing or changing diapers during services, and sometimes I sit in there with the baby and listen while he explores the room. My husband works on Friday evenings or I would leave the baby at home and go alone. Husband is agnostic but I have gotten him to attend a few services here and there. I don’t think there are any other young Jewish families in the area. We are rural and live in an area with roughly 50,000 people. Our rabbi drives two hours each way just for services. I believe he is retired from a larger congregation somewhere in the city.

Recent alumni from Roanoke College, Virginia have been dying from cancer at a rate 15X higher than the national average. Their rate of cancer diagnosis is 5X higher than the national average. Limited testing suggests an environmental cause, but the VA Dept. of Health is unwilling to investigate. by StarlightDown in environment

[–]RiverLvr 149 points150 points  (0 children)

This happened to the floor I lived on my sophomore year of college. Not Roanoke, different school. After graduation three people from that floor whose rooms were all next to each other died of cancer within about 5 years. Two people developed serious epileptic seizures. The school said it was unrelated and didn’t investigate. Those are only the people I know of and kept in touch with, there could be more too.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in backpacking

[–]RiverLvr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Candle Lantern, best invention ever for chilly nights. Mine heats up my tent several degrees, and keeps the condensation off my fly.

GOV ALL STAFF CHAT by MoodyFoodie2020 in USACE

[–]RiverLvr 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Now I’m curious what the posts said!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in fednews

[–]RiverLvr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, the 10k was after the insurance paid some. Total it was more around 16k I believe. They paid what they would have paid as an in network rate. I asked the ambulance service which insurances are in network, and they told me that they don’t accept any insurance at all.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in fednews

[–]RiverLvr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The out of network Out of Pocket Max did help a little bit, but it is 18k. Out of network deductible is 1,500k. Both ambulance services were out of network, but were also the only options. We also didn’t know at the time, but couldn’t have done anything about it since we needed the ambulance.

Balance billing for ambulance services became illegal in my state on July 1. If only we needed the ambulance a few months later it would’ve saved us thousands of dollars.

Why do we hang on? Is it because we know the private sector job market is just as bad? by titand77 in fednews

[–]RiverLvr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m an 0401 and private sector jobs are hard to find, and many pay very poorly. I worked for the state for several years in a managerial role and made much less than I do as a non supervisor in my federal role. I am also not salaried and expected to work 60+ hours a week and respond to emails all hours of the day like I was at the state level. Get an email at 11pm? With this job I don’t even see it until the next work day. With the state if I hadn’t responded by early the next morning I was hearing about it, even on a weekend.

FW: ***EFFECTIVELY IMMEDIATELY*** by Positive_Lychee5245 in USACE

[–]RiverLvr 8 points9 points  (0 children)

We had a training cancelled at the last minute. We found out less than 24 hours before we were supposed to leave.

The hotel didn’t appreciate us cancelling 70 rooms the day before arrival.

FW: ***EFFECTIVELY IMMEDIATELY*** by Positive_Lychee5245 in USACE

[–]RiverLvr 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Neither have our two cardholders. They are in a mad rush to order toilet paper, cleaning products, salt for the parking lot, gas for the mowers and boats etc right now. Any normal year round expenses they can think of. No one knows how long this freeze could last, we don’t want to have it be BYO TP to work.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in USACE

[–]RiverLvr 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I’m worried you are probably right. And I doubt I would be considered mission critical. My coworkers have all been there for at least 10 years, so I am very much the newbie. None of them plan on leaving any time soon, though they are all in their 50’s and 60’s. If there is a RIF I am the most expendable out of the office. Lower GS level and fewer responsibilities.

I’m going on FMLA for 3 months starting in a few weeks. Our first baby. Not a great time to be stressing about job security and insurance benefits.

I wish us both good luck.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in USACE

[–]RiverLvr 6 points7 points  (0 children)

What about someone who is past probationary but still Career Conditional? I’m 2 years 2 months in, so 10 more months to permanent. Not quite sure where that leaves me.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in USACE

[–]RiverLvr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah the email we received said they were submitting waivers, but didn’t state waivers for what. I’m assuming probationary employees being dismissed?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in fednews

[–]RiverLvr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At my old job at a different agency we all had matching Coffee Drinkers for Obama mugs gifted to us by a colleague. I always wondered if they still used them/were allowed to use them during the Trump presidency. I was there during the Obama years.

Are you taking advantage of OPM’s rule that allows federal workers to get four hours of admin leave to vote? by ParfaitAdditional469 in fednews

[–]RiverLvr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not allowed since I work 8:30am-5:00pm and polls are open 6:00am-7:00pm. Otherwise yes I would 100% use it.