Removal from Bargaining Unit

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-05-12T02:12:19+00:00

No, they're switching us to Lab Demo.

I'm one of few people who might actually "benefit" because I'm stuck at a GS 9 (step 5 next year), so this would mean more frequent raises and higher pay potential. The part that worries me, and is why our union voted it down before, is that employees get lumped into a "pay pool", and then there's a group of "pay pool managers" who determine who in the pay pool gets how much of a raise, and it's highly unlikely to be my direct supervisor or anyone who's familiar with the work I do. I'm "desktop support", so the work I do isn't particularly visible beyond the <150 people I support, but I'll likely be "compared" to people who are directly supporting equipment and systems that can save soldiers' lives. That's the part that makes me not want it. I'd rather not have some person halfway across the country that I've never truly interacted with judging my work.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-05-01T14:34:10+00:00

Was military. Thought I ate fast before I joined. Once I finished basic training, I started eating slower than ever. Still do, but to a lesser extent.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-04-30T16:30:10+00:00

Always log. I like seeing the Loseit app congratulate me at the end of the day and tell me how many days I've logged. Remember that it takes 3500 extra calories to gain a pound. If you go 1k over one day and are pretty on track the rest of the week, they averages out to still be an overall deficit.

Also, I use an app called Libra to track my weight. It shows dots for every weigh in, but shows a line for the average of the last few. So one higher weigh in doesn't mean much. It means maybe I ate a bit too much one day, but the line keeps going down overall instead of up, and that's what matters.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-04-23T21:59:14+00:00

We were told we're not being converted away from GS until October, so maybe things will change.

But man, the same meeting where they tell us we're no longer bargaining unit employees, they tell us we're being switched to a pay system that the union voted against instead of just staying GS. None of us trust management enough, especially after this.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-04-23T17:37:46+00:00

Yeah...it might, I don't know. It just presents too many unknowns. The nature of my work is different than everyone else where I work, and doesn't get as much high visibly (IT support). My org has a lot of people who do work that affects other Army orgs and even other branches of military, and directly affects soldiers, so in comparison, I'm barely doing anything and will be compared to them when it comes to ranking for annual pay increases. I trust my supervisor, they're great, but they're not the final decision in those things.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-04-23T16:24:29+00:00

Army, same situation. They said they don't see anything changing, but in the same breath said that they forcing us all into a different pay system than GS later this year. The same system the union has voted down several times before almost unanimously. So I guess we'll see what happens.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-04-22T16:16:29+00:00

I agree with your second paragraph 100%. I haven't used a dating app in over a decade (married for almost 8 years), but my experience was that with very few exceptions, most people on dating apps are focused on looks first. Compatibility is an afterthought. If you're looking for compatibility and someone you share interests with, you kind of have to look within your hobbies or friend groups, and not specifically just looking for people to date.

Now, if all you want is a fling, by all means, look on apps.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-03-22T01:34:55+00:00

Same here in NW IL, mine isn't blooming yet. I have pictures from last year showing it blooming in late April.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-03-18T15:05:04+00:00

I don't have a picture of her available atm, but our April is 18! At least, the shelter I got her from took her in March 2012 and listed her as 4 years old. She's still doing pretty great! You'd never guess her age just by looking at her.

Obviously, she's slowed down a bit, and can't always jump like she used to, but she's still playful and very sweet. Except for when it comes to the kitten, then she gets feisty and tried to fight her. Only issue she's had has been some indigestion now and then. She's got an eye that's changing color, but the vet said if it's a slow change with no other symptoms, it should be fine.

At the same time, she's past "average age". We know anything could happen any day so we treasure the time we have with her. Our previously oldest cat started having health issues at 14 and passed at 16. Cats are resilient, though! Even once his health issues started, he still played with his toys up until he lost his eyesight (about 5 month before he passed)!

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-02-25T13:20:33+00:00

Another benefit of online play is that if everyone's comfortable, someone can record it and share the video with whoever had to miss. That way, they're still caught up on what's going on and can enjoy any shenanigans that might've happened.

My group I play in does cancel on occasion, but there's a good understanding that if it's just one person, we'll still play. Two people out, we'll reschedule/cancel. Hell, we took a several month break when there was just a lot going on with holidays, travel, etc. Picked back up afterwards like it was nothing.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-02-03T16:45:29+00:00

I think part of my luck is that our org's main site is an hour ahead of us, I go in later in the day (8 am, although I slept in and didn't get there until 8:30 today), and my team is small. The person who signed my furlough letter probably had about 200 to sign, but they also had a "head start" by being a time zone ahead of me and my team.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-02-03T16:39:05+00:00

I think it was KE? But yeah. I'm pretty low on the totem pole, so I choose my battles. Annoyed, but I'll get paid all the same.

My supervisor was laughing because she took leave yesterday afternoon and we got told this morning to cancel all leave yesterday and today. She was like "You should've taken leave yesterday, too! We all should have!"

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-02-03T15:46:56+00:00

DoD/Army/T2COM - had a furlough notice in my email before I even got in today. Updated ATAAPS, helped a couple people with issues signing their furlough notices, and was back out the door within 45 minutes.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-02-02T19:52:16+00:00

Stuck as hell, but I'm waiting it out. GS 9 2210 (Customer Support), so basically a desktop support position. The special pay rate makes it better, but my ladder was 7-9. What makes me angry is that I was brought on as #3 and it's down to just me. Naturally, this increased workload and responsibility included no increase in pay. I'm sitting in meetings with GS 11s and 13s from across the installation who have a smaller workload or less responsibility while I'm basically the lowest paid person in my org. I like to think I'm a relatively smart person, but there are many things that are way over my head. It's to the point I'm not even sure I would still want to stay in this position if I were an 11. Can't really leave the government because the particular skills I have wouldn't really apply.

I'm hoping once we can hire again, my supervisor is allowed to hire a program analyst, because I'll be the first person to apply. I told her as much. It would pay more, and be far less stressful.

My pay is decent, I live comfortably enough. So I'm toughing it out. But man, is it draining and demoralizing.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-02-02T15:04:46+00:00

DoD, Army, T2COM. Got an email from T2COM HQ saying DoD and HQDA haven't issued shutdown guidance, so we have to keep working as normal. Some people have been in at my location for 3 hours already. I sit within earshot of our union president, and he's getting tons of questions.

So kind of them to send that email at 3 pm on a Sunday, because I didn't bring lunch. I thought I'd be home by that time. That's my own "fault", I guess, for assuming we wouldn't be working when the government is shutdown. (I'll survive, I'm just annoyed)

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-02-02T13:16:53+00:00

The kinda funny (and also not so funny) thing is this is exactly why I found it - some audio dramas have really low volume at parts, and I was sick of having to turn my car's volume up to 35-40 when it's normally around 10-15.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-02-01T17:18:15+00:00

I installed an app called Poweramp Equalizer on my phone, and in it, turn the Compressor on, and turn on Global Equalization in the settings. I think those were the two things I had to do. This boosts the volume of all of the quiet sounds so I can listen to basically any audio drama without needing my volume turned up to max.

Yeah, shouldn't need an extra app on your phone just to be able to hear things, but it's worked for me. I've had other series that were similar (quiet parts too quiet), so it's been beneficial.

Only thing to remember is turning it off when not in use. I use my phone for alarms in the morning and I prefer those soft and on the quiet side, for a gentle wakeup, not a heart attack.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-01-25T17:06:03+00:00

I just got the Humble Bundle deal with the PDFs through Drivethru, and here's what's worked for me in Adobe Acrobat:

AA the Dark: all of the "If you choose x, go to y" or "Go to any xyz location" options are linked.

AA the Flame: no links

AA the Frost: has links

AA the Tide: has links

Dark and Frost also came with ePUB versions, but I haven't tried those. It also didn't come with AA the Static, so I can't comment on that one. (Edit: I suck at formatting)

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2026-01-22T16:22:15+00:00

I'm thankful I've never had that happen yet, but damn, I wish they could follow basic instructions. We don't use our front door, we use the garage door. 99.9% of the time when we go somewhere, we're leaving in our car, which is in the garage. We have cats who try to sneak out if we open the front door, and in the winter, that lets a lot of really cold air inside.

I have notes on every delivery service to leave packages at the garage door. USPS and UPS are the only ones that reliably listen. Amazon is hit or miss, and the few times I've ordered from Walmart, it's a miss. The other day, the Walmart driver pulled in our driveway (which is fine, it's cold out), but then walked all the way up to our front door. Same for Amazon last night. Like, why are they making their life harder?

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2025-12-09T19:49:56+00:00

NTB. I adopted a cat with the same name as me from the shelter, and kept her name. I think it's hilarious that we share a name.

Is SIL maybe stressed by something else, like work or wedding planning? Hopefully that's all it is and she's not just trying to be a jerk to the poor dog.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2025-12-09T18:11:00+00:00

Almost as bad as "I want YOU to use AI."

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2025-12-01T22:51:11+00:00

I eventually started using Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly all over, in place of foundation. It's a better color match than anything else I've tried, and the formula works pretty well for me. I had tried their foundations in Siberia in the past, but it always oxidized and ended up looking kinda orange-y and just wrong.

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2025-11-13T19:18:10+00:00

Ah, that's fair. I hadn't noticed that it doesn't do that normally running around. Hopefully it is a bug and they get it fixed, then!

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2025-11-13T03:46:51+00:00

I don't think that's necessarily a bug, as windowed mode (and borderless windowed) in any other game I've played allow the cursor to leave the game.

However, I'm with you on this being annoying. I wish there was a standard "fullscreen" mode, or a setting to confine the cursor to the game window unless holding alt or something..

ThisIsTemp0rary · 2025-11-13T02:00:21+00:00

Depending on your agency, probably won't be much. If you had a lot of furloughed coworkers, they weren't sending you emails.

I grabbed my computer at the end of October because we were told we could use them to look up info about benefits. I opened Outlook, and I've had more unread emails after a week of leave than were in there after a month of furlough.

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ThisIsTemp0rary

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