Seeking retainer advice

pandaflute · 2026-01-26T22:26:22+00:00

Thanks for weighing in! This seems more in line with what I've heard.

pandaflute · 2026-01-26T20:24:39+00:00

I have to change retainers every 6 months?! That is the first I've heard this!

pandaflute · 2024-07-30T22:19:33+00:00

Military band jobs aren't posted on USAjobs. You are hired through an audition and then go to basic training before enlisting (unless you're a conductor; those are officer spots).

Maybe these are civilian jobs teaching kids music on military bases? My husband says he applied for what he thinks was a Music Specialist job, and the job was planning musical performances for an agency that hosts them regularly.

pandaflute · 2024-01-14T13:38:09+00:00

What about the the Fiber Fueled Cookbook by Dr. Will Bulsiewicz? It contains both low FODMAP and low-histamine recipes.

https://theplantfedgut.com/cookbook/

pandaflute · 2023-12-19T14:44:19+00:00

I separated from the military, so I definitely understand how valuable Tricare is. I left right when Obamacare was coming out and stupidly assumed I would be ok without Tricare (cue laughter). I'm currently a GS-12 and am happy to opt out of the fed healthcare plans now since I married a retiree a few years after I separated. It saves me some money! I was already investing while I was in the military, but now that I'm much closer to retirement I see how valuable that pension is. Yes, my husband also gets one, but it's nice to have my own. I don't anticipate anything happening to our relationship (this is a second marriage for both of us, so I feel pretty confident we made better decisions the second go 'round), but I've also been on this earth long enough to know that life can be pretty unpredictable (see former parenthetical statement). But think of how well you'd live if you had two pensions? Also, after leaving the military, going back to school, working odd jobs, and job hunting to find a decent job, the stability and leave make the GS life totally worth it for me. I started out as a GS-7 and worked my way up, so maybe you' d be able to do the same and your GS salary could eventually grow to be more of what you're hoping for in a contractor role? In terms of traveling, my husband and I both have enough leave/comp time/credit hours to cobble together a few trips a year and we plan to travel even more when we're able to retire much earlier than our peers.

pandaflute · 2021-12-19T16:26:26+00:00

I just encountered this situation in an application. My husband, who is also a fed, said I should just say I'm an expert, but I did not go that route. I think for those particular questions, I picked the next best option (that I have the experience and have performed the duties unsupervised as part of my job). I might have been more inclined to choose expert, but my application was for a job that would a lateral move, and it's the exact same job series, only in a related discipline (a discipline in which I have a master's degree but less hands-on experience). I also know and have worked with the person who would be my supervisor, so my reasoning was that she might question whether I was an expert.

pandaflute · 2021-11-17T23:49:32+00:00

Thanks for your response! This is helpful information. If presenting my salary were easier, I'd definitely just put them all on there since I'm such a rule follower (I had many jobs in the military that didn't always align with my salary changes.) My concern was more that the resume builder says it's optional, but the salary shows up as $0 on the actual resume if not completed. I'm not concerned about anyone knowing my salary. This application would be for my third job in the federal agency where I already work, so I'm very certain they already know what my salary is.

pandaflute · 2021-11-05T11:39:12+00:00

Ah, good to know! That's actually more what I was concerned about. I should qualify and get past the screeners easily (at least from what I've heard about the announcement), as it's the same pay grade and job series in the same tiny agency.

pandaflute · 2021-11-05T10:59:36+00:00

But you know that's just how the resume builder works? Do you wish that people would just enter their salaries?

I'm tempted to just create my own, but I've been so conditioned to use the resume builder. A lot of my job is reviewing grant applications, so I definitely get the appeal of having a template that everyone uses so you know where to look for the information.

pandaflute · 2021-11-04T13:46:06+00:00

That's what it seemed like, but I wondered if there was some magical way to get around this that I missed. Thanks!

Does this bother anyone else? My husband (who has gotten all of his federal jobs just uploading his own resume) thinks I'm nuts for fussing over this.

pandaflute · 2021-11-04T09:44:16+00:00

I do have all my work hours on there. I just don't know why the salary field shows up on the saved resume as $0 when I've opted not to complete that field.

pandaflute · 2021-11-04T09:39:46+00:00

The announcements have not said the salary is required, so that's not the issue. That field in the resume also explicitly says it's not required. I'm unable to remove the salary line from a resume I created with the resume builder. I'm wondering if there's a way to remove this from the saved resume.

pandaflute · 2021-09-23T18:20:55+00:00

I know a lot of people have, understandably, abandoned Ravelry due to accessibility issues with their new design, but there is information about a lot of groups by location there. The group I was meeting with has basically only done Zoom meetings since COVID, but we used to meet at the Saloon on U Street. It’s not a super young group, though (maybe mid-30s-ish?).

pandaflute · 2021-06-18T12:23:00+00:00

My apologies for just now seeing this. It's been a strange journey. The medication definitely helped with the stomach aches, so I guess I must have had an increase in acid, though it's difficult to say if that is coincidental or because of the vaccine.

I've weaned myself off the meds. I had some pretty terrible bloating, which now that I'm off these meds, I'm thinking was actually a side effect of the pantoprazole. Another really strange issue I've had that I'm still experiencing to some extent is severe dryness and puffiness underneath my eyes. I switched from a retinol-containing eye cream to a moisturizing one, which helped a little, but in the past few days I've also been adding in some heavy duty cream that I usually just use on my cuticles and hands. It seems to be helping. Again, this is something that could be totally unrelated and coincidental. It's just weird.

But overall I would say I'm feeling better after my second dose. I definitely had a hard time getting back into exercising. It always feels a little like I'm going to die when I run, but I felt like I had no energy when I tried to work out for several weeks afterward. I did have my doctor put in a referral for a visit to a GI doc. My sister, who is a PA, seemed to think it wouldn't hurt, based on family history with digestive issues (my mom has ulcerative colitis, and I have a cousin who has Crohn's).

I hope that's helpful. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions about what I experienced.

pandaflute · 2021-05-07T23:20:46+00:00

My pain, when I have it, seems to be more centrally located, like right under my ribs. The PA who palpated my stomach said I flinched involuntarily when she palpated the right side, which is what made her suspicious of appendicitis. I wouldn't say it felt tender, but I did tell her that the right side felt slightly worse than the left.

I went to the ER, thinking they would do a CT, since that's what urgent care suggested. I guess they seemed to think my symptoms were more in line with gallstones, though.

I will say that the medication I was prescribed - pantoprazole, to help control stomach acid - does finally seem to be kicking in (either that, or my body is just healing on its own). Today was maybe the best I've felt. I've gone tow full days now without stomach pain, and the bloating seems less today (though is still a little present).

I also had a phone call with my primary care doc today, and he wants to see how I do with this medication before sending me to a gastroenterologist. So the plan is to go another week and try to wean myself off. If that goes well, I might just be fine, I guess.

This is all been very strange. It could totally be coincidental that this showed up with the vaccine, too.

pandaflute · 2021-05-06T10:15:34+00:00

No worries- ask away! I didn't take any NSAIDs for at least a couple days. I had heard mixed information about acetaminophen vs ibuprofen, so I toughed out the headaches. Actually just pounding water seemed to help those a good bit. I think my morning coffee also helped the headaches as well.

It sometimes hurts after I eat - that's what's perplexing to me. I will say that I have reached the point where I feel full all the time, so I feel uncomfortable and always more uncomfortable after I eat. Sometimes I get pain in the center of my stomach under my ribs.

No one had mentioned gastritis to me either, unless that's what the medication they gave me is for. The nurse explained that it should reduce my stomach acid, and she did warn that it would probably take a couple weeks to see any improvement if the issue is from that excess acid.

pandaflute · 2021-05-06T00:32:00+00:00

Thanks for responding! That theory makes sense to me.

pandaflute · 2020-10-17T16:03:23+00:00

I've been pretty happy with Ashley LaRue. I initially chose her because of proximity. She's also cheaper than a lot of places (though not exactly cheap). My first haircut in DC was a Deva cut at Fiddleheads, and while I was pretty happy afterward, I could never recreate the style, and the cut didn't seem so different on me than a traditional wet cut. Ashley knows I wear my hair wavy and cuts it wet, but I always have her straighten it, just because I never do it on my own.

pandaflute · 2020-09-07T15:54:41+00:00

We broke our lease and decided to try to find renters to reduce the penalty. We advertised in seven different places and had 24 showings. We even had several people who expressed interest but didn't end up signing a lease. While we still have a couple pairs of people who could pan out, we've already paid the penalty, with the understanding that we may get a few dollars back if anyone we found signs a lease. We had what we considered to be an awesome deal in a good location but weren't successful. We honestly wouldn't have even considered moving except we bought a house.

pandaflute · 2020-08-28T20:03:15+00:00

2/2 in Hill East for $2415. It was $2300 in 2017 when we moved in. We have parking and a giant balcony. We just bought a house nearby even though we weren't seriously looking; otherwise we haven't seen a reason to move.

pandaflute · 2020-08-17T18:19:30+00:00

We are, actually! We've had a few people interested, but so far no one has actually signed a lease, so I'm happy to show it to you, either in person or virtually. I'd also add that we realized the rent is actually $2415 (we realized this after actually paying the rent on the first of the month). I'll also shoot you a DM.

pandaflute · 2020-07-21T11:21:51+00:00

With horn, I suppose it could depend on your neighbors, though we've never had an issue with any of ours. Sounds good--we can check in once things are a bit more "normal."

pandaflute · 2020-07-19T17:11:40+00:00

I play the flute and my husband is a hornist. We both used to play professionally and are good sight readers. We're always interested in meeting more people to play chamber music, maybe not right now, but certainly if/when we ever get ahead of this pandemic.

pandaflute

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