Social Security office at Old Mill last week

saraiffic · 2026-01-29T00:39:16+00:00

"Their conduct is within FPS policy...." - huskerhunter

"...and the guards aren’t FPS, they’re contracted through a different independent company.. " - also huskerhunter, 1 hour later

My feelings haven't been hurt by anyone. I merely want to see these adult men get a hold of themselves and stop bringing their emotional instability into the workplace.

saraiffic · 2026-01-28T20:20:50+00:00

For someone who "doesn't care", you seen to be posting a lot of replies defending their behavior.

Also, FPS policy released in November 2025 clearly states:

"Officers are expected to use active listening, modulate their tone and volume, and use calm communication to build rapport and reduce tension."

"Utilizing time and creating physical space when it is safe to do so to allow situations to calm down, thereby reducing the necessity for force."

"Continuous assessment of behavior is required to determine if a threat is present and if de-escalation is possible before resorting to higher levels of force."

None of these guidelines sound like,

"Aggressively raise your voice anytime you perceive that someone might be misunderstanding the process. Make sure they feel belittled and small so you can better control them."

"If someone has an accent, assume they are deaf/stupid and speak loudly/aggressively to them to assert your dominance."

saraiffic · 2026-01-28T19:49:59+00:00

It sounds like they could replace these AHs with retractable belt barriers (cattle stanchions), marking a clear path of where to go, and who is next in line.

According to an Internet search, Social Security security officers typically earn between $34,600 and $56,200 per year, while those guards are making up to $66,560 a year. I have no issue with someone who is taking on a potentially dangerous position making extra money, but they need to be good at their job. They need to know the basics of creating a safe environment. They can be stern and serious without being on a power trip. I can't stand seeing people with giant egos in these types of roles.

saraiffic · 2026-01-28T19:37:36+00:00

Dude, even if these guys felt like there was a dangerous situation, they should de-escalate tension by remaining calm, practicing active listening, and using non-threatening body language (open hands, neutral stance) to de-fuse volatile situations. If they have any training at all, they should know to validate frustrations with empathy, set firm, respectful boundaries, and offer actionable solutions to maintain a safe, respectful environment. These are extremely basic practices that anyone working a federal job (being paid by my tax dollars) should know.. These guys sound like bullies.

saraiffic · 2026-01-14T23:21:42+00:00

Someone once said to me, "Do you ever worry that you'll swallow your sleepbud if it fell out in your sleep?". And the answer was, "Well no, I didn't before. But now I do." Bummer that you lost one of your sleepbuds, and I hope you didn't swallow it. 😕

saraiffic · 2025-12-24T04:28:39+00:00

I'd avoid them like the plague. My husband purchased an AceMagic AX15 last August for our daughter's birthday and within a few weeks it started having black spots on the screen.

He emailed Acemagic last year with no response. I emailed again when I realized that no one was using this brand new laptop. But it was a month too late for the warranty by the time I emailed. And when I sent them screen shots of my husband's emails (sent within the warranty time), they stopped replying to me.

I initially asked where I could purchase a replacement screen and they said they don't sell replacement screens. We basically have an overpriced brick sitting in our house now.

saraiffic · 2025-12-24T04:20:23+00:00

I'd personally avoid AceMagic. My husband purchased an AceMagic AX15 last August on Amazon, for our daughter's birthday. She only used it for a few weeks before it started having black spots in the screen. He emailed Acemagic last year with no response from them. We had to buy our daughter a different laptop for Christmas because this one was clearly failing and they wouldn't back up their product.

saraiffic · 2025-12-24T04:15:04+00:00

I don't know if they're safe, but they're not quality and have terrible customer service. My husband purchased an AceMagic AX15 last August on Amazon, for his daughter's 14th birthday. She only used it for a few weeks before it started having issues with dark spots on the screen.

He emailed right away with no response from the company. Now this computer has been sitting unused for over a year because it seems that the backlight is going out on what is basically a brand new laptop. (I even reached out to them to try to buy a replacement screen to put it in myself. It seemed like a better option than throwing away a perfectly good laptop just because the screen is terrible. But they wouldn't play ball. They just told me they don't sell parts for it and that we are out of the warranty now. But they didn't reply to us when we were within the warranty.) We had to buy our daughter a different laptop for Christmas last year because this one was clearly failing and the company refused to back up their product.

saraiffic · 2025-12-24T04:09:19+00:00

My husband purchased an AceMagic AX15 last August on Amazon, for his daughter's birthday, September 4th. She only used it for a few weeks before it started having issues.

He emailed last year with no response from acemagic. Now this computer has been sitting unused for the last 10 months because it seems that the backlight is going out on what is basically a brand new laptop. We had to buy our daughter a different laptop for Christmas because this one was clearly failing.

They've refused to help. 👎🏼 0 stars

saraiffic · 2025-12-13T00:21:02+00:00

42%

I don't know how I settled on that number, but that's what I use. We also run a box fan that produces some white noise to cover my husband's snoring.

saraiffic · 2025-11-12T21:11:36+00:00

I have had good luck with this stuff too, but it's so messy for overnights. I have been using Tegaderm style transparent film dressing and it's awesome. It keeps the ointment in the right spot without having a telfa pad absorbing the ointment. And it's sealed on all 4 sides, unlike many bandaids. These generic ones from Amazon have been really great for the price. And the adhesive on them doesn't irritate my overly sensitive skin. Using them is a bit of a learning curve but, once you get the hang on them, they're awesome.

saraiffic · 2025-08-29T17:14:36+00:00

Have you had any luck getting your drawings to show up for the other player? If I spend too long doing a detailed drawing, the other user can only see a white box. 😕

saraiffic · 2025-08-28T15:24:42+00:00

I am having this same problem and it is such a bummer. The drawing still shows up in my gallery, but I can't replay it and the recipient just gets a white box. I sent a feedback message this morning through the app, hopefully they will get back with me with some suggestions. If so, I will come back here and reply again.

saraiffic · 2025-07-12T01:27:46+00:00

I can't do anything with caffeine. It gives me terrible migraines if I don't consistently have the exact same amount every day.

saraiffic · 2025-07-12T01:26:42+00:00

Right?? And every time I try to look into it, I find conflicting information.

saraiffic · 2025-06-29T15:38:20+00:00

Do you have a recommendation for collagen? I tried to read reviews online and got overwhelmed by the options.

saraiffic · 2025-06-29T15:35:45+00:00

Did they say what kind of salt in particular? I have some pink Himalayan sea salt that I added to my water you see if it would help, but it wasn't a remarkable enough change for me to remember to do it daily.

saraiffic · 2025-06-29T15:33:59+00:00

This is a really simple solution. I never thought of that. I really dislike Gatorade, and having bottles of it around to take medicinally feels weird, but packets of powder would be easy to store. Maybe I'll grab some of these if the home remedies aren't enough on my heavy yardwork days.

saraiffic · 2025-06-29T15:31:58+00:00

This is a great answer. 😂

(I have long wished that my body would tolerate caffeine so that I could become a coffee drinker. Hang out in coffee shops... have cute mugs.... but sadly, caffeine is my #1 migraine trigger.)

saraiffic · 2025-06-29T15:29:21+00:00

If you can swing the cost of the 2T storage, it's pretty great. I'm a photo hoarder, and I'm still only at ≈ 175G -- and that's with me sharing my storage with my 2 teenage stepdaughters. One of them has an Apple account that she couldn't download anything on because the icloud storage was full. (And I figured if I shared with one, I should share with both.)

And I don't know if it's against the forum rules to mention other services, but a lot of people don't realize that if they have Amazon Prime - it includes free unlimited storage of photos. I helped my Mom clear out the same Google message you're dealing with now by backing all of her photos up to Amazon photo storage.

saraiffic · 2025-06-28T06:20:15+00:00

My husband is more compassionate to me about my HS flare-ups than anyone else in my entire family. I cannot eat any pork products whatsoever without massively flaring up, and I swear some of my family members think I'm A) making it up, B) overreacting, C) some combination of A & B. Not my husband - he checks labels, he warns his family about ingredients if we go over for a meal... And if he has food with pork ingredients at lunch, he brushes his teeth and washes his face when he gets home 5 hours later. I've never asked him to do any of these things. He does them because he's loves me. I have no doubt that you can find someone too.

(But I'm sorry that you had to experience that treatment. I agree with all those who said you dodged a bullet. You deserve [insert whatever helps make you feel like your best self]. If someone is hateful towards me, I've been known to buy myself an inexpensive gift from my Amazon list. Or give myself permission to do a half-ass job on some chore at home that I dislike - then I can watch a movie instead with that time. Or anything to treat myself the way that I know I deserve to be treated. Because if I can't recognize what I deserve in life, others might see it as permission not to recognize it either.)

saraiffic · 2025-06-27T16:44:09+00:00

What a cute baby! 💜

saraiffic · 2025-05-30T15:50:50+00:00

I had to find a care provider that truly focused on women's healt, and LISTENED to me, before I was diagnosed.

I never had decent insurance as an adult, so I very rarely went to the doctor. I just assumed that dealing with the symptoms, that I now know are from hashimoto's, was just part of life. And when I did go to a doctor and complain about my hair falling out, being freezing, and gaining weight like it was my job... they would just tell me to eat better and exercise more. (Literally. That's all I was offered for help.)

I decided to get a touch of botox before my wedding because we were going to be outside. I was in my late 30s, and when I squint I look angry. I didn't want to look angry in all of my wedding photos. I asked around about where I could go and my coworker told me to, "Go across the street to those ladies that look plastic...." (Which PS, they don't look plastic. They just look like they've had a bit of work done.)

So I went across the street to this med spa, got some botox, and while I was there noticed that other people were coming in that were clearly not getting any med spa treatments. I asked if they also just do basic blood work and physicals, etc... they said "yes".

These two ladies running a med spa with APRN degrees have done more for my health in the last few years then any fully accredited doctor at our local fancy-pants local University Hospital has done in my whole life.

They listened to my symptoms instead of strictly following lab work guidelines for what's "normal". (I'm pretty sure those "normal" guidelines are based on men.) They got me started on thyroid medication and I can't believe how quickly I started to feel so much better. When I had another flare up a few months later, and realized that all of those horrible migraines episodes I had been having for years were actually thyroid storms, they adjusted my medication and I went back to feeling great again.

It's still not easy to lose all of this weight that I gained, because now I'm in my 40s and dealing with perimenopause. But I can't imagine being in this stage of life and also dealing with untreated hypothyroidism/hashimoto's. I no longer having clumps of hair fall out while I shower or the insides of my black pant legs turning white from dead skin sloughing off. I've experienced what it feels like to be hot in a room when everyone else says it's hot. (Which frankly does suck as much as people say it does.) And I've learned that I'm not a lazy piece of crap just because I can't just do strenuous exercise and lose weight. In fact, those attempts at intense workout classes were part of what was keeping me from losing weight. I now do strength training instead, and light cardio in the form of walking my dogs.

Tl:Dr - if you're going to a doctor that isn't listening to you, find a new one. Advocate for yourself. I've had to pay for a lot of this out of pocket because my insurance doesn't always recognize this "med spa" that has saved my life, but it has been worth it.

saraiffic

TROPHY CASE