Tag Archives: nightmare

What a *#%•]\<£¥*!!ing nightmare.

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Time for an update on the beyond ridiculous process that my husband has undertaken to be reinstated in his government job.

If you remember correctly, this was begun in late February . Yes, it was over four months ago that his old boss approved his return to the office after only a year of (apparently unhappy) retirement.

In that time we have sent resumes, met with onboarding teams and FAA representatives, corresponded with human resource officers and filled out more forms than I thought humanly possible. Every time we think we’re done? They send more.

Mind you, this is a man who spent 22 years in the Marine Corps, 6 with defense contractors, 2 with the American Embassy in Tunisia, and 20 with the FAA. In other words, the government knows him inside and out.

And yet….

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The position you have applied for requires a background investigation. You must complete the following tasks within 15 calendar days of receiving this email:

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We just had to jump through hoops for a background check. For the man who’s held Top Secret clearance more than half of his life.

The forms were unbelievable. It took over 2 1/2 hours to fill them out online. Don’t remember your supervisor’s telephone number from 1979? Well buddy, you’d better find it… the gov’t doesn’t like blank spaces.

They wanted a complete history of our parents, all four of whom are dead. They even wanted the exact date my grandparents stepped foot on American soil and became naturalized citizens. Uh… check the Ellis Island records because I have no friggin’ clue.

None of this was required when he started working there in 2001. Back then it was a resume, a handshake, see you Monday morning.

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Obtain two sets of fingerprints. If you are located near an FAA facility that provides fingerprinting services.

  1. You can make an appointment to have your fingerprints taken at no charge. You can also get fingerprinted at a local law enforcement agency. If going to a local law enforcement agency, bring two copies of the attached SF-87 (fingerprint card) to have your prints taken on, or you can be printed on a law enforcement agency provided card (two cards). We accept “ink prints” and “digital/electronic” prints. If your fingerprints are taken digitally, please ensure the agency can print them on card stock paper. Ensure all required identifying information is completed on the card and the finger-printing official signs both cards.
  1. Print, complete, and sign the Disclosure and Authorization Pertaining to Consumer Reports, DOT Form 1631 (attached).
  1. MAIL (FedEx/UPS/USPS) the following original forms to the Security POC listed below:

· DOT Form 1631

· Two fingerprints cards SF87s

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Oh, he really loved that part. Walking into the police station to be fingerprinted like a felon. Good times.

When that was done, sent and approved?

More forms. With oh so helpful instructions like these.

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As part of the hiring process, you will be completing forms online in the **** This email contains your personal web link and must be used to successfully complete the log-in process and begin completing your forms. Before filling out your forms that may contain ‘Personally Identifiable Information’ (PII), ensure you have installed the latest patches for the Internet browser you are using (i.e., Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, etc.).

To access ****, click on the **** web link below to take you directly to the **** log in screen (do not copy/paste). Click the “Sign in with *****” button and follow the instructions with **** to authenticate your identity. It is important to note, that this email address must be used to register in ***** to access the *****. If the registered emails do not match, you will not be able to access the *****. If you need to use a different email address, please notify your Human Resources Contact included at the bottom of this email.

After a successful logon to *****, you will be redirected to the Rules of Behavior and Security Caution screen, and then onto the Common Information screen. Your first step will be to verify and update (as applicable) any information previously collected from you during the selection process. Be sure to review this information carefully, as it is used to pre-populate forms and payroll data. You will not be allowed to continue until you have completed all of the required fields.

Next you will be taken to the Forms List screen, which contains employment forms you are required to complete. Your prompt attention to complete and submit these time-sensitive forms for Human Resources (HR) approval is imperative. Please follow these steps to assist you in completing forms:

To open a form, click the “Open Form” button in the Tools column. As you are completing a form you may save it and return later to finish filling it out. You may also view your form via a “Completed PDF” at any time during this process. Once you have reviewed and completed the form (including any required electronic certifications and/or signatures), click the “Submit for Approval” button (located on both the top and bottom of the screen). You will then be presented with your Completed PDF as a final review prior to form submission. Once you have confirmed the forms submission, HR will be notified.

After a form has been submitted, an option to “Retract” will appear in the Forms List should you determine you need to pull the form submission back to make a form adjustment. NOTE: You may not retract a form that has been approved by HR.

Unless otherwise specified, please submit forms prior to your first day of employment. An HR Representative will review the form and either approve or reject the form. If the form is approved, there is no further action required by you. If a form is rejected it will show as “Rejected” in the form Status column. We recommend you frequently log into the system to check the status of your forms.

If you need assistance signing into the system or completing the online forms, please contact the Human Resources Specialist listed below at the number provided. Welcome on board!!

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Welcome aboard my *ss, we still weren’t done.

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I have sent you an ***** e-mail. Please go into the System and complete, electronically sign and submit the in-processing forms.

The Onboarding Team will give instructions regarding these forms: SF-61 Appointment Affidavit OF-306 Declaration For Federal Employment – Appointee Form

I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form SF-181 Race and Ethnicity SF-256 Handicap ID

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I swear… somewhere in a dark depressing cubicle, buried below ground in a secret government office building, a civil service computer programmer is getting his rocks off on the superfluous and redundant paperwork generated in the hiring process.

He gets paid per form, I just know it.

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Yesterday? Three… count them, three beneficiary forms that had to be filled out, printed, wet signed, witnessed by two people, scanned and sent back.

And after we did that? More forms.

I swear the only thing they don’t know at this point is how often we have sex… but now that I mention it, we may have answered that as well.

When (hopefully) the last form was completed and sent? We received this…

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I asked the husband to let me fill out this survey. He refused.

I begged the husband to let me fill out this survey. He refused again.

I seriously wanted to fill out this survey.

In all honestly, I have never in my entire life wanted to fill out a survey so badly.

But no.

I was forbidden.

😉

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Oh no, Hell no.

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This is the stuff of nightmares.

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My distaste of creepy little dolls is well known, but the idea of life size companion robot dolls is apt to make me run screaming from the room.

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I think it goes without saying I will not be running out to see this film anytime soon.

Or ever.

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The full body scenes in the movie are played by a 12 year dancer, but all the others are of this bizarre, freakishly realistic horror of a doll.

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*shudders*

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Reptilian.

Isn’t that what everyone looks for in a doll companion?

😱

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Because things never go smoothly around here.

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Not wanting to kill each so late in the day, we saved assembly of the kegerator until Saturday morning. Relaxing weekend my *ss. 🥴

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The first step on the way to cold beer was finding a place to fill the (brand new and shiny apple red!) CO2 tank required for tapping a keg. Had I known it would not be coming back home with us, I would have taken its picture. So clean and pretty! But alas in our part of the world no one fills CO2 tanks, they just exchange them. So bye bye lovely sparkling new red tank, and hello old, scuffed, ugly metal version.

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The regulator was easy to attach, and the husband managed to do it without blowing himself up … so I call that a win.

Next up was clamping the hoses to the keg couplers. They came with 4 of these ridiculous plastic things….

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Only one of which worked.

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Husband promptly broke the other 3 then stormed off to the local hardware store for the normal adjustable metal versions.

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Tank and regulator placed on shelf? Check!

Hoses clamped onto couplers and attached to tank? Check!

All that was left was to tap the keg…. and since the husband hadn’t done that anytime in the current century?

It did not go well.

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But can I get a round of applause for the perfectly timed photograph?

I’m so good…. it’s frightening.

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Beer went everywhere. On the floor, on the window, on the mini fridge, everywhere but in our mouths… which is usually where you want to direct it.

And then, when the keg was finally put in position and tapped?

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Pure foam.

😬

To be continued….

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Back in the barn.

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The husband was back at it this past weekend.

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Finishing up the (not so) temporary (not so) easy access heat blocker to the upstairs.

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By the time I walked in he had the insulation board attached to the zip siding board …

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Had rigged up small pieces of insulation board on the top step..

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And was busy stuffing Roxul in the small holes.

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And the even smaller small holes.

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Our old doe was munching under the apple trees…

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And Mike Pence was still where no one wanted him to be.

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So much stuffing.

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Please remember… when this barn was built it was not meant to be an airtight and heated space, so there’s a lot of scrambling required to make it one now.

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So when all else fails?

Caulk.

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And then, for the man who didn’t want to use insulation board?

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Another piece of insulation board.

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So yes, there’s insulation board, on top of insulation board, on top of zip siding.

I dare the hot air to seep through that!

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When that was finished and blocked off, it was time to tackle weatherstripping the porch door.

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You know, the free one he brought home from the dump. The one without a frame or threshold. The non standard size nightmare that has gaps all the way around it and at least a two inch above the floor clearance.

Good times.

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Truer words have ne’er been spoke.

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We did it!

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Success was hard won, but after another full of month of fruitless used car shopping, we finally found one for our niece.

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A 2012 Subaru Impreza hatchback which cost a lot more money than I planned on spending for a 19 year old’s first car…. but welcome to pandemic era shopping.

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The economy is iffy and people aren’t buying new, which means they aren’t trading old, which means a complete lack of decent inventory on the lots. The pickings are extremely slim in Maine and unless you’re willing to spend $11,000 plus (I wasn’t) or buy something with 225,000 miles (also a no) good frickin’ luck.

Thankfully the dealership where she fell in love with this one allowed us to drive it an hour away to have our trusty mechanics/old friends give it a thorough once over.

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They found a few minor things it needed,  while this fellow looked on…

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Hey, our friends run a high class garage…. and can apparently fix anything. Including the tin man.

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Okay, as evidenced by their Hooter calendar…. maybe not that high class.

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But they’re experienced and kind enough to examine the car for free, so I’ll excuse a few scantily clad bimbos.

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The car won their seal of approval… after telling us it needed new tires… and our niece let out an audible sigh of relief.

Time to celebrate.

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At the closest restaurant to the dealership while they got the paperwork together.

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Cheers to a young girl’s first car!

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And a hearty home style lunch. Corn and bacon chowder with a hot turkey sandwich for me. That damn thing was so big I ate off it for 3 days.

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Signing her own paperwork. With a man who needs serious instruction on mask protocol.

Big smiles and key in hand.

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A final hug for the best aunt and uncle on earth.

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A thumbs up behind the wheel…. and off she went back to college.

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One extremely happy camper.

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Water is life… part 2.

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Thursday morning saw our plumbers back for round 3.

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The new submersible pump was fitted, hooked up and sunk in the well.

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And the 90 odd feet of water line stuffed back in the hole.

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🎶 Whole lotta stuffing going on. 🎶

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The end was found and the cover fitted.

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With a little sledgehammer persuasion.

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The idea of electric wire and water in such close proximity gave me the heebie jeebies, but I’m assured that’s how it’s done.

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A new type of filter called a sand trap was installed and purged. We were told our water would be sandy and sediment filled for a few days until the tank and lines clear completely. That filter turned black quickly, so you know what I’ll be doing for a while.

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Anyone thirsty?

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How about a nice warm bath?

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After the plumbers left with $2,500 in their pockets, there was a hole to fill.

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The husband, being stubborn, thought he could do it by hand. It was pure mud and weighed a ton.. so I texted our neighbor.

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Good neighbors are worth their weight in gold.

And while they were doing that?

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I was doing this. Sweeping muddy water into the drain hole…

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And dumping purged buckets of nasty brown sediment.

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Looks like I’ll be brushing my teeth with bottled water for a while longer.

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But… yay!

We have running water again, even if it isn’t potable quite yet. I won’t lie… that first shower was a little strange. But things are clearer today, and by tomorrow we might be able to drink it again.

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So let me leave you with a few words of wisdom:

Never underestimate the joy of a flushing toilet.

After 3 days without water? It’s the stuff dreams are made of….

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Water is life.

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And if you doubt the veracity of that statement, try living without it for a few days like we are.

Bright and early Wednesday morning, 3 men were in deep thought.

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The man on the ground is our wonderful neighbor who brought over his toy to dig a hole.

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A hole was dug.

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A wet and muddy hole filled with water from a broken pipe.

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More deep thinking was called for.

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The ‘let’s put wood in the hole filled with water so we can stand on it‘ idea did not work out as planned. Color me surprised.

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Youngest member of the team was sent down in hole anyway. (Please note he is a master plumber who planned ahead for the avoidance of butt crack photos, for which I was quite thankful.)

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The broken pipe was found and luckily it was right next to the well access so we didn’t have to tear up more lawn or the house foundation.

Solution to the problem? Bypass the existing two pipe configuration, get rid of our not that old damn it! interior water pump system…

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And install an exterior submersible pump made of stainless steel. This meant pulling up the existing water line that runs down into the well… and since that cover hadn’t been opened since 1974?

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It was not an easy job. And when things don’t come apart easily?

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It’s time for the sledgehammer.

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A whole lotta pulling followed.

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I never knew how far down our well was before this.

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But apparently it’s slightly over 90 feet.

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Young guy was sent down into the hole again.

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And of course because this is a job at our house, nothing went right or smoothly.

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Since the old pipe was cracked, it had sucked in copious amounts of dirt and sand that had to be flushed before the wire to the new pump could be pushed through to the house. Nothing worked. Trips were taken back and forth to the plumber’s shop for different tools. Trips were taken to hardware stores for extra supplies and finally… after an entire afternoon of battling… they broke through. Only to move on to the next step and realize a different size pump needed to be ordered.

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To be honest, I wasn’t either. Welcome to my world … please bring alcohol.

So a less than wonderful Wednesday ended like this: open water lines actively pissing muddy water from the flooded hole into our cellar.

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And notes like this pasted all around our house.

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No drinking water, no toilet flushing water, no using dishes and glasses you have to wash… and worst of all, no shower.

Still don’t think water is life? Try not showering for 3 days and get back to me.

To be continued…

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What a nightmare.

 

Saturday morning on Memorial Day weekend we planned to finish the baby barn remodel. But that didn’t happen, because I started hearing the scritchedy scratch every homeowner dreads.

Squirrels in da house!

I thought they were in the attic, then the walls… but finally pinned it down to the eaves. And I was certain I knew how they got in.

 

 

Please look at the upper right hand corner, behind the lights.

 

 

It’s been like that since we moved in…. 18 years ago. The previous owner’s gerry rigged spotlight installation.

Naturally, ‘Close Hole’ has been on the top of my honey do list for 17 1/2 years because birds have been nesting in there.

 

 

So the husband grumbled, and cursed, and got a ladder to deal with it.

Which is when I heard the scritchedy scratching…. somewhere else.

 

 

In this corner, under the hanging plant.

 

 

So we yanked back the bushes, grabbed a pry bar and started pulling off decking and lattice….

 

 

To discover the noise was coming from inside the vinyl siding corner post. I pounded and knocked and banged on that post like a wild woman and before long?

Baby red squirrels were tumbling out of it like a clown car. They were terrified, and scattered to the 4 winds… so we plugged up the holes and called it good.

Mission accomplished.

 

 

Well, not quite.

To be continued….