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Post by lurker/dibs on Aug 1, 2013 18:32:25 GMT -5
[/quote]OH, but you will not be allowed to bring it to work and put it in your office. It will have to be kept in the break room where electric devices are allowed. We routinely get those emails about no fans, no heaters, no this no that in the offices. Really. Not kidding. [/quote] That sucks! I am so cold natured I keep a heater in my office year round. How odd to not allow heaters or fans! I can't imagine not having a heater when those ladies start having hot flashes! My paralegal is going through that now and she keeps our air on frigid, with her fan going full blast! I guess I'll have to pray if I get the job that there's a Starbucks on the way to the office!
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Post by funkyodar on Aug 1, 2013 18:36:59 GMT -5
I guess if I get the job the first thing I need to pack is my keurig machine! I didn't know it was quite that bad. And I must say that signing in is quite ridiculous. We are all lawyers of at least 7 years and are responsible enough to decide whether someone gets benefits or not, yet not responsible enough to be honest with our time. So strange! OH, but you will not be allowed to bring it to work and put it in your office. It will have to be kept in the break room where electric devices are allowed. We routinely get those emails about no fans, no heaters, no this no that in the offices. Really. Not kidding. Sratty is def not kidding. My office has quite the coffee culture war. kinda like prison gangs, new fish are immediately assimilated into preexisting groups of like minded prisoners. There is the thermos mafia (usually the earliest group to come in in the mornings and byoc). The dunkin dudes (thanks to a nearby DD there #s are strong) The officially sanctioned coffee club (members are harassed monthly for funds to pay for supplies and nonmembers are watched like hawks when around the pot to ensure if they get a cup they drop a couple quarters in the jar) Then there is the counter coffee club (a rebel group who went in and purchased a keurig and brings there own pods of froo froo coffees and teas) Finally there is the guy who can get things (a rogue alj that thinks he is hiding a small pot in his office)
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Post by JudgeRatty on Aug 1, 2013 18:42:01 GMT -5
Exactly funky!!!!
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Post by lurker/dibs on Aug 1, 2013 18:42:37 GMT -5
This is hysterical! It's almost like watching a soap opera! Surely everyone realizes we are all adults and can be responsible for ourselves. I especially like the "watch them like hawks" statement. I can so picture that actually happening!
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Post by moopigsdad on Aug 1, 2013 19:03:16 GMT -5
Similar routine in state offices, too.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2013 19:10:11 GMT -5
This is hysterical! It's almost like watching a soap opera! Surely everyone realizes we are all adults and can be responsible for ourselves. I especially like the "watch them like hawks" statement. I can so picture that actually happening! I have worked in many places but have to say that my two years in ODAR were interesting--there were some interesting fellow employees in my office and there were cliques that had long running animosities towards each other. When funky made a comment about the AA job being the perfect job for an individual with Aspergers he reminded me of a couple of my fellow AAs and man did they fit the bill. While I was there the fridge in the break room died and the office folks were asked for donations to get a new one. The amount was 10 bucks initially but rose to about 20 when about 25 percent of the office refused to chip in and when the fridge eventually came in there was a big note on the door with the names of those who were "authorized" to use the fridge. Then there was a Pot luck Xmas luncheon where again only three quarters of the office participated and the others remained in their offices and cubicles. ODAR was also the first place I ever had to sign in and out. We all had electronic keys to get in and out of the building and despite what the book said or did not say they could always tell when you came into the building. And yes, you had to sign in and out for lunch too. Then there were those who had grudges against others that dated decades. It was an interesting place to work.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2013 19:11:00 GMT -5
Hey MPD, love the new picture, much happier looking pup!
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Post by valkyrie on Aug 1, 2013 19:26:10 GMT -5
I'm a member of the Black Silk Gang myself. The Keurigs are moving in on our turf and a rumble is inevitable at this point...
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Post by valkyrie on Aug 1, 2013 19:29:38 GMT -5
The Marine Corps presence finally retired so we no longer have to worry about ridiculously hairy chests and dissolving coffee pots.
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Post by trekker on Aug 1, 2013 19:41:38 GMT -5
I like the coffee story lines. And the frig. Let's be grumpy over food and drinks. The fights in my old office were over cleaning the frig and you coudn't op out. Everyone had their turn. And despite not being a coffee drinker, I am a superb coffee maker. Our whole beans are special order, ground in a burr grinder, and then we have multiple brewing options. Electric drip (spent six months trying to just the right brewer), French press or Chemex drip. Then we have a Nespresso machine. So I think I meet the minimum requirements to be an ALJ.
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Post by moopigsdad on Aug 1, 2013 19:48:28 GMT -5
Hey MPD, love the new picture, much happier looking pup! Thanks exjag. Good luck on your Phase 3 testing coming up real soon. I am sure you will do well.
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Post by 71stretch on Aug 1, 2013 21:27:11 GMT -5
Similar routine in state offices, too. Indeed. That's why we stopped the coffee club and we are all on our own.
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Post by northwest on Aug 1, 2013 21:50:11 GMT -5
The last time before this job when I had to punch a time clock I was earning $2 per hour. (So that ages me, right?) But I actually have no problem with the sign in/out sheet as it works to my benefit. I get every single 15 minute increment I work over the standard 8 hours, and these add up to vacation days (up to 3 days at a go). That beats a salaried job where you work late or on weekends without any realistic hope of having some < 8 hour days. Part of why so many of us want this job is that the salary is good AND you only have to (and only should) put in 40 hours per week, with any extra going into future days off.
W/re the other question of whether some ALJs are exceptional.... this is hard to quantify. Some have great respect of their peers (as well as those who appear before them in hearings) based on their work ethic, knowledge, and demeanor. We've been fortunate to have some of these as ALJ trainers.
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Post by deltajudge on Aug 1, 2013 22:00:23 GMT -5
8-)BHA, OHA, ODAR. No way to describe them. Before unions, reconfiguration and all sorts of other crap, decent place to work. For years, ALJs, staff, could have their own coffee makers, fridges, heaters, whatever they could fit in their environs. I had my own little dorm fridge and coffee maker. Then, about a year before I retired, all that stuff became fire hazards, and could only be located in the break room, where I suppose they became less of a fire hazard. I noted when right before I exited the office for the last time, the HOCALJ still had his fridge. I can say this without any reservation, OHA, now ODAR never failed to disappoint me.
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Post by bartleby on Aug 1, 2013 22:21:57 GMT -5
The fallacy of the system is that if you have to work over 40 hours a week to get your work done and you get the magic credit hours, how do you ever get ahead to be able to use the magic credit hours?? I have lost many, many credit hours as when it came time to use or lose, there was always something else that needed attention then and there. There are no down times. There is no end to the backlog. There is no strict 40 hour week. They allow you and encourage you to work as much as you can. It's win-win for them. There is no overtime and no cost to them for lost credit hours. We are now booking for November and December. Can you really plan your vacation time 5 months ahead of time? Use or lose is a problem. Once on the treadmill, you don't just step off and take off on Friday. And very few Judges ever take sick leave. If you are a writer, you have a lot of latitude in coming and going and being off sick. Not so much as a Judge.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2013 6:33:30 GMT -5
when I was in the service you were not entitled to express your own opinions about "management", and there was certainly no thought of having any creature comforts. Yet, I look back with fondness on most of my military assignments, despite the endured hardships. It is about shared sacrifice and leadership. I am sure that some SSA offices are well-run and enjoy esprit-de-corps. If I am lucky enough to get in, I can only hope I end up at one of those offices.
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Post by funkyodar on Aug 2, 2013 7:40:34 GMT -5
Similar routine in state offices, too. Oh, yeah. We actually had to fill out a form for permission to bring in a crock pot for an office party. Damn lawyers are ruining the country
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Post by moopigsdad on Aug 2, 2013 7:43:58 GMT -5
Oh, yeah. We actually had to fill out a form for permission to bring in a crock pot for an office party. d**n lawyers are ruining the country Especially the one's demanding free coffee at the workplace or wanting to have parties there.
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Post by ncatty007 on Aug 2, 2013 9:10:16 GMT -5
I will gladly give up the free coffee (which isn't really "free" anyway) and happily sign in, clock in, punch in, etc. as the case may be if it means not having to keep track of my every working moment in 6 minute increments.
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sxsw
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Post by sxsw on Aug 2, 2013 10:39:37 GMT -5
This. Ncatty07, I read you loud and clear.
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