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Post by carjack on Jun 3, 2009 13:37:07 GMT -5
hey Marcia, do you still have some of those snappy rattan purses that look like picnic baskets? or how about one of those leather hair things with the wooden stake to hold the golden locks in place - very groovy. you can be an SSA ALJ and stylish too!!
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Post by prosecutor on Jun 3, 2009 13:56:44 GMT -5
I too am a holdover. I almost feel like the Groundhog Day movie. It just keeps happening over and over. Orly, I need to borrow your book. Despite all this, I marvel at everyones continued sense of humor and comaraderie.
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Post by nonamouse on Jun 3, 2009 14:02:14 GMT -5
This is one of those situations where we know that everyone cannot "win" at the exact time that they would like. Do not let this crazy process grind you down if you were not selected from the first, second or even third cert that contained your name. If you don't have proof positive that you are the recipient of the infamous "blackball" then don't despair. There are a handful of attorneys in any large group who are dysfunctional jerks who no one would want to have in their office, but it is very unlikely that anyone who made it this far falls into that category.
Every single person who got on the register and for certain all of those whose name made any cert are qualified to be ALJs. The hiring agencies are picking for their best fit from the cream of the crop here! Remember all of those who got cut before testing or who had a score under 55 didn't even have the ticket to ride this rollercoaster that all of you have been on. Some here may have their "dream" come to fruition later this year or next year or even in a few years. I work with ALJs who waited many years to be selected off the old register, so going into a funk at this point is a bit premature and not terribly productive.
All of you who were excellent attorneys when you applied are still going to be excellent attorneys after the last offer is made this year. Take a moment and savor all of your accomplishments and blessings to date and don't let this process steal your joy! Shake the dust from your feet and live well until the next crazy ride begins or perhaps until something even better comes along for you. I would love to see someone write a great novel incorporating this experience into the plot.
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Post by marciabrady1977 on Jun 3, 2009 14:35:33 GMT -5
Dear Carjack:
No snappy rattan purse but I did just pick up a cool, hand pieced distressed leather shoulder bag (sorry...but who doesn't own some leather) with a giant, studded peace symbol. Very 1970s Southern California. Nope...don't have one of those leather hair things either but I have a coworker who does...although she doesn't realize it is vintage because she's been wearing it since the 1970s. How unfortunate. My shoes....OMG the shoes! Fabulous shoes are to women what sylish eyewear is to men. With all this talk of shoes and golden locks, I feel my inner Stevie Nicks starting to surface...and I'm beginning to whirl and twirl...and proclaim that Lindsey Buckingham is STILL a hottie!
Peace.
Marcia
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Post by carjack on Jun 3, 2009 17:05:57 GMT -5
[shadow=blue,left,300] HEAVY SIGH !!??  [/shadow] |
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Post by privateatty on Jun 3, 2009 19:20:21 GMT -5
Dear Carjack: No snappy rattan purse but I did just pick up a cool, hand pieced distressed leather shoulder bag (sorry...but who doesn't own some leather) with a giant, studded peace symbol. Very 1970s Southern California. Nope...don't have one of those leather hair things either but I have a coworker who does...although she doesn't realize it is vintage because she's been wearing it since the 1970s. How unfortunate. My shoes....OMG the shoes! Fabulous shoes are to women what sylish eyewear is to men. With all this talk of shoes and golden locks, I feel my inner Stevie Nicks starting to surface...and I'm beginning to whirl and twirl...and proclaim that Lindsey Buckingham is STILL a hottie! Peace. Marcia Gosh, Marcia you are such a tease! Poor carjack (poor me), palpations, palpations! I was in L. A. going to law school then and would have a perpetual crick in my neck as it constantly snapped looking at all the gorgeous women...I had a GTO and loved going to Malibu... |
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Post by marciabrady1977 on Jun 3, 2009 20:51:59 GMT -5
Dear privateatty:
I'm going to let the comment about being a tease slide...you're just stressed and didn't mean to be offensive! My brother, Greg, would probably knock your block off for such a comment! The palpatations might be related to caffeine. You might want to give up the coffee and switch to organic green tea. Ah, a GTO, really? I had a 1977 LeMans...gold with a with vinyl top and white vinyl interior. My dad gave me an 8 track player for cute car...it was cool...and gas was 19 cents a gallon! We should have kept those cars, man! Spent some time in Newport Coast a few months ago...right before this goofy ALJ thing reared its head again. The only thing keeping me from the Sawdust Arts Festival in Laguna Beach right this moment is 1500 miles. Looks like the ALJ window is closing with me on the outside looking in...again. Fortunately, I don't take this stuff personally. I have a cool cottage on a street ending in "Lane" and a great life. I'm assuming most of us have good jobs...we were just looking for a little change of pace. Stay cool, privateatty!! Cruise down the PCH and get some fresh air...that will keep your spirits high!!
Marcia
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Post by marciabrady1977 on Jun 3, 2009 20:53:23 GMT -5
Whoops...the LeMans was a 1972 with a 350...had '77 on the brain.
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Post by lawmaker on Jun 3, 2009 21:34:15 GMT -5
How do we know if we have been considered or blackballed? ...Ask. Could be that one can use the infamous SSA "Nonselection Interview." But they will never actually SAY you have been blackballed; they will simply never consider you from any cert again. ... The one thing we have learned from current litigants is that this final selection process is weighted toward SSA insiders, and that your score is utterly meaningless to SSA. No comment on the legal validity of the process, just an observation of how SSA actually does it. Before anybody goes nuts about insider v. outsider again, the MSPB's Office of Special Counsel has just recently noted that "the process [] unfairly favor SSA candidates." Nonetheless, insider or outsider, right now, we are only looking to see that our colleagues here on the board got selected. I ask with curiosity about the above referenced process. Were they referring to the OPM process or the hiring agency process. If another person on another thread is to be believed, then for instance, all the regional One hires went to outsiders, (and likely one other regions) thus at least partly invalidating the claim with rregard to either process |
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Post by privateatty on Jun 3, 2009 23:57:53 GMT -5
Dear privateatty: I'm going to let the comment about being a tease slide...you're just stressed and didn't mean to be offensive! My brother, Greg, would probably knock your block off for such a comment! The palpatations might be related to caffeine. You might want to give up the coffee and switch to organic green tea. Ah, a GTO, really? I had a 1977 LeMans...gold with a with vinyl top and white vinyl interior. My dad gave me an 8 track player for cute car...it was cool...and gas was 19 cents a gallon! We should have kept those cars, man! Spent some time in Newport Coast a few months ago...right before this goofy ALJ thing reared its head again. The only thing keeping me from the Sawdust Arts Festival in Laguna Beach right this moment is 1500 miles. Looks like the ALJ window is closing with me on the outside looking in...again. Fortunately, I don't take this stuff personally. I have a cool cottage on a street ending in "Lane" and a great life. I'm assuming most of us have good jobs...we were just looking for a little change of pace. Stay cool, privateatty!! Cruise down the PCH and get some fresh air...that will keep your spirits high!! Marcia Thanks for your kind response. I'm sure I'd love to have a beer with your brother once we meet. What did Popeye say as he ripped open another can of spinach? "I ams what I ams"...Forgive me if descriptions of leather raise my feathers. Yes, I'm stressed out. However, I try and often fail to live by Disraeli's axiom: "Never complain and never explain."  |
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Post by jagghagg on Jun 4, 2009 4:45:29 GMT -5
the MSPB's Office of Special Counsel has just recently noted that "the process [] unfairly favor SSA candidates." I ask with curiosity about the above referenced process. Were they referring to the OPM process or the hiring agency process. This was about the SSA process. _________________________ But seriously, folks, Nonamouse's post is truly pivotal and should probably be written in calligraphy and laminated then posted by our computer to be read every day as if we were reading " Desiderata" by Max Ehrmann. The process too often gets confused with the "quality" of the selectees and the nonselectees. ( Remember "You've Got Mail" when Tom Hanks tells Meg Ryan that when he put her out of business it "wasn't personal; it was business" ? And she said, "It feels 'personal' to me!") I know it feels personal, but it's not. _________________________ Re-read: This is one of those situations where we know that everyone cannot "win" at the exact time that they would like. Do not let this crazy process grind you down if you were not selected from the first, second or even third cert that contained your name. If you don't have proof positive that you are the recipient of the infamous "blackball" then don't despair. There are a handful of attorneys in any large group who are dysfunctional jerks who no one would want to have in their office, but it is very unlikely that anyone who made it this far falls into that category. Every single person who got on the register and for certain all of those whose name made any cert are qualified to be ALJs. The hiring agencies are picking for their best fit from the cream of the crop here! Remember all of those who got cut before testing or who had a score under 55 didn't even have the ticket to ride this rollercoaster that all of you have been on. Some here may have their "dream" come to fruition later this year or next year or even in a few years. I work with ALJs who waited many years to be selected off the old register, so going into a funk at this point is a bit premature and not terribly productive. All of you who were excellent attorneys when you applied are still going to be excellent attorneys after the last offer is made this year. Take a moment and savor all of your accomplishments and blessings to date and don't let this process steal your joy! Shake the dust from your feet and live well until the next crazy ride begins or perhaps until something even better comes along for you. I would love to see someone write a great novel incorporating this experience into the plot. |
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Post by ALJD on Jun 4, 2009 5:29:09 GMT -5
I concur with JH that Nonamouse's statement is indeed wise. The sun will continue to rise, you're still the same person you were before, and unlike waiting for the bar exam results, you already have a license to practice law and you are no worse off than before.
Perseverance will pay off eventually. There is another cycle coming up in September, and there will be another large hiring next year. Hang in there and keep a stiff upper lip. By handling adversity with grace and discipline, you will hopefully emerge from this stronger and better prepared for the future.
Good luck to all and hang in there. You're not alone.
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Post by roggenbier on Jun 4, 2009 9:14:12 GMT -5
I think I am about to pass from a rookie into a holdover.
I do not think I made my case that my relatively high score and my 17 years of service as an administrative law judge in a high volume setting, making some disability decisions, was sufficient to become a SSA-ALJ. Although four other colleagues with lower scores and lesser experience were chosen ahead of me from my agency, it was the discretion of the folks to make and I accept their right to make it, even if it disappoints me. I hope for the opportunity to again make my case and to make it more persuasively.
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Post by Propmaster on Jun 4, 2009 9:34:54 GMT -5
I think I am about to pass from a rookie into a holdover. I do not think I made my case that my relatively high score and my 17 years of service as an administrative law judge in a high volume setting, making some disability decisions, was sufficient to become a SSA-ALJ. Although four other colleagues with lower scores and lesser experience were chosen ahead of me from my agency, it was the discretion of the folks to make and I accept their right to make it, even if it disappoints me. I hope for the opportunity to again make my case and to make it more persuasively. Sounds like your agency will have to be hiring now. |
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Post by camedlaw on Jun 4, 2009 13:47:39 GMT -5
I just wanted to find out who is collecting the dues to join the Holdover Club. As one of those who went through the initial re-opening of the OPM process on those record-setting summer days so many years ago, I assume there will be reunion some year!
Somewhat akin to playing the same numbers week after week in the lottery except thinking the odds are much more in your favor. Time passes just long enough to forget about it, only to get an email to check off which office you don't want. (Although so far, seems like the choice hasn't been mine to make!)
Appreciate the continued support and the tidbits of tenacity, ethical obligations and perseverance that are good to hear in any context.
As a retired Navy JAG who never fired a shot outside of .45 qualifications, an article in the recent American Heritage hit home for me last night - the story of a 90-something year old survivor of the Bataan Death march. His sketches are the only visual representations of that "demographic." After using his POW time to develop his craft, he taught art back home in Montana and retired as a professor. He continues to paint and sketch his compatriots and experiences between 1941-45 on a daily basis.
I'll try not to feel too sorry for myself over this process.
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Post by jagghagg on Jun 4, 2009 13:56:22 GMT -5
Camedlaw! Haven't seen you in AGES!
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Post by carjack on Jun 4, 2009 22:49:04 GMT -5
I guess now I can really look forward to the sexual harassment trial I have starting week after next - if I can't be an alj at least I can satisfy some of my baser prurient interests. ;D
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