Today was better than yesterday

Yesterday was hard. Realizing our amazing, over-the-top outstanding local employees would lose their jobs, jobs that some of them have had forever, jobs they know and do extremely well, was hard. Being in a two hour staff meeting where people kept asking tougher and tougher questions that no one knew the answers to was hard.

My travel voucher! This morning I got a notice that it was rejected by my agency’s financial system. Well. I have not complained to my bosses at all about it, I’ve just been handling it, but today I forwarded it to them and said it would really irk me to be laid off AND have the agency still owe me reimbursement for money I’d expended. My boss’ boss contacted me and made a suggestion of who to contact. I did. They then sent it in to be processed manually. The system was probably set to automatically reject everything. I haven’t gotten notice that it would be paid but I’m again hopeful. 

Legally, I must be paid, but they are already breaking the law and who knows how long all this will take. 

If you weren’t told by 3 pm that you were not going on admin leave, you’re going on admin leave. I’m going on admin leave. 

We don’t know how long it will last. Obviously people are hoping that it takes them a very long time to fire us. I think there is a secret hope that, in the meantime, something will happen to save us. A lawsuit? I guess a few people are still hoping Congress will do something. They will probably need to bring us all back in for a bit to fix the mess they are making. 

The overlords have already put almost all of HR on administrative leave which means there is no one left to help with …. Anything. But the point is not to do this in a rational, logical, organized way. The point is to break things. The irrational vindictiveness is very hard for good people who haven’t experienced evil to take. 

The people who were incredibly proud of their service to the American people are having a rough time. 

The people who spent their lives trying to make the world a better place and are hearing themselves called criminals and worms are having a tough time. 

Online there are threats against us. I haven’t experienced this. I have experienced people reaching out to share love and concern. 

One of my staff wanted another meeting tomorrow, our last day, so I set up a 30 minute meeting. Ideas on what we should do? It will be online - if we aren’t all cut out of the systems tonight. This could be the last time we’re “together.” 

War correspondents are saying that there are Russian troops using DONKEYS AND HORSES to transport ammunition. My heavens. There were confirmed reports earlier of Russian troops using civilian cars and electric scooters. The Russian command recently banned the use of privately owned and humanitarian vehicles because people were driving while intoxicated. Some soldiers have used bicycles to move ammunition. Some have just hidden their vehicles so they don’t get in trouble. 

Ukrainian paratroopers captured 21 Russian soldiers in Kursk. 

Aleksandr Jerlich, a Russian, drove a truck into an Su-25SM3 attack aircraft, completely disabling it. Damages are estimated at several million dollars. He was driving too fast. He didn’t even have a license. 

Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are still connected to the Russian electricity grid. This is because they used to be part of the Soviet Union. The grid connection will stop Feb 8, 10 months ahead of schedule. They actually haven’t used Russian electricity since Russia reinvaded Ukraine. 

France gave Ukraine Mirage fighter jets and trained Ukrainian pilots. The planes and pilots have arrived in Ukraine. 

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Look, the US was never meant to make sense:  https://youtu.be/JYqfVE-fykk?si=rg7dPDH5gW-Q01vH