welcome to government work

Despite the private and for-profit nature of my new company, all the rules are set by the human resources arm of the federal government. OPM has a lot of rules and a less-than-gripping prose style. I spent all yesterday evening going through stacks of requirements. I took a relaxing bath and read the OPM manual. I noted with some annoyance that I cannot actually type anything whatsoever about my cases unless I type into the OPM reports computer. I.e., there will be lots of handwritten notes in my future. For someone who types over 80 wpm when on a roll, this is a pain in the metacarpals. It will also cost me a fortune in white shirts--I can't operate a simple pen without serious blottage.

So that's work. Pennsylvania is beautiful, although the foliage has yet to change. The weather is gorgeous. The humidity is pleasant, not overbearing. The food, however, could use some work. Yesterday, I went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. I ordered curry beef (described as a dish featuring beef, vegetables, and potatoes.) I was presented with a plate covered with gluey sauce. There were chunks of gray meat floating in it, along with slices of onion, and a number of curried French fries. Someone in the kitchen must have looked at a bag of frozen fries, thought, "Hey, sliced potatoes is sliced potatoes!" and emptied it into the pan. It was vile. The belly laughter was worth the seven bucks I paid.