When in doubt drink coffee

Today’s holiday guest column is from a long-time fed who takes Christmas, which is also her father’s birthday, very seriously. The same goes for life, but not so much. She’s had a good year with two new grandchildren, as well as some family medical setbacks. She has some thoughts on life as a fed, and the world situation. But overall she reminds us life is pretty good, and it’s good to have her with us today.

A disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not, in any way, represent the views of the Defense Department:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Once again, Mr. Causey has asked me to do a guest column while he is out on a much deserved vacation. So buckle up, take off your “I’m offended far too easily hat,” and enjoy the ride. If you’ll remember from last year, I’m not politically correct in any way so don’t say you weren’t warned.

It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? On a personal level, I have been blessed with  two more grandchildren, Cedric and Gabriel, my husband had a stroke even Feb. 6, my daughter, Sherry, had two back surgeries Feb 12 and 13, and I had Basal arthritis surgery in June – oh, the fun of it all! Thankfully, we’ve all recovered well for the most part.

For us feds, it’s another year of being used as a punching bag. No surprise really, most administrations do it. I will say this particular administration does it with more frequency and pride than some of the others. For example, No. 45 said Dec. 11, saying he would be “proud” to shut the government down. Really, let’s review shall we. No. 45 said Mexico was going to pay for it, several times throughout his campaign, and now he wants to hamper my ability to pay my bills because low and behold Mexico isn’t paying for it and he wants us, the hardworking American workforce to do it? Yep, that pretty much covers it

And the whole sequestration debacle from the last administration — yeah, not a fan of whoever thought that up either. By the way, I’m neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I can actually think for myself and don’t need a political party to think for me. Not to say being a political party member is right or wrong, it just isn’t my thing.

How’s work going, morale in your agency at an all-time high? Do you get the “please” and “thank you’s” that are common courtesy all the time? Yeah, not here sometimes, either. There’s a lot of “HR incompetence” being thrown around at my agency. I get it, HR is at the forefront of everyday existence. We do allowances, pay, hiring, firing, benefits, retirements, etc.

May I just say we’re human, mistakes happen. Do you do your job perfectly every single day? Yeah, I thought not. HR mistakes tend to be more noticeable because again, we’re in your everyday existence. I get it. To upper management – please know that we’re doing the best we can. The majority of us give you everything we have, not just during the work week but long after our day ends as well, trying to keep up with the demands of our job and give you the results you want. This whole “do more with less” mantra is just crap. Who thought of that exactly, I would like a word with them. And for the record, I love my job very much and until the day I retire, my agency will get 100 percent out of me every single day.

On a lighter note, my father was born on Christmas Day. Our house was one huge celebration on Christmas with a big breakfast, gifts, naps and an amazing dinner spread that Momma would whip together like nobody’s business. Good times.

I’ll end this year’s guest column with a reminder to drink coffee and smile. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you Mr. Causey for giving this crazy, fun-filled southern girl a moment in the sun.

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Amelia Brust

Suzuki Motor Corporation, the Japanese corporation known for manufacturing motorcycles, automobiles and other vehicles, actually began in 1909 as a loom works company for Japan’s silk industry.

Source: Wikipedia

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