Yep.

All I really want to do right now is post memes. 

It has been one heck of a week.

Of course, if you're reading this, you probably know that already. I mean, most of my readers are friends and we've been watching the same news. It's been heartwrenching and frustrating and maddening and baffling.

Just gonna leave this one here.

And I get to add to that. Just my own little piece in my own little corner of the world.

This one's for my uncle.

I didn't have a great week on a basic level. There had been computer issues and a dead battery. On Friday, my granddad landed in the hospital with influenza A. [Note: He is doing much better. He's out of the hospital and is still a bit tired, but with any luck the worst is behind him.]

I acknowledge that the placement of this one is not great.

On Thursday, though, I received news that my new job was put on hold thanks to the hiring freeze. As it turns out, I'm still angry about that.

After all -- this is my life we're talking about. I had gotten my start date only 73 hours earlier after a lot of waiting and paperwork. Things have been held up by security checks (which take time) and holidays (which interrupt time) but I was finally able to set other things in motion, like my impending move.

More than the timing, though, I was originally hired in November. Yes. That's how long security checks can take. Longer, actually. I seem to be one of the lucky ones.

Only to have it put on hold.

Whatever that means.

The hiring freeze itself doesn't surprise me. It's a fairly normal thing to occur at the beginning of a new administration. What really irks me about it is how slapdash and seemingly arbitrary it turned out to be. I can't stress this enough -- I was hired quite awhile ago. And my start date was held up by government-y things.

"Irks." Does not "surprise."

I guess what I'm really saying is ... I was hired at the same time as the New Guy. (Within hours of each other, actually.) If the freeze applies to my federal job, I think it's only fair that it applies to his.