1. AFGE Local 1904. Here we are 17 weeks past the “end of max telework” and the union, such as it is, still hasn’t come through on delivering the new and improved telework agreement. So, we’re still grinding along with only two days a week like pre-COVID barbarians… as if 30 months of operating nearly exclusively through telework didn’t prove that working from home works. All this is ongoing while hearing stories of other organizations tucked in next door that are offering their people four or five day a week work from home options. It’s truly a delight working for the sick man of the enterprise. There’s probably plenty of blame to go around, but since the updated and perfectly acceptable policy for supervisors was published 17 weeks ago, I’m going to continue to go ahead and put every bit of blame on Local 1904 for failing their members (and those of us who they “represent” against our will) for not getting this shit done.
2. Home cooking. Week in and week out I make variations of the same 20 or so recipes. Most of them are easy. Most of the are the living definition of comfort food. I want to branch out with more options. I mean as much as I like it, even I don’t want a roast every Sunday. I also don’t want to waste a limited amount of time, not to mention the weekly food budget, by inadvertently making something new and different that just so happens to taste like broiled shit… which is why I always end up sticking with variations on the tried and true 20. It’s a vicious cycle.
3. Tim Hortons. For years we had the most southerly outpost of the Canadian staple coffee shop in the lobby of our building. Despite their best efforts to recover and reopen when employees started to trickle back to the office in small numbers, they didn’t survive the Great Plague. Now, Tim’s wasn’t what you’d call great, but they were tasty enough, portion sizes were decent, and they had the undeniable virtue of being right there in the building on days when it happened to be raining or when it was ten degrees with the wind blowing 20 miles per hour. I realize now that I probably didn’t appreciate them enough. I find myself missing my regular 2:00 donuts and having the option for a frozen yogurt.
JEFFREYTHARP.COM 
I hate to tell you this my friend but there is about an 80% chance that Biden will force the feds back in office full time. With a GOP potus it’s approaches 100%. And with DCs Mayor leaning on it heavy I’d say it’s just a matter of time.
I’m not sure anyone, including the mayor herself, is taking her pitch all that seriously in the short term. Even the last time both branches were controlled by Trump branded GOP, they just barely managed to pass legislation. With any flavor of divided government the chance of them finding their hind end with both hands and a flashlight plummets. Worst case, it’s another reason for me to rage against my former party and shores up my never voting for another Republican.
The bill that was proposed a week or so ago rolls things back to the policies that were in place pre-Covid, which leaves us exactly where we are now. In any case, I’ll never get off my soapbox about the absurdity of treating 21st century information workers like we’re building Chryslers in 1950 Detroit.
Agree with all your points. Our government was designed to be hard with safeguards in place to prevent majority dominance. The current parties have made governing an almost impossibility even for the little things. Please note I don’t support a full return to office in any shape. I’m all about efficiency and production. Pols by design seem to be the antithesis to this.
Amen. If you can show me somewhere where performance or production is degraded, by all means manage that issue or those people intensely. I fear it’s just another example of legislating for feelings instead of for data.