I've offered a session on Drupal for content managers. Here's the presentation




Hope I can do it!!

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Today, I got my final shoot down. I'd requested that I be able to be detailed, temporarily (and keep all my current work) to another office within the government. I provided a detailed set of how my agency would benefit from my temporary detail including that I would be able to take all my current work AND that I would come back with new skills not currently available in VA.

My supervisor shot it down late Friday night by e-mail. I didn't even get the courtesy of talking to her about it. She couldn't even say it to me.

Wow.

So, clearly, bad day. But with the bad comes the good and this is where Gov2.0 comes into the picture.

Next weekend I will be attending Gov2.0 camp in DC. I have offered to conduct a training session on content management using Drupal. Drupal is the platform used to create and manage recovery.gov. And friends in the Drupal community noted that Drupal guys met with the President the week of DrupalCon DC (but I can't remember who did, aarrgghh!).

The problem in government is that no one knows how to do Drupal content management. From writing for the web (we really aren't about short, concise or task oriented) to actually understanding how to use Drupal (for content management). So, I figured, we can use my old Drupal site that we used for the inaugural balls and I can lead a hands on class in updating the site. We're going to alter it, play with it and see the flexibility. And for the few coders we have, I'm thinking, we might also play a little with the coding, possibly even work on a module that would work for the site. All in all, it's about bringing Government employees together to build on the knowledge we have, impart that knowledge and connect with other government employees.

So, there's my making lemonade from lemons story for the day.

If you're a government employee and attending Gov2.0 camp in DC, look for me. Seriously, say HI! I'd love to know you've read the blog!! Oh, and psst, I'm looking for a job.

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I'm a Government employee. I also belong to the Freelancer's union. I'm a uniongal, through and through. I believe in the right to self determination, which is why I support the Employee Free Choice Act.

As an employee, we should all have the right to have a unified voice to negotiate with the managers, owners and bosses. Together, we have power. United we stand, divided we fall. A very American philosophy, huh?

So, when I heard President Obama announce the freezing of White House Senior Staff wages, it got me to thinking about what it means to be an American Government Worker:



And when I thought about it, I knew that I needed to do something about it. I needed to show my support for the voluntary request the President has made of his senior staff. I decided, I'd take the pledge, too:

I agree to accept a pay freeze for the length of time President Obama needs to restore the US economy. I, (state your name) pledge to accept no Bonus, no increase in pay and my support to President Obama's voluntary program prescribed on January 21st, 2009 for his White House Senior Staff.

This I pledge on (state the date).

If you are a US Federal Government Employee and would like to take this pledge, please head over to facebook and sign up. And if you don't have a facebook account, leave a comment.

I've taken the pledge, because I believe that United we Stand and Divided, we Fail. And Failure is just not an option.

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