I’ve been into dorodango for a long time and have shaped countless balls of many different substances. My question is, how do I get them to shine? I want that glasslike, reflective finish but I can’t seem to achieve it. Here are 2 perfectly round, smooth gliding dangos. How do I get the shiny finish? I’ve used olive oil, stockings, coffee filters, sand paper, etc but can’t get that polish
I recently completed my annual DPMAP appraisal and scored fully successful across most of my critical elements. Despite that, OPM’s Level 1 rule mandates that a single Level 1 on any element automatically makes your overall rating a Level 1 — no exceptions, no averaging, no context considered. That’s where I ended up.
What happened
I lost my grandmother on Christmas. I lost my dad a few months later. Most people have lost someone — you know the feeling where you’re physically present but somewhere else entirely. That was me. Except those months happened to fall inside a rating cycle, and I had no leave to grieve. I kept showing up because I had no choice. Grief doesn’t pause for a rating cycle. My PCO applied the standards mathematically literal, one element came in at a Level 1, and the Level 1 rule means, regardless of average, I’m rated a 1.
The system problem
I was fully successful in every other area of my job. But OPM’s rule doesn’t care. One hard season — no matter what caused it, no matter how you performed everywhere else — and your entire year is erased. There is no mechanism in this system for context, for hardship, or for being human.
What I’m trying to understand
Beyond losing my bonus, what does an overall Level 1 actually affect — applications, promotions, transfers? With the new accelerated rating cycle underway, does this follow me or does the next cycle offer a real reset? Has anyone been through this and come out the other side?
Not here to complain. Just trying to understand a system that doesn’t seem built for real life.