#prepare-for-a-layoff

[rooftops-are-for-towels]

shout out to my university administration (specifically 2 people apart of it including our university president) for copying the mass government firings tit for tat bro. they've fired so many positions of core importance to student life or different departments because they didn't pay attention to who the fuck they were firing at all 😭😭 they fired our ONLY PHYSICAL THERAPIST who has worked here for fucking forever, effective immediately, and then everyone was like YOU FUCKED UP BIGTIME, ASSHOLES (because our campus has a HIGH NEED FOR PT) so they hired her back- wish i could say the same for other important positions like ones from literally where i work. i get that it's some sort of bullshit prep for the higher ed budget cuts we're looking at but FUCK bro. this is not the way to go about taking care of the university moving forward

[vero-niche]

whoops i might have accidentally given a heads up to my customer contact on when to expect layoff talks from their management

[captainjonnitkessler]

8:30 and my boss has not responded to my text informing him that I'm taking the week off. It's entirely possible that he has not yet noticed that I'm not at work, leading me to ponder whether I could have not sent him anything and gotten paid for this week without showing up

[coffeeworldsasaki]

I don't know if knowing since before Veilguard that BioWare would end up this way makes it better or worse tbh

[mechanicalpoet]

So I know it’s stupid petty, but it’s bothering me so I’m going to put it on Tumblr where thousands of people can see it instead of mentioning it to like one person in case I get judged

My brother is basically dealing with some issues caused by him signing a contract he didn’t read. And I’ve been trying to help him through it, because honestly it’s just a shitty contract that I’m very sure is not enforceable, and I’m obviously not a lawyer but I have… Taken some classes, so I guess that makes me more qualified than anyone else in my family

I was talking to the other day, and he was like, “I don’t know what I’m doing I’m just a baby!”

And the thing is… He’s 28. I was 20 and making sure both our tuition were paid on time, at 28 I had been working in consulting for four years, had a house, and spinal surgery. And I get that he went the academia route, so obviously our lives are not gonna look the exact same and I’m not trying to say that he doesn’t have his shit together just because he doesn’t own a house and all that shit.

I guess there’s just a marked difference between how he is 28 and still sees himself as the baby, whereas I was seen as the adult before I even finished high school school

And it kind of just always comes back the fact that I don’t get to have major crisis where I need help. Which is a little theatrical, my mom did help me find the university that I got accepted to and also did flag the job that I ended up leaving consulting for. But every time I just really needed my parents to be there, he had something bigger going on.

Which I’m not blaming him for, a lot of it was medical and obviously not his fault or something he did for funsies.

I don’t know, I think I’m just tired and burnt out and would like to not be the adult for five minutes if that’s OK.

[krockon]

*personal

[mentorshelly]

How to Write a Resume That Gets You Hired (Even After a Layoff)

Let’s be real for a second — layoffs suck. They mess with your confidence, your finances, and sometimes your sense of direction. But let me tell you something straight up: a layoff does NOT define you. What defines you now is how you bounce back — and that starts with your resume. You’re not just “looking for a job” anymore. You’re repositioning yourself in the job market. Your resume has one…

[bonus-links]

oh I should clarify, the comic’s not going anywhere here on tumblr, even if I start to post elsewhere too! this is my preferred place to post and I will keep putting the comic here until the sun explodes or tumblr stops being a website 😂 whichever comes first

If tumblr explodes off the face of the earth someday is there any other place where you post the comic

for right now, comic pages are simultaneously posted publicly on the patreon, even for free and non-members. Since there have been some rumblings re: tumblrs future that make me a bit uneasy, I’m strongly considering starting to post on bluesky or even something like comic fury. I’ll be sure to post those links once I set those accounts up!

[mirakelbrorsan]

Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk to Gareth David-Lloyd (Solas' voice actor) during a Swedish convention. Here's some of the things he said about his work on Dragon Age (that I remember!)

He's not entirely happy with the writing of The Veilguard. "But that's what happens when there's too many cooks" (paraphrasing) and when all the original people disappear from the project (like the layoffs). He said something about how when passing on the project to other people (writers) there's sure to be some lost information or different interpretations.

He didn't know more about Solas than the player did during Inquisition. He just thought Solas was a mysterious companion that disappeared. He only learned more when he got the script for Trespasser (and his reaction to getting all the info from Trespasser was "this is awesome")

I asked how he prepared for the role of Solas the first time he got the role, compared to when he came back for The Veilguard, and one thing he did for The Veilguard was just to play Inquisition several times (which ofc he "had the time for since it took years for The Veilguard to come out" (paraphrasing)). The third time he played Inquisition he romanced Solas, which was "a fun experience".

He hasn't finished playing The Veilguard because he's playing on his son's ps5 and doesn't always have the opportunity to play. He received a free code for the game, but for pc, and he doesn't have a gaming pc (if I recall correctly).

Solas' performance was first done with motion capture, which David-Lloyd said he would've loved to have done himself. Mainly because he originally had to match his voice acting to that of the mo-cap actor's performance (like dubbing), which of course limited his own performance. But in the end he performed the lines in his own way, which he felt was best for the final product, and was more happy with the result. The animations then had to be altered to fit David-Lloyd's performance instead.

[ayeforscotland]

I don't think anyone can mentally prepare you for how awful Linkedin is as a networking/job hunting social media site. The posts that gain any sort of popularity there would be absolutely crucified anywhere else online. From awful advice from recruiters to a CEO posting a picture of himself crying over layoffs he made?????

And just an endless amount of people like this.

[owoeyeoseroghokijawft]

There's a fox in the chicken coop! Investigation reveals US Agency for International Development provides non-military related funds to Ukraine

The picture shows the USAID headquarters in Washington, DC. (Photo: Reuters)

[Voice of Hope, February 26, 2025] (Voice of Hope reporter Chen Wenyun compiled) Investigators revealed to the North American Epoch Times that officials of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) repeatedly refused investigators from the Senate #DOGE Caucus Chair, Senator Joni Erns (Joni Erns) working group to review documents related to US tax funds allegedly used to help #Ukraine resist Russian invasion.

When investigators were finally allowed to view the documents, they were "stored in a highly secure room at USAID headquarters and strictly monitored," even though "nothing shared by USAID was confidential."

During the investigation, Ernst discovered that USAID's multi-million dollar project "exists in secret funds to put millions of American taxpayers' money into Ukraine for questionable purposes unrelated to our national interests."

“Funds that should have been used to ease the war-torn country’s economic woes were instead used for unimportant activities, such as sending Ukrainian models and designers to New York, London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week and the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas,” investigators said.

One of the secret funds provided $114,000 to purchase a “high-end limited edition furniture line” and another $91,000 to fund a “trade mission for a Scandinavian-style furniture line.”

Investigators found that USAID also provided $148,000 in grants to “a pickle maker,” $255,000 to “an organic tea and coffee producer,” $104,000 to “an artisanal fruit tea company,” and $89,000 in support to “a Ukrainian vineyard.”

USAID also provided $300,000 each to a dog collar manufacturer and a company that sells pet tracking apps, $161,000 to "a modern knitwear supplier," $126,000 to "a photographer for a fashion design publication," and $84,000 in support to "a luxury bridal brand."

Ernst first began investigating USAID in November 2023, when he wrote a letter to then-USAID Administrator Samantha Power.

“I firmly support providing weapons and ammunition to Ukrainian militants to fight Putin,” Ernst told Power, “but I am not willing to spend nearly $25 billion of hard-earned U.S. taxpayer dollars on so-called economic aid to Ukraine, including subsidies for overseas businesses like a ‘luxury contemporary knit fashion store’ in Kyiv.”

In a Feb. 4 letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ernst said that “USAID has deliberately abused a system designed to protect the security of our nation’s classified information in order to limit congressional oversight of public information.”

Rubio replaced Power as acting administrator of USAID earlier this month. Most of the agency’s employees are on administrative leave, and layoffs are underway that could eliminate as many as 2,000 positions within the agency.

The Epoch Times obtained information about Ernst’s investigation the same day the House DOGE subcommittee prepared to hold a hearing focused on how USAID officials allocated at least $122 million in U.S. tax dollars to multiple organizations operating in the Middle East with documented ties to Hamas, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda terrorist groups.

Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum (MEF), told The Epoch Times on Tuesday (25th) that he would testify before the hearing panel that “there is a fox in the henhouse of our foreign aid system!”

Roman said, “This problem started under the Obama administration, intensified under the Biden administration, and now requires immediate action to stop the dangerous mismanagement and deadly ethical chaos.” “We are not just talking about waste, fraud, and abuse, this is a national security issue. Every dollar misused destabilizes conflict zones and endangers American lives.”

MEF investigators confirmed the evidence of terrorist links through U.S. government documents, USAID records, and other public sources of information.

The House DOGE Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, is part of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer. The House DOGE Panel, like the Senate DOGE Panel, was created in response to President Trump’s creation of the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

DOGE is conducting a forensic audit of federal spending across all federal departments and agencies. One of the first agencies to be reviewed is USAID.

“The revelations that the DOGE team uncovered together with USAID are shocking, but this is just the tip of the iceberg!” Greene said in a statement announcing the hearing on Wednesday (26th).

[felassan]

Anthem Game Update

"We have an important update to share regarding Anthem."

---

"Hi everyone, We have an important update to share regarding Anthem. After careful consideration, we will be sunsetting Anthem on January 12, 2026. This means that the game will still be playable online for the next 180+ days. As of today, you can no longer purchase in-game premium currency, but you can still use your remaining balance until the servers go offline. We deeply appreciate your dedication, passion and support over the years and we’d like to thank you for that. For additional information on Anthem, please refer to the FAQ below. The BioWare Team"

"Q: How long will I have to play Anthem?  A: Game servers will be available until January 12, 2026 at which time the game will no longer be playable. Q: Why can’t I play Anthem in offline mode?  A: Anthem was designed to be an online-only title so once the servers go offline, the game will no longer be playable.   Q: Can I still install Anthem if I had previously purchased the game?  A: Yes, if you previously purchased Anthem, the game can still be downloaded from a digital library and played until January 12, 2026. Q: Why can I no longer purchase Anthem or in-game currency?  A: Over the course of the next 180+ days Anthem will still be playable online and you can use the last of your in-game premium currency as we prepare to sunset the game’s live servers on January 13, 2026. Q: Will I still be able to use my in-game currency?  A: Yes, you can still use any in-game premium currency that you currently have until the game is sunset on January 12, 2026. Q: How long will the game stay on EA Play? A: Anthem will be removed from the EA Play playlist on August 15, 2025. Q: Has anyone else at BioWare been affected by these changes? A: No, the sunsetting of Anthem has not led to any layoffs."

[source, via]

[drst]

Stock up time, Americans

OK this is not fear mongering, folks, this is for real. If you live in the US, you need to start stocking up on supplies right now, especially anything that is imported from China.

There is a major drop in freight shipping from China happening right now (late April 2025). Even if someone with two brain cells got into a room with Trump today and convinced him to back down on the tariffs against China, it's too late. There are going to be shortages and empty shelves. It's a question of how long they will last now.

It will take a few more weeks to be felt across the US, but as cargo ceases to arrive on the west coast, you have around 3-4 weeks for the effects to fully reach the east coast depending on the items. People are already reporting price hikes just on orders from China due to the tariffs, but this is going to be a void where things we normally expect to be able to buy will no longer be available.

There could also be major ripple effects from this as the trucking industry gets hit with either layoffs or firings. A lot of people could be thrown out of work, on top of the cuts to federal and government-adjacent jobs. This will push the instability in the economy even harder. And who knows what catastrophes could come up next.

So what can you do now, at the end of April 2025? All of this advice should be considered based on your financial situation. Don't put yourself in debt to do any of these things, but maybe look at your budget and your savings and see what you can afford to do right now.

Stock up on medications. As we know from 2020, a lot of components of our medicines are made in China. Buy extra supplies of anything over the counter you rely on. See if you can get bulk refills on prescriptions. I know it's tough with insurance companies but check with the pharmacy and see if you can fill early, or see what the out of pocket cost is for a refill and if you can afford it.

Personal care and hygiene products too - buy extra soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Feminine care products (diapers if you've got little ones).

Electronics. Almost everything we use is made in China or relies on components made in China. If you've been thinking of getting a new phone or your laptop is failing, now is the time before the prices go even higher.

Same deal with cars, although that's a major expense to replace and interest rates on loans are high right now. We assemble cars here in the US but every car manufacturer makes parts overseas. Take your car to a mechanic ASAP, get it checked out, make sure it's in good working order. Replace anything that needs replacing.

Paper products like toilet paper are not imported from China. As I understand it, the shortages in 2020 were due to other factors, buuuuut, let's be real. People are going to see bare shelves and panic. They're going to start hoarding and since we all remember the TP shortages 5 years ago, it would be a good idea to stock up now so you're not fighting the panic buyers.

Tools - weirdly a large percentage of scissors sold in the US are imported from China. Make sure you have a basic set of household tools. This is a list of 15 basics for handling a house. There's also the ready.gov list of what you need for an emergency kit. Also a basic sewing kit is a very good idea to have available.

Food-wise, again, while direct imports from China may not make a huge impact, if people begin to panic, you want to be prepared to deal with other people hoarding. If you have space and your electric bill can handle it, this is a good time to pick up a chest freezer. You can get a small one for under $200. You can buy the value sized bags of frozen stuff you like to eat (particularly important if you have food issues or if you've got kids who love their chicken nuggets). Grab extras of shelf-stable things like cereal, pasta, rice, and canned goods. If this feels paranoid, you don't have to go crazy, but buy at least some extras.

Get cash from your bank just in case. This is good practice in any circumstances, but don't assume your cards or your Apple Pay are going to work in an emergency. Hit the ATM, squirrel at least $100 away at home. Try to get small bills if you can, it's easier to carry some with you and leave the rest at home.

Lastly think through things you use daily, check where they come from, resupply or replace anything coming from China ASAP. Some folks already did this at the end of last year (durable goods purchases were up over 10% above average in December because people were worried about the tariff shit back then), but if you can afford it, get replacements or new supplies right now.

I sincerely hope 6 months from now this looks like panic and overreaction, but a lot of people smarter than me are giving this advice. It feels very much like February of 2020 again, where people watching the news closely could see something really bad on the horizon, but the majority had no idea. Better to be prepared.

[purposeastro]

A bit More about 2025

We are moving towards a very negative and bad era for humans. Animals are already getting wiped off from the face of the earth which is a warning sign for humans. It's a god's way of telling that humans are next!

Things are going to move very quickly as the Jupiter is a slow planet but is moving quickly. 2025 is a total Mars energy. On 29 March 5 planets Rahu, Venus, Sun, Moon & Neptune with Saturn will be in Pisces sign. Pisces is the last zodiac Sign and rules over the water bodies. These 6 signs are aspecting on the first house. Jupiter is acting as a Hindering planet.

June to November there is high chances of War. Many changes in workplace will be seen. Everyone will get lazy. I'm feeling lazy for quite sometime too. There'll be layoffs in office and people will work from home. A lockdown due to a pandemic can occur. Mysterious diseases will spread. AI will take over people and replace humans. There'll be increase in people's loneliness that everyone will prefer to talk with AI more than a real human.

The person who never got angry will get angry and vice versa things will happen. There'll be fire in many places. People having pro skills will rise. It's high time to develop a skill which can be beneficial for this time. Agriculture will be on rise as the demand of items will increase with less supply due to war pandemic, etc.

War and natural calamities will fall together on humans. Due to Pisces sign all the water bodies will become active. People near the coastline are in Danger ⚠️ Tornados, flood, earthquake can happen.

There'll be increase in theft all around the world. Meat Eaters who want to stay alive please become vegan otherwise even god won't save 🙏 Work of Doctors will increase. Doctors, psychologist will be on the rise. Increase in road accidents too can be seen. North Node Rahu in Aquarius will expand AI to the TOP. Cases of divorce will increase. People will struggle more mentally.

People from all over the world will start going to India. There's lot of news about people visiting India. Trade, civil war. People will become more spiritual. People will get into yoga, etc. There will be a rise in Sanatan Dharma.

Dharma : Dharma is cosmic order or law. Dharma can best be explained as conduct that upholds universal natural laws, and when humankind follows these laws, it allows them to be happy and prevent suffering. It's a combination of morality and spiritual discipline that guides one in living one's life.

[lightlysources]

If tumblr shuts down, an indie roleplayers network to find your rp partners elsewhere

So, I want us, as a community, to be prepared in case this site shuts down. Is it going to shut down? We don't know. The staff layoffs, according to people who have worked on tumblr previously, seem to indicate that something is happening with management, which could be them selling the site, or wanting to shut it down. (sources: x, x.)

Maybe (probably?) the site will continue to exist and the list never needs to be utilised. But at least I personally would feel a lot better about every "oh no tumblr will shut down" rumour if I knew I could find my rp partners elsewhere. I've long since made backup accounts on pillowfort (and cohost before they shut down), but currently the most viable options seem to be wafrn and goblin. @leneemusing has tested out wafrn here. I had no trouble with account creation on any of these sites.

I've made a form here, for any indie roleplayer to submit their tumblr username and a backup account link.

A .doc with the list is here.

Reblog to spread the word, send me an ask if you have questions, etc.

I don't have any rules for this - any indie roleplayer can have their information on the list. Some further thoughts under the readmore.

First of all, if you're early, I know you can tell who I am in the rpc by the urls that are on the list lol. I block a lot of people from my rp blogs (though not from my resource blog). If you've blocked me, or I've blocked you, you can still use the list. I'm not going to care! Similarly, it doesn't matter here, whether our roleplay rules match, what content your write and whether I agree with it, if you've had a callout posted about you, etc. I'm not going to look into any of that with the list, I'm only going to make sure the links you provide work. This is a list for people to find each other in the case of tumblr shutting down. I don't feel like it's my place to restrict who can be on that list.

Why not discord? I won't include discord handles because I think a part of the indie rpc relies on us being on a social site. How would we find people? Use memes or aesthetic posts? Discord servers are not public spaces the way tumblr is. If you want to host a similar list for people's discord handles, you can. You can copy and paste from my list/form to do it if you like, even.

If tumblr does shut down, and therefore this post no longer exists, I will probably make a discord server only for the purpose of maintaining the list, though. It would not be a server for socialising - I don't have the spoons to admin that, and those already exist.

[mentorshelly]

DMs That Work: How to Approach Recruiters and Mentors Online

Let’s be honest—sliding into someone’s DMs can feel awkward, especially when it’s for professional reasons. But in today’s digital world, a well-crafted message can open doors to job opportunities, mentorship, and career guidance you might not find elsewhere. Whether you’re reaching out to a recruiter for a job or a mentor for guidance, the key is being clear, respectful, and intentional with…