Saturday Grab Bag as the days get shorter

Ongoing Contract-Recompete Update: I mentioned that the announcements have already started circulating about the office holiday party, which is of course slated to take place on a weekday during work hours, as always, but additionally this week I got an e-mail from my government boss, addressed to everyone under her direct supervision, inviting us all (and our families) to a holiday open house at her home on an upcoming weekend afternoon. I'm undecided as of yet as to whether I'll go or not, but the bigger point is: does the invitation in and of itself constitute sufficient evidence to make of-course-you-guys-are-going-to-win-the-new-contract a safe assumption going forward? Or is it merely an indicator that I shouldn't expect the official decision to be rendered before Christmas at all, and we'll just continue collectively pretending it's a non-looming non-issue in the meantime?

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Also, just fyi, I spent this entire week at work in penumbral cubicle conditions. The fluorescents directly above my workstation are out, and I expected they would be replaced in a day or two, but Monday through Friday saw no movement towards resolution. And lest you think this is a case of me keeping my head down and not rocking the boat, and maybe nobody was aware of the issue in order to get the wheels turning with building management, it's not that. I know it was reported by Tuesday at the latest. We shall see if I am still beshadowed come Monday.

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I must still be a bit rusty about regular blogging unrelated to all-consuming countdowns, as I am having trouble thinking of any more grab bag tidbits that don't have anything to do with work. Either I pretty much covered everything during the week, or my brain is so addled that any potential topics have already fallen out of mind without a trace. I'd say I'll do better next week, but it's going to be all shortened and thrown off by Thanksgiving, so ... December will be here soon enough!