Started Typing: 12:53 PM ET
Clicked Reply: 2:43 PM ET
Guess who’s taking (most of) the rest of this week off? 
The draft proposal I’ve been working on got superceded by something more urgent, and everyone who isn’t transferring to a new program on Monday is now working on that. This week’s proposal review was cancelled, I’d already finished drafting my section, and I’m already going to be out of the office tomorrow (Supreme Court day!), so my current boss agreed that the easiest thing would be for me to simply use leave for the rest of the week. Luckily, even after this week I’ll still have 60+ hours in the bank.
I said “most of” the rest of this week because I’ll actually work for 1-2 hours on Wednesday: my current grandboss would like some changes to her group’s SharePoint site, and I’m the site admin. We’re meeting at noon on Wednesday; I’ll be happy to help. I sent my new boss a note letting her know about the change in plan, and that I’ll be reachable most of the week if she wants to send me any info and/or needs to ask me anything before Monday. I handed off my proposal section to the guy who’s been writing some of it, and I can charge the rest of today to the proposal even though I don’t really have anything to do.
Having most of the week off – actual downtime – will be a nice break before the new job starts. And, happily, there are 5000+ pieces of Lego in my house waiting to be assembled! 
Also, I was going to shop for new work clothes this weekend but now I can go during the week when the mall will be less crowded.
Speaking of Lego, I finished most of the Atari set yesterday (the remaining bag is just the Centipede cartridge and mini-scene). Here’s the console:
https://i.ibb.co/PvBS5GYh/Console-01.jpg
It slides open to reveal a cool little scene of a minifig playing Atari (complete with boombox and cat):
https://i.ibb.co/5X0yQhTS/Console-02.jpg
When Centipede is done, I’ll upload bigger/more detailed photos to my Lego photo album and share that link.
Mostly today I’ve been preparing for tomorrow morning’s trip to the Supreme Court. I printed my ticket and a floor plan, downloaded some other reference material to my phone (e.g., points of interest in the building), reminded myself of which Metro stop to use, and figured out how long it should take to get there. They recommend arriving at least an hour before the session begins – to account for “admittance procedures” – but I’d like to get there an hour before the courtroom doors will open, so I’ll be leaving my house NLT 8:30am. The only thing I’ll be allowed to bring into the courtroom itself is a notepad and writing instrument: no purse/bag, jacket, electronic device of any kind, etc. I’ll bring a small notepad – for doodling, if nothing else – and will stow my purse and phone in a locker while the session is underway.
Owls don’t have eyeballs: they have long optical tubes, which is why they can turn their heads up to 270 degrees.
Indeed! 
Yay! I hope you’re having/will have fun!
Yep, I was gonna suggest rolling. 
Hey there! Welcome back!
My big news is that my contract was abruptly terminated on 02/28, but I was given a three-week furlough/layoff “extension” to do some proposal work and was able to find a new job within the company: not only does it start a week from today, it’s a promotion. March has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but all’s well that ends well!
Nice!!