Long overdue update --

I testified against the Flat Goal Pilot implementation at a hearing last week (POPA vs. USPTO management something or other). I seriously felt like I was on an episode of Law and Order and my palms were sweating like crazy the whole time! The length of the questioning (almost two hours) did not help to calm my nerves either. After it was all over, the POPA president told me that I gave a very good testimony and that my situation was viewed as "very credible". I'm assuming that is in view of my past production, performance reviews, and promotion history. A decision will not be made about the merits of the Flat Goal pilot implementation until sometime this fall and even then, either side will have the opportunity to file an appeal. So, any chance of being compensated for all those hours of voluntary overtime I worked while on the pilot are a long ways off.

Anyway, I haven't posted in a few months because I've been so ridiculously busy. I just finished up the 2nd quarter of FY08 and received my promotion to GS-12 (finally). I was due for promotion the quarter before, but due to the time I spent on "Flat-Goal-Hell", my production was not high enough 13 consecutive bi-weeks until now. It's really unbelievable ... I was on "Flat-Goal-Hell" for two quarters and it took me another two whole quarters to get my workflow and production back to where I was at before I went on the horrid pilot.

But, I must get to work now. I have a busy day today, but I'll be back soon.

Upcoming topics: applying for a training academy "assistant" detail, telecommuting one day/week, and performing classification duties.