I received word today that my postdoc had been extended through April 30, 2008, meaning that I won't be in a world of hurt in 10 days, when my original appointment would have ended. In other news, my conversion package has moved beyond the Principal Associate Director level and now resides on the desk of the Deputy Lab Director. I didn't realize there was a level between the PADs and the lab director, but apparently the DLD has to sign off too. And after him, it's on the big enchilada himself. I've been told that the DLD and LD signatures are largely pro-forma, and should go through much quicker than the three weeks it took the PAD to sign off.

Also in work news, some good and bad: my paper on nuclear safeguards at BN-350 (Kazakhstan) was accepted to the ESARDA conference, and I'm on the agenda as a speaker on May 23—in Aix en Provence, France. Sweet. However, the funding for that project has been frozen temporarily, so there's some chance Washington won't clear financing for the trip. Ugh. We'll see...