-Make sure you qualify as a “small business” under SBA regulations
-Make sure you have the necessary accounts (DUNS number & CAGE code) to accept Purchase Orders and be awarded a government contract.
https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1#1
-For instances in which the agency may pay you via credit card, make sure that you have some way of accepting credit card payments that does NOT use a third-party intermediary like PayPal.
>When you submit a patent application, it becomes public forever, even if it's rejected. You will have paid legal fees with the end result of granting competitors access to your ideas.
Not entirely true. If you don't want an application to publish, there are options available. Under certain circumstances (i.e., you are 100% certain that you do not want to file for foreign patent protection in other countries), you can file with a non-publication request, and the application will not become public until it proceeds to issuance as a patent.
If it never proceeds to issuance as a patent, then filing it with a non-pub request will at least make it harder to find. It will then only become publicly available (in this case, in the USPTO's Public PAIR database) if it's referenced as a priority app in another published application or issued patent.
If it's abandoned and never referred to again in any application, then you have to file a petition to gain access to the file wrapper contents.
That's an interesting point about social environment and engagement. As a native Californian, I struggled socially when I was living in the DC metro area for 5 years. Simply put, it was the weather. If there was rain (which was nothing like the light sprinkle I was used to) or a slight dusting of snow, I did not want to go out. I slipped on icy sidewalks (breaking my tailbone); got regularly drenched while walking to the metro; and had my fair share of heart-stopping moments driving in inclement weather. As someone who's already introverted, it became very easy for me to just hole up in my apartment.
Have you considered looking at room rentals on Craigslist? If you're within walking distance of Castro (downtown), you may not even be at home that much, because you'll be steps away from the library, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. In a way, I think shared living can often be a form of networking, because so many people here work in tech.
I mention it only because in my experience, cheap studio rentals in MV are not worth the paper their leases are printed upon. They have thin walls, which are my biggest pet peeve. When you can hear everything your neighbors are doing (or conversely, have to walk around on tip toes to avoid irritating them), any privacy-related benefit of having your own place kinda goes out the window. Again, that's just my experience. When I first moved to MV in early 2016, I rented a studio for $1900 (a decision I ultimately regretted because of noisy neighbors/thin walls). In hindsight, I wish I'd just rented a room in a house from someone with a personality similar to mine (quiet introvert). Good luck with your search:)
What is your price range?
Will you have a car?
Where is your employer located?
Do you prefer newer construction, or are you OK with older, garden-style units?
Any "must-haves"? (i.e., in-unit washer-dryer)
Sorry, to pepper you with questions. I live in the area, and am very picky about where I live. These are all factors I considered when looking for an apartment.
Agreed. I used to watch reruns of Law & Order. Hearing the beginning intro would remind me of a time when life was less complicated, and the plot was engaging enough to distract and lull me into sleep. Sadly, Netflix removed it, so I now rely on podcasts.
I'm also a middle-aged introvert. Outside of work, the only people I really talk to are my sisters, neither of whom live nearby. One thing that's helped me is fostering rescue dogs with a local organization. I only foster for a few days here and there, but it really makes a difference to feel some life around my apartment.
I agree. Moving is a big decision, and it's hard to gauge what a person is like after only one meeting. Also, as I've learned the hard way, many people have different understandings of what it means to be "quiet."
Ballet dancers are trained to do turns (fouette [0], pique [1] and pirouettes [2]) by "spotting" (i.e. picking an object in the near distance and spotting it until the next turn). I'm not sure the chicken video does this term justice, hence the links below.
I was a huge fan of Dixon Ticonderoga pencils. They were lightweight, and I could sharpen them to perfection using my cheap manual sharpener. I had to google the name to remember, but Eberhard Fabers were my least favorite. Very clunky, the barrel always felt coarse, and the tip always broke in the sharpener.
We use Concur for reimburseable travel. I can't stand it. The interface is very confusing, especially when it comes to approving a travel voucher. I work at a large government agency, so change occurs at a glacial pace, but I imagine other employers face similar frustrations.
>Keep in mind that it takes 18 years to progress from Step 1 to Step 10.
This is true in some cases, but not all. I was hired at the GS-11/2 level without any prior government/military experience. A coworker of mine worked as a contractor for a few years, and was hired as a GS-15 last year. This is all in Silicon Valley (although he has a tech background, while I do not).
Keep in mind that in the US, HR reps will sometimes forward the CV of an applicant to the prospective team that they'll be working with. So, while it may be possible to lie one's way past an HR rep with a non-STEM background, it may ultimately backfire on you. Your prospective coworkers have much more incentive to scrutinize your CV for accuracy.
-Make sure you qualify as a “small business” under SBA regulations
-Make sure you have the necessary accounts (DUNS number & CAGE code) to accept Purchase Orders and be awarded a government contract. https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1#1
-For instances in which the agency may pay you via credit card, make sure that you have some way of accepting credit card payments that does NOT use a third-party intermediary like PayPal.