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Post by trekker on Jul 13, 2016 14:17:15 GMT -5
I forget who it was in 2013, but the candidate did say s/he was going to stay at the Ritz Carlton Georgetown. That would definitely fall in the spare no expense category.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2016 14:25:34 GMT -5
I forget who it was in 2013, but the candidate did say s/he was going to stay at the Ritz Carlton Georgetown. That would definitely fall in the spare no expense category. When I tested in 2013 I met someone who stayed there. She was using hotel points. I ate a couple of meals there. Good food and not too pricey considering the location. Of course I come from a large city and am used to high cost food. 😄
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Post by Mermaid on Jul 13, 2016 15:48:42 GMT -5
After Labor Day and through mid-December hotel prices in D.C. skyrocket, the Government rate is difficult to find, and a lot of hotels are booked to capacity. It is rare to find a hotel room in D.C. for approximately $100.00 per night in the fall. I work in D.C. and each fall the city hosts numerous conventions and seminars. Hotel prices are simply a lot less expensive January through August than in the fall. I had a trial last October and all the witnesses in the case had to be flown to D.C. We could not find hotel rooms for less than $300.00 per night within a reasonable distance from the courthouse (and we are not talking luxury hotels - we were looked for rooms at the various Marriott properties, Holiday Inns, Hyatts, Quality Inns, etc.) We ended up getting a block of rooms in a hotel in Crystal City (in Virginia, close to the DCA airport and the Pentagon) and making arrangements with a shuttle bus to transport the witnesses to court.
If you are invited to D.C. for testing and the SI between Labor Day and mid-December, make your hotel reservations quickly and do not hesitate to stay in a Crystal City hotel if that is where you can find affordable lodging. Although you will have a commute to OPM and the SI location, it will be a reasonable commute by metro or cab.
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Post by cafeta on Jul 13, 2016 16:52:42 GMT -5
After Labor Day and through mid-December hotel prices in D.C. skyrocket, the Government rate is difficult to find, and a lot of hotels are booked to capacity. It is rare to find a hotel room in D.C. for approximately $100.00 per night in the fall. I work in D.C. and each fall the city hosts numerous conventions and seminars. Hotel prices are simply a lot less expensive January through August than in the fall. I had a trial last October and all the witnesses in the case had to be flown to D.C. We could not find hotel rooms for less than $300.00 per night within a reasonable distance from the courthouse (and we are not talking luxury hotels - we were looked for rooms at the various Marriott properties, Holiday Inns, Hyatts, Quality Inns, etc.) We ended up getting a block of rooms in a hotel in Crystal City (in Virginia, close to the DCA airport and the Pentagon) and making arrangements with a shuttle bus to transport the witnesses to court. If you are invited to D.C. for testing and the SI between Labor Day and mid-December, make your hotel reservations quickly and do not hesitate to stay in a Crystal City hotel if that is where you can find affordable lodging. Although you will have a commute to OPM and the SI location, it will be a reasonable commute by metro or cab. And during a change in administration, I suspect this situation may extend into February or later.
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Post by jagvet on Jul 13, 2016 18:39:07 GMT -5
Keep your eye on the Metro expansion construction, too. I think the Silver Line will reach Dulles soon, and hotels are cheaper (and so are airfares generally) out near Dulles. If not, Crystal City is good. If you're on your own dime, there are some Kimpton chain boutique style hotels in DC which are charming and have Groupons and promo codes sometimes. Even in peak seasons, I have sometimes found Kimpton's Palomar and Madera Hotels near DuPont Circle for around $100 a night. Look for promos and govt employee rates.
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Post by firehouse9 on Jul 18, 2016 14:53:54 GMT -5
For those that make it phase 3, I know we're are on our own financially, but does OPM give us a list of preferred hotels? Discounted rates? Then there is BWI (Baltimore-Washington International) - usually has the cheapest flights in area overall - BUT it is a bit over an hour away without traffic... it is essentially outside of Baltimore - and not what I would describe as close to DC - that said - if you fly into BWI - you will definitely want to arrange for a close in hotel. Depending on where you are from, BWI is likely to have the lowest airline fares. There is an Amtrack train that runs from there to Union Station in DC (by the US Capitol) fairly often during the day. That may be your best best to get to DC.
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Post by Ready-Now! on Aug 8, 2016 7:43:31 GMT -5
Just wanted to BUMP this thread in anticipation/hope of OPM's phase 3 decisions that may come today, tomorrow, or some other day of this week. Also, it helps to prevent entirely new threads from being created and thus losing some good info from this thread when emails start being received.
Let me quote one of the guaranteed responses to this bump: "I saw this thread and almost had a heart attack because..."
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Post by Ready-Now! on Aug 8, 2016 7:50:23 GMT -5
Also, this thread is near and dear to my heart because Gary started it on my birthday...sniff.
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Post by judgymcjudgypants on Aug 8, 2016 8:52:18 GMT -5
I marathoned all 4 Hunger Games movies this weekend. You know, just in case. Disturbingly, I picked up on another movie quote that may be even more appropriate for this process: "The odds are NEVER in your favor." J
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Post by gary on Aug 8, 2016 9:24:05 GMT -5
I marathoned all 4 Hunger Games movies this weekend. You know, just in case. Disturbingly, I picked up on another movie quote that may be even more appropriate for this process: "The odds are NEVER in your favor." J The odds are in your favor when they select the contestants in non Quarter Quell (and most Quarter Quell) years. Otherwise not so much.
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Milliron
Full Member
Part of the problem
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Post by Milliron on Aug 8, 2016 9:38:29 GMT -5
If they are telling ALJs to plan on being in FC the first week of September, 8/31 would be a bit late, would it not?
All this assumes Gary's intel is correct.
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Post by sealaw90 on Aug 8, 2016 9:45:09 GMT -5
If they are telling ALJs to plan on being in FC the first week of September, 8/31 would be a bit late, would it not? All this assumes Gary's intel is correct. I don't think that is considered the first week of September but really the last week of August. The first week is labor day week, but since that's a 4 day work week, that's not really a week. So, the week of September 12 is the first real work week in September. Everything I learned about work weeks, I learned from OPM.
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Post by bayou on Aug 8, 2016 9:49:17 GMT -5
If they are telling ALJs to plan on being in FC the first week of September, 8/31 would be a bit late, would it not? All this assumes Gary's intel is correct. I don't recall the intel being the first week of September but rather the beginning of September, which I have taken to mean between 1 and 15 Sept.
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Post by owl on Aug 8, 2016 11:55:01 GMT -5
OPM's recruitment letter said ALJs could be needed to conduct SIs as early as early September. That is not the same as saying SIs will definitely start at that time. To my knowledge we haven't heard of any ALJs reporting that they have been given early September interviewing assignments.
Sorry, but I read the recruiting letter as containing standard gov-speak wiggle room. They basically said "anytime from September through December" and if SIs don't start until October or even November OPM will still have knocked the ball into the middle of the fairway by its own standards. I advise expecting movement later than you think and being pleasantly surprised if it happens sooner.
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Post by blinky on Aug 8, 2016 12:56:24 GMT -5
Yeah, I would be shocked if things moved faster than they did in 2013, if only because they have been slower so far. However, I'm due for a good shock.
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Post by weisstho on Aug 8, 2016 13:37:35 GMT -5
tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick
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Post by gary on Aug 8, 2016 13:50:06 GMT -5
tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick Patient or obsessive-compulsive. You decide.
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Post by weisstho on Aug 8, 2016 13:51:39 GMT -5
OC, definitely OC.
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Post by foghorn on Aug 8, 2016 13:55:17 GMT -5
On the plus side, if they don't notify until after Labor Day we get to have cheaper lodging rates.
It may have been in an earlier post, but are all components of the DC exam usually in one location or more?
Generally I've used Trip Advisor and they've been pretty on the level as far as room type, etc. Money doesn't always buy hotel happiness--one trip I was filling in for a senior partner who had booked ultra luxe in Santa Barbara (so you know it was a trip mere associates didn't get to make). Fish was mediocre, gave me baaaad indigestion (and more); rusty /dirty tapwater. And the mint on the pillow was nothing exceptional either. Boy was I upset (on sr. partner's behalf).
As the puritans used to say, no nudes is good nudes. This comes down to us as.....
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Post by lawbird on Aug 8, 2016 14:01:12 GMT -5
If they are telling ALJs to plan on being in FC the first week of September, 8/31 would be a bit late, would it not? All this assumes Gary's intel is correct. The grading and invites would presumably go faster this time. In 2013, that was the first time they had administered a radically different test. Now, they know what they're doing (ha) so I'm hoping that we'll hear this week.
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