hurry up and wait
Well, its a good news, bad news scenario. The good news is that Hewlett called. The further good news is that they liked my proposal. The bad news is they've got some modifications they'd like to see and they can't cover 50% of my salary. If I can turn around the new proposal quickly it'll get considered in the February board meeting with funding starting in March.
In the grand scheme of things that actually is a quick turnaround for academia, but the bills don't stop. Looks like January and Febrary are going to be lean months unless something else pops. I need to hit up my spook buddies for some secret contract work or something...