The Adventure has begun... and it's really long

So I've been reading my siblings' and friends' blogs for a while now and discovered that I do in fact have voyeuristic tendencies. I like to know what's going on in their lives and I especially like pictures. I've also decided that since the process to join the foreign service has begun, I really should have a way (besides facebook) to keep family and friends updated on the current happenings of the C clan. This blog will attempt to do just that. But I feel that I must be honest. I am a terrible writer, an even worse speller (sorry Mom, those mornings at the kitchen table may have been wasted), I have no idea how to use commas (coma no I think it's comma) correctly, and I have so many unfinished projects, I had to promise the DH that I would not start any more projects until I finished at least one. (sigh) Some day I will learn how to make my own soap.

I fully expect that this blog will neither be amusing nor informative. It will probably only be updated occasionally and since I always forget to take pictures, it won't even have the added benefit of pictorial representations to make it interesting. But for those of you who love me, it should at least be a place to let you know what we've been up to.

I'll begin with an update on the Foreign Service (FS from here on out) process.

Step 1: Register for the FSOT (Foreign Service Officer Test) sometime in late November.

Step 2. Took and passed the FSOT February 14, 2009. It was my third attempt but I made it.

Step 3. Submitted answers to five Personal Narrative Questions (like short college admission essays only you also have to submit names of people who can confirm the essay is true).

Step 4. Found out sometime in May (?) I think that I had apparently passed the PNQ part and that I would now be able to take the Oral Assessment (OA).

Step 5. Sometime in June I finally got to schedule the assessment which occurs mostly in DC but sometimes in other parts of the country.

Step 6. Complete a 10 year history of employment and life including references for each place that you worked, lived, or went to school.

Step 7. July 20th I took and passed the OA with a very meager 5.3. 5.25 is passing but no one gets a 5.25 so a 5.3 is the lowest you can get and still pass. On the flip side, the assessment is out of 7.0 and I've never heard of anyone getting higher than a 6.0.

Step 8. After finding out I passed, I submitted 86 pages of life history to Diplomatic Security so that they could start the 10 year back ground check.

Step 9. Was poked, prodded, x-rayd and other indignities to determine if I am medically able to live in places where the local doctor also treats goats.

Step 10. Wait

Step 11. Wait some more

Step 12. Start obsessing over how fast other's security clearances are going.

Step 13. Try to stop obsessing and pretend that I don't care what's happening with security clearance.

Step 14. Get email from investigator in Beijing asking for my supervisor contact from my 2 week internship. Rejoice! I have not been forgotten. Immediately return investigator's email about Beijing. I did not have supervisor or they were possibly out of town. In fact, mostly watched old episodes of CSI and edited letters in English. Hope this is sufficient.

Step 15. Wait some more.

Step 16. Email DS to find out if they need anything else. (Clever ploy to find out what if anything is going on with case)

Step 17. Get call from investigator in D who wants to set up interview for next day.

Step 18. Asked a bunch of questions about my loyalty to the US, alcohol and drug use (or lack thereof) and my sexual activities (Have I ever been paid for sex?!!!) Who answers yes to these questions?!!

Step 19. Get phone calls from friends and acquaintances asking if the guy calling them from the "State Department" is real. Assure them that yes, it is real. Get phone calls from friends and family telling me that they're sure to hire me because they gave me such a great reference. (sigh) Finally gave up on trying to explain to people that this is not a reference check for a job. Already have a conditional job offer. This is a top secret security clearance. I think I'm okay as long as you don't tell them that I worked as a prostitute to put myself through college or that I was the president of the local communist chapter. If my investigator reads this, I did neither of these things. Although I did recently hear about a prostitution ring being run out of one of the residence halls at Baylor.

Step 20. Talk to investigator in College Station who needs people who still live in College Station who can vouch that I was an RA there.... Six years later? They've graduated and moved on. No one stays in College Station, TX. Call the Executive Director of housing program. That's an awkward conversation to have. "umm, I worked for you around seven or eight years ago, I was one of about 150 undergraduate students. Not to put you on the spot, but do you remember me?" Luckily I have run into Ron at some housing conferences since my undergraduate years and he does in fact remember me (at least he says he does - he and his wife are very nice). The only other two people still down there are people that I didn't exactly see eye to eye with on a number of issues. I'm kind of shuddering to think what my old advisor for Staff Council will have to say about me but at least I know it can't be anything bad about my loyalty to the US and I guess that's all that's important.

Step 21. Waiting......

The next thing that should happen is that my top secret security clearance will be granted, then my medical clearance, then my file will go to a final suitability review (to make sure that I don't have anything in my file that might make me unsuitable for foreign service life). If you're wondering what sorts of things will keep you from passing the final suitability review but that don't prevent a top secret security clearance from being granted, some examples I've seen are males who said that they had not registered for the draft at 18 and someone who may or may not have had a gambling problem. It's hard to say, he was kind of vague about the whole thing.

Then my name goes on a list of other candidates who are also in the Consular cone. There are five tracks and the Consular and Management cones are the shortest lists to be on (good for me). I'll be ranked by my score (remember that 5.3) and by the date that I entered the register. So if someone enters the list with the same score as me but a later date, they would be ranked lower than me.

Next, I will get called up to join an orientation class called the A-100. These classes are in Arlington VA. After a couple of weeks I'll find out where we're being posted. (this is called the bid process and I'll probably write more about that in the coming months if I haven't lost interest in this blog). We could go anywhere in the world that has an embassy, consulate, or mission or we could even be stationed right in DC. I'll then go through more training and possibly language training and then we'll ship out.

About Ben.

I know, I know, everyone always asks, "Is your husband okay with all this; what is he going to do?". Ben is studying for the CPA exam currently. Because I'm hoping to join the January 4th class of the A-100, he should be done with the CPA by then. However, even if he is, he'll probably still stay in D a little bit longer so that he can continue working for H&B. Especially with a CPA we're anticipating (really more like hoping) that he'll be able to find a job somewhere even if it means telecommuting. The joy of being an accountant is that you can do that anywhere. My current career in a University being slightly less portable, we've always considered that we would eventually have to move for my job.

About Jamaica.

The other question everyone wants to know is where we'll go. Who knows? The only place that we don't want to go is Jamaica. They won't allow us to bring Lucy and Tunzil and they have one of the highest murder rates per capita in the world. Also, I'm not a fan of Jamaican table tennis and soccer players (long story - but ask me some day about "fine red wine").

Hope that answers some questions. I'll sign off for now but I'll leave you with a great blog from an actual Consul http://theconsulsfiles.blogspot.com/. Read a few posts if you're asking what on earth I'm going to be doing in those far off places.