Bidding Wars: The Phantom Position

As the pre-bidding season continues, I feel like I should give an update on what I've been up to. This summer... has been rough. I spent about a month as the only IMS (normally we have 4) at post. Covering 4 positions would be a challenge, so naturally I prepared for it by getting walking pneumonia. Also, FUN FACT, did you know: you can break a rib from coughing? I didn't either. I am painfully aware of it now though.

But enough about me! Bidding. At this point in previous bidding cycles, I'd have a decent idea of where I stand with my top bidding choices. This year the bidding cycle has been compressed. Instead of starting in August, it starts September 20th. Post and bureaus seem to be taking this to heart and are holding off on much of their normal bidding contact.

Many of my cohort-mates have been reaching out to incumbents for tentative positions and some of the supervisors anyway, because it can't hurt to start early. How can they contact posts, if the bid list isn't out, you may ask? Well, they use the dubiously accurate Projected Vacancy tool in FSBID (our bidding software). This tool tells you which positions will be open this year, based on when the current occupant arrived at post. I have, of course, been eyeballing the projected vacancy list for months (practically a year, don't judge me), but I have absolutely failed at making first contact. Part of this I can blame on being sick and busy, but part of it is the absolute dread I feel toward cold-calling people to tell them how great I am. Especially when the projected list doesn't account for extensions, curtailments, position freezing or removal, ceding to entry level, or the whims of bureaus and posts. It seems silly to spend all this effort schmoozing a post for a position you can't even bid on.

Who knows, I have an R&R coming up, I should probably get some messages sent before I leave for that. At least... that's what I keep telling myself.

First Illness in Chennai

Perfectly planned to ruin the upcoming long weekend, I have officially gotten sick. This is the first illness for our family since moving to India. Much to everybody's surprise, it is just a cold and has nothing to do with my digestive system. Fortunately, it looks like my son will be following suit... so it'll be a fun week!

Three Weeks of Orientation, Day 1

Harry S Truman Building or 'Main State'

It had finally arrived. The day I (and hopefully 72 of my peers) had been waiting for - day one of orientation! If I were most people, I'd probably go into boring detail about how much my hand cramped during the paperwork frenzy... However, I got a unique 'first day' experience.


Sunday evening the 131st FSS class hosted happy hour for our class (the 132nd). I attended that before heading to the hotel I'd picked up for the night (not wanting to be late for the first day... or to drive an hour home just to sleep for 9 hours and drive back). I hadn't eaten at happy hour, so I picked up some antipasto from the olive bar at the supermarket across the street. Hindsight being what it is, this was a TERRIBLE idea.

I woke up around 2 am and spent the rest of the night being sick. I'm not generally one to get sick (and I kind of half believed food poisoning was a myth before this morning), but I was sicker than I've ever been in my life. Despite this, I managed to get up, get dressed, and power my way to the first day of orientation. However... it quickly became apparent to me that there was no way I'd be able to function, or even stay seated, at orientation in the state I was in. The coordinators were incredibly understanding and tried very hard to work with me to get in what I needed. After a fruitless attempt to lie down in the nurses office (apparently they don't have beds since it's just a vaccination clinic), I ended up getting my badge picture taken and heading back to my car for a (cold) three hour nap. That ended up recharging me to feeling 'merely bad,' which is a giant improvement from the previous 'walking corpse.' However, I must have still looked fairly ill. After meeting with HR to get my paperwork in order and sitting through a couple sessions (one of which was vital to receiving my badge), they pulled me out of the cohort again to swear in to my position and pick up my newly minted badge. After that, they sent me home to recover.

Honestly, it was about the best experience I could have hoped for... given the circumstances. Everyone was incredibly friendly and understanding, both my cohort members and the people running things. That being said, it was horrible. Pretty much the worst first day I could have imagined, but on the plus side, now that that's out of the way, I'm free and clear for a wonderful career, right?