Good News, Better News

This morning I performed the sacred rite of all Foreign Service applicants added to the register; I called the Registrar to ask what rank I was. Remember when I said my Oral Assessment score was meaningless to me, since I had no frame of reference? Well, it mostly still is, BUT I now know that it was good enough to land me the number one spot on the IMS register as of 10am on January 8th, 2013! Huzzah! But wait, the good news fairy (Registrar) didn't stop there. She told me that invitations to the February 10th orientation are going out, and... as first on the list, I should be receiving one later today!

Unfortunately as it's now well past work hours, it appears she may have been mistaken as to when I'd receive the offer, but I'm used to being at the end of people's alphabetically organized lists, so hopefully I'll have the 'best' news some time tomorrow. All in all this is a little sooner than I was expecting (I'd been hoping for a March or April start date at the earliest), but there's no time like the present to get this show on the road!

Happy News Year!

As I left work on January 2nd, I was pleasantly surprised to have an email in my inbox from the Foreign Service. I have to admit, I hadn't been expecting to hear anything from them so soon, but there it was, a letter informing me that I'd been added to the IMS register! I am aware, and the register letter clearly reminded me, that being on the register is no guarantee of getting the job... BUT not being on the register is a guarantee of not getting the job. So needless to say, I'll take all the good news I can get.

I have read on other blogs that, once on the register, you can request your 'ranking' and whether there is a start date currently planned for the next cohort. So I promptly emailed my point of contact asking for the details. Unfortunately (though not really surprisingly) I didn't get a response of the Friday after New Years. Here's hoping for a reply next week. Despite the uncertainty, the excitement at my house is boiling over. We obviously don't know the future, but we're already daydreaming about the possibility of being at my first post by August or September of this year. That sounds like such a long time, but I imagine things will move quite quickly once they (hopefully!) start.

Side note, I guess it's time to stop procrastinating and get my son's medical exam turned in... and... you know... apply for his passport.

Medically Cleared for Worldwide Deployment

Remember when I said my excitement was continually building? Well, getting an e-mail informing me of my 'medical clearance for worldwide deployment' certainly didn’t diminish that at all! I knew the medical clearance would be much quicker than the security, but it’s good to know I don’t have any surprise ailments… at least that they tested me for. My wife made the cut also, so we just need to get my son in to his pediatrician, so we can get his paperwork submitted. (The State Department doesn’t do physicals for children under six years old). That’s all for now… my fingers are crossed that I’ll hear back about the security investigation sometime before the new year, even if my brain is skeptical.

Security Investigator Interview

Next step down! I was interviewed by my security investigator this week. I had a stack of paperwork for him, and he went through each page and asked for clarification where necessary. The whole process is pretty painless, for me, but my friends have already started getting calls and a neighbor or two has mentioned meeting my investigator. I don’t have anything to hide, so I’m not concerned, but I’ve read online, and was warned my investigator, that the process is a slow one, so I shouldn’t be expecting anything any time soon. Honestly, although I understand that, and believe it will be awhile… my excitement increases with every step of the process. Oh well, back to waiting for now!

Medical Clearance Exams

Following the suggestion of the interviewers, my wife and I planned to get our medical exams done at the State Department. Apparently that tends to go smoother than having private doctors do it, which makes sense; they do this stuff every day. Our experience started off rocky, with some cancelled appointments, and we ended up with two appointments in one day, instead of the customary two over three days. In the end, however, this turned out to be ideal. We dropped my son off at daycare and drove down to DC for our 8:30 appointment. Traffic was just as horrific as expected, but we made the 60 minute trip in a mere 90 minutes (huzzah!). From there we filled out some paperwork, gave up some bodily fluids, and were released into the world to await our afternoon appointment. This is where the luck kicks in. We both needed chest x-rays… which can conveniently be obtained at one of several walk-in centers within a few blocks of the State Department! Ignoring our still-fasting stomachs, we headed to the nearest center and knocked our x-rays out in about 90 minutes. We grabbed a fancy lunch at the Blue Duck Tavern, and headed back for our afternoon appointments. After what I would call a pretty standard physical, we split up; my wife headed to her evening class in Alexandria, and I headed back home to pick up my little buddy from daycare. I arrived at daycare within minutes of my normal pick up time. Can’t really argue with that! According to the doctor there, we should have our results by sometime late next week.