Let's get straight to the good stuff: I'll be bidding in a few weeks! The list for AIP (Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan) posts has already come out, but since I'm not really interested in any of those right now, I think I'll pass. I've gotten some sound advice from some senior people that I trust that going to AIP as a second tour is no longer worth it, career-wise. Of course, it's a huge boon if you need money fast (my salary would more than double for the year I would be there), but since I'm not cash-strapped, I'm fine with passing that up for a job that might be more beneficial to my career. Of course, going to AIP wouldn't necessarily hurt, but the advice I've received says it has no influence on tenure or promotion at this point. If I were a mid-level officer, then sure, I'd probably consider it. But at this point, I'm looking elsewhere.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Good Times, Great Friends
I just got home from a long weekend getaway to celebrate the wedding of two very good friends of mine. The bachelor party, rehearsal dinner, and wedding went off without a hitch. The ceremony was beautiful, and I'm happy to see my friends joined together as one.
While I won't go into too much detail about the wedding festivities themselves, I do want to comment on the extended weekend as a whole. In the past six months or so, I have taken to getting away from Matamoros rather regularly. For reasons that are complex and probably boring for you, dear reader, I've been managing to take small trips, vacations, or holidays almost every few weeks. I've got the Brownsville airport routine down so well that it takes me about seven minutes flat to get from my car to my seat on the airplane (yes, the airport is that small.)
Being away for this wedding ranks right up there as one of the best trips I've taken. Not only were my good friends getting married, but our friend group was reunited in its entirety for the first time since we all graduated in May of 2010. I spent four solid days with some of my closest friends, reveling in our deep-rooted friendships and picking up where we last left off. To be honest, it was much-needed, and it felt amazing.
To convey exactly how great it was, I'll share this short anecdote before signing off for the evening. After the wedding, the groomsmen (plus the wives of two of the groomsmen) returned to where we were staying. We were all thoroughly exhausted after a long but wonderful day of wedding festivities. I assumed we would end up asleep within thirty minutes or so, but I was proven wrong quickly - and I'm so glad that I was. We spent the next three and a half hours just sitting around a kitchen table sharing stories, catching up on each others' lives, and spending time together. There is honestly nothing better than spending quality time with the people you love, and that's a fact.
Living in Matamoros has not been easy, to be sure. While the work is fantastic, my personal life has certainly suffered somewhat. I tend to call it the Matamoros fluke - that is, a "perfect storm" of circumstances converged upon me to create a strange situation. I believe I've mentioned in previous posts that I'm the youngest person at post, which means it's automatically more difficult to find friends. I love my coworkers and enjoy them greatly, but after work, they mostly go home to their families and children. Suffice it to say that I've been a bit lonely lately.
Of course, those few short days of reunion with friends had to come to a close, and here I sit back in Matamoros, ready to return to work tomorrow. A quick week lies ahead, to be bookended by the wonderful Christmas holiday. I hope you will be spending it with your family and friends, enjoying the true gift of friendship that I described above.
Until next time...peace (on Earth, and goodwill toward men.)
While I won't go into too much detail about the wedding festivities themselves, I do want to comment on the extended weekend as a whole. In the past six months or so, I have taken to getting away from Matamoros rather regularly. For reasons that are complex and probably boring for you, dear reader, I've been managing to take small trips, vacations, or holidays almost every few weeks. I've got the Brownsville airport routine down so well that it takes me about seven minutes flat to get from my car to my seat on the airplane (yes, the airport is that small.)
Being away for this wedding ranks right up there as one of the best trips I've taken. Not only were my good friends getting married, but our friend group was reunited in its entirety for the first time since we all graduated in May of 2010. I spent four solid days with some of my closest friends, reveling in our deep-rooted friendships and picking up where we last left off. To be honest, it was much-needed, and it felt amazing.
To convey exactly how great it was, I'll share this short anecdote before signing off for the evening. After the wedding, the groomsmen (plus the wives of two of the groomsmen) returned to where we were staying. We were all thoroughly exhausted after a long but wonderful day of wedding festivities. I assumed we would end up asleep within thirty minutes or so, but I was proven wrong quickly - and I'm so glad that I was. We spent the next three and a half hours just sitting around a kitchen table sharing stories, catching up on each others' lives, and spending time together. There is honestly nothing better than spending quality time with the people you love, and that's a fact.
Living in Matamoros has not been easy, to be sure. While the work is fantastic, my personal life has certainly suffered somewhat. I tend to call it the Matamoros fluke - that is, a "perfect storm" of circumstances converged upon me to create a strange situation. I believe I've mentioned in previous posts that I'm the youngest person at post, which means it's automatically more difficult to find friends. I love my coworkers and enjoy them greatly, but after work, they mostly go home to their families and children. Suffice it to say that I've been a bit lonely lately.
Of course, those few short days of reunion with friends had to come to a close, and here I sit back in Matamoros, ready to return to work tomorrow. A quick week lies ahead, to be bookended by the wonderful Christmas holiday. I hope you will be spending it with your family and friends, enjoying the true gift of friendship that I described above.
Until next time...peace (on Earth, and goodwill toward men.)
Monday, December 12, 2011
A Tale of Two Doctor's Visits
It all started last week.
On Tuesday, I had a pretty upset stomach all day at work, but I pushed through it and made it to the end of the day. Since my body had been battling something all day long, I was pretty exhausted, so I went to bed at what must have been a world-record 8:15pm. Waking up around 10:30pm - after just 2 and a half hours of sleep - I needed to go to the bathroom. I sat up in bed, and suddenly I saw them: bears, sleeping in my bedroom. Four brown bears, to be exact, breathing deeply with their massive chests rising and falling in what appeared to be a deep sleep.
On Tuesday, I had a pretty upset stomach all day at work, but I pushed through it and made it to the end of the day. Since my body had been battling something all day long, I was pretty exhausted, so I went to bed at what must have been a world-record 8:15pm. Waking up around 10:30pm - after just 2 and a half hours of sleep - I needed to go to the bathroom. I sat up in bed, and suddenly I saw them: bears, sleeping in my bedroom. Four brown bears, to be exact, breathing deeply with their massive chests rising and falling in what appeared to be a deep sleep.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Training in DC
First things first: Yes, I'm aware that I haven't posted in the past two months. My apologies to those of you who emailed me asking whether or not I had been kidnapped by drug traffickers or if the tigers had gotten me. Rest assured that neither of the two happened. I'll try harder to keep up with y'all.
I've been in DC for the past week for some training. Now, the Foreign Service seems to be generally pro-training, in the sense that managers and bureaus greatly support the idea of both on-the-job training and taking courses back at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, VA. Whether or not you actually get the opportunity to come back from your overseas post for training depends almost wholly on money. If you're in the middle of nowhere and it takes almost 48 hours to fly back to DC (and, subsequently, thousands of dollars), you may find some Debbie Downers or Negative Nathans out there who point out that the State Department's budget is already getting slashed in the FY'12 budget. (Which, I'd like to point out, still hasn't been passed. Good job, Congress.) How could we afford to send you back to DC in this budget climate?, they may ask. Or, as may be the case in smaller posts, how could we survive without you being here?
I've been in DC for the past week for some training. Now, the Foreign Service seems to be generally pro-training, in the sense that managers and bureaus greatly support the idea of both on-the-job training and taking courses back at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, VA. Whether or not you actually get the opportunity to come back from your overseas post for training depends almost wholly on money. If you're in the middle of nowhere and it takes almost 48 hours to fly back to DC (and, subsequently, thousands of dollars), you may find some Debbie Downers or Negative Nathans out there who point out that the State Department's budget is already getting slashed in the FY'12 budget. (Which, I'd like to point out, still hasn't been passed. Good job, Congress.) How could we afford to send you back to DC in this budget climate?, they may ask. Or, as may be the case in smaller posts, how could we survive without you being here?
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