I'm really late posting this, because I've been insanely busy lately. Here is an edited version of what I posted to my Yahoo! Group on October 4, 2007:
Every month I routinely write to the Registrar at the Foreign Service office and ask for my ranking on the list of elibigle hires. If I can stay in the top 10 as people come on and off the list, I figure I have a good chance of getting selected for the next class. I did that yesterday. The last time I checked, in early Sept., I was number 8 on the Management register. Today, instead of my ranking, I received an OFFER!
The timing is better than I hoped. I am scheduled to teach several courses at my university in winter, including a new Spanish
Translation and Interpretation course. It would be better to cancel those classes now, before registration starts. (It turns out I'm the only one qualified to teach the Translation course, for example.)
Hmmmm. What to do? I'm going to A-100, of course! It's taken me 5 years to get this offer; I'm not turning it down now.
I'm excited spitless!
Since then, life has become exceedingly hectic... stressful, even. I finally listed everything I've still got to do in a 3-page To Do List. We've already had a big yard sale, to downsize a lot of our stuff, especially tools and such we acquired for our home remodel. We've were really blessed. We decided on Friday to have the yard sale the next day. The weather turned out great for mid-October. And even though we didn't get our signs up until about 11:00 (and no other advertising), we still had lots of people come and sold most of the stuff we had, netting about $700.
We've put the house up for sale, which required finishing up the last refurbishing tasks. Some things we would like to do -- or were going to do in the next year or two -- just won't get done. This includes refinishing the interior doors, fixing the front porch (it sags), repainting the outside, building a garage.... We're going to try to sell it ourselves, using a service that includes a web ad. I started to take photos of the house for our ad, when my digital camera died! So then I had to send it to be fixed, and borrow a camera from my boss. But the ad is up now. (If this link doesn't work, we're no longer using this service. Maybe we sold the house!) You can see the house photos in the ad at Lilly Real Estate. On my To Do list is a small project to post "before and after" photos, so you can see how much work we've put into the house. I'll post a link here when I get that site up. I realize that I'm asking for a miracle to sell the house on our own between now and the end of December (it's harder to sell during the holidays, and the real estate market is skittish right now). But I believe in miracles, and it's at least worth a shot. If we don't sell it by then, we'll have to involve a realtor.
On our move, the new job, etc., here's what I know: I start my training at the Foreign Service Institute on January 7, 2008. The movers are coming to pack us up on the day after Christmas (appropriately enough, in British countries, this is Boxing Day). We fly to DC on January 4. We will be living in the Oakwood Apartments in Falls Church, VA. (It's pinpointed on my custom Google map.) It won't be until about 7 weeks into the training that I will get my assignment to my first foreign posting. We will be given a list of available openings early on, and will be given the opportunity to express preferences. Still, we are required to go where they send us. At this point, I have no idea. While I'm not very keen on going to Iraq (to put it mildly), I'm interested in just about anywhere. I would especially like to go where the Church is growing, or where they have a temple. It would make some sense to go to a Latin American country, since my Spanish is really quite good. We'll have to wait and see.
So right now, I'm working like crazy at work, to try to prepare for a transition. We're in the middle of major reorganization at Eastern Oregon University because of budget issues, and they're not sure if they'll replace me or not. I'm also teaching 3 classes on the side. I'm also (call me crazy) in a production of Scrooge, in which I play Marley's Ghost and other bit characters, which will be at the Elgin Opera House at the end of November.
Oh yeah, we're also going to sell the car. We need luggage. I need suits (I have to wear a suit and tie every day!). We have medical issues to finish up. We still have some stuff to get rid of, including our food when it's actually time to move. Oh, and sell the house (I know I mentioned that; it's just a huge deal).
So that about catches me up. Watch this space as more unfolds.
