Still on the road to employment

Some of you may be wondering why you haven't heard anything more yet about my quest to become a Foreign Service Officer. That is mostly because I'm still stuck in pre-employment paperwork hell. Just because you cruise through the year-long (more or less) Foreign Service exam process, that doesn't mean that you can't spend the next 2 years waiting on case adjudication. Luckily, I'm not quite in that purgatory yet, but there's hope.

Right now I am still trying to get all my medical paperwork filled out. When I arrived in MA on September 25th, my first order of business was setting up a doctor's appointment. When you no longer live in MA, your general practitioner is in DC, and all your medical files are in Peru and you're living out of a suitcase, this becomes a really fun scenario. Needless to say, after some legwork I found a doctor's office that accepts my health insurance, is accepting new patients, and had an appointment open sometime in this century. Last Thursday I met with a nurse practitioner to begin the onslaught of examinations, x-rays, and embarrassing conversations about my medical history. This morning was my second visit, for the TB shot. With any amount of luck, my Thursday visit for a gyn exam will be my last (but I'm not incredibly hopeful).

Although that should round out all that is required on the medical checklist, I am 99.9% confident that they will ask me for follow-up information. The State Department always has in the past, and even with the Peace Corps I staid in medical clearance limbo for a year and a half.
But hey, I may get lucky and have this process go smoothly.

I joined a Yahoo group for people who have passed the FS exam, and anecdotal evidence leads me to believe that a medical clearance can take anywhere from a week to 2 months for a person with no real issues.

This Yahoo group also indicates that it takes 2-4 months for a security clearance - again, if there are no real issues. As far as I know, the security clearance process hasn't yet begun for me, but those of you who are reading this page should be aware that you may be contacted by a Diplomatic Security agent about me within the next 1-3 months. I actually don't remember whose names I used for references (mostly, they ask for contact information of people who knew you when you lived at a particular address), so just be prepared.

Otherwise, things are going swimmingly.

In the "Yippee! We're going to Mexico!" arena, Anthony and I are still in flux on that issue, too. Anthony had to take a Spanish language exam so they know his scores before submitting a language waiver for him to fulfill the post in Nogales. (Yes. It makes no sense, but that is what is required, so dammit!, that HR rep is going to hold him to it.) The exam scores have not been related to Anthony yet, but we hope to hear in the next week or so from the job assignment panel. At this point, we think we might be in Mexico in time for Thanksgiving, but we are unsure. As with all things in the government, it depends.

So we're dealing with a lot of uncertainty these days. The good news is that Maggie is becoming more social and will be less likely to bite you when you come visit in Nogales.

More random happenings

The next cab I took in DC started off really well. The driver was friendly and engaged in a small amount of chit-chat before we settled into a comfortable silence.

The silence lasted for all of five minutes before he opened with,"Are you prepared for the coming of Jesus?"

After which I started looking for a church with a sign out front declaring that statement, thinking the question was a joke. When I couldn't find a church in our immediate vicinity, I started to get confused. Could this guy be serious?

Was he ever.

"Are you born again?" is how he began his lecture on how Jesus loves me and wants a relationship with me; I apparently only need to believe. Otherwise, I was going to hell and my cab driver was really hopeful that he would see me in heaven.

My driver gave me all kinds of advice - from how to get into heaven to where to buy the latest Christian books, right down the street address of the Christian bookstore where he buys all his reading materials.

After far too many minutes of my sitting in uncomfortable, stunned silence and him chattering away about Jesus, we arrived at Jeff and Liz's house. His parting comment was, "I pray you believe in Jesus because I really hope to see you in heaven."

WOW. I know I'm going straight to hell just for laughing at this, but my mom told me that I should have told him off. She said that even my (Catholic) Nonnie would have told him to go f*&% himself.

I almost wish I did.

(If it weren't for this pesky feeling of respect and propriety I feel towards strangers...)

Random Happenings

I grabbed a cab in DC the day after the taxi cab driver strike, and proceeded to be lectured for my entire ride about how Mayor Fenty and the DC government are screwing cab drivers out of livable fares. I was informed that cab drivers used to make $1.80 per mile with the zone system, but are now reduced to $1.50 with the meter system.

At one point, I attempted to intercede when he stopped for air to state that, although I don't know the particulars of the issue, I do have many friends in the metropolitan area that find the meter system to be more fair, since they better understand how the meter system works over the previous zone system. Moreover, many unscrupulous cab drivers used to charge their customers whatever they wanted, because many customers did not understand how the zone system worked.

My cab driver quickly told me that the people I was talking about clearly weren't the people of DC because I probably wasn't talking about black people, which completely offended me. Then he went on to say that I was probably only talking about the "gay people or whoever that live in Dupont Circle."

To add insult to injury, another time I tried to talk to him when he stopped to take a breath (I thought his point had been made), he interrupted me with, "Excuse me, I am talking. I am not your slave; you are not my master. I can speak." Then he went on to lecture me further about how unfair his life as a cab driver is.

Again, I am not an expert on the issues affecting cab drivers in DC, but I really dislike being treated as if I am a racist, as if all white people dislike and feel superior to people of color (I believe my cab driver was Middle Eastern, but he acted as if I hated black people), and as if I am a child who has nothing to bring to a conversation. Beyond this, as anyone who knows me understands, I don't actually like talking to my cab drivers. I have nothing against them; I just enjoy silence most of the time that I am traveling (I also don't talk to fellow passengers on planes or trains).

So, if you are a cab driver or are considering becoming a cab driver, how about acting professional? And while you're at it, stick to comments about the weather, last night's game, or just maintain a healthy silence. No one likes the soapbox you're on.

And don't even get me started on cab drivers who hit on their passengers...

Tickled pink

I am trying to be good and tell people individually, but I am sure I will somehow manage to forget someone. I blame the lack of sleep I've had here in DC, of course, but I am posting here to correct the issue. So the big news is that I might actually become employed! On Tuesday I took the State Department's Foreign Service Oral Assessment in Washington, DC, and I finally passed. After a grueling 10-hour day, I sat in stunned silence as the assessors shook my hand and congratulated me on my conditional job offer.

And this, of course, is where it gets interesting. No formal offer of a position has been made to me, but it could happen in the next few months. I must submit paperwork for a medical clearance, go through the security clearance process, and endure a suitability review before my name gets placed on the list of potential hires for the State Department. That list is, of course, dynamic, as new names get added or deleted. Since I have such a long history with the State Department (2 internships and my previous employment as a Special Agent, with the latest association being my internship at the U.S. Embassy Lima from February to May of this year), I believe the security and medical clearances should go smoothly. It is my (limited) understanding that the suitability review is merely a review of the entire application package, including any information that may have been uncovered during the clearance processes, so I don't really see any issues there. The final hurdle will be completely out of my control and is entirely dependent on funding and the location of my name on the list of potential hires.

The placement of my name on this list depends upon my oral assessment score, which I believe is pretty competitive. I can boost that score by scheduling a phone interview with the Foreign Service Institute to gauge my Spanish language skills. If I pass the examination, then I get a .17 boost to my oral assessment score (scores are based on a 7-point scale) and thus move higher on the list of potential hires.

One of the things in my favor is that earlier this year Congress approved an increase in funding for the hiring of Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) (both at the State Department and USAID). This means that in the coming fiscal year (starts October 1st) they should have the ability to hire more people off the list than they have in previous years. Bonus!

If everything goes forward with a formal job offer, I will be a Public Diplomacy FSO. This essentially means that I will be the public face of the State Department, interacting with host country nationals on a daily basis. You can read more about it on the State Department's website. For those of you who wonder where I will be in the upcoming months or year, I can't say anything for certain, but if everything goes as planned (which nothing ever does), my life will look like this:

• Massachusetts, 1 month
• Mexico, 3-8 months
• Washington, DC (for training), 3 months - 1 year
• Unknown worldwide post, 2 years
• Unknown worldwide post, 2 more years
  

It is practically guaranteed that my first 2 assignments will be in the Consular section because that section always needs the most bodies. I also signed a binding contract on Tuesday that states that I understand that I may have little to no input on my first 2 assignments. So, it looks to me like I am going to become very good friends with uncertainty.

By no means does this mean that I have stopped the job application process. Over the next few months, I will continue to send out application packets to a host of federal government jobs. After all, I have only heard positive news from ONE of my top three dream jobs (of the moment)! And a girl likes to have options...

Distraction

I've been away due to many things, among them my other blog, schoolwork, the holidays, schoolwork, friends visiting from the states, and (yup, you guessed it) schoolwork. I'm hoping that by mid-February I'll be on a less intense schedule, especially concerning grad school, and then I'll be able to post more frequently. In the meantime, the internet is my source of distraction. Hence, the following "survey":

1. Name and Middle Name? Ryan McLean
2. What holiday is closest to your birthday?Thanksgiving
3. Favorite fruit? Strawberries, although I’m really digging bananas lately (thanks to Hannah’s banana cream pie!) and fresh mangos (thanks to Peru for the introduction)
4. Does it bother you when someone says they'll call you and they don't? Yes. I’m too OCD to let it go.
5. Are you allergic to anything? Wool, cashmere, mohair – if it ain’t cotton, I’m gonna itch.
6. Is there someone/something you want? Conviction (especially in terms of a career).
7. When was the last time you went swimming? It had to be more than 5 years ago, I really don’t remember.
8. How many U.S states have you been to? 41
9. How many of the U.S states have you lived in? MA, VA, DC (not a state, but whatever), GA, and ME (we had a summer home there). That makes it 4, plus the District.
10. Have you ever lived outside the U.S? Currently living in Peru. Spent a summer living in England.
11. What's your favorite kind of drink? I love (hot) tea. And none of that fruity crap. Also, I’m generally into decaf or herbal.
12. Does anyone like you? My mom thinks I’m pretty awesome, and I’m pretty sure the rest of my family agrees. Plus, there’s Anthony and my furry children, who are always happy to see me when I walk in the front door.
13. Do you have any strange pets? No.
14. What is your dream car? Can a train count? Cuz I love trains.
15. What'd you do yesterday? Met with my future supervisor about signing a contract with my university so I can receive academic credit for an internship, then pushed my friends Katie and William off a cliff (they went paragliding).
16. Are you bipolar? Not that I’m aware of.
17. So do you and your ex's have a good relationship? I’d say my relationship with ex’s is practically nonexistent.
(Dude, what happened to 18-20?)
21. Have you ever been kissed under fireworks? Probably – I’m not exactly keeping track.
22. What was the last text message you received? Probably one from Claro, telling me I could win some stupid prize if only I would send soles their way.
23. Have you ever bungee jumped? Not yet, but I will.
24. Have you ever kayaked? Yup.
25. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you? I’ve dated men ten years older than me on more than one occasion, so yeah, I guess you could say so.
26. Are you an extreme racist? That’s a definitive “no.”
27. What song are you listening to right now? The only sounds in my house are coming from Anthony and the dogs.
28. What's your favorite song at the moment? I’m not into “favorites.”
29. What was the last movie you watched? Raising Arizona – Katie hadn’t seen it, and she still hasn’t since she fell asleep to the opening credits.
30. Where was the last place you went besides your house? To the cliffs of Miraflores to watch Katie and William paraglide.
31. Have you ever seriously vandalized someone else's property? Nah, it’s hip to be square.
32. Have you ever been punched? All the time by my brother. That's just what siblings do.
33. What's the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Personality. People carry it like an accessory – if I don’t want to punch the guy in the face because his ego is 20 feet in front of him, then I probably notice his eyes.
33a. What's the first thing you notice about the same sex? The way they present themselves.
34. Did you participate in any sports in the middle school/Junior High? Track and Field (if you can believe it, I was a pretty decent discus and shotput thrower, plus I qualified for state in the 880) was my main sport, but I also played soccer.
35. What do you usually order from Olive Garden? I don’t eat at Olive Garden if I can help it. They charge too much for mediocre food.
(Whoever made this questionnaire seriously needs to learn how to count. 36-37 are MIA.)
38. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity? I’ve gotten some really strange ones – Mariah Carey (they must have been kidding), Sigorney Weaver (most common), and Carrie Fisher (from the Star Wars era).
39. Do you have freckles? Not many, but yeah.
40. Are you comfortable with your height? Absolutely. I can reach the top shelf, baby.
41. Do you love someone right now? Of course. My family, my friends, my Anthony, and my three furry children.
42. How tall are you? 5’9” or 5’10” or perhaps somewhere in between.
43. Do you speak any other language other than English? Spanish (it’s sort of a requirement here in Lima).
44. Have you ever ridden in a limo? Sure.
45. Has anyone you were really close to passed away? Yes.
46. Do you watch MTV? I gave it up when they stopped playing music videos.
48. What's something that really annoys you? My inability to read academic texts without passing out.
(Dude, 49-50 are also missing.)
51. Do you have a crush? I have the HUGEST crush on Grace. She makes me want to snuggle!
52. Do you know how to pump gas? Uh, yeah. There’s something very do-it-yourself about we New England folk.
53. Do you drive when you go on long trips? Not if I can get out of it.
54. What's the latest you have ever stayed out? Until 7 or 8 am, but that was in college and probably never to be repeated.
55. Have you ever thought that you were honestly going to die? Nope. I'm not a very hysterical, "the world is going to end!" or "we're all going to DIE!" kind of a person.
56. Were you ever rushed by an ambulance into the emergency room? Again, nope.
58. Who do you live with? Anthony, Grace, Pookie, and Maggie. Oh, and sometimes Ali.
59. What color is your hair?Brown.
60.What color are your eyes?Brown.

Proposition 8

It appears that proposition 8 has passed in California. The issue of gay marriage seems to me to be a very simple question of basic human rights, and I find it strange that a supreme court decision can be over-ruled by a simple majority of voters. If given the opportunity, many voters as late as the 1960s would have denied African Americans the vote and equal treatment under the law, and I see many similarities between these two cases.

In my ethics class last spring, one of my colleagues did a presentation on gay marriage and concluded that to respect the rights of those with religious beliefs, a "marriage" should be closely linked with the church, be defined as the union of a man and a woman, and entitle the recipients to a church ceremony. Civil unions, on the other hand, would not be religiously affiliated, would not occur in the church, and would be offered to homosexual and heterosexual couples. Both marriages and civil unions would grant the couple the same legal rights. This makes sense to me and bridges the divide between religion and civil rights.

So why does it always come back to this vitriolic hate between religion and homosexual rights supporters? It just makes no sense to me.

In any case, I fully support gay marriage, under any title the law wishes to give it, so long as the same legal rights and protections are afforded to all our citizens. And I'm sorry to hear that religious creed is now embodied in the California state constitution.

One reason why Pitbulls are the most awesomest dogs EVER

You just don't know their character until you have one. Here's a video of a laughing pitbull.