Southern saying of the day

...or of the weekend....

Having just spent oodles of time on the phone with my favorite Southerner (here's looking at you, Martha), I am now ready to share this weekend's southern saying:

Children
Those little 'uns can be as fidgety as grasshoppers but just as cute.

What keeps this girl from getting in any kind of trouble

My days are now spent filling out form after form, researching health insurance options, and then scanning said forms for posterity.  Being a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department is much like any other government job - it's full of piles and piles of paperwork, the Paperwork Reduction Act be damned.

The two most difficult things I'm tackling these days are my move and the reimbursement for my physical exam.

The move is exacerbated by the fact that most of my belongings are still en route from Lima, Peru.  Our smaller shipment of household items arrived yesterday, which means that I can send a small shipment forward to DC (up to 250lbs), but the larger shipment of up to 7,200lbs is on hold for the time being.

I FINALLY managed to reach all the right people in the transportation office to authorize a second shipment of household effects from Massachusetts, where my mom has been holding a few items for me for, oh, a few YEARS.  It's not much, which is probably why I never bothered to go to the expense and effort of retrieving it, but it's coming to DC, folks!  Woot-effin'-woot.

The medical claim for reimbursement, on the other hand, is not going according to plan.  The kids in the claims department and the kids at the doctor's office keep missing each other.  The voucher was approved, but then the tax id number was not matching up to IRS records so now they want the doctor's W-9.  The doctor's office lady was in touch with the medical claims people yesterday, and was supposed to have faxed the document, but the medical claims people say NO GODDAMMIT, IT'S NOT HERE.  Seriously, like that, folks - in ALL CAPS.

However, the woman in the doctor's office - the only woman on earth who can apparently deal with this issue - had to leave the office for unforeseen circumstances and will be out until Tuesday.

It has taken me several weeks and a bathtub-full of margaritas to get to this point.  I'm not saying that I'm angry at anyone involved, but it is frustrating.  And it's only for a $200 reimbursement.  Oh, the amusement on Donald Trump's face if ever he had to work this hard for a measely 200 bucks...

So, that's where I am at these days, and I am about to go call the doctor's office again, to see what can be done.  And then, just for fun, I'm going to go research my health insurance options.  Should be fun.

Southern saying of the day

Brother-in-law
He's as useful as a trap door on a canoe.

I'm not exactly certain why Southerners are picking on your brother-in-law, but so be it.

Southern saying of the day

I'm going to try to keep up with this, as a daily reminder of the kindness of friends like Martha and Brian.  So I introduce to you the Butter My Butt and Call Me a Biscuit page-a-day calendar:

If you know someone who takes way too much time to complete a task, you might say...
He'd be the right feller to send for the doctor if the devil was sick.

Made it over a month without telling you what I was up to!

Much has happened since mid-December.  Where to begin?

Let's go over things the way that makes Andrew and I the happiest Massholes on earth: list format.

• Anthony and I broke up, but that actually happened early in December; I just hadn't yet mentioned it on my Blog.  And since I'm not much of one for true Hallmark moments on "ye grande olde internets," that's pretty much all you're going to get out of me at the moment.
• I spent Christmas and New Year's in California with the Fisher family.  First, we were in Newport Beach (across the street from Kobe Bryant!) and Los Angeles, then to a party in Fresno, then to Woodland and Sacramento, and New Year's was at a house party in San Francisco.  And wouldn't you know it - I rang in 2010 at midnight on some godforsaken street in San Francisco, desperately close to the Presidio, either crying like a drunken idiot or hitch-hiking with a complete stranger (I did both those things; I just don't know what time it was, but they happened in quick succession).  NB, folks: the Fisher family, Stephanie, Spencer, Boogie Pants!, Rico, the Lucchesi brothers, and all the other assorted Californians who celebrated the season with me ROCK!!!
• On Christmas Eve, I got the invitation to start work with the new class of Foreign Service junior officers that start orientation in February 2010.
• And then, a few short weeks later, I got word about my base salary determination.  A $20,000 pay increase over my last salary (with GDIT) is not too shabby, my friends.
• I also reserved a kickass apartment in DC for orientation.  For those of you in the neighborhood, I will be at 18th & Riggs Place (Marilyn, there was a snafu!  I am TWO blocks further away from you than originally thought).  For those of you thinking of visiting DC, I have a sleeper couch for you!

And that is pretty much my life in the past few weeks.  The only thing missing is the pile of paperwork that I crank out every day for my new job, and the endless amount of phone calls I must make to keep my life in order.

So now I will leave you with a few pictures of the new place, if you care to click and view.

Because automatic gunfire is the equivalent of a lullaby

I was going to write about last night's gunfire down the street from our home here in Nogales, Mexico, and explain how one of the leaders of a Mexican drug cartel was whacked yesterday, which is why there were roving shootings throughout this lovely bordertown all night (either in retaliation or celebration; I have no idea which).  BUT.  But.  But I just heard that calls started yesterday for the February A-100 training class for Foreign Service Officers.  I cannot confirm, but it looks like Public Diplomacy (my "cone") offers haven't begun yet, but I am hopeful they will start soon.  At no. 23 on the list, I have a good shot of being invited.

Watch this space: I will be back with an update soon...

(P.S. the auto gunfire is a true story.  It scared the crap out of me, but then I hugged Grace tight and let her deep sonorous snores lure me back to sleep.)

Tah-tah-tah-tah-tah-tah-Tucson!

Yesterday I bummed a ride from the Principal Officer's wife into Tucson and snapped a few pictures I thought I would share.  My impression of Arizona so far is that it is yet another alien landscape to me.  Having grown up in the Northeast of the U.S., I am accustomed to dense populations (or "Thickly Settled" signs, right Mel?), lots of greenery, hills and forests, and grass.  The area south of Tucson, between the Mexican border and the city, is basically flat, with some dry shrubs and dehydrated looking trees, and then some mountains ringing the whole expanse.  Much of the main highway (I-19, the only interstate highway in the U.S. to have markers based in kilometers) linking Nogales and Tucson is pretty barren - there are exits for places like Tubac (the artist colony), Green Valley (an essentially over-55 retirement community), the casino for the Tohono O'odham nation, and what appears to be an expansive trailer park.  When there are homes or businesses dotting the landscape, they are all low to the ground structures with plenty of space surrounding them.  It's a completely different desert than I am used to (Lima and the surrounding desert in Peru is so different).

And the people are different, too.  You cannot walk into and out of a single store without at least a twenty minute conversation.  Even if you're just browsing.  People here are so friendly and want to know everything about you.  Being the noncommunicative and purpose-driven New Englander that I am, I find all of this strange and wonderful and completely wacky.

So when I was chauffered in to Tucson yesterday, I wasn't yet sure what to expect.  I would assume that Tucson is built like your typical Southwestern city - it covers a huge amount of geography and the stores, restaurants, businesses, clubs, and bars are all spread out.  Dropped off at the University of Arizona campus, I wandered up and down streets, looking for new and wonderful discoveries.

The first thing I noticed was the public murals, which seem to pop up just about everywhere, just like they do in Philadelphia.  The first mural I chanced upon was this one:

Since it was early yet, most businesses were closed.  The first place I stopped at was Cafe Passe, where I got myself a really wonderful cup of chai and listened to some cover music done in a combination of English and Portuguese by Seu Jorge, a Brazilian musician who is perhaps most well-known for his David Bowie covers that were featured in the movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissau.  This cafe was just one of many funky, brightly colored shops running along 4th Avenue between University Boulevard (which is home to all the bars, restaurants, bistros, and shops that are frequented by the University of Arizona students) and Ninth Street.  My guide book tells me that this is one of the best places in the city to shop for everything from books to bicycle parts, and it is perheps THE BEST location of thrift store buys.

Also on 4th Avenue, I also came across this uniquely named bar, which I couldn't resist snapping a picture of, as I could imagine Bob and Anthony requiring something on tap there:

From 4th Avenue, I navigated towards the skyscrapers I could occassionally see over the tops of buildings.  Most of what I passed through felt like industrial neighborhoods and I did pass more blue collar workplaces such as automotive centers, but I also passed by a number of (closed) galleries and buildings I couldn't readily identify.  One of the more creative locations was this one:

Perhaps the strangest thing about Tucson that I began to notice around this time was the fact that I was almost always the ONLY person walking around on the street.  At first, this realization made me a little fearful that I had somehow wandered into a "bad" neighborhood, but as I thought about it some more, I concluded that the real reason for the solitude I found on the sidewalk is that Tucson is so geographically huge, everyone around here drives.  Moreover, Tucson isn't heavily populated.  So there will be some neighborhoods at certain times with some foot traffic, but many areas will be far quieter.  It is, by far, the smallest city (in terms of population and culture) I have navigated in a long time.

Somewhere in the midst of all these apparent warehouses, there are railroad tracks.  Once you cross over them, you basically land amidst the skyscraper portion of downtown.  One of the first modern buildings I passed appeared to be some kind of public works building and had this really cool structure in front of it:

So, I had thought that the skyscrapers would mark the city center, and that assumption is basically true.  Tucson basically hosts only 3 skyscrapers, and the surrounding blocks are full of professional businesses, government offices, the public library, and a host of eateries and shops.

The white and glass building photographed in both pictures is actually directly across a small park (I almost hesitate to call it a park, as there is very little greenery, but there are benches, a food truck, public art, and a wide walking expanse for city residents to enjoy) from the Pima County Public Library.  After spending much of the last 2 months in Massachusetts and the Lancaster Public Library with Christy and her girls, the library became the highlight of my downtown trip.  I finished my chai in the first floor lobby, watching people as they went about their daily business, and just enjoying the feeling of having nothing pressing to do.  Then I immediately signed up for a library card.

I walked around the library a bit, familiarizing myself with its layout and enjoying some of art exhibits on display, but chose not to borrow any material, thinking that I wouldn't be able to return anything on time just yet.  But I believe I will be back on Sunday, and Anthony has promised to help me return books as needed, so next time, I am all over the book stacks like white on rice.  Yeah, baby!

Then I wandered around the buildings a bit and found a few more interesting things to photograph, starting with the Pima County historical courthouse.

The Superior Court and other justice buildings are located around a courtyard behind the Courthouse, as well as a fountain, a John F. Kennedy bust, and a World War II memorial.

At this point, I really only walked around the block surrounding the high rises, and I found myself in a little boutique, where the woman was just setting up for the day.  As I mentioned previously, Arizonans seem particularly friendly, so, after a nearly 40 minute conversation in which I learned all about her daughter's academic career in Library Sciences and taught her a bit about the Foreign Service, I decided to walk back towards the University of Arizona campus to have lunch.

I walked mostly through residential streets and took a few pictures to give you an idea of how different the neighborhoods look.  (My favorite picture, of course, is of the self-identified Love Machine #13 - the name was spraypainted across the rear bumper.  It just makes me wonder what happened to the other 12 love machines...)

I ate my lunch in the outside seating area of Cafe Paraiso on University Boulevard, which allowed me to alternately watch the UofA students as they wandered by in large numbers (now that it was past noon and they were actually awake) and read the book I had brought with me (George R. R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones," gifted me by Aurit for my 30th birthday!  Thank you, dearie).

When I was done and it was nearly time to meet up with my ride, I took one last meander through the University of Arizona campus, and then sat again to bake in the sun and read more of my book. 

It really was a lovely way to spend a day in Tucson, and I look forward to learning more about what my temporary home (the AZ part anyway) has to offer.  I am most looking forward to the outdoors opportunities for hiking and such, but I think a visit to the zoo, the Air and Space Museum, the Missile Museum, the botanical gardens, and a few other hotspots will be totally necessary.  I also found out that they have an independent movie theatre in Tucson, which I am very excited about.

Let's see how much I can fit into the next month or so of exploring before I head off to DC to start my new career...