Taking a break

The furry children and I got rid of Anthony this morning (he is spending 4 days in Las Vegas) so we have the next few days to do whatever our little hearts desire.  Today was a bit of a wash, as I only got 3 or 4 hours of sleep (I pity those of you who are new parents and do that kind of thing on a regular basis) after consuming four glasses of wine.  Let's just say I'm getting too old to handle 4 servings of any kind of alcoholic substance (not to mention my lack o' one kidney) and leave it at that.

I also spent about 4 hours today dropping Anthony at the airport.  Which is more time than I like to spend in a car in any given day - although that estimate includes about 20 minutes of standing in the cold, while Border Patrol reviewed my car for god knows what reason when I tried to re-enter Mexico.

The good news is that I now have Bubba here with me AND he's got some temporary tags so I can actually drive him.  Today was his first official day on the road.  So far he's just transported Anthony and picked up some eggs, but tomorrow we're putting him to work.  The girls and I are going to go hiking in Madera Canyon.  Hopefully they're up for it. 

My other big Sunday plan is to go see Sherlock Holmes at our local theatre.  Just another weekend full of crazy shenanigans here in Nogales....

The downside is that Bubba still hasn't been SENTRIfied by DHS, so I have to wait in the plebian line for border crossing, which means I waste a half hour every time I go into the U.S.  I think we're getting that taken care of later this week; I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  The SENTRI lane takes all of 5 minutes in comparison.  It's AWESOME.

The one thing I am really trying to avoid this weekend is completing any more paperwork for State.  But it may be a necessary evil, as the one form I really have to finish up is the health insurance election form and the direct deposit form - two of my favorite forms (seriously; because I like having affordable health care and I really love getting paid).  Which means that I'll be FedExing the whole packet out on Monday or Tuesday.  And I'll be that one step closer to being a responsible, employed adult.  Sweet.

Well, my lovelies, I just heard the timer for my meatloaf so I am going to go, as Anthony would say, "Pack my face."  (Such a lovely image, no?)

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.)