I'm HERE!

So, I'm not a good blogger.  As evident through the lack of blog updates.  Anyway, a LOT has happened in the last two months!

Married!
The wedding was fantastic and wonderful. It was such a meaningful day and hard to summarize in words.  Certainly unforgettable, full of love, and the best day(s) of my life! Hopefully we will be getting our photos soon.

Packed out and moved to DC!
So we survived our first packout.  It was a two-day affair.  The first day involving the moving company coming to our house and packing everything in boxes. It was a bit of a learning experience as we found out that even if you sort your stuff into piles and think they will logically pack like items with each other, they will grab anything that fits.  Thankfully, we plan on brining all the boxes to post, but I imagine if we accumulate more stuff (hopefully not) we would need to be a little more discerning.  The next day, they loaded up the truck and moved everything out!  We left Tony with some bare essentials to survive for the next month - like a bed and some kitchen items, but otherwise, we moved almost everything.  It'll be a few months before we see some of it, and probably a few years (decades?) before we see some other items.

Then I drove to DC!  Dad flew into Denver and I met him at the airport with the car loaded and ready to go.  We spent the first day driving from Denver to Lawrence, KS.  The first day is a bit exhausting as there is a lot of flat ground between the two places.  Eastern Colorado gets very flat and there is not a lot of variety. However, there are some exciting wind farms along the way.  As you get closer to Western Kansas, the terrain does start to vary and gets to be much more interesting.  Kansas sunsets are also quite beautiful!

The next day we drove from Lawrence to Bowling Green, KY.  Missouri was quite beautiful- it was very green and we started to see a lot of flora along the highways, including a lot of Eastern Redbuds:


Missouri was also the state with the most highway patrol that we saw during the trip! We pulled into Bowling Green and checked into our hotel and them met up with Krista and Chris for dinner.  We went to a nice restaurant in downtown Bowling Green, which is a large open plaza.  We then walked around a bit and went to Chris' bar, which is the tiniest bar in Bowling Green.  It was great to see Krista and meet Chris!  Hopefully we'll be back to visit again soon.

We had intended to make the last leg in one day, but decided that we didn't want to spend 12 hours in the car, so our next day we made it from Bowling Green to Roanoke.  This took us through Tennessee. Google Maps put us on a great winding country road which was breathtaking.  And finally our last day we made it to DC.  We spent the road trip chatting, listening to epic road trip playlists on Spotify and also listening to The Martian on Audible.  It was a great book!  I haven't seen the movie but will have to put it on my list. When we got to DC, we stayed with Danny in his apartment and we had some great BBQ flank steak- it was delish!

Training!
So that brings us to today- we just finished our second week of the Foreign Service Specialist Orientation class and we are only one week away from getting sworn in! Time is flying and orientation really is like standing in front of a firehose of information.  We have a variety of sessions each day with speakers ranging from our orientation coordinators to ambassadors. It's been a great introduction to life in the FS. We had a great off-site field trip to West Virginia, which was combined with the Generalists A-100 class.  A-100 is the name of the orientation for the Generalists (Officers) for those who may not know.  It was a great way to focus on the fact that we are all colleagues and working toward one mission as one team. Sometimes it seems there can be some stratification between Generalists, Specialists, and Local Staff, so it is really inspiring to see the Orientation staff try and instill this "One team" mindset to incoming employees.

We turned in our bid lists last week and will find out where we're heading on Tuesday!  The bid-list was a bit of a shock, but I'm hopeful that I'll get one of my high choices!  I'll post more on Tuesday, including where were headed!

Anyway, I need to get back to some homework - I'm still finishing up my semester of grad school.  I'll be ready for the semester to be over!!

Life is moving fast!

Another week down and I can't believe that I'll be leaving Denver in less than 8 weeks!  So much is happening and it's all fantastic, and crazy, and stressful.

Last weekend, we visited Chris and Leanne in Tulsa.  This was my second time to Oklahoma- our last time being for the Gentlemen of the Road Tour that Mumford and Sons did in Guthrie two or three years ago.  It was great to see Chris and Leanne!  They live right downtown. It's a small city- easy to walk around almost everywhere downtown. We spent the weekend together and explored the city, ate some great food, toured some nice bars, and went to a concert- the Oh Hellos!  Tulsa has a lot of potential- which is weird to say for a town that has boomed and busted, but I think that Chris and Leanne are really enjoying it.

On the wedding front, we had some caterer tastings this week and we decided on a caterer today.  It is great to get that checked off the list- we will be having a brunch reception and I am really excited about our menu!  We need to work on the content of the ceremony this weekend and decide on some readings and what not.

Work is good- just had my annual review.  It's a bit bittersweet to leave CU after only one year, but I feel that I made the most of it and jumped in.  I have loved the work and it was a welcome development opportunity after leaving IIE, but I'm counting down the days until I leave.  Not because I dislike it, I'm just eager to move on to the next step!

School- oy vey. I absolutely love what I'm learning, but taking six credits this semester was a bit cray.  We'll see if I survive.  I need to make sure that I can get far enough ahead so that I have most of my coursework done by the time training starts in April.

Chaos

This spring is shaping up to be one of the busiest of my life.  In addition to preparing for my big move to DC in April, I am continuing in my 40 hr/wk day job until at least April 1.  I was also formally admitted to graduate school this spring and am taking a full-time graduate course load (which I can continue once in the Foreign Service, as it is possible to do the whole degree online). Oh, and planning a wedding! Tony and I are finally tying the knot after 8 years together.

We had started seriously talking about getting married after the Supreme Court decision last summer, but had not put too much thought into it, knowing that weddings are expensive and that we weren't sure what our timeline for the FS would be.  Well, once we started hearing back in January from the FS, we knew we had to really get serious!

We'll be doing a family-only ceremony in March followed by a party for friends and family at a brewery.  Our idea is to try and have it as low-key as possible while still trying to make sure everyone feels included and has a great time.  We have our venues for the events, catering in the works, we bought our rings, we've got some good guestbook ideas, and need to start working on the ceremony structure.  Only a few weeks to go.  Yikes!  We are super thrilled, though, even if we are a bit stressed out :)

Mom and Dad were visiting this weekend, so it was great to see them and get the families together.  We had a great brunch with Tony's mom, followed by some squash at the CU rec center.  On Sunday we went down and watched the Superbowl with John and Stacey.  Broncos won! Woo!

Catchup Post: Clearances!

"So what happens after the Oral Assessment?" you might ask. Well, it's just the beginning! After passing the OA, you immediately begin your security clearance when you meet with the Diplomatic Security investigator before leaving the test site. At the time of my OA, the electronic system for completing your security clearance application had been taken down due to the security breaches. I was told to wait a few weeks and complete it when it comes back on. Thankfully it did return after 4 weeks and I was able to complete my security clearance paperwork.  This paperwork is no joke- it's dozens of screens of questions about everything from all your past jobs, to your travel history, to your international friends, drug history, computer use, etc. In September I received a phone call from the investigator assigned to my case and we met for about an hour. He also spoke with several friends, neighbors, co-workers (past and current!) and someone even called my mom. 

Around the same time, I was going through the medical clearance. I pushed it back a bit because I was a bit sick over the summer and wanted to go into the clearance as healthy as possible, but I went to my doctors office, got some blood tests and chest x-ray and submitted all my paperwork.  

I received confirmation that my medical clearance was approved in October. In November I followed up and received confirmation that my security clearance had been granted. The week before Thanksgiving, I was told that my entire file was being passed to the Final Suitability Review panel and that they usually take about 5 days to make their decision. Well, Thanksgiving week happened and I started to hear that invitations were getting sent out for the January class. I was excited that I might hear back and receive my invitation for January!  But then another week went by. I followed up and was told that they had more questions and they'd get back in touch with me if they needed anything.  A few more weeks went by. Christmas came and went. I was getting quite anxious, nervous and concerned.  What did they see in my file that was causing them so much concern? I imagined a table of suited individuals debating my file, going back and forth about why I should or should not be allowed to join. The worst part was just not knowing. 

Finally, I received confirmation the first week of January that my file had passed Suitability and I was on the register - Number 5 of 9. The register is the list of individuals who have passed through all the hurdles and were waiting for an invitation to a training class. Well I then immediately received an invite to the January training class, which was beginning a mere two weeks in the future.  I was given the option to decline one invitation, which I decided to do, based on the fact that I would have had to quit my job immediately (without notice) and get myself to DC within two weeks.  That just wasn't going to happen, no matter how much I wanted to join the Foreign Service.  About two weeks later, I received my invitation for the April class, and here we are!!

Catchup Post: OMS Oral Assessment

Alright, since my blogging ceased in April 2015, I thought I'd recap a few key events that happened since then.  The largest being the Oral Assessment in Washington DC in July. As a reminder, after applying to a Specialist position, if you meet the qualifications of the position and the Board of Examiners (BEX) like your application, they will invite you to take part in the Oral Assessment, which usually occurs in Washington DC. Here is a recap I wrote for one of the message boards- it's designed to provide prospective applicants with a little information about the setup of the exam, but it may be of interest to family and friends! I used similar resources to get a sense of what to expect. Tabbies in Tow also has great advice that I tried to follow when preparing. Due to a Non Disclosure Agreement I signed, I can't give away information about the content of the exam, so this is a general overview of the test.

I didn't have much vacation time to spare, so I was in DC for a whirlwind 24 hours. I arrived to Dulles the day before at 7:00 pm.  On a map one may think that Dulles isn't that far from DC, but do not be deceived!  Add about two hours to your landing time to get a good idea of when you may be walking through your hotel doors. I should have flown into Reagan to save myselft the transportation time. 

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Washington Capitol, which was on the same city block as the testing center. I think it was worth the cost for the proximity to the testing location. The hotel itself was so-so.  I ate dinner and tried to head to bed around 10:00 pm, but my body was still on Mountain Time. I set about 4 alarms on my phone for 5:00 am, as my OA was scheduled for 7:00 am (BRUTAL).  I didn't get much sleep, as visions of BEX tossed in my head.  I ended up getting out of bed around 4:45 am, exhausted. I got ready, listened to some music to try and calm my nerves and headed out the door around 6:00 to get breakfast and do a final review of my notes at the Starbucks connected to the hotel. Upon leaving breakfast, I was immediately greeted by the DC summer humidity, which was impressively uncomfortable at 6:30 in the morning. I recommend several layers of deodorant if you're testing in the summer, for nerves and the heat!  Thankfully, it only took about 3 minutes to find the testing center before sweating too much.

In the lobby of the building, I went through security and met a woman was waiting for the OA, too. She is currently an EFM (spouse of a FS employee "Eligible Family Member") who was applying for an OMS position.  We chatted and it was great to hear about her experience with the FS already.  Around 6:45 am, we were led up to the testing center suite where we filled out some paperwork, signed our NDAs and waited.  Another gentleman arrived around 7:00 for his IMS OA, so there were three of us scheduled for 7:00 am. 

Case Management (CM):

We were all led back to the computer lab shortly after 7:00 am and were given instructions on the structure of the writing assignment.  We were handed our respective scenarios and had 45 minutes to review the document and write our response. I did not bring a watch, but there is a clock on your computer.  Write down the end time on a piece of paper right away so you know at what time the exercise will stop. Make sure you take the time to read the scenario carefully, especially what they are asking of you. I felt that the scenario was easy to comprehend and that the solutions seemed relatively straightforward but I realized that I had missed a core component of the question. I was able to fit it in by the end.  45 minutes does go by particularly fast, but I was able to complete my response, as well as proof read it once. I did not prepare specifically for this exercise, other than some of my preparations for the FSOT essay in the past.  If you haven't done a timed writing exercise in a while, I would recommend doing a few as practice. I recommend reading some of the writing tips on the FSOA Yahoo groups found in the case management section, as I found those helpful for honing my writing style. I passed this section.

Skills Test:

After the CM, we had a break of about 10 minutes to use the restroom and get a snack if needed. Then all three of us were brought back in for the online skills test.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect for this.  The recaps have all said that you either know it or you don't.  Now I know what they mean.  Make sure you understand the job description for OMS and that may provide you with some ideas on what you might need to brush up on.  Like the other recaps have stated, they have WAY more questions than you can possibly answer for each section.  Even knowing that going in, I was surprised. I passed this section.

Structured Interview (SI):

This is what I was most nervous for! I feel like I am usually quite good at interviews because of the ability to build rapport with your interviewers. Certainly no rapport-building going on here as they are mostly expressionless.  I had studied for the interview for about two weeks or so.  Admittedly, I would have loved to devote more time to it, but I was busy with life (excuses, excuses).  I prepared by coming up with some stories for each of the Foreign Service Specialist 12 dimensions so that I could easily have them in my mind.  I did not do much out-loud practice, which I think hurt me in the end, since I feel like I should have delivered answers that were more succinct and direct in pointing out the specifics of how each example fit in with the 12 Ds. All of the documents on the FSOA Yahoo board relating to the SI were very helpful in seeing the types of questions that might be asked. I don't think I strayed too far from the questions, but maybe didn't provide the level of detail they were looking for.  I did receive a few follow-up questions every once and a while.  The hypothetical questions were.... difficult and there were more than I expected.  Many of them were quite long, so I tried to remember the important points. I have no idea if I really bombed those or not.  I did not pass this section.

After the SI, I headed back to the lobby and met with the two other candidates that had started that morning at 7:00.  By that time, a 9:00 cohort had shown up, but I don't think any were OMS candidates.  As soon as I sat down after my interview the IMS candidate was called back.  Shortly after, the other OMS candidate was called back. Then I waited.  And waited. And waited.  I chatted with one of the other candidates who had arrived with the 9:00 group. She was a current OMS applying for a GSO position and was quite nice.  She assured me that she thought I would receive good news.  After about a half hour, one of my interviewers led me back to the room we had interviewed in.  Before I sat down, he congratulated me on passing the OA and a huge wave of happiness (and relief) washed over me. He went through much of the information about clearances and timelines.  When he told me my score (5.7) I was really happy and thought that maybe I had passed all three sections.  In the packet they give you, it lists the sections you passed and that's when I saw that I didn't pass the SI.  Not super surprising, but I wonder if it was just barely below or not.  They don't tell you. Either way, I'm glad I did well on the other two sections! I then waited for DS (Diplomatic Security) to come and take my information. I was the only one waiting for him, so I don't know if either of the other 7:00 am candidates passed.  I got out of the testing center around 11:30 am and found my way to lunch where the DC heat was in full-force!  I spent the afternoon at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, excited about the possibilities that were to come!

Congratulations!

When I started thinking seriously about joining the Foreign Service, I spent hours and hours pouring over blogs written by Foreign Service Officers, Foreign Service Specialists, and their family members. I even found some blogs of prospective FS employees and unfortunately many of them start blogging about their FS journey, only to stop when something derailed their plans.  I didn't want to be one of those blogs, so I just stopped blogging for fear of jinxing the process.

Well, I'm happy to say that I've made it through the process and received an invitation to the April 18th Foreign Service Specialist Orientation!  That means I can start blogging again without fear that I'll become a sad, forgotten, Foreign Service aspirant!  Anyway, there is a LOT to catch you up on.  And by "you" I mean no one in particular, as I haven't shared this blog with anyone  yet, but I certainly know people will stumble upon it eventually.  I'll post some updates about what has happened since my last post, nearly a year ago, and how we are busy preparing for the big move ahead!