Starting over...Here is to new beginnings.  I had given up on blogging for a while.  A long while. I had become slightly obsessed with reading and following the foreign service blogs, and when it did not happen for me, I decided to put it to rest for a while.

Since then, a lot has happened. Lets start over.  Here we go.

so frustrated...

I am so frustrated. I know this is a waiting game. I know patience is a virtue.  This process has been relatively uneventful for me. My security clearance was, well, pretty fast. All in all, the whole process has been fast. I had my interview in May, my security interview end of June, my interviews were done by mid July, and I got my clearance in August. Final suitability was only supposed to take a week to 10 days, right? wrong....
Next Friday will make 2 months. 2 long months that I have been waiting in final suitability limbo.
I have called. I check my email several times a hour. I can hardly wait each day to check the mail.
I talked to my HR contact {a new employee} a few weeks ago, to see if she had any idea what was wrong. She gave me a number to someone else to check my status. I called that lady, and oops...big mistake. She told me that they do not give out status updates, and that I would be notified when a decision had been made. Furthermore, I should not worry, because how long it takes really doesn't matter, and it how long it was taking had no bearing on whether I was suitable. I am a worrier. I am very, very good at it.
I am trying not to read into things. Really. But holy cow, people,  something. must. be. wrong! From what I can tell, most suitability evaluations take days...a week maybe.

I know that a few get through the security clearance and do not pass final suitability. I am now having nightmares about things I have not even done that would prevent me from being declared suitable.
My daughter wants a cell phone for her birthday. I don't want to get into a 2 year contract if we are leaving in the spring. There are so many things we want to do, but not if we are leaving...

Really hoping for some good news. Soon. Please......

am i suitable?

I got my security clearance in August. Have been in the final suitability stage since then. It's almost October. Hope to know something soon.
Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Hopeful...


How long did your final suitability reviews take? Any info is appreciated.

Good News/Bad News

Ok. So the good news is this: I spoke to a very nice lady in the final suitability dept. today and she told me she had just received my packet and should have an answer for me next week. That's exciting, right?
Then came the bad news...
The next specialist class that will have spots for health practitioners is MARCH!

Apparently there is a class in January, but they have no allotted spots for health practitioners. Bummer. She also told me there are several health practitioners already on the list. I am not positive, but I think she said there are openings for 4.

This really could take forever.

Woot! Woot!

I decided to bug the security folks again today, to see if they had made any progress with regards to my clearance. The nice gentleman who answered the phone verified
my name..."yep"
birthdate...."yep"
ssn....***-**-"****----yep"
then he says, "hang on a second"
and then, he informs me that my Security Clearance was issued yesterday.

Glad I called.
This made my day.
Now I just wait on the final suitability. Hopefully that goes quickly.
Then, Bfiles, I'll take mine to go, and myself can share a celebratory bottle of wine in DC in January!

Option #1

Well, it would appear the Case manager chose option #1.  Need. More. Info.


My ex husband called today and says he has a meeting with the security agent on Tuesday. Apparently the case manager discovered he did not have anyone interview my ex. Hopefully this will be the last interview.

I was really hoping for the email.

Dear Mrs. Burkett,
We are pleased to inform you that we have issued you a TOP SECRET SECURITY CLEARANCE. Additionally, we will be sending out a package that will welcome you to the Foreign Service, and provide further details on your start date.


Regards,
Mr. Top Secret Issuing Case Manager

Thought for the day

I have nothing funny to post. Nothing really even that interesting. When I read some of the old posts from other Fs'ers, it seems that we all get into this 'holding pattern' that gives us really nothing to blog about.
So, I'll blog about some of the things that happened this summer that I couldn't really blog about until now.
Audrey learned how to do 2 back handsprings in a row this summer. She is very proud of herself. I always wanted to learn how to do that. Now, I think I may break in two pieces, or maybe more when I hit the ground. Probably not a good idea.

I did say two in a row...not three. Not yet.

Tyler had fun in Africa. We are seriously considering sending him on another mission trip this fall. Our church is offering one to Mexico for 5 days. This one would be without me or any other family. It is a high school mission trip through the church. I had been more excited about it until I read about the killings of the 6 Americans in Afghanistan...now, I am not so sure. Not that I am comparing Mexico to Afghanistan, but, well, Mexico has developed a not so safe reputation lately. At least here in Arizona. 


We lost our dog, our sweet friend, Lucy this summer. Right before I left for Africa, actually. It happened to be on our wedding anniversary. Boo. We miss her terribly. She was only 4. A great family friend and pet. We had an A/C guy out to work on our system, and unfortunately, he left our gate open, unlatched, as he left. When we arrived home, we found our dogs missing. We looked for hours, then found our female boxer lying on the side of the road. She was alive, but her back was broken, and sadly, we had to put her to sleep. On our freakin wedding anniversary, did I mention that? Some present.

Lucy Burkett 2006-2010
AKA: "Luter" (for stealing food from our countertops!)
We miss you!

Since then, our male boxer, Dezi, has been grief stricken. As much as we want to get another dog, we are not sure if we should. Why, you ask? Because we may be moving overseas with the FS.  Not sure we want to make a travel commitment to another canine, since we have no idea what the quarantine issues may be. So, for all you Foreign Service Travelers, feel free to advise. How much would having two 60-80lb dogs cramp your traveling lifestyle?

As far as I can tell, my security clearance is in a holding pattern. I called on Monday and was told that the case is in review by the case manager. From there, one of three things could happen. Either the CM will 1)send it back for more info, 2)approve the clearance, or 3)send it through a final adjudications process.  Hmmm.  We are hoping for option #2, please. No news is a good news, right? I am still hopeful to hear something soon.

Next week it is off to Chicago for a work conference, with a brief stop in Indiana to visit some dear friends. After that, it's Labor Day and we are heading to Vegas for Tyler's soccer tournament. Hopefully I will have some news after that.  We will see.

In the meantime, here are some more shots from Africa.

And finally, the thought for the day...If I were in the FS in a country where I did not speak the language...how would I communicate?

Mimic, of course!  It works!