The day I had been waiting for since I got the call…

When the bid list comes out, you write to your CDO and mention your top 3 preferences (what you look for in a post) and you must rank each of the posts either High, Medium, or Low.

I’m a picky guy. I ranked only 10% of the posts as high, and I knew I was only qualified for two of them. I realized that on Flag Day, this risky strategy would either work, or I’d end up with a Low.

Well, it worked.

I’ll be learning Farsi and heading to Tehran Abu Dhabi.

Haven’t posted much lately because I’m beginning to realize that with a gig like this, there’s only so much you’re allowed to talk about, that all you can really discuss is your personal life and nobody wants to hear about me partying.

I finally packed out and tomorrow I’ll be flying down to DC to get settled in for A-100. Packout went smoothly, and I’m glad I read the “It’s Your Move” booklet. It was filled with noodles of information such as, “you might not ship a boat.”

I also learned that for HHE, you need a minimum of 200lbs of storage or else you pay for it. I only had 100lbs of HHE. Solution? Add another 100lbs of weight plates.

The movers seemed a little confused, though, when they handed me forms to sign saying that the items that were being packed were on a “need to know basis”.  Everyone knows that the condition of my Super Nintendo is in the interest of national security.

The last few weeks I have contemplated about living somewhere besides Oakwood. The way the per diem works is that you receive X amount of money, whether you are by yourself or you’re the Von Trapp family. So logically, the per diem goes a longer way if you’re by yourself (especially if you don’t want to be stuck in a studio).

After receiving “the call”, you have the option to make a reservation at one of the Oakwood locations. If you decide to do so, there is no paperwork involved and State Dept. handles all the bills, etc. Keep in mind though that you don’t get the difference in lodging or anything like that. The full amount of your lodging per diem goes straight into your Oakwood apartment, whether or not it’s ideal.

If you decide to live elsewhere, you can get a good deal considering the per diem. While the .doc you receive the day you pass your OA states that front loaded leases are unacceptable, it seems like they’re not only acceptable, but encouraged. It isn’t difficult to find a landlord who is comfortable with per diem’s and front loaded leases. Usually, the only upfront costs are the security deposit.

The most difficult part about living at Oakwood seems to be simply accepting the location. It will not be wonderful but it won’t be bad either, seems to be the consensus. Also, you can move out of Oakwood into Elsewhere but you can’t go from living Elsewhere and into Oakwood.

On the other hand, the most difficult part about living Elsewhere seems to be, at least for me, just finding the right apartment and the right landlord and arranging the lease (front loaded, diplomatic release clause, etc).

It’s not the newest or coolest thing out there, but I thought that the package that gets sent out to incoming Foreign Service Officers should receive a special unboxing. Of course, I’m not going to say too much because that would ruin the surprise but here is what you should know.

Inside the box is a big folder stuffed with bureaucracy. The first hint that you’re not in this for the money is the front of that folder. While some places have nicely embossed images on their welcome packages, we get this Clipart relic from 1995.

After briefly second-guessing my career choice, I opened up the folder to the most reading material I’ve ever seen since freshman year. I quickly closed the folder back up. Wouldn’t want to suffer from exhaustion.

And that concludes the unboxing of the welcome package. I hope that I’ll be able to read some of this stuff sooner or later, but the fact that it’s in different font styles, font families,  and font colors makes it really discouraging. Also, the fact that it involves reading. Doesn’t the government know that it’s summer?