Not the Forest Service

The end?

2010-01-29T22:55:00.002Z

So, after much prompting by a loyal "fan" I realize that I guess I need to shut down the blog. I'm just not a blogger. I'm having fun on Facebook, and certainly invite you to "friend" me there. After 2 years with horrible internet service, all my good stories have been spent.

So, I'll leave this up for a while just to say "goodbye" and thank you all for reading. and please come to Facebook!

Robin

Ahhhh Home....?

2009-08-28T00:20:00.003Z

So, I know they say You Can't Go Home Again. And I understand why. But I'm still a bit taken aback. We are in the Bay Area, on the peninsula where I grew up. I drove up and down El Camino Real regularly for four years. These were my old stomping grounds. And, yeah, I expected it to change, I did. I knew the big open spaces would be filled in now, and I knew that some of the stores I loved (like The Warehouse) would be gone, and that there would be new ones. I even knew that they had enclosed Hillsdale Mall. But I was still surprised by the way El Camino looks.

Lots of cars...even more than on a Friday night Cruise. (Ok, I guess it has been a *few* years.) Restaurants, large and small, businesses of all sorts. The head shop that was next door to The Warehouse was even still in business, surprisingly. What I didn't expect was that it would all look so....seedy.

When I know that the houses where we used to live are going for literally ten times what my parents were paying when I lived in High School, I figured that the increase in values meant an increase in tone for everything. I am so surprised that it all seems less middle class, more junky than when I was young.

For one thing, we were poor...ok, not poor, really, but that level that everybody in America forgets: Working Class. We lived in the suburbs all my life, but we never had the money that everybody around us seemed to have. Our cars were older, our clothes were more often than not from thrift shops or remainder stores (before those were the "standard" American way to shop.) But now, the streets look really... ..well..
...urban. It's like San Francisco itself has spread south, and brought with it the lack of upkeep, the overcrowding of a city with limited space, the worn look of something old and not cared for well.

Maybe it always looked this way; I may have just idealized it. I don't remember. It sure all seemed shiny and bright back then. And most of what I'm seeing has been built long after I left, so it should be even newer than the things that are still here that I do remember.

And it can't just be the recession. That's only a year old. This worn-out look has a feel of being built over years. Maybe California has been in bad shape for a long time, and I just didn't know. It's odd.

So, you can't go home again. And, maybe you don't even want to try.

Ok, I deserve your scorn...or your pity

2009-04-12T17:05:00.002Z

So, it's been over a year since I last posted. Since then we've gone in and out of Internet-land several times. Then I was too busy to see straight. Now, I'm sick this weekend, but also at this point sick of being in bed, so I'm up, and found an old email from Jeanne (Hi There! Congratulations on the Wedding!!) asking about addresses, and I figured I should drop a note here just in case any of you are still checking this place out.

Not that I'd believe after a year I deserve to have any of you left. It's been a tough year, with one escape to London for bookstores and Cyprus for Christmas, and then a long weekend in Dakar. By the way, Dakar is the kind of place I thought we were going. It's probably how you all envision Africa. It's not bad, although those of my colleagues who work there have plenty to complain about. (on the other hand so did the ones in the Bahamas...)

Anyway, Jeanne, your question (old old and unanswered...I'm sorry) about our address...

Well, it doesn't really matter now, as we're leaving soon. I've asked to be released from Post in Early July. My boss countered with early August. We'll see who wins. But, with the three week delay in any mail arriving at post, there's no point in sending us anything after June 1, as we might not get it before we come home.

Yes, that's right--Home! So, we're planning two weeks in California, followed by two weeks in Colorado, a quick return to CA to pick up the cat, and then popping out to Boston for my sister's wedding, and then to Virginia where we'll be until June of next year. Then, for those who may not have heard through the grapevine..Frankfurt! Yesiree, Fred's getting his first choice. It will cost us a fortune (our income will be cut in half, and our expenses increased by 30%) but it will be worth it for him to be able to go see all those castles and battlefields, and hit people with sticks.

So...look for us in August. We'll have our new address in September, and it will be in Falls Church, VA. We just don't know the street number and apt. number yet.

For those of you who have attempted to stay in contact, thank you so much. Reading your emails has really kept me going during some fairly dark times here. I appreciate your efforts to reach out, and I feel guilty as hell that I haven't responded. Mostly, I didn't want you to think I was depressed. (Although, I guess I was.) I didn't want to bring you down, or think that we're unhappy.

So, I hope we'll get to see all of you soon.

J--we'll be in Boston at the end of August! Can we see you?

Love to everybody.

Robin

My god, I have internet!

2008-04-08T20:33:00.002Z

It's unbelievable. I forgot it could be this fast. And, it took me three days to realize I could update the blog!!!

So, here i am. I have just watched a football/soccer game at a pub in Canterbury. Fred says I shouldn't blog while drunk, but if I don't do it now, I might forget again. And I know how much you all want to hear from us!!

So, here we are in Canterbury. Watching Arsenal (whom I think are from London, with a couple of really good African players) get trounced by Liverpool, the emotional favorites locally. It looks like the game will end 4-1. Which if you know anything about football/soccer, means it's a rout.

We've been eating and drinking tonight, so if I sound a bit off, that's why. I think Arsenal is the better team, but Liverpool truly had the home team advantage.

So, we're on R&R. Rest and Recuperation. and I'm resting. I've been sleeping in a lot, and just going out into town, and doing a little shopping, a lot of eating, and a small portion of drinking. I like Canterbury a lot. There's a darling little local pub, not one of the bought-out chain franchises, called the Rose & Crown, just down the street from the apartment Jaime & Rob found for the four of us for a week.

Fred's only bought one book this week; but he hasn't taken his list with him, so that may change soon.

We've been in Conakry from 8 1/2 months. I can easily advise all my FSO colleagues that when you are in a hardship post, don't wait that long to go on R&R. Fred and I were both getting too close to the end of our ropes the last few weeks before we left.

For our R&R we're doing a week in Canterbury with Rob & Jaime, a week in Paris with Emilie and Marcus, and a week in Dubrovnik with Eric & Ute. Belgrade has just come off ordered departure (what the lay folk will think of as evacuation) and Yemen has just gone on.

My friends Pam and Chris are in far more "exciting" posts than Guinea. They've actually had the strikes and riots that the Guineans have only threatened. I'm really appreciating how peaceable the Guineans are. Plus, most of them are realists and feel that last years strikes which resulted in the deaths of over 100 people, accomplished nothing of substance.

The cat is staying with our friend Scott, who will play with her while we are gone. We still haven't finished unpacking all of our boxes...we definitely brought too much stuff. But, hopefully, we can go through things and decide which should go into storage and which should go on to our next post. Which will be next year.

I've stopped being so paranoid about Malaria; although I faithfully take my drugs. I have gained back much of the weight I lost the first few months, but I think we're walking so much on vacation that this may be temporary.

We've made a really good friend in Scott, and althouhg our jobs are very very hard, we like them. We like almost everybody we work with, and the bad ones are leaving this summer, so all should be great by Sepetember!

So, Fred is now talking to me about chocolate and I am too tipsy to carry on this letter to all of you, and talk about chocolate, so I'm going to sign off now.

Man, having real internet is amazing. I forgot how fast and easy it could be.

Love to you all. Thanks for your notes of greeting and support; they really do mean a lot.

Robin (*and Fred)

No Internet Access

2007-09-08T17:07:00.000Z

Ok all, you probably think I've abandoned you all. It's not true, it's just that the internet access here is so bad that I can download and read your emails, but I have no bandwidth for uploading replies. I can't even send out a one-sentence message.

The internet situation may be fixed by November, but we're experiementing with the solution, so I'm not sure.

I want to let you know that I'm ok; in fact much better than the first month. Guinea is starting to grow on me (maybe literally...I smelled that Guinea smell the other day, and realized it was me!) I like my job, the people are wonderful, and Fred came back from his Medivac to London. (He's ok, it was an eye thing they took care of.)

I don't have email address at work, where I have access...and my job is about 70 hours a week still, so there's no time for me to even think about anything else until I'm so tired, I just have to go home to bed. I DO have a phone card though, and we can start trying to call folks late at night from work (although it would be mornings or daytime there with the time difference.) or on Saturdays.

Keep writing! I promise I read every word. Over and over again, in fact.

Why I Made This Choice

2007-06-19T20:23:00.000Z

Ok, I wrote this to some friends recently, and decided I should share it with all of you. I hope this can provide some insight about why I made this choice in the middle of my life.

All right, I had to unpublish this post, in case it might come up in a random google, and someone at the post where I am going might have taken exception to it.

If you want to see this one, email me, and I'll send it to you.

Robin

Oh, almost forgot - Fred is Coming!

2007-06-19T20:20:00.000Z

Yes, I'm sorry, I just realized that I hadn't updated y'all about the evacuation!

It turns out "evacuation" is technically an incorrect term. The department just sent all the family members home, and recommended that all Americans leave the country. We didn't actually 'evacuate' anyone.

But anyway, it was lifted! Almost two months ago now, I'm so far behind. All the family members are back to post, and life seems to have returned to normal. And, of course, Fred will be coming with me. (I never actually doubted it.)

On the other hand, the potential certainly exists for additional unrest, as Guinea goes through it's transition over the next few years. Hopefully, it will be peaceful.

Monthly I guess

2007-06-19T19:48:00.000Z

So, it seems my updates are going to run monthly. Maybe more if I'm having a good day. But today is a good day. In spite of the 95 degree heat (with east coast humidity) and the "condition orange" air quality warning.

Today I started to grasp avoir été. And am getting better at pronouns. That was the true test my French Prof said (thanks, Teresa!) So, I'm getting there. Or at least somewhere.

I'm working at not panicking that we have less than three weeks left. And Fred is going back to Caifornia for a week Saturday. While he's gone I have to file our 2006 taxes (yes, truly) find a new insurance company, sell the car, arrange for packout times 3, continue to do my French homework, and attend a 3-day class instead of French class, go to a housewarming party, and who knows how many bon voyage parties for my classmates (whom I will miss greatly!)

Before Saturday, we have to figure out how to get to the Costco, without spending three hours on the freeway; buy a flatware set, buy new glasses and contact lenses, buy cat food for a year and the containers for them, finish buying the "consumables" we think we'll need at post for 1-2 years (we've already spent thousands, it's scary) and start mailing ourselves packages of stuff we'll need before the UAB arrives.

Here's how that works:

We get one shipment of Unacompanied Air Freight...450 pounds of the stuff we'll need "right away" (e.g. before the household effects shipment arrives via boat) like linens, kitchen supplies, cat supplies, clothing, computer stuff; basically everything that we can't pack in suitcases and take on the plane that we can't live without for six months. The UAB comes "fast" in between 6 and 12 weeks after we get to post.

We get 7200 pounds of Household Effects. The house is completely furnished so we don't need any furniture. Except for bookcases, since we've been advised there are never enough of those. And, with our book collection, I suspect, but cannot confirm, that half our HHE allotment will be consumed by the books. We had originally planned to only ship some of the books, but we can't find the master list of which books are in which boxes, so they may just all have to go. Sadly, I have no idea how much our furniture, rugs, washing machine and the other misc things we're leaving in storage actually weigh, so we may wind up being overweight on our very first shipment. Which means paying somewhere around $2.50/pound for every pound over that 7200. One way to avoid or at least mitigate that is to take a 2 hour drive up to Hagerstown, MD on a weekday (when I'm supposed to be in class) and beg, bribe and plead the warehousemen into helping us figure out how much weight we have and what we can/should leave behind. (There are people in this life who ship pianos to every post! I guess they don't have books.)

Then, we get 2500 pounds of "consumables." Because Guinea is a significant "hardship" post, we are allowed and encouraged to buy ALL our food and sundries for the next two years at one time, and the State Dept will pay the freight. We get to break it up into two shipments, which is good, because who knows actually how many boxes of tampax, how many cases of kitty litter, and how many bottles of shampoo one uses in a year. Of course, this means we're significantly out of pocket for all these supplies, and we'll probably need more when we get there, at which point we *will* be paying for shipping to post. (Net Grocer is one of the companies many FS people use. They charge top dollar for stuff, and then tack on 15% for shipping and handling. So you'll understand why we're buying all this stuff now.)

So, those are the three shipments we have to prepare for. Oh, and figuring out what to mail to post before hand to get there when we arrive, and what to take on the plane in suitcases.

Our small 1BR apt is getting smaller by the day as we stack up 220v appliances, consumables and linen clothing for Africa. So, no real entertaining before we go, which is sad, because I'd have loved to do a going away here, but it just doesn't look possible at this point.

The cat is naturally a bit disturbed. Like her mother she deals with stress by eating too much. :-)

We've also just purchased a scanner so that we can reduce some of the weight of our HHE by archiving all our documents on CDs. Of course, I probably won't have time to do any of that until we get to post, so it won't help this trip, but certainly the next one.

So, this is why I haven't posted a lot...it's mostly boring logistical stuff. It's what fills my mind on a daily basis. When I'm not trying to cram in French with a 2x4.

I'll try to make a more fun post next time. Love you all.

An OLD Post

2007-05-18T19:47:00.001Z

Ok, this should have been put up 6 weeks ago, but I finally just checked it for spelling and sensitive info. I'll be posting an update between now and Sunday, but this will give you guys an idea of how things were going.

So, I’m in GSO Training-not doing a Con tour first time out, surprisingly. But I’m being thrown to the wolves a bit. The GSO position has been slated for upgrade to a “Supervisory” GSO (read: higher level, more money) but there’s no funding, so it keeps getting assigned to first-tour officers. Plus, since I’m a 1+ in French (somehow came out with a 1+ speaking and a 2+ reading…not sure how that happened) they’re sending me to post without any more language training. I understand a little better now why so many people seem to complain so much. I’ll do some self-study in the three weeks I’ve got free in late May and early June; then I’ll pick up the rest when I get to post.

I’ll have 7 direct report FSNs-kind of a lot for a first tour. I’ve come to the conclusion they read my resume and slated me for this post out of the gate. There are probably only two or three other people in the class who could have handled it. Hmm, that wasn’t supposed to sound arrogant; it’s just that I’ve been thrown to the wolves before and survived, so I guess they figured I could handle it. The FSNs who I’ll work with daily supposedly speak English well. The other 50 people in the GSO shop (their staff) are another story. A few of them don’t even speak French, the national language. There are three major tribes in Guinea (and 20+ minor ones) and some of the older drivers who work in the motor pool only speak their tribal language. I’m really lucky that one of my FSNs, in fact, one of my Senior FSNs is actually taking one part of the GSO course with me. We’ve gotten to know each other and I like him, and I think he likes me, and I think we’ll work well together.

I’ll be in charge of Housing, Motor Pool, the Warehouse, Contracts, Services (janitorial, local guard), Purchasing, Shipping (customs, and packouts) and the Travel office. There are 53 Americans at post, and over 300 FSNs. It’s the 9th largest post in Africa. The 53 includes AID, Peace Corps, Treasury, and our Marine Detachment. There are about 23 DoS positions, I think; and something like 70% of them are swapping out this summer. And, my entire chain of command is in the middle of it. My predecessor leaves this week, leaving a 3-month gap between us. (The Facility Manager will be covering in the meantime; another duty—we’re each other’s backups.) My supervisor, the Management Counselor, leaves in September. The DCM is retiring in August, and the Ambassador is also leaving in September. There are two positions in Consular, one of them is the Section “chief” and the other is a Con-Econ rotating position (1 year in each.) I’ve met and gotten to know a little the two single men who will be sharing that/those positions. I don’t know which of them will be doing which first, but they’re both leaving for post in early June. Plus we’re getting a new Medical Officer, a new Director of AID, a new Facility Manager, and I’m not sure who else. It’s certainly going to be interesting.

We’ve done very little of The City. (I will never get over that being San Francisco…but I’m not sure how else to reference it!) Last weekend we went to a tiny, little Slavic Festival that some friends happened to find out about. It was wonderful. Then we walked over to the Mall and through the Kite Festival which was colorful and fun. It was a perfect day for flying thousands of kites. Not too warm, just the right amount of breeze. Then, we just hung out. This weekend, we’re going to Monticello with Heather and her family. Then, Sunday, we’re meeting the Community Liaison Officer from Conakry, who is here on evacuation status, for brunch. Her husband is one of the IT guys at post (I’m not sure which one) and they have a 3-year old.

Oh, yes. Evacuation. Things got a bit scary in Conakry in February, and the Ambassador evacuated the families. I’m optimistic that the evac will be lifted at the end of April, and everyone will get to go “home.” If not, then I’ll be heading out by myself in July, and Fred will probably stay in DC and keep learning French. Or he’ll take ConGen (general consular training) or something else. I’m not making those contingency plans yet, just being determinedly optimistic.

I can’t believe how tired I am. I get home from work, and I just want to take my clothes off and veg until I fall asleep. I have a critical test on Thursday. If I don’t get an 80% I’ll be in trouble. But, it’s open book, and I’m working on the low-stress approach. No need to finish first, just finish. 

"Safety OverSeas"

2007-05-15T21:03:00.000Z

So, I've still got a good post brewing, but having just finished SOS (Safety OverSeas) for two days, I’m ready to vent a little. The State Department basically just spent the last 16 hours scaring hell out of us. Kidnapping, bombs, random acts of violence or terror, rape, burglary, etc. “There are lots of people out there who don’t like Americans.” And, videos. Have to admit, I nearly fainted during one of them. Not thinking I’m going to do well, should Crisis break out in Conakry. But, chances are slim that we'll actually see anything other than petty theft in Guinea. (note to self: must remember to get insurance updated.)

Robin

So now we know...

2007-02-19T21:30:00.000Z

Well, flag day, the day we find out where we've been assigned, has come and gone. Actually, a lot of things have come and gone, and I know I've not done well about keeping you all in the loop. So, I'm going to post a number of entries over the next few days, to try and catch you up.

Oh, and yes, we do know where I'm going and when, but there are details to be ironed out. I've been given a very challenging assignment in Conakry, Guinea. It's in what used to be part of French West Africa, although the French cut them off 50 years ago, and they've been pretty ignored ever since. Naturally, in such a vaccuum, they've had two Presidents-for-Life, who have done the usual thing in such a situation. So, last week, the unions in the country started rioting and the President declared martial law. The families of the Embassy Personnel were evacuated three days before flag day. I've been advised that "it will all settle down" before I'm due to leave in June, but there is a chance I won't get to take Fred with me.

I'll find out more this week. And I promise to post more soon.

NPR Story

2006-09-17T16:53:00.000Z

Back in August, NPR did a two-part story on Life in the Foreign Service. For those of you who didn't hear it, I'm posting the link. I don't recall it being terribly informative, but it might be of some interest.

Part 1

Part 2

Robin

The Adventure Begins (soon)

2006-09-16T04:47:00.000Z

8/30/06

To My Dear Ones,

As most of you know, I have been pursuing a goal for the last two years, and it has finally, like a dream, come true. On April 8, 2005, I sat down with 17,000 other people in testing centers, classrooms, and embassies across the US and around the world to take the Foreign Service Written Exam. About 4,000 of us passed. Of the 80% of those who went on to tackle the grueling, all-day practicum, the Oral Assessment, about 20% passed. And I scored in the top 25% of those passers. Today, I found out that within the next three months, I will be invited to join the Diplomatic Corps of the US Government as a Foreign Service Officer. I will be going to work for Condoleeza Rice, to work in Embassies or Consulates around the world for the next 25 years. Having already found my first heart’s desire in Fred, I have now been granted my second heart’s desire.

It feels like a miracle. I have spent the last six months agonizing over whether my health would be good enough to grant me a world wide medical clearance…required for acceptance. I knew the Top Security Clearance wouldn’t be a problem; my life has been too boring for that to have turned up any problems. When I was in high school I wanted to go to college and study International Relations and join the Foreign Service. I didn’t go to college until just a few years ago. I owe Mary Morman a great debt for encouraging and enabling that to happen. And, thanks to one of my wonderful mentors at school, Dr. Robert von Dassanowsky, I rediscovered this old and faded dream, and decided once more to pursue it. I started researching it almost 2 years ago. The more I learned, the more I knew this is exactly what I want to do with my life. And now, I’m going to get to!

Luckily, I get to take Fred with me. And probably the cat, too. Fred has also been taken with the idea of doing this work, although he has chosen to go for the slightly less onerous position of being an Office Management Specialist. His clearances aren’t done yet, and he may have to re-apply due to “timing out” but he’ll get there soon. And then we’ll be what they call a “tandem couple.” I’ll work on the management aspects of embassy work, facilities, finance, supervising foreign nationals, and he’ll be the assistant to an Ambassador or two, probably.

Where will we go? Well, Kabul, Afghanistan is not out of the question. More likely Africa or perhaps China, as that is where Dr. Rice has stated she will be shifting the focus of Diplomacy for the future. If we’re lucky, we’re really hoping for Eastern Europe, the Baltics, Central Asia (the former Soviet Republics, now referred to as “the –stans”) or even Seoul, Korea. We’ll be moving every 2-3 years, and I’ll be looking forward to learning a few new languages, and getting completely fluent in the ones I graduated with my degree from UCCS in. We’ll find out exactly where our first post will be about 6-7 weeks after I start training.

So, we’ll be moving. We’ll be leaving Colorado Springs, although we’re not going to sell our house right away. We’re going to try renting it for the next two years and see how that goes. I think we’ll be trying to keep our “home residence” as Sacramento, using my mother’s home as our “legal address” for tax and voting purposes. And, hopefully for occasional ‘home leave.’ It looks like I’ll probably be starting in January, with the class of 80 or so other new Officers on January 8th in Washington DC. If something changes, like a budget freeze or something, then that could be delayed to March or later.

We’re also shedding things. We’re getting rid of one or both of our cars, half of our furniture, most of our clothes, and even (gasp!) some of our books. At an average of ½ pound per book, our collection currently weighs in at over half a ton. And there are weight limits to what we’re allowed to bring along, wherever we go. If there is something you know we have (this is especially, but not exclusively, for family, and things we may have from other family members) that you would like to have—let me know, and we’ll see what we can do. We’ll especially be paring down the knick-knacks.

We don’t know how long we’ll be in DC. We don’t find out where we’re posted until the end of the 6-8 week training class, which is referred to as “A100” by everybody. So, if I get assigned to a post that requires language proficiency, which I hope to, and is likely, we’ll be there 6-12 months. If we get assigned to an English speaking post, we’ll be there 4-6 months. Fred is looking into a transfer with his current company, Waste Management, which has several offices around DC. He’s also keeping open the option to temp. He’s going to need to get ACL surgery on his knee before we go, which means he’ll be sidelined for at least 4 weeks at some point during all of this, too. In the meantime, he’s started his medical and security clearances for the OMS Position, and will retake the ‘test’ for it next spring when it’s offered again. It’s possible he could even be hired before I’m sent to post…which could make it interesting!

We’ve been pretty poor at keeping in touch with lots of you. In fact, I’m afraid with the computer changeover I did last Spring, I lost a lot of home and email addresses and phone numbers. So, I’ve started this blog, which you have found. There's a way that I can email you to let you know whenever I add something to it, and as soon as I figure it out, I'll let you know. We'll be using this one to post photos and a running monologue on our new lives. Please drop by once in a while, and make it a dialogue! And, along with all the other organizational things I’ll be doing in the next 90 days (that sounds so much shorter than 3 months!!!) I’ll be making sure I get all the addresses, email and street, phone numbers, and other contact information for all of you. With no TV in Botswana (I presume) we’ll have letter-writing time!

The next four months will probably be like a whirlwind. Which is a bit frightening, considering how quickly time already seems to pass these days! So, please help us keep in touch. Call, write, email. We count ourselves lucky to have you in our lives, and don’t want to lose that connection.

Love,

Robin