This is the month of our big move! We just had our combination going away/Tasman's 2nd birthday party - you can see the pictures from that here. Thanks to all our friends and family who showed up!

Here's some catch-up for those who may have been out of the loop on some of this stuff - Adham is about to start a new job as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) with the US State Department. This development has been a long time coming, as the first time he took the written exam was back in September, 2001. In case you're not aware, the hiring process for this job is quite convoluted, and that's probably an understatement. There are several distinct steps to the process, and not making it through one of them can mean going all the way back to the beginning to try again. In fact, Adham ended up taking the written exam four times, and only passed it twice. Passing the written exam earns one an invitation to an oral assessment, an all-day affair consisting of group and individual exercises, proctored and facilitated by veteran FSOs, and intended to measure the candidate's abilities against the "13 dimensions" which the State Department has identified as indicating potential success in the career.

Adham passed the oral assessment on his second attempt, in June of 2003. This began the security and medical clearance process, which was completed by December '03. On January 8th, 2004, he received an email from the State Department inviting him to join the 118th A-100 class, beginning March 8th. A note of explanation here - A-100 is the name given to the orientation class all new FSOs take, which is held five or six times a year. It lasts seven weeks, and is followed by training for the specific job which will be performed. Although Adham's chosen career track is Management, all new FSOs are required to serve at least one year in the Consular track, and most end up doing it in their first tour abroad.

Compared to previous jobs we've had, the State Department is pretty good about relocating us from California to DC and then onwards to our overseas posting. We will be moving out of our apartment in late February, and will stay in local hotels until we fly to Washington, DC on March 1st. During Adham's basic training course, a lot will happen. First, our class will receive a list of all the posts around the world that have openings for our group of entry-level FSOs. That list will have 80 - 90 jobs on it, one for each of the members of the 118th (here's a sample list, from the 116th class, which finished their basic training in December). Then, we (Crystal and Adham) have a week or so to take a close look at the list and put together our top 25 choices, and explain those choices to a Career Development Officer. Then around mid-April we can look forward to the Flag Day ceremony, when we all learn where we'll be going. In late-April there's a swearing-in ceremony, which if we're lucky will be presided over by The Man himself, Secretary of State Colin Powell. Following that, depending on our eventual destination and what job Adham will be doing there, we'll be spending anywhere from 6 weeks to 9 months more in DC for training before heading out.

So how are we feeling about all this? Excited, frazzled, nervous, sad to be leaving old friends and family, looking forward to new places and people, and a whole lot more. Right now we're focused on finding a place to live in DC (the State Department will pay for our housing, up to a point, but we have to find it and arrange for it ourselves) and preparing for the move. As you may already know, Crystal and Adham are both packrats, so we've been spending time over the past few weeks going through years' worth of accumulated "stuff", and figuring out what we want to: a) give away, b) toss, c) have shipped for use during training in DC, d) have shipped for use only once we go overseas, and e) pack in our suitcases for when we fly east. And since we have belongings at three different households in Oakland alone, you can see how categorizing all our things quickly turns into a formidable task (here's a link to a website by one of Adham's classmates-to-be; Amy does a great job of explaining her approach to the conundrum of stuff).

Finally, as of today, here are our Top Ten reasons for becoming a Foreign Service Officer:

10: Good excuse to buy nice clothes which actually fit me

9: May finally learn the proper use of a dessert fork and dessert spoon

8: Easier to explain what a diplomat does than a Child Care Policy Analyst

7: Always wanted to become intimately acquainted with Ethan Allen furniture

6: If I can't be a Marine, at least I might have one guarding my office building

5: Nice way for kids to figure out where North America is

4: Might finally learn the true identity of Prince Roy

3: Life never has enough acronyms for me

2: Don't have to worry about buying into the Bay Area housing market anymore

1: Wait a minute, State Department? I thought you said Skate Department!

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