Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Post-Election Reflection

Well, here we are. If you know me, you know that I’m unhappy and upset that Hillary didn’t win the U.S. Presidential election. Kudos to her, though, for a tough and weird race and for winning the popular vote. I’ve supported her for years – I actually got to shake her hand once when I first lived in DC and she was the new First Lady. I still think she could/would make a truly awesome President. Thank you, Hillary, for running!

A hallmark of our grand experiment of governance – our constitutional republic – is a peaceful transition of power through elections. From old to new, one party to another, it is a cornerstone value of our system. It is one that I wholeheartedly embrace and that I will be proud to share throughout the world during my career in the U.S. Foreign Service.

So, I look to the future with hope and with a watchful eye. I am also emboldened to continue my support of the Democratic Party and specifically of the Progressive wing – Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and others. I will do what I can to win back the Senate, if not all of Congress, in 2018.

But not now. Right now I’m sad, and weary, and tired of fighting. I don’t want to think about politics. I want to think about hugging my dog, Cosmo, and kissing my husband, Mark, when I return home to Boston for Thanksgiving. I want to work on my projects, and binge-watch some Netflix shows, and ride my bicycle, and get back to yoga. The rest can wait, for now.

Whether you are celebrating, commiserating, or crying – we all need some of this right now:

The essence of Buddhism is the conviction that we have within us at each moment the ability to overcome any problem or difficulty that we may encounter in life; a capacity to transform any suffering. Our lives possess this power because they are inseparable from the fundamental law that underlies the workings of all life and the universe. 
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is thus a vow, an expression of determination, to embrace and manifest our Buddha nature. It is a pledge to oneself to never yield to difficulties and to win over one’s suffering. At the same time, it is a vow to help others reveal this law in their own lives and achieve happiness. 
The individual characters that make up Myoho-renge-kyo express key characteristics of this law. Myo can be translated as mystic or wonderful, and ho means law. This law is called mystic because it is difficult to comprehend. What exactly is it that is difficult to comprehend? It is the wonder of ordinary people, beset by delusion and suffering, awakening to the fundamental law in their own lives, bringing forth wisdom and compassion and realizing that they are inherently Buddhas able to solve their own problems and those of others. The Mystic Law transforms the life of anyone—even the unhappiest person, at any time and in any circumstances—into a life of supreme happiness.
To chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is an act of faith in the Mystic Law and in the magnitude of life’s inherent possibilities. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is not a mystical phrase that brings forth supernatural power, nor is it an entity transcending ourselves that we rely upon. It is the principle that those who live normal lives and make consistent efforts will duly triumph.
 from The Meaning of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo



Saturday, October 29, 2016

One Year Update

As October 2016 comes to a close I'm reminded that I've been in Charleston, SC for a full year now. This is where I'm supposed to say something like "time sure flies..." but I'm not going to. Honestly, it feels like a whole year. No judgement there, just that it really does feel like I've been here a year. 

That year started with a move during the worst flooding South Carolina had seen in decades (centuries? millennia?). That year ended - almost to the day - with a category 2 hurricane:  Matthew (OK, maybe it was a strong 1 by the time it swung by just off the coast of Charleston). What's next? I've already seen a plague of mosquitoes and fruit flies. I don't think there's been a major earthquake in Charleston since 1886; are we due?

Anywho...instead of my usual retrospection, I thought I would make a Pros and Cons list about Charleston. Could be useful for anyone wanting to move down here or [ahem] come visit me before I leave for DC in April 2017.

Pros and Cons of Charleston, SC*

Pros

Food - Charleston has an awesome food and drink culture and scene going on. While much of it is "some cuisine"-low country-fusion (think Asian-low country fusion with pork noodle ramen where the noodles are actually made from pork skin - delicious by the way) there are tons of good restaurants and bars ranging from dives, to extensions of your living room, to tourist traps, to fancy night out, to cutting edge. Not to mention all the oyster roasts (sadly, not my thing), chili contests, and ethnic festivals. And good food and drink from cheap as chips to "OMG - how much?" One can definitely eat and drink well in the Charleston area.


Friendliness - I'd heard about it but until I experienced it myself I truly didn't believe it. Southern Hospitality® really does exist. Many people down here are genuinely nice. I've certainly experienced that at work, around my neighborhood, and in bars and restaurants. Even walking down the street people (some, not all - you know who you are Ohioans) smile and say hi or hello. And yes, I've had some of the college kids call me sir (no...perv...not in that way). It makes you want to be nice back, most of the time.


History - There is a lot of history down here. Not as much as back in Massachusetts and environs, but a lot. And it's very interesting, especially the connections between Charleston, Boston, Salem (yes, little old Salem, MA), New York, and Philadelphia. Lots of Colonial history, Revolution and Independence, Plantation & Slavery, Civil War, Civil Rights, you name it. And Charleston does a pretty good job of preserving, presenting, and owning its history.


Charm - Well, as they say, "Chaahlston is Chaahming" (that was my attempt to write out a Charleston accent - which, incidentally, is not far from a Boston accent (think Back-Bay Brahman, not Southie) slowed way down). The architecture in the French Quarter and around the Peninsula is great. Plantations with houses and gardens and river views. The Battery. Trees and flowers and palmetto palms. Beaches. When you hear someone with a Charleston accent, that's very charming (as opposed to the accent that sounds like the person has marbles in their mouth). In a very slight way, Charleston reminds me a tiny bit of Venice. No, not because Charleston is basically sinking, too. But every once in a while when I'm walking or riding down in the old, historic district, there's the same sense of past decadence and slight decay. Maybe it's just that moss and mold will grow on anything down here.

Weather - Coming from Boston, what more do I have to say. I will though. My first winter in Boston was 95-96 when we got 107 inches of snow - that's 8.9 feet of snow. Granted, it was over most of the winter season. But that made it a long winter season. Fast forward and my last winter (?) in Boston was 2015. Now that was the winter that beat 95/96:  110.6 inches. Over 9 feet of snow. But all that snow fell between January 27 (my birthday, btw) and March 31. That's right - roughly a foot of snow a week. What I'm saying is after all that, a little July and August low country heat and humidity isn't so bad. Is it?


Bicycling - Bicycling down here can be fun. See that whole Weather thing above. Lots of college and med school students bike around downtown. When I can ride my bike in December and January - that's a good thing. Also, not a lot of hills (well, really none) so biking can be slower and more relaxed. Can be...see below, though.


Small-town Feel - Charleston feels like a small town. I live in a great neighborhood - Canonborough/Elliotborough. Most of the Peninsula/Downtown is tight little neighborhoods. Living here I can walk or bike just about anywhere I want to go (except Trader Joe's). That's nice.

Cons

Food - Yep, all that good food and drink has a price:  pounds. I'll say it: I've gained about 5 pounds in my year in Charleston. It would be more, except for that Weather thing I talked about, where at least I can get out on the bicycle for most of the year.  Or go to Yoga (which I've been a bad boy and haven't been for a while.  Sorry, Meg, I'm coming back real soon, promise!) If you come for a few days, you'll be OK.  A week or two - you may want to exercise a little extra.  More than that - expect to put on a pound or two. If you're one of "those" who never gains wait regardless of what you eat - well F..........


Friendliness - Maybe I lived too long in New England but the overly-friendliness can start to get annoying. And heaven help men trying to open and hold doors around here. Jeesh, let's just agree that whoever gets to a door first opens it, let's whoever is right behind him or her go through and then go through him- or herself. It seems to be some convoluted chivalry thing going on down here that I haven't quite worked out. I'm sure they all think I'm some ill-mannered Liberal Yankee (well, that's half true, maybe).


History - there's a lot of, um, "history" still going on down here. I can feel it underneath ways that different people interact with each other. It's different than what I've been used to. I'll leave it at that for now.


Weather - OK, summer is hot. Hot. HOT! Like, Indonesia HOT!

Bicycling - Biking can be fun. It can also be terrifying. Especially going over the West Ashley Bridge to get to the West Ashley Greenway - a lovely bike trail that's a BITCH to get to. And what is with bike lanes that just suddenly end. Hello, I didn't want to just bike a couple of miles from nowhere specif to nowhere else specific. Seriously, who thought that. And Charleston City (or County?) Council:  a bike lane on the inbound side of the West Ashley Bridge is a no-brainer. Get it done already!

Traffic - Yes, traffic can suck. Luckily, my normal commute is contra-flow, so it only takes me about 12 minutes to get to work from home. I know some people who have an hour or hour and a half commute. Yuck! While I'm on traffic can I just say that one of my pet peeves is the "In God We Trust" license plate. No, not because I hate your religion. Because my experience has been that those drivers are some of the worst (and rudest). It's as if that plate gives them license to be annoying a**holes. Both times that I've nearly been hit while riding my bicycle (see above) have been by "In God We Trust" license plate holders. And I almost got run over in the Mount Pleasant Target parking lot (another place I can't bike to, Target) by Soccer Mom® with her IGWT plate who had the audacity to give me the finger for being in the crosswalk that she wanted to drive in. 

Tourists - Holy crap there are hordes of touristas here. I know that Boston had a lot. So did Harvard (if you don't know, dear reader, I worked at Harvard for 16 years before joining the U.S. Foreign Service). But I think because of the size of Charleston it seems like they're everywhere. Yes, I know, they bring in lots of money. You know what else they do? They drive up prices for the everyday working folks who live here. Charleston is not the affordable city that many people told me it would be. Rent is expensive and so are housing prices, in downtown at least (maybe if one wanted to live an hour commute away it's cheaper). And the City of Charleston is not really investing in affordable housing stock to make living in Charleston easier for people. Instead, they're cosying up to developers for yet more hotels and luxury condos. And don't get me started on Charleston being a wedding destination. Ugh! I'm over all that, for sure. Good thing my next posting is Bamako, Mali:  nobody's wedding destination choice, I'm sure.

*These are my pros and cons and don't have any endorsement by Charleston City, Charleston County, or South Carolina. I'm open to that, though.


Thursday, September 1, 2016

Paneled for Bamako

I got my TMOne. Have no clue what that means? Welcome to the State Department, where we like to make up fun names for everything. TMOne means my next assignment is official. TM means Travel Message and One is...well...1. So, a TMOne is cable number one in all the fun messages that will move back and forth for my next (and subsequent) assignment. And I don't just get assigned to a post.  A whole committee - a panel - meets to decide that it's OK for me to go to Bamako, hence being "paneled" for the next assignment. And this whole thing about how emails are still affectionately called cables - just precious.

I will get nearly six months of French language training. My tentative departure from Charleston is the last week of April, 2017, six months in DC, then on to Mali.  Not that I'm not enjoying my time in Charleston, SC, but I'm ready (and I think Mark and Cosmo are, too) to get out into the world. Although, I think it's awesome that I'll actually get paid to learn a language!  Ask me how I feel around mid-September next year...

Just a quick update to say that it's official that we'll be going to Mali.  Now I have to pack some things since I'm heading back to Boston and Mark and Cosmo for Labor Day weekend - woohoo!

Here's a preview of Bamako:



Saturday, July 9, 2016

Next Assignment...

Yesterday, I got my assignment for summer 2017:


Bamako, Mali

So, not first on my list - but not last, either.  It won't be truly official until I get paneled (which is officially slotted into the FMO position by HR) and then get my assignment cable*.  But, barring unforeseen circumstances, this time next year should see Mark and I getting ready to head to Africa (or to DC first and then to Africa).

Yes, I do imagine Oprah welcoming us...

The position is listed as language designated:  French 2/2 (which means level 2 in speaking and level 2 in reading - for what the levels mean, see this).  So, hopefully I will get some language training before heading out.  We also get to take the FACT course (aka "Crash & Bang"). Maybe Mark can take a Consular course, as well.


Oh, and it's a 2 R&R post with Paris as the designated R&R point.  Bonjour, Paris!



*They aren't really cables anymore.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Bid List Submitted

Just a very quick post today.  I turned in my second-tour FMO Summer 2017 bid list last Friday.  Now it's just a waiting game to find out where in the world we will go: Europe, The Americas, Africa, Asia, Oceania?  We should find out by July 8 (but maybe before then).  I'll post again once we get our next post.

In the meantime, watch and enjoy:






Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Longest Week Ever...

OK, maybe a bit melodramatic.  It is going to feel like a very long week, though, and not just because I have two days of mind-numbing ISO-9001 internal auditor training.  Oh, yes, you heard that right...can it get any more exciting than that?

It can.  I'm also waiting for the FMO second-tour bid list to come out next Monday.  Even though I have more than a year left in Charleston (sigh - read into that whatever you want) it's already time to start working on the next assignment.  Of course my colleagues and I have been guessing and second guessing what's going to be on the list.  One or two of us think they have it figured out; I'm not one of them.  It could be anywhere* and while it's fun to dream of life in Barcelona**, Buenos Aires**, or Brisbane** we just have to wait and see what shows up on the list.

That's why it's going to feel like a long week...until the ten days to wait from turning in the list to finding out the next assignment.  Yeah - that will feel like an eternity.

I went home for Memorial Day (home leave?), so here are some pic while we wait for the list:

Cosmo!

mmm, a Propah Lobstah Roll!

Mark and David with Samantha (Bewitched)

Mark has learned to cook in my absence (and well, too).

Mark in Ogunquit, Maine

That's me, in Portshmouth, NH

Look at this church tag-sale find from Portsmouth.  All four records included.  Only $1!

So long, Boston.  See y'all later.

*Not, technically, anywhere.  It will be one of probably twelve US embassies that has given its FMO position to entry-level specialist career assignments.

**Won't happen (at least not this go 'round).

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Happy Spring!

Happy Vernal Equinox!  Spring has sprung in the South Carolina low country.  


Actually it sprang a few weeks ago, as evidenced by the proliferation of greenish-yellow tree pollen that started covering every surface and inflicting allergic reactions to a majority of the population down here.  Me...not so much, although daily Zyrtec helps bunches.

With Spring has come quite nice weather, we just had a nice long run of 80 degree weather.  I got my bike out twice last weekend.

Here are a few pics from the West Ashley Greenway:




Today, though, on the first day of Spring, it's a bit cool and rainy.  Oh well.

I've been able  to get my porch gardening going.  Three weeks ago I started lettuce and spinach.  Last weekend I started herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.  Things seems to be coming along nicely.  I hope I can get lettuce and spinach before it gets too hot, though.

Lettuce (on the left) and spinach (on the right)


Cucumbers, tomatoes, and herbs coming up:

 

Work has been going just fine.  Our rotation program has changed slightly and I get to stay in my first rotation area (Post Support Unit) until the end of April.  That's good because I really like PSU and feel like it will the the most "post-like" assignments while I'm in Charleston.  Next up will be Global Compensation in May.

We're also working on our performance evaluations, known in the foreign service as EERs.  It's a new form this year for all foreign service employees, so I'm glad we're starting with it now -- there's no unlearning of the old ways.  It turns out, though, that my colleagues and I will probably have four EERs by the time we are done with Charleston instead of the usual two (one per year) because of our rotations and changing supervisors during our two years.  Hopefully, this will be a very good opportunity to show tenuring and promotions boards what wonderful and outstanding FMOs we are.

Also, I'm learning French (or relearning it) in anticipation of what might be on our assignments list that should be coming out in May or early June. I'm in a distance learning course through the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) which is good, but really what's helping most is French in Action, the PBS French course from the late 1980's. It's a great resource for learning the language.  We'll see if I want to test in French and get an official language score sometime before leaving for my next post.

Finally, speaking of the assignments list, I'm starting to get excited to see it.  We have a tool that shows potential positions in our grade and specialty.  There are some fascinating places that I would be happy to be assigned to:  Kathmandu, Phnom Penh, Rangoon, and Berlin.  Mind you, nothing is final and since we are considered entry-level none of those places and jobs may be on our list.  Still, it's fun to think about the possibilities...

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Health and Welfare

I'm convinced that living with someone else strengthens your immune system - or mine at least.  I could probably take a minute or two to search the interwebs half-heartedly for some "proof", but I'll just choose to believe it.  

As I write this I'm in the late stage of...a cold?  a mild flu?  a respiratory malaise?  I don't know what it is.  I do know that nearly half of my office has something similar.  And this is my second "something" in this new year of 2016, along with a weekend bout of either food poisoning or a stomach bug last month.  Oh well...Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stƤrker, and all that, right?

I did have a wonderful interlude during all of this:  a long, Presidents' Day weekend in LA with my Hubby to visit our friends Jamie and Clinton.

Oh, Los Angeles, you confound me.  Could I live there?  Couldn't I?  Would I ever truly know which direction I was going?  Maybe it's years of looking from the west over the ocean to the east which threw me off.  Maybe it was the lack of familiar landmarks.  Jetlag?  Heat stroke?  Too many lemons?  Who really knows?

We did have a great time, though.  It was wonderful to see Mark since we hadn't seen each other since he was in Charleston over Christmas and New Years.  It was great to see Jamie and Clinton and their new home.  It's always fun to explore a new city.  And, well, the weather was beautiful:  mid-80's during the day and low 60's to high 50's at night.  It had even rained about a week or so before we arrived, so things were slightly more green than brown.  Perfect!


Jamie (L) and Mark (R) and some green!

We saw the ocean:





We went to the Getty Villa:





We visited the Yogananda Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine Temple, but somehow I have no pictures.

We went to the Santa Monica Pier and rode the Ferris Wheel





There was the Broad  - the newest, hippest art scene in LA.  BTW, this is a great museum and if you're in LA you should definitely go -- it's free, too!











Chinese New Year in Chinatown:









We saw the San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura







And we saw seals





I didn't see any Hollywood stars, though.  Maybe next time.

Thank you Jamie and Clinton for a great weekend!  I can't wait to come back and also to have you come visit me in Charleston.

Now, where's my old school pseudoephedrine-- the kind that actually works?

Friday, January 1, 2016

2015 to 2016

Happy New Year 2016!

Here's how my 2015 went...

January:


January 27, BTW


After the first blizzard of 2015 (which was also my birthday:  January 27, BTW)

February:


I got my Master of Science in Accounting Diploma


More Snow


And more Snow.

March:


Went on some job interviews

April:


Hung out with Cosmo

May:


I got my Foreign Service job offer!

June:



Mark and I got married!




I had a wonderful send off from Mark and great friends

July:

\
Did some gardening


Moved to Arlington, VA to start orientation and training


First Day


Wore a lot of suits...in July...in DC


Cosmo and Mark came to visit


Flag Day came...


And I got Charleston, South Carolina.

August:




Rode my bike a lot and did some sightseeing





















September:


I went home for Labor Day and got my stuff to be shipped to Charleston ready.


Took an apartment hunting trip to Charleston



October:


End-of-training and farewell dinner with fellow FMOs




Mark drove down to DC and then helped me move to Charleston.  We got caught in the record flooding and had to stay in a questionable Days Inn one night.


Getting the porch setup...




Found some bike paths to ride

November:




Got some holiday lights up

Went home for Thanksgiving, but didn't take any pictures.

December:




Some Holiday Spirit


Mark came to Charleston for Christmas and New Year's


We took a pub tour


We went to Savannah


David came to visit


We did a history walking tour






We went to Fort Sumter


Some shopping


Some Sparklers


Happy New Year!

Here's to a fun, healthy, and happy 2016 and beyond!