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...
