Archive for January, 2008

28
Jan
08

Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin

Nothing like a slew of extensive physicals from the State Department to make me feel like a pinched and prodded hunk of fruit in the supermarket (or, if you will, a roll of Charmin à la Mr. Whipple). In order to guarantee that I am ABSOLUTELY healthy and able to go ANYWHERE, I’ve spent the last two weeks making multiple trips to the doctor, the clinic where the x-ray machine is, the allergist, and everywhere in between.

Several of those trips could have been avoided, however, if only the doctor had remembered to actually call for every freakin’ blood test that the physical asked for. But no, just when the bruise almost clears and I’ve already ripped that little cotton ball off my arm (plus a few arm hairs attached to the tape that I previously didn’t know I had) I get a little call:

“Mr. Percheeko? We need you to come back in to have more blood drawn because even though we’d assured you that the lab had enough, we need more. Lots more. Can you bring an empty one-gallon milk jug with you? Better safe than sorry! Oh, don’t worry. We can sterilize here at the clinic.”

Turns out that I wasn’t pale from the lack of sunlight in the winter. It was from all the blood loss. Oh well. At least the allergist says I can eat eggs without fear of swelling up like that blueberry girl from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

In closing, here’s a YouTube video of an American Idol audition that has absolutely nothing to do with the subject of this post:

19
Jan
08

Always With the Beginnings, Never the Ends

I would love to have everyone think otherwise, but my life really isn’t that exciting. From the few stories I’ve told from work, one would think it’s a laugh-a-minute, zany, kooky adventure filled with witty one-liners and wacky hijinks. But, much like reality TV, I tend to edit my life down for time, condensing all the fun into easily digested 22-minute bites.

And when I’m not working, most of my spare time is spent in more or less a stationary state. Sure, I have adventures, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary for me to spend Friday night trying to fix a bad install of Photoshop on my laptop. However, having to do such a geeky task also allowed me to “clean house”, so to speak, and in so doing I stumbled onto a veritable gold mine of old stories and assignments and whatnot from my college years.

Aside from laughing at some of the more “emo” scrawlings, I discovered that it’s nigh on impossible for me to be able to properly end a story. Still, that shouldn’t stop me from sharing a few, right?

Continue reading ‘Always With the Beginnings, Never the Ends’

11
Jan
08

Deflating

Okay, I’ve just arrived home from the Federal Hell Gauntlet, also known as the Oral Assessment. It took all day — we didn’t even see the sun yesterday — was extremely stressful, and at the end of it, I wouldn’t be exaggerating when I say my nerves were shot. If anybody out there wants the penultimate interview experience to guarantee that he or she will be able to survive anything, I strongly recommend undergoing this process.

Before I get too derailed, I’ll give the ADD-addled folks their fix: I passed. Or rather, I made it past the cutoff score of 5.25 out of 7 with a 5.5. If you want the whole experience — at least, that which I can safely divulge within the bounds of an extremely scary NDA — read on.

Finally, I would like to emphasize the following: I may have made it past the last big hoop in the application process, but I haven’t been hired by the Department of State yet. I still need the necessary medical and security clearances, as well as a hopeful ranking boost from a language test to ensure me a competitive place in the training classes. Realistically, it could be July before I get the notification that I’m high enough on the waiting list to be hired. So, y’all are stuck with me for a little while longer.

Continue reading ‘Deflating’

06
Jan
08

Four Days

I’m leaving in four days for the big interview/hell gauntlet. Four days. Bought a new suit and everything, just for the occasion.

Wait a minute. I’m leaving in four days! Why am I posting on here?! I need to be studying or something!

02
Jan
08

This Has Got to Stop

What the crap?

If the spectacular failure that was the CNN-YouTube debates was any indication, we should not trust the Internet and television news working together to provide any sort of meaningful insight into the candidates campaigns and personalities. Please, can we leave the debate organizing to Jim Lehrer and Co.?

Still, I wonder if somebody’s going to be able to sneak a few frames of porn into the broadcast somehow, much like some enterprising user did to Hillary…




Where to?

Currently: Riyadh, KSA
Next: TBA

Disclaimer

Any and all posts reflecting on the Foreign Service and the Department of State are expressly my own and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Department and/or the federal government. Hopefully I won't say anything too stupid.

 

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