Monday, August 14, 2006

I'll Be Hanging Around the Lowcountry a Bit Longer.

I received a message from DOS today. The September GSO positions have been filled. I am currently twelve of thirteen on the register. Now that I am no longer dead last on the register, I have hope. I am hoping that the thirteen include nine who have accepted invitations.

I do not have a good perspective on my placement. I believe the majority of passers have not completed their clearances. Those currently on the register either already had their clearances, or else were one of the early OA passers. I will have a better idea in October or November when most of the GSO candidates will have moved to the hiring register. I hope that those ahead of me were ahead of me by just a hair and that they had bonus points added in their score. A candidate can receive 2.4 - 5.7 additional points based for foreign language proficiency. Veterans can receive 5-10 additional points. Without knowing the background and circumstances of the other candidates it is difficult to answer the constant question of everyone around me of ...."so WHEN is all this happening?" I even had a few "Are you STILL here?" comments in my direction.

Yes, I am still here. I will be hanging around the lowcountry just a bit longer. It's not such a bad place to be in limbo. My drive home from work is too short. The sun beginning to set on the Ashley River is stunning. I have to go over three bridges to get home. One bridge seems like what you think a bridge should be as it crosses perfectly straight over the Ashley River, one bridge is more winding and snakelike as it runs over the mouth of the Ashley as she meets the Cooper and forms our harbor around Charleston's peninsula, and one is barely a bridge crossing the JI Creek which is mostly marsh unless you happen to driving by at a lunar high tide - and then WOW!!

I can see that I'm going to have to go and take a few pictures. OK then. They will be up sometime this weekend.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Found a link to your blog today on Tumbleweeds. As a fellow South Carolinian in the Foreign Service (I am currently serving in Jerusalem), I wanted to wish you good luck. I hope the wait from here until you get an offer is short.

MIchelle

Lisa said...

Thanks, Michelle, for stopping by and saying hello!

Anonymous said...

Do you have email? I talked to Dan with lowcountry blogs (I used to work for him at the P&C) and he said we should correspond. Mine is JMSchohn@aol.com.

Lisa said...

Thanks for the advice prettysure. I do think that an initial large post will help my family adjust. My ten year old already has her own ideas. She wants to initally live in China because her best friend is from China, then when she is in highschool she wants me to be posted somewhere so remote that I will be forced to send her to a boarding school. I'm going to have to keep my eyes on her :)

Centerburg, Ohio- Feb. 22, 1919.

 Centerburg, Ohio Feb. 22, 1919 Dear Uncle,       I received your letter today.  Mr. Van Sickle gave it to me this morning.  Grandma gave it...