Summer Time!

Hello again!  I hope everyone has been enjoying a nice summer.  We have had a great one!  We went on several trips...the largest was spending a week on Hilton Head Island.  Now summer is winding down and the kids start school again in one week.  I hate to see the summer end, but I am excited for the new school year and getting back into a routine.

Nothing (obviously!) to report on the FS front.  I haven't thought much about it over the summer, which is a good thing.  With the little thinking I did, I have decided to take the test again next Fen/March.  I think this is something I will always keep on the back burner.  It was a hard pill to swallow (not getting through the PNQ's), but everything about this process is such a mystery.  I'm not really sure where this road will lead, but part of me just enjoys the fact that I do have something working on the back burner.  It makes the sometimes mundane things about the front burners more tolerable!

Until next time...

It's a No

Well it looks like my second shot at this crazy life wasn't meant to be.  I was dissed at the QEP.  I can't say I am completely shocked, though I was shocked at my reaction.  I was pretty disappointed this morning!  I turned in the same PNQ's that I used last year and I wasn't really comfortable with that approached.  I knew it was risky, but I didn't put forth any effort to change my essays.  I rolled the dice and it didn't work in my favor.  I felt like I had been punched in the gut.

In the end, it is all okay.  I wish I was heading back to DC for the orals, but that is not in the plans for me right now.  I am reviewing my language options (though I don't think I can commit to anything that will get me to a passing score by next June when my current candidacy expires) and will see if I can start something that might pay off if I decide to retest next year.  Who knows, maybe the FS will start a crazy hiring spree and I will get called up!  HA!

A fork in the road

I have been on the register for 3 months now.  I haven't asked for an updated placement and I know it doesn't really matter.  I don't think (or haven't heard) of any classes called after March, but I also haven't been following the A-100 group.  It just got to be too much and super negative.  I also stopped meeting with my French tutor in February.  She was great, but I was not putting in the effort to progress.  Unfortunately our schedules didn't match up well and she was only available during the evenings.  We were trying to meet two nights per week, but it proved to be too much for my family.  Between basketball, violin lessons, cub scouts, homework and everything else...something had to give. 

Now I am at a fork and not sure where to go.  I could look for another tutor that would be available during the week.  I could make something work early in the mornings.  The other option I am considering is learning Arabic.  It sounds crazy (I didn't have the time for French, but would have the time for Arabic?)  I know.  I am thinking it may be more realistic to get to a level 2 in Arabic over the next year than a level 3 in French.  Who knows.  I have a couple options that may work. 

At the same time I am ready to throw in the towel so to speak.  I would like to continue the pursuit of this career, but I am not sure learning a language on a part time basis is realistic for me.  If I can't make it "in" on my own merits, is this worth it?? 

The results of the QEP will make all the difference.  If I don't make it (and I am not sure I will...just by the sound of things on A-100) then the pressure is on to move forward with a language, if this is going to happen at all. 

PNQ's

My latest PNQ's are submitted.  They were slightly different this year than last year.  Hopefully I am deemed worthy to continue.  This is such a time consuming process.  It is so frustrating to be so close to this happening and yet, so, so far away.  Only time will tell, I guess. 

Passed

I passed the FSOT and am onto the next round.  I don't know why I was more surprised this time around than last time, but I didn't think this one went well.  I am glad it did!  Now onto refining my PNQ's.  Always fun!

FSOT

I took the FSOT (again!) today.  I felt a lot better about it last year.  I did absolutely nothing to prepare this year and I think my JK score will reflect that.  I felt like the other sections flowed pretty well.  I have a strangely peaceful feeling that I didn't pass.  I am kind of okay with it.  I don't know where this journey is going to lead me, but I do feel like I am finding out more about myself along the way.  Everything is going really well right now, so life is good! 

Vomit

So I registered for the FSOT today.  I feel like I vomited in my mouth a little bit.  I HATE this test!  It is impossible to study for it, as the saying goes, "it is a mile wide and an inch deep."  Last year I did a lot of studying by reading The Ec0nomist and some other books.  I'm not sure how much it helped.  I don't have a lot of time to do that now, but I will try to squeeze something in.  I did okay on the test last time, but I could work on my essay writing.  All of it sounds like loads of fun, so you can imagine my excitement!  I am ready to have it over with yesterday!  Wish me luck!

Happy 2011

Happy 2011 to everyone out there!  I really enjoy reading everyone's stories throughout the year and I hope 2011 takes everyone to exciting places and I get to live vicariously through their adventures.  I soooo hope I am on the other side come this time next year.  I really want this, but I am losing my motivation with French.  I do feel that I am making some progress, but it is sooooo time consuming.  Working and the kids and pets and coaching 1st grade basketball and cub scouts etc, etc, etc.  It is all exhausting and it makes it hard to not collapse every night.  I know there is no hope of me making it to A-100 without the language points (even then it is a stretch) so I am continuing, but it is not easy!  I think I am going to take the FSOT again and start this process all over.  Who knows how it will go this time around, but I feel like I have to try it.

Hopefully 2011 will be a good one.  If anything, it will be busy!