Random thoughts this week

I feel like I should update today, but there's not too much to say.

Yesterday, for the first time in 1.5 years or so, I was busy all day at work. The medical practice I manage is bringing in a new MD in 2 weeks. Unfortunately, that also coincides with our annual vacation in DC with my husband's family. I might have to arrive a day late, just to make sure Dr. L's first day goes smoothly. But it's a welcome change to be so busy and it keeps me from obsessing about the FS.

Speaking of the FS, I am decidedly not motivated to prepare for the FSOT. I've done a few geography quizzes (amusingly, Europe is my downfall!) and learned all the world capitals. That is quite fun. Before my FS interest, I would venture to say you could not pay me enough to tell you where Baku, Mbabane, or Skopje were. I've always loved geography and probably know much more than the average person, but there were (and still are) definitely some gaps in my knowledge base. But now? I know the capitals, baby.

I bought M a world map placemat and he's starting to get into it, too. I'm very proud.

I'm trying to do essay preparation, too. But oh, it's so painful.

So I just want to give a shout-out to those who keep up their motivation through multiple cracks at the FSOT and subsequent tests. It's not easy to sustain your energy for years on end.

In kid news, M and L are so adorable lately. They are both starting to thrive at their new daycare. M wants to come home every day and say the Pledge of Allegiance before dinner. He's practicing writing his letters in a workbook.

And L is starting to fall in love with Daddy. She's been a mama's girl for a long, long time, but yesterday, when I went to get her out of bed, she said "I want to go see my daddy." And this morning, after saying goodbye to Daddy and watching him close the door, she said "I want to say I love you to Daddy." So of course, we had to open the door so she could call out, "I love you Daddy!". I'm pretty sure her Daddy melted.

FSOT, take two

The B husband and I signed up for the October FSOT. I was in the June cohort, but back in June, well, I thought I wouldn't need to do this. 

[For those unfamiliar with the FS application process, a quick primer. It's made up of many different steps. If you do not pass to the next step, you must start over at the beginning. And you can only take the written test once a year. It is quite common for people who do not pass the Oral Assessment the first time to pass it on the second. It's also common for people to take the tests over and over again or to finally achieve their dream after ~5 years of trying. I truly admire those people.
 
So the good news is that State lets you try again and again. I mean, really, what other job affords you that opportunity? But the bad news is that 1) you have to start over from the beginning, 2) you have to wait a whole year between tests, 3) sometimes you fail a test or step that you passed the year before, which is tremendously frustrating. But still, overall, I am grateful that you can try again.

One last note- in my case, since I'm on the register already, the reason for going through the process again is to gain a higher score on the Oral Assessment. If I get a 5.5 (my original score was 5.4), for example, my Spanish points would give me a 5.67 and I would jump a few spots on the register and hopefully receive an offer sooner.]

Anyway, I joined the FSOT (FS officer test, or the written test) yahoo board once again to jog my memory about what to prepare. Man, it was like going back in time. I remember April-May 2009, when I first got this idea into my head. I told myself and my husband I was just bored and wanted to give myself a challenge. But the more research I did, the more I wanted it. I never, ever thought my husband would go along with it. But here we are.

They say that the FSOT is a mile wide but an inch deep. True. I liken it to Trivial Pursuit, a game I've never been very good at. I'm having trouble finding the motivation to do some preparation, but hopefully I will find it soon enough. Just in case.