Category Archives: Moment of Zen
Can’t Live With Them…Or Something Like That
So, our very lovely apartment has a ridiculous amount of security. A front door that looks like a bank vault. Special fancy keys, and and even special-er little piece of plastic with a transponder in it that makes the elevator work. This means that every time I have guests I have to go up and […]
So, This is How Weird My Life Is
I am a woman of a certain age. An age, shall we say, when many of us start to think more about the big picture, and less about how to get through each day. Options, in some ways are narrower. The childbearing years (at least the optimal ones) are over. It’s pretty clear I won’t […]
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of a Tour
You know, that middle year of three-year tour. When you are finally, really and truly, unpacked–in our case after the second move of the tour. When you finally have all the basics stocked up, and aren’t even slightly worried about using up your pantry before packout. Refritos? Yeah, I’ll take a case of those. When […]
Destructive Procrastination
Last week, I was looking forward not-so-eagerly to a lot of work in the New Year. My regular part-time job, a book editing project, and another online editing course. Plus, a German conversation course, which I am taking out of pure masochistic pride. And, all the usual family CEO duties. You know, laundry, cooking, cleaning, […]
Geeking Out in the New Year
OK, this actually started a couple of months ago with the Great Computer Crash of 2012. Like most apparently organized people, I had one place where I dumped all my junk and forgot about it. That place was my PC, which pretty much doubles as my office. I not only am the family CEO, but […]
My Brain Is Tired
So, yesterday I clicked “Submit” to send in my final exam. It felt GOOD. Because, you know, my brain is kind of tired by now. Hello, Christmas vacation! I just finished the first of four online courses in a “professional sequence in editing” offered by the University of California at Berkeley. I have earned my […]
Like Turning An Ocean Liner On a Dime
I mentioned in my last post that things have been kind of a bummer Foreign Service-wise around here lately and that I wasn’t ready to blog about it yet. Well, I think I am ready now. We found out a few weeks ago that my husband will most likely retire at the conclusion of our […]
I May Be Ignorant And Possibly Brain-Damaged But I Do Have a Really Cute Kitten
So, a few months ago, after an unfortunate EFM employment episode, I decided my time at this post would be better spent polishing up my professional skills. To that end, I volunteered to edit a book, and at the same time, signed up for a professional editing course. This is a series of five online […]
Somewhere Between Vanity and Creativity
Last week, the husband called my blog a “vanity project.” I wasn’t offended. It was a definite step up from calling it “your latest attempt to get me fired.” He is an FSO, after all, and discretion is therefore his middle name (except when he talks to his wife, apparently…) But, I got to thinking: […]
In Which I Am Shocked To Discover That I No Longer Absolutely Loathe Foreign Service Bidding
So, a couple of weeks ago, two language-designated jobs came up for 2014 that my husband could bid on well ahead of time. We said yes to one without a second thought, but before turning down the other, we thought we’d better check and see what else is likely to open up during the regular […]
What’s In A Name?
A few days ago, at the peak of the hype about our latest village idiot, Congressman Todd Akin, I found myself wondering: who would marry such a person? No, seriously, I really wondered! So a bit of Googling, and I found Todd Akin’s wife. Here she is, listed as “Mrs Todd Akin” on this page […]
Nashville Is So Not Vienna
Just spent a week visiting family in my hometown, Nashville, Tennessee. Then headed back to my adopted hometown, Washington, DC ( NoVA, really). This is an 11-hour drive on I-40 and I-81 through some of the most beautiful countryside on earth. And, by European standards, practically a wilderness! I am still wondering who actually owns […]
Because I Am Awake At Oh-Dark-Thirty
Way too early, thank you jet lag! At least I made it until about 5:30 today before waking up starving hungry. Sheesh, some vacation schedule this is. All you FS whippersnappers, I have wisdom to impart. Are you ready? Just when your kids get old enough to deal with jet lag, you will get too old […]
Just To Stay Awake
Came back to the States for the first time in a year today. Luckily (or maybe because we flew KLM on our own dime, not United) we had a smooth trip. Some random observations just to stay awake—and to use my smokin’ hot American internet connection, wheee! Traveling is way, way easier without kids and pets. […]
In Which I Lose a Few
No, not brain cells. Too late for that. Pounds! About five months ago, I decided to become an incredibly irritating control freak and shed the ten pounds or so with which 2011 had cruelly loaded me down. (One of the more interesting results has been that people are apparently now finding my blog by searching […]
The Prater Through a Different Lens
I just discovered Instagram and am having so much fun with it! This morning I went for a walk on the Prater and played around with the photos afterwards. See, the Prater reminds me a little of Opryland, the amusement park in Nashville that I visited several times a year when I was a kid. […]
Something That Makes Me Very Happy Indeed
A couple of my fellow bloggers (blogesses?) in Cairo and Chengdu have written this week about whether or not they are happy at their posts. I think this is an excellent question that everyone in the FS should consider now and then. After all, you have know what makes you happy (or unhappy) about a […]
Never a Dull Moment
A lot going on around here. Next week, we move to a new apartment. Which is, on the whole, a positive development, but also a major hassle. We’ll get it done, but of course I’d just as soon not have to! Everything in the house is sort of lying around half-sorted at the moment. I […]
In Which I Stir the Pot
Last week, I did what I occasionally have done before, and posted an unsolicited opinion on this blog. It happened to concern contraception. It might best be described as primal scream of frustration over the current political climate in my beloved home country and adopted home state. It was just one of those days. Generally, […]
In Which I Learn to Follow My Own Advice
I have always steered clear of Embassy employment. For one thing, EFM jobs used to be called PIT jobs. As if the acronym weren’t bad enough, it got even worse when you spelled it out: Part-Time, Intermittent, Temporary. EFM, or Eligible Family Member, isn’t a whole lot better. Eligible for what? Like when my husband […]
Are You a Bubblehead?
Thanks to The Skeptical Bureaucrat I took this quiz about how thick my bubble is. (No, not how thick I am–that’s a different quiz!) I think you have to be a little creative if you have been living overseas for a while. I mean you can’t eat at Applebee’s when the nearest one is thousands […]
In Which I Become An Incredibly Irritating Control Freak
I have recently begun to understand several things that I did not before. The first is why women obsess so much about calories. I’ve always kind of scoffed at that. Blessed by genetics and raised in a family with reasonably good eating and exercise habits, I’ve never had to try all that hard to stay, […]
I’m Dreaming of a…
…drizzly, 50-ish Christmas. Or possibly a crisp, sunny, light-jacket one. Which is nuts. Because here I am, in Europe, the Home of Christmas. Or, more accurately, the Home of the White Christmas Myth. It would not be crazy to expect snow in Europe by December 25th, even as far south as Vienna. But in Tennessee, […]
In Which I Return to Prague With a Better Camera
Last week we made a three-night trip to Prague, where we were posted for four whole years many moons ago. This was a powerful experience for me. Prague was a very difficult post for us for several reasons: personal, medical, school- and job-related. So my memories of the place have always been mixed. I realized […]
On Learning Languages as a “Mature” Person
I have been taking German classes for about six weeks now. This mission has an awesome language program. I guess it’s partly because there are so many employees and family members here to be taught, but I also give them credit for just plain doing a good job with it. As opposed to one post […]
