It looks like the Florida elections – at least the results –
are settled, and I’m glad my vote counted. It almost didn’t. My absentee ballot
came in last month, I swear several weeks ago. I took it home, researched the
amendments and then stuck it in the mail the same day.
But we don’t have daily mail service. It comes and goes in
batches, and sometimes gets held up at the airport. How it works is my mailing
address is sort of like a PO Box at an airport somewhere. The first-class stamp
(I don’t even know how much they are these days, thank God for Forever stamps)
gets it there, then your tax dollar gets it on the plane to me, wherever I am.
However, it seemed like there were 3-4 weeks in between and
I really didn’t get my vote a second thought. I stuck my “I voted by mail”
sticker on my computer at work and forgot about it until some Peace Corps
volunteers from China were mentioning that they ballots had no been received. I
asked how they knew – it’s not like absentee votes get confirmations – and they
said they called the supervisor of elections. Off that, I called on Tuesday after
Veterans’ Day and my vote had not come. I was kind of panicked, because, well,
what do you do? She asked if I’d FedExed it, and that’s just not an option.
They nicely took my name and said if it came before Nov. 15, it would count. This,
of course, was during Florida’s recounts. Basically I’d have been screwed if it
didn’t come in, but fortunately, it made it that day. So I am happy my vote
counted!
The mail seems to be running again, which is good. I’ve
gotten one of my replacement credit cards and the debit card. I still don’t
have the American Express, but I was able to go online and get a couple of
things done, bought and stuck in the mail. With one exception, I think I’m
almost done with Christmas shopping.
With the release of the incoming mail, the two outstanding
packages I had out also arrived: a gift box from a friend that included a lot
of candy corn and my boat shoes from LL Bean, which fit perfectly.
I’ll be wearing those to work today, where I am finally earning
my keep. After being last week in one department, I’m for the next three weeks
in the executive section, which is really busy. The people are nice and so far
I haven’t screwed anything up. My counterpart has been very helpful and I’m
trying to soak up tips and knowledge in the three weeks I’m in there.
It’s still planned to be only two weeks, but I’m not
convinced that’ll be all of it. We may have some staffing gaps coming up and I
am just hoping that they don’t mess up what’s arranged. I mean, for me, it’s
six of one, half dozen of the other, but the other place is expecting help and
it would be a real bummer if they suddenly had to fly by the seat of their
pants for the gap.
Next week will be a bit busier, if just by virtue that there’s
no holiday but also because someone’s coming back from leave and that moves
things around. We’ve basically called up people for the last few weeks and now
the top one is due to return, so everyone (except those on leave) return to
their normal spots. It means a shifting of personalities, but not a great one.
Right now, the office of seven has three of us subs, so we’ll be down to two. We
also have sort of a random person from another office that closed and right now
no one knows how he will fit in to the long-term mix.
But yes, I am totally thankful that so far it’s been really
good. I was a bit scared of this one; I’ve been in the executive office before
but that was in the consulate, not an embassy. And even though Guangzhou was a
ginormous and Istanbul a huge consulate, there’s still another layer when it’s
an embassy.
One example is the first and second in charge both have
residences that can be used for meetings and such, and working in the executive
office means you have a hand in facilitating the planning. Not the planning so
much (at least me), just coordinating with the people who want to hold it, the
people who will invite and the people who will prepare the site itself and the
food. This is one of the things I’m trying
to learn from my counterpart; how this whole process falls into place. It’s an
element in most embassies, I think, but I haven’t seen it yet. And I’m really
glad I am getting this chance to get familiar with the process. Next week will
be a bit more complicated but I think I’m acclimating all right.
Two months in and I’m still enjoying it here. Yesterday,
Thanksgiving, I had a great meal from the outside world with the office I
worked for last week, then had traditional turkey in our cafeteria, which
really does a good job for the holidays. My little group of four saw another
younger guy sitting by himself and pulled him in and had a great conversation
with him.
Today I have to head into work in a bit, but not for long. I’ve
finally gotten a little bit of OT but not enough to kill me; some people here work
insane hours.
And I’m still planning my first R&R, which is coming up
in a couple of months. I’d been waiting on a credit card to make some reservations
so now I need to get to it.
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