Baghdad is a bit different than the last time I was here; the
numbers have been cut and COVID lingered for awhile, pulling people off the
streets and shuttering the social things like exercise class. One of my
favorite things before was sitting with random people in the cafeteria, but now
people social distance so there’s none of that.
Still, it’s really good to be back and earning the big money
again, although with the social stuff only starting to come back, it can set up
some boring evenings. Fortunately (or not), I’ve had a heavy workload, working
9-10 hours days for the first couple of months.
Plus, there’s been this side hustle of working on a second masters
degree, this time in HR. My goal for this is to be able to check a box that
says “I have an degree in HR,” and a masters seemed like a quicker route.
I started last March, I think it was, in a program out of
Champlain College (Vermont) that offers discounted federal rates. At the time,
I knew Baghdad was in the pipeline so I opted to take out a student loan; I
will then qualify for the student loan repayment program.
The program is a total of 10 classes and required me to pick
a certificate in addition to HR. I can’t remember what the other options were,
but I went with leadership because the others sounded like they’d be unrelated
to the Department of State. Well, as it turns out, “leadership” was “shared
leadership,” and DoS is about the most hierarchical organization on the planet.
The classes have been entirely unrelatable, to the point of, in one discussion
(a post I had to do once a week) I responded to the question of “how does
shared leadership fit in your organization” by quoting Luke Skywalker. He once
said something like, “If there’s a bright spot in the universe, you’re on the
planet that it’s farthest from.” I said that was as far as my organization was
from embracing shared leadership.
Still, with only four classes in the certificate program
(which is guess is a minor for your masters), I stuck with it, somehow landing
As even though I didn’t “get” the material. I mean, I understand it
theoretically but I don’t see it playing out.
Anyway, this last class about killed me. I’m so glad it’s
over.
For the first 8 weeks of the entire program – that’s how long
the classes take – I took one class. This was when I was in Minsk, and I
figured I could manage two classes at a time. I tried it and did fine – got two
As – and realized for the next two 8-week terms I’d be in America for part of
the time, so I doubled up again and again. That left two more classes prior to
the “capstone,” which is supposed to be the last one. I looked at the calendar and
realized that even though I’d be in Baghdad (and therefore have a brutal workload),
I would not take and R&R until January, which meant that I’d have nothing
to do outside work. So I doubled up again, which was horrific but with only eight
weeks, there’s no turning back.
And now, I’ve done 9 out of 10, with the capstone project (whatever
the heck that is) the only thing left. When I signed on to Baghdad, I hoped to
do some big and fun R&Rs, but since that last eight weeks starts the same
day the charter flight to DC departs, I figured I’d just go to America for my
first R&R. It’s boring, but I couldn’t risk having crappy internet for the
first three weeks of the class.
So bring on America and bring on the last class. I’m 90 percent done and can see the finish line
