Waiting for the Good Times to Roll

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

I've always loved that phrase.  It reminds me of Mardi Gras, and being a 14 year old tuba player marching in the Mardi Gras parade with my High School band.  (I think my voice may have changed during that trip.  There were things going on in the streets of New Orleans that I can't unsee.)

Anyways, letting the good times roll isn't something we've been able to do here in Johannesburg recently.  With bid season fully upon us, and me without a job, I've just been waiting and waiting.  Now, if this was just me, I'd be fine.  I'd wait it out and then find a job that fell through and BOOM!  I'd have a place to go.  If it was just me and Lovely English Lass, we'd be fine.  But with the kids, and especially with their Special Needs, this has just been gruelling.  You have no idea on how difficult it can be to have your kids ask you, "Daddy, where are we going to live next year?" and you have no clue how to answer it.  It can cause some anxiety, and that's never good for anyone in my family.  (I speak from experience.)

The point being is that sometimes even though you think you might be the right person for a job, you just don't get it.  It happened to me quite a few times these past few months.  I'd bid on a job I thought I was perfect for, and then watch it go to someone else.  There were DCM jobs I wanted, but never got.  It got to the point where it looked like we were heading back to DC.  Now, I have no issue with that, but I didn't join the foreign service to spend every other tour in Washington.  I love Washington, but I wanted to be overseas doing the work I was trained to do.

Plus, all of this was happening during the Mandela funeral and then my R&R to the UK, so I was very busy along with this anxiety.  I needed an outlet, so I started on our treadmill again.  Let me just say that it really helped me a lot.  I'd put on weight again (as I've said, the food here is awesome) and I just needed to get working on getting me healthy.  So, I took it one day at a time.  I'd work on finding jobs open, and then try my best to get one.

Then a lifeline appeared.  A very dear friend told me he was having to break his handshake.  It was a place I'd bid on previously, and apparently had ranked me pretty high previously.  I contacted my Career Development Officer (CDO) and he gave me the people I Needed to talk to about the job.  I sent everything to the Charge d'Affairs ( this is a fancy French phrase for someone who acts as the Ambassador when there isn't an Ambassador) and to the Management Officer, and I waited.  This was on a Friday.  The next Tuesday I got an email asking me if I was available for an interview on Thursday.  WAS I!  If he wanted to talk to me at 3 am my time I would have done it.

The interview went extremely well, and the Charge and I got along pretty decently.  Nice talk, but I was wary since I'd had good interviews previously, so I didn't say anything.  I asked how long a decision would take, and was told 2 weeks.  The next morning, I sent a very nice thank you note to the Charge for the interview, and thanked him for his time.  I explained I was very interested in the position, and that I hoped I'd be able to work with him.  He responded with a nice note back, and I waited.

That evening, after taking the kids to swim class, we stopped to get milk at the store.  While in the store, my Black Berry buzzed, but I didn't check it because we were trying to get things quickly and the kids out of the store.  When I stopped at a stop light 5 minutes later, I pulled out the BB, and checked my messages.  There it was: The offer for a handshake.  I can't tell you how good it felt.

So, this summer (Northern Hemisphere) we shall leave South Africa, head to the US for about 2 months, and then head to our next posting for 3 years.  I'm very much looking forward to it, and hopefully our friends and family will come visit us in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  It's a big mission, and it's more than I'd hoped for two months ago.

A very quick thanks to my family for putting up with my insanity, and to my friends who've been supportive either in word or by writing endless references for me.  Also thanks to my friend who when he broke his handshake immediately thought of me.  I hope you and your family are ok, and thanks again.   I owe you big.

The main thing I can take from my travails is that it all works out for a reason, doesn't it?  There were places where people said we'd be fine, but then when we got turned down something came up at that post where we wouldn't have been able to stay.  A school started going downhill, or there was a lot of turmoil.  The thing I take from this is just keep trying, and you end up where you need to be.