All The Glamorous Stuff You've Missed!

Hey, you guys!  Long time no see!


[But before we all catch up and stuff, I just want to thank Ogles & Observations for volunteering at the last minute to host this week's State Department Blog RoundUp!]


Okay, so, you've missed a lot, right?  Such as:


1.)  My oldest son sat in a wheelchair and tied a diaper around his face.  No, really!  See?





Okay, okay, maybe the "diaper" that's tied around his face is actually a newfangled ice pack 'specially made for, like, tying around faces and stuff.  And maybe he was in a wheelchair because he was in the hospital because he had all of his wisdom teeth removed under general anesthesia. 


And maybe he had to be put under general anesthetic because his gag reflex is so bad that even the doctor acting like he was going to look at my son's teeth made my son... you know... reflexively gag.  It's stuff like that that buys you hospital visits and general anesthesia, kid.  Lesson learned.


2.)  I graduated from ConGen!  And I didn't even fail one single test! 


The last couple of weeks of ConGen included stuff having to do with American Citizen Services things that goes on overseas, such as what happens if and when American citizens either die or go to jail in other countries.  Which actually happens in real life, my teachers told me.  Which all sounds so sad.  So let's not talk about it, okay?  I don't want to cry.


3.)  After graduating from ConGen, I then took a two-day class called "1001 Ways State Department People Die Overseas." 


Ha ha!!  That's not its real name, of course!  But it could be, which is scary. 


There's, like, FIRE and CAR ACCIDENTS and PESTICIDES and CAR ACCIDENTS and RAPE and CAR ACCIDENTS and MURDER and CAR ACCIDENTS and KIDNAPPING and CAR ACCIDENTS and DROWNING IN POOLS and CAR ACCIDENTS and CARJACKINGS and CAR ACCIDENTS and BOMBINGS and CAR ACCIDENTS**... do you see a theme here?  I'll just bet you do, because you're very smart. 


[**Which is all most interesting, especially since all manner of Congresspeople want to quit paying State employees huge chunks of their salary while they're posted overseas.]  


The best part of the class was that I got to sit next to one of my favoritest people ever - Digger at Life After Jerusalem - which just goes to show that sometimes The Universe is nice to me and does something to improve my pre-moving, wishing-for-death-anyway morale.


She pretty much could have, like, TAUGHT the class because she's been through some of what they talked about in the class.  But she was a student instead of a teacher which was all the better for me because I had a hilarious/witty friend to sit with!


4.)  James and I pack out soon (this coming Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday).  We will pack out EVERYTHING WE OWN from our rental house, since we PCS'ed here a year ago.  That means we have UAB, HHE, Storage *AND* Consumables.


And not only do we have normal Consumables, but my husband's job title + some sort of rules = we only get ONE Consumables shipment the whole entire time we're in China (2 years).  Which means no additional or add-on shipments for us.  Which means I'm buying everything we need for all two years. 


Oh, the joy. 


So our days have looked a lot like this:






Which is James IN THE RAIN, outside of Costco, navigating river puddles while his wife snaps pictures of his suffering for her blog. 


Because that's the sort of awesome, helpful, loving wife that I am. 


The above picture represents about $940 worth of Costco consumables.  Which means that the other $3,000+ that we've already spent during other shopping trips to other places isn't pictured.  But you're smart so you can just sort of picture all of that in your mind. 


When all is said and done, I'm thinking we're going to be a good $5,000 into Consumables for our 2 years in China.  And I'm sure I'm going to forget a whole freaking lot of stuff and feel like a total moron when I unpack our consumables in China months from now and realize that I bought eleventy bazillion of X but none of Y.  I'M BRACED FOR IT.  BRING IT ON, FEELING STUPID - I'M A PRO AT THAT BY NOW.


So now you're sort of caught up!  Sorry I was gone so long, but in balancing class at FSI with a family *and* getting ready to move overseas... well... internet time was the first thing to go! 


T minus THREE DAYS to packout!

Comments

[Jen]

Oreos?! BTW, remind me to tell you the worst story ever the next time we meet...you know, cuz you haven't heard enough!

[Heather Dray]

But you must feel oh so good knowing your clothes will be Downy fresh. And the Universe has been kind - we got to meet this week! :p

So, yeah. Bring it on!

If you do (inevitably) realize you forgot something, can it be pouched to you? Fingers crossed that's a yes.

Love the ice bag face diaper! Hope that lack of teeth is going well!

And of course... Good luck with pack out.

[Kate]

You're lucky you had a friend to sit with in that 1001 Ways to die overseas class. I thought I was going to pass out a few times. Could have used a little comic relief! Congrats on finishing everything and best wishes for your move!

[A Daring Adventure]

@ Kate - Oh, yes... I made light of it, but the 1001 Ways to Die class was most frightening.

@ Heather - I'm also so thrilled that we got to meet this week! And I don't know what can and cannot be pouched, but I'm pretty sure that if I forget something liquid or even liquidISH it's all over and I get no second chances.

And thank you - the teeth are healed! Had they not been healed and done and over with, I don't think I could have been lighthearted about it all, because at the time it was way wicked awful.

@ Jen - YES, OREOS, DON'T JUDGE ME!!! VELVEETA, TOO!!! **YOU** try to get my children to go to China without there being any certain junk food there!! :)

Can't wait to hear your story! <3

[7]

First thing I noticed in the pics was Oreo's also. It may not have been wise to post that as now I may end up begging you for some if I start having junk food withdrawals. :P

[Sara Roy]

After you hear about the stories of why the American's are in jail you won't feel bad or want to cry. You'll roll your eyes and call them a dumb ass for breaking the law (she says from experience).

[Kerri]

Wow no doubt you have been insanely busy! Good luck with the pack out and the actual move! Cant wait to hear about the experience after arriving in China :)

[Anne]

Congrats on your Con-Gen graduation!

I totally feel your pain when it comes to consumables. We can have a supplemental shipment, but I STILL spent 3000. It hurt. A lot. One thing to keep in mind, do you have DPO there? If so, you can order from netgrocer. They'll ship pretty much everything except glass, perishables and I think liquids. The shipping is kind of high, but when you have a craving for Nutty Bars that just won't go away (my husband, not me), it's totally worth it.

Good luck with pack out and all that jazz!

[Diplogeek]

Bring cereal, dude. It's, like, ten to twenty dollars a box here. No exaggeration. Though granted, most other things are so cheap, it kind of doesn't matter. Still, though....

[Chelsea]

One thing I wish I'd brought from home is dental floss. I found some here, but it wasn't very good.
My favorite appliance I brought was my breadmaker. I'm not a fan of Chinese bread. Something about it just tastes a little weird. And they don't believe in whole wheat here, btw. Everything is white.

[bfiles]

congrats on finishing congen! Love the picture. Good luck w packout- I will expect photos! hugs.

[Daniela]

Congrats on surviving Chinese, ConGen and 1001 ways to die overseas. You are now officially ready to go overseas, right? After, you pack out that is. Keep your fingers crossed for James and I at the American Citizens Services exam tomorrow! We were on the same team for our Emergency Management exercise today. He was the head of our landslide task force and did great!

[Mom]

I hate to throw a damper on things, given that you're doing so well with shopping and all, but I have to wonder, "Where does one store a 2-year wall of toilet paper while each roll is awaiting its turn at immortality?"

I'm looking around, and I'm not seeing anyplace to put it here, and I'm thinking you said your apartment wasn't all that big?

No doubt there must be room in one of those State Department Toilet Paper Closets we've heard so much about?

[Rachel]

congrats on completing ConGen ... and will be crossing all fingers/toes that pack out goes super smooth for ya'all. Safe travels.. (and I know I owe you another long email .. which is coming, I promise)...

[thinking about consular adjudicator]

Hi there, I stumbled across your blog because I was looking for more info on Consular Adjudicator positions as I'm thinking about applying for one. (I was in China for 5 years, and seeing that there's nothing for me here, I'm ready to go back!) I agree with what you say in that post about that, that it doesn't make sense for State to not consider hiring you when you're going to be there anyway.

Anyway -- I wanted to say that you guys didn't need to buy and send over so much Quaker oatmeal; they now have oatmeal in the supermarkets! (And yes even oatmeal with the Quaker brand!) Maybe not with the flavorings added. It might be easier just to ship the flavors / condiments you like and buy regular oatmeal there. But seeing as you've already bought all that... just head to your local supermarket for more when you run out!

[thinking about consular adjudicator]

They have Oreos and Pringles too -- but the Velveeta is a smart move!

[Nomads By Nature]

I am giggling at your tweets! I too have spoken Chinese to someone in the U.S. with no conscious thought at what I was doing (poor checkout lady at the register) And I have had the consumable packing joys where 4 carts over flowing with TP (after family usage calculations including anticipated GI issues, company, and parties). People just parted the ways in total disbelief as we tried not to take out any displays or fellow customers on the way to check out. God willing everything arrives without drama (personally speaking drama is not fun when mega bucks and hours shopping during homeleave/R&R may have been wasted -- happy ending so no freaking out). When you are finally all on the flight: luggage checked in, plane wheeling away from the gate, everything shipped or posted.... it is a WONDERFUL feeling of bliss. Hang in there! You are totally rocking it!