In Which James ACTUALLY GETS an Onward Assignment!!! (And Other Stuff.)

This is us. The one showing lots of shoulder (in her Chengdu, China Marine Ball ball gown!) is the EFM who writes this blog. The one wearing a tux (James) is the employee who moves her (and their two sons) around all over the world. The red link, below, is how you can get in touch with me...

The time in Chengdu, China

Chengdu: city of fabulous food and beautiful Buddhist monasteries!

In Our Same Boat (with State)

Beyond the Cornfields
Brand-new State Department family in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Love their two little girls (she just recently had a baby while being posted in Dhaka), horticulture, traveling and adventure!
Email From The Embassy
State Department family formerly in Beijing, China, and recently posted to Amman, Jordan. A trailing spouse, she's also a writer, and frequently publishes articles with major news sources. A very experienced State family, this new post is something like overseas post number six or seven for them.
Just US
A beautiful family of seven - they have arrived at their new post: Jerusalem! They just finished off an unaccompanied tour to Iraq and are very much looking forward to sightseeing around the middle east.
Our Life
State Department family on their second post...Tijuana, Mexico. It's their first overseas assignment and they have two little boys. They love Tijuana so far and post pictures frequently! They also get to enjoy the best of both worlds for they can sneak over the border into San Diego when they want to!
The Dinoia Family
State Department family formerly in California, now in DC for a DC tour. Next, the husband will do a one year unaccompanied tour. A very experienced State family (formerly in Iceland and Caracas) with a blog that has been around quite a while and has great archives. Jen has a sweet heart and a lot to give!
The Perlman Update
State Department family formerly in Chennai, India, who then did a year-long unaccompanied tour in Iraq. They are now on a DC tour and after that will do another unaccompanied tour (Afghanistan). She totally tells it like it is and doesn't sugar-coat what life is really like. Witty, snarky, funny and down-to-earth. Look elsewhere if you want fake. Read if you want REAL.
Where in the World Am I?
State Department family formerly in Bujumbura, Burundi and now in Hyderabad, India. They just had their first baby this summer - a beautiful little girl- (there's a separate blog about this) and she also eats gluten-free (with a separate blog, also).

One of the most intriguing things about Chengdu is that it is a seamless blend of ancient and modern... all together, side by side.

Can't Live Without (non-State)

Crass-Pollination: An ER blog
The best ER nurse blog EVER!
Doctor Grumpy in the House
The best doctor blog EVER!
In Which...
My IRL friend, a stay-at-home, homeschooling Mama of seven. Her darling daughters are, goshdarnit, probably too young to be hoped for as my future daughters-in-law.
The Crib Chick
My IRL friend, a stay-at-home, homeschooling Mama of five. Hopefully two (Any two! I'm not picky!) of which are my future daughters-in-law.
the underwear drawer
An anesthesiologist who is possibly the most talented & entertaining writer ever. I've read her blog ever since she started medical school. No, don't know her in real life. Wish I did.
The Bloggess
This blog is both hysterically funny and hilariously irreverent. I actually let my 17 year old son read it (who loves it as much as I do!), but wouldn't even CONSIDER letting my 12 year old son read it. Which is about all the description it needs!

The grounds of Chengdu monasteries can be very, very peaceful...even though they are smack dab in the heart of a city of millions of people.

Specifics

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08/06/2013

In Which James ACTUALLY GETS an Onward Assignment!!! (And Other Stuff.)

After a year (A. YEAR.) of bidding, I am thrilled to announce that my husband has been officially HR paneled for the onward assignment we will be heading to after we leave Chengdu, China!!

TOKYO, JAPAN!!!!!!!

If you're DS, you will immediately recognize how CRAZY OFF THE CHARTS **YOU-HAVE-GOT-TO-BE-KIDDING-ME-INSANE** it is that we just got Tokyo as our ownard assignment. I mean, we're already overseas! So this gives us two back to back overseas tours! Without having gone to AIP! And without even doing a DC tour! (And with his wife getting her blog shut down over and over again!!) Because, thus far, James' career path has been: BSAC, Houston Field Office (1 year), Mandarin language training at FSI (1 year), Chengdu, China (2 years) and then a second overseas tour right after that.

This literally never ever happens, you guys. Ever. And Tokyo?? It's such an amazing assignment it's, like, even better than what DS AIP folks get coming out of AIP.

It is. Kid you not.

We actually were initially given the handshake for Tokyo almost two weeks ago. And James and I both decided that it was, like the .gif above says, just like a dream.

When James told me over the phone that he had just gotten a handshake to Tokyo? I literally started screaming. And I'm not a screamer, you guys.

We literally couldn't believe that it could possibly be real. Tokyo? TOKYO??? Like I said, AIP bidders with blackmail materials on high up folks who are also willing to sell their own body parts (and children) don't even get Tokyo. Even after the handshake, James kept waiting to get an email saying that the whole Tokyo thing was a mistake and that he'd actually been assigned to clean toilets at FLETC with his own toothbrush. We weren't going to tell anyone about Tokyo until he was HR paneled and officially given his TMOne for Tokyo. Until it was in writing. Signed, sealed, delivered. Only then, we said, would we tell people.

James was HR paneled today. So now it's official.

James FINALLY has an onward assignment!! And what an onward assignment it is...

I can FINALLY tell the whole entire year-long-bidding crazy story. But not today. Today is actually for the bottom line information. Sort of like I'm letting you read the very last page of the book before I start telling you the story. Today is for saying the big stuff, like: we got Tokyo.

There is other big news to share. Such as: I'm not going. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll go to Tokyo sometime, but I will not be going with James and the boys when they initially travel to Tokyo at the start of James' assignment.

I will be going SMA (apart from my family) and staying in the Washington DC area while attending Georgetown University. You see, Georgetown admitted me to a highly selective and very prestigious math/science/health sciences program (a kind of program where only twenty people total are admitted), and I will be starting in the fall. I just can't pass this opportunity up. I have actually known about this since last April, but chose not to blog about it for many reasons (will say more later). I did try foreshadowing, though, which is why I've blogged here and there about Calculus and how badly I suck at being an EFM. Just so people wouldn't be TOO terribly shocked when the whole Georgetown thing went down.

The last news item I have right now is that I have already left Chengdu and am already in the United States. Actually, my younger son, Zachary, is with me, also. I had to leave Chengdu earlier than James and Matthew in order to get things ready for me to go to Georgetown, and also so that we could cope with whatever came our way. James hadn't been paneled yet when I left and we knew that anything could happen.

I will explain everything - the bidding saga, the Georgetown saga, etc. - in the next blog post. But for now?

We got TOKYO!!! And we got GEORGETOWN!!!!

Posted on 08/06/2013 at 05:07 PM in Back to School (for me), Bidding, EFM Issues, Georgetown, James - State Department, Me, Tokyo, Japan | Permalink

Comments

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Wow! Congratulations to you both, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the story.

Posted by: TSB | 08/06/2013 at 05:12 PM

Holy crap, that's awesome. Congrats! There were things that I found irritating when I lived in Japan, but truly, after going back there from China, it was like arriving in the Promised Land. People stand in lines. Bathrooms are spotless. There is no shrieking at one another in public.

And since you're in town, we should try to meet up at some point- I'm here for a while for language training.

Posted by: Diplogeek | 08/06/2013 at 05:15 PM

Japan! Georgetown!

Awesome.

Posted by: Camille | 08/06/2013 at 05:37 PM

Congrats, love - I know you've been waiting for this news for a very long time.

Posted by: hdraper | 08/06/2013 at 05:48 PM

Oh my gosh, congratulations, y'all! That is amazing news and well deserved! :)

Posted by: Texpatica | 08/06/2013 at 06:07 PM

Congratulations! Tokyo sounds like an awesome post & good luck with your classes.

Posted by: Allison | 08/06/2013 at 06:57 PM

amazing news!!!! so happy for you guys!

Posted by: Alix | 08/06/2013 at 08:18 PM

Wowie! Congratulations x 2!!!

Posted by: Anne | 08/06/2013 at 08:43 PM

Tokyo and Georgetown are lucky to get you! Can't wait for you to learn Japanese and tell me why the hovercraft is full of eels!

Posted by: Diplopundit | 08/07/2013 at 10:48 AM

I screamed!! Of course you screamed!! Congrats. And congrats on the acceptance to the Georgetown program. What wonderful news!!

Posted by: shannon | 08/07/2013 at 06:46 PM

Wowie, wow, wow, Kolbi - that's fantastic!!! Absolutely thrilled for you guys!!!

Posted by: Daniela | 08/07/2013 at 06:57 PM

YAY! Loving the animated visual aids in your story telling! Congratulations on your win/win news - sounds like you have an amazing year ahead of you all!

Posted by: Nomads By Nature | 08/08/2013 at 12:31 AM

Congratulations! You deserve it after a year of uncertainty. Hope it's every bit as good as it sounds.

Posted by: JDC | 08/08/2013 at 04:06 AM

Congrats!

Posted by: ODS | 08/08/2013 at 05:44 PM

OMG!! I have been waiting and waiting to hear and this is ridiculous news. Congrats! I need the rest of the story. And since you're here, blogger potluck after Labor Day!! Congratulations again!

Posted by: bfiles | 08/08/2013 at 06:56 PM

Way to go Daring Adventure!!! I've been following along and wondering about the Chengdu heatwave?? It will be great to have your sense of humor back again in an un-sick
format! How is your Japanese and will you be able deal with radioactive sushi?

Posted by: Wammeval | 08/10/2013 at 03:32 PM

Thank you, Wammeval -

Unfortunately, none of us can even say a single word in Japanese. :)

Posted by: A Daring Adventure | 08/13/2013 at 10:36 AM

The comments to this entry are closed.

James loves me. And our sons. And his job. But not having his picture taken. In 2011 he finished up over a year and half of training, and in the fall of 2011 we got to our first overseas post - Chengdu, China!