Guadalajara bound

So, the *reason* for the aforementioned need to clean/sort/organize/throw is our impending departure for Mexico in August. Guadalajara will be my first post as a foreign service officer for the U.S. State Department and the FiveGs' home for the next two years.

We are really, really happy about the assignment:

• I already spoke some Spanish, so I get to nail down one language before befuddling my cabeza with another.
• Guadalajara is the cultural center of Mexico. There is a ton to see and do. People seem to love it there. (State Dept people, I mean. I trust that the Tapatíos enjoy it, too.)
  
• No winter for 2 years.
  
• Dora and Diego hail from Mexico...
  

That last point really was one of our selling points to the girls on Flag Day. (Flag Day is when the career development folks clue you in on where you're headed for your first post. They call out a city, then your name, and then hand you a flag. I found it... kind of stressful! I even get anxious watching other training classes go through it. "Maseru! Oh, MAN, she is going to Maseru! Wow! ...and where is that, by the way?")

But yes, Guadalajara. Things are getting real. Spanish training is nearly over--I test June 8--and then we will have exactly 2 months until departure. The Bee's last day of work is June 15. Shortly after that she and the kids will go to her sister's wedding in Hawaii while I stay here and learn how to be a consular officer. [Yes. It hurts.] When they get back we will have ONE MONTH.

...which sounds like a lot, but you need to understand that on the average day we accomplish NADA. We just try not to move backwards. Any type of forward progress is a bonus. Not enough hours in the day...

So that's why I chose right now to start bloggin'!

I feel the need...the need...to

...and to *organize* all the things. Unfortunately, after all these years, I still have a wee bit in common with the affliction described here.

Cool video

Echoes from U.S. Embassy on Vimeo.

Things like this are one reason why I'm looking forward to my new career.