Starting my SF86 today

Today, I created a login to my Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing (e-QIP), to begin the electronic paperwork (called Standard Form 86, or more affectionately, SF86) necessary to complete my security clearance. I need to fill out the entire (reportedly, long) questionnaire before my late January OA in Washington, D.C.

If I pass the OA, then that same day, I review my responses on SF86 with a security officer. This form contains my background information, like where I have worked and lived, and any foreign friends/contacts I may have.

Scheduled my OA for late January 2015

I decided to hold off on studying for the FSOA until late November. I have too much going on at work, and hardly a moment of free time.

In the meantime, I will be buying my plane ticket and booking the hotel. A friend from high school has never been to D.C. and plans to accompany me.

Last meeting with my Japanese Conversation Partner

Met for dinner with K. He handed me a gift-wrapped box, saying, "This is a present for you, from my girlfriend." His girlfriend from Japan had visited the week before.

I asked, "Why did she give me a gift?" I hadn't even met her.

K. replied, "She is grateful that you have been my friend."

I was very touched, and said so. It was a bottle of Yazushu, a citrus sake--what a unique and thoughtful gift.

FS Personal Narratives: passed

Just got the email today, saying I passed!

In two days, I can sign up to choose my Oral Assessment (OA) date. The location choices are Washington, D.C. or San Francisco. I would rather go to SF, but there are only a couple dates to choose from there.

I am more than a little excited...

Time to study!

Japanese Conversation: Israel/Palestine

During last week's meeting with K., my Campus Conversation Partner, we walked downtown to dinner. People on the campus quad were protesting against Israel in the present Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

K. asked what was going on. Explaining that one was trickier than I could have guessed. I asked him if he knew the country Israel? No. Where Jewish people settled after WWII? No. Palestine? No. Muslim? No. Islam? No. I asked what religions he knew about. He mentioned neither Islam nor Judaism. I listed nearby countries--Syria, Egypt, Jordan. No, no, no.

I said, "They want one country to stop bombing another." He knew what that meant.

PNs submitted!

Fingers crossed! Feeling a little more optimistic than I did last year at this time. I revamped all my responses compared to the prior year's submittal.

I took the day off work today, since there has been so much (unpaid) overtime recently. Spent a relaxing day gardening, cleaning the garage and going to a tag sale.

Japanese anti-gun laws

My Conversation Partner, K, and I went to the mall. He bought some books and, at the  big sporting goods store,  sandals. As we passed the hunting section, K said that guns were basically illegal in Japan and he didn't know anybody who owned one.

When I arrived home, I told my 18-year-old son about this conversation. He already knew all about Japanese gun laws, which I later looked up on the Internet, where I learned that most years, Japan has fewer than 20 gun-related deaths, and usually, far fewer than that.

Still working on PNs

PN responses not due until July 31. I have been working on them 15-20 minutes most nights. Pretty close to completion. Then, I will ask a friend or two to edit my mini-essays.

Tomorrow is a "Hawaiian Luau" themed lunch at the university. I am going with my daughter.

That  evening is dinner with my Japanese Conversation Partner. I think he wanted to see the indoor ice skating rink, so maybe we will have a meal nearby.

Passed FSOT, onto the PNs

FSOT scores released for the June test cohort today.

                 Last year's score         This year
Biographic
Questionnaire       55.52                64.32

English
Expression            52.22                61.4

Job Knowledge     61.60                60.14
                                                                
Total                   169.34              185.86

Essay                        6                       7

You need a total score of 154 for your essay to be scored. You need a 6 (out of 12) on your essay to receive an invitation to the next round.

Next round: answering six short essay questions, called the Personal Narrative (PN).

Post-conference trip to London

My first day, I started with a three-hour bicycle tour. In January. Maybe 40 degrees out, which was perfect. There were five of us. A great orientation to a big city. The guide was superb.




Where you get your bike for Fat Tire tours.




Guard at
St. James Palace.
 






What a $60 hotel room looks like about
five blocks from Hyde Park (Bayswater Inn).
I had no complaints. Beds were comfy.
Water was hot and had pressure.




Cheap and yummy lunch.
Fruit, chocolate croissant,
berry muesli.




Moat around Tower of London.

Graffiti in the Tower.




Bad-ass knight horse.



The British Museum:
Easter Island moai, Hoa Hakananai'a.
Dates to about A.D. 1000.





















And another view...

Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, Leicester, UK

Archaeology conference in January, 2013. Wonderful trip.

 

What a bunch of archaeologists gathering near the registration desk look like.

 

 

What my room at the conference hotel looked like.

What King Richard III's burial place looks like.
Under the white tent in background.
Yes, in a parking lot.
Richard Buckley at pre-conference walking tour.

Guildhall, built late 14th century.



Roman bath ruins, built ca. A.D. 150



Cemetery.




Leicester cat.



An English pub, this one in Nottingham.
Established A.D. 1189.

Inside view of same pub.
Yes, I had fish and chips there.

 



My two jobs

I have two jobs: archaeologist (full time) and community living assistant (CLA, 11 hours/week). The first, for 22 years, the other, just over one year.

As an archaeologist, I mostly manage surveys of areas that will be disturbed by construction--roads, bicycle trails, cell towers. Then, I write up the results of the investigation. I prepare budgets, hire people, train people. Working with volunteers is a big part of the job, too. Lots of folks are interested in archaeology and willing to lend a helping hand in research, excavation, or lab work.

The other job involves working in a group home where five adults with disabilities live together. CLAs do all the tasks these folks cannot--cooking, cleaning, getting them out into the community, helping to keep them active and safe, teaching social and day-to-day skills, and giving medications.

These two jobs couldn't be more different. However, to be successful in either job, you must be able to:

• prioritize,
• follow-through,
• work with all kinds of personalities (both clients and co-workers),
• do the drudgery in order to get to the good stuff,
• communicate well, and
• get dirty.

Japanese Post Doc

Tonight after work, I met for dinner with my Conversation Partner. A university volunteer program partners faculty/staff with a non-native English speaker, to help the student practice English in normal--or sometimes, not so normal--conversations. We meet once a week.

This semester's partner is a Post Doc, researching mitochondrial function. I asked him what the Japanese word for mitochondria was, and he said, "Mitochondria."

Tonight, we talked about chopstick faux pas, or, as he put it, "bad stuff you shouldn't do with chopsticks." Don't cross them. Don't stand them upright. Don't point them at someone. Don't pass food to another person's chopsticks.  I couldn't think of any similar American rules.

The waitress brought me a leftovers box, as the portion was huge (tofu with vegetables). K. said, "Before I came to America, I thought all Americans eat huge portions. But you do not." I said he thought correctly, most Americans DO eat huge portions.

A nice meal. Next week, we are going to the Natural History Museum.

Preparing for the FSOT

Last year I prepared for the FSOT using a variety of methods:

1. Read through the FSOT Yahoo group postings and archives. Many of the steps below were recommended there.
2. Bought the official study guide. Took the practice test.
3. Made two sets of flashcards: constitutional amendments and landmark Supreme Court decisions.
4. Had fun playing a variety of the Seterra geography games.
5. Subscribed to The Economist.
6. Divided a spiral bound notebook into tabbed sections based on the test topics (economics, management, math, world history, US history, US government, computers). As I read something useful, I took notes.
7. Skimmed a couple US history books, mainly paying attention to topics that I knew nothing about. Same thing with economics.
8. Skimmed Strunk & White's The Elements of Style.
9. Practiced writing about 20 timed essays (prompts available on the Yahoo group).
10. Reviewed my CV, to better recall conferences, papers, training, and committee service.

I passed with a 169.34 and an essay of 6. I did not pass the subsequent PNQs.

This year, preparation consisted of:

1. Reviewing last year's flashcards and notebook.
2. Practicing timed essays.
3. Taking the State Department's online practice FSOT.
4. Having fun with constitutional quizzes. Did more Seterra games, just because they are awesome.

Did it seem easier this year? Yes and no.

Yes, because I knew what to expect and had an efficient system to whiz through the easy questions and save the hard ones for last. No, because the job knowledge questions seemed harder.

Did any of these things help? Yes, a tiny bit. I think I correctly answered a couple questions as a result of studying.

FSOT second try

I took the Foreign Service Officers Test (FSOT) for the second time today.

How to become an FSO (or, from the State Dept)

1. Take the FSOT, which includes four sections: job knowledge (think Trivial Pursuit), English expression (correcting grammar), biographic (tell us why you are so great), and an essay section. If you pass the first three sections, then your essay is graded. You need a score of 6 (out of 12) to pass the essay. It takes about three weeks to find out if you have passed.
2. If you pass the FSOT, then you are invited to submit short answers to six essay questions, called the Personal Narrative Questions (PNQ). No one except those that work for the State Department understand how this is graded. You get a letter about two months afterward that says either: "boo-hoo, try again next year" or "you pass." In the latter case, you are invited to the Oral Assessment (OA).
3. While the FSOT is usually administered somewhere in your home state (and in some foreign countries), you might have to travel to a metropolis to take the OA. The OA consists of three parts, one of which is a role playing exercise with several other job candidates. In another, you read a massive amount of material on a problem and write a summary, and the third is a formal interview (you answer questions from a panel of interviewers). You find out that day if you have passed.
4. Medical clearance. Your health must be good enough to live anywhere in the world.
5. Security clearance. Your past must be "clean" enough to pass a top-secret clearance check.
6. A final review panel looks over everything above. If they think you are a good fit, you will receive a score and be placed on the Register of FS candidates.
7. If your score is high enough, you will be offered a spot in the FS. You can increase your score by having foreign language skills or military service. THE OFFER means that you have a spot in the next A-100  class, which is a six-week-long training marathon in Washington D.C. for new foreign service officers. After A-100 is completed you are a diplomat!

The above process usually takes from seven months to two years.

In June 2013, I passed the FSOT, submitted my PNQ, and did not get invited to the OA. I waited the requisite year, and today took the FSOT again. No idea if I passed or not. Last year, I squeaked by with the lowest possible passing essay score, so I am particularly concerned that will be my downfall.