State Department 3, Me 0

On Friday, October 1, I took the Foreign Service oral examination for the third time.

I took it first after I graduated from college and once more just after graduate school. All three times I have been unsuccessful...

One needs a 5.25 to pass. The first time I got a 4.9. Two years of graduate school and an MPA got me up to a 5.0, so I put it aside and decided to just go to Iraq on my own.

I did. So, seven years later, one trip to Iraq, a second foreign language and international work experience brought my score up to... wait for it... 5.1.

For reals.

I have signed a non-disclosure agreement about the exam, so I can't say much. Suffice it to say, I apparently don't work in groups well - I know some people from my time in Iraq who are probably not surprised- and I can't sell myself.

I have a pretty good idea of how I could probably get the remaining .15 points. The question is: Is it worth it? Maybe, maybe not. I need to decide what my true motivation is.

Bad Start

From Food Fight (with editing by me)

1:30 am - I was awakened by Nila's wailing as Angie came into the bedroom and told me it was my turn to try and get Nila to sleep. I went into Nila's room and spent the next hour trying to work my magic.

I'm not really sure what was wrong, though. She has a cold and has had a cold for the past few days, so maybe that played some part. I told her it was time to sleep and she put herself back down and closed her eyes. I thought she was asleep and I tried to leave the room only to hear her yelling for mommy once I got into the hallway.

We did that twice. The last time, I waited an extra long time before I snuck back out. It stuck that time and she was asleep at least until I left for work.

4:30 am - After getting a couple of additional hours of sleep, my phone rang. At first, I just assumed it was my alarm, but I saw a number on the screen. I answered it.

It was a tech from California.

"Is this the Command Center?" he asked.

"No," I said. This is the sleeping center, buenos tardes.

I gave him the correct number and went back to sleep.

I have had to give my phone number to a few techs for various reasons, but this is the first time one of them has called me when I'm not on duty.

A sign of things to come.

6:30 am - I woke up 30 minutes later than I should have. I should say, I got out of bed. I'm still working on waking up.

6:50 am - After a quick shower and dressing, I tried to throw together a quick lunch and something for breakfast. I put my oatmeal and milk in a plastic bowl - I can cook it at work - and made a nice salad for lunch.

Then I dumped that salad all over the kitchen floor.

7:05 am - Lunchless, I arrived at work only 5 minutes late. Not too shabby.

What is shabby is the milk that leaked from my bag leaving a trail from my car, through the parking garage, across the bridge, up the elevator and down the hall.

I put the oatmeal in the microwave anyway. I haven't gone back for it yet.

7:30 am - I am writing this post. Next, I'm going to go get my oatmeal. Wish me luck.

Here's to a better Sunday than I've had so far!

Towing Rage

On Saturday night, Brandy came to visit and tell us all about her trip to Brazil. I made pizza and Angie made a strawberry dessert. We laughed, we cried. The usual.

While we were socializing, Shamrock towing came and took Brandy's car away. Her crime was not having a parking pass for the neighborhood.

We should have learned our lesson when Sis' car was towed about a month ago. We did not.

Brandy had to call Shamrock. They quoted her $133, so I motioned for the phone:

Me: The sign says $90 towing fee plus $12 storage fee. That's $102. Why is
it $133?

Jerk Lady: There is a $25 administrative fee plus tax.

Me: Administrative fee? That's not on the sign. I demand that all fees be
written on signs.

Jerk Lady: It's Ohio Revised Code.

Me: Which one?

Jerk Lady: Look on the sign.

Me: No, I will not. You want to charge me $25, you should know the revised
code. What is it?

Jerk Lady: Look, I'm not the one who parked where I shouldn't have. The
code is on the sign.

Me: You don't have to be a jerk, lady. If I have to pay, I'd like to know
the code. I need to speak to your manager.

Jerk Lady: She's not in. You have to call Monday.

Me: What's her name? What's her number?

Jerk Lady: Her name is Manager. You can call this number.

Me: Oh, I will! And I will tell her all the jerky things you said to me. I
have written them all down so that I can quote you verbatim! You have met your
match this time.

Oh, yes I would fight the administrative fee with every breath I have!

That's what is called impotent rage. I was mad at the property management company for its stupid parking rules, I was mad at the towing company for towing Brandy's car, I was mad at Jerk Lady and her stupid $25, but mostly I was mad at myself for knowing the stupid rules and ignoring them.

I was furious. I mean I couldn't think of anything else.

I took Brandy to get her car and, as I drove home alone, I thought of ways to alleviate my feeling of rage. I came to a simple solution.

I called Jerk Lady - we could probably just call her Lady now - back and apologized to her for being a jerk myself. She didn't deserve to be the recipient of my anger. It's not like she gets to keep the $25.

It worked, too. Once I did the right thing, I felt better; no more impotent rage. I went home and went to bed without another thought about towing or administrative fees.

Words That Aren't Words: Nother

The word is another. It's a blend of two words: the article an and the word other.

It's 'an' instead of 'a' because other begins with a vowel.

If you add a modifier, such as the word whole, you have two options:

1. split other from its article and insert the modifier before other - That's a whole other story.
2. add the modifier after the word another - That's another whole story.

#1 is clearly the better choice. It sounds better. It's important to remember that when you split the word to accommodate the modifier whole, 'an' becomes 'a' again because w is a consonant.

That 'n' goes away. It does not belong to other.

That's a whole nother story is incorrect.

Nother is not a word.

Seriously.

Debate #2: 10:22

Obama says in relation to foreign policy:

"We have to be proactive. We've been reactive for the past 8 years."

That's not a direct quote, but it's close enough. Look it up.

Except in Iraq, of course. Where Bush took the proactive step rather than waiting for Saddam to act. That, of course, was a mistake according to Obama; Iraq posed no direct threat to us.

Am I wrong in thinking this doesn't reconcile? Have I missed something?

Not to mention his comments on Georgia! What he says is misleading. He did not take a hard stand against Russia and gives us no reason to believe he would.

I am trying to be open to Obama, but I do not trust him on foreign policy. I do not like the positions that he holds and I do not believe his policies are workable.

In addition he speaks of energy independence taking petro dollars from the Russians. The problem being that it isn't US consumption driving the Russian oil industry; it's Europe. It's petro Euros. The US got about 1% of our crude oil from Russia in 2007. Energy independence is not the answer to everything.

And the thing that makes me the most skeptical? The talk of intervening in Darfur to end genocide and, in the same breath, denouncing the invasion of Iraq. A country and a regime with a proven history of genocide.

So, what's a voter like me to do? I'm disappointed by McCain's economic policies, but I like Obama's foreign policy even less.

The third party candidates have insane platforms, but I could vote for one of them as a protest vote. A successful third-party candidate could force change in the big two parties.

BUT none of the current third party candidates have the strength of numbers to push such a change.

You don't have to read this. I'm just rambling through my thoughts.

Debates and Phone Numbers

I just watched the debates. I thought both Biden and Palin did a good job. I think they're both more likable than their running mates.

I feel myself pulling for Palin just to spite the mainstream media which would have me believe she's an idiot. Someone just called her resume vague, but I think words like governor and mayor are fairly clear job titles.

But that's not what this post is about. This one's about the bailout deal.

Again.

Tonight I found a few interesting facts.

The first comes from Perezhilton.com - if you are sensitive, do not click the link. Perez claims that the Senate bill includes tax breaks for Hollywood. I would think that paying a minimum of $8 for a ticket is enough.

The next few come from the New York Post. Here's a list of breaks included in the now 400+ page bill.

• Manufacturers of kids' wooden arrows - $6 million.
• Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands rum producers - $192 million.
• Wool research.
• Auto-racing tracks - $128 million.
• Corporations operating in American Samoa - $33 million.
• Small- to medium-budget film and television productions - $10 million.
• Fishermen and others whose livelihoods suffered as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill - $223 million.
  
• Forcing insurance companies to provide coverage for mental-health treatment equivalent to the coverage they provide for physical illness - $3.8 billion.

All-in-all it should add over $100 billion in deficit spending over the next five years.

Here's a link to the phone numbers of the members of the House. In case you want it.

Deborah Pryce's number is 202-225-2015.

Political Fatigue or Why I Hate the Bailout Plan

I am not an economist.

I took Economics 101 in college and then I took a few accounting and public finance courses in graduate school. I didn't enjoy them, but I like to think I learned a little something.

But, I still don't feel I can formulate a proper argument on the government's bailout plan(s). I've tried to keep up with the news - I've even stooped so low as to watch network evening news programs.

It's all propaganda; every website, every news story, every word. I can't make head or tail of anything. It's all Wall St. versus Main St. The banks are all collapsing! No one will ever get a car loan or a home loan or a student loan again!

And the media makes it all true by simply adding the word "may." Many employers may not be able to make payroll. Small businesses may go under. Your geriatric mother may have lost her entire life saving. In fact, she may be living in and eating out of a dumpster right this very moment!

Maybe. You should probably call her just in case.

Obama and McCain prattle on about change and whose change is best and whose will likely kill us all. It's inane. If this bailout business teaches us anything, it's that the elections in November won't change much.

I would venture to say that both parties have failed. The failure of the bailout bill in the House of Representatives on Monday proved that the Democrats were willing to sacrifice the bill - which they assured us was so very necessary - to sink the Republicans running for re-election. As if, after this, we need more Democrats in the House.

But we don't really need more Republicans either - although, at least they were against it from the beginning.

Now the Senate has passed a bailout package. Oh, our great and noble Senate has come to save us. Except, I read this article from the Associated Press. I've copied my favorite pieces below.

Their opposition appeared to be easing after the Senate added $110 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, plus a provision to raise, from $100,000 to $250,000, the cap on federal deposit insurance.

They were also cheering a decision Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease rules that force companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market.

In addition to extending several tax breaks popular with businesses, the bill would keep the alternative minimum tax from hitting 20 million middle-income Americans and provide $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana.

So, tax breaks. Seriously? You want to spend $700 billion in tax-payer money and pretend that you're cutting my taxes. So, who exactly will pay for the $700 billion? Oh right, I will when you cut federal funding to programs which my state will then have to cover and my state taxes go up and, then, in the end, you'll go ahead and raise the federal taxes later.

Raising the limit for FDIC coverage shouldn't be necessary. I thought this bailout package would stop my bank from going under. If it doesn't, then we need a new plan!

I've already said I didn't enjoy accounting. I am no expert and I won't claim to be, but why shouldn't assets be tied to price? If I buy a $10000 car in 2008, it's worth much less in 2010. I shouldn't continue to value to asset at $10000; I can't liquidate it for that amount. I have to value it based on market price. This easing of the rules will make companies seem to be worth more money that they are, or am I wrong here? Isn't this already part of the problem?

AND $8 BILLION IN DISASTER-RELATED TAX RELIEF? As part of the bailout package?

This is sickening. It reeks of coercion. If you vote against this bill, you will be voting against hurricane victims. If the Senate was serious about tax relief for victims of natural disasters, then the Senate should have taken it up separately.

Ugh. I am often one to defend government. After all, it's people. One must remember that our government is made up of people just like us.

Unfortunately, this has proven to me that they're not like me. They have different concerns than I do. I think that they've forgotten how to think beyond politics. I read somewhere that Congress was finally earning their 10% approval rating and I am inclined to agree.

I can't just blame the Democrats, although I believe that they've utterly failed as the majority party in both houses.

I can't just blame the Republicans either, although, let's face it, the Bush administration has failed in most ways possible.

13Months officially withdraws support for McCain.

13Months refuses to endorse either of the main party candidates.

13Months is inclined to endorse Sarah Palin all on her own simply because she isn't a senator.