news! BIG news!!

ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod!  i'm jumping out of my skin!

i got a call from the placement specialist just now!  holy cow!  wow!  ohmygod!  so much information, so much excitement.

ok, i now have my regular placement contact, but that is the least of the news:  i am "qualified" for service, which means that i am being given a placement and, pending medical clearance, WILL BE GIVEN AN INVITATION!!

a mix of news, but as far as i'm concerned, it's all good in the long run.  i will be teaching math, and i will almost certainly be in sub-saharan africa.  (latin america is mostly only agricultural, business and health, while math and science education is almost entirely in africa.)  there are no math/science placements going out in the jan-mar timeframe, so my timing is being adjusted again – now june or later.  but the good news that comes with that is that i will know details – more-or-less exact timing and placement -- in october some time.  so i will be able to sell the house in a more reasonable fashion and get everything done as i need to.  whew, what a relief!

so i have legal and medical clearances left to get.  the legal should only be something concerning the mortgage, which i haven't gotten likely because of the email mix-up.  and i don't know for sure whether medical has asked for any further info, also because of the email mix-up.  i'll be getting contact info later today and will follow up with both at that time.

gosh, it seems like there was more.  but wow, that's quite a lot already!  i had been thinking lately about all the peace corps applicants' blogs i've been reading where they are having so much trouble being patient with the process.  perhaps i am lucky, or just used to the slow way things move here at work (because we know for *sure* it isn't any kind of innate ability for patience!), but i guess i took all the advice to heart and settled myself on everything taking a long time.  i haven't felt like things are taking any longer than promised (which is to say, the regular government pace).  guess my expectations are low enough.  but that means that whenever i do hear anything, it is a lovely surprise and seems sooner than expected.  i submitted my application at the end of january, so it's not like the process has been faster than normal.  i just haven't felt forgotten the way so many others do.  maybe that's also a difference between being 20 years old and 40-something.

anyhow, now it occurs to me that this is the big news everyone is waiting and hoping for, and i have it already!  it's a little backwards because normally medical clearance comes first, but i'm sure that will work out.  and with this much time until i go, there's plenty of time for any follow up they may want.

OH, I'M SO EXCITED!!

tag sale results

it occurred to me that i never gave an update on what happened with the tag sale.  the bottom line is that i made about $300.  not bad, eh?  we sold maybe just over half of the stuff, which is to say there is a boatload left over, even after all that selling!

there were some interesting characters that showed up throughout the day...

• the earlybirds -- ok, so the sale starts at 9am, and at 7:45 people start pulling up.  in droves.  they descended upon us although we had less than a quarter of the stuff put out.  apparently this is de rigueur for tag sales.  who knew?  ok, my mother knew, but she didn't tell me.
• the teacher -- there was one very, very sweet guy who came and bought all sorts of kids' stuff and even a white board.  he was so very nice and was doing it to prepare -- at his own expense, of course -- for the school year.  he didn't even attempt to bargain, just happily paid the prices marked.  we gave him a break on the lot, but now i wish i had asked what else he would have liked and threw it in, regardless of the price.  there was also a woman starting a preschool who bought a bunch of the toys.  these two really made me feel warm and fuzzy.  as opposed to some of the others (see last bullet point).
• barterers vs. accepters -- some people just can't be happy with paying a quarter for an item that would otherwise cost $5.  they just *have* to haggle.  this my mom did warn me about, but it still amazed me.  (and i let Shari do the haggling.)  i mean, a QUARTER?!  i felt a little used by some people.  on the other hand, you have the teacher who just never questioned anything.  i liked him better. 
• scoffers vs. those who admit i sold too low -- then there are the people who scoff at paying $1 for a $10 or $20 original-price item.  i know it's a tag sale, so you can't expect to get anything near a real price (or even an ebay price) for anything, but c'mon, *scoffing* at me?  give me a break.  on the other hand, there were at least two people who outright admitted to me that i had way underpriced items that they were happy to snatch up.  if you know me, you know that still bothers me.  not because i am greedy but because i was so far off (or scared) in pricing.  and it makes me wonder what other (potentially large) mistakes i made.
• the wine rack -- one of the interesting stories of the day was the wine rack.  nice set -- three units that attach together to wrap around a corner and hold a couple hundred bottles or so at full capacity.  so mid-sale, a couple comes up to look at it, saying they aren't interested, but that they have a friend who would be very interested.  so interested, in fact, that she would come by just to look at it.  the couple went on about how nice it was and how perfect for the friend.  a while later, a woman comes up to look at it and loves it.  says it is just perfect for them.  they are starting their own winery and would love just such a set for their showroom.  they were super-nice and really excited.  i was so happy that it was going to them.  turns out, as they're paying, that they are not the expected friend.  oops.  oh well, first-come, first-served.  late in the sale, the "friend" finally decides to show up and is not very nice or friendly at all.  even before we told her we already sold it.  very glad about the way that one went.
• the last guy -- and then there was the last guy.  we're very obviously cleaning everything up and he and his wife walk up, looking through things with not the least acknowledgement that it's about to rain and we are cleaning up.  that's ok, if they want to buy.  long story short, he looks at a $5 whiteboard with stand and asks if we'll take $1 for it.  since it is haggling, i automatically defer to Shari, who says, "i'll give it to you for $3."  he says, "what about $1?"  i don't know what she was thinking, but she agrees.  well, it turns out the guy is a class-a jerk.  he laughed at us when we wouldn't give him a $7 desk chair for $1, saying it was garbage.  (then leave, idiot!)  then he picks up two binders marked 25 cents each and wants them for 10 cents.  we just said "no."  give me back that nice teacher.

i didn't end up trying to sell any of the furniture.  couldn't be bothered to bring it up the stairs (in the case of the enormous, heavy desk that i know i don't want) and/or couldn't be sure i really wanted to get rid of it yet.  so far i haven't sold anything i'd necessarily want to keep if i was staying or if, for example, i had unlimited storage.  except my ironing board.  that may have been really dumb.  not sure what i was thinking.

i also didn't end up selling the game table or the stereo and other electronics.  part of it was the early bird problem (in that i didn't have any extra time to get more stuff), and i guess part of it goes back to the same not-sure-about-getting-rid-of-anything-permanently bit.

i have tentatively scheduled another sale (in my mind) for early octoberebay, like a silver serving tray and crystal and such (more on that in a moment).  or possibly on craig's list, like furniture, if i can deal with the logistics and effort and time of it all.

my parents have offered to come out and help with a second tag sale.  but is it really worth them driving all the way from connecticut to do it?  the gas money alone would be more than whatever i am bound to make.  (besides, then i really have to commit to doing it.)  the upside of this possibility is that they have offered to take back with them things that might better sell on ebay, as long as it fits in the car.  (oh yes you did!)  my mom being the big ebay seller and all...

a status with teeth to it

my dental records got officially approved by the peace corps!

remaining:  placement/suitability, medical, and legal.

all in, part 2

i submitted all the new forms yesterday -- updated resume, volunteering details, my transcript, the supplemental education experience form, and my CLEP results!  they updated my status online, and the next step will be to hear from the Placement Specialists in the next few weeks!  they'll determine whether my skills and suitability match their needs.  i don't know for sure whether the medical evaluation is happening in parallel or if it's on hold until the placement work is done.  but i finally feel like i'm on my way!!

spanish exam

i emailed with the placement assistant at PC again yesterday.  she indicated that the next step after submitting the additional paperwork is that a Placement Specialist will complete the final skill and suitability assessment of my application.  they may contact me for more input and then will decide whether i can continue on in the process.

i let her know my intention of taking the spanish test so that i could be considered for latin american placements and asked whether this was something i should wait to talk to the placement person about, or whether i needed to have it done asap.  just guess what her answer was. 

This would be something you need to do before they look at your file, as they won’t be able to consider you for Spanish speaking programs until you can prove that you qualify for them.  However, it is important to know that simply qualifying for these positions is not a guarantee that we will be able to place you in them.  Also, you should be aware that many of the Peace Corps Volunteers that serve in South and Central America work in local languages and not in Spanish.   if you would like to take the CLEP in order to be considered, you would need to do so relatively soon.  if you are still unsure but have an idea that you will pass, you could hold off and then discuss this further with your placement officer, but this may cause a further delay in being able to be placed in a program, so i would recommend taking it as soon as you are able if you are planning on doing so.

so… i decided to throw everything up into the wind and i took the test THIS MORNING, without further studying or prep.  of the 36 different exams that are offered, the one with the single highest score required to get credit is … yep, spanish.  you need to get 63 on a scale from 20 to 80.  even the other language exams (german and french) do not require such a high score, and all of the other subject areas require only a 50.

and this was my result:

what do you know?  despite significant trouble understanding spoken spanish and weakness in many grammar areas (and complete inability to speak it), i got a high enough score for PC and to instantly get 4 semesters of credit for college spanish.  just like that.*

now to the rest of that paperwork.

*  as if any of it was "just like that".

inactive status and other bad news...

on top of other bad things on monday, i happened to check my application status on the PC website and this is the message i got:  "your application has been withdrawn from active consideration…"

i called to find out what was going on and was told that due to budget reductions in washington… blah, blah…  i was supposed to have received an email on the first of august regarding this and was informed in no uncertain terms that it is the applicant's responsibility to make sure they receive PC emails.  how i'm supposed to know there is one so that i can be sure i received it was not something she could answer.  particularly when the error was on their part when they transposed two letters in my email address.  so she re-sent the email to me with instructions to respond right away to her (the original email only gave one week to respond, and if you didn't you became automatically inactive for consideration.)

so the email tells me that due to budget cuts, etc… the number of people being sent is reduced and i can't be placed in the timeframe they had said, so i should write back and let them know if i still wished to be considered for the future.  well of course i do!!  and here's the weird part – they now have me tentatively planned for january – march of 2012, exactly the timeframe i had hoped for.  now i am "active" again.

so not all bad news is all bad.  but wait, there's more.

today i get another email from them saying that normally the assessment for suitability is done after the medical and legal review, but because of these cuts they are now doing the suitability review first, basically to narrow the number of candidates even being considered.  not bad news in itself, but combined with their request for all of my teaching experience (which i don't really have), my final transcript and completion date for the teaching certificate (which i don't have), and a separate teaching experience/expertise form to be filled out (which i can't)… i may have a problem.  i suspect that my engineering experience doesn't count for anything anymore and only solid teaching experience will cut it.  which means i will be passed up if they have any kind of certified teachers applying.

(insert four-letter words here)

web status

the latest status on my official PC application...
the dental and medical forms are received!

all in

76.

76 is the magic number.

it only took 76 pages to fully summarize my current health, according to the pc.  that presumes, of course, that they don't ask for more info on any given topic, which is highly unlikely. 

my doctor's office has a sign that says the first form to be filled out is free, and each subsequent page is $25.  for narrative, however, it is $100 per page.  so when i showed up with my 37-page deck for her to fill out (mostly narrative, of course), i was a bit concerned.  i figured since she has always been so kind and accommodating with everything – and seemed supportive of the pc idea – that she would hopefully give me a break.  it took quite some time to get it all filled out (a couple weeks longer than what she had said it would), and i had to go back for a couple small things she had missed.  but she did give me a break, as i had hoped.  she charged me nothing to fill it all out.  (which reminds me, i need to send her a thank you card!)

although it has legitimately taken this long to get everything done – i had a mammogram follow-up and figured i might as well wait for that report before sending everything in – there is a part of me that didn't mind the delay.  you see, once i submit these forms, it's pretty much out of my hands.  from that point on it is up to the peace corps and i have no influence on how long it does or doesn't take.  the next steps as i understand them are for pc to go through all my forms and make a decision as to whether to accept, reject or defer me based on medical qualification.  if accepted, they move forward to try to find a placement that matches my skills and their needs, and i eventually get an invitation.  once the invitation comes, i have 7-10 days to accept or decline it.  and it can come as little as 6 weeks ahead of the leave date.  so, except for asking for an update of my resume somewhere along the way, after sending in my medical forms the next thing i hear from them could be a letter with a leave date in 6 weeks.  and that could take 6 months or 1 month.

(i imagine at some point they would tell me that i've been medically cleared, but i can't be sure of that.  i never did get anything in the mail officially telling me i was nominated.)

and just when I was thinking that waiting for this last report might make a slightly later departure date likely… as i re-read everything to be sure i was complete before sending, i noticed a part where the instructions said that forms will be processed not in the order in which they are received but in the order of the proposed departure date.  in other words, it's possible they will put mine up higher on the list because of this mythical october departure date.  eek.

so sending in these medical forms is sort of the last time i have control in the situation until it all takes off at light speed – or molasses speed, depending.  as much of a hurry as i was in at first to get the forms done and submitted, i am now comfortable with a little lag.  but i'm not trying to sabotage anything.  so i'm off to the post office.

and i'm "all in."  kinda literally.