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Trying to write my Employee Statement for my AEF (AID's version of the EER). I swear this thing is an instrument of torture.
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Mar 31, 2012 19:10
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Anyone know where I'd look to find regulations on getting reimbursed for having to stay in a hotel because the city is out of water and our tank/pump is broken (meaning nothing water related in the house works: sinks, toilets, distiller, laundry, etc.)? I looked through the FAM/FAH, closest thing I found was 15 FAM (various chapters, mostly 630) but none of that expressly outlines rights of the employee/resident and more importantly remedies.
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Mar 31, 2012 22:24
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Diplomaticus posted:Anyone know where I'd look to find regulations on getting reimbursed for having to stay in a hotel because the city is out of water and our tank/pump is broken (meaning nothing water related in the house works: sinks, toilets, distiller, laundry, etc.)? 6 FAM 100? Was the the one about "Undue Hardship"??
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Apr 1, 2012 00:58
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Usually you just call the mgmt officer and say "hey house is unlivable, I need to stay in a hotel" and they take care of it.
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Apr 1, 2012 01:25
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Vilerat posted:Usually you just call the mgmt officer and say "hey house is unlivable, I need to stay in a hotel" and they take care of it. Seriously, don't do this yourself. That's what the management section is for.
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Apr 1, 2012 03:45
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pamchenko posted:Trying to write my Employee Statement for my AEF (AID's version of the EER). I swear this thing is an instrument of torture. One of my favorite FS parlor games is to try to establish just how far you could exaggerate on an EER before someone would call you on it. Consensus is that you could go pretty far. . . .
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Apr 1, 2012 03:48
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Business of Ferrets posted:One of my favorite FS parlor games is to try to establish just how far you could exaggerate on an EER before someone would call you on it. I'm thinking about just writing, "I fixed Ukraine" and leaving it at that.
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Apr 1, 2012 14:37
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pamchenko posted:I'm thinking about just writing, "I fixed Ukraine" and leaving it at that. I poo poo you not I heard "superstar" actually used in an EER and that EER was promoted to 2 (which in our field is the huge bottleneck).
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Apr 1, 2012 15:51
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Business of Ferrets posted:Seriously, don't do this yourself. That's what the management section is for. Yup, until then, if/when you get water back, fill up a bathtub or a large sink with water. Then you can use that to force flush (or fill the reservoir). The two posts I've been too don't consider hot water a life necessity meaning, they'd fix it, but just not right away that night/weekend. No water pressure however starts getting into a sanitary issue. The Posts I've been at specifically mention is an emergency and will send crews to fix it or temporarily move you into another residence if the crews can't fix your water problem.
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Apr 1, 2012 16:01
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Thanks. We got an emergency delivery over the weekend, but can't figure out how 2000 liters drained in about 12 hours in which we didn't shower, do laundry, or much of anything. No leaks that we can find. I'll bring it up with management tomorrow.
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Apr 1, 2012 16:12
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How well written does this drat statement of interest for the FSOA have to be?
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Apr 2, 2012 21:11
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Tyro posted:How well written does this drat statement of interest for the FSOA have to be? Well, you don't need to be Mr. Fancyman or anything. However, if you can't string two words together without a typo I imagine that wouldn't work in your favor. Think like a mini college admissions essay.
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Apr 2, 2012 22:06
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Hey, Diplomaticus! finally made it (got my offer in). Man, has it really been that long? I remember we both took it back in like, late '09 or early '10... The offer was higher than I expected, but wasn't a driving force. 
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Apr 3, 2012 04:09
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Skandiaavity posted:Hey, Diplomaticus! finally made it (got my offer in). Man, has it really been that long? I remember we both took it back in like, late '09 or early '10... The offer was higher than I expected, but wasn't a driving force. Grats! Yeah, it really has been that long. '09 for me.
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Apr 3, 2012 09:09
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Has anyone that applied to the IMS position that closed in March get an invitation to OAs yet?
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Apr 3, 2012 16:57
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The OMS position is closed. Edit: Just checked on my application status, it says "Eligible – Referred to Next Step in Selection Process" I assume that means I just passed the basic screening questions and they still have to review my PNQs?
Miscreant Fromage fucked around with this message at 14:57 on Apr 4, 2012 |
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Apr 4, 2012 14:31
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AgentSythe posted:Has anyone that applied to the IMS position that closed in March get an invitation to OAs yet? It'll be a while. I think I waited three or four months after the opening closed.
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Apr 4, 2012 14:49
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EER season was more fun before having to write the drat things. (haha it was never fun)
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Apr 4, 2012 16:29
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AKA Pseudonym posted:It'll be a while. I think I waited three or four months after the opening closed. From posting close to OA was right at 4 months for me. Then one more on top of that because I had to reschedule. In general, nothing about the process was fast.
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Apr 5, 2012 05:51
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Diplomaticus posted:What a week. Paypal got hacked to the tune of 1200+ dollars (not including fees/charges). Car broke down. Major VIP in town, which of course I got tasked on. Sheesh. Best way to get out of working a SecState visit: find out that she's arriving 5 hours after your wedding. Turns out you get out of all control officer and site officer responsibilities!
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Apr 6, 2012 21:15
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Business of Ferrets posted:Seriously, don't do this yourself. That's what the management section is for. Yeah, Jesus Christ. If your Mgt people can't even get that right, then hell, they're worse than ours, and I life a drink to your name. When I was in Riyadh if your air conditioner went out you had 24/7 support to get it back up and running. You'd think water would be in the same category...
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Apr 6, 2012 21:22
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the_chavi posted:Yeah, Jesus Christ. If your Mgt people can't even get that right, then hell, they're worse than ours, and I life a drink to your name. Dude, when were you in Riyadh? I had a buddy who was the GSO there and he had those guys on speed dial.
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Apr 6, 2012 21:58
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EDIT: Double. Post.
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Apr 7, 2012 04:32
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Diplomaticus posted:And the water just died again. RIGHT after I flushed, thankfully. Memories. Always had a water bucket just in case... Doing lawyer-y things in NYC right now, but thinking of getting back on this horse in Oct. Just need to get someone to look over my written essays if/when I pass the the written test. Looking forward to that.
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Apr 7, 2012 04:33
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Water is fixed and I got major repairs done on my car. Yay. If all goes well, next weekend going to be taking a vacation!
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Apr 7, 2012 09:40
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Diplomaticus posted:Water is fixed and I got major repairs done on my car. Yay. Nice!! Good luck - where will you be going?
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Apr 7, 2012 11:30
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the_chavi posted:Nice!! Good luck - where will you be going? Probably Zanzibar. Not entirely sure yet.
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Apr 7, 2012 13:51
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Diplomaticus posted:Probably Zanzibar. Not entirely sure yet. I've heard great things about scuba diving in Djibuti. And it's like a thousand times cheaper.
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Apr 7, 2012 15:17
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Counterpoint: you're in Djibouti. Also, relevant. Can't stop reading!
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Apr 7, 2012 20:46
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Coming back to Post after a medevac is the best feeling in the world. Finding your car completely dead in your garage with no way of getting in due to a lock malfunction kind of dampens that. On the bright side, at least this will give my now-rusty Italian some practice with a locksmith who will charge me an arm and a leg.
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Apr 8, 2012 13:00
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Zoots posted:Coming back to Post after a medevac is the best feeling in the world. Finding your car completely dead in your garage with no way of getting in due to a lock malfunction kind of dampens that. No way, BP - you're a Goon?! Sup fellow Riyadh refugee... the_chavi fucked around with this message at 16:42 on Apr 8, 2012 |
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Apr 8, 2012 16:36
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the_chavi posted:Sup fellow Riyadh refugee... "Riyadh Refugee." I like it. I've also heard "Saudi Survivors and Sycophants." I just tried to PM you, but looks like you don't have plat. Who is this? Send me a email! Zoots fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Apr 8, 2012 |
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Apr 8, 2012 18:18
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What's it like being an FSO in Saudi Arabia? When I studied in Austria one of my best friends was a Saudi Arabian guy who was in my German class, he was a really cool guy just really a great representative for his country. (Part of this may have had to do with the fact that both of our religions hate the papacy [I'm Lutheran  ])Of course I know not all Saudi citizens are the same, but I just think it would be a very interesting change of pace to go from the rolling cornfields of the Midwest where I grew up to the sands of the middle of Arabia. I'm also interested in Islam and Semitic languages. Saudi Arabia isn't considered a "hardship" post, is it? I mean, I heard even McDonald's has a delivery service over there. 
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Apr 8, 2012 18:32
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Jedi Knight Luigi posted:What's it like being an FSO in Saudi Arabia? When I studied in Austria one of my best friends was a Saudi Arabian guy who was in my German class, he was a really cool guy just really a great representative for his country. (Part of this may have had to do with the fact that both of our religions hate the papacy [I'm Lutheran Zoots can chime in with his own impressions... we both worked very different jobs while we were there, which colors your perceptions. My job (consular section) required me to be in the office 70-80 hours a week, doing a lot of interviews and a lot more paperwork. I didn't get out to mix it up with regular Saudis all that often, so my impressions are highly informed by what people think visa officers want to hear. Outside of the office life, Riyadh's tough. I did short stints in the two constituent posts, Dhahran and Jeddah, which showed me very different sides of the country. For me, a year in Riyadh was the hardest time in my life. I arrived when we were still an unaccompanied post (after an al Qaeda group overran our Jeddah compound a few years before and executed several staff members), and two weeks after my arrival our embassy in Sanaa was bombed, which put us on lockdown for six weeks. Once we were granted limited personal travel, we still had to take armored-up motor pool transportation everywhere, which meant that everyone knew everywhere you went and with whom you went. Later in my tour, I dated a man who did not have diplomatic immunity, so we had to leave the country to go out to dinner together. Also, that delivery McDonald's you mentioned? Doesn't matter much if the Saudi military officials guarding your compound won't let them in. =/ I learned a lot about myself while I was there, and at the end of the day I'm glad I went. I'd still rather bludgeon myself to death with a tire iron than go back. There are tons of places to learn about Islam and Arabic/Semitic languages. You don't have to go to Saudi to learn those - indeed, I'd actually recommend you choose that place last out of all Arabic-speaking countries to learn... Edited to add: tl;dr - Yes, Saudi's a hardship post. It's not as hard as it was when I was there, allegedly, but I'd still rather not go back!
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Apr 8, 2012 19:02
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the_chavi posted:Saudi stuff I wondered how rough it would be being stationed somewhere like that as a woman. I find this stuff pretty interesting, I'd love to hear more experiences and post reports from different places and different goons. It's interesting to hear all the different perspectives and personal experiences at various posts.
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Apr 9, 2012 19:44
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Miscreant Fromage posted:I wondered how rough it would be being stationed somewhere like that as a woman. I find this stuff pretty interesting, I'd love to hear more experiences and post reports from different places and different goons. It's interesting to hear all the different perspectives and personal experiences at various posts. There is a good collection here. Free membership required, but very much worth it. Warning: the message boards there are horrible.
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Apr 9, 2012 20:05
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Business of Ferrets posted:There is a good collection here. Free membership required, but very much worth it. Yeah I've been combing through those over the past couple months, haven't yet ventured onto the message boards though. It's helpful but the post reports are kinda impersonal.
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Apr 9, 2012 21:11
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Miscreant Fromage posted:I wondered how rough it would be being stationed somewhere like that as a woman. I find this stuff pretty interesting, I'd love to hear more experiences and post reports from different places and different goons. It's interesting to hear all the different perspectives and personal experiences at various posts. My mother lived there for a while as an expatriate. I could ask her about it if you want.
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Apr 10, 2012 18:02
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Shageletic posted:My mother lived there for a while as an expatriate. I could ask her about it if you want. As a note, traveling to a country, living in a country and living as a diplomat in a country can provide very different experiences. Sometimes as us overseas, we are limited to what we can do outside the Embassy, both professionally and personally for a variety of reasons which otherwise wouldn't apply to normal expats.
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Apr 10, 2012 19:22
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TCD posted:As a note, traveling to a country, living in a country and living as a diplomat in a country can provide very different experiences. Sometimes as us overseas, we are limited to what we can do outside the Embassy, both professionally and personally for a variety of reasons which otherwise wouldn't apply to normal expats. Hear, hear. I'll drink to that.
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Apr 12, 2012 02:26
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