One year ago today

On April 27, 2012 I woke up in my parent's basement in a room without windows (I called it the "dungeon;" truth is, I prefer it over the adjoining room because I like to sleep in total darkness). I was in Colorado because I was finishing my last class for my master's degree; Scott was still in Ohio because we'd moved there in January. It was a Friday morning and the next day was my very last classroom session for my degree. I was headed back to Ohio on Sunday afternoon.

I grabbed my phone, as I do most mornings, and checked my email. And there was an email from the Department of State. I was invited to be in the July A-100 class for the Foreign Service. I was in shock. I had stopped paying attention to the Foreign Service message boards months ago and I knew I was going to expire off the register in July. In the back of my mind, I always thought it would be nice to hear from them, but I had honestly given up hope.

Here I am a year later. I live in Washington, D.C. and I am a few months away from finishing my first assignment (first tour DC positions are only one year tours). I've met former Secretary Clinton (on more than one occasion) and now Secretary Kerry. I've visited Timor-Leste and Indonesia as a representative of the United States, places I never thought I would see. I got to bid farewell the Ambassador from Timor-Leste at a reception at Blair House (its an awesome place - http://blairhouse.org). Soon I may be working on the credentials for a new Ambassador from Timor-Leste as well as preparing our Ambassador to Timor.

If you had asked me on April 26th how the next year was going to look, it would have included a lot of discussion about rural Ohio and looking into how to get a teaching job out there. Now, my coming year includes learning a language I know little about (Cantonese) and preparing to move to Asia.

It all just keeps getting better and better. I can't imagine what two years from now will look like.

Favorite Things

Do you know why you like your favorite things? Like your favorite color, why is it your favorite color?

I don't really have a favorite color but when I was a kid and someone would ask I would usually say "seafoam green, cerulean blue, and daffodil yellow" because I had three crayons and that is what was written on their sides. And those three colors looked the best together. Silly childhood memories.

One memory I've been thinking of a lot lately is why my favorite flower is my favorite. Spring has come to DC (also a little bit of summer, in April...) and my favorite flower is all over the place. I love it. Daffodils in all different colors and styles are everywhere.

Why the daffodil? It's not because of the crayon, although this might be why I liked that crayon. It's because of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I used to watch it all the time when I was young, (the original one with Gene Wilder, not this crazy technicolor one with Johnny Depp) and it was so magical. I wanted wallpaper I could lick. I wanted gum that was a whole meal (I'm still holding out hope on that one). I wanted everything in that factory.

There is a scene when the kids are exploring on their own for the first time and Wonka sings a little song while he strolls around. At one point he picks a daffodil and pops the top off and drinks from it like a teacup with a saucer still in his hand. And then he bites the flower like its a biscuit. For some reason, I loved this. And daffodils have been my favorite flower ever since.

I am not sure I could give reasons as to why all of my favorite things are my favorite, but the idea that a daffodil could also be tasty treats makes it my favorite.