My mind is open wide and now I'm ready to start - Arcade Fire

I left Boston on a rainy Thursday, and made it to DC eight and a half hours later, helped by a cd copy of the book, Moneyball.

I hadn't really felt the gravity of the situation until I pulled away from my apartment with a full car.  Boston has been my home for 15 of the last 16 years.  It is where many of my friends are.  Despite the lack of a grid or signage, I know the crazy roads.  I have opinions about where the best Reuben can be found, good bike rides, hiking trails, and auto mechanics.  My familiarity with the subtleties of the city have made it a comfortable place to be.  As I drove away, I was sad about leaving friends and my sense of belonging, yet also excited about and humbled by the opportunity.

(My first stumbling block in learning DC is which ice cream to buy from the grocer.  My Boston staple, Brigham's chocolate, is not available here.  Any suggestions for a regional favorite?  Thankfully, they do sell Entenmann's here.)

DC is hot.  I know September hot is nothing like July hot, but it's still hot.  I've always experienced the dry-heat / humid-heat thing by going from Boston to Tucson or a similar dry-heat place.  Now I've gone to super humid-heat and it's a doozy.  I am used to walking fast, but will have to learn to pace myself and allow for stop overs in stores with a/c along the way.  I'm not looking forward to this heat while wearing a suit.

My apartment is great.  The pictures the landlord sent do not show how great it is.  There are a few things I'd do differently, but overall, I love it.  It is in the same block as the Verizon Center, a neighborhood that has tons of restaurants, shopping, a movie theater, and lots of pedestrian activity.  Having never lived downtown before, this has been an excellent sensory experience.  So much going on.  Late night noodles and dumplings are in my future.

This morning, I went on a six mile ride around the Capitol, Supreme Court, down the Mall to the Hirshhorn sculptures, past the Washington Monument, and was headed to the Jefferson Memorial when the bees attacked.  I was approaching a crazy man.  He was jumping and flailing around.  I assumed he was nuts, but harmless.  While planning a route around him, I was swarmed.  The bees were not happy.  I joined the man in jumping and flailing, and got away with only one sting on my shoulder blade.  Jefferson will have to wait.

I'm about to go meet my classmates in a pre-training welcome outing at a bar in Virginia.  It's an unofficial outing, but it feels like the beginning of my experience here.

Tomorrow, I become official.


Arcade Fire video

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, Mr. Suit - Wire

Getting an offer has been a huge relief, and has also filled up my to-do list.

Suits:  Ten years ago, I wore a suit everyday to work at the bank, but for the last five years or so, it was rare for me to go the whole work day with shoes on, forget about a suit.  Apparently, pleated pants were in style in the late 90's.  After some donations to goodwill, and some purchases, I now have three suits I'm happy with, and some new dress shirts.  I could buy a few more things, but I'll be able to fill in the gaps when I'm in DC, if necessary.  I'm still not sure if suits are the day to day outfit on the job for most FSOs, or if they are really only used for orientation in DC and special occasions elsewhere.  If I'm going to wear them all the time at post, I'll likely buy another.

Forms:  After the offer, came the forms.  Thrift Savings Plan, health insurance election, beneficiary selections for several things, life insurance options, etc., etc., and yet another occasion where I had to declare that I understand that I am at the whims of State and that I'll go wherever they decide.  My favorite was one that puts me one the hook for all costs if I leave before completing my first year at post.  With medical clearance, security clearance, training costs, per diem, and moving costs, I wonder what that would add up to.

Housing:  I've never lived in the city.  For the last 15 years, I've lived close to Boston, but never in it.  When it comes down to it, I'm too cheap to pay downtown prices.  With the per diem arrangement during training / temporary assignment to DC, I've got much more to work with than I'd ever allow myself.  So, it's now or never.

I've found a place in Chinatown.  I'll be a few minutes walk from the orange line, which will take me to the FSI shuttle.  It'll be a 45 minute commute, which sounds bad, until I remember how much I used to enjoy reading on the T on my commute to Boston.  I'm going to wear out my kindle.  It is also on the red line, which goes to the bars and restaurants of Dupont and Adams Morgan.  If only the curling club were on the Metro.  Sadly, I'll need my car for that.

Since the per diem amount shrinks over time, if I am in training for more than 8 months or so, I'll start to pay the landlord out of my own pocket in addition to the per diem.  It's hard to say how long till this happens since the rates for fiscal 2012, which starts in Oct., are not out yet.  The apartment is a gamble in comparison to Oakwood, the official housing where lots of FSOs stay and where I'd be guaranteed not to pay out of pocket, but I wanted to be downtown, and think I'll appreciate the opportunity to get some space and time to myself.

Moving:  My move date is set for the week before orientation starts.  I don't have a ton to do before then.  One of the great things about having sold my house and having gone to Guatemala to get the language bonus points last year is that I boxed up all my stuff and put it in storage.  I packed with joining the Foreign Service in mind.  I sorted out long term storage boxes, boxes I'd want shipped to post but not DC, boxes I'd want in DC, and some boxes I'd want if I didn't get the offer.  Also, since I'm driving to DC, I'll be able to bring my clothes, plants, computer, printer, bike, office supplies, and more in my car so that I'll have them immediately.

Expiration day:  This isn't on my to-do list, but is worth mentioning.  Today would have been my expiration day off the registrar's list if I hadn't gotten the offer last month.  It has been 18 months since I made the register.  Today could have been a very sad day for me.

(Wire - Mr. Suit)

Anything's possible - Kevin Garnett

I got an invite to the September class.  I'm super excited and relieved.

I couldn't bring myself to open the email for a few minutes.  I just stared at the screen and shouted expletives.  My body gave me a boost of adrenaline or something, 'cause I got real hot and started sweating. 

Over the last few years, I'd arranged a lot of my life around getting this job, and my looming expiration seemed cruel.  I'd mentally accepted the idea that an invite wasn't going to happen, and was bummed about it.  But on Tuesday, I got an email with the offer.  Pretty dramatic.  More dramatic than I wanted.

I began this candidacy in February 2009.  The offer came 869 days after taking the FSOT.  A long ride to get to the start.

KG after winning the title.

Hoping for the best but expecting the worst - Alphaville

Just got rejected by the QEP for my 2011 candidacy.

Didn't bother to take the test in 2010, because I'd passed in 2009 and everyone was getting called off the list.

My 2009 candidacy is set to expire in August.  Currently #39 of 139.

(Alphaville video)

I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good - Pearl Jam

I'm no longer expecting to get the call.

State is really cutting back on their hiring.  The upcoming budget fight has them scared.  At the current rate, they will hire half as many people as they did last fiscal year.  So far, they eliminated one of the proposed classes for the year, and for the last several classes, they have cut back on the number of people they hire from 95 to around 55.  For the March class, there were only five slots given to management candidates.  Management offers reached #8 on the list of more than 100.  I'm in the high 20's.

At this point, I expect to expire off the list in August.  There are just three more classes to be called before I expire.  Based on the way State was hiring over the last two years, I had thought all along that I'd get the call, but they keep moving the finish line, and now it seems out of reach.

Is this moron number one? Put moron number two on the phone - Jimmy Serrano

I found out yesterday that I passed my Spanish phone test.  The change in score moved me 34 places higher on the list, and I'm currently ranked in the high 20's.  My highest rank yet.

In the week following the test, I had convinced myself that I had failed.  So happy to have been wrong about that.  

My test felt like it went ok, but I thought it could have gone better.  I talked non-stop, like a teenage girl, for 25 minutes.  Maybe I shouldn't have, but I counted that as a good thing.  On the bad side, I often couldn't understand my interviewer.  Her accent was difficult for me, as well as her velocity.  I guessed a few times at what she had asked.  She didn't stop me in my answers, so I just hoped that my responses were somewhat close to what she'd asked.  Also in the bad camp, was that I was too nervous to analyse what tenses I'd used and which ones I should try to use before we hung up.  I didn't end up using complex sentence structures.  I was really wound up so I forgot to say things like, "If I were Obama, I would...., in order to....", which would have shown a knowledge of the conditional and subjunctive tenses.

So after 11 tough weeks in Xela, Guatemala, and nine hours of lessons over Skype with Betty, a teacher from Oaxaca, Mexico, I got the passing grade.  I'm very happy to have passed, but I'm also just thrilled and relieved to be done with studying and worrying about the test.

Guate was tough on me, mostly because of my fear over the upcoming exam.  It made it hard for me to allow myself to do anything but study.  Any time I socialized a bit with other students and travelers, I felt like it was at the expense of studying, and that I was endangering my result.  I was there with a goal, and unfortunately that goal wasn't to have a lot of fun with other travelers.  I didn't want to have the regret of knowing I could have done more.  It was an exhausting experience.

This wasn't the type of attitude that allowed me to enjoy my time in Guatemala, but thankfully, it was the type of attitude that allowed me to pass the Spanish test.

I hear that South America is coming into style - Elvis Costello

Well, the last few classes have happened without me getting an invite.  October class invites went out too.  The next class is scheduled for January, but at this point, I'm shooting for February.

My 5.3 has been on the cusp of getting a call for several classes, but I don't think it is going to be enough.  So, I'm off to study some Spanish to raise my score.  I can get a .17 bonus if I can show them that I've got the required level of ability.  A 5.47 would put me in the mid-20's in rank, instead of the mid-40's.  Invites usually make it into the 30's.

I'm hoping to test in early December to get the points, and have the 5.47 in place before the calls for the February class go out.

Guatemala is calling, partially because I'm cheap, and partially because it is known for having good language schools.  I fly out tomorrow.  

I'm going to start at La Democracia .  Depending on how it goes, I'll either stay there, or move to one of the many other options down there.

Good news on the housing front.  Both condos have closed.  Second one closed yesterday.  Nice to have that done.  With all the negative news about home sales, I thought it was going to be a terrible process, but I lived close to Harvard Sq, and I think I priced them realistically, so they went quickly.  Phew.  Deep breath.

Ok.  Time to sign off and put my computer in storage.  

It's always tease, tease, tease - The Clash

The first round of September invites have gone out.  I didn't get one. This time, I'm #50 on the list (my worst position yet) and invites reached at least #31.  So, at most I was 19 away from an invite.  Not moving in the right direction here.  A few more invites may go out in a second round, but I don't think they'll close a gap of 19.  No September class for me.

I have gotten two non-FSO related offers though.  I recently converted my two-family house into two condos and I put them on the market last Monday.  By last Thursday, I had accepted one offer, and then on Sunday after an open house, I accepted an offer on the other condo.  Both under contract within a week.  So, despite all the horror stories in the news about devastated real estate markets, I had a very good week.  Of course, there are still inspections to do on this 100+ year old house.  I won't consider things safe until the p/s is signed.  If things stay on schedule, they should both be signed by the end of next week.

The plan was to sell my house in anticipation of the offer.  Since home sales typically take a while, I wanted to get the ball rolling, and then when I'd made the June or August classes, I could participate in the home sale from afar, having done all the prep work.  Well, the June and August classes passed me by, but the home sale has stayed on schedule.

This does put me in a great position for my Plan B, which is to get some intensive Spanish training.  It'll be easier for me to concentrate on grammar rules without the worry of covering my mortgage.  

I'll need to put my stuff in storage while I'm gone.  It'll be a bit of a pain to do that, but I have a head start since I've already boxed up and gotten rid of a bunch of stuff in order to stage the house for sale.  I don't have that many things anyway.  Even though I've owned this house for six years, I'm not much of an accumulator.  I don't see an empty space and feel a need to fill it.  Having moved eight times in the eight years before buying my house, I learned to love being lean.  I've spent 15 years in Boston, always thinking I would move within the next two years.  This overdeveloped case of wanderlust has led me to value the idea of being able to move quickly, even if that hasn't been needed.  

If the Spanish thing works out, I'm most likely in line for the February class next year.  There is one more class this year, October, and then a bit of a break until the January class.  I won't have taken the language test by the time the January invites go out (early November), so hopefully I'll pass the Spanish test and make it in February.  

It's a bit of a drag to know that people I passed the OA with will already have been FSOs for a year at that point.   Bad luck with how long my security clearance took.  One month earlier clearance would have meant getting to a-100 a year before I'm hoping for now.  Nothing I can do about that though.

Just like everything else those old crazy dreams just kinda came and went - John Mellencamp

August calls for A-100 have been extended without one showing up in my email box.  Damn.

Once again, I think I was really close.  I think I was ranked in the mid-40's at the beginning of the calls, and ended up ranked in the mid-30's.  The offers came as close as the mid-20's, so I was within 10 people of a call to the show.  I'm getting the sense that the offer will continue to be close but not close enough, so I'm looking into some Spanish schools to go for the .17 bonus points.  The extra points would move me up 15 places or so in the register rankings.

I've been looking at the following schools in affordable Guatemala:

http://www.plqe.org/  --  Five hours a day in a non-tourist destination town.
http://learncsa.com/  --  Four to eight hours a day in a tourist destination town.

I'm also considering Oaxaca, Mexico.  One positive aspect of Oaxaca is that I've been there before and loved the city.  One negative aspect is that most schools there offer classes of 2-5 people rather than one-to-one that the Guatemala schools offer. 


The State Department takes 24 weeks (600 hours of instruction) to train its employees in Spanish from zero ability to the level needed. 

I think it would take me three months to get to the level needed to pass the State Department's exam.  I put that level at being able to communicate the Wall Street Journal in Spanish.  Most recent takers of the language tests have said they were asked to speak about some current event, like the oil spill or Iranian nuclear proliferation.  I need to be able to converse on any range of topics.  I get the sense that most English speakers wouldn't be able to pass the exam in English.

I'm guessing that with my long but erratic history of Spanish study, I'm about half way there.  If I do an intensive study in Mexico or Guatemala for 6 hours a day, it will take 10 weeks to get 300 hours of instruction.  It's obviously not just a matter of studying for the designated number of hours, but a three-month timetable seems like a logical estimate.

The other major thing going on is my house sale.  I own a two-family house.  I can sell it as is, or I can convert it into two condos.  There is a current market inequity with two-family houses in the area.  If I sell it as a two-family, I'll get 15-20% less for it than if I convert to condos.  Converting has its costs for architects, town fees, registration fees, lawyers fees, but that stuff doesn't close the market inequity.  So, I'm in the process of converting to condos.  There are lots of hoops to jump through, and each of those takes time, but I'm hoping to have them on the market by Sept. at the latest.

I want it, I want it, I want it. You can't have it - The Who

June offers went out without one coming my way.  It is hard to tell how close I was to an offer, but based on shadow register that we have created over on the yahoo a-100 group, I was at most 13 spots away, but maybe as close as two spots from an offer.  It's hard to tell, because only a portion of the people on the register are members of the yahoo group, and then only some of those people post their information on the shadow register. 

I am currently ranked in the mid-30's again.

The experience is a bit like a yo-yo.  I climb in rank as people accept offers, but drop in rank in the six weeks between classes as people with higher scores join the list above me.

I sent an email to the registrar three days ago to ask my rank and whether or not all the management offers had been given for the June class.  She replied with my latest rank, and told me that there were no more offers to come for June.  It was odd to me, but I was relieved by the news.  I would have preferred an offer, but I was so pleased to actually know.  The hardest part is the lack of information given.  There isn't any real reason for most of the secrecy involved in this process.  Knowing I wasn't going to get an offer allowed me to move on to concentrate on other things, instead of constantly hitting refresh on my email in the hopes that I'd been sent an offer.

I've decided to channel my new found mental space toward selling my house. 

The standard line is to discourage any major life decisions in anticipation of an offer.  I understand the rational.  This process has taken much longer than I anticipated, and it may still never result in an offer.  So, why sell my house?  Well, I've never really liked owning a house anyway.  I bought a two-family house five years ago.  More accurately put, I've never really liked being a landlord.  My tenants have been great so far, but I think I'm more suited to owning a condo, or renting a place. 

I'd love to rent it out and keep it as an investment, but at the same time, I'd love to be done with it and not have to think about the water heater while I'm in Hyderabad or elsewhere.  If I don't get an offer, to the August or September classes, it will free me up to travel to Central America to study Spanish, which will get me some bonus points to add to my score.  With the Spanish bonus points, I'd currently rank somewhere around #16 on the list, which is a spot that is essentially guaranteed an invite.  

Now hoping for an August invite and a pain free home sale.

Where do we go? Where do we go now? - Guns N' Roses

Inspired by Girl in the Rain, I decided to make a map of where I'd been, and where I'd like to go by using this site.

First, where I've been. 

Africa - None
Americas - Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, United States, Uruguay
Asia - India, Nepal
Pacific - New Zealand
Europe - Belarus, Czech, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom

27 countries seems like a lot, until you start comparing it to other people in the Foreign Service.  Still, it's a good start. 

About ten years ago, I made a list of other countries I'd like to visit.  I came up with about 40 or so.  I included Alaska and Bay of Fundy as their own countries, 'cause it was my list, and I made the rules.

When I think of places I'd like to go with the Foreign Service, the list gets much bigger.  I'm a pretty outgoing traveler, but there's no way I'm going to go to Libya by myself.  However, with the assistance of the State Dept., I'd go just about anywhere.  I took a quick look through the map and decided that I'd be happy to get posted to any one of these places.  These were impulse decisions.  I'm sure there are many more I'd be happy to get posted to, so I reserve the right to change my mind at any point.

I left Afghanistan and Iraq off the list.  The State Dept. doesn't send FSO's there for their first tour.  I think it's a wise policy.  I'm not opposed to going to those places, but I'd like to get my FSO feet under me in a non-war zone first.  The State Dept. doesn't count Pakistan as a war-zone, but I do, so I left it off the list for now.

Africa - Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia
Americas - Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Greenland, Grenada, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela
Asia - Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Yemen
Pacific - Australia, New Zealand
Europe - Croatia, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine

Alright don't worry, even if things end up a bit too heavy, we'll all float on...alright - Modest Mouse

The March orientation class (A-100) starts today.  This was the class I thought I'd be in. 

Security clearance took too long though.  There was no waiting list for the Jan., Feb., or March classes in the management track, so if my clearance hadn't gone through four and a half months of adjudication, I would have been in the March class...starting today.

Next hope, June. 

Sit around and watch the phone, but no one's calling - Green Day

No invite for me for May.

A bunch of new people joined the management register since February, essentially doubling the list by the time the May invites were sent.  Most people who make the register get ranked above me, based on getting higher scores at the oral assessment.  So, even after the May invites thinned the list by about 20 people, I'm still ranked in the mid-thirties.

I've read speculation that many of the people on the do-not-call list are waiting for their kids to finish a school year before they move to DC.  If true, a June invite could be even more difficult to get. 

Singing zippity do da day god damnit - JT and the Clouds

I made the register.

After months of waiting in adjudication for my security clearance, I kind of got used to waiting, and expected to wait for State to run its final review.  Turns out, that only took a couple days.

I got a letter a few days ago letting me know that I'm now on the management register. 

I'll start at the end of the list of eligible hires, but I think I have a good shot at the May class.  Each class seems to take about 20 candidates from each track, and I'm currently ranked in the mid-thirties or so on the list.  It all depends on how many people in front of me are on the do-not-call list.  There could be 20 or so people who have asked not to be called until a later class, which would give me a spot in May.

I've spent a lot of time dreaming about a career in the Foreign Service, but haven't let myself really believe it would happen.  At this point though, I am allowing myself to believe. 

I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation - Joan Jett

After two months of investigation and four and a half months in adjudication, my security clearance has been granted.

I called yesterday to ask the clearance customer service folks for any news.  When the guy on the phone asked me if I was sitting down, I had a few moments of flip-flopping between getting excited and getting worried.  I sat down and asked him for the update.  He let me know that I'd been cleared and that my file is on its way over to State for the final review.

Most people get through the final review in a week or two.

The management register is very short right now, so even people with low scores are getting asked to join an orientation class as soon as they get through final review.  At this point, the March invites have gone out, so I've missed that class, but May seems very likely.

And I'll be on the sidelines, with my hands tied, watching the show. - Aimee Mann

Still no movement on the security clearance.

I have heard that when you reach three months in adjudication that the folks in the security clearance customer service section of the State Department can nudge the adjudicators.  Last Friday, I called to check in and ask for a few elbows to be thrown on my behalf.

First, I asked if I'd been cleared.  I had not.  I then asked when I'd actually made it into adjudication and found out that I'd made it at the end of September.  That means I'm now in my 15th week of adjudication.  The customer service representative said that it looked like my file was "starting to grow a beard".  He asked me to send him an email asking for an update, which he would then forward to my adjudicator.

With that email done, I'm back to the waiting.

The class at the end of March is still my goal, but the longer the adjudication drags, the more I think that is unrealistic.  Invites for March will probably go out in early or mid-February.

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was. - Talking Heads

I was hesitant to create another post that says the same thing, but here is the update.  As of Monday, Nov. 30, I'm still "pending adjudication".  I've been pending adjudication for eight weeks. 

That was disappointing to hear.  Having noticed that many candidates make it to the register of eligible hires about four months after their OA, I was hoping that this time, I'd hear that I'd been given clearance.  I took the OA at the end of July, so I've missed the four month thing. 

On a good note, I am winning my fantasy basketball league.

We've got nothing better to do than watch t.v. and have a couple of brews. - Black Flag

Two days ago, I heard that I'm still "pending in adjudications".   I'm getting a bit bored with this.  I wish there were something I could do, other than wait.

The January A-100 class is being formed.  A-100 is the name of the five week orientation class for entry level officers.  A friend from my OA study group made the cut.  Nice to know someone who has made it.

In my boredom, I often check the latest messages on the yahoo group for OA passers.  The group is currently whipping itself into a frenzy.  In the last two months, the registers of eligible hires have grown.  People are getting their clearances, but without any corresponding classes formed to make the registers smaller.  Now, the Jan. class is being called, but isn't a big as expected.  Some are worried that the lists are growing faster than people will be called.  For people with lower scores, this means that they may never make it off the register.  No frenzy for me yet.  If I report here that I've purchased the Rosetta Stone tutorial on Turkish or Russian, you'll know I'm concerned.

Seems like I should be getting somewhere. Somehow I'm neither here nor there. - Soul Asylum

I sent an email to the security clearance customer service area at State to ask for an update on my situation.

I got the same answer as when I'd asked 13 days earlier.  My file is in adjudication.  I'll send another status update request in two weeks.

From what I've read, most files spend some time in adjudication.  Some spend a week there, and some spend several months.  I was hoping to be one of the people cleared in week, but I'm not. 

I am a patient boy. I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait. - Fugazi

Waiting on my security clearance.

There's nothing major to report, but a few small things have happened.

1.  About three weeks ago, I had a follow up call from one of my security investigators.  He wanted to know some more details of my foreign travel.  He had submitted my report, and it was bounce back by the case manager for more detail.  It took about 10 minutes on the phone.  I couldn't take the call immediately and had to ask the investigator to call me back.  For that 20 minute interlude, it was difficult to keep my mind from inventing drastic scenarios.

2.  On the medical front, last week I called my insurance company to see why I hadn't gotten a bill yet for the chest x-ray.  I had received an explanation of benefits showing that I was responsible for the bill, but hadn't received the bill.  They explained that I'd get the bill from the provider, GW Hospital.  A few days later, I got an email from State's medical area telling me that they had approved payment for the x-ray.

State had given me a document to give GW when I got my x-ray, which told them to bill State for anything denied by my insurance.  I just didn't really expect it to work.  Everything about my experience with the medical clearance in DC has been positive.  I'm happy with my choice to trek down there for the procedures.

3.  My resolve to be patient is being tested.  The average OA passer gets security clearance about four months after the OA.  Some get it sooner, some take much longer.  Early December would be four months for me, so I had resolved to turn off the security clearance section of my brain until then.  Recently however, I have read multiple posts on a forum for candidates (A-100 Yahoo group), where the candidate has very similar milestone dates to me and has just received security clearance.  It's hard not to get excited.

4.  Last week, I sent an email to State's security clearance group to ask for an update.  I was told that my investigation is complete, and is now pending adjudications for final review.  As with other parts of this process, some people make it through adjudication in a week, while others wait in limbo for several months.  I put a reminder in my calendar to send another update request next week.

I'm hoping for a good result from that update. 

It seems like I'm getting close.