Not really.
Actually, the truth is that I was temporarily assigned over to the Bureau of Arms Control and International Security, otherwise known as "T". I was a temporary staff assistant during what was a very interesting time in that bureau. I got to experience a Senate confirmation from the bureaucratic sidelines, as well as the transition to the State Department of a new Under Secretary and her staff. It was quite the experience for an entry level officer. After five weeks there, I feel like I learned just enough about the Harry S. Truman building to be dangerous. I'll bet that no other entry level officer with just five months in knows the process for obtaining a parking pass for a reserved spot underneath the building. I'll also wager that no entry level officer knows the process by which artwork can be obtained for a front office! Better yet, I know precisely who to contact if you happen to work on the seventh floor and need to get new carpet installed, have a phone line set up, get a classified email account, who can answer a question about just about any portion of the START treaty, and the shortest route from the number 2 corridor 7th floor to the jogger's entrance. If I am still around 20 years from now I'll be sure to put those little skills to good use, my friends. Or not... To be honest, I cannot see how FSOs do not bite, scratch and claw their way to foreign assignments. To each his own, I guess. I can see how someone could thrive on the atmosphere of the 7th floor, and my time there was certainly enjoyable and valuable, but I am pretty certain that places like Ho Chi Minh City will always be the favored option for me.
Some tidbits-
Questions for the Record for Senate confirmations can make you stay at work very late.
The Foggy Bottom Metro station is not a good place to catch an orange line train at 1700 hours.
After five weeks the selection in the HST cafeteria gets a little, well, yuck.
The occasional goofy question or comment from the floor adds spice to Secretary Clinton's Town Hall meetings. So do the raucous outbursts over Mozilla Firefox. That being said, the Secretary genuinely seems to be having fun. That's good for everyone, I think.
There needs to be a decent bar near the Foggy Bottom Metro station.
Leather soles wear out fast on concrete sidewalks.
Classified web browsing.
Hot dog vendors.
The collective expertise of the arms control advisors in T is mind-staggering.
Free newspapers.
Sifting through cable traffic is tedious.
State generates LOTS of cables.
Subway musicians.
Person at HST you don't want to piss off: the disintegrator guy. Do not mix plastic CDs with paper in burn bags. Put them in separate bags, or Mr. Disintegrator Room Guy will git on you.
Meeting a VIP at the C Street entrance is easier if you know what he looks like. Holding a sign with his name makes you look like a dork.
Five different safe combinations and three different alpha numeric computer passwords can be successfully memorized in short order.
A good sweat will mess up a good suit. Walking around the Rayburn building several times at noon in the summer will produce a good sweat.
Seersucker on Friday!
Friday was my last day at Main State. Like Icarus I fell back to earth on Monday and began what will be 31 weeks of Vietnamese classes. I was a little intimidated at the prospect at first; only speaking English and Vietnamese being a super hard language, but after just three days I have all five tones in my head and can pick them out when I hear them. I think this is the first time since college that I have enjoyed being in a classroom. Besides, how cool is it to get paid to learn an exotic language? Sometime around week 25 check back with me and see if I am still all peace-love-puppy dogs about it. For now I'll enjoy.
