Well, here I sit.
I made it nine-tenths of the way through this arduous process, and now that I can see the finish line - taste it really - I decided to start the whole damn thing all over again.
When I was added to the register on January 5th, I was 83 out of 83 in line for a call to A-100. Since then, I've dropped down to 95, then bounced back up to 85, and now settled - like leftover coffee grounds in your morning cup o' joe - at 88. And just like those errant coffee grounds, it's not very pleasant.
When I last communicated with the Department of State early in the month, I not only inquired as to my current status on the Register, but also requested of the young lady on the other end of my Ethernet cord what she supposed were my chances of getting a call with my measly little 5.3.
Upon my initial placement on the Register in January, the thinking was that I'd get a call for the June class, maybe even May if I was incredibly lucky. Then, with my placement and my hopes yo-yoing, I thought possibly August or maybe September. The nice young lady in Washington suggested to me that no, the Register wasn't likely to clear this summer, and that if calls did make it all the way down into the sub-basement where my score currently resides (well, that's what I thought she said, anyway), then I might get a call for September, or maybe even the first class of the new fiscal year (October). Again, damn.
So while this particular stage of the process involves almost nothing a guy can do to improve his odds short of quickly learning a new language to earn a portion of a point, or joining the military in order to secure veterans points (not highly recommended), I resigned myself to taking the only action I felt I could: Starting a second candidacy.
As I interpreted the Tarot cards early this week, I gathered that registering to start a second candidacy is about the only sure way to guarantee my initial score will get me a call.
But we all know how accurate groundhogs can be.
