"Bifurcation Points"

It's amazing how a little thing can change the course of a life.

When I was a freshman at UNC, I was hanging out with some Di-Phi classmates and Betsy John mentioned she was going to a presentation about study-abroad opportunities and asked if anyone else was interested in going. I had a couple hours between classes at the time of the meeting, so I decided to tag along. I was interested in the description of one of the programs, a summer term in Vienna studying multilateral diplomacy and international organizations. This ended up being the same program for which Betsy was applying, so even though it was intended for sophomores and juniors, I turned in my application as well. We both ended up in Vienna that summer, and in addition to learning a lot I gained 9 credit hours toward an International Studies major, which I ended up completing for just that reason. So it all came down to a casual remark in a gathering of friends in the lounge in Old East dormitory.

Another example: when Bongsu and I were living in Duck and looking for jobs, my mom's brother Joe "the Bear" Williams suggested that I get in touch with his wife's cousin, an FSO who was then preparing for her next post as the DCM in Embassy Bujumbura, Burundi. The phone call I eventually had with her was the first time I ever learned about how the Foreign Service application process works, and really the first time I started realizing that it might be within my reach as a career. (Of course, it took Bongsu a couple days to convince me fully that I was qualified enough to make it worth registering for the test.)

You never know what's going to happen. It's exciting!

A New Job

At 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28, I was at my desk at work adding up the minutes on the agenda for a continuing education program for speech-language pathologists in order to ensure that it was being registered for the correct amount of credit. My iPhone started ringing from its place in the belt-clip on my left hip. It was my wife.

Me: Yoboseyo? [Hello?]
Bongsu: You know how we decided to sign another one-year lease on our apartment?
Me: Mm-hmm.
Bongsu: But we still didn't sign the contract, right? So we can still change? Maybe we have to change to a three-month lease.
Me: Okay. Why?
Bongsu: Did you check your e-mail? Check your e-mail NOW.

I checked my e-mail.

There it was. In my inbox. The message commonly referred to as "the Call."

I read it three times to make sure, but there was no doubt: it was an offer to join the March 2, 2009 incoming class of Foreign Service Officers in the US Department of State.

WE MADE IT!!!

I really like my current job; I will be sad to leave. But I am more excited than I can say about this new career! I can hardly believe I am just a month away from starting my dream job.

A huge THANK YOU to all the people without whom I would never have been able to earn this offer. I couldn't list all of them, but they include:
* my wife Bongsu and her family
* my parents and family
* my mom's brother's wife's cousin, a current FSO who, back in October 2007, explained the selection process to me on the phone and convinced me to apply
* a number of excellent and inspirational professors at UNC
* the investigators and witnesses who participated in my security clearance background check, including my supervisor Anne and my colleague Joan, and friends Mac, Brad, Max, Eric, Ryan, and Bill (and maybe others - they didn't tell me who all was contacted)
* the people who were in Vienna with me in 2000, when I first realized how exciting diplomacy is
* the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies
* the BEX examiners and the other candidates who were at State Annex 1 in DC on April 15, 2008 for the Foreign Service Oral Assessment

All these people and many more I haven't listed... this is their success as much as mine. I hope to make them all proud.