Relief!

When I got to work this afternoon, I had an email from our PDAS (Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary) offering me the INR Special Assistant position. Technically, I am the BLC (Bureau's Leading Candidate), since they can't assign most positions yet. Open Season last year started on January 23 (I remember the date vividly since that was the day they started trying to send M to Iraq), so probably it will be another month or more before I am actually panelled to the position. And of course, that is only if someone coming out of Iraq or Afghanistan doesn't want the position. But I think I am in pretty good shape.