It's been a while since my last post so I'll give a quick recap: In November we went on R&R to Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. In January, we went on a one-week trip to Hawaii with family. The Two Crabs have done a lot of skiing this winter throughout Korea including President's Day weekend trip to High 1 Ski Resort (best ski resort in Korea!).  

And I'm still sitting on the bleachers, looking for a dance partner. Three months since "handshakes" were announced, and we still don't have an onward assignment. Bidding has been a second full-time job. The past months have been spent searching for an assignment, sending out resumes, doing countless e-mail and phone interviews with post decision makers, etc. It's been a long, stressful experience, exasperated by the knowledge that we are scheduled to leave our current Post in a few short months with no clue where we are going. 

Many FS colleagues are in the same boat, especially those of us who came in during the hiring surge of 2009 - 2011 as part of the Department's Diplomacy 3.0 initiative. Most of us have now reached the mid-level grade, creating a huge bulge in the ranks that has been described as "The Pig in the Python." 

So, the search continues. Stay tuned...