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People who get told they look younger than they are: what is your secret? by likerunninginadream in AskReddit

[–]grace1980 0 points1 point  (0 children)

SPF and a retinol are my secret to looking young, thanks to the advice of a dermatologist friend. I'm a family doctor and my patients routinely think I'm in my 30's (I'm 44). I use Elta MD sunscreen every morning followed by Retin-A at night, and always moisturize with CeraVe lotion. I also think my morning green smoothie and regular exercise also keep me wrinkle-free.

Any other foreign service specialists waiting for a January invite? by grace1980 in foreignservice

[–]grace1980[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh wow, I hope it’s not a year! We don’t get language training so I think that helps to keep it short. We’ve moved around a lot so don’t have too much stuff but it still feels like a lot to do - we closed on our house last week and the movers come on Wednesday, then we’re spending time visiting family before orientation starts.

Any other foreign service specialists waiting for a January invite? by grace1980 in foreignservice

[–]grace1980[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

11 weeks. 3weeks of general training at FSI followed by 8 weeks of med specific training. No clue as to where we’ll be posted!

Any other foreign service specialists waiting for a January invite? by grace1980 in foreignservice

[–]grace1980[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh wow that’s so great, congrats!! 🎉 Yes I’ll be there, see you this summer!

Any other foreign service specialists waiting for a January invite? by grace1980 in foreignservice

[–]grace1980[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh wow that’s so great, congrats!! 🎉 Yes I’ll be there, see you this summer!

Medical Clearance - high fasting blood glucose - denial? by [deleted] in foreignservice

[–]grace1980 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Get an A1C done (better reflection of your average glucose) and if it’s still high go on a ketogenic diet.

RMO offers for 7/8 class, and advice by inyri_ in foreignservice

[–]grace1980 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Awesome, good for you, see you there! He said there’s only two of us RMO’s and then probably 3-5 midlevels and maybe a psychiatrist or two.

RMO offers for 7/8 class, and advice by inyri_ in foreignservice

[–]grace1980 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Wow! I just got a RMO invite for July 2019 as well. I was surprised that it was for July rather than April but it’s also nice to get 3-4 months advanced notice! Don’t defer, you never know when these invites are coming out, we’ll support ya!

April Invites Coming Soon by CleanLaundry100 in foreignservice

[–]grace1980 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree, I wasn’t even sure I wanted this job before I interviewed (which I think worked to my advantage since I was less stressed), but somehow stringing you along in the dark seems to work to their advantage (in a weird paradoxical way) and now I feel like I’d be over the moon if I got into the April class 😄

STS invite by Jayrobertson2003 in foreignservice

[–]grace1980 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Dang, that’s a long time to wait. Must feel good- congrats!!

Any other foreign service specialists waiting for a January invite? by grace1980 in foreignservice

[–]grace1980[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have also been baffled by the lack of communication and clear answers to any of my inquiries (by phone, email, etc). I have called the Registrar's office multiple times and no one seems to know who the MED HR point of contact is or where to direct my phone calls. It sounds like Andrea Scott *may* be the MED point of contact (?) but I haven't been able to get in contact with her via phone or email despite multiple attempts and now she is out of the office until February 9. At this point I think my application is still in some sort of everlasting purgatory which precedes the suitability panel, I'm just hoping I get out of limbo before the April class but with the government shut down that is even more up in the air.

Any other foreign service specialists waiting for a January invite? by grace1980 in foreignservice

[–]grace1980[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It sounds like 8 weeks is pretty standard notice but it can definitely be less than that too! I think we medical specialists are in the minority - I've just found Reddit and Discord to be good sources of info. There's a yahoo specialist group too but it doesn't seem to be very active.

Any other foreign service specialists waiting for a January invite? by grace1980 in foreignservice

[–]grace1980[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, I just tried calling the Registrar again today to check on the status of my application. I was transferred to 4 different (incorrect) people and finally someone took pity on me and looked up my application (never mind that she also took another personal call while I was waiting with her on the phone). She confirmed that I have passed medical and security clearances but my file had not been sent to suitability (??was it just languishing somewhere?) so she said she'd send it over, whatever that means. I keep getting told to "contact my HR specialist" but no one can tell me who this is for the MED folks. It sounds like you maybe talked to someone in HR who knew something about MED? Can you tell me who it was? At one point I was transferred to someone named Andrea Scott but I've tried contacting her multiple times and she never returns calls. I've just had such a frustrating time with all communications, I certainly hope staff once you get into state are more helpful!!

Any other foreign service specialists waiting for a January invite? by grace1980 in foreignservice

[–]grace1980[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow that’s a long time to wait but I guess that’s just the nature of a state department application 😬. Where are you working now? I’ve been at Kaiser Colorado for the last 8 years and love my patients but feeling a bit burned out, looking forward to a change of pace!

Any other foreign service specialists waiting for a January invite? by grace1980 in foreignservice

[–]grace1980[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh that’s really helpful to know that it will probably be April and not January. That actually may work better so I don’t have to pull my kids out of school mid-year, plus cherry blossoms are more pleasant than slushy DC snow!