As an added bonus of going to the US for this interview. I had the chance to spend some time with my mom and sister. I spent some of the week studying but I did manage to squeeze in some shopping and some amazing New York dinners Daphne and MJ planned for me. Let me forewarn you that this will be a very food heavy post….after all when in New York for just a short time you have to cram in all the food you can.
Saturday Daphne and I shopped a bit and then picked up delicious sandwiches from Parm for lunch. I have to say there is nothing better than shopping in New York, except shopping in New York with my sister and maybe the chicken parm sandwich from Parm.
On to more food. For dinner we headed to Lupa for dinner. Randy and I had gone to Lupa three years ago with Adam for lunch after Daphne and MJ got married and we have never forgotten how delicious it was. You know what, it was as amazing as I remembered.
The next morning Aunt Vangie and Grandma Gertch came into the city and we all went to the outlets for the day. It was such a nice day and so nice to hand out with these three ladies.
Daphne took off work on Monday to hang out with me and she took me to Nomad for lunch. This place is a little atrium restaurant in a new hotel and was so delicious!
Mmmmmm, radishes with butter are so delicious. It may not seem like it but they are people!
The next morning I was left on my own in New York. I went and got my hair done and walked all around New York, enjoying everything about it.
I snuck in a facetime call with these two and before I knew it I was on the train on my way to Washington D.C. to take my oral assessment.
I got in around 2 and had the rest of the day to amuse myself. I had to wake up early the next morning for my interview so I hung out by myself. It was a rainy day in DC but I didn’t let that stop me. I walked around all day.
When I was pregnant with Adam I ate a Cosi Greek salad 4 times a week so my first stop was Cosi for a Greek salad.
Then onto TJ Maxx, because come on people, what is more relaxing than mindless discount shopping. I did not buy this shirt. What did I buy after whiling away two hours…shampoo and a diet coke.
Because Randy has trained me to be prepared for these big days, I plotted out my walk for the next morning and took a trial walk to the interview location. I have to say people, this may sound a teeny bit crazy but it really works. You wake up the next morning much more relaxed and knowing what to expect. I was staying at the W so my walk was basically across the White House and I was there. A pretty perfect way to psyche me up to convince the State Department that I was the right person for the job!
I even took a photo just in case i passed…
On my way home I stopped in a White House tourist shop, mostly to warm up my wet feet, and saw two little snowglobes I knew the boys would love. Adam has been talking about snowglobes for the past couple months. I decided not to buy them, because if I failed I would remember failing every time I looked at these snow globes.
On to dinner. I was by myself so I stopped at a lively looking restaurant and ordered a chicken parm. Too bad it was so small…i left pretty hungry!
Then it was home for an early bed time and some American Idol. Aren’t you glad you now know every minute of my boring day alone. Oh, I forgot about when I went to Swatch to buy a watch when I realized in a panic I didn’t have one.
The next day I was up nice and early and nervous but I had spent time preparing and that definitely helped. I had to lock up my phone for the day so here is a photo from right when I left the building after finding out I passed!!
I have no excuse for this photo…
I had made plans to meet my friends Anna and Jenny who worked with me in Manila and are now posted in DC. I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t get in and be a gloomy guss during the dinner but thankfully that wasn’t the case. It was so nice to see them and catch up and to have dinner right after with friends who had gone through the same process. These two are such wonderful colleagues and I miss them all the time in Manila. We went to Le Diplomate, very fitting!
The next morning I met my friend Carrie for brunch and she surprised me with my other friend Carrie who was in town from Brussels and I hadn’t seen in over 3 years! It was so nice to see these two. We had our first babies in DC together four years ago and spent that first year figuring out what we were doing. I will always have such a spot in my heart for these two. We went to Ted’s Bulletin where Randy and I used to take Adam all the time when he was just a teeny baby. It made me so nostalgic for when we lived in DC and Adam was so teeny.
A short train ride back to New York and I was at another delicious dinner with Daphne and MJ. This time at Cosme, a delicious new Mexican restaurant. These two spoiled me rotten this week. I had such a great time with them.
I’ll miss these two so much. The next day Grandma Gertch came to get me and took me on a million errands, because that’s what mom’s do, even when their daughter is 36!
Oh wait, what’s this? I got to see Randy while I was in New York. Not the Randy you know, but the Randy I knew back at PS 38. Oh can just one of our children have this curly curly hair!! Looking at this picture I totally see Adam, except with Robert Kennedy hair.
and just like that I was on my way back to Manila to see my three boys.
Look what I came back to! They were so excited to see me and to show me their sign.
ps- best laid plans people. I imagined looking at those snow globes for years and always remembering that walk home after I found out I had gotten into the Foreign Service. The morning I got home to Manila I gave the boys the snow globes and they managed to (accidentally) break both within 10 minutes. Oh well, at least I have my memories oh and a job 🙂
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