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So today was the first part of my thorough medical examination. Mostly it was just lab work and an extensive personal and family medical history questionaire. As I walked down the street between the bloodwork lab and the x-ray office, I had conspicuous bandages. Everyone probably figured I was some kind of diseased patient that had escaped from the nearby hospital….that would explain why they all cleared a path on the sidewalk for me as I passed.

In the miniscule but exceedingly busy x-ray office, the woman behind the front desk shuffled paperwork and orchestrated patient movements like a seasoned air-traffic controller. In between stints up at check-in, I encountered a fellow FSO candidate also jumping her way through the medical hoops. She spotted me and realized, by our identical badges of honor, that we were there for the same reason. She introduced herself to me, sat down and we chatted. We had enough time to uncover not only who we were but where we were from, our occupations, and our motivations for joining the Service. She was consular track so who knows, maybe we’ll end up in the same A-100 class.

I go back in two days for my follow-up.

At least today’s outing gave me a chance to visit one of my favorite museums (National Museum of the American Indian). Have to take every opportunity now because once we’re posted, it’s going to be a very long time until I get to go back.

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