you win some, you lose some...

Hi all, I've had trouble staying on top of everything lately, so I have not kept my blog up to date the way I'd like. I'm hoping that sometime this week or next I'll be able to get my permanent internet connection set up, and at that time I'm hoping I'll get better at writing.

I have had some ups and downs lately, been a bit frustrated by how difficult it is to get things done, both within the embassy and outside. I did finally get a shipment, which included the things I had with me in Washington and the consumables I bought there. It has been great to get those things and feel a little more settled. Unfortunately, yesterday I received notice that they messed up the bill of lading when my things were sent from Illinois, so even though they've been sitting in Venezuela for 4 weeks now, they will be shipped back to Miami so they can prepare a new bill of lading, and will have to sit in customs another 3 weeks after it arrives back in Venezuela. So if I am lucky (which I probably won't be) I could see my books, kitchen items, furniture, TV, etc. before Christmas.

I have a friend from Washington coming in next week. I wasn't able to take any time off work, since I'm so new and haven't accumulated much vacation time yet. So I've been working to try to arrange things for him to do while I'm working next week. He'll arrive Friday and stay for a week, so he'll be here for Thanksgiving.

I've invited several new single officers over for Thanksgiving dinner, so we'll be working creatively with limited kitchen stuff, but I think it will be fun. I am also hoping to get my car before too long, or at the very least be allowed to borrow one of the limited vehicles available to officers who haven't received theirs yet (I've been on the waiting list since September 20).

I'm feeling better today than I was a few days ago, and I hope to try to maintain a positive attitude through the frustrations.