October 2008

[Correct] firm offer letter is in hand.  It only took them five, count 'em, 5 tries.

My package is currently being FedEx'd to the PCS office in OKC for processing.  Next is the "moving process" phone interview, a bunch more paperwork, and some travel orders.

A realtor has been contacted.

A storage unit has been rented.

Packing has started.

I received my firm offer letter today and it is a masterful piece of government HR brilliance.

Basically, this is how it works:

I'm supposed to report to Fairbanks on or after December 7, 2008 (with some flex for transit time).

I'm supposed to sign a service agreement as part of the transfer.

The agreement, which I am supposed to sign, says that I will serve as [my job specialty] for not less than four years.

It also says that I am required to serve those four years at the Anchorage Terminal Radar Control Facility.

Yay. I've always wanted a five-hour commute.

You don't want to hear the full story here.  Suffice it to say that my boss got into a pissing match with some other folks in the agency and ran out of pee before they did, so we're now moving to Fairbanks much sooner than we expected.

My first day on the payroll there is December 7,  so we have a lot to get done in the next several weeks.