Insider Quote: A Good Life

“I’ve always thought having a good life was about having a lot of options.”

Ryan Crocker

Former US Ambassador to Iraq

Dean, Bush School of Government and Public Service

Texas A&M University.

From US ambassador visits UI

The Argonaut | University of Idaho

Ryan Crocker on the Foreign Service

“The Foreign Service still largely tends to be from the coasts, not a lot from inland America […]. It’s because people don’t know about the Foreign Service or how to get involved. […] I would like for young men and women to know that Foreign Service is an option … One of the greatest modern officers in the Foreign Service was a graduate from UI […]. “Go to hard places and do hard things. At the end of the day, life is about what challenges you stepped up to. Whether it’s the Western Expansion or World War II, we have always stepped up and that’s what makes us great.”

Ryan Crocker Former US Ambassador to IraqDean, Bush School of Government and Public ServiceTexas A&M University.From US ambassador visits UIThe Argonaut | University of Idaho

Insider Quote: It’s a challenging career

"It's a challenging career […]. It's competitive to get in and competitive to stay in. The challenges we face in foreign policy are complex. Nothing comes easy. It's hard work, and the hours are long, wherever you serve. Here in Iraq we work seven days a week, on average 17 hours a day. It's not an easy career, but diplomats of all countries share pride in serving their countries."

W. Patrick Murphy

Foreign Service Officer and PRT Leader in Ninewa Province, Iraq

Quoted in Cultural curiosity | BUHS grad part of rebuilding effort in Iraq |

Brattleboro Reformer

   

Quote: Pardon me, Ma’am, but I’m not worried about place cards…

Image by godutchbaby via Flickr

 “The old advice was presented as if written for a peacetime military, with priority placed on manners and  domestic/

administrative detail. Traditions and protocol are lovely, and they are important, but they’ve taken a backseat to more grave concerns. Pardon me, Ma’am, but I’m not worried about place cards for my afternoon tea, I’m worried about my husband getting his legs blown off, or whether our marriage can survive a third year-long deployment.”

Lily Burana

Author of I Love a Man in Uniform

Via Nathan Hodge of Danger Room | Ex-Stripper, Army Spouse on Life Behind the Camo Curtain

Memorable Quotes from Twitter

Memorable quotes and useful links from my Twitter account:

HowardKurtz 

  

Missed about 1,000 tweets while doing errands and work today. Don't you people have...other activities?about 6 hours ago from web

doczak 

  

"Why do i wanna be a doctor? Because doctors give people second chances, and we all deserve a second chance" Heard on Scrubs ;)about 8 hours ago from HootSuite

Doctor_V 

  

Need to be probiotic as much as possible and antibiotic only when necessary RT @doc_rob: Question: Are you probiotic or antibiotic?about 11 hours ago from TweetDeck

aaronwatkins 

  

My GF is getting me coffee because I'm hard at work twittering and cannot be interrupted.7:34 AM Jan 8th from web

Stammy 

  

i havent tweeted in 12 hours and that gets me a "you okay?" text from my sister LOL. if it was 24 hours pretty sure mom would call the cops1:51 PM Jan 3rd from TweetDeck

biz 

  

"If I had more time, I would have written a shorter tweet."1:00 PM Jan 3rd from web

zappos 

  

There will be many battles, but I refuse to give up. It is my duty. It is a just & noble cause. Today, I fight my email inbox.3:36 PM Jan 2nd from web

davewiner 

  

problem is reporters quote their understanding of what you said not what you said. and they didn't understand what you said.10:15 AM Jan 2nd from web

Tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support.

Insider Quote: the most individualistic staff in town

"Another challenge one has as secretary is that I think it's the best staff in town, but it's also the most individualistic staff …in town. With so many constituencies, to get them to work toward a coherent goal is a huge assignment for the secretary."

Henry Kissinger

Former Secretary of State

Newsweek: Hillary Clinton, Kissinger on Sec. of State Job

Insider Quote: So who am I?

I'm 26 and about to join the Foreign Service as a political cone officer.

I've been working at the State Department as a "diplomatic strategy officer" (albeit as a contractor). One hopes that this will be useful for my new career.

Prior to that, my last real job was serving frozen yogurt at a Golden Spoon. I have no idea how I ended up where I am now.

That should do it for now.

from The FS Rookie

A New Beginning 

“I'm 26 and a junior officer in the United States' Foreign Service”

Visa Officers as Future Perfect Scapegoats

“U.S. consular officers are instructed to issue full-validity visas as often as possible. In an act of reciprocity, we issue visas of the same duration as those issued to Americans by the host government. The challenge in training new consular officers, however, is that because of this popular misunderstanding of what a visa actually is, many fear "being on the hook" for the next ten years (a common visa validity). Sure, the applicant looks qualified now. But what if he becomes a jihadi in seven years? He's still got the visa, and Uncle Sam and the general public may look for a scapegoat if he tries anything stupid. And that scapegoat may very well be me.”

NDS

from Attacking a Strawman

FS Blog: Calling a Spade a Spade

“Rants of a Foreign Service Officer on the things that matter to you -- and matter to you not at all”

Memorable Quotes from Twitter

Memorable quotes and useful links from my Twitter account:

g24khamr 

  

Predicting trends is a great gig -- when you're right you're a genius, and when you're wrong you're "ahead of your time."12:39 PM Dec 30th, 2009 from Tweetie

sacca 

  

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger... until you Google the symptoms and become certain you must be dying.11:30 AM Dec 29th, 2009 from Tweetie

g24khamr 

  

2010 prediction: people will realize that breaking the news is not the same as covering a story (at least I hope they do.)8:38 PM Dec 27th, 2009 from Tweetie

paulocoelho 

  

26/12: An interesting life is full of questions. A boring life is full of answers.1:39 PM Dec 26th, 2009 from web

aaronwatkins 

  

Sign that times are changing: My dad and brother sitting in the living room having long conversation comparing their minivans2:46 PM Dec 25th, 2009 from TweetDeck

Tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support.