The last two weeks after getting invited to April orientation and setting up my PCS lodging in Washington have been fairly calm. This week I received my Salary Offer from the State Department, and as expected, I was salary capped in my entry level grade. I wrote an AMA here, about salary and all the differentials included when working abroad if you’re interested. I was a bit nervous before I got the salary letter, but as I’ve mentioned before, they seem to salary cap Medical Providers and Physicians when they onboard them based on those I’ve talked to in the service, and I add to that anecdote.

Otherwise, I’ve kept myself busy with work and unloading things I won’t need in a couple of months. I sold one of my cars, which was discussed in a previous post. I have been purging some clothes/etc and sending them to Goodwill to make our move abroad easier. I also am a pretty avid wargamer, and have been playing a tabletop game called “Warhammer” produced by Games Workshop since I was in middle school in 1997. Over a period of 25 years, I’ve amassed a hefty collection, and although I plan to take the bulk of it with me, I’ve started to sell some items that have just been sitting on shelves for years. Here is a photo of my wall of shame, which is truthfully just the tip of the iceberg in terms of my collection.

Believe it or not, there’s a huge player base out there, and models for this hobby sell for a pretty penny on auction sites like eBay. Like any traditional modeling hobby, you are required to assemble it and paint the models. They also then can be played in a tabletop game, which is really the main feature of the hobby, but many folks out there just like to collect and paint. Models that have been painted well sell for quite a bit, so in the last couple of weeks, I have been able to unload some older parts of my collection for a small chunk of change. The things I am keeping, I’ve been slowly packing up/protecting to make it easier on the movers when our final pack out happens, likely this summer.

Otherwise though, it seems things have calmed down a bit. I’ve been trying to get in time with my friends and family where possible. I get to travel abroad for the first time in over 2 years for my sister’s wedding in Cancun next week, and in March I’ll be working like a mad man to help with some staffing shortages at my hospital, and generate some extra revenue. Hopefully it’s smooth sailing from here to April.

Next week I’ll wrap up the last of my initial AMA series. Thanks for reading! –Nick