After waiting for ages, we’re finally on the rollercoaster. The lap bar has snapped down. We’re climbing that first hill. It’s waaaaay too late to get off now.
I quit my job. I have top-secret security clearance. We’re selling our things. We’re re-homing our dog. We have renters lined up for the house.
*click* *click* *click* *click* the coaster ratchets higher, up, up, up!
The adrenaline in the guts, the anticipation, the dread. Excitement. Fear. “Here we go!” and “What have we done?” With < 3 weeks to go, that’s what joining the FS actually feels like.
On coasters, I’m all front car, hands up, eyes wide. When the teenaged ride attendants throw the safety bar down, I sort of stand up in my seat a little, so that when I actually sit down, it’s niiiiiice and looooose, baby. I savor every nervous click of that ratchet on the way up, and then lean forward to stare down the first drop. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I’m trying to channel that bravado now… but I have to work at it. I used to skip the coasters entirely. With a lot coaxing from my younger brothers, I eventually allowed myself to be dragged along, white-knuckled, eyes squinched, head down! And I think that’s ok, too!
In fact, I was shocked to read in Ambassador Yovanovitch’s recent memoir that she disliked flying and considered herself strongly introverted… yet she went into a career in the Foreign Service, flying around the world doing US diplomacy.
Jen’s an engineer, and engineers are infamously introverted:
Q: How do you know if the engineer you’re talking with is an introvert or an extrovert?
A: The introvert will be staring at their shoes, but the extrovert will be staring at your shoes.
And yet Jen’s friendly as heck – not just for an engineer, but for a regular human! 🤣 In fact, Jen’s dad is also an engineer, and used to design rollercoasters, so she comes from an adventurous pedigree.
So here we are, strapped in, almost at the at the first rollercoaster drop, trying to lean into the excitement, and trying to cope with the panic. We don’t know what the ride is like yet, we can only trust all the riders ahead of us saying “It’s worth it! Don’t worry, you’re gonna love it! Keep going!”
And with adrenaline pumping, we’re plowing through our endless to-do list. This week we asked some friends for help. We needed to know, before we left American soil, which root beer and ketchup are the best? There are so many, and soon we’ll be able to get none of them!
Which Root Beer is best?
- Virgil’s
- Dad’s
- A&W
- Barq’s
- Mug
Which Ketchup is best?
- Portland Ketchup Company
- Heinz
- Suzie’s
- Sir Kensington
(Plastic-looking turned out to be Heinz.)
And the winner is…
Unexpected, wouldn’t you say?
Just kidding. I made a nonsense graph to make my engineer wife cringe 😂. Here are the real results:
*Contented sigh* 2.5 more weeks to have as much Portland fun as we can before this adventure really begins! We are so lucky to have each other, and to have such good friends to support us through these ups and downs. And as scared/excited as we are right now, Jen and I are both so glad we’re not still waiting in line to get on this crazy ride!