Shuffling Forward

I finished A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East last week. It was over 600 pages long, and I learned quite a bit, though more about British Imperial policy than about how the people of the Middle East actually viewed the tremendous changes foisted upon them. Overall, I feel like the book gave me a solid understanding of some historical events that have always been murky for me.

I also finished The Instant Economist, which maintained its objectivity to the very end and really impressed me. I feel like I still need some work when it comes to my understanding of economics, but this book was a great primer.

The next book I picked up, though, isn't on the foreign service reading list. I'm reading a book by Suze Orman about money: how to manage it, how to invest it, how to plan for retirement. We're still moving forward with the process of buying that duplex in Oak Cliff, so I feel like I need to have a better grip on what we're actually doing. I finally received my first paycheck from the school district, so I want to make sure I'm putting my money to good use. We're trying to live budget-consciously right now since we expect a lot of upcoming expenses.

I'm also listening to The Economist, audio version, on my commute, but I can't seem to get through everything over the course of a week; there's just too much information. And that's even when I skip the "Britain" section (and a few others). I listen to the BBC Global podcast every night while I cook dinner, and I feel like that's sufficient to keep my relatively up-to-date on what's going on in the world.

My resolve is still very strong, though I'm starting to feel a bit impatient. I'd love to just sign up for the next available test date and have a go at it, but I know that I'm not ready to move forward with the process right now. I want to improve my Spanish and get some more experience related to the 13 dimensions before I bother taking the next step. There's also a government shutdown right now, and I don't expect that there will be much hiring for the next year or so, which means starting the process now is even more of a long-shot than usual. It's best to bide my time.

We just moved to Dallas a few months ago, so I'm trying to enjoy my life here and not get too wrapped up in my schemes for the future. I have a great partner, a good job, and a lot of interesting things to keep me busy. I wish I had a little more free time (this job is a killer!), but I believe I'm managing well, all things considered. I'm shuffling forward.