Hurry Up and Wait

It's done. Rick went for the interview, and once again, I find that all my stressing and worry was premature. Just a little background on a few things before I really go into it:

When Rick set up the interview, the man set it up to take place at the actual tower, which happens to be located at the air force base here in Albuquerque. This is unusual, we learned, because we originally thought that all interviewing took place at the actual FAA building that is located no where near the airport and/or the tower. Just so you know, there are a couple different jobs that a flight control specialist does. One is obviously the guy sitting up there in the tower giving clearance for the planes to take off and land. The other, which by the way is what we thought was what Rick would solely be doing, is the guy sitting behind that dark computer screen with those little green airplanes flashing and going in every which direction. (Think all those 911 movies you saw- it really does look like that). So okay, back on track, Rick was set up to interview at the tower, and we weren't really sure why. Well, once he got there, he asked the receptionist to explain. She went on to tell him that he was being interviewed at the tower because "the stars were aligned." In other words, Rick is one lucky dude. Apparently, most people get slated to work at the FAA building, and many of them are always trying to get over to the tower. Sometimes, people from the tower will move over to the FAA site, and then spend who knows how long trying to get back to the tower. The tower is, according to several people Rick talked to, the cool place to be. Not only do you get to do more jobs, but there is one other VERY great thing about it. Okay wait, one more piece of background:

Once Rick completes the training in Oklahoma, he gets back and starts working at a very base level of pay. Nothing to scream about really. Then, he spends the next forever and a day taking various certification courses, test, etc. to up his rank and therefore up his pay. He learned today at the interview that, if you're at the FAA site, some of these courses can take a VERY long time to get into. The majority of the people work at the FAA building, so therefore you're competing with a lot more people to work your way up. There are only a handful of people at the tower, and therefore, it is much easier and much quicker to make your way up.

The good news is that Rick found out today, that should he get the job, he is actually slated to work there at the tower. It sounded like a pretty rare thing, but apparently there were a number of people that had either retired or moved and it just so happened that they have 4 positions to fill over there. What a blessing... Rick will hopefully fill one of them.

There's more. I know, this is taking forever. Sorry. So, he did the whole interview thing in front of 3 men. Here's the bad news. These guys told Rick that they actually aren't the ones to make the final decision. According to them, they send back their "recommendation" to Oklahoma, and they (whoever they are) make the final say. So, pretty much, as long as Rick didn't make a total idiot out of himself, then they'll send over a positive recommendation and Oklahoma will then contact Rick with a tentative job offer. I say tentative, because this is when Rick has to go through a pretty extensive health check and security clearance. Since we all know that he has excellent eye sight, is not dying from cancer and/or a mental illness, has never held up a drug store, and has never been in jail, I feel pretty confident that he'll pass this portion of the ride. For those of you who have either gone through this yourself or have spouses that have, please feel free to let me know if I should begin the worrying process over this. (Insert nervous laughter now).

Ready for some more good news? The men told Rick that the training out in Oklahoma differs depending on which classes you get put in. This explains why the FAA website (where Rick initially applied) officially states that the training program is "several weeks" long. Then we heard from another source that it was actually 4 months long. Recently, we were informed through the grape vine that someone in our stake had just completed the training and he was gone for SIX months. Needless to say, I was starting to worry a little. Well, they finally cleared it up for me by adding it to the list of variables that are yet to be answered. We learned today that the shortest training session is only 11 weeks long. Can you believe it? There is a chance, cross your fingers everyone, that Rick may only have to go for less than 3 months! Once again, we are trying not to get excited too early, but we are DEFINITELY hoping.

Alright, so they took him on a whole tour of the tower and told him that they had heard that some people were receiving replies from Oklahoma in as little as two days. Their exact words were: You're dealing with the government. You better hurry up and wait. (That one's for you, Nate & Shayla!) So... for those of you hoping to hear today that we got the job, get in line people! Once again, I'll keep you posted...