21 March 2008

Ok, I admit it

I posted that most recent update in the superstitious hope that right after talking about not receiving legal clearance, God would smile ironically and rectify the situation.

It worked.

Yesterday, I received a call from the Peace Corps Placement Office. She asked a few questions regarding the paperwork I'd submitted. I asked her about the legal hold, and she said it looked like everything in the packet was cleared, and something in the database just hadn't been saved to clear the hold. She said she would call the legal department, and that one of two things would happen. If they needed more paperwork, she'd get back in touch with me in a day or two to let me know what they needed. If they didn't, then she'd get back in touch with me in a week or two to talk about available programs.

Well, I just received an email saying my status had been updated. I went to check and my legal hold had been cleared (though my legal review is not yet marked as "Complete" either). According to the website, I was sent an invitation packet yesterday. So in a few days, I should know where I'm going.

Hooray!!!

19 March 2008

Medical and Legal Clearance

I did end up having to get my wisdom teeth extracted. I ended up getting through it with minimal discomfort - after the first day, I never even used the painkiller I was prescribed; Advil was good enough. Well, except for the night that I convinced my family I was well enough to play Cranium. We had a blast, but the next morning I could barely move my jaw because I'd been laughing so hard.
Anyway, I got the extractions, organized my paperwork, sent it in, and prepared for a long wait before receiving medical clearance. That long wait (average time: 6 weeks) ended up being four days. Apparently it really does pay to be organized - when I sent in the medical packet, I had all the related documents clipped together, and I included a cover letter that listed what was in each group, including Peace Corps Document numbers. I also included photocopies of things that other people had submitted on my behalf.
Unfortunately, my legal clearance hasn't been so straightforward. They haven't contacted me with any requests for extra documentation, which I suppose I should take as a good sign. But they've had all of my legal paperwork since I received my nomination - in other words, for a great deal longer than they've had my medical documentation. I have yet to hear anything on that front.