A cruel joke

Anyone who's spoken to, written to, or emailed me has undoubtedly heard--in excruciating detail--how much I've been looking forward to the arrival of my car.  Not only do I love that thing, but Managua is not a pedestrian-friendly city, so having transportation is more or less essential to getting to know the city and, perhaps more importantly, getting out of Managua to enjoy the rest of the country.  So you can imagine my extreme and utter joy at the news that my Jeep was arriving on Friday...sweet freedom was on a shipping container, headed for the embassy.  There was a little delay, and my car would be coming in at the end of the day....I skipped the shuttle ride home, not wanting to wait until Monday to pick it up, and was already mentally planning all the places that the Mini-Menace and I could go this weekend.

You can guess where this is going, right?

There I am, sitting in a golf cart, watching the shipping container back up to a big ramp, and barely able to contain my joy, thinking that I'm mere seconds away from driving my own butt home for the first time in nearly 2 months.  The GSO guys cut the seals, opened up the container and.......

NO JEEP.

Despite the paperwork and bill of lading with info to the contrary, the shipping container did not contain my car.  Instead, there was a brand-new white panel / cargo van, just like the kind your mother warned you kidnappers used to snatch disobedient kids like you.  Or me, rather.  I think the guys realized this was probably not my car when I failed to dance with joy as I'd promised.

So, where is my car?  It could be anywhere, for all I know.  GSO assures me that this is just a mix-up with the paperwork and they'll know where my car is on Monday.  We'll see....

Attack of the Zombie Sock Monkey!!!

We knew we'd be arriving in Managua two days before the Embassy's Halloween party so of course the Mini-Menace insisted on packing a costume in our luggage.  He'd been begging for a Zombie Sock Monkey costume this year, but I had terrible luck finding one.  Beebop (aka my mom) came through once again and saved the day, buying and mailing the costume to us before we left.  Here it is in action: 

Definitely a little gruesome, but oddly cute at the same time. 

The party was a lot of fun; we had our first trunk-or-treating experience--people really went all-out decorating their cars, adults in costumes, and tons of candy to be had.  Although we rapidly learned that chocolate candy--the mainstay of my Halloween diet--is something of a rarity here.  I suppose it might be because of the temperature and the ease with which milk chocolate melts. At any rate, the few people who'd gotten their hands on chocolate candy to hand out were mobbed, and not just by kids.   After the trunk-or-treating, the Marines hosted a pizza party (with a DJ), haunted house, and chili cook-off, all at the former Ambassador's residence on the compound, locally known as Casa Grande.  It's not so much a big house as it is a mansion.  It's not occupied; the Ambassador (when we have one) actually lives in a smaller, less opulent house elsewhere, but Casa Grande is still used for official functions, etc.  It's gorgeous, and we really enjoyed getting to celebrate Halloween in such comfortable surroundings.

I still missed trick-or-treating in my sister's neighborhood, though. People sit out with coolers of beer, fire pits, and regularly hand out FULL SIZE CANDY BARS!!!!!!  All in all, though, this was a very good alternative, and a great way to jump right in to the Embassy's social scene.

A month later....

I'm alive!  I have internet!!  I also have some amazingly generous and patient co-workers, both FSOs and LES.  (Dad, that's foreign service officers, the US staff, and the Locally Engaged Staff, the Nicaraguans that work at the embassy).  I'm finally starting to feel a little less lost; the more time I spend at the window interviewing visa applicants, it becomes a lot more mundane.  I'm not really planning on blogging about my job that much though; this will be more about our lives in Nicaragua.  All I'll say is that I am learning more, and enjoying my work.  Not bad, right?

Outside of work, things are going well.  We're still without our household stuff and the Jeep, but we're doing pretty well: the welcome kit had everything we really needed, and folks have been generous with their time and vehicles whenever I need to go shopping.  There's a shuttle that takes me to and from work, and the Mini-Menace has his own school shuttle.  And while this may come as no surprise to anyone who's had the misfortune to experience my housekeeping skills, I've adjusted QUITE well to having a housekeeper.  She cooks! She cleans!  She does the laundry!  She does small grocery shopping!!  I love coming home to a clean house and being able to spend quality time with the MM without doing laundry or cooking his dinner, or trying to stay on top of the cleaning. 

We've only done one small day trip, to Granada, with friends.  Once we have the Jeep, expect more posts about our adventures.  Next up, though?  I--vegetarian since 18--will be attempting to cook a turkey breast for my son and 2 Peace Corps Volunteers that we're hosting for Thanksgiving. 

Let's hope they all survive. 

The final countdown....

FSI training done and checkout completed?  Yes.

Packout survived?  Yes again.

Holed up in a hotel with son and dog for 48 hours?  Affirmative.

On the ground in Managua in roughly 36 hours?  Si.

Blogging at you later, folks!!!!!

Short, but sweet!

1.   It's official!!  I've now hit the trifecta of U.S. passports: personal (blue), official (maroon), and, most exciting: diplomatic (black!)  Woo hoo!!!

2.  Apparently, Mother Nature wants to destroy any car I own....yet ANOTHER flash flood in my 'hood.  This was taken in my driveway last night; the water was well above my knees.  Thankfully, the Mini Menace saw the rising waters and warned me that I needed to save "his" Jeep.

3.  No photos, but in other exciting news, I passed my Spanish exam!!!!   Started ConGen yesterday and am already joking that after 11 years of working with the INA, I am going to have a hard time restraining myself from correcting my instructors on the vagaries of immigration law. 

Roughly 7 weeks to go!!!!!!
 

Cue the AC/DC....

The Mini-Menace and I have successfully returned from our recon trip to Managua...it was a really short trip: flew down on a Sunday, spent 2 days there, and then came back on the 4th.  That was pretty much all the time I could con out of my CDO and the Spanish Department, even though I have about 8 million hours of annual leave that carried over from my previous job.  Still, I'm thankful that they let me go, considering that I am supposedly testing a week from now.  I say supposedly because no one has bothered to tell me when exactly my test is.  Anyhow, back to the recon....we spent about half a day visiting and registering the MM at his future school.  He seemed happy and definitely a little less freaked the eff out now that he knows what to expect.  We also had dinner with the embassy family that volunteered to care for the MM until I can find a permanent solution; they have three boys at the same school, and really, they were just about the NICEST people I've ever met.  They asked the MM what kind of food he would like for dinner, and--naturally--he voted for burgers.  Yes, folks, our first official dinner out in Nicaragua was at a T.G.I.Fridays, a place I have never actually frequented in the US.  Rest assured, Nica food was the only option on the rest of the trip; but conveniently for the MM, he was able to eat panqueques at breakfast every day.  He did discover the joys of passionfruit (aka maracuya) juice, and deep-fried cheese.  Score!!

Our second day, we visited the Masaya volcano, which, according to local legend (thank you, superstitious Conquistadores!) is an entrance to the underworld.  In case you were wondering, this is where the lame AC/DC reference comes in.  No, I was not actually referring to one of my all-time favorites (and most ridiculous) Christmas songs, Mistress for Christmas.  Yes, I like to make random musical references.  So what?

Also on the day-long adventure were a stop at a gorgeous crater lake, the Roberto Clemente baseball stadium, the markets in Masaya, where I had to restrain myself from actually shopping, since really....why cart all that stuff home when I'd just have to pack it up and ship it back?  I did buy the MM a wooden chess set, since he's now apparently obsessed with chess.  Don't ask me how it happened....summer daycare camp is an amazing thing.  Every evening we'd sit on the patio at the hotel, by the pool, and he'd try to teach me to play.  Would anyone like to guess how humiliating it is to have your 9 year old crush you like a bug EVERY SINGLE TIME?  If you answered pretty damn humiliating, you'd be right.  I figure this has to be a major checkmark in the Greatest Mom Ever column.  Right?????

Finally (and still on the epic day-long adventure), we also visited a local pottery market.  This was pretty awesome:  they mix the clay by stomping on it for hours, then spin it on foot-powered pottery wheels.  Pretty damn labor intensive, but best of all, the Mini-Menace got a hands-on (literally!) experience and got to give it a go.

On the way home, our flight on American was delayed so much that we would have missed our connection in Miami...so American put us on Copa, which then routed us through Panama and on to D.C.   I'm now a pretty big fan of Copa....remember when airlines actually used to feed you?  For free?  And left and arrived on time? Take note, American!! 

So, we're back, I'm freaking out about my Spanish exam, and we're off to NE Ohio for what will probably be our last trip home before we leave for Managua at the end of October.  The Cleveland area is the epicenter of both sides of my family, so I have loads of aunts, uncles, cousins, and both grandmothers to visit, plus some really close family friends who I met in VA (and who subsequently returned to the mothership area).  VERY excited to see everyone.  It'll be a nice way for the MM to celebrate the end of his 1st week of 4th grade....thank you Archdiocese of Arlington for starting before Labor Day!!!! 

I'd promise to try and post more often, but you all know that's not going to happen until I'm actually on the ground in Nicaragua, so until I can come up with something interesting to say, I'll just leave you with some photos of our trip.  Enjoy!!

 (OK, so it's not exactly a highway to Hell, but still, pretty damn impressive!)

 (Time to make the donuts clay)

The kindness of strangers

The concept of DOS and the FS as a community / family really hit home for me this week.  Ever since A-100 began, I've been stressing the F out over what I was going to do with the Mini-Menace once we arrived at post.  I hate to harp on the single-parent thing because, god knows, there are countless other single parents (or doubles, to be honest) who have it so much tougher than I do.  But I had no idea what I was going to do when I got to post and had to go to work, but at the same time, had to figure out school transportation and after-school childcare until I was able to hire someone.  (And that is a whole other issue, the concept of hiring a domestic employee is so foreign to me that I feel incredibly guilty about having domestic help).  Anyhow, to get back to my point, the woman who runs the Welcome Wagon group at post put me in touch with a family there whose kids attend the same school that the Mini-Menace will....and without having emailed / spoken to me, this family offered to take the MM to / from school and to watch him after school until we get settled, help me get him enrolled at school or or anything else that I needed help with.   Amazing.  I'm so much more relaxed about the move now, I can actually be excited about the move.

So excited, in fact, that the MM and I are headed down to Managua next month for a quick bombing run of a trip.  We're just going down to visit his school / take placement tests, and get him officially enrolled.  Ok, and *maybe* we'll be taking a day to do a little sightseeing--but I think it will help his transition if he can visualize where he'll be going to school or if he has a better idea of what he can expect.  So expect some actual Managua-related posts & pictures next month!

And the vehicle dilemma has been resolved....the poor hybrid Highlander is officially dead and we are now the proud owners of a bitchin' Jeep: 

An imposter!!!

Somebody needs to tell Newsweek / Murdoch / Brooks that this particularly alias is already spoken for!!

Working Vacation

The Mini-Menace has been in California for the past 2 weeks, on his annual pilgrimage to visit his father and paternal grandparents, and, as usual, I am bored to death without him.  The first few days are great--freedom to go where I want, when I want, and to watch movies with all sorts of child-unfriendly language, etc.--but after the 3rd day, the house is just too quiet.  The dogs were depressed too--they both stopped eating for the first few days, and would go into his room to look for him.  We're fine, but I'm definitely looking forward to his return in 1 week.  Just in time for his Young Diplomats' Day and Youth Security Overseas Seminar, and the start of his Saturday Spanish classes!!

In other Spanish news, I'm still plugging along in class.  I had my first progress evaluation and did much better than I'd anticipated.  It felt like a fluke, though....I was really on top of my game that day, whereas in class, I still feel like a total idiot.  I have until early September to get my act together.  One of my classmates was able to convince his CDO and post to let him test early so that he could arrive earlier than planned in order for his kids to start school at the beginning of the school year.....and he passed!!!!  So happy for him!  I hope his luck is contagious.

Had a little bit of drama with the car--there was a massive flash flood in the 'hood two weeks ago, and the 2.5 feet of water in the street got INTO my car and damaged the interior, the hybrid system, the brake system, and the power steering.  No verdict yet on whether or not it can be salvaged.  I love that car, but am starting to think about replacements.  Since the roads are pretty rough in Nicaragua, I'm actually thinking about getting a Jeep.  The dilemma, though, is do I go with the soft top, or the hard top for security reasons?  And since the Mini-Menace isn't old or big enough to sit in the front, plus my family will be visiting, do I go 2-door or 4-door?  Ay caramba!!!

Thanks to my mom for sending the Mini-Menace a massive care package with 15 different kinds of Oreos.  That's one item off his bucket list.  At least one of us is accomplishing something!!

The Bucket List

You didn't think I meant MY Bucket List, did you?  Oh no, I'm straight-up exploiting the Mini Menace here.  This list is awesome on so many levels.  I too would like to know what is a doy hole (see #12), and I really applaud the desire for a closet full of Oreos (#3).  Thanks to #16, I think I must be doing something right with this kid, although I supposed I ought to tell him to add #19 "Teach Mom about the concept of personal privacy.

False Advertising

I know, I know....I promised a post about my experiences so far in the FS as a singe parent (or, to be more accurate, a single, custodial parent of a school-aged child).  But after some reflection and drafting and editing of a post, I realized that there was no way for me to come out of that without sounding like a whiny brat.  Look, I knew what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this gig, and while it certainly hasn't been easy and I'm sure that folks think I'm anti-social because I didn't go to every happy hour, there is no getting around the fact that the Mini Menace and I are about to embark on a massively exciting adventure.  Whatever my experience has been so far, it's all worth it.  And hey, the fact that domestic help is incredibly affordable (almost embarassingly so) in Nicaragua means that I'll have even less to complain about.

So, many apologies to anyone who might have been expecting an angry screed, but my judgment got the better of me.  Man, sometimes this maturity thing is kind of a drag.

Instead, more Spanish adventures! At orientation, the Spanish section managers told us to expect that the classes would be shuffled around once instructors got a better sense of the students' abilities, so that students at similar levels would be together, etc.  On Monday, I was moved to a new section, which I thought was going to be a good thing, even though I liked my instructor and my classmates.  Why?  I'd already taken two Spanish classes at FSI, so I'd been through at least half of the overall course before, so I was ready to work on new material.  BUT DEAR MOTHER OF GOD!!!!! I am not ready for the section they put me in....one guy (an A-100 classmate and one of the nicest guys on earth) is married to a native Spanish speaker and has been speaking Spanish at home for 20 years.  Um, I've been to Spain twice and can manage to get myself a beer and a meal.  Either FSI has a lot more confidence in my abilities than I do, or they've made a terrible, terrible mistake and just haven't figured it out yet. 

My new instructor might just be the most charming and fascinating man I've ever met, though, so I'll stick around until they kick me out.  Honestly, after fleeing Spain during the Civil War, settling in Latin Am and having to flee another dictatorship, and who knows what else....at 82, this guy has some amazing stories to tell.  If only I spoke enough Spanish to understand what he was saying.....

Oh, and a Mini-Menace update for my family:  he was selected for the all-star soccer team, and won 2nd place at his school's art contest.  He's a regular renaissance menace, that kid.

Lazarus in the house!!

Yeah, that's right, folks:  I'm back from the dead.  I warned you I was going to be a lazy blogger, didn't I?

A-100 is finally over, and I think the entire 160th breathed a massive sigh of relief.  I can't speak for everyone, but after Flag Day, all I really cared about was finding out more about my post and starting language training and area studies.  Well, that and finally not having to wear a suit and heels every day.  Still, we made it through that last week (barely, for some of us, including myself) and are now scattered to the four corners of DC and FSI.  I'm lucky enough to be in area studies with several classmates, and one is in my Spanish class as well.  I still see other 160ers around campus, though, which is nice.  I made some good friends and really hope that we'll stay in touch.

So: Spanish.  We're two days in and, while I can't say I'm feeling overwhelmed yet, the sheer volume and pace of the work is pretty hectic.  I took two Early Morning courses at FSI when I was at my last job, so I knew basically what to expect.  I have the one of the same instructors from my previous courses, so I even knew what to expect from her.  That said, though, my class of four is pushing ahead signficantly faster than the EM classes did.  On average, the EM classes covered a unit in 2-3 days; my current class has already blown through four units (albeit basic stuff, just as a review)  in a day and a half.  I do homework every night.  I may well be eating my words re: "independent study = watching Telemundo in bed"--my scheduled independent study hours are not going to involve rotting my brain with telenovelas.  Still, I'm so thrilled to be getting paid to improve my Spanish, I can't complain.  Now if I could only learn how to type with accents...

Other news:  Mad props to Short Term Memory for reaching out to me from Managua and offering to answer my undoubtedly asinine questions about life in Nicaragua.  Go check out the blog, folks, it's awesome.  It's made this whole moving-to-Nicaragua thing more real--the photos are gorgeous and STM does a great job of chronicling life at post.  I really feel like I have a better idea of what to expect and feel like the decision to rate Managua as "high" was the right move.

Stay tuned for a blog post on my experiences thus far as a single parent in the Foreign Service.  Eventually....

Just in case you can't read the fine print on the flag.....

I'm headed to Nicaragua!!!!!!  WOOHOOO!!!  I was totally surprised--I had actually expressed a strong preference for a Mexican border post and thought I stood a pretty good chance (but not a guarantee) of getting it.  I mean, who the heck WANTS to go to Nogales?  But, once the shock wore off, I realized that I was still lucky enough to get one of my high bids, in one of the safest countries in Central America, where I'll get to work in my cone and get my language requirement out of the way.  Plus, the school there for the Mini-Menace is fantastic!  Oh, and the coffee??  SO EXCITED! I'll be leaving a little earlier than I had hoped (late October), but honestly, I really have nothing to complain about.  The more I think about it, the more excited I get.  Plus, I'm a lot more likely to get visitors in Managua than anywhere on the Mexican border...

The Mini-Menace, who had specifically requested Tijuana (proximity to LegoLand), took the news quite well.  I think the promise of surfing lessons might have had something to do with it.  Look, bribery is a perfectly acceptable parenting technique, right?

Diplochick, I'm still coming to see you in Chennai.  Count on it!!

My parents came to town for Flag Day and were really fascinated by the whole experience.  It's a total blur to me right now, but all in all, I am very happy with my assignment and am so happy for all my classmates.  Way to go, 160th!!!!

OMG, what have I done????

Bid list submitted a few minutes ago.  Let the freak-out commence!!!  What, you thought I knew what I was doing??  Top factors were working in my cone, getting off language probation, and (hopefully) security & quality of the Mini-Menace's education.  I think I had a pretty decent mix of highs, mediums, and lows, so I'm hopeful that I'll be assigned a high or medium-rated post.  My absolute top choice isn't, I think, a terribly desirable post, so I'd like to think I stand a pretty decent chance of getting it; but I could be completely wrong.  Sadly for the Mini-Menace, the Bahamas were (was?  singular or plural?  My brain is fried!) not on the list, so he started lobbying for Tijuana.  Why?  Proximity to Legoland.  I wish my decisions were that easy.

Also from this weekend, another entry in the annals of Red Menace High Quality Parenting: letting my son listen to Cee-Lo Green.  Think that's balanced out by watching The Bad News Bears?  You might think so, except for having to explain that Walter Matthau was a drunk and that "Blow it out your bunghole!" should not be repeated at school.

Peaches vs. Coconuts

After a three-hour session on cross-cultural communication, I've learned that some people / cultures are like peaches, others are like coconuts.

In other news, the Mini Menace is a finalist in a poetry recitation contest at school.  Naturally, the poem he picked is about farting.

It's a glorious life I lead, I tell you.  Glorious!!

Overwhelmed

Good lord, the amount of info that they shove at you during A-100 is astounding!!!  I am completely worn out.  You'd think that I'd be somewhat less stressed than some of my colleagues, since I don't have to worry about federal employee health benefits, retirement, TSP, etc.--got that covered as a transfer employee, thanks--but NO, you would be WRONG.   It would make me dizzy to go over it all now and I'd like to keep DSS off my ass for any security violations.  (Thank you, Agent X for scaring the crap out of all of us).  Suffice it to say that I feel like I've thrown into the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim.  I know I'll survive, but man, this is going to be a busy six weeks.

The absolute highlight of my 1st day, though, was meeting my new best friend and partner-in-crime.  We met on the Metro on the way in on our first day, after I shamelessly eavesdropped and inserted myself oh-so-diplomatically (ha!) into her conversation with another fellow student.  We recognized each other from our apparently mutual blog-stalking, so it felt as if I was meeting a friend, not a total stranger.  Yay!!  Plus she is just as much of a back-row trouble-making smartass as yours truly.  So, while the next 6 weeks may be insanely busy, they will be highly entertaining, thanks to a certain someone who has promised to make me paneer tikka and who is already predicting that I will be assigned to the Bahamas and marry an Ambassador. 

Tomorrow's highlight?  BID LIST!!!!!!

Making Progress....

So, the Mini Menace's reaction to joining the Foreign Service has gone through three stages so far:

1.  "You're ruining my life!!!"

2.  "Wherever we go, we're taking the Wii, aren't we?"

3.  "Can we go to the Bahamas?"

April 29th

That's apparently the date of my training class's Flag Day, when we'll find out our first country assignment.  Now I have an entirely new date to obsess over!!!

The waiting is KILLING me!!!

The reason I haven't posted in a while is because I really, truly have nothing new to report.  Two weeks--14 of the slowest, most torturous days ever known--left before I start training at the new job.  Unlike a lot of my future 160th A-100 classmates, I'm already local, so there won't be any packout drama or TDY issues until I'm actually ready to head to post.  I probably ought to be starting to sort through my belongings and try to decide what, if anything, will go to storage, what will go in the HHE shipment, and what will go in the UAB shipment.  I just can't bring myself to start, though.  I could be here for another year before I go anywhere, so why start stressing about it now? 

I'm dying to start training though, and get the bid list.  That's the list of countries / jobs that are available for my class.  Unlike packout, this is one subject I can't stop thinking about.  Where do I want to go?  Pretty much anywhere.  On one hand, I wouldn't mind Mexico or another Spanish-speaking country...so I can actually put my Spanish to use.  Then again, I'd love to learn Arabic or Mandarin.  I like Mexico, in particular, since it's close enough that my family, and the Mini Menace's dad / family can visit easily--the Mini Menace's uncle owns a condo in Puerto Vallarta.  I'd even consider Nogales, but that's strictly for personal reasons and the personal reason in question may be relocating to another Western / Rockies state, but still, that's closer than, oh, say....Africa.   Leaving Mexico aside, I'd be happy with Poland (family), almost anywhere in Africa, Asia.....

Hmm.  I'm not really doing such a good job of narrowing down my list, am I?  Guess I just have to wait and see what's actually ON the list before I get myself too worked up.

T-minus two months and counting...

I suspect the posts are going to be fairly scant over the next two months; I won't start A-100 until March 28th, but--being the conscientous and dedicated employee that I am--I've already given notice at my current job.   The reactions have been pretty funny--some folks are calling up to see if I've been fired, to congratulate me on getting the hell out, or to just see what the general scoop / gossip is behind my departure.  Things at the office are especially insane these days: the transition to a new organizational / management structure has been very difficult for the team, and as one of the managers, it's been hard for me to keep my team's spirits up when I'm personally so demoralized by the atmosphere.  On top of all that, my dear, dear friend--who happens to be the Chief of my section--went into labor today and will be out on maternity leave until June.  So, now I get to be the Acting Chief until I leave at the end of March, deal with our budget drama, and hire my replacement.  Stress much?  Nah. Thank god I've got an exit plan!!  I hate to leave the team at a time like this, but there was no way I'd pass up the chance to join the Foreign Service.  Sorry, guys.

I'm glad to report, though, that the Mini Menace seems to have accepted the inevitable.  He's gone from the "You're ruining my life!!!" stage to the "We're bringing my Wii, right?" stage.  That's progress in my book.

So, don't expect much for now, folks.  Once training starts in 2 months, you'll be sick of hearing from me.  Enjoy the quiet while it lasts.

Ice day

I've resisted blogging for about as long as I can remember; partially because I can't imagine that anyone is really that interested in what I have to say, and partially because I tend to become even more idiotic when faced with things like HTML code. Embed what? Upload? Widget?  HUH?

Things have changed around Casa Red Menace, though.  Not the idiocy, that's constant.  No, what's changed is that I'm about to abandon a 10+ year career as a federal government attorney and drag myself, my 9 year old son, and all our belongings halfway around the globe.  I've accepted a position with the State Department, in the Foreign Service, and will start the A-100 training course on March 28, 2011.  Since I have absolutely no idea where I'll end up or when, it seemed like a blog would be the easiest way to keep friends and family updated on our new life.

So, since school is closed today due to the half inch of ice coating everything in sight, the Mini-Menace and I are home from school and work.  He's outside trying to snowboard down our front hill on the ice, and I'm inside, in front of the fireplace, vainly attempting to conquer my fear of blogging.   Adding widgets and pictures and actually tweaking the design will come later.  I hope. 

Keep your expectations low, people, and I won't disappoint you.