Having trouble concentrating

Lately. I am struggling to concentrate. Here is what I am juggling/looking forward to/working on:

1. about to begin prepping for my stats "for dummies" midterm next week

2. about to prep for a simple presentation Monday in NGO ethics

3. writing summaries for International Organizations, oops. 

4. Decided to get into 24 on Netflix. Fatal error. I am on Season one, hour 22, and I was hooked up until the awful accents took over

5. Trying to find the expensive french cd's my folks bought me and I must have misplaced...I am cursed with French

6. Getting dinner tonight with my Uncle John who is visiting from MN- yay! 

7. Applying (half way there) for UN Volunteer Corps. One can wait up to 2 years for the position to open up, and posts last from 6 mos. to 1 year. Once you are in, this can be a great way to move up the ranks of the UN and move around agencies such as the World Food Programme, UNICEF, etc.

8. Coming up with an abstract for the World Conference on Humanitarian Studies  to try to present my paper at the conference here in Boston

9. Following up with thesis contacts/job outreach

10. Friday attending lunch panel: Diplomacy in Failing States: An Insider Perspective on US Policy in

Somali Pamela Fierst is the Senior Somalia Desk Officer in the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.  She supports Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson and the Office of East Africa Affairs in the formulation of U.S. policy on Somalia.  Prior to joining the Somalia team, Ms. Fierst was the Senior Sudan Desk Officer and Deputy Director (acting) for the Sudan Programs Group and the Office of the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan (S/USSES) where she worked on implementation of Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the conflict in Darfur.  She has extensive experience with Darfur rebel unification efforts, humanitarian affairs issues, post-conflict reconstruction, and international law.  Ms. Fierst is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Law.

11. Lunch Tuesday with Ambassador Mary Ann Peters. Ambassador Peters became the fourth Provost of the Naval War College on 18 September 2008. Previously, she held the position of Dean of Academics of the College of International and Security Studies at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch - Partenkirchen, Germany. Prior to becoming the Dean of the College, Ambassador Peters served as Associate Director for International Liaison at the Marshall Center.

Before joining the Marshall Center in 2003, Ambassador Peters spent more than 30 years as a career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State. From 2000 to 2003 Ambassador Peters served as the U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh, leading the Mission's efforts in support of the war on terrorism and other key U.S. foreign policy goals.  She received a Presidential Meritorious Service Award in 2003 for her work in Bangladesh. Prior to her posting in Dhaka, Ambassador Peters was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, responsible for the management of the Embassy and supervision of the six U.S. Consulates General in Canada.

From 1995 to 1997, Ambassador Peters served in the White House as Director for European and Canadian Affairs at the National Security Council. Among other portfolios in this position, Ambassador Peters worked on the diplomatic and security aspects of the search for peace in Northern Ireland. From 1993 to 1994, Ambassador Peters served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State with oversight responsibility for U.S. relations with 19 Western European countries and Canada. In this capacity she acted as the U.S. Chair of the U.S. - Canada military coordination body, the Permanent Joint Board on Defense.

A senior diplomat, fluent in six foreign languages, Ambassador Peters has also served in Sofia, Bulgaria, as Deputy Chief of Mission; in Moscow as Economic Counselor; and in Mandalay, Burma as Principal Officer. Prior to her assignment in Moscow, she studied Russian at the U.S. Army Russian Institute in Garmisch, Germany. From 1988 to 1990, Ambassador Peters was the Deputy Director of the Office of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh Affairs in the U.S. State Department. She began her career as a Vice-Consul in Frankfurt in 1975.

Ambassador Peters holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Santa Clara University and a Masters in International Studies from the School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University. Her formal education also included course work in Paris, France, and Bologna, Italy.  

13. Lunch Wednesday with General Raymond T. Odierno 

“The Joint Force: Future Challenges in a complex Strategic Environment”

Gen. Odierno serves as commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM), located in Norfolk, Va. Prior to assuming his current duties,Odierno most recently commanded Multi-National Force - Iraq and then U.S. Forces - Iraq from September 2008 to September 2010. He oversaw the transition from surge to stability operations and directed the largest redeployment of forces and equipment in 40 years. He assumed command of MNF-I less than seven months after completing a 15-month deployment with III Corps as commanding general of Multi-National Corps- Iraq from December 2006 to February 2008. A native of New Jersey, Odierno graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1976 with a commission in field artillery. During more than 34 years of service, he commanded units at every echelon, from platoon to theater, with duty in Germany, Albania, Kuwait, Iraq, and the United States. After his first assignment with U.S. Army Europe, Odierno was assigned to the XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he commanded two batteries and served as a battalion operations officer. Following advanced civilian and military schooling, Odierno returned to U.S. Army Europe and the 7th Army, serving as a battalion executive officer, division artillery executive officer, and brigade executive officer, deploying in that capacity for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He later commanded 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery, 7th Infantry Division, and the division artillery of the 1st Cavalry Division. From October 2001 to June 2004, he commanded the 4th Infantry Division, leading the division throughout the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom from April 2003 to March 2004. His other significant assignments include arms control officer, Office of the Secretary of Defense; chief of staff, V Corps; assistant division commander (support), 1st Armored Division; deputy commanding general, Task Force Hawk, Albania; director of force management, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans; and assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C., where he was the primary military advisor to Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. During this time, he accompanied the secretary on all diplomatic journeys and state visits, traveling over to 65 countries, while attending international events ranging from NATO and APEC Summits to Pakistan earthquake relief efforts. He has a bachelor of science degree in engineering from West Point and master's degrees in nuclear effects engineering and national security and strategy from North Carolina State University and the Naval War College, respectively. He also is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. Odierno's awards and decorations include three Defense Distinguished Service Medals, two Army Distinguished Service Medals, the Defense Superior Service Medal, six Legions of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, four Meritorious Service Medals, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, and the Combat Action Badge. He has also received the highest award in the State Department, the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Medal, and recently the Romanian president awarded Odierno the Romanian Order of Military Merit. He is the 2009 recipient of the Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award for his strategic leadership and insight.

14. Training for and raising money for the Boston Marathon <--my link

15. And looking for a swimsuit for spring break and dress for the black-tie Dip. Ball :)