S13 E12: Time's Up

[veronicamers]

IIRC, Meredith said she and her husband were diplomats. That translated to me as foreign service officer. That would jive with her saying that they are moving to Bogota. Foreign service officers are posted at embassies (or consulates I think) for a few years (most people I know have been at their various posts for 2-3 years before moving on) and then you get re-posted. You have some say in where you end up, but not total control. 

It's a pretty competitive process. I know folks who have taken the foreign service exam a few times before passing.

[DCCme]

I can’t go back and look right now.  Did Meredith say ambassador or diplomat. Two very different things and if she and/or her husband works at the embassy, they are likely by definition diplomats.

1 minute ago, veronicamers said:

IIRC, Meredith said she and her husband were diplomats. That translated to me as foreign service officer. That would jive with her saying that they are moving to Bogota. Foreign service officers are posted at embassies (or consulates I think) for a few years (most people I know have been at their various posts for 2-3 years before moving on) and then you get re-posted. You have some say in where you end up, but not total control. 

It's a pretty competitive process. I know folks who have taken the foreign service exam a few times before passing.

Your post and my question re did she say ambassador or diplomat flew through cyber space together.  

[hannahbanana]

17 minutes ago, DCCme said:

I can’t go back and look right now.  Did Meredith say ambassador or diplomat. Two very different things and if she and/or her husband works at the embassy, they are likely by definition diplomats.

Your post and my question re did she say ambassador or diplomat flew through cyber space together.  

I went back and watched it again. She did say they were "U.S. Diplomats." Unless she has her own job, she is not a diplomat. If he is the I.T. guy (& hasn't transitioned to some other position), you could loosely call him a diplomat, but really he's support staff. I.T. is very important (national security, anyone?) & doesn't need to be inflated. Saying her husband is currently assigned to the Buenos Aires, Argentina embassy & will be moving to the Bogota, Colombia embassy soon would have been sufficient.

[MyFavShows]

33 minutes ago, Jess14 said:

Ugh! Working in a US embassy or consulate is itself an interesting job. There’s really no need to inflate. With that said, I’ve never worked in the foreign service, so i don’t know what career diplomats (if her husband could be considered that) are usually called. Maybe it’s not so unusual for people other than the actual Ambassador to the country to be informally called ambassadors. 

ETA: Reading some other posts, if she used the word, “diplomat,” then that is likely correct and wouldn’t be a case of inflation.

When I think of Ambassador I think of like the official US ambassador to a country like Joe Kennedy was to England during WW2...not some IT manager guy who brings his ex cheerleader SAHM wife with him while he works on servers and IT projects in other countries.

Why couldn’t she just be honest about what is going on instead of trying to make herself sound like some diplomat important person who meets w/ international leaders?   Its still fun.  I guess I really shouldn’t ask that though after reading that wedding announcement (eye roll),

[scorpio1031]

I can't open the LinkedIn link and the engagement notice is 7 years old.  Is he still an IT guy for sure? 

[Lolfordays]

1 hour ago, ElenaFR said:

So why just not say my spouse is the IT guy that happens to work at the embassy. 

Exactly. He is a state department contractor. He’a Not in the foreign service. And she certainly isn’t.

it’s actually very insulting she is even insinuating otherwise. 

[Jess14]

10 minutes ago, scorpio1031 said:

I can't open the LinkedIn link and the engagement notice is 7 years old.  Is he still an IT guy for sure? 

Yeah, I’m not prepared to claim that he’s still just an IT guy based off of an old engagement link. People inflate their accomplishments for sure, but to do so on television would be pretty stupid. I’m hoping that isn’t the case here. 

[pasdetrois]

Her husband is not a diplomat. He is an IT specialist who works in an embassy. Ambassadors, diplomats, foreign services officers are very specific things.

[Lolfordays]

2 minutes ago, Jess14 said:

Yeah, I’m not prepared to claim that he’s still just an IT guy based off of an old engagement link. People inflate their accomplishments for sure, but to do so on television would be pretty stupid. I’m hoping that isn’t the case here. 

Seven years would be an incredible short amount of time for him to be accepted into the foreign service officer training program, complete it, and have multiple assignments under his belt. 

[MyFavShows]

8 minutes ago, Lolfordays said:

Exactly. He is a state department contractor. He’a Not in the foreign service. And she certainly isn’t.

it’s actually very insulting she is even insinuating otherwise. 

And it makes the DCC look like idiots for not checking her story before she did that filming.  I guess she’s an ex-DCC (so no control), but you can’t have someone out there representing your organization saying they are an ambassador when they aren’t.   Smh. 

[CruiseGirl]

17 hours ago, Loves2Dance said:

They just said she wasn't performing strong enough. 

VK was told the issues were comprehensive when she asked what to focus on. 

What does comprehensive mean ? If it were me I would be asking why unless she already told her behind the scenes 

[DCCme]

After a lot of internet sleuthing...it appears that Randy Root, Jr.  (Merediths husband) is  U.S. Diplomat.  He holds an IT position in the US State Department, appointed by the Secretary of State, which makes him a diplomat.

[hannahbanana]

32 minutes ago, scorpio1031 said:

I can't open the LinkedIn link and the engagement notice is 7 years old.  Is he still an IT guy for sure? 

From what I saw of his LinkedIn, it was I.T. I don't know if I saw it all or if it's up-to-date.

[cfinboston]

IIRC Meredith had plagiarism issues when she was a DCC with regards to writing the columns the girls used to for their website. She was caught posting recipes she stole from other sources.

[scorpio1031]

15 minutes ago, DCCme said:

After a lot of internet sleuthing...it appears that Randy Root, Jr.  (Merediths husband) is  U.S. Diplomat.  He holds an IT position in the US State Department, appointed by the Secretary of State, which makes him a diplomat.

It's nice having people with sleuthing skills:)  

[Pickles]

19 minutes ago, DCCme said:

After a lot of internet sleuthing...it appears that Randy Root, Jr.  (Merediths husband) is  U.S. Diplomat.  He holds an IT position in the US State Department, appointed by the Secretary of State, which makes him a diplomat.

But, is SHE a diplomat too?? 

[Mardo2044]

7 hours ago, bitsy123 said:

It was anticlimactic to watch Victorias cut. She was in the office more than anyone else this season (according to what was shown) with issues across the board, and it felt overdue. I low key suspect Kelli knew for awhile what had to be done but left her in training camp to give her experience. Kellis decision, but if that was the fact, I wish the show had not focused on her so much and had instead showed us more of the other girls we barely saw who were real contenders for this year. 

I liked seeing the groups do dances following their leaders- I'm all for more dancing on this show!

You said it much better than I could.  I thought it would feel better post cut, but really Kelli left it to the bitter end so we don't really know the other girls.

Edited October 19, 2018 by Mardo2044

[DCCme]

2 minutes ago, Pickles said:

But, is SHE a diplomat too?? 

Still working on answering this.  She does have a diplomatic passport.

[Pink-n-Green]

2 hours ago, hannahbanana said:

It looks like he is an IT Specialist, so someone who works in the embassy, not actual ambassadors (but, dang, read her engagement "bio" -- got to hype yourself up).

Hey, they live in my neck of the woods!

Apologies to the Texans on this board but I let out a guffaw at Meredith dancing at the "Houston Livestock Parade".  I'd just never heard of such a thing.  Her husband sounds like he's on the ball. 

[Mardo2044]

24 minutes ago, Cruisegirl said:

What does comprehensive mean ? If it were me I would be asking why unless she already told her behind the scenes 

Comprehensive = Many things over the course of training camp. = it would be embarrassing to list them all now because it would be clear you should have been cut weeks ago

[hannahbanana]

22 minutes ago, DCCme said:

After a lot of internet sleuthing...it appears that Randy Root, Jr.  (Merediths husband) is  U.S. Diplomat.  He holds an IT position in the US State Department, appointed by the Secretary of State, which makes him a diplomat.

 

44 minutes ago, Lolfordays said:

Exactly. He is a state department contractor. He’a Not in the foreign service. And she certainly isn’t.

it’s actually very insulting she is even insinuating otherwise. 

If he still works in IT (probably does), he is a Foreign Services Specialist, which can loosely be called a diplomat. Unless things have changed, I think the Geneva Convention only officially recognizes the 5 types of Foreign Services OFFICERS (not specialists) as diplomats. But I think we are starting to split hairs here. He could be considered a diplomat, depending on who you ask, but she is definitely not.

I don't know how much he's really "appointed" by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State overseas the Foreign Services & the office makes those assignments. It's not a personal selection process like ambassador & other higher up positions.

[pasdetrois]

According to Linkedin, Randy is still an IT specialist with the State Department and has been since 2003. It says he is based in Alexandria, VA (a DC suburb). He has two IT-type MBAs from Georgetown and Johns Hopkins.

That position is most decidedly not a diplomat. Ambassadors, diplomats and foreign service officers are a very specific career path, with specific credentials and education (although sometimes ambassadors and diplomats are big political donors who are rewarded with these posts by a newly-elected president, and they often quit or lose their positions when a new president is elected).

LinkedIn says Meredith is an outsides sales rep at GTM Sportswear in the DC metro area. GTM Sportswear advertises opportunities for people to have their own online stores affiliated with GTM. So Meredith is probably selling cheerleader uniforms and so on.

Weirdly, neither Randy's nor Meredith's LinkedIn profiles mention any foreign locations.

[CruiseGirl]

1 minute ago, Mardo2044 said:

Comprehensive = Many things over the course of training camp. = it would be embarrassing to list them all now because it would be clear you should have been cut weeks ago

It’s just goes to show that VK got special treatment. They had no problem telling Dayton, Taylor T, and Kristen what their problems were on TV. Oh well, I hope she matures because I don’t want another season of “ The Victoria Show”. I can’t tell you all of the names of the rookies this year because only a few were shown. 

[DCCme]

4 minutes ago, hannahbanana said:

 

If he still works in IT (probably does), he is a Foreign Services Specialist, which can loosely be called a diplomat. Unless things have changed, I think the Geneva Convention only officially recognizes the 5 types of Foreign Services OFFICERS (not specialists) as diplomats. But I think we are starting to split hairs here. He could be considered a diplomat, depending on who you ask, but she is definitely not.

I don't know how much he's really "appointed" by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State overseas the Foreign Services & the office makes those assignments. It's not a personal selection process like ambassador & other higher up positions.

Yup, I would say appointed in the way I approve new hires in my org.  I get the notice, I click the approve button.

[hannahbanana]

6 minutes ago, Cruisegirl said:

It’s just goes to show that VK got special treatment. They had no problem telling Dayton, Taylor T, and Kristen what their problems were on TV. Oh well, I hope she matures because I don’t want another season of “ The Victoria Show”. I can’t tell you all of the names of the rookies this year because only a few were shown. 

They couldn't tell VK what each of her problems were, they would have been there all night! They could do a whole season on "reasons why we cut you, VK." Didn't someone say Tina was trying to get CMT to give VK her own show?

[CruiseGirl]

3 minutes ago, hannahbanana said:

They couldn't tell VK what each of her problems were, they would have been there all night! They could do a whole season on "reasons why we cut you, VK." Didn't someone say Tina was trying to get CMT to give VK her own show?

Lets hope she returns more matured and ready to take on DDC standards next season. 

[Jess14]

50 minutes ago, Lolfordays said:

Seven years would be an incredible short amount of time for him to be accepted into the foreign service officer training program, complete it, and have multiple assignments under his belt. 

That may well be. I’m not an expert in this field, nor am I familiar enough with the process to becoming a diplomat to be able to say what is it isn’t possible. So, I don’t personally feel comfortable calling her a liar or claiming that she has embellished his or her role, but certainly other people may be more knowledgeable than me and be willing to do so.

[PrincessLeia]

57 minutes ago, MyFavShows said:

And it makes the DCC look like idiots for not checking her story before she did that filming.  I guess she’s an ex-DCC (so no control), but you can’t have someone out there representing your organization saying they are an ambassador when they aren’t.   Smh. 

She didn’t say she was an ambassador. She said they were diplomats. Two different things. 

 

Now whether shes actuslly a diplomat or not, I have no idea. But she never claimed to be an ambassador.

22 minutes ago, Pink-n-Green said:

Hey, they live in my neck of the woods!

Apologies to the Texans on this board but I let out a guffaw at Meredith dancing at the "Houston Livestock Parade".  I'd just never heard of such a thing.  Her husband sounds like he's on the ball. 

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the biggest rodeo in the world, and has raised millions of dollars in scholarship money so children can go to college. It’s kind of a big deal. And the hottest ticket in town late February through mid March. Garth Brooks played two sold out shows to over 70,000 people last year. 

Edited October 19, 2018 by PrincessLeia

[scorpio1031]

@ShellyB  Sigh........what exactly do Meredith and her husband do?  Thank you in advance.

[PrincessLeia]

2 minutes ago, scorpio1031 said:

@ShellyB  Sigh........what exactly do Meredith and her husband do?  Thank you in advance.

Seriously 

[hannahbanana]

26 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

According to Linkedin, Randy is still an IT specialist with the State Department and has been since 2003. It says he is based in Alexandria, VA (a DC suburb). He has two IT-type MBAs from Georgetown and Johns Hopkins.

That position is most decidedly not a diplomat. Ambassadors, diplomats and foreign service officers are a very specific career path, with specific credentials and education (although sometimes ambassadors and diplomats are big political donors who are rewarded with these posts by a newly-elected president, and they often quit or lose their positions when a new president is elected).

LinkedIn says Meredith is an outsides sales rep at GTM Sportswear in the DC metro area. GTM Sportswear advertises opportunities for people to have their own online stores affiliated with GTM. So Meredith is probably selling cheerleader uniforms and so on.

Weirdly, neither Randy's nor Meredith's LinkedIn profiles mention any foreign locations.

No need to update if you're not looking to change jobs. ?

[MrsEVH]

10 hours ago, Mardo2044 said:

Jaylyn was so cute about being called in and saying even when she was told it was her hair she forgot to breathe!  

She probably was scared and not sure what to expect if you've never been called in before. I happened on the 2005 show where a TCC was never called in and then was and cut.

[poppysand]

I don't think my eyes have ever been drier at an elimination. If it really was "bullshit" to think she was getting special treatment One Sticker Victoria would've been eliminated weeks ago. I do think Tara had generally lost her spark, but the very idea that she'd be eliminated before Victoria is just so wild and it shows just how not bullshit that assessment of VK's personal standing is. She hadn't done a single thing in the entire training camp to be deemed remarkable. Her dancing has been uncontrollable from the start, she's been on watch for weight long before they plucked up the courage to admit to themselves and to her that she was, she's disrespected the staff, the group leaders have thought she's been an ambassador risk essentially the whole time, and even guests who've come in who said they liked her didn't give her a sticker.

And don't even get me started on Malena. It's a week to the first game and she still doesn't even have the signature dance down .............................. like.

[Christineelgene]

Deleted 

Edited October 19, 2018 by Christineelgene
Duplicate info

[Christineelgene]

25 minutes ago, hannahbanana said:

No need to update if you're not looking to change jobs. ?

According to the State Dept web site, I am guessing he is a Foreign Service Specialist.

[gotta watch]

Unpopular opinion maybe, but I think VK needs 2-3 years off just to mature some. I thought she stuck out like a sore thumb from the very beginning, and not in a good way. I wish she'd get out on her own, have a job and take more (& more varied) dance classes.

[scorpio1031]

1 minute ago, gotta watch said:

Unpopular opinion maybe, but I think VK needs 2-3 years off just to mature some. I thought she stuck out like a sore thumb from the very beginning, and not in a good way. I wish she'd get out on her own, have a job and take more (& more varied) dance classes.

Oh no. Very popular opinion unfortunately.

[sATL]

2 hours ago, scorpio1031 said:

I can't open the LinkedIn link and the engagement notice is 7 years old.  Is he still an IT guy for sure? 

given he has an MBA , if he's still in IT he probably has more of a management type role...more than someone who works on servers, codes in programming languages, set up databases, and works on laptops. 

[Mardo2044]

43 minutes ago, MrsEVH said:

She probably was scared and not sure what to expect if you've never been called in before. I happened on the 2005 show where a TCC was never called in and then was and cut.

I agree, exactly.  She was just cute relaying her relief post office visit. 

[Mardo2044]

Now that we have  the VK drama behind us and 1 episode to like and cheer for the rest of the rookie candidates.....It will be interesting to see what happens.  Kelli said "Ashlee has moved up" so I'm hoping that means she is top 36 cause I like her.  Lacey said she has been making mistakes.  fingers crossed. 

[Mardo2044]

I always liked Jennifer.  But I must confess I was sad her comment supported cutting Tara.  "I hate it, but I understand it."  Call it loyalty or whatever, but I just did not like that Jennifer!  (That's the strongest I can make the statement because she is pregnant and I am not going to yell at a pregnant lady!)

[Mardo2044]

21 hours ago, Thebiglebowski said:

Maddie and Kashara have soft middles...i know Victoria gained weight and was warned, but I think they need to have the same strictness with vets, no matter how well liked they are

I did notice about half way through when Kelli is talking about power and projection or something, Maddie was walking on the field and was thick for DCC.  I had to rewind to see who it was.  I can't imagine she is not on weight warning.

[Loves2Dance]

2 hours ago, Cruisegirl said:

What does comprehensive mean ? If it were me I would be asking why unless she already told her behind the scenes 

I  would think it means everything---lack of polish, lack of dance skill, lack of maturity. 

[Muckypup61]

5 hours ago, sATL said:

thanks. he's also now got an MBA from Georgetown  - https://www.linkedin.com/in/randy-root-b0b44346/

I missed the connection from IT Specialist to Ambassador to xxx...why inflate his title? its no shame having a federal job in IT

My husband does: IT Specialist with the VA. I am very proud of him!

[Stephieg84]

Just watched Tara’s cut. Heartbreaking doesn’t even begin to describe it. I will never believe it was the right choice and bravo to her for challenging them in a respectful way

[NMDD43]

I thought it was completely unnecessary for Kelli to call Jalyn into her office to talk to her about her hair color. She could have just pulled her to the side like she did with Miranda a few episodes ago to talk about it. No need to freak the poor girl out with an office visit when they know cuts are being made.

[NMDD43]

2 hours ago, poppysand said:

I don't think my eyes have ever been drier at an elimination. 

My cold heart has to agree. I did not see some big maturity breakthrough that others saw during her cut. Sure, her edit showed she handled it somewhat well compared to her usual antics, but I am still unimpressed. Her mascara was so distracting in a disgusting way and also in a very comedic way. I wonder if K&J we're worried her mascara would get on their clothes when they hugged her. It kind of grossed me out when Kelli rubbed her hands on her face to wipe it away. Ew.  

That girl is just a hot mess from her ratty hair to her runny makeup. She is way too unpolished for DCC.

9 hours ago, tinabee1967 said:

Why does Tara's face look so rounded and bloated? I noticed that the last two times we saw her.

 

This and why is her skin on her chest and shoulders so broken out? She looked a smidge better in her last office visit when she said she fixed her hair and was changing her diet a few episodes ago. But then this office visit she was back to looking bad again.

[Steff]

3 hours ago, Pink-n-Green said:

Hey, they live in my neck of the woods!

Apologies to the Texans on this board but I let out a guffaw at Meredith dancing at the "Houston Livestock Parade".  I'd just never heard of such a thing.  Her husband sounds like he's on the ball. 

The Houston Livestock Show is a HUGE deal in Houston & draws people from all over Texas every year.  The parade is when 100's of trail groups (think hundreds of horses, wagons, & riders) come into Houston, go down the main freeway (access road) & thru town to the stadium.  Trail riders have spent weeks riding towards Houston & the parade is a massive event.   They used to close our school district so everyone could go up and watch the trail riders come down the freeway.  I went as a child & took my son when he was little.  

I know to some it could sound like a "Valdosta Feed & Grain" (thank you Suzanne Sugarbaker) situation, but it's really a MASSIVE event every year in Houston that draws people from all over the state. 

[PBSLover]

41 minutes ago, Steff said:

The Houston Livestock Show is a HUGE deal in Houston & draws people from all over Texas every year.  The parade is when 100's of trail groups (think hundreds of horses, wagons, & riders) come into Houston, go down the main freeway (access road) & thru town to the stadium.  Trail riders have spent weeks riding towards Houston & the parade is a massive event.   They used to close our school district so everyone could go up and watch the trail riders come down the freeway.  I went as a child & took my son when he was little.  

I know to some it could sound like a "Valdosta Feed & Grain" (thank you Suzanne Sugarbaker) situation, but it's really a MASSIVE event every year in Houston that draws people from all over the state. 

Yes but unless you are from the area, no one would know this. Ha!

Her bio reminded of girl I knew who started a website stating that she was a pr professional (she wasn’t a publicist, just an assistant) and listed every job she did like it was something special or gave her credibility. We used to giggle because she was so clueless that what was on her site was a lot of not important tasks written to be more than what they were. But hey, to each his own.

Meredith’s segment sounds very scripted. She either memorized what she was going to say or has been saying it frequently all along. Not to pile on but that is what I thought when her segment was done and before I read the comments on this board. It was definitely one of the longest Where Are They Now? appearances.

[NotthebadVictoria]

7 hours ago, Jess14 said:

I haven’t watched the episode yet, but she said her husband was an Ambassador? That’s odd. A US Ambassador is a Senate confirmed position and extremely prestigious one. If a DCC was married to an Ambassador or one herself, I would be highly surprised that we hadn’t heard about it.

She said they were both diplomats