07.21.09
The Bid List is Out
Just typing that phrase gives me huge knots in my stomach.
Now that there’s a list of positions I might be eligible to bid on (and lobby for, and kick and scratch and fight over, all hopefully without sounding either obsequious or malicious), I’m giving myself the very rare permission to think about the future. My immediate response to this is, “Oh God oh God oh God.” This whole bidding thing didn’t go well the first time. It went particularly un-well the second time, when I’d allowed myself to hope and then was left completely devastated. And now, the third time, the process has changed and it’s all about knowing the right people from having gotten the right positions the first two times. Um, yeah. Oh God oh God oh God oh God.
07.19.09
While I’ve Been Away
I’m ashamed to see it’s been so long since my last blog entry. So to catch up, here’s what I’ve been up to:
I flew to New Delhi the day it finally began to rain in Bombay (before the rain actually arrived, of course). Yes, thank heavens, it’s begun to rain. Hallelujah.
I had gone to Delhi for a two-week stint helping them out with their visa load. They let K and me both go up there at the same time, which was nice since it meant there was no need to sit around in the evenings having dinner alone at the hotel restaurant. It was good to get a change of scene and to catch up with some old friends, but good lord, it was hot! The best description of how it felt up there was: “you know what it feels like when you open the door of a preheated oven and bend down to put something in?” Yeah, that.
The day after getting back to Bombay, we had the annual consulate 4th of July party. It’s the biggest party of the year for us, and everybody had to work. My job: decor (and of course making sure there were no guests left without someone to talk to). I don’t think it looked too bad.
As soon as that was finished with, we started preparing for the next big thing (requiring a surprising amount of coordination and choreography). That made the news, of course, and ended this morning with a “meet-and-greet” with consulate staff, where she thanked people for our role in helping Americans during the Mumbai attacks.
Now, it’s wind-down time. After working through the past two weekends, we’re pretty tired, but it’s back to the visa line first thing in the morning. I’m really looking forward to having a real weekend next week.
