All I have to say is that mid-level bidding SUCKS. Â We’ve been on pins and needles all week hoping and praying that we’d get an email telling us that we had received an assignment.
- On Monday we refreshed the email every 10 minutes to no avail and watched the Facebook celebration posts go up from friends around the world.
- On Tuesday my daughter’s behavior reached an all-time low (threw her milk cup intentionally at my head and rammed me with her riding toy 3 times) because she could feel the tension in the air but didn’t understand what was going on.
- On Wednesday I gave up hope as we watched 7 of our 8 bids get assigned to someone else.
- Â This morning (Thursday) we received the email stating that our 8th and final bid had been given to someone else and that we should await further direction.
Next Steps for Us
We will now start the bidding process again with the countries that remain (read: the ones no one else wanted). Â The other possibility that could yield something promising is to just wait and see if something comes up between now and when we’re due to leave here in May. Â This could be as a result of someone needing to curtail from an assignment early or someone having to decline a post they had previously accepted for health or familial reasons.
The Good News
Nick is tenured, so they have to pay him whether or not we have somewhere to go.
The Comforting Part
We are not alone. Â Many, many other highly qualified friends and colleagues are in the same boat due to the hiring push that took place at the beginning of 2009 (right when Nick started). Â There are more officers than assignments at the moment and people are getting desperate. Â Some have nicknamed it the Bidding Hunger Games because people are clawing for any post.
I’ve decided to use this as a lesson in trust and patience. Â There has never been a time in my life when things didn’t work out before, so I have no reason to believe this will be any different.
So there you have it folks. Â Please keep sending us good juju and we’ll continue to keep you abreast of the news.
Just keep that as your mantra….I oftentimes cling to that too, it’s been true in my life and I consider it a blessing…
“There has never been a time in my life when things didn’t work out before, so I have no reason to believe this will be any different.”
Thanks Tanisha. I’m doing a good job of distracting myself with other projects… :)