It's a Done Deal!!

Actually, there are three "done deals":

1.) Most importantly, purchase of the tickets to Germany has been DONE!

Tom and I will arrive in Munchen on Sunday, Septmenber 9th and spend the next week traveling alone in Bayern -- Traunstein (my mom's Heimat), Ruhpolding, Salzburg, Garmish (my dad's childhood summer home) and the Romantische Strasse. On Sunday, the 17th we'll pick Elisabeth up in Frankfurt and the three of us will visit family and friends in Dillenburg, Koeln and Dusseldorf. Then the three of us will visit LAURA (our adopted sister/daughter) until Tom flies home on the 24th. Then Elisabeth and I will go to Heidelburg, Nurnberg, and where ever else we want to go (except Munchen... I refuse to deal with Oktoberfest crowds, much to her dismay!) before we fly back to Seattle together on September 30th.

This afternoon I bought a big ol' map and "Fudor's German for Travelers" kit (CD, book, etc) so I can brush up on my German and Tom can learn some (more... he took German in high school) before we leave.

2.) I'm DONE at the ad agency as of this morning. Just as I thought they should, they made the right business decision and re-shuffled resources so internal people can do the project management I've been doing. No need to pay expensive freelancers for work that can be done -- probably more efficiently since they know internal processes -- by internal staff. It was the right business decision for the agency. Plus, I could sure use a few days to rest (and CLEAN!) before my niece arrives from Germany (Sonthofen) on Sunday to stay with us for a week. So other than lost income, I have no regrets about that "done deal."

3.) I'm also DONE waiting for word about the position I've been interviewing for. Within three minutes of being told that my services as a freelancer are no longer needed, I got a call from the executive search firm, informing me that "the other guy" had accepted the Director position. That, too, was actually a really a good move. He is eminently qualified and he was very tough competition! It was tough hearing two rejections in such a short time, but I can't say I'm all that surprised about either of them.

And now I can tell you -- my competition for that position is a friend and business cohort of mine!! (He was the Director of Product at the nonprofit where I produced FUEL and CHILL; he worked there before I came on board.) We discovered that we were both finalists for the same position quite by accident when we e-mailed about our prospective job searches and quickly realized that we were both finalists for the Director position and that we both had all-day interviews last Friday! They did an excellent job of keeping us from seeing each other, and had we not discovered it ourselves, we'd have never known who our competition was.

I just left him a voice mail congratulating him and wishing him the best of luck... and telling him that I am certainly available for freelance work with the organization! ;-)

So now I can finally sleep... and clean... and PLAN A TRIP!!