Probably just what I needed

A few posts ago I expressed a very not ready to go back to work sentiment as I bemoaned the fact that my maternity leave was closing in on being 75% finished. Most all that I have really heard about work in the nearly eight weeks I have been off has been bad. How awful things are right now, the layoffs, life in the "lack of funding" trenches. Couple this with AB's growing discontent of this area (and no one pounding down doors to hire him) and I was nearly ready to call it quits. Key word... was.

I had even found a few jobs online to apply for. One of them, AB stated was a nearly sure thing. My qualifications were perfect and it is working for one of my major client's client. And so we started dreaming about what life would be like in Portland. (Among other cities.) Restaurants. Culture.

Then I checked my work e-mail today and had a five minute conversation with my mentor. Amazing what a little appeal to one's ego can do and knowing that I have someone pulling for me in a recent, and extremely political proposal call, can do.

My mentor talked to a division director (in the group I want to move to). She didn't know my name immediately though apparently stated she felt as if she should know who I was. My mentor told her what big (and extremely profitable) project I had been on and she knew me immediately and recalled me receiving my award for that project in March. When he told her I had a "really well written and intriguing proposal" to put out for this call she "suddenly became very attentive". The conversation ended with the division director stating she would contact a particular person and ask him to work with me on the proposal.

Note to self... next time I see her dropping off or picking her son up at daycare... introduce myself!

So 10 minutes on the internet and 5 minutes on the phone has me thinking returning to work won't be SOO bad. And it has me reminding AB of everything we love about the area... though the summer weather might have been a little forced and definitely garnered an eyebrow raising from AB (remember AB = Alaska Boy). He admitted that the shakedown of a reorg could definitely move me in a very positive direction and my four weeks paid vacation a year is a hard thing to walk away from. It probably also helped that he got two pretty positive responses from headhunters in the area today and sent out about 10 resumes.

For now, thoughts of jumping ship have been shoved onto the backburner. Talk to me in a month though.