Sudden clarity

Take 1 cup of chaos. Boil it until clear. Spice with a dash of uncertainty to taste.

The plan is set. I'm still working out a handful of small details before I book my flight, but it will be sometime on or around April Fool's Day. I should pay extra for the appropriateness of leaving on the first, but I need to see how a couple things shake out as far as my plans for my first few days there.

Officially, it is a 90 day leave of absence from my current company, but with no definite commitment on either end beyond that. I'm free to look for a job over there that could allow me to extend my stay with a work permit and will have the the blessing and best wishes of my current employer if I do. If that doesn't work out or I simply decide that 3 months is plenty enough time a-ramblin' about, a decision will be made when I return as to whether there is suitable workload and projects to support me resuming my current job from Michigan. No guarantees, but I'd say the odds are very favorable.

After the frustration of my last round of calls to immigration, and the depression of realizing I wasn't going to be able to stay for a definite year while working for my company, everything suddenly just sort of settled in and I realized that what was left was just about the ideal plan! It has the best combination of stability and flexibility and as far as timing, they only asked that I stay one week beyond my tentative leaving date. I readily agreed to that.

My last day at work will be March 23. I'll spend the next week packing up most of my stuff and head back to Michigan sometime later that week to spend a few days with family and friends there before taking off on probably Sunday or Monday.

Its difficult to describe how I feel right now. Elation, excitement, trepidation, relief and giddyness have all been taking turns trying to poke through the dizzying shock-haze that's taken over after weeks of being *so close*.... months of stressful planning... years of idle talk...

Its going to happen.


Updates to The List:
Line 23: Resignation - postponed indefinitely
Line 39: Make a freakin' decision already! - done, and a day ahead of schedule