I just read an eMail from my PO timed at 6:14:33 p.m. tonight, 10 May. It's a bit late in the day, but very, very welcomed. My PO would like to know if I'm available for an earlier departure (late June to Francophone Africa) . . . versus my original nomination to SSA with a July departure. Well, YES, absolutely. Talk about out of the blue!

All my weeks of analysis and over-analysis of when I could reasonably expect to hear about the Mali or Benin program . . . and then this! Think I'm a bit excited?! And I cannot possibly imagine what program this might be? Am I still being considered for small enterprise development, or am being considered for something entirely new? We can only speculate.