"Better than 15th"

So, in our search for some way to avoid Mumbai, we've contacted various people in Mumbai and other places.

One fellow currently in Mumbai, who told us a bit about life and work there, said that he had extended in Mumbai to move from the current bid cycle to next summer's cycle so that he could get a better assignment than his 15th choice. I had to laugh. Tahra extended from the summer cycle to this one, and she got #17 -- and that's an improvement from not being able to get anything out of 30 bids last time around. I would kill to get our #15 bid. Of course, his situation is possibly very different (different language options and so on), but I'm very curious to see what this guy gets by extending.

This whole process has hastened my bitterness. I was hoping not to become truly bitter for a few more years, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

On a brighter note, there is a chance -- though extremely slim -- that Tahra could wrangle her way into Manila. But I'm not getting my hopes up.