Sojourn in India - The Dilemma

What to do with Abby?

After my friend in Bangalore challenged me with the idea of access to an international network I began to think seriously about changing direction in my life. Coincidentally it was time for my mid year career discussion and I took the opportunity to pitch an outrageous idea to my manager. "I would like to seek an international assignment for the company" I explained. His first words were "Would you consider India?" to which I responded "That's where I want to go". He picked up a pencil and we began to talk. I described what I thought I could achieve for our company, some ideas I had about building our team and enhancing the level of architectural alignment between divisions. We talked about duration, I suggested six months to a year. As events have evolved it looks more like three months at a time. I also explained some of my personal opportunities and challenges, my desire to write a book and visit Dharamsala and the Himalayas. He listened intently and told me he would talk it over with our general manager and get back to me. At this point I'm on hold over the metaphorical airport waiting for clearance to land. Everyone I've discussed it with is enthusiastic. One of my colleagues even volunteered to find me an Indian wife, an idea I find both unlikely and flattering. But there's something about this sojourn concept that feels inevitable and I'm looking forward to the future with a lot of anticipation.

So how does one plan for an international sojourn? There are a lot of details. Where do you put your stuff? It makes no sense to ship everything for a three month trip, nor does it make sense to dump it all. One of my colleagues suggested a pod storage facility which is great for anything that isn't temperature sensitive... like my piano, guitars, antiques, pretty much anything worth paying to store in the first place. Fortunately there are plenty of self-storage facilities in Redmond and many are temperature controlled. Its much cheaper than paying for an apartment you can't live in. What about banking and financial details? That turns out to be pretty simple as long as you're comfortable with Internet banking and bill pay. It helps enormously that I'm completely debt free with no intent of being otherwise anytime soon. Visas? Not a problem in India as long as its under six months. Any longer than that and you need a special visa, easy to get for a major corporation. My car? It's paid for and just needs to be stored. My girlfriend? Long story. We'll deal with it... or not. That leaves the biggest concern: What do I do with my cat?

Abby and I have been together since 2003 and she's the most stable thing in my life. Her gentle purring keeps me sane at night and her future matters to me. For short trips up to two weeks I have my incredible petsitter Jay Yanick but this is way outside his frame of reference. And I can't reasonably expect to keep an empty apartment for months. So what to do? The obvious thing is to take her to India with me. Here's the logistics. After the NWA/Delta merger some things may change but on a practical level it will be pretty much the same as now. According to the Allo Expat India site I can bring a cat to India as long as I have a current medical certificate showing evidence of vaccination from rabies and distemper. Northwest will accept pets as luggage except from June 1 to Sept 15. So all that remains is to pay her fare and make sure I don't leave till late September. As crazy as it sounds I thought that was the obvious solution. An old friend who also loves cats brought me back to reality. That's a long time for a cat to be stuck in a cage. Based on past experience she may not survive the trip. So I started looking for alternatives and found a few. The best option seems to be an extended stay with friends for the duration, or a sublet. I think I solved that problem with a new apartment (lease signed today) and a commitment from a close friend. That's a better choice. So what's left?

I have to decide. Am I finally ready at 50 for the kind of adventure I've waited for all my life? Is it all bunch of words or am I going to fully embrace the present moment? Sounds kind of rhetorical. Needless to say if I get funding I'm out the door.

Thanks for listening