job confusion

So first off, let me just state for the record that I'm on the same page as Stella being a little disappointed in the "new and improved" easyjournal... although it is a little easier on the eyes, it isn't suddenly great. And I typed a long entry on the same day that I posted the Bush article... only to have the new easyjournal burp and lose the whole thing. Grrr. It was all about last weekend and all the people I saw (Stella, Megan, Laura) and how great it was to see them and all the other stuff I managed to do (Saturday visit a possible place for a wedding reception, get my hair cut before all the visiting, then chill with Ro & Pat in the evening... then Sunday Miyano, Hiro, and Yuilu came over for lunch). It was a busy, slightly tiring weekend, but very enjoyable.

A brief run-down: The reception place that we looked at was the Marriott at Philadelphia West, and it was gorgeous! Plus their packages are great... so now we just have to figure out the budget, and see what we can actually afford. If we can afford it though, I think we're going to really go for this place. Hmm... then haircut, and over to Lehigh. I was able to see Stella and meet pilot number 3, who is sweet and adorable and very good for Stells i think. It was just great to see the girl after so long. Then saw Megan, whom I also haven't seen in a while, and we talked and joked, and that was good too. Then Laura and the kiddies, and she is so preggers again... and I just love her little belly!!! It is so cute!! I can't wait for that baby to get here. I really miss those kids too, so i loved being able to pick them up and hold them for a bit. I can't believe how big they are now... it makes me so reminiscent for Lehigh, and sophmore year. Sunday Miyano and Hiro and Yuilu came over, and that was fun. Lunching and that adorable baby!

But okay, now on to my real reason for "being here".
So here is my current job confusion: as I've written before, I am not happy here in my current position. I feel like I am stuck in a job "no where" zone... as in there is no where to go from here. It is a small organization... big in that we have a vast network of scholars and an even bigger intercontinental web of member, but small in that there are about 10 of us staff in the office. And as I work under the title Program Coordinator, but am really basically the assistant to the VP, I really have no room for a promotion. What am I going to do replace the VP? No, I doubt that. The office is organized like this: Pres., VP, Office/Business Manager/Tech Guy, Book/Record Keeper, Secretary/Program Coordinator, Program Coordinator/Assistant to VP (that's me), Editor of our Journal, Assistant to the Pres., and two Research Assistants (who aren't really permanent staff anyway, but really working on a stipend). So, tell me where am I going to move up to? And compounding this is the fact that I find what I do a bit trite and boring, and that the recent addition of new responcibilities to my job, making me a Program Coordinator/Fundraiser and Grant Researcher, has done nothing to alleviate that as I am not interested in Fundraising in the least. Now obvious to anyone who has read any of my posts before, I'm not happy with this situation, and have been trying to find a way out of it. School has been put to the side, as Trav and my impending mortgage isn't going to pay itself, so I really just have to find a new job that only requires the degree I currently have, and perhaps some experience. I had pretty much decided that once our house was found, bought (as in closing complete), and moved in... basically that the whole mortgage thing was said and done, I was going to actively start looking for a new place of employment. However, here is where the confusion comes in. Today Mr. VP tells me that we got some new fundraising for one of the programs we do. We do History Institutes... weekend long conferences held in the suburbs of Philly which draw teachers from all over the country to learn about the history of a particular topic. This coming weekend we are doing the Koreas, for example. They are great weekends, which everyone enjoys, but they are a lot of work... and I am one of the people who always participates in them from the initial planning thru the weekend itself. Not my favorite way to spend a weekend, but all in all, not bad. So this new fundraising is specifically so that we may hold 3 of our 6 Institutes in the next 2 years, in cities other then Philadelphia... ideas including but not limited to Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Washington Dc.... and as it is very hard for my boss to clear his schedule for a friday through Sunday, he mentioned that most likely he wouldn't want to go, but would want someone else (or most likely two someones) to be able to fly out and run these weekends. And I would most likely be one of those someones.

There is also the fact that right now, this year being our 50th Anniversary, fundraising is huge. Our annual dinner which always sells out early, and always has a pretty big name speaker, is now looking at the possibility of getting... well, I can't mention a name, but a VERY big name to come out for the dinner. And we are getting HUGE sponcerships, in fact have already raised... in just the 2 months of 2005... over six figures, just for the annual dinner. And we are doing things that I didn't think possible, including billboard announcements, etc.
So here is my major dilemma: Do I put off looking for a new job because of the new opportunity that has arisen for travel, and the new opportunities that additional funding might present? I don't want to head off somewhere, and then hear from my one office mate that after I left she got flown to San Diego for the weekend to head up a conference, or that the Institute's name got out and consequently the business is just flooding in and that the Institute is growing... blah blah blah. But do I stick around with the possibility that perhaps nothing will change either... or that Mr. VP will decide to go himself and take the other Program Coordinator?

It's just frustrating that I finally decided to do something about my dissatisfaction with my employment situation, and suddenly this new stuff comes up to make me start from square one and completely rethink everthing. It's like I'm looking ahead and I see a split path ahead... one side leads to the same old same old, and the other leads to the type of occational perks that I've been looking for in a job to make it more bearable, almost enjoyable. Only I won't know which path my job has taken me down until long after my self imposed deadline... I'm willing to stick it out for another 6 months if it means the path of perks... but not if it leads to the same old same old. But how will I know which way we are going, until we get there?

Well this is incredibly long, and (speaking of work) I should get back to it!!!
But please people, I'm looking for imput!