As Mike was getting dinner ready I walked through the dining room.  There on the sideboard our laptops sat side by side, mine white and appley, his black and PCy.  His computer made some sort of ringing tweety noise and I peeked at it to see if it was email from a friend who was having trouble with a sound system.

It was not.

Instead there was a email letting him know that, regrettably, he had not been accepted to present at Ignite Portland 4.

“Hey sweetie” I hollered “Sorry, but you’re not going to talk at Ignite.”

He was relieved.  Audibly and visibly relieved, but then he asked about me, “Did you get accepted?”

I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Sure, I’d submitted an idea to present at Ignite… but that didn’t mean anything.  After all, who would really want to hear me talk for 5 minutes on stage with 20 slides about how to “Bluff your way through life or a 5 minute presentation”

No one, that’s who.

So I checked my email… and there it was, the second new mail in the box.  I could see the little preview and it said “Congratulations”

I was flooded by a mix of terror and joy.  Panic and pleasure.

“Oh Shit!”

I picked up the martini I had made moments before and took a giant gulp before opening the email.

“I didn’t get rejected” I said quietly.  I could hear Mike in the background offering congratulations, telling me to call my best friend, suggesting I tell my dad.  Being glad he wasn’t me.

Oh shit.

I need to remember to be careful what I wish for… or more realistically I need to contemplate that my ideas are not always as stupid as I think they are.  Thankfully now that I’ve had time for it to sink in I’m really excited to talk at Ignite.  Oh, and terrified… let’s not forget terrified.

Congrats to all the other IP4 presenters, especially some awesome women I know and love: Betsy Richter, Melissa Lion and Amber Case.

Now tell me ladies… what are you going to wear?