A busy day

A few weeks ago I got pulled into a committee on a proposal that came from some Europeans about forming a joint initiative to build a media program. After reading the abstract, I found it to be more than a little ambiguous and talked to my supervisor about it. He told me that he has had some experience with similar proposals and that these are often just devised as moneymaking ventures with the intent to manipulate Palestinians and the conflict here to milk money out of the EU. The whole thing essentially didn't feel on the level for me or my boss, but others in the university saw the opportunity for funding and jumped on the opportunity. Thus a committee was formed in which my supervisor and I expressed our concerns and explained that we needed more information (like a budget, a defined proposal, the responsibilities of each partner, and definite objectives and a needs assessment) for the committee to decide whether this was a good investment of our energy. They committee took our advice and I was tasked with drafting an email to the Europeans detailing this information. So I did.....and I waited to hear back.....and I waited.....and I waited.
This morning I went into work to find a few emails from the European partners. The included a few more documents along the lines of what we had asked for but nothing of substance. The budget was complete bullshit for example and the money was mostly going to the Europeans, not to us and with no money being allocated to our equipment needs to create a broadcast program. In their email they also told us that they would essentially need us to write the proposal for the EU entirely and that they needed it by Friday. Thats an 11 page high-quality proposal that needs to be written based on ambiguous, abstract data without any of the information we needed provided to us and without receiving much money and none of it designated to our actual needs- in other words, it was a whole bunch of bullshit.
My supervisor though was working out of the office for the day and I couldn't reach by phone so I had to show some initiative.Considering that this committee was formed with the approval of the university president and action was needed immediately, I had to do it by myself this morning. I ran around to different offices, over to the new campus, met with various officials and deans and administrators and generally was allowed to really show some initiative and professionalism. And it felt damn good. By the early afternoon, an emergency committee meeting was established to happen at two at which time I was going to need to present a recommendation on behalf of the international office whether to abandon the project or devote our undivided attention to it- without any advisement from a superior. So I formed my opinion based on the information available and was finally able to get through to my supervisor. He agreed entirely with my thoughts and recommendations and I was essentially given the go ahead to speak at the committee with my personal impressions. He even wrote an email to the committee members and the university president detailing our mutual concerns and his recommendation which was the same as mine. As I walked into a meeting with A dean, the director the radio station (which popularly serves all of Nablus), and the director of PR for the University (among others) I felt very much at ease and in my natural habitat. I think I have been groomed for work like this for much of my adult life. I have developed common sense and critically thinking skills alongside a traditional education and held more than one job that required professional mature behavior. I was on my own without my supervisor to tell these men that this proposal was a lost cause and I supported my statement with keen observations and diplomatic language. I'm not trying to stroke my ego, but instead I'm really just trying to say that I found my day so fulfilling and I was able to use talents that have been honed over the last few years in a professional forum across language barriers and social divides.
In the end, the committee was entirely receptive to my opinions and position and is supportive of our recommendations. It felt nice to have a position of some authority and independence and to be treated as an adult professional, as well as to have to the support of my supervisor in doing so. All the running around today kept me busy which was wonderful and by the time I got home today I truly felt like a professional who could really do some work for the university. A good day all in all