Advice needed ASAP please!!!

[SAEalumnus]

Ok, here's the deal...

We all know how much the job market sucks right now (especially in California), but I'm in a situation that I need a fresh perspective on soon. I've recently applied and interviewed at two companies in essentially the same industry for a comparable position within each one.....

BUT!

The company I interviewed with on Monday (7/28), which is my first choice, gave me every reason in the world to believe that I'll get a job offer - they gave me a second interview five minutes after the first one ended... I got a call two days later saying the second person had been "very enthusiastic about me".... they even started doing my background check within three hours of being informed that they were going to proceed with it. I haven't yet heard from them about the results, but expect to soon.

The company I interviewed with on Thursday (7/31) called me pretty much exactly 24 hours after the interview ended and offered me the job! It's my second choice only because I can see myself getting burned out in the first few months, but it's otherwise a very attractive offer. The problem is, they want a response by this Monday (8/4). The element of this position that would burn me out is not present in the other job (my first choice), so I would really rather take the other job, but I don't want to turn down my second choice offer only to have my first choice company not offer me a job.

HELP!

I'm thinking what I'll do is call my first choice company on Monday morning (not at 8am or anything - maybe 10 or 11) and ask how my application is doing, telling them that I have this other offer but that their company is my first choice and need to be sure of where I stand before I turn down the other offer. Does this sound like a good idea? Does anyone have suggestions of how I might phrase these questions so as not to sound egotistical or anything? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!