JobWatch: No news is bad news...

OK- I know it's not over yet, but I am feeling discouraged today. I've been telling myself that if I don't hear this week, then I'm likely out of the running. This is very depressing. I really felt like things went well, so it will be disappointing if neither place calls me- especially since my entire department knows that I interviewed (oh- didn't I tell you?- at the faculty meeting during my absence a few weeks back, my dept. chair announced to the entire department that I was out of town on job interviews- lovely, isn't it? I'm so glad that I bothered to tell him). At this point, I feel like it's an embarrassment if I don't get an offer. People keep asking- "have you heard anything yet?" It's as annoying as being single and having your mom ask "are you dating anyone?"

I've had a migraine all day, too. It's the first one I've had in months (I think the last one was last summer). I took an Imitrex right before my big lecture class, when I realized that Ibuprofen was having no effect. I hate teaching in that condition- I feel so spacey. I used to think it was the meds, but I actually think it's the migraine itself. I'm just in sort of a migraine haze now. I'm more clear-headed than I was, but still not myself. Anyway- I'm just in a lowly state today... thought I would share. sigh

Trailer Tuesday

This movie will PISS YOU OFF & make you hate men. Well, some men, anyway. I cannot even imagine living & working under such oppressive conditions- I don't know how they did it.




Another NetFlix selection...

"College students more narcissistic"

As if this study is a surprise to any of us who deal with college students on a daily basis... Day to Day had a nice interview with one of the study authors. You can hear audio after 4pm EST here.

I'll try to do a Trailer Tuesday a little later...

Some Art Saturday (& Job Watch)

I have a framed print of this photo hanging in my house. A friend of mine in grad school (who was a surfer) had another Scott Price photo that I always loved. What a great combination- sunset and ocean. I don't know much about the photographer, but enjoy his work.

Solar Gold Wave
by Scott Price

In other news...
I think our fates have been decided in terms of the job searches (committees have met by now), so all we can do is wait to see if anyone calls us. If we don't hear by the end of next week, then I am going to assume that we are NOT first choices. I have a feeling it will be a long week waiting.

I've been tagged...

... by Dr. Brazen Hussy!

10 Weird Things About Me
(and I will try NOT to duplicate anything from this meme):

1. I used to have pet mice.
2. I've never owned a dog.
3. Like Brazen, I also hate perfume (good one!)
4. I don't wear make-up.
5. I've been a vegetarian for over 15 years.
6. The most recent immigrants in my family came from what is now Slovenia in 1910.
7. I am a terrible pack rat.
8. I LOVE to watch TV (which seems to be weird for an academic).
   
9. Peafowl visit my backyard.
10. My mother-in-law lives 8 time zones away.

I will tag: Jane, Ianqui, Dr. Crazy (where is she, anyway?*), USJogger, ScienceWoman, & Medieval Woman (btw, MW- I always hear ELO's "Evil Woman" when I say your blogger name!)

I know at least SOME of you I tagged actually read my blog! And those of you lurking, de-lurk & leave a comment soon!

*ETA: My Google Reader hasn't been updating Dr. Crazy! I haven't seen any new posts in a while, but when I went over there directly- I've missed a bunch! What is up with that?

Academic Couples

So we all met our significant others in grad school, right? What a mess we've gotten ourselves into! I know that some of my friends out in the blogosphere are married to or partners of other academics and that some of you are currently dealing with long-distance relationships. Most of the other academic bloggers I read do not have kids- including some of the LD-ers. My husband and I are VERY fortunate to be in tenure-track jobs at the same university (and both on track to get tenure next year). So why in the world did we go on the market this year? And what do the outcomes of these searches mean for our family and careers?

To answer the first question, I will remind everyone that we are an interracial couple (with a biracial child) living in a SMALL TOWN. Our daughter is one of the only non-white kids in her school and, as some of you already know, she's already encountered racism at school. Another issue is that all of my family is about 2000+ miles from here, so we see them about once a year (Almost all of H's family is on another continent). You can see how Small College Town has lost it's appeal over the last few years. So, when we saw several job ads in my Adopted-Home State, we said "what have we got to lose?" Our attitudes have shifted to really wanting to move now, so the results of our interviews are weighing heavy on us (we could hear next week).

However, some unintended issues have come up. My interview #1 has no job for H and I was told they don't really do spousal hiring. This job is a place I've dreamed of working since grad school. H has already said that I should take the offer if I get it and that he would stay here. I am completely opposed to this idea. I just don't know that ANY job is worth splitting up our family (for who knows how long), even if it's in a wonderful place and near my family. At the same time, I shudder at the thought of having to turn it down (IF I do get an offer). What if we stay here for the rest of our careers and regret it? Isn't it worth moving if it means better opportunities for D? At this point, I almost hope that I don't get an offer, because I don't want to make that decision. I can't fault H for not wanting to give up near-tenure and move to an uncertain career future, either. I am pinning all of my hopes on Interview #2 at this point, because H interviewed at the same U! If we could both land jobs there, we'd take it in a minute!

This whole process has been so much more gut-wrenching than I ever imagined. I've got myself so psyched up about leaving, that I haven't been considering what happens if we stay here. Would it be the end of the world? I guess not- we could move closer to Major City and commute (and buy a nice big house that we'd NEVER afford in Adopted-Home State). I guess I need to keep my mind open about everything. I wanted to blog about this to see what other's experiences have been on this issue. It's tough for everyone, I know and I hope those of you currently dealing long-distance relationships don't think I'm a spoiled brat for even trying to get out! I just feel that academic jobs are so permanent once you get tenure (which obviously has its advantages!), and our opportunities to live elsewhere will be very limited after that. What a can of worms we've opened up! Please share your thoughts/experiences- it would be great to hear about how others deal with long-distance relationships.

Tech Tags: scientiae carnival

Trailer T-T-Thursday

Hilarious!! All you 80s kids/teens will appreciate this one...



I couldn't miss another week of trailers!

They're baaaa-aaaack!

(Taken through the window screen) See more on my Flickr page...

Random Bullets of WTF?

• I took D shopping today (she's out-growing her all of her long pants and we have months of cold weather left to go). Our first stop was J.C. Penney- a store I hadn't visited in quite a while, but figured they may have a better selection of kids' clothes than Target. They had racks of jeans (difficult to fit for D with the way she is built), so we checked out a shelf of sweat-type pants (stretchy knits are usually a better bet). We took a couple into the dressing room to try on and I discovered they have words written across the butt! Yes- just like the sorority letters that your students love to flaunt. Is it really necessary/appropriate/tasteful for people to be reading my 7-year-old daughter's ass? Even better (worse), the pants we brought in said "cheerleader" and "angel" across the butt. Good lord- this was Penney's! I angrily left the store with D & we headed to Target, where we got a few pair of normal pants- although is it also really necessary for 7-year-old girls to wear low-rise pants? When she sits down, her underwear (or butt crack!) shows in some of these. I can't imagine what clothing designers are thinking- can't children just wear cute clothes that cover their cute little butts??
  
• Someone from Interview #1 was looking at my work website today(!) I had been told that they might be meeting today to discuss the candidates, so I can't help but wonder who it was and what they wanted to see(?) I was almost sick to my stomach when I saw that!
  
• Since it seems silly to have just TWO bullets, here's another WTF for you- why do people in high-clearance vehicles slow down to drive over RR tracks? And these are specific places where I don't need to slow down (in my 4-door sedan). Do they not realize that they are driving SUVs? You aren't going to bottom out in that Ford F-250 pickup, either!
  
• I need to finish getting ready for class tomorrow- we do a Monday schedule tomorrow in the time-honored weird tradition of my U. And then I get to teach AGAIN on Wednesday- lovely!

Hope you all had a lovely long weekend (if it was a long one for you). I'll try to post a trailer tomorrow for Trailer Tuesday (I've missed TWO now!)

Some Art Saturday (& more SNOW)

I missed last week, since I was on my way home from the interviews. Today, I am posting another photo from my History of Photography book. The photo is everywhere on the web, and I can't remember where I got this copy. What could be better than cats flying through the air- although I feel sorry the one getting wet!

Dali Atomicus
Philippe Halsman, 1948

In other news, it is snowing here yet again: 1-3 inches this time. I don't think I need to tell you that I am REALLY tired of it. I've been back home for one week now and it's snowed about 4 of those days (and it snowed while I was out in adopted-home state, too). It would be nice if I knew that this was my last winter here! I still have at least another week before I could hear something from either place...

Grading jail

It's downright frigid outside & I am inside grading labs from my upper level class. They turn in their third lab tomorrow and so far haven't received the first two back. I've gotten behind because of the job interview trip and this class is the big loser. We had class canceled yesterday because of the snow (we started late), so I saw them Monday and then the previous Monday. They were supposed to have a guest lecture last Wednesday in my absence, but that was also canceled because of weather. We aren't behind or anything, I just feel like I haven't even seen them! I will finish grading in the next hour, but I am not enjoying myself right now. It wasn't bad grading one lab, but doing two back to back is no fun. At least I will be caught up for tomorrow! Except for revising my annual report & preparing some things for my other class...

Frozen Trees

Yesterday, the trees were crackling in the wind, because they are covered in ice. Man was it COLD out there this morning. I lost feeling in my fingers in less than 5 minutes!

Where Addy complains about the weather (some more)...

OK nobody can control the weather (other than changing the climate through human activities), but it seems INSANE to me that the public schools here in Small College Town are closed for the third day in a row. They are now going beyond the allowed snow days for the year, meaning the schools will have make-up days in June. It stopped snowing/icing late Tuesday night, but this school district is geographically large and includes a lot of rural back roads. Now, I can understand that this makes it difficult for the buses to get in to pick up kids, but is it really reasonable to make the entire district shut down? Aren't the Township Trustees (the people responsible for clearing roads outside of city limits) doing their jobs? I can't believe that it's impossible for them to clear these roads. This is the Midwest. It SNOWS at least a little bit every winter- you would think that provisions would be in place to deal with it. I'm not sure if it's the road conditions closing the schools today, or that fact that it's 0°F out there. We're actually having freezing fog, so the trees look beautiful (I'll try to post a photo later).

So, why would I want to leave this place? Trade snow for traffic, frigid cold for smog? Because it's warmer there and my extended family is nearby. Oh yeah- and the jobs look AWESOME, too!

Not too bad...

My vocabulary is NOT my strong suit, so I was happy with this score! As seen at Jogger's...

Your Vocabulary Score: A-

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

The year Addy was born...

I was also born on the same day that the largest hailstone fell. My hailstone was surpassed in 2003, though. As seen at Arbitrista's...

In 1970 (the year you were born)

Richard Nixon is president of the US A federal jury finds the "Chicago 7" innocent of conspiring to incite riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention The lunar spacecraft Apollo 13 splashes down in the Pacific after near catastrophe The first Earth Day is marked by millions of Americans participating in anti-pollution demonstrations At Kent State University, National Guardsmen fire into a crowd killing four student antiwar demonstrators A powerful earthquake claims 50,000 lives in Peru 18 year olds are given the right to vote in federal elections Tidal wave driven by cyclone from Bay of Bengal hits East Pakistan, killing hundreds of thousands An anti-war rally is held at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, attended by John Kerry, Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland Queen Latifah, Mariah Carey, Andre Agassi, Uma Thurman, Jennifer Lopez, and Matt Damon are born Baltimore Orioles win the World Series Kansas City Chiefs win Superbowl IV Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup Tearjerker Love Story is the top grossing film I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is published "The Long and Winding Road" becomes the Beatles' last Number 1 song

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

Please let me get one of the jobs in adopted-home state...

Forecast for Small College Town:
A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 7 am EST
Wednesday.

A mix of sleet and freezing rain will continue this morning. Infiltration
of warmer air will cause much of the precipitation to change rain
this afternoon. As the low moves past the area... colder air will
cause the wintry mix to change back to all snow before tapering
off this evening.

By tonight... 3 to 5 inches of snow and sleet is expected to be on
the ground with ice accumulations of around a half inch.

Remember... a Winter Storm Warning means severe winter weather
conditions are imminent or highly likely.

D has a snow day today- I don't teach today, but am considering canceling class tomorrow morning, as I will have to dig out and don't see how I can do that before it's time to go to school! (since it is supposed to snow until 7AM) My U NEVER closes. All the universities down in Major City are shut down today, but ours is business as usual.

I'll tell you a little more about my interviews...

As I said before, I think things went well at both places. I think they were pleased with my teaching (I taught classes at both places), but felt like some people were bored during my research talk. My research is very methodology-driven (comparing techniques, etc.) and explaining it can be a bit convoluted- especially when most of the audience is not familiar with my specific area. Both universities are teaching-oriented, with heavier teaching loads than my current U, so maybe that will be less of a concern. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, though- my research has been published and the work I presented was actually from a paper that is currently forthcoming. I also presented the same research at two conferences over the past couple of years and got good questions from the audiences. I'm sure I will continue to second-guess everything as I wait to hear (or not hear) from them.

Even though I've lived an hour or so from both campuses, I had never visited them before these interviews. The facilities are MUCH nicer than what we have here and unlike my current department which refuses to buy faculty new computers (we can get a hand-me-down from our computer lab- only new hires get new computers), these places replace computers every few years (which seems the logical approach to me!) The jobs have advantages over my current job, too. Job #1 is focused on my general area of research (the methodological stuff), so I'd be teaching those courses- which I do now, but student interest is fairly limited at my U. There are several people in the department that I could see collaborating with (also not the situation in my current department). Job #2 is focused on an area of research that I have been trying to get into, so it would provide a great opportunity for that- which is really cool. I would be teaching similar courses to what I teach now, too. I think I'd be happy with either one, so I hope, hope, hope that I get an offer. I think the next weeks will be torture waiting to hear!

Post-Interview Trip Report

Wow, am I tired! I am just treading water today. I got home Saturday evening and spent yesterday trying catch up on work & laundry. I was up until midnight last night preparing for class (since I am so behind and I didn't have time to do it before I left town), so I've had about 5 hours of sleep. I think both interviews went well, but you never know because I don't know who else they are interviewing (4 for each position!) I won't hear from either place until the end of this month or possibly March- even if I'm the first choice, so I just have to wait and try not to think about it (yeah, right!) It was so great to be back in adopted-home state- I saw my mom & grandma while I was there, as well as my aunt, uncle, & cousins. It would be so wonderful to be driving distance from them again. I don't think I appreciated my time living close to them nearly enough. I really hope I can get an offer from at least one of the places. I think I will be very depressed if I don't. I still have two other applications out there, but they haven't even requested letters (as far as I know), so I'm assuming that I am out of the running on those. So, these two are it. If it doesn't work out, I guess I have to decide if it's worth applying next year- after I've submitted my tenure package...

I've got to work on a proposal now... my collaborators have been patiently waiting for me to return, so I can't let them down. Maybe I'll reflect more later. Or maybe I'll go to sleep early!

Airport blogging (or UA is a pain in my butt)

Well, since I paid $9.99, I thought I better do some airport blogging! My flight is delayed by an hour because the power went out at SFO today (?) I am irritated with the airline, because I was not able to print my boarding pass earlier today (long before the power outage) and also not able to use the quick check-in at the airport. I had to wait in the LONG line even though I didn't check any bags. It took them 2 seconds to print my boarding pass with no explanation as to why I wasn't able to do it earlier. It's fine, because I have time to kill, but still annoying. Tomorrow I am interviewing all day at the second place, so I hope I get some good sleep tonight! This may be my last post for a few days, because I won't have internet after tomorrow (at grandma's house!) I'll tell you about the other interview when I get home on Saturday...

cheers

Job Interview Blogging: so far so good

Thanks for all the good luck wishes on my previous post! It's been really nice to check email and find those messages over the last couple of days. I think the first interview is going well. The people are really nice and I've felt at ease the whole time. It's also interesting how different the process feels than it did when I was ABD on the market five years ago. It also helps that I had a phone interview with some of the faculty before I came here. I also know one of the faculty members from grad school. My research talk went fine and teaching was really nice, because the students were attentive (after lunch, even!)

I've been eating delicious food that we can't get in Small College Town, like Indian, Peruvian, & *good* Mexican. I have a few meetings this morning, then I'm done and am spending the afternoon with my mom before flying to interview #2. I won't see those people until tomorrow morning. I don't know what to expect for that one because I haven't had much contact with anyone there yet. We'll see- I'll keep you posted!

In other news- back in Small College Town, they got about 6 inches of snow yesterday, so D is off school for her second day in a row (after a late start on Monday due to the cold). I feel bad for H, but I'm also glad I'm not there!

Off I go!

I'm headed to adopted-home state this afternoon for those two job interviews. The first one is ALL day tomorrow (teaching & research talks) and Wednesday morning. Then, I'll be spending the afternoon with my mom before heading to the other interview (all day Thursday). I'm scared to death of blowing it. I would REALLY love to get an offer at either place. I'll keep you posted- plan on some blogging from the road!

Some Art Saturday

In honor of the IPCC Report released yesterday, I wanted to post this photo for Some Art Saturday. Some of the early photos of the Earth as seen from space were catalysts of the modern environmental movement (spaceship earth). Everything we've ever known in our lives, in the lives of our ancestors, and our cultures is contained within that small blue spheroid surrounded by the blackness of space. Seeing the Earth from this perspective it's easy to realize how precious our natural resources really are and how we are in big trouble. Government leaders around the world (especially the current U.S. president) need to consider that we are just residents of this planet and that no amount of money is worth the consequences of human-induced climate change.

click on the image to view a larger version

and just think about it for a minute

Earthrise
Apollo 8 Astronaut, 1968
from NASA Multimedia

What have I have been doing all my life??

I guess I need to get out more!

As seen at Eddie's.

Adrenaline is not is short supply today... updated

Did I mention that I am freaking out? Job talk is nearing completion, though.

I've decided to tell my collaborator what is going on when we talk this afternoon. It's only fair that he knows what's going on. I just hope he doesn't say anything to anyone else, because this would really open a whole can of worms!

eta: I told my collaborator and he said "great! congratulations! good luck!" and that he agreed that if I get a job AND we get funding that we can still collaborate long-distance. I'm feeling good about that- I don't know why I thought he might be annoyed that I am trying to leave. Also- my job talk is almost finished (I did a dry run and it was about 36 minutes). I have a LOT left on the other talks AND I need to work on this proposal- and be sure to mention it at the interviews, too!

I have a confession...

I am working on job talk right now, because I have TWO interviews next week. I haven't blogged about this thus far, since I wasn't entirely sure that nobody from work was reading my blog (& that knows me). I don't think that is too much of a concern at this point- plus I don't mind as much if anyone finds out now. I kind of hope to keep it under wraps unless I get an offer, though. So, I've kept my keyboard quiet on this one, except for comments on a few other blogs.

I wanted to break my silence now, because I am freaking out about the trip. I will be doing my research talk twice and teaching two different classes at the respective schools. They are both in my adopted-home state, which is over 2000 miles away from here. I got the first interview back in November (have you ever heard of planning 3 months ahead for interviews?) and when I got the second one I asked to do it next week, saying that I was going to be out that way. For my classes here, I am giving an exam in one class and a guest lecture in the other, so classes are covered. It's good timing that way and I am glad to not have to go out there twice, but as I said- I am freaking out! I really hadn't planned on leaving my current job, but when these jobs opened up, I couldn't resist- one school is less than an hour from my mom's house, the other is less than an hour from my grandma's house. I will seeing both of them while I am on the trip, too! So back to the freaking out- I don't have any of the talks ready yet! They are all partially ready, but nothing is done. And I leave Monday. And D was home sick this week (she went back today). I've been so busy preparing for my absence that the real preparation has been pushed back to this week. And I haven't told anyone at work.

On the upside- I do have some lovely new clothes to wear at my interviews (but my credit card is suffering for it). Anyway- I wanted to get this out there, since I am feeling so stressed. I kind of can't believe that I held out this long- I sent in the applications in early October, got the call for the first interview in November, had a phone interview at the other place in December, got the interview invite in late December. It's been crazy.

I better get back to it- only 7 hours until D is home from school and I want to finish the research talk and practice it today. Sorry I've been keeping you all in the dark on this one!