This journal has not been abandoned...
...and neither have any of my stories.
I actuallly have been writing these last few months.
Just very very slowly.
For those who care...
Last I posted, I was off to a professional conference between Christmas and New Year's. I went to this conference as a part of my department's hiring committee. We were interviewing for two faculty positions. So basically I sat in interviews for a couple days straight. It was interesting, but long and sometimes weird. I was supposed to get back to Seattle for New Year's Eve with the GF who was flying in from Toronto, but nearly got stranded in Las Vegas due to a cancelled flight. Then they rebooked me so that I would have been midnight when midnight struck on December 31st. I actually had to buy a new flight on a new airline to get home in time. Lovely.
When I returned to school in mid-January, we hit the ground running with the on-campus interviews. There were six of them. From the grad student perspective, each on campus interview includes a talk delivered by the candidate followed by a reception and a brunch with just the grad students and the candidate. The brunches are potluck and it was my task to make sure they all got held, though I didn't have to hold any myself (thankfully). I did, however, make an effort to be at every one for the whole time (about three hours). So my first two weekends back at school looked like this: Friday - talk; Saturday - brunch; Sunday - brunch; Monday - talk. The next two weekends were just: Friday - talk; Saturday - brunch, though there was a baby shower thrown in there the last Sunday.
And, of course, in the midst of all this, one has regular classes and teaching, etc.
Somewhere in there - it's hard to remember when - I got an email calling me into the Office of Judicial and Ethical Programs because NBC Universal had informed my school that I had been participating in illegal file sharing (with Bit Torrent) using the university's wireless connection. That was a Friday and I didn't get to have an appointment until Monday so it was pretty nervewracking. In the end, I got off with a slap on the wrist (and the completion of two extremely stupid online modules on cyber-citizenship and good decisionmaking), but man was that scary.
When the brunches finally ended - thank freaking god - we held our annual graduate student conference the next weekend. I hosted a nice, but frequently way too chatty student. Less than two weeks later, it was Spring Break. Basically, I was exhausted.
As if all that weren't enough, the department was beginning to go through a big shake up. Since I'm posting this unlocked, I'll leave out the real names of people, places and institutions. Anyway, let's call the school I'm at now Southern University. I've been at Southern University in Southern City for about 4 years. I was planning to be here for at least one more and to take another year after that to finish my dissertation, though possibly not in Southern City. My department here at Southern University has a limited number of senior professors of significant reputation who are still publishing (though we have a bunch of great junior professors). It is the presence of these senior professors, however, that attract people to our department - especially since not everyone wants to live in Southern City.
One of those big name professors is Professor L. Over winter break (at the aforementioned professional conference), I learned that Professor L was getting a job offer from what I will call Northern University. I knew that his loss would be a fairly big deal for the department, but I was not troubled because I don't actually work with Professor L and his departure was unlikely to affect my life at Southern University. Also, I felt the department would be able to recover from L's loss by hiring someone else of substantial reputation. I was not worried.
Then, in early February, after L's departure for next fall had been officially announced, I heard wind of a much more disturbing rumor - Professor R was, it seemed, on his way to a job interview at the very same Northern University. Now Professor R is also a big name in my field. He also happens to be the person who recruited me to my department, the person in whose mission to increase diversity in my field I have happily participated these last 4 years, and the chair of my dissertation committee. Professor R's departure coupled with Professor L's would strike a blow to my department from which it would struggle to recover. Also, for me this felt very personal. I felt betrayed.
I emailed Professor R, who had just returned from Northern University, and asked him if he would tell me what was up. I felt I needed to know. Professor R quickly agreed and I met him at his house two days later (he didn't want to talk in the department building). Professor R explained to me that it was an unwillingness by Southern University's administration to offer the department more resources for coping with L's departure that had caused him to start looking into other jobs. Now, at first, this was just to be a tactic that Professor R would use to spur negotiation with Southern University. When he visited Northern University, however, it began to look like they would be making him an offer he couldn't refuse.
Much to my surprise, Professor R informed me that if he got a great offer from Northern University, he would want me to go there with him. (When professors in grad programs get stolen away by other grad programs, it's usually part of their deal that they get to bring a certain number of students with them.) I had figured I was too far along for that sort of move, but Professor R was telling me he "couldn't do it without me." The "it" in this case was moving the project of increasing diversity in my field to Northern University. The benefits of going there to work on that project are Northern University's better reptutation, much better library, and signficantly more substantial financial resources. For Professor R, it would be continuing his professional mission at the next level.
I suppose I could go on and on about the weeks of uncertainty, but maybe it's better to cut to the chase. I found out over Spring Break that Northern University had given Professor R a verbal offer that he was ready to seriously consider. He told me to start the application process. Over the course of that week, I gathered and submitted my application materials. Northern University told me I could just send the same application materials I'd sent to Southern University, but since I didn't have those materials on hand and since I'd done them four years about ago (before really entering my field, meaning that sending them would be the professional equivalent of showing a hot date old pictures from your awkward pre-teen phase), I actually put together a new personal statement to send. I also talked to a representative from the department at Northern University about the kinds of conditions under which I would be willing to make the move. (Essentially, Professor R had pre-negotiated and made them really believe they needed to get me there if they wanted to get him. This was an odd experience - feeling like I could negotiate and make demands and have a reasonable expectation of getting them met.)
Anyway, two weeks ago, I travelled to Nothern College Town to visit Northern University and get the details of what they would be offering me. The details were pretty good and the resources at Nothern University's disposal were truly compelling. In short, it was an offer I couldn't refuse. So, come this August, I will be packing up my house in Southern City and schlepping my life up to Northern College Town.
This involves trying to sell the duplex that I live in, which my mother bought, in Southern City. It involves trying to find a decent place to live in Northern College Town, which has a slightly pricier and much tighter rental market. (Though there's a chance I might actually get a decent place - knock on wood - and should know in a couple days.) It involves extending the time it will take to actually earn my PhD by a year over what I had planned. (Three years from now, for seven years total.) It involves leaving behind professors, students, and basically a whole departmental family here at Southern University that I know and love and who have been very good to me. It involves leaving a yoga studio I've been faithfully attending for the past almost 3 years, which I pretty much think is the best studio ever.
In short, it amounts to turning my life upside down.
It also involves moving to Northern College Town, which is about the least diverse - ethnically, racially, in terms of age, etc. - place you can imagine. Really. It's also basically in the middle of nowhere. Three plus hours to anything interesting.
On the other hand, it's only 6 hours from Toronto and the GF! And they have a ballroom dance club! And, of course, there are incredible opportunities at Northern University that I know are simply too good to pass up, and over the next couple years, it stands to be one the most exciting departments (relative to what I care about) in my discipline. It'd be foolish not to take a chance to be a part of it.
So there you have it - the explanation for my virtual disappearance. But I will post fic again someday, I swear it. And I still have a vague dream of actually answering all my comments no later than a year after they were made.
Oh, and at some point, I need to find the time and mental energy to be excited and to celebrate...
I actuallly have been writing these last few months.
Just very very slowly.
For those who care...
Last I posted, I was off to a professional conference between Christmas and New Year's. I went to this conference as a part of my department's hiring committee. We were interviewing for two faculty positions. So basically I sat in interviews for a couple days straight. It was interesting, but long and sometimes weird. I was supposed to get back to Seattle for New Year's Eve with the GF who was flying in from Toronto, but nearly got stranded in Las Vegas due to a cancelled flight. Then they rebooked me so that I would have been midnight when midnight struck on December 31st. I actually had to buy a new flight on a new airline to get home in time. Lovely.
When I returned to school in mid-January, we hit the ground running with the on-campus interviews. There were six of them. From the grad student perspective, each on campus interview includes a talk delivered by the candidate followed by a reception and a brunch with just the grad students and the candidate. The brunches are potluck and it was my task to make sure they all got held, though I didn't have to hold any myself (thankfully). I did, however, make an effort to be at every one for the whole time (about three hours). So my first two weekends back at school looked like this: Friday - talk; Saturday - brunch; Sunday - brunch; Monday - talk. The next two weekends were just: Friday - talk; Saturday - brunch, though there was a baby shower thrown in there the last Sunday.
And, of course, in the midst of all this, one has regular classes and teaching, etc.
Somewhere in there - it's hard to remember when - I got an email calling me into the Office of Judicial and Ethical Programs because NBC Universal had informed my school that I had been participating in illegal file sharing (with Bit Torrent) using the university's wireless connection. That was a Friday and I didn't get to have an appointment until Monday so it was pretty nervewracking. In the end, I got off with a slap on the wrist (and the completion of two extremely stupid online modules on cyber-citizenship and good decisionmaking), but man was that scary.
When the brunches finally ended - thank freaking god - we held our annual graduate student conference the next weekend. I hosted a nice, but frequently way too chatty student. Less than two weeks later, it was Spring Break. Basically, I was exhausted.
As if all that weren't enough, the department was beginning to go through a big shake up. Since I'm posting this unlocked, I'll leave out the real names of people, places and institutions. Anyway, let's call the school I'm at now Southern University. I've been at Southern University in Southern City for about 4 years. I was planning to be here for at least one more and to take another year after that to finish my dissertation, though possibly not in Southern City. My department here at Southern University has a limited number of senior professors of significant reputation who are still publishing (though we have a bunch of great junior professors). It is the presence of these senior professors, however, that attract people to our department - especially since not everyone wants to live in Southern City.
One of those big name professors is Professor L. Over winter break (at the aforementioned professional conference), I learned that Professor L was getting a job offer from what I will call Northern University. I knew that his loss would be a fairly big deal for the department, but I was not troubled because I don't actually work with Professor L and his departure was unlikely to affect my life at Southern University. Also, I felt the department would be able to recover from L's loss by hiring someone else of substantial reputation. I was not worried.
Then, in early February, after L's departure for next fall had been officially announced, I heard wind of a much more disturbing rumor - Professor R was, it seemed, on his way to a job interview at the very same Northern University. Now Professor R is also a big name in my field. He also happens to be the person who recruited me to my department, the person in whose mission to increase diversity in my field I have happily participated these last 4 years, and the chair of my dissertation committee. Professor R's departure coupled with Professor L's would strike a blow to my department from which it would struggle to recover. Also, for me this felt very personal. I felt betrayed.
I emailed Professor R, who had just returned from Northern University, and asked him if he would tell me what was up. I felt I needed to know. Professor R quickly agreed and I met him at his house two days later (he didn't want to talk in the department building). Professor R explained to me that it was an unwillingness by Southern University's administration to offer the department more resources for coping with L's departure that had caused him to start looking into other jobs. Now, at first, this was just to be a tactic that Professor R would use to spur negotiation with Southern University. When he visited Northern University, however, it began to look like they would be making him an offer he couldn't refuse.
Much to my surprise, Professor R informed me that if he got a great offer from Northern University, he would want me to go there with him. (When professors in grad programs get stolen away by other grad programs, it's usually part of their deal that they get to bring a certain number of students with them.) I had figured I was too far along for that sort of move, but Professor R was telling me he "couldn't do it without me." The "it" in this case was moving the project of increasing diversity in my field to Northern University. The benefits of going there to work on that project are Northern University's better reptutation, much better library, and signficantly more substantial financial resources. For Professor R, it would be continuing his professional mission at the next level.
I suppose I could go on and on about the weeks of uncertainty, but maybe it's better to cut to the chase. I found out over Spring Break that Northern University had given Professor R a verbal offer that he was ready to seriously consider. He told me to start the application process. Over the course of that week, I gathered and submitted my application materials. Northern University told me I could just send the same application materials I'd sent to Southern University, but since I didn't have those materials on hand and since I'd done them four years about ago (before really entering my field, meaning that sending them would be the professional equivalent of showing a hot date old pictures from your awkward pre-teen phase), I actually put together a new personal statement to send. I also talked to a representative from the department at Northern University about the kinds of conditions under which I would be willing to make the move. (Essentially, Professor R had pre-negotiated and made them really believe they needed to get me there if they wanted to get him. This was an odd experience - feeling like I could negotiate and make demands and have a reasonable expectation of getting them met.)
Anyway, two weeks ago, I travelled to Nothern College Town to visit Northern University and get the details of what they would be offering me. The details were pretty good and the resources at Nothern University's disposal were truly compelling. In short, it was an offer I couldn't refuse. So, come this August, I will be packing up my house in Southern City and schlepping my life up to Northern College Town.
This involves trying to sell the duplex that I live in, which my mother bought, in Southern City. It involves trying to find a decent place to live in Northern College Town, which has a slightly pricier and much tighter rental market. (Though there's a chance I might actually get a decent place - knock on wood - and should know in a couple days.) It involves extending the time it will take to actually earn my PhD by a year over what I had planned. (Three years from now, for seven years total.) It involves leaving behind professors, students, and basically a whole departmental family here at Southern University that I know and love and who have been very good to me. It involves leaving a yoga studio I've been faithfully attending for the past almost 3 years, which I pretty much think is the best studio ever.
In short, it amounts to turning my life upside down.
It also involves moving to Northern College Town, which is about the least diverse - ethnically, racially, in terms of age, etc. - place you can imagine. Really. It's also basically in the middle of nowhere. Three plus hours to anything interesting.
On the other hand, it's only 6 hours from Toronto and the GF! And they have a ballroom dance club! And, of course, there are incredible opportunities at Northern University that I know are simply too good to pass up, and over the next couple years, it stands to be one the most exciting departments (relative to what I care about) in my discipline. It'd be foolish not to take a chance to be a part of it.
So there you have it - the explanation for my virtual disappearance. But I will post fic again someday, I swear it. And I still have a vague dream of actually answering all my comments no later than a year after they were made.
Oh, and at some point, I need to find the time and mental energy to be excited and to celebrate...