great weekend in st. louis! mike and i went on friday and hung out with my family for the weekend. the weekend consisted of lots of good food (including toasted ravioli-a local st. louis delicassy), a visit to the busch brewery, a trip up the arch, and just an all-around good time. the whole famn damily was there, so it was really fun to see my nieces and just to hang out out with everyone.
i followed up the weekend by preparing for my very first on-campus interview for a faculty position. i think that over all i did a good job. i was really worried about my research presentation which went so much better than the run through i had last week. and i think that the class i taught went well too. i met lots of people and answered lots of questions! all-in-all i really enjoyed it (though it was stressful) and i think the position would be a perfect fit. i have no read on it really and they are bringing the last candidate today or tomorrow. so the good news is that i will know something by the end of the week. another on-campus interview coming up next month, as well as a phone interview tomorrow.
cross your fingers that i get a job and get rid of this cold. i'll keep you posted faithful readers! :D
1.30.2007
1.22.2007
relief...i hope
today has been an interesting day. i got very little sleep last night and really the night before too, which i'm attributing to stress. so when i came in today i felt like i had a "case of the mondays"
that didn't last too long though, since i did some checking on a loan that i applied for and found out that i got it. though the money is not in hand, its just a matter of it being processed, which gave me the motivation to put in my two weeks notice. my big boss was very supportive about it and totally understood. i really didn't have a lot of options since i asked for reduced hours and was told no. i guess its better for the program i worked with to lose two full-time employees in 6 months than to let me work 30 hours a week. dumbasses. so, starting february 2nd, i'll be able to focus most of my time and energy into finishing my dissertation. i'm thinking about getting a part-time job as well, but luckily i don't have to stress too much about that right this second.
what i do need to stress about right this second is the on-campus interview that i have in a week! still have some things to put together for that which i hope to wrap up in the next few days.
so, what started out as a case of the mondays ended with plans to say good-bye to life in the cubicle. maybe i'll bring a screwdriver on my last day and push my wall down. :)
that didn't last too long though, since i did some checking on a loan that i applied for and found out that i got it. though the money is not in hand, its just a matter of it being processed, which gave me the motivation to put in my two weeks notice. my big boss was very supportive about it and totally understood. i really didn't have a lot of options since i asked for reduced hours and was told no. i guess its better for the program i worked with to lose two full-time employees in 6 months than to let me work 30 hours a week. dumbasses. so, starting february 2nd, i'll be able to focus most of my time and energy into finishing my dissertation. i'm thinking about getting a part-time job as well, but luckily i don't have to stress too much about that right this second.
what i do need to stress about right this second is the on-campus interview that i have in a week! still have some things to put together for that which i hope to wrap up in the next few days.
so, what started out as a case of the mondays ended with plans to say good-bye to life in the cubicle. maybe i'll bring a screwdriver on my last day and push my wall down. :)
1.15.2007
horoscope
so i've been making steps toward quitting my full-time job so i can focus on my dissertation. i think i will be able to do that this week. and it looks like the stars are in agreement with my plan. check out today's horoscope:
You are being lured into a new set of circumstances, even if you prefer to stay safe and sound in your old familiar life. You mistakenly believe that the status quo offers you more stability, but this is just an illusion. The bottom line is that you don't have the luxury to continue unproductive routines, even if they feel more comfortable. Make room for the future, for the excitement can revitalize you in ways you cannot yet imagine. Monday, January 15, 2007
now cross your fingers that everything falls into place. ;)
You are being lured into a new set of circumstances, even if you prefer to stay safe and sound in your old familiar life. You mistakenly believe that the status quo offers you more stability, but this is just an illusion. The bottom line is that you don't have the luxury to continue unproductive routines, even if they feel more comfortable. Make room for the future, for the excitement can revitalize you in ways you cannot yet imagine. Monday, January 15, 2007
now cross your fingers that everything falls into place. ;)
1.11.2007
cross all your crossable parts
okay kids...so i've had a great start to the new year. have felt generally pretty optimistic about things and hopeful about the future. might be because i have had a few faculty phone interviews and at least one of them went well. i'll be traveling to an on-campus interview in a few weeks. however...this process is once again bringing some stress in the form of needing to get my dissertation written and having very little time. the time crunch could be because i'm working full-time, teaching a new class (yikes), and by the time that's all done i'm ready for some fun and not for buckling down with transcribing and writing. luckily two things have happened. one is that i got WONDERFUL advise from my guru friend karen about how to prepare for the interview. her tips have result in a bit less work than i was creating for myself. the other thing is that i have literally nothing to do at work right now, so since i'm not allowed to reduce my hours, i'll just work on stuff here. boo-ya! (or dousch! as a friend of a friend used to say...he got that confused, but i think its hilarious and we should start saying it!). HOWEVER, it is still my greatest hope that one of three things will happen: 1. someone i know wins the lottery and shares, 2. i find a sugar daddy (any takers? its just until august!) or 3. i get one of the part-time jobs i applied for and can quit this full-time crap. its kind of risky, but at the same time, i feel like i have to do whatever it takes to get done with this dissertation, because if i don't the greater risk is that i won't get one of these faculty jobs after all.
in terms of that...i'm still excited and weirded out about the thought of getting one of the jobs. the one i'm interview for in a few weeks seems like it would be a great fit for me. and i like the idea of only having ONE job for the first time in at least 3 years. i find my mind drifting to things like getting a house and a dog and being able to pay stuff off and getting to teach in a setting that really values good teachers. all of that would be great. the leaving friends behind in albuquerque part is hard to think about at the moment. so i won't think about that until i have to.
in the meantime, cross your fingers, toes, eyes, buttcheeks, whatever you can that i get to quit my stupid full-time job soon. :)
p.s.- i turned old last saturday but it was a raucous good time! 2007 is starting out pretty dang well!
in terms of that...i'm still excited and weirded out about the thought of getting one of the jobs. the one i'm interview for in a few weeks seems like it would be a great fit for me. and i like the idea of only having ONE job for the first time in at least 3 years. i find my mind drifting to things like getting a house and a dog and being able to pay stuff off and getting to teach in a setting that really values good teachers. all of that would be great. the leaving friends behind in albuquerque part is hard to think about at the moment. so i won't think about that until i have to.
in the meantime, cross your fingers, toes, eyes, buttcheeks, whatever you can that i get to quit my stupid full-time job soon. :)
p.s.- i turned old last saturday but it was a raucous good time! 2007 is starting out pretty dang well!
1.02.2007
oh the weather outside is...friggin nuts!
i had a wonderful holiday and find myself starting 2007 feeling much more optimistic and just good about things. it was very nice to have some time to relax at home and i must confess that i'm NOT ready to go back to work tomorrow.
my vacation started a day earlier due to all the crazy snow we've been getting around here. that allowed me some time to get packed and slide around town in my car on trips to target with mike. also got a long lunch with some friends, which was great.
my flight to dallas went off without a hitch. however, when i got to the gate to go to des moines, there was talk of the plane being overweight and people not going to get to fly for 72 hours. i, of course, was on their list of 13 people who would be stuck in dallas but while i was making plans for alternate routes, i got really lucky and was called back to board the plane. five of the original rejected got to go to beautiful iowa! totally felt like i won the lottery. :D
my time in iowa was pretty great. lots of quality time with family and friends and down time which i really needed. even managed to go to the gym a few times while i was home, though the diet pretty much went to the wayside. i'll try to write more about awesome home time soon.
my trip back to ABQ was also not without drama. i realized after leaving marshalltown that i had too much stuff and would have to pay extra to check three bags. so i repacked stuff and made sneaky plans to gate check one of my suitcases. this was not an issue at all from des moines to dallas, and i assumed that it wouldn't be one from dallas to albuquerque either. i was sort of wrong. as we were making our descent into the international sunport in ABQ, we were diverted to el paso. turns out a bunch of fog came to visit the airport and we couldn't land and didn't have fuel to circle. after refueling in el paso and waiting for over an hour, we were informed that we couldn't land in ABQ and that the flight would be going back to dallas. the problem with that was the fact that there were 72 people flying stand-by for our flight when we left dallas, which meant that the chances of leaving on the next available flight were slim and none. AND since it was weather related, they would not pay for our hotel and we wouldn't get our luggage. i decided to deplane and get a rental car and drive the 4 hours to ABQ so i could ring in the new year with friends instead of alone somewhere in texas. lucky for me a lot of other people had that plan and i ended up sharing a dodge caravan with 4 other people. the only problem was no luggage...including my gate checked bag...which had all my dissertation tapes and various other things that i didn't want to be lost in an airport. however, the focus became getting home while contending with fog and dreaded black ice. i got to mike's at about 12:10 and drank some champagne with friends.
the next day we went to the airport and found two of my bags...but not the one i really wanted...the gate checked one with all my dissertation work! LUCKILY it came today and that's a huge weight off my mind. now, i will hope my luck continues in the new year. i have an on-campus interview for a faculty position in st. louis that would start in august and if i get it then i must have my dissertation finished. if they make me an offer then i will do some serious rethinking about my current job situation. i also have a phone interview for a school in austin coming up as well.
so...that's all my news in a quick nut shell. now i should probably get some sleep for work tomorrow.
happy 2007 friends and family! :D
my vacation started a day earlier due to all the crazy snow we've been getting around here. that allowed me some time to get packed and slide around town in my car on trips to target with mike. also got a long lunch with some friends, which was great.
my flight to dallas went off without a hitch. however, when i got to the gate to go to des moines, there was talk of the plane being overweight and people not going to get to fly for 72 hours. i, of course, was on their list of 13 people who would be stuck in dallas but while i was making plans for alternate routes, i got really lucky and was called back to board the plane. five of the original rejected got to go to beautiful iowa! totally felt like i won the lottery. :D
my time in iowa was pretty great. lots of quality time with family and friends and down time which i really needed. even managed to go to the gym a few times while i was home, though the diet pretty much went to the wayside. i'll try to write more about awesome home time soon.
my trip back to ABQ was also not without drama. i realized after leaving marshalltown that i had too much stuff and would have to pay extra to check three bags. so i repacked stuff and made sneaky plans to gate check one of my suitcases. this was not an issue at all from des moines to dallas, and i assumed that it wouldn't be one from dallas to albuquerque either. i was sort of wrong. as we were making our descent into the international sunport in ABQ, we were diverted to el paso. turns out a bunch of fog came to visit the airport and we couldn't land and didn't have fuel to circle. after refueling in el paso and waiting for over an hour, we were informed that we couldn't land in ABQ and that the flight would be going back to dallas. the problem with that was the fact that there were 72 people flying stand-by for our flight when we left dallas, which meant that the chances of leaving on the next available flight were slim and none. AND since it was weather related, they would not pay for our hotel and we wouldn't get our luggage. i decided to deplane and get a rental car and drive the 4 hours to ABQ so i could ring in the new year with friends instead of alone somewhere in texas. lucky for me a lot of other people had that plan and i ended up sharing a dodge caravan with 4 other people. the only problem was no luggage...including my gate checked bag...which had all my dissertation tapes and various other things that i didn't want to be lost in an airport. however, the focus became getting home while contending with fog and dreaded black ice. i got to mike's at about 12:10 and drank some champagne with friends.
the next day we went to the airport and found two of my bags...but not the one i really wanted...the gate checked one with all my dissertation work! LUCKILY it came today and that's a huge weight off my mind. now, i will hope my luck continues in the new year. i have an on-campus interview for a faculty position in st. louis that would start in august and if i get it then i must have my dissertation finished. if they make me an offer then i will do some serious rethinking about my current job situation. i also have a phone interview for a school in austin coming up as well.
so...that's all my news in a quick nut shell. now i should probably get some sleep for work tomorrow.
happy 2007 friends and family! :D
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