you can't get a job, can you? hmmm....what a mystery.

i was at one of my favorite local coffee places, minding my own business, drinking iced tea (because it was actually warm out and an iced drink seemed perfect), and grading a stack of about a bajillion papers. there should have been no doubt that i wanted to be left alone. i was giving off all the f' off signs. i was wearing headphones, hiding behind my laptop screen, and just generally not giving the "yes i want to have a conversation with you" cues.

this did not stop some random dude from interrupting me. first, he started talking to me...sort of. i suspected he was asking me if someone was sitting on the couch across from me, but he wasn't. when i removed my ear buds i realized that he was just...well...mouthing words. i ignored him and went back to grading, figuring he would notice the laptop and bag of the person who had been sitting on the couch but had temporarily vacated. he did not. he sat down anyway. fantastic.

i falsely assumed that he would leave me alone once he came back with his beverage. instead, he asked me if i thought he should get a hair cut because, and i quote, "you're a woman, right?" (as if it's not obvious that i'm a woman?) i don't know what my sex has to do with me being able to advise a total stranger on his coif, but somehow i looked like i was capable of and willing to give him my opinion. he went on to tell me that he had a job interview to be a truck driver and was worried that his current "look" makes people think that he's a pot-smoker, which incidentally, he no longer is. i was thinking to myself that maybe people think that because of the bohemian type sweater thing he was wearing, his beard that resembled shaggy's from scooby-doo, and the hemp necklace, but what do i know? his lack of employment probably is haircut related. admittedly, it was a bit long...maybe chin length, but seriously, why would i know if this dude would look good with shorter hair? the more he tried to engage me in conversation and the more he failed to notice my subtle and not-so-subtle hints that this engagement was unwelcome, the more i began to realize two things:
1. this guy might be crazy and
2. there's no way i can continue grading at the coffee shop

so, i finally just told him "look man, i have a lot of grading to do. but good luck with the job interview tomorrow."

not really rude, if i might say, and yet he was very annoyed that i was leaving. so, perhaps the reason this dude won't get a job is because he's an idiot who has no social graces. lucky for him, i'm not sure how much human interaction you have to do when driving the big rigs. hopefully he'll pick up on the interaction cues related to CB communication.

10-4 good buddy. leave me alone. :D

i should be grading right now

but i'm not. instead, i'm in my office avoiding anything that resembles work. as you can probably already tell from my last few posts, this has been a long semester. luckily we only have 5 1/2 weeks left (including finals week.) i truly and deeply cannot wait for summer break. i'm still getting used to the idea that i won't have full-time work to be doing and that i can, instead, do whatever i want. visit friends, find a part-time fun job, work on publishing stuff, read books for fun...you get the idea.

in the meantime, i've felt tired and just...well tired. i have had some fun and have fun coming up in the next few weeks. but there are a number of things weighing heavy on my mind. probably the biggest thing is deciding what to do next year in terms of employment. for a while the plan on the table was trying to find a job in texas. however, jobs have been difficult to come by. i could take a position that would be a step-down career-wise (assuming i'm offered one), but at this point, i'm not sure that's the best move. and at the same time there are several compelling reasons to stay in my current job for another year. i will get to teach 4 new courses next year, have a possible research project to start, will hopefully get to serve on a committee, and will be able to search during the normal job cycle. so, i'm getting used to the idea that i'll be in iowa for another year. there are good things about it, but there is a lot that will be challenging as well.

i have a few weeks to make a final decision and then, depending on what that is, a bunch of other choices need to be considered, like where i'll live and if i'll be moving stuff again and what all this means for relationships and whatnot. it will be nice to have some time to figure it all out without having to be worrying about grading 100s of papers.

anyway, that's not much of a scoop, but that's all i got for now. wish me luck as i make difficult choices once again. stupid being a grown-up.