Job Tracking - Week 12

Okay, well, I don't have any new job information to report really. I got another rejection, though it wasn't entirely surprising. It is probably premature to think about there being a pattern to the rejections, but so far both of them came from Research I schools. I think my time at an SLAC has pushed me past my research expiration date. It's frustrating, not because I necessarily want to be at an R1 but because I wanted to be at a school where I could do more research than I can here on a 4/4 load.

But having spent the holidays with a number of academics at bigger schools, I can tell you that I don't feel completely bad about it because of the stories I heard them telling. Every single one of them was at a name R1 - though they weren't all at the same one - and every one of them was in a department much bigger than mine. But every one of them was swimming in departmental and university politics in a way I don't have to. I do like that I don't have to spend my time jockeying for position here; I suppose the sacrifice is that I don't necessarily get to teach to my strengths or push ahead with research. It was interesting, in those conversations, to see how many people were in similar situations to myself - financially strapped, not quite so thrilled with their jobs or locations, and frustrated at how little option is available in the market. Want to watch a group of academics' ears perk up? Say, as the wine is being poured, that you're going to look for jobs outside of academia after the New Year.

And of course some of this week was spent dealing with the phone interview - making sure I knew a bit about the department and what they're about. The school doesn't seem a great fit academically, but it's a tremendous fit in terms of my personal life. So I'm trying to decide how I'll juggle that if things move to the next level.

In any case, here's last week's post, to help with this week's numbers.
Total # of academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified: 19/25
Total # of non-academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified 0/0
COST OF THE SEARCH
Total spent in U.S. dollars on applications: $169.97
Average cost in U.S. dollars per applications: $8.95
Total spent in U.S. dollars on travel, etc: $0
Total amount in U.S. dollars reimbursed: $0
WHERE THE CALL CAME FROM:
The Chronicle of Higher Ed: 9
HigherEdJobs.com: 0
Other online service (listserv, etc): 14
Friend/Colleague: 2
Personal Research: 1
THE JOB IS IN THE DETAILS
Total number of paper submissions: 17
Total number of e-submissions: 2
Total weight in pounds of application packets: 20.96
Total number of recommendation letters requested: 39
Total number of requests for references: 5
Total number of "proof of teaching excellence" packs : 8
Total number of requests for Teaching Philosophy :7
Total number of research packs: 12
Total number of transcripts requested: 2
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
Total number of acknowledgments of receipt: 15
Total number of confirmed reference contacts: 0
Total number of phone interviews: 1
Total number of conference interviews: 0
Total number of on-campus interviews: 0
Total number of offers: 0
Total number of rejection letters: 2
Total number of canceled or unhired positions: 0
Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. More soon.

More Filler...

"Hi. Curmudgeon here, and I'm still away. And so, another pre-recorded message.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is a staple of our culture to begin stuffing Christmas down your throats...ugh...stuffing.

Anyway, if you haven't been hearing Christmas mayhem since Halloween, here's the best Christmas thing I"ve seen so far. I can't decide if I like the line "don't let mankind bogart love" more than the line about asking Jesus for his stash back.

Willie Nelson rules.

I promise I'll be back soon. In the meantime, enjoy.
"

Thanksgiving

"Hi again. Another pre-recorded blog post to tide you over while I'm away.

Today, in case you missed it, is Thanksgiving here in the states. And though I'm away from home, my dog in the kennel, and I'm no doubt lethargic on someone else's couch having had my fill of the the things that matter on Thanksgiving: mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie.

And so, I'll leave you with a quick list of things I was thankful for two nights ago. Assuming nothing drastic changes, it's safe to say I'll still be thankful for them even as I'm very likely currently suffering from my own inability to turn down nearly anything that can have gravy or whip cream put on it.

I'm thankful for:
  • late night phone calls
  • the release of "Chinese Democracy" which I haven't heard and probably won't buy but because it provides a useful metaphor for something which seemed unlikely but eventually turned up anyway. It's Guns'n'Roses answer to that one friend we all have who never arrives until 2 minutes before the party's over
  • visiting friends and friends visiting
  • any chance to sleep late
  • all things that haven't gone wrong that could've
  • all the the things that might yet go better
Make your own lists and call your own friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving."

This Is a Recording...

"Hi. This is Dr. Curmudgeon. I'm not here right now, but I didn't want you to be lonely while I was away, and so I have created this 'pre-recorded' blog post to cover for me while I'm away.

I saw this over at Academic Cog's who saw it over at New Kid's. And since I'm a sucker for personality tests and the like, I thought I'd run The Doctor Isn't through the Typealyzer to see what the blog's personality is.

You should know that my own Myers-Briggs test varies - usually between ENTP and INTP, but there are others - so this might not be so far off.

In any case, I will be back shortly to fulfill all my usual blogging duties. Later!"

ISTP - The Mechanics

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.

The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

A Pre-emptive Thanksgiving Well-Wishing

Somehow I hit my 300th post and didn't realize it. This is 301. Go, me!

Anyway, I'm off for Thanksgiving, and I don't imagine I'll be blogging till I've returned (though one never knows). And so, dear readers, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are.

And if you're still reading and need something to do, feel free to click this link and learn to the draw the turkey that's gracing this post. Now you've got one more marketable skill to put on your resumes and CVs.

Don't laugh.

The economy's taking a downturn, and you need every marketable skill you can get. Seriously. There are probably a lot of jobs out there for folks who can draw a turkey. Someone's got to paint political portraits, after all.

So, once more, Happy Thanksgiving!

Cravings

Spending the holidays away from home year after year hasn't gotten so much easier. One year at a graduate school Thanksgiving celebration, I showed up with tamales - a staple around any holiday back home no matter who you are. Everyone stared and wondered, and at the end of the evening, I had nearly two dozen tamales to take home for myself.

For whatever reason, I've been craving mole, which frankly is a recipe that's more involved than I care to deal with. Growing up, my friend Greg's mother would make mole maybe once a year - usually around Christmas. Rare treats are often the best. In grad school, my friend John made it for us once - he was a chef, an under appreciated genius in kitchen who could tell the nastiest stories over a meal and make you love it. Chefs, he said, told the worst stories, the sickest jokes nightly to make the evenings pass. I thought perhaps he was exaggerating until I read Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London, and saw that even back in the early 1900s that tendency was there.

One of the things I like about Thanksgiving is that it is like the best moments of grad school: it's people around each other because they really like each other. Grad school Thanksgivings are the best because everyone chips in what they can - mostly in terms of alcohol - and a good time is had by all. That's how Thanksgiving has always been though. When I was growing up, on the holidays, I'd spend time with my family and then would wander down the street to my best friend's place. We'd spend the day, like all teenage boys, eating our weight and glaring at the world, secretly in love with our own surliness and a world that let us be.

It was when I was a teenager that I discovered one of the truths of my life: that I like a certain amount of suffering with my pleasure, a little spice with my sweetness, some surliness in a world that'll feed me and nod knowingly. Those are the things I'm craving right now.

But like I said, making mole is more than I can deal with.So the closest I've managed to get is brownies with green chilies. What can I say? Something about the combination of sweet and spice just does it right now. And I'll be heading out to see some grad school friends in a few days - not all of 'em, sadly, but it's a start. Maybe I'll take 'em some tamales and chili brownies and see if I can't capture the full experience.

Job Tracking - Week 11

The real problem with teaching five courses instead of four has presented itself. Maybe it wouldn't always be this way, but the way my overload has worked is that two of my normal four courses are heavily stacked in terms of student workload - and hence, my grading load - at the end of the term. And it is an additional section of one of these courses that I picked up this term. Effectively, I'm in the midst of directing 44 different independent research projects. During a normal term, that number is at 30. The difference is overwhelming at the moment, and nearly everything has been lost in the shuffle to keep 44 separate student-conducted trains on the track.

I am pooped.

And so there hasn't been much done on the job front this week. But the big news is a phone interview. The school is on the edge of one of my dream locations, and I've got some interesting ties in the area, so I'm hoping that will give me some edge later on. At some point in the not-too-distant future, I'll write a little bit about phone interviews. But if there are any other interview-related topics that people are thinking about, let me know in the comments and perhaps I'll tackle one of them.

And with that, here's the week's numbers (and, of course, you can compare with last week's post by clicking here):
Total # of academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified: 19/25
Total # of non-academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified 0/0
COST OF THE SEARCH
Total spent in U.S. dollars on applications: $169.97
Average cost in U.S. dollars per applications: $8.95
Total spent in U.S. dollars on travel, etc: $0
Total amount in U.S. dollars reimbursed: $0
WHERE THE CALL CAME FROM:
The Chronicle of Higher Ed: 9
HigherEdJobs.com: 0
Other online service (listserv, etc): 14
Friend/Colleague: 2
Personal Research: 1
THE JOB IS IN THE DETAILS
Total number of paper submissions: 17
Total number of e-submissions: 2
Total weight in pounds of application packets: 20.96
Total number of recommendation letters requested: 39
Total number of requests for references: 5
Total number of "proof of teaching excellence" packs : 8
Total number of requests for Teaching Philosophy :7
Total number of research packs: 12
Total number of transcripts requested: 2
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
Total number of acknowledgments of receipt: 15
Total number of confirmed reference contacts: 0
Total number of phone interviews: 1
Total number of conference interviews: 0
Total number of on-campus interviews: 0
Total number of offers: 0
Total number of rejection letters: 1
Total number of canceled or unhired positions: 0
I'm guessing you're all also swamped at the end of the term, so here's hoping you're getting through it okay. More soon.

Grappling with Post-Election Racism

One of the lurking undertones of the past several days has been the flurry - yes, a flurry - of racist activities that have played out on my campus and what to do about them. As I mentioned previously, there was at least one incident of racist graffiti here. I'd thought us fortunate that we'd avoided some of the more high profile problems that have happened at Lehigh. But there's certainly plenty of evidence to suggest that the problem is pretty wide.

As I mentioned in the most recent Job Tracking posting, the university's response has been a big focus of mine over the last week or so. And it has been a positive experience - maybe the most positive experience - of my dealings with the university. Let me explain, and maybe offer some food for thought about what I'm learning about dealing with this as we go (and, of course, I'd love to hear what others are doing).

Following the scrawling of the graffiti, I found myself more frustrated than ever about things here. And a few colleagues and I began to talk about that frustration. Thankfully, one of my colleagues wasn't content to wallow and began rattling chains of the powers that be. Very quickly, those powers responded. More quickly, in fact, than I've seen them respond to anything here ever before. A group of concerned faculty convened, many of whom had expressed similar concerns and all of whom had ideas about things that could be done and frustration that the university hadn't done enough (it's response was essentially to have the graffiti quickly removed and to send an e-mail condemning the act and promising an investigation to the university).

Let me pause here because the group demographics are interesting. This isn't meant as an indictment, but I did find the demographics interesting: the entire group consisted of untenured faculty and all from the Liberal Arts side of things. Make of it what you will.

Part of why this excited me is that it's the first time I feel like there's some sense of community among the faculty here - even if it is just the young faculty. But it was also the response of the administration which felt like a first to me: they admitted that they were caught flat-footed, that they weren't sure how to best deal with it, and that they'd not done a good job of integrating the faculty and student life responses to the problem. And then, the ideas were heard and the group of young faculty were given a blank check (at least from a policy standpoint).

Some of the ideas we're proposing:
  • a signed statement from concerned faculty, making a stronger statement and discussing our ideas and asking for input
  • a retreat with student leaders - particularly from varying political viewpoints
  • workshops for RA's and other student life leaders
  • a day where faculty would be asked, in unison, to take some time from class to tell a personal story related to these divisive tensions
  • asking for some of those stories - and from any interested students - to be put in a series of campus media outlets to help personalize the consequences
  • a similar set of mediated statements about why the election of an African American matters to a similar variety of people
  • a rally in honor of MLK and the inauguration
  • a series of brown bags and discussions over the next few months to continue this discussion
What I like about the range of ideas, in particular, is that it suggests the university realizes this is not a one-time problem and that one event isn't going to come close to dealing with it. And I like that it seeks ways to bring students into the discussion rather than relying on lecturing to them or the hopes that they'll all magically turn up at some amorphous campus event. I like that it invokes a sense of unity - among faculty, where it's lacking; among students; and among the campus as a whole.

Where I'm concerned, however, is that I and other colleagues have continued to talk with students while these things are taking shape, and we're hearing a number of student concerns. First, students are upset because events are still happening - these actions are more pervasive than any of us thought. But the other student concerns about what's been done are telling, and I think should be factored in anywhere that is dealing with this sort of problem. What students have told us so far boils down to the following:

  • sending an e-mail was seen as a weak response, particularly as few students check the campus e-mail accounts. One student noted that there's an entire system in place for the discussion of parking problems and inclement weather, but the best we could muster was an e-mail for this
  • little discussion of what an investigation entails or what the consequences could be has been problematic
  • that discussion has been something quotes, at best. While these events have been talked about in class, most students feel like they've been talked to rather than with. They don't feel like they've been given a voice, and many of them are frustrated that they don't know how they should deal with problems like this on their own.
  • timeliness is a factor. One frustration that they've expressed is that when it has been addressed, it has been days or even a week after, and that disappoints them
  • there's a fear that the same racist fears might be shared by faculty. As one student put it, "I had a faculty member talk about 'you people' to me. And you expect me to take the university's commitment to stopping racist behavior?"
Hearing these things has been a lot of unpleasant food for thought for me. In the next meeting I'm attending, I'm going to push even more for some speedy interim actions to be taken, particularly actions that give students an entry into the discussion. We've forgotten, I think, that this generation of helicopter-parented kids.

They want input and direction. They're used to participation. Of course, they're going to require a different mechanism for dealing with crisis.

And so it is up to us to plan accordingly.

Job Tracking - Week 10

Bigger fish are being fried this week than jobs. There's been a lot of discussion about the racial tensions flying around here. But there are some ideas that I feel good about the things that are being discussed (there'll be a post coming about this shortly, I think). That's taken up most of my free time, and fortunately, there's not been any pressing deadlines for applications.

But the bright side is that there have been some new job openings that I've found, so my goal to have 25 applications out is still a possibility.

Here's last week's totals. And the numbers for this week are as follows:
Total # of academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified: 17/25
Total # of non-academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified 0/0
COST OF THE SEARCH
Total spent in U.S. dollars on applications: $148.37
Average cost in U.S. dollars per applications: $8.73
Total spent in U.S. dollars on travel, etc: $0
Total amount in U.S. dollars reimbursed: $0
WHERE THE CALL CAME FROM:
The Chronicle of Higher Ed: 9
HigherEdJobs.com: 0
Other online service (listserv, etc): 14
Friend/Colleague: 2
Personal Research: 1
THE JOB IS IN THE DETAILS
Total number of paper submissions: 15
Total number of e-submissions: 2
Total weight in pounds of application packets: 19.69
Total number of recommendation letters requested: 33
Total number of requests for references: 5
Total number of "proof of teaching excellence" packs : 8
Total number of requests for Teaching Philosophy :7
Total number of research packs: 11
Total number of transcripts requested: 2
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
Total number of acknowledgments of receipt: 15
Total number of confirmed reference contacts: 0
Total number of phone interviews: 0
Total number of conference interviews: 0
Total number of on-campus interviews: 0
Total number of offers: 0
Total number of rejection letters: 1
Total number of canceled or unhired positions: 0
More soon!

Nevermind the Wine, Bring on the Cheese

Sure, there's a lot of serious things happening in academia, and I'm on the job market, and my students are freaking out.

But - particularly as I'm about to head to yet another Friday afternoon administrative meeting - I don't want to spend a moment talking about any of those things. And also, I note that the level of commenting has dropped off on my blog and on many others, and this bothers me a little because, really, who wants to just shout out into the void?

Clearly, for both of these reasons, something pointless and fun is required.

So I'm thinking lots about mix-tapes and CDs lately and, in a conversation the other night, was trying to get to what the cheesiest 1980s's pop I-like-you song would actually be. Be prepared to support your answers. I won't give my pick(s) since I'm (often) obtuse in these things and so it once took an entire mix tape of songs for me to clue in to just how much someone liked me.

I Can't Decide...

...exactly how many ways this headline indicates a story that is not and never should be news:
Anne Hathaway's ex-boyfriend not enjoying prison
God help me, internets, why am I forced to see this stuff?

Watching "Body of War"

I'm halfway through "Body of War" on the Sundance Channel, and it's a heart breaker, worth the time to watch it. If you don't get Sundance, and you can't find a copy, you can purchase it online (if you purchase it from Pearl Jam.com, and 25 percent of the DVD sale will go to Tom Young, the injured vet who is the focus of the film).

I've got to say that the care with which this is handled is amazing. There's sensitivity and there's even some humor that comes through from those involved. What's most impressive - and distressing - is how elegantly and succinctly group-think worked in regards to the Iraq war. One of the amazing things about the documentary process is the moment where editing shows you just how pervasive the rhetoric was: the President, then senators, then us, repeating the same phrases as though saying them enough, loud enough could make them true.

There's an image that was just shown of a widow keeping watch over the body of her husband the night before his funeral, and it brought tears to my eyes. It's followed by the voice over of the President joking at a press dinner about not being able to find weapons of mass destruction. And then the realization that those who made the call were insulated from its effects.

It's distressing to see just how many times the question "What will it cost?" is asked, and how often the full range of what a war might cost - the costs beyond dollars and cents - was never even part of the discussion.

I won't tell you much more about it, but I do strongly encourage you to give it a viewing.

While My Tea Gently Steeps

I knew it was going to be a rough day when, even after coming in from running the pup this morning and taking a long, hot shower, my voice couldn't come above my "I'm very angry but must not give any indication by raising my voice" level. How could anyone expect me to function over the course of the day when I couldn't even sing along to "Fat Bottom Girls" in the car on the way to campus?

My throat seems to be the place that all sickness starts with me. Usually, once a term around the time the weather changes for good, it acts up. But today was beyond the usual level. What's strange about it is that usually getting sick makes me feel like I'm moving slow, but everything I've done today and everywhere I've been has felt like I'm trying to move at warp speed in a crowded area populated by clones of my arthritic grandfather. Maybe that's just the nature of the area I live in. Scrawled on the back of a postcard that never got sent, I found this failed haiku a few nights ago that seems to some up some of my experiences while out and about:
sour faced grandmothers
shrunken, radiate in slow
nods, their disapproval
That's how the day feels (okay, really, that's how the last few years have felt).

And so I wasn't surprised when I came home to find I was going to have to, yet again, go at Verizon. But to do it without a voice? Even my mug of hot tea wasn't enough to cut through all of it. Verizon's made an enemy of me. Having signed up for a bundling package with them, they've manged to mess up and demand overpayment on my bill each of the first three months I've been with them. Worse, the company's customer service sets new lows every time I'm forced to call them. And I'm forced to call them almost weekly now, trying to get the credit for the over-payments applied properly. It's funny because customer service is one of the places I'm least "Curmudgeon," having worked for years in similar industries and so, recognizing that it usually isn't a person at the other end of the line who deserves the ire and that patience usually wins the day. But this is honestly trying me, and I'm ready to swear off ever working with Verizon. And I'd certainly recommend to anyone else considering them to never work with them.

The day wasn't all bad, of course. I found some new positions to apply for, which is pretty exciting. And most of my students are set for the next term. I've dealt with the study abroad folks and the students who are failing out of my graduation-gateway course.

The term is winding down and winter has arrived. There are trips on the horizon - to see friends at Thanksgiving and family at Christmas. Those are the things I'm trying to focus on. Even if I can't belt out Queen first thing in the morning.

Ways to Induce Job Panic: A List

The following is a list - though only a beginning - of ways to give one's self job panic. I write this as a cautionary tale to others on the market. Do these things at your peril.
  1. Post a list of jobs you've applied for where you can see it easily anytime you look up from work
  2. Speak with a colleague who doesn't like their job but has failed or refuses to try to get out
  3. Find information on the job on a Wiki
  4. Fail to information on the job on a Wiki
  5. Create a Google Earth map of places you have applied. Consider the desirability of these places in relation to your publication record
  6. Show a friend any aid in your job search (the Google map, the list of jobs etc). Allow them to speak
  7. Tell a family member or a friend you have applied to a job near them
  8. Tell a colleague you're applying then attend a meeting where you offer some part of a vision for the future of the place you are trying to leave
  9. Tell one colleague but not another
  10. Review your applications after they have been sent
I'm certain I'll be adding to this list. No doubt you all know of some things I'm missing.

Job Tracking - Week 9

You know, searching for jobs always seems like a theoretical exercise until one of two things happens: you get the first contact for an interview or you get the first rejection.

This week, the job search got it's first injection of reality: the first rejection.

You can approach the job rejection a few ways. My first inclination is always to try and figure out why. But this is a virtual impossibility, particularly when you're receiving an early-process rejection. I tend to break rejection letters into two categories: early-process and late-process. Early-process rejection letters are the ones that come while the search is still being conducted - they let you know you didn't make the cut. Late-process, come further along - usually after someone's been hired.

Early-process rejections almost never tell you anything useful, and you'll drive yourself crazy trying to figure anything out. Because they give so little information and because the process itself is likely not completed, there's no easy way to make sense of it. At least late-process rejections give you the chance to figure out (eventually) who got the job, and sometimes that helps and sometimes it doesn't. All this letter gave me was a polite acknowledgment - and only just, because the attempt to avoid giving information or reason for complaint leads to a bureaucratic simulacra of politeness that looks like the real thing but that never quite satisfies -
and an idea of how many applications there were (more than 150).

It's a competitive market, folks. And so all I can do is get back on the horse and wait to see what's happening with the other applications that are out there. It helps that I've received a few of these letters before, and that this school was applied to largely because it was a Name School and in a place that, rumor has it, I'd probably have enjoyed.

I also dropped a position from consideration this week. I decided that I'll keep the number listed in the total identified, but that I won't be applying. There are a few reasons why, all of which came from deeper research into the department and the school. A few recent articles - the last six months - in The Chronicle have made it apparent that the school is in the throes of some things I'd rather not have to deal with. And a look at the department made it clear that their view of the topics they're asking for someone to teach are mapped on to the field don't mesh with where I see it.

And so, onward! Here's last week's stats. And here's the numbers for this week:
Total # of academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified: 17/20
Total # of non-academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified 0/0
COST OF THE SEARCH
Total spent in U.S. dollars on applications: $148.37
Average cost in U.S. dollars per applications: $8.73
Total spent in U.S. dollars on travel, etc: $0
Total amount in U.S. dollars reimbursed: $0
WHERE THE CALL CAME FROM:
The Chronicle of Higher Ed: 3
HigherEdJobs.com: 0
Other online service (listserv, etc): 14
Friend/Colleague: 2
Personal Research: 1
THE JOB IS IN THE DETAILS
Total number of paper submissions: 15
Total number of e-submissions: 2
Total weight in pounds of application packets: 19.69
Total number of recommendation letters requested: 33
Total number of requests for references: 5
Total number of "proof of teaching excellence" packs : 8
Total number of requests for Teaching Philosophy :7
Total number of research packs: 11
Total number of transcripts requested: 2
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
Total number of acknowledgments of receipt: 14
Total number of confirmed reference contacts: 0
Total number of phone interviews: 0
Total number of conference interviews: 0
Total number of on-campus interviews: 0
Total number of offers: 0
Total number of rejection letters: 1
Total number of canceled or unhired positions: 0
No new applications out this week, either, though I do hope to get the last two out shortly. It's one of the crunch times of our term, so I'm feeling okay about it. Besides, two applications are quick to do now.

Until next week...

Union, Yeesh!

From the file of things you never want to hear your union rep say:
"But then people would call me and ask me to help them..."
Or:

"Well, it isn't as though any of us are here for the money."
Which can only elicit the response: "Yes, but I'd like to be." Or, defeating the purpose of the union entirely:

"Why don't you talk them about that, and if it works, let us know."
I'll do that. But it was best when I heard:

"We weren't involved in those negotiations."
Huh? Then who was involved? Did the administration negotiate with themselves? Or did you tell someone to negotiate themselves and let you know how it was going to go?

Or Maybe I Woke Up on the Right Side of the Same Old Bed

The drive to campus this morning was blissful.

Last night, watching election results with colleagues, we compared our estimates of how many of our students voted. I extolled the virtues of my students, confident that at least 60 percent of them voted. And when I polled my first class, I happily found my guess was low. I gave them some praise - I didn't care who they voted for, I said, but I was proud of them for voting. Blissfully, I walked back to my office and prepared for the next class of the day.

Coming down the stairs on the way to my second class, I ran into my Dean who was beaming and asked, "Are you elated? I'm elated. I cried this morning when I listened to that speech again. I want to write all my professors who ever taught me any Civil Rights history. Aren't you elated?"

My Dean is effusive normally, but this was an entirely other level. This was Dean enthusiasm turned up to 11. And I was right there with her. I told her about my students voting, and that I felt like this is this generation's Kennedy moment. That I finally had an answer for a moment of history that I'd always remember that wasn't negative.

Then the conversation turned serious.

"It's a shame about what happened," she said.

Confused, I asked.

"About the graffiti," she said, with a sigh.

I didn't know about any graffiti, but it turns out someone on campus scrawled some ugly racial comments around campus. At least one piece of it was in an indelible form and required sand blasting to be removed, letting us know that Obama equals a racial slur. And in my second class, a student mentioned that there was evidently a Facebook stats flame war between Democrat and Republican student supporters.

A colleague reported later that a student in one of his classes said, "I'm tired of watching black people crying on TV just because a black man was elected President."

And another said a student told him of the graffiti, "It's just people expressing an opinion. What's the big deal?"

I've got some perspective on all this now, though for most of the evening, I and many of my colleagues were at wit's end. Evidently, we felt, we've failed in some truly fundamental way, not because of votes but because of a failure of empathy. It took me awhile to gain the perspective that my Dean had, able to keep that elation in the harsh light of our own campus events. Certainly, this election signaled that we've come a lot of metaphorical miles. But the morning after served as a reminder that we've got miles to go.

The Thing I Think I'll Remember...

...is the image of Jesse Jackson crying. Of all the things, I can't imagine, it'd be having to wait this long, to fight that much to get to see a moment like this.

One less dream deferred. One less dream denied.

I don't know what else I could say about this moment and this victory, so I'll hush and enjoy history as it happens.

Here's looking forward to a better, brighter future!

I Don't Know What It Means

So here on Election Day, I came into the office as I usually do - late, distracted, secretly longing for another go at my pillow, uncertain what my purpose was to be for the day.

All the usual.

I took my lunch down to the communal refrigerator where it could be manhandled and repositioned over the course of the day by anyone who cares to, no doubt aiding in the distribution of vital flavor juices (usually over the inside of the bag it's all resting in). I stopped to talk with a colleague to ask about their evening and to complain about their students. And then back to the office. Setting my bag down, I noticed something amiss on the door to my office, which I'd now seen and passed at least four times.

Like I said, I come in distracted. Sue me.

Taking a closer look, I saw this image taped to my door with no indication of who put it there or why.


Finding it quite funny, I repositioned it so short folks wouldn't have to strain to see it. But still, I wonder who put it there and what their secret message was.

I've cast my vote, allowing me to upset my uncle and to gripe for the next four years if it all goes wrong. And, of course, there was no waiting and no documents checked for me beyond the voter registration postcard itself. I wish everyone else would have it so easy.

But, regardless, happy Election Day. I hope you're doing - or have done - your part.

A Photo Meme

I thought I'd take a little break and do something different. I came across a photo meme awhile back, and I'd been sitting on it for awhile. I won't actually reveal my answers to the questions that spawned the photo, as a bit of contemplation seems like a nice thing. Some of them are obvious (though not always the ones you think).


Want to give it a try? Here's how:
  1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
  2. Using only the first page, pick an image. (You can arrange by "Most relevant," "Most recent," or "Most interesting.")
  3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you?
12. Your flickr name.

Eventually, maybe I'll reveal some of the search terms (and I'm almost certain to reveal what order the photos go in relation to the questions for anyone who isn't sure).

As always, I won't tag anyone, but if you do the meme, let me know 'cause I'd love to see what you come up with. Enjoy (and don't forget to vote).

Talking About Politics

To start out, let me admit, I'm tired of talking about politics, and so naturally, I must blog a bit about it.

I'm ready to retire some phrases - "energize the base" is key among them.

I'm tired of local political campaigns in particular, as they've been extra vicious around these parts, and edited like downscale heavy metal videos. Many of them don't seem to have managed to settle on one message per commercial, and so blast you with a laundry list of alleged sins of each candidate sprinkled with refutations of whatever sins they themselves have been accused of. And I'm tired of having an elephant in the room that many people prefer to avoid.

Tonight, my parents phoned to tell me that my crazy uncle (mentioned here and here) is not only "disappointed with my politics," which he and I only spoke of once - in August - but is trying to use that to pressure my parents and younger brother into voting his way. My mother - he's her brother, after all - is particularly upset at this seeming division of family loyalty and so a considerable portion of our conversation was spent explaining my view on politics. It's a view I've tried to express to students who ask about such things, as well.

It goes something like this:
I don't care who you vote for, really, as long as you vote your conscience. I don't expect you to think like I do or to do what I do. I gave up the idea that I'm right about everything awhile back, and often don't see where I am wrong even when it's staring me in the face (or pointed out to me time and time again). Generally speaking, I think the only difference between Republicans and Democrats is what they say to justify behaving in reprehensible ways. And so, I won't tell you who I'm voting for. Unless you ask, in which case, I assume you can deal with a difference of opinion. And I won't ask who you want to vote for because I like a difference of opinion a little too much for most people.
So I'm tired of talking politics, even as I recognize this is a vitally important election (I won't go so far with the hyperbole about it being the most important one in my lifetime). I'm tired, because politics is a strange taboo, and I like poking at taboos, but I get tired of apologizing for it.

So good luck on election day. I'll pack a bag and plan on leaving a forwarding address in case of surprises, and otherwise, I'll expect that the world will march on pretty much as it does now come Wednesday morning.

Job Tracking - Week 8

Somehow, in spite of having what would seem to have been a light Friday with a guest speaker and only one advising appointment, this week has kicked my ass up and down the street. But I did manage two more applications since last week.

It's funny because my applications have clustered up nicely this year in a way they haven't before. I've got three locations where I've got more than three jobs clustered within 90 miles. And several other jobs are in very desirable spots. That's pretty exciting even if the number of job possibilities has slowed down pretty dramatically. One of the good things about a blog is that, when I'm not working to obfuscate where I am or what I do, it's a pretty good record of how things went before, and so I am reminded here that it took me almost a month longer last year to have this many applications out. There's also word that the dream job of last year's crop (or as close as it came) might well have a new position come up, though last year they'd already been plotting interviews while this year they don't have their postings out.

Anyway, here's the status for this week.
Total # of academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified: 17/20
Total # of non-academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified 0/0
COST OF THE SEARCH
Total spent in U.S. dollars on applications: $148.37
Average cost in U.S. dollars per applications: $8.73
Total spent in U.S. dollars on travel, etc: $0
Total amount in U.S. dollars reimbursed: $0
WHERE THE CALL CAME FROM:
The Chronicle of Higher Ed: 3
HigherEdJobs.com: 0
Other online service (listserv, etc): 14
Friend/Colleague: 2
Personal Research: 1
THE JOB IS IN THE DETAILS
Total number of paper submissions: 15
Total number of e-submissions: 2
Total weight in pounds of application packets: 19.69
Total number of recommendation letters requested: 33
Total number of requests for references: 5
Total number of "proof of teaching excellence" packs : 8
Total number of requests for Teaching Philosophy :7
Total number of research packs: 11
Total number of transcripts requested: 2
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
Total number of acknowledgments of receipt: 13
Total number of confirmed reference contacts: 0
Total number of phone interviews: 0
Total number of conference interviews: 0
Total number of on-campus interviews: 0
Total number of offers: 0
Total number of rejection letters: 0
Total number of canceled or unhired positions: 0
And that's that. More next week.