First Year Progress Report

Somewhere along the line, this blog forgot a few things: first, that it's a blog (see the giant gap in posting over the last several months), and second, that this has been a big year for things other than personal drama.

I'm almost at the one year anniversary of the move to the new job. And while there have been a lot of personal hurdles this year, the new job has been stellar.

The folks I work with, while high strung and needy as any department might be, are also by and large really nice people. Everyone who's invited me for dinner or drinks has turned out to be someone I like to have dinner or drinks with. They don't quite get what I do in some cases, but they've not dismissed it, and in most cases, they're open to hearing about it. Very impressive considering the idea of multidisciplinary stuff wasn't on their radar even when they hired me.

There's funding. I'm about to launch off for my summer conference fest, and I've been to at least three conferences this year. I've got a teaching release coming up, which will make my teaching load a 1/1.

That's right. A 1/1.

Read it again. I'm okay with rubbing it in. Take a few minutes and grumble. I'm okay. I've got time. 'Cause I'm going to be on a 1/1, suckas!

The new town is better than the old town. There are people here. With interests other than hockey (though the sports fans here are still ridiculous). And there's Thai food that can be delivered to my apartment anytime I want. And it doesn't equate "vinegary" with "spicy" as in some places. I've got friends who, even if they do mostly teach at universities, at least don't all teach at my university.

So, for those of you who've wondered: the first year gets an A-.
Posted by Dr. Curmudgeon at 6/21/2010 09:22:00 PM
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2 Responses to “First Year Progress Report”
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ash said...

Go ahead and flaunt that 1/1, Doc. As a SLACer who has paid his dues with 4/4 loads, you are more than entitled! So happy for you...

June 23, 2010 at 2:35 PM
Anonymous said...

:-)

1/1 is definitely the way to go. I only had this once (after graduate school, that is) and it was because I was on partial sick leave but the sickness - it was a somewhat disabling broken bone that required physical therapy and meant I couldn't get around very easily, but it wasn't traumatic or worrisome like a disease - didn't take up as much time/energy as the absence of more classes freed up.

I found myself suddenly able to "balance" teaching, research, service, and life soooo wonderfully.

It was actually *better* than being on sabbatical because it didn't carry with it that pressure to enjoy/get tons done, and the sudden isolation you have to get used to, that comes with those sabbaticals one gets, but that aren't well enough funded so that one can go away.

So, my prediction is, you're going to have a great year! :-)

July 6, 2010 at 1:21 AM

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