Cover Post

So Jellybean Mama sent a whole bunch of people (okay, like three) over here, and didn't tell me.  And last night I was all like "I need to get laid, yo" and she was all like "I hope she's not a pervert who will molest me" and, well, I don't think those two posts really jived well.  So I have to write something else, so the three people that come over from JM don't send her private emails like "um, I don't think she's a man, but I totally wouldn't spend three days alone with her."

So, what to write?  I guess it's a good time to announce ... I'm applying for a new job.

It's not as big a deal as it sounds.  I'm applying for a Division Chair position at my current college.  I believe I will retain my tenure track status, so I can still be working toward tenure, even though I will be doing more administrative work and less teaching.  It is very similar to a position I held at my previous college, before the newly hired provost got inside my head and took a sledgehammer to my sense of identity and self-worth.  (More background here).

It is also only being advertised internally, so it is very possible that they already have a person selected or in mind, and this is all a dog-and-pony-show to put that person in place.  In any event, it will be practice interviewing, which I haven't had - other than to get my current job - in a couple of years, and it will send the signal to my college's administration that I would like to be considered for the administrative/leadership track.

But reading my recommendation letters is pretty uplifting.  Other than "walk on water" I think they pretty much have it covered.  :)

So I'm pretty excited about it.  My run-in with said provost left me pretty scarred.  It has taken me a while to do the appropriate self-examination, take the appropriate responsibility for my part in the disaster, but leave the rest squarely in her lap, and start to envision myself as a successful academic leader again.  I will say my views on some things have changed significantly, and I am much less naive.  I also recognize more that building professional relationships has to be intentional, and those relationships are the key to getting things accomplished in academia.  I think I will do an even better job this time around, and I'm excited about the opportunity.

I also learned my lesson about developing personal relationships with folks with whom you work.  I mean, it seems sensible, I know, but when you think he's your soulmate .... like I said, naive.

So, that's the news around here.

The crazy news is ... my kid grew.  Like, in two days she became bigger and older.  And L.O.U.D.E.R.  I guess that not-sleeping thing was, indeed, preceding a growth spurt/developmental leap.  She now talks in three word sentences, she knows "two", "five", "eight-nine-ten", and she has decided that she is now capable of doing absolutely everything on her own, so the "no" has become more frequent, emphatic, and have I mentioned louder yet?  Trying to feed her today was fun.  She requested cereal which she refused to eat.  She then requested "oatmee" which she ate one bite of.  I spent three hours trying to get her to eat anything and everything.  Finally she ate some fake chicken before her nap.

I feel like I spent the day with a whirling dervish and now that she's asleep I'm about to drop into bed myself.  But I had to cover up the "I need sex" post with something better.

That's as good as I've got!!