Timing

I wanted to start by saying that timing is everything, and in some ways that's true, but I'm uncomfortable with such a sweeping claim. Timing, though, is certainly important.

Take this summer, for example. SO much to do. But of course something had to go wrong. Perhaps not surprisingly, that something is my back. I'm hoping it's just been aggravated by the painting, packing, cleaning, and moving. And that sure seems plausible. In trying to get all of that done, I pretty much threw all of the back rules out the window. Lots of bending at the waist, carrying things that are too heavy, etc. If anybody out there has had a microdiscectomy, you know that it's prone to reinjury. Not cool. So far, though, it's the other side that's bothering me. It's deeply scary because if it's the same disc, just bulging on the other side, I think we'll be talking about removing the disc completely and fuzing two vertebrae together. Much more pain and a longer recovery time. Not good. And to have that during my second year of a tenure-track job, well, that would definitely be bad timing.

As it is, I've been on muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatories for the last few days as well as bed rest. The irritated part of me says this is bad timing. I'm no longer allowed to clean or unpack. While this sounds absolutely lovely in some ways ("I'd LOVE to scrub the bathroom floor, honey, but it's against my doctor's orders"), it's a pain in others. Tim is coming to visit in 5 days and we'd like to have the place unpacked by then. It's harder when I can't help.

And I thought maybe I'd get some work done on an article draft I'm working on, but the Rxs have been making me loopy. I seem to be adjusting a bit better today, so I might hit that article in a bit. After laying on my back for a 1/2 hour. So in other ways, the timing is crap. Better than during the semester, I suppose.

Speaking of timing, there's not world enough and time for all of the things I need to get done. I did, so far, finish that Buffy article and submit it to Slayage. Not a lot of tenure power there, but if it gets published, at least it's something. And I have 23 pages of a kind of draft of the article I'm trying to write about argument textbooks. It's mostly chunks of text with nothing cohesive yet. I need to get that draft done and polished soon.

I also need to plan my classes for next term. I've started a bit, but have much more work to do there.

We need to unpack and clean and get ready for Tim's visit. He's family, so it doesn't need to be spotless, but we'd like it to be.

Moving has taken much too much time this summer, and the back problems have slowed me way down, but I'm hoping that I can get back to work soon. I love my new home office and will love it even more when I figure out where I want this bookcase and can then finish unpacking. But it seems like a great room to get work done. It's not as big as my last office, but it's bright and sunny and I'm smitten with the built-ins. let's hope this room holds lots of positive energy for me. Because there's much work to do.

Hiatus

Bit of a blogging hiatus (more than usual) as we move into our new house. Apologies for the radio silence, but right now, I have to go clean a bathroom. Ah, the life domestic.

Summer

Ah summer "vacation." Those of us in academia have an interesting relationship to summer, I think. Maybe I shouldn't speak for others, but there are common themes to conversations about summer. We tend to get a little snippy when non-academics voice jealousy about our "three months off." Of course, summer vacation is a myth for professors (and instructors, lecturers, and adjuncts). It's 2-3 months when many of us -- but not all of us -- don't teach. Some of us DO teach, however, in order to help pay the bills over the summer. Because we don't get paid over the summer. Some schools allow you to stretch out your paycheck into 12 months, but many, like mine, are on a 9 month contract. So I have three months a year without a paycheck. Some people teach over the summer, some find a temp job, some have been putting some into savings so they can get through the summer. 

Regardless of how we get through the summer, monetarily, it's hardly just free vacation time. Yes, yes, it's often more "open" unstructured time, and yes, we tend to get to travel a bit, but many/most of us also have to do research, write article drafts, and try to publish. We also have to plan classes for next academic year. 

So sure, it's unstructured time, but hardly free time. In fact, it's sort of like unpaid work. Awesome.

And still, given all that, it IS kinda awesome and, in some ways, is a benefit of this job. The trade off for not getting paid for three months is that we can do work in our pajamas, we can go to coffee shops and work, we can travel for a bit (if we can afford it). Summer is, at least to a certain extent, our time. 

So, what am I doing with that time this year? Right now, mostly painting our new house. It's taking longer than I'd like because it's tough on my back, so that's a big project for me this summer. Painting, packing, and moving. We need to be in the new house in the next few weeks, so that's taking some priority.

I've finished a rough draft of my article on Buffy, magic, and rhetoric. I have a few people taking a look at it, and then I'll work on revisions. I also want to work on two other articles -- one from a conference presentation this year and one that I've been kicking around for years, literally. 

But it IS summer, which means that I'll get to go home for a few weeks to see my family, and this year I get to see my cousins, who I haven't seen in 7 years. I'm VERY excited about this. And a few different friends are planning trips to see us, here. 

If I can pull all of this off: painting, moving, publishing, and visiting, I'll have managed some balance in my life this summer, something I'm not particularly good at. Here's hoping.

lessons

The semester is almost over, which also means that my first year of teaching in a tenure-track job is almost over. I thought I'd wait until the semester was ACTUALLY over before writing this post, but I have time tonight and figure I can update if I need to. 

So, here's (some of) what I learned this year. 

Organization is key. You get a ton of campus mail, email, notes, mail, cards, mail, invitations, mail, information, and mail. If you don't keep it organized, even if you think you'll file it tomorrow, you'll lose track. Paper stacks up on paper and suddenly that advising form has been sucked into oblivion and you have a student coming in to talk about their program of study in 15 minutes. There's a lot to keep track of. A LOT. So try to stay organized from the beginning. That was my original plan and I didn't do a particularly good job at it. I wish I had. It's going to take a bit of time to get stuff in order.

Meetings. Even at those schools (like mine) that protect junior faculty, you're going to go to a lot of meetings. And at first you're going to have no idea what's going on. Don't sweat it too much. If they ask you to take minutes, agree. It helps you figure out what's going on. 

Almost a decade of teaching as a graduate student and instructor is fantastic prep for your first tenure track job. But when you start teaching at a new school in a new program it will feel remarkably like the first time you ever taught and that decade will matter less than you'd hoped it would. And it may take months for you to find your teaching-legs again. 

Teaching all courses that you've never taught before leaves you with almost no time for your own writing and research. Some people will remember this, some might not. But you should try, at least, to go to a conference or two because that will give you a deadline, perhaps a draft, and will help you network and, to be honest, get out of town for a bit.  

National economic crisis will actually affect you. You'll probably have more money than you did as a graduate student, but you'll probably have more bills, too. If you're like me, you'll spend as much as you earn. And you'll worry, suddenly, about national budget cuts and how they'll affect you and your colleagues.

Good colleagues are essential. Be a good colleague. Be thankful for your good colleagues. Get coffee with people in order to keep your sanity. Go to as many department events as possible. Be part of your department. 

Remember that it's okay that you don't know what's going on and ask questions so you learn what's going on. Take notes. You might think about keeping a list of questions early on so you can space them out a bit. I felt like (still feel like) an ass asking six questions every day. 

This one sounds dire, but is important. Even though they might say that your contract is 60% teaching, 30% research, and 10% service; and even though some people might say that tenure is based more on 60% research, 30% teaching, and 10% service; your job is actually, in practice, 100% teaching, 100% research, 100% service. Multi-tasking and time management are absolutely essential. I need to be better at both of these things.

You'll never really have the kind of free time you want (just like in grad school). Still, in spite of the insane time constraints, the massive responsibilities and commitments, and the sheer panic of everything you need to learn and to do, it is imperative that you take some time for yourself. I think, in particular, and this is true especially if you've moved for your new job, you should make time each week to talk to friends and family. Talk to your support group. Even if you're certain you made the right decision and you love your new job and new digs, talk to your support group. Even positive changes cause stress.

There are a few moments here where I've said something about this new job being like grad school. In some ways that's true. Grad school does, in ways, start to prepare you for a tenure-track job. But, and those of you in grad school are going to be be irritated at this and scoff -- I would have, too -- you'll be busier than you were in graduate school. I know that part of it is nostalgia and therefore not quite true, but graduate school now seems like these great expanses of free time. I know that wasn't true. I KNOW it. But I also know that I'm much busier now than I ever was in graduate school. Much much MUCH busier. 

Which brings me back to organization and colleagues: two ways to keep your sanity.

Finally, of course in this economy it's a wonderful thing to have a job. But even if the economy were in good shape, I am reminded of how lucky I am. I worked very hard to get this job and, if I'm being honest, it's pretty fantastic. Busy, hectic, stressful, and sometimes crazy, but, at the end of (most) days, I'm still floored by how lucky I am to have not just any job, not even just any teaching job, but this particular job at this particular place with these particular people. I'm flat out tickled to be here. Overall, it's been a really good year.

One Week

One week until we close on our first house. Stay tuned for minor house updates and, coming soon, what I learned in my first year as an assistant professor. You'll be glued to your blogfeed, I know.

Two week countdown (give or take)

So we're at the countdown stage. First, about 2 weeks left of the semester. The last day of classes here is May 8th, but for expos classes it's May 7th, but I teach MWF, so it's May 6th for me. I've canceled the last day of class in order to conference, so I'll actually be done teaching on May 7th. Confused yet? Friday is the portfolio reading day, so there's that, and I'll get essays from another class on Monday, so there will still be work to do. Still, about two weeks of classes left.

Two weeks from today, though, is our closing date on the house. This, my friends, is incredibly exciting. I'm starting to think about color schemes and such. The timing is interesting, what with it being the end of the term and all, but we won't be moving until the end of May. We'll use May to clean and paint (since we're paying rent through May anyway).

The end of the term, of course, also coincides with the end of my first year as a tenure-track professor. Well, the end of my first academic/teaching year. I want to blog about this soon -- about the difference between the first and second semesters, about what I learned in my first year -- but not now. Now, I'm heading home for the day.

First actual cold of the year

I suppose I shouldn't complain. People in my department had been getting pretty seriously sick all year. By some stroke of good luck, voodoo magic, or zinc & Vitamin C (or a combination of the 3), I avoided it. Aside from some minor sniffles, I've been pretty healthy all year.

But three trips in four weeks and I was basically guaranteed to get sick, right? Today is the first day that I actually canceled class due to illness. Mostly, I had to cancel conferences with my students. There was no way that I could talk to ten people today, given that I have very little voice left. 

I'm drowning this cold in tea, water, vitamin C, zinc, and dayquil. I plan to feel better tomorrow.