Hurry up and wait

Ever been in a rush to get somewhere and then end up getting there WAY early, so then you have to sit there and wait wondering why you were in such a hurry.

This is what it is like applying for a college job. Listings are posted Nov-Jan. Applications are due Dec-Feb. Interviews are Jan-Mar. You find out Feb-Apr. It's a long process. And if you don't find something, you have to wait a whole year to start over again.

So I get called for an interview Mar 9, which is already pretty late. I had already figured that I wasn't getting a call. They schedule it for Mar 30, which is a long time away but ok. I go to my interview and get a call back the next working day, Apr 2. They tell me I am a finalist (A finalist or THE finalist, they don't say) and that the process (background checks, references, transcripts, paperwork, etc.) will probably take 30 days. They have good reasons. I understand why it will take them that long but, seriously, 30 DAYS is a looooong time to wait. Fortunately, I have been so freakin' busy I have not had much chance to care.

If they are correct, I will find out May 2. MV classes end May 7. Then finals. Commencement is May 18. My annual contact ends sometime the week after that.

I would start work Aug 16. So at least I would have 3 months in between to figure things out. Little things like, oh, selling a house. (You would not believe how long it takes to close on a house in NY. It's ridiculous.) And finding an apartment, in another state, that takes dogs. So I am rushing around like a crazed person, trying to get ready for something that may not happen.

Hurry up and wait.

Time for a Change

You may know from discussions we've had in the past, or from my semi-cryptic facebook status updates, but for the past few months I have been searching for a new job. That search has progressed to the point that certain people must be told, so now I suppose can speak a little more freely about it publicly.

'Why' might be your first question.  I could go through a list of a whole bunch of little factors that contributed to the decision. But I think that would miss the main point. So let me try and focus on that instead.

Since I came to Utica, almost 6 years ago now, my life has changed in more ways than I can count. What I need and what I want are totally different today than they were then. It's not so much that Utica has changed or that MV has changed. It is more that I have changed. The past few years have been spent digging myself out of a hole, getting to a better place in my life. But in the process, this place is no longer a good fit for me.

So much like my students, it is time to graduate and move on to the next stage of my life.