It's Raining, It's Pouring. . .

On Tuesday news of the economy really flipped me out. I've been watching, reading, struggling to understand what's going on. I had finally heard enough so I sent out resumes. Sending out resumes (or "cv's" in academic speak) is a little bit like tossing your vita out your car window while driving down the interstate. In other words, it's futile. Positions are never advertised and are usually filled by friends or colleagues. It's exceptionally rare to send out a resume and get a call back. Usually they keep it on file and call you at the last minute when someone backs out of a class. But I felt better after sending them out--like I had done something in the wake of this economic bruhaha.

I was mighty surprised to hear back from someone the next day. I targeted smaller schools because I like small classes and wanted to be close to home. I also thought they might afford some flexibility. I got an email back from a small, Catholic school about 25 minutes from here. They had 2 openings and wanted to know if I would like to come in for an interview. I thought my head would pop off.

I ran to the attic to literally dust off my teaching portfolio. I updated it and began pouring over textbooks, previous work, my dissertation. It was quite a surreal experience. Reading my work made me remember how much I enjoyed teaching and I got increasingly excited. The last time I taught, Luke was in my tummy. And the time before that, Grace was in my tummy. I definitely needed new clothes so I headed off to TJ Maxx and scored.

I was more confident than nervous. I look good on paper and most importantly, I have a good personality. I cannot emphasize this enough in a field that is known for its social dysfunctionality. I grabbed some coffee before the interview, reviewed my notes, and with the right combination of nervousness and excitement, off I went.

The interview went well. Very well. I clicked with the department chair and we had a great conversation about my former department, my dissertation, and teaching. We talked about the "gap" in my resume but I was straightforward and said I had started a family and remained active in professional engagements, just not the classroom. We got to talking about kids, families, and just nice pleasant stuff. He LOVED my teaching portfolio so I'm glad I brought it and we spent a lot of time talking about their students and how to engage them.

I got the job and I'm just tickled. I'll be teaching 2 classes this spring: a version of race and ethnicity in American history and the second half of the survey course. One is in the evenings and the other M/F 11:30-12:45 so I can still drop the kids at school. It's important to me not to lose too much time with the kids but to try and balance that with my own needs. Given my level of excitement over this, I've been due to have some professional time.

So back in the saddle for me!